Pete & Karlo from Podside Picnic join me to talk about Frederik Pohl's 1977 science fiction novel Gateway. We discuss "full medical" as it relates to the disaster that is American healthcare, company towns, gold rushes, risk, and gateway as a metaphor for the market. Utopian Horizons is a podcast about utopia. Each episode covers a different utopia…

Academic and #ACFM co-host Jeremy Gilbert joins the podcast to talk us through the concept of "the long 90s". We discuss why cultural innovation has stagnated, the relationship of culture to politics and how anti-utopianism may be falling out of fashion. Utopian Horizons is a podcast about utopia. Each episode covers a different utopia, dystopia, u…

Trevor Strunk from No Cartridge joins us to talk about his new book Story Mode. We discuss how horror videogames help chart our fears, which events caused the genre to radically shift direction, Resident Evil, the apocalypse and neoliberalism.You can find Trevor's book here: https://bookshop.org/books/story-mode-video-games-and-the-interplay-betwee…

Katie Stone joins me to talk about Francis Ford Coppola's horny Dracula adaptation, the original Bram Stoker novel and how the figure of the vampire can be rethought to connect to utopian ideas around work, idleness, care and more. You can find the talk Katie mentions in the episode here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MiPseSrT0p0And my Kickstarte…

Stefan Riekeles, author of the book Anime Architecture: Imagined Worlds and Endless Megacities, joins me to talk about the dystopian worlds imagined by artists and directors that provide the background to some of the genre's most famous movies. You can find the Kickstarter project I mention in the episode here: https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/…

Ranged Touch's Cameron Kunzelman returns to the show to talk about the fascinating detective RPG that is Disco Elysium. We talk about how the game represents contemporary capitalism, the strengths and weaknesses of its character portrayals, the spectre of communism and, of course, Cuno. Utopian Horizons is a podcast about utopia. Each episode cover…

Sci-fi author, journalist and blogger Cory Doctorow joins the show to talk about the tangle of intricate dystopian narratives that is conspiracy theory. We discuss the roots of conspiracy theory, why it is becoming more prevalent at this particular moment, and how it can be effectively countered. Utopian Horizons is a podcast about utopia. Each epi…

It's a solo episode this time as I return to the book Economic Science Fictions to delve into a chapter on extraction and the way is reflected in capitalism and science fiction media. Utopian Horizons is a podcast about utopia. Each episode covers a different utopia, dystopia, utopian thinker, or utopian movement, asking what they can tell us about…

Blood Knife's Kurt Schiller joins the podcast to talk about the post-scarcity communist society depicted in Iain M. Banks Culture series and how it seems to have attracted the most unexpected of fans in ultra-capitalist billionaires like Elon Musk and Jeff Bezos.Utopian Horizons is a podcast about utopia. Each episode covers a different utopia, dys…

Konstantinos Dimopoulos, a game urbanist and designer, joins us to talk about virtual cities in videogames. We talk about their critical potential, how they communicate information, and how Konstantinos has been exploring him in his book, Virtual Cities: An Atlas & Exploration Of Video Game Cities. Utopian Horizons is a podcast about utopia. Each e…

Vincent Liegey and Anitra Nelson, the authors of the book Exploring Degrowth: A Critical Guide, join me to talk about what Degrowth means, how it aims to address the climate crises and change our world, why it is difficult for capitalism to co-opt it, and why we can't assume that renewable energy will solve all our problems.Utopian Horizons is a po…

Rosie from the Twin Peaks podcast Diane joins the show again to talk about the unique and surreal videogame world of Kentucky Route Zero. We chat about themes of debt and exploitation, the powerful use of haunting, different ways of thinking about foreground and background, and a possible kernel of utopian hope in a overwhelmingly dystopic world. U…

I finally return to my run-through of every Philip K Dick novel to talk about 1964's The Penultimate Truth. I touch on class differences, the loss of the new, authority in postmodernity and conspiracy theory. Utopian Horizons is a podcast about utopia. Each episode covers a different utopia, dystopia, utopian thinker, or utopian movement, asking wh…

Dr Anna McFarlane from the University of Glasgow returns to the podcast to talk about 1999 science fiction phenomenon The Matrix. We discuss what The Matrix represents, systemic power, cyberpunk, trans readings of the film and more. Utopian Horizons is a podcast about utopia. Each episode covers a different utopia, dystopia, utopian thinker, or uto…

The author of Abolish Silicon Valley, Wendy Liu, joins the podcast to give an insider perspective of Silicon Valley from a former Google intern who once brought into the industry's lofty ideas of itself. We discuss Silicon Valley ideology, how capitalism limits the potential of technology and much more. Utopian Horizons is a podcast about utopia. E…

Gabriel and Jack from the AAA Collective talk to me about their new game about utopia, the process of creating it, and matching theme to process.You can find the game here: https://aaa.itch.io/utopias Utopian Horizons is a podcast about utopia. Each episode covers a different utopia, dystopia, utopian thinker, or utopian movement, asking what they …

Lucy Brady from Wyrd Signal joins me to talk about Neal Stephenson's cyberpunk parody novel Snow Crash. We discuss late capitalism, the nature of work under neoliberalism, Silicon Valley determinism, the American Century and much more. Utopian Horizons is a podcast about utopia. Each episode covers a different utopia, dystopia, utopian thinker, or …

Mark Taylor from Moscow's HSE University joins the podcast to talk about the utopian society of Pala laid out by Aldous Huxley in his last novel. We discuss merging East and West, Mutual Adoption Clubs, sex, and Henri Bergson while exploring this island paradise. Utopian Horizons is a podcast about utopia. Each episode covers a different utopia, dy…

Money is the subject of the latest chapter in my run-through of Economic Science Fictions. Sherryl Vint's essay lays out the argument for thinking of money as a social technology rather than as a thing, and explains the role science fiction can play in helping us to rethink it. Utopian Horizons is a podcast about utopia. Each episode covers a diffe…

I'm joined by fellow utopians Aaron and Shawn from the utopian comedy podcast Srsly Wrong. We talk about the valuable critique and strategies laid out in Inventing the Future, a book arguing for a postcapitalist world without work, and delve into the intricacies of Aaron and Shawn's own utopian vision: Library Socialism. Utopian Horizons is a podca…

A host of fantastic guests join the show to talk about utopian and dystopian places in videogames. We've got Rosie from Diane on Dark Souls, Lana Polansky on Space Funeral, Cameron Kunzelman on State of Decay, Jon Bailes on Persona 5, Trevor Strunk on Mega Man and me talking about Final Fantasy VII.Utopian Horizons is a podcast about utopia. Each e…

Jon Bailes, author of the book Ideology and the Virtual City, joins the podcast to talk about the pop-cultural phenomenon that is GTA 5. We discuss whether GTA thinks of its representation of neoliberal capitalism as dystopian, the vital role cynicism plays in the game, and the significance of GTA's position as a consumer product to its cowardly sa…

I return to Economic Science Fictions to look at its first essay on the relationship between economics and science fiction and how the two can benefit from each other.Utopian Horizons is a podcast about utopia. Each episode covers a different utopia, dystopia, utopian thinker, or utopian movement, asking what they can tell us about ourselves, our s…

Marianne Kac-Vergne joins the podcast to talk about two visions of the future from the early 90s in Demolition Man and Predator 2. We discuss the films' representations of race, masculinity and the End of History in a world where every restaurant is a Pizza Hut. Utopian Horizons is a podcast about utopia. Each episode covers a different utopia, dys…

Economic Science Fictions is a collection of essays merging the worlds of economics and science fiction to ask "how we might harness the power of the utopian imagination to revitalise economic thinking".I start a journey through the book with an introduction that lays the groundwork on why those two worlds should be combined and what vital question…