It looks like this podcast has ended some time ago. This means that no new episodes have been added some time ago. If you're the host of this podcast, you can check whether your RSS file is reachable for podcast clients.
Social Science Fiction
by Steve MichaelsA weekly podcast that examines the politics of nerd fiction. What can political science teach us about our favorite sci-fi settings? Listen to find out. New episodes every Tuesday morning.
Copyright: © 2024 Steve Michaels
Episodes
Warhammer 40K: Judging the Factions
40m · PublishedWe talked so much I had to add another episode! This time we do an overview of all the non-Chaos factions and I try to find the one I can root for.
Notes:
12:45 - A short digression into Ork economics. Inflation is an economic term for when currency loses its value and, thus, prices increase. It can happen when a government prints more money (increasing the supply) or, if you're an Ork, when the currency literally fall out your head all the time.
13:37 - Ork economics leads to a John Maynard Keyne's reference. Keynes was a British economist whose work had a significant impact on the development of economic theory in the 20th Century. The General Theory of Employment, Interest and Money (1936) is arguably his most important book and still required reading for students of economics and political economy.
19:12 - That's Zerg from StarCraft, not Trek
23:43 - For those not into PC games, Blizzard is a game developer and publisher. They are probably most well-known for the MMO World of Warcraft.
33:41 - Checked the name - it's Ynnead
38:02 - Turned out to be three!
Warhammer 40K: Judging the Emperor
49m · PublishedJon and I continue a debate that we began on the Dork Web Podcast. Check it out at thedorkweb.net. John argues the Emperor did what was necessary to save humanity. I argue he was, at best, incompetent and, at worst, evil. Who's right?
Intro and outro music: "Swim below as Leviathans" by Fireproof_Babies (featuring Ben Shewmaker) is licensed under CC BY.
Is Harry Potter a Secret Libertarian?
35m · PublishedA discussion of libertarianism and libertarian themes found in the first four (and a little bit of number five) books in the Harry Potter series.
Intro and outro music: "Swim below as Leviathans" by Fireproof_Babies (featuring Ben Shewmaker) is licensed under CC BY.
The Prime Directive vs. the Spider-Man Doctrine
35m · PublishedFirst episode! I discuss the doctrine of state sovereignty, its origins in Europe in the 17th Century, and how it relates to Star Trek's Prime Directive. This is followed by a discussion of Spider-Man's classic phrase - "with great power comes great responsibility" - and how it relates to the principle of Responsibility to Protect (R2P). We end with a discussion of Captain America: Civil War and the competing philosophies of Tony Stark and Steve Rogers.
Intro and outro music: "Swim below as Leviathans" by Fireproof_Babies (featuring Ben Shewmaker) is licensed under CC BY.
Introducing Social Science Fiction
1m · PublishedSocial Science Fiction has 25 episodes in total of non- explicit content. Total playtime is 16:10:48. The language of the podcast is English. This podcast has been added on February 13th 2023. It might contain more episodes than the ones shown here. It was last updated on February 13th, 2024 08:12.