Episodes

May 31, 2023

Asimov and Reason

Space based solar energy generation was originally imagined in 1941 by none other than Isaac Asimov, in the robot story Reason. This episode features a reading of the classic story and commentary about how relevant it is for ...

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May 3, 2023

AI and Humanity, a conversation with GPT-4

Everyone is talking about AI these days, or talking to it. This episode features just such a conversation between myself and the latest version of the popular Large Language Model or LLM known as GPT-4, on the topic of what …

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March 15, 2023

Aurora and Hope

I bask in the afterglow of the KSR episode and indulge in a special treat; a reading from Robinson's 2015 novel Aurora. I follow that up with some thoughts on the utopia - dystopia divide and introduce the ideas of …

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Feb. 28, 2023

Future Visions with Kim Stanley Robinson

An illuminating conversation with one of our greatest living science-fiction writers on topics as diverse as AI, climate change, interstellar travel, new forms of finance needed to avert catastrophe, memorable characters and ...

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Dec. 31, 2022

Mapping the Galaxy with Kevin Jardine

What does our Milky Way really look like? Kevin Jardine is a cartographer working to answer that question by building galactic maps from ESA's Gaia space telescope data. Here he explains a little bit about his process and some of …

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Dec. 24, 2022

The Human Future in Space with Robert Zubrin

Dr. Robert Zubrin, President of the Mars Society, talks about his revolutionary Mars Direct proposal, along with the value of Mars settlement for science, industry, government, and for the human spirit.

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Nov. 11, 2022

Themes of the Trilogy with Nathaniel Goldberg

Our first returning guest to Seldon Crisis is the first ever, philosophy professor Nathaniel Goldberg. We discuss some of the prominent themes of the series introduced in the first three novels of Foundation, including the lone prophet against the advocat

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Oct. 21, 2022

Search by the Foundation, Part III

It all comes together at last. The war begins, looking bad for the Foundation, but morale turns the tide against Kalgan. In the aftermath, Homir Munn and the others debate the true location of the Second Foundation with many false …

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Oct. 4, 2022

Planet and Sky, Part II

I couldn't wait to tell the rest of the story, covering the last four songs of Planet and Sky, a cosmic love story. Things take a darker turn as the relatively small planet lacks sufficient gravity to hold onto its …

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Sept. 30, 2022

Planet and Sky, Part I

A little diversion to introduce a true labor of love, my rock opera entitled "Planet and Sky, a cosmic love story." Written and recorded in the first decade of this millennium and inspired by my experience as a member of …

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Sept. 9, 2022

Search by the Foundation, Part II

Arkady Darell and Homir Munn arrive on Kalgan and get involved in high level intrigue in the palace of the First Citizen, Lord Stettin, who has eyes on following in the Mule's footsteps to master the galaxy. It seems he …

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Aug. 2, 2022

The Art of Science Fiction with Danielle Pajak

Illustrator and science fiction connoisseur Danielle Pajak describes her ideas on the art of sci fi, the means of communicating truth and beauty to the readers and watchers of science fiction books, movies, and TV shows. We talk about some …

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July 25, 2022

Search by the Foundation, Part I

Young Arkady Darell is crazy about the history of the Foundation and her grandmother Bayta's historic duel with the Mule. When her father and friends conspire to uncover the hidden workings of the fabled Second Foundation, she finds a way …

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June 26, 2022

Star Trek and Beyond with Paul Levinson

A conversation with science fiction author, media scholar, and musician Paul Levinson about the history and legacy of the Star Trek franchise, including his thoughts on the latest entry to the canon, Strange New Worlds. We discuss the philosophy and …

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May 1, 2022

More Thoughts on the Show with Priya

Always wanted to do a full season 1 analysis of the Apple TV version of Foundation and finally found a co-analyst. Priya from the Rehydrate podcast joins me to go over each episode and provide her insightful analysis. Priya and …

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April 15, 2022

Thinking Long Term

I get back to the mic to talk about an especially exhausting ski adventure, getting Covid afterward, and the Ukraine war before switching gears into more pleasant topics. I introduce listeners to the Long Now Foundation and what is so …

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March 11, 2022

Foundation Fanfic

Something a little different. I read a work of fan fiction from a listener named Sarita1046. It's an intriguing and poetic piece linking some of the characters from the Apple TV Foundation universe with those in earlier works by Asimov, …

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Feb. 25, 2022

Search by the Mule, Part II

The ambitious and confident Bail Channis thinks he is on the trail of the Second Foundation. General Han Pritcher is consumed by jealousy and doubt, but seems to have secret knowledge as the two men huddle in a cold room …

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Feb. 11, 2022

Indie Sci Fi with Tobias Cabral and Erasmo Acosta

Two visionary authors of independent science fiction share their visions of possible human futures. Tobias Cabral has humans living in a thriving Mars colony with intelligent robots interacting with humans while Erasmo Acosta's envisions a billion years

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Jan. 28, 2022

Search by the Mule, Part I

The Mule dominates the galaxy and controls the planets and technology of the Foundation. He is not a happy conqueror, for he is unable to find the rumored Second Foundation despite five years of searching by Han Pritcher, now his …

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Jan. 14, 2022

Eternity and Imperfection

Isaac Asimov's time-travel masterpiece The End of Eternity ends with a profound philosophical statement about the future of humanity. That, and Stephen Hawking's birthday got me thinking about the value of doing challenging things like settling Mars and o

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Dec. 31, 2021

Foundation and History with TCA Achintya

Isaac Asimov loved history and used many important lessons from the past in writing his stories, including his greatest epic Foundation. Historian TCA Achintya joins Seldon Crisis to share his unique perspective from his expertise as a scholar of the …

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Dec. 24, 2021

Holiday Sampler: Some Favorite Scenes

A little holiday sampler collecting some of my favorite scenes from the series so far including; Seldon maneuvering Ling Chen into granting him exile, a bit of Lord Dorwin, Hardin vs Wienis on Anacreon, Ponyets vs the Grand Master of …

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Dec. 17, 2021

The Science of Foundation with Stephen Webb

A wide-ranging conversation with astrophysicist Stephen Webb, owner of all the canonical works of Isaac Asimov save for a couple of wall charts. Dr. Webb talks about Asimov the teacher, speculations on the distant future of humanity in the galaxy, …

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