Michael Swanwick successfully used his strategy of taking over the nominee slates to win the 1999 Hugo Short Story Award (where Michael Jordan was the Toastmaster?). After discussions on puppets and the necessary need to fund the arts and, you know, the government, Sam and Jack read into the story of a pair of astronauts, one very dead and the other close to being so. Stranded on the sulfuric moon of Io around Jupiter, Martha walks, hikes, and crawls to her space shuttle and safety as her air supply drains. Luckily, she has some company when her dead partner's corpse starts speaking through the radio.

Not mentioned but this story was adapted into a episode of Netflix's animated anthology, Death, Sex, and Robots

Recommendations:

Gravity directed by Alfonso Cuaron

Death Stranding developed by Kojima Productions

The Martian by Andy Weir

World War Z- Christina Eliopolis chapter by Max Brooks

Staying Alive

Next Episode: 2023's Rabbit Test by Samantha Mills

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This podcast is not affiliated with the Hugo Awards or Worldcon. Music provided by HookSounds.com, Pixabay.com, and Joel Steudler

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Discussions of abuse and assault allegations against Neil Gaiman from 8:00-15:45

Our first repeat author episode is Mike Resnick, who wrote a story that feels right at home next to "Kirinyaga". But first, Jack and Sam have a lot to get to,

from dealing with the latest revelations from a once admired writer to the works of John Steinbeck. After that, it's time for a tour of Antares III, a planet full

of incredible architecture and a fascinating history. It's a shame that the human tourists care so little for it.

Mentioned in the episode:

Lila Shapiro's article on Neil Gaiman

Invisible Cities by Italo Calvino

Recommendations:

Listen back to our episode on "Kirinyaga"

Dahomey directed by Mati Diop

1491 by Charles C. Mann

"Ozymadias" by Percy Bysshe Shelley

The Sympathizer by Viet Thanh Nguyen

William Dalrymple's The Anarchy and Return of a King

Next Episode: 1999's "The Very Pulse of the Machine" by Michael Swanwick

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This podcast is not affiliated with the Hugo Awards or Worldcon. Music provided by HookSounds.com, Pixabay.com, and Joel Steudler

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

At the end of this episode, Sam says "Thank you for watching" despite a podcast being something you listen to, not view. A tragic mistake if there ever was one.

The legendary Connie Willis presents what is easily the most unique format for a story we've read so far. A fictional literary dissertation on two newly discovered Emily Dickinson poems, and the writer's hypothesis on the strange world and methods needed for this poems to be authentic when they were apparently written 11 years after Dickinson's death! Her arguments have some holes. Fans of lengthy footnote section will certainly enjoy the read, although Sam and Jack had some issues with the first comedic story on the show

Recommendations:

The War of the Worlds (2005) directed by Steven Spielberg

World War Z by Max Brooks

Ash: A Secret History by Mary Gentle

Next Episode: 1998's "The 43 Antarean Dynasties" by Mike Resnick

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Follow us on Bluesky!

This podcast is not affiliated with the Hugo Awards or Worldcon. Music provided by HookSounds.com, Pixabay.com, and Joel Steudler

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.