When Arvind Ethan David was a student, he decided to adapt the Douglas Adams novel Dirk Gently’s Holistic Detective Agency into a play. Arvind didn’t imagine that Adams would show up to see the play (which he did), nor that Arvind would grow up to become a caretaker of Adams’ legacy. Arvind just released an audiobook called Douglas Adams: The Ends of The Earth, produced by Pushkin Industries. It features unheard archival audio of Douglas Adams and interviews with friends and colleagues of the late author who ponder what Adams was trying to tell us, and whether the great humorist always meant what he said. I talk with Arvind about the origin of the audiobook, and we hear an excerpt on why Adams publicly rejected the label of being a science fiction author -- even though he had created a sci-fi cultural phenomenon with The Hitchhiker’s Guide to The Galaxy.
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Imagining the Digital Afterlife
The animated TV series Pantheon (streaming on Netflix) asks what if you could upload your mind to the Internet? Would still be human? Would we create a virtual paradise where everyone got to live forever? Or would we find new and more sophisticated ways to destroy each other? I talk with Pantheon showrunner Craig Silverstein and Ken Liu, the author of The Hidden Girl and Other Stories, which the TV show is based on. We discuss how they adapted a series of loosely interconnected stories into a tightly plotted two-season arc, and all the ways in which society would change if uploading our minds becomes a viable technology. Featuring readings by actress Eunice Wong.
This week’s episode is sponsored by The Perfect Jean, ButcherBox and Hims.
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ButcherBox is offering our listeners $20 off their first box and free protein for a year. Go to ButcherBox.com/imaginary to get this limited time offer.
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Murderbot Is Ready for Its Close-Up (But Not Eye Contact)
Murderbot is a killing machine in the far future that would rather spend its time binging an intergalactic soap opera. Shooting bad guys with lasers is much less stressful than making eye contact or engaging in small talk with humans. Murderbot is also the main character of Martha Wells’ best-selling series of books, The Murderbot Diaries. The books have been adapted into a fun new show on Apple TV+ starring Alexander Skarsgård. I talk with Martha Wells, and the showrunners Chris and Paul Weitz, about the challenges of adapting the books for television -- from casting choices, to translating Murderbot’s anxious inner monologue into voice-over narration, to finding the right balance of comedy, action, and sci-fi.
This week’s episode is sponsored by ShipStation. Go to shipstation.com and use the code IMAGINARY to sign up for a free trial.
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The Bright Legacy of Dark Shadows
Next year marks the 60th anniversary of Dark Shadows. The gothic soap opera wasn’t originally intended to include a vampire, but when creator Dan Curtis introduced the character of Barnabas Collins in a last-ditch effort to avoid cancellation, he inadvertently launched a cultural phenomenon. As portrayed by actor Jonathan Frid, the character of Barnabas sparked a never-ending debate among horror fans as to whether vampires should be depicted as pure predators or tragic, misunderstood outcasts. I talk with Danielle Gelehrter (host of the podcast Terror at Collinwood) and authors Mark Dawidziak and Jeff Thompson about why the show had a meteoric rise and fall, what the series reflected about the 1960s, and whether Dark Shadows can have eternal life as a form of IP.
This week’s episode is sponsored by Hims and Remi
Get your free online visit at hims.com/IMAGINARY.
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Body Horror Gets Under My Skin
We all have that one thing we just can’t watch. For me, it’s body horror -- the kind of horror where grotesque and disturbing things happen to someone’s body, like in The Thing, The Fly, or The Substance. There is a long history of body horror as a form of social commentary and special effects showmanship. I respect the artform, but I can’t stomach the art. So I decided to figure out why. I talk with Chioke l’Anson (horror fan and voice of NPR underwriting), author David Huckvale (“Terrors of The Flesh: The Philosophy of Body Horror in Film”) and author Xavier Aldana Reyes (“Contemporary Body Horror”) about how this subgenre taps into fundamental aspects of being human that we often try to put out of our minds. Plus, I speak with listener Lillie Andrick about why some transgender fans, like her, feel a special connection to body horror.
This week’s episode is sponsored by ShipStation. Go to
shipstation.com and use the code IMAGINARY to sign up for a free trial.
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Imaginary Worlds sounds like what would happen if NPR went to ComicCon and decided that’s all they ever wanted to cover. Host Eric Molinsky spent over a decade working as a public radio reporter and producer, and he uses those skills to create thoughtful, sound-rich episodes about science fiction, fantasy, and other genres of speculative fiction. Every other week, he talks with filmmakers, screenwriters, novelists, comic book artists, game designers, and anyone who works in the field of make-believe about how they craft their worlds. He also talks with academics and fans about why we suspend our disbelief, and what happens if the spell is broken. Imaginary worlds may be set on distant planets or parallel dimensions, but they are crafted here on Earth, and they’re always about us and our lived experiences.
France