Tales From The Bridge

Joining us on TFTB is author, Arkady Martine. Her Texi-calon duology, "A Memory Called Empire" and "A Desolation Called Peace," have each won the Hugo Award for Best Novel. She has also published short stories in numerous publications (links below). Her latest book, Rose/House, was recently re-released by TOR in 2025. Arkady is also an urban planner, a climate policy analyst, and a Byzantine historian. So clearl...

Joining us on the Bridge this week is Production Designer, David Blass. Known for his work on ‘Star Trek: Picard’, his credits also include The Boys, Preacher, Justified, and many other television series you’ve enjoyed. We had a great conversation with Dave and cover a great deal of ground on this one, from Roger Corman to the importance of Saurian Brandy. Plus, we touch on "765874 - Unification" - the Star Trek-themed sh...

On this episode of TFTB we sit down with Ray Nayler. He is the author of the Locus Award winning The Mountain in the Sea, and he joins us to talk about his latest book, Where the Axe is Buried. A cybernetic novel of political intrigue, revolution, and authoritarianism. Pretty timely themes these days. We also look at how sci-fi can go beyond the science to the social, and become a transformative tool for rethinking the world that w...

On this episode of TFTB we discuss The Left Hand of Darkness by Ursula K Le Guin.  First published in 1969 this book was far ahead of its time, and still stands up as excellent progressive science fiction. If you haven’t had the pleasure of enjoying this one, we highly recommend that you add it to your summer reading list. As usual we have a cool Science Fiction-Science Fact for you, and we’ll also chat a bit about what else we’ve ...

On this episode of TFTB Film Club, our film nerds revisit the 2014 Sci-fi hit, Edge of Tomorrow. It's a great film, and there has long been talk of a sequel. Fingers crossed, Tom takes a break from completing impossible missions long enough to deliver on a long-anticipated part two. We'd love to see more Live, Die, Repeat on the big screen.

Please let us know if there is a film that you want us to review on the podcast! Yo...

On this episode of TFTB, things take a turn for the weird. Our book of the month was the first instalment of the perfectly ridiculous (and kind of fun), Dungeon Crawler Carl by Matt Dinniman. If you have a gamer teen that you want to read a GD book, this might be the way. On Science Fiction, Science Fact, we have a look at the surprising amount of moon missions that are in the works - it’s more than you think. We’ll also let you in...

In this episode, we sit down with Edward Ashton. Edward is the author of Mickey 7, which has recently been adapted for the big screen. Released under the title Mickey 17  and directed by Bong Joon-Ho of Parasite fame with an all-star cast we definitely recommend it. 

Edward has authored several books, and I imagine many of our listeners are already familiar with Anti-Matter Blues, the sequel to Mickey 7. The Fourth Consort is his la...

On this episode of TFTB Film Club, we travel back to 2001 and chat about the cult classic; Donnie Darko. If you need a quick refresher - the film is about a teenager named Donnie Darko, who meets a demonic rabbit named Frank while sleepwalking. Happens all the time. Shenanigan's ensue, and the audience is left to wonder: Was it a dream? An alternate reality? Or a cry for help? We cover it all, and we’d love to get your take. L...

 In this episode, we talk about Adrian Tchaikovsky's novel, Service Model. This leads us into a bit of a discussion on audiobooks vs reading the old-fashioned way. Kevin talks about how governments are employing science fiction writers as futurists to consider "resilience beyond observed capabilities." It's interesting stuff, and we're sure to talk more about this in... the future. We also talk about what e...

In this episode, we sit down with Neil Clarke. Many of you know Neil as the award-winning editor of Clarkesworld Magazine. Neil launched Clarkesworld in 2006 as a companion to his online bookstore. Clarkesworld is a monthly science fiction and fantasy publication, and each issue contains interviews, articles, and works of original fiction. Neil is also a three-time Hugo Award winner for Best Editor-Short Form and a four-time winner...

In this episode, we sit down with up-and-coming author Ben Berman Ghan. Ben is a frequent contributor to Clarkesworld Magazine (IYKYK), amoung other cool science fiction publications. Ben came on to talk about his new novel, The Years Shall Run Like Rabbits, published with Buckrider Books in 2024. We're excited to introduce Ben to our listeners at TFTB, and we strongly encourage you to check out his work.

• Ben's Website...

On this episode we sit down with NYT bestselling author James Rollins. We talk about his latest instalment for A MoonFall Saga, and of course we get the latest on The Sigma Series. We also dig into his process, and his other career as a (still practicing), veterinarian. We had a lot of fun, and covered a lot of ground on this one.

You can find out more about what James is up to here: https://jamesrollins.com/

Ple...

In this episode, we're happy to welcome back Dennis E. Taylor to the show. He might be best known for his Bobiverse Series, but we'll cover his other great work as well, and catch up on what he has been up to. Naturally, we'll chat about the 5th book from The Bobiverse, "Not Till We Are Lost" which is available on Audible now. We'll also get a peek at what's next for the series, and some of his ot...

In this episode of TFTB, we discuss The Mercy of Gods. A new series from James S.A. Corey, the writing duo behind one of the finest space operas ever published, The Expanse. The chances that this new series will also land on your television screen are good. The authors have teamed up with the former showrunners of The Expanse to create a media company called Expanding Universe. Under this shingle, they will be able to seamlessly tr...

On this episode of Film Club, we discuss the a classic Ron Howard film, Cocoon. Released in 1985, the movie actually garnered an Oscar for best visual effects. You could say…. 1985 was a simpler time. When else could a film with octogenarian protagonists carry a sci-fi thriller. It’s an under-rated classic, worthy of discussion. They don’t green light these kinds of stories anymore.

Or do they? Let us know what you think ...

Joining us on the Bridge is author, illustrator, and game designer, Andrew Kolb. Andrew has just released his third Tabletop Role Playing Game; Wonderland, which is out now. We had a great time talking about RPGs, and game design. Andrew is also a prolific artist and illustrator whose work draws on some of our favourite themes here on TFTB, so we've got plenty to cover.

Check out Andrew's website here: https://w...

In this episode we sit down with New York Times best selling Fantasy author, Travis Baldree. If you haven’t read Legends and Lattes, we highly recommend it. The series falls into an emerging sub-genre that we’ve covered in the past called ‘cozy fantasy’. It’s nice escape for those looking for a  nice low-key read. Our conversation covered a lot of ground, and it was great to have Travis on the show.

Let’s make our way over...

We're excited to have Scott Ryan on the Bridge this week. Scott is the author of The Last Days of Letterman, and best-seller, Moonlighting: An Oral History. We dig into his latest book The Last Decade of Cinema, which argues that the 1990s was the last decade of truly original film. We also get his take on Deep Space Nine, and Star Trek, which you need to hear. We had a lot of fun, and Scott made some points that are pretty to...

You may have already listened to our episode where we talk about The First Fifteen Lives of Harry August. We liked the book so much… we wanted to see if we could have a chat with the author. Sure enough, Claire North (aka Catherine Webb), was kind enough to join us on the bridge, and we really had a great time. We hope you enjoy this conversation as much as we did.

Check out Claire’s website: https://www.clairenorth.com/ ...