Our Opinions Are Correct

Latest Episodes:

Episode 127: Silicon Valley vs. Science Fiction: "Difficult Geniuses" Apr 06, 2023

Show notes

When tech whizkids are caught behaving badly, they're just being "brilliant jerks." And the figure of the charismatic-but-bratty genius inventor is everywhere these days. We look at how the isolated, tormented mad scientist in science fiction evolved into the sexy asshole that everyone wants to be. And we talk to Christopher Cantwell, co-creator of Halt and Catch Fire and recently writer of the Iron Man comic, about how Tony Stark has changed.

Show notes: www.ouropinionsarecorrect.com/shownotes

Episode 126: It's a Great Time to Read (and Write) Short Stories! Mar 23, 2023

Show notes

If you haven't read any short stories in a while, it's a great time to get back into them. A ton of truly excellent books of short speculative fiction came out recently, and wondrous new tales are appearing in magazines all the time. We talk about some of our favorite new books of short stories — and we offer some tips for writing some short fiction yourself.

Works mentioned:

All the Hometowns You Can't Stay Away From by Izzy Wasserstein

Africa Risen: A New Era of Speculative Fiction, ed. Sheree Renée Thomas, Oghenechovwe Donald Ekpeki and Zelda Knight

New Suns 2, ed. Nisi Shawl

White Cat, Black Dog by Kelly Link

Falling in Love With Hominids by Nalo Hopkinson

Drinking From Graveyard Wells by Yvette Lisa Ndlovu

Lost Places by Sarah Pinsker

Evil Flowers by Gunnhild Øyehaug

The Wishing Pool by Tananarive Due

Never Too Old to Save the World: A Midlife Calling Anthology, edited by Alana Joli Abbott and Addie J. King

Sunday Morning Transport

Escape Pod Podcast

Starship Sofa Podcast

Asimov's Science Fiction

The Magazine of Fantasy & Science Fiction

Analog Science Fiction

Lightspeed Magazine

Uncanny Magazine

Strange Horizons

Tor.com

Clarkesworld Magazine

NIghtmare Magazine

Show notes: www.ouropinionsarecorrect.com/shownotes

Episode 125: Silicon Valley vs. Science Fiction: ChatGPT Mar 09, 2023

Show notes

This is the first in a series of monthly episodes we'll be doing about how Silicon Valley appropriates and misinterprets science fiction. Silicon Valley executives claim to be inspired by SF, but mostly they use it retroactively to justify their products, often missing the more complicated, nuanced ideas embedded in the original stories. Today we're going to tackle the hype cycle around A.I., which borrows liberally from the post-scarcity, post-human visions of Iain M. Banks in his Culture novels. It's time for … the Culture vs. ChatGPT!

Show notes: www.ouropinionsarecorrect.com/shownotes

Encore Episode: Four Technologies That Nobody Realizes Will Change the Future Feb 23, 2023

Show notes

Everybody obsesses about A.I., nanotech, space travel and robots. But the technologies nobody pays much attention to could have an equally significant impact on our world. Like artificial wombs, smart toilets, new forms of public transportation, and new cleaning machines.

Show notes: https://www.ouropinionsarecorrect.com/shownotes/2019/12/5/episode-46-four-technologies-that-nobody-realizes-will-change-the-future

Encore Episode: Gender Essentialism Feb 09, 2023

Show notes

Gender essentialism is the idea that there is something eternal and innate about people's gender identities, and nothing can change that. Popularized during the 1970s, it affected how science fiction stories represented gender -- and it spawned new academic disciplines devoted to scientific misogyny. We talk about all this, and do a deep dive on the "What Women Want" franchise.

Show notes: https://www.ouropinionsarecorrect.com/shownotes/2021/7/15/episode-88-how-gender-essentialism-warped-our-view-of-science

Episode 124: How To Build A Planet Jan 26, 2023

Show notes

We're going to ask a few very small questions in this episode, like how to build a planet from scratch -- and then, how to build governments on that planet. What makes an imaginary world feel believable? Annalee explains what they did to research their new novel The Terraformers (coming out 1/31). Expect some gritty details about worldbuilding, moose romance, public transit, and making sure that every revolution has a core of joy.