June 27, 2016

EP. 129 — 20 Things Sci-Fi Promised Us That We Want Now

In a way, science-fiction has not only predicted the future but created it as well. The works of Jules Verne inspired the first submarines and Star Trek’s communicators and tablets clearly inspired the smart phones and computers and voice-activated assistants we use today. But there’s still so much we don’t have yet.

Space colonies, faster-than-light travel, teleportation, genetic manipulation — there’s so much cool stuff we see in movies and TV that still seem decades if not centuries away. Sex bots! There are sex bots in everything, but look around– there are no sex bots to be found. A real tragedy.

So this week we’re going to play pretend and talk about the tropes and imagery from sci-fi that we wish were a reality. Jack O’Brien and co-host Adam Tod Brown are joined by Cracked’s Tom Reimann and Josh Sargent as well as comedians David Huntsberger, Caitlin Gill and Lizzy Cooperman to talk robots, generation ships, babies with grasshopper legs and more in this exploration of the sci-fi stuff we really want but probably can’t have. 

This episode is sponsored by Wiener-Dog from IFC Films, Spotify, Harry’s, and The Bouqs.

Footnotes:

– ‘This Perfect Day’ by Ira Levin: https://goo.gl/r6UaVB

– i09: How the L5 Society Tried to Use a Quirk of Physics to Colonize Space: http://goo.gl/0jgQSW

– Cracked: 6 Disasters With Details So Awful, History Left Them Out: http://goo.gl/Kdw3WS

– Tor: 5 Books About Generation Ships: http://goo.gl/sTLLnX

– Mystery Science Theater 3000 – Space Mutiny: https://goo.gl/hC5BVB

– Mystery Science Theater 3000 – Blood Waters of Dr. Z: https://goo.gl/CluthX

– National Geographic: ‘Evacuate Earth’: https://goo.gl/EA3IJz

– Star Wars Holiday Special: https://goo.gl/2Lk51E

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