Decrypted, Ars Technica's TV podcast

Latest Episodes:

We can not afford to be enemies anymore. (The Expanse S02E10) Mar 30, 2017

Show notes

On this week's podcast, Ars Technica's Jonathan Gitlin talks with Ars Business Editor Cyrus Farivar, who is a huge fan of the show. Last year, Cyrus held a live talk with Nick Farmer, the linguist who invented the Belter language for the TV show and became intrigued. Cyrus talks about how his interest grew out of being a fan of shows like BSG, and how he's impressed with the tech, culture and science of The Expanse. Later in the show, Ars Technica's John Timmer sits down with actress Frankie Adams to talk about her Martian character Bobbie Draper.

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Well, this is off to a good start. (The Expanse S02E09) Mar 23, 2017

Show notes

On this week's podcast, Ars Technica's Jonathan Gitlin talks with actor Wes Chatham about his character Amos on The Expanse. Wes talks about being a fan of the books before being offered the role on the show, how he approaches this unusual character, and the discussion veers off into Blade Runner territory (which version is Wes' favorite?). Jonathan also recaps season 2, episode 9: the Roci crew commandeer a ship to Ganymede, Bobbi Draper takes her first trip to Earth to be grilled during the UN/Mars peace talks, and a crew travels to Mars to find out what happened to Eros.

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The shout came from Ganymede. (The Expanse S02E08) Mar 16, 2017

Show notes

In this week's podcast, Jonathan Gitlin talks with Ars Technica's space editor Eric Berger about NASA and the possibilities of space travel and colonization. Jonathan also recaps this week's episode: we meet Praxideke Meng, a refugee scientist from Ganymede who becomes key to finding out what happened there; the Belters rebel against Fred Johnson after Anderson Dawes kidnaps his "secret" (Cortizar, the scientist working on the protomolecule). Later on in the podcast, Ars Technica's science editor John Timmer talks with Steven Strait from NBC's 30 Rock about his character James Holden.

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The truth is never what you expect it to be. (The Expanse S02E07) Mar 10, 2017

Show notes

On this week's podcast, Ars Technica's Jonathan Gitlin is joined by linguist Nick Farmer who created the spoken language of Belter for The Expanse. Last year, Nick was our first Ars Live guest at Oakland's Longitude bar, and he's back to speak with us one-on-one. Jonathan also recaps season 2, episode 7: as the UN leaders argue about what to do about Mars, the Roci crew helps refugees from Ganymede on Ceres, Bobbi Draper tries to recall what happened to her crew, and Anderson Dawes challenges Fred Johnson's leadership.

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You have to pick a side. (The Expanse S02E06) Mar 03, 2017

Show notes

On this week's podcast, Ars Technica's Jonathan Gitlin is joined by Ars' very own science editor John Timmer, as we discuss a particular science fiction trope he can't stand, and recap the latest goings-on with Eros, the UN on Earth, and the Mars soldiers on Ganymede. John also speaks with Dominique Tipper, who plays Naomi Nagata, whom he interviewed at NBC/30 Rock before the season started, about her overall thoughts on her character.

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Ok, so we broke a few laws of physics. (The Expanse S02E05) Feb 23, 2017

Show notes

In this week's podcast, Ars Technica's Jonathan Gitlin recaps season 2, episode 5 of The Expanse, as we follow Miller on his journey to stop Eros from hitting Earth with the help of an old "friend"; the UN puts their plan into action to stop Eros, as the powerless Roci crew does what they can to support Miller, the UN and Fred Johnson's plans to save Earth. Jonathan also talks with geophysicist and sci-fi TV consultant Mika McKinnon about her possible 'Sharknado' connection, the wonderful world of geophysics and the "hard science" of The Expanse.

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Oi, pampaw! You starting to like space now? (The Expanse S02E04) Feb 17, 2017

Show notes

In this week's podcast, Ars Technica's Jonathan Gitlin recaps season 2, episode 4 of The Expanse, as we join the crew as they commence their plan to take the Nauvoo on its mission to Eros, and the noose tightens on Protogen and its allies back on Earth, thanks to everyone's favorite UN badass, Avasarala. Jonathan also talks with award-winning sci-fi author Kameron Hurley about space opera in general, biotech in science fiction, and some of the politics in The Expanse.

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Miller finds his groove. (The Expanse S02E03) Feb 08, 2017

Show notes

In this episode of Decrypted: The Expanse, Ars Technica's Jonathan Gitlin recaps season 2 episode 3: The Rocinante crew and Fred Johnson deal with the aftermath of Miller's decision, Mars soldiers gear up for a fight, and Earth's government tries to figure out the OPA's motives. Jonathan also talks with showrunner Naren Shankar about creating the show, his studies to be a PHD-level engineer, and why he decided to take the Hollywood career route.

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They gave the g*damn thing a name. (The Expanse S02E01-2) Feb 01, 2017

Show notes

In this episode of Decrypted: The Expanse, we join the Syfy show in its second season. Ars Technica's Annalee Newitz and Jonathan Gitlin talk about the show's many layers, themes and the adaptation from the books. Jonathan also talks to Daniel Abraham and Ty Franck, the authors of the books (under the pen name James SA Corey), about the challenges of adapting for the screen. NOTE: there is a minor spoiler from one of the later books in this podcast.

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You really do make a terrible human being. (Westworld S01E10) Dec 06, 2016

Show notes

Topics discussed: We just don't care that William and MIB are the same person (seriously why is this such a big deal); how Maeve's final revelation completely sold her character short (and also made no sense given her past actions); why Bernard why (you were our favorite character and now you're a blob); the differences between Arnold and Ford's ideas about consciousness (or lack thereof); W.E.B. Dubois' idea of double consciousness (and why it completely fits robot consciousness in this story); robots and slavery (and some of the not-so-subtle racial subtexts); the trouble with Dolores (it's still not clear why she's leading the rebellion); and how much we want Felix to be promoted (go Felix go!).

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