Geek's Guide to the Galaxy - A Science Fiction Podcast

Geek's Guide to the Galaxy - A Science Fiction Podcast

** Ad-free episodes are available to our paid supporters over at patreon.com/geeks ** Host David Barr Kirtley, author of the book Save Me Plz and Other Stories, talks geek culture with guests such as Neil Gaiman, George R. R. Martin, Richard Dawkins, Simon Pegg, Bill Nye, Margaret Atwood, Neil deGrasse Tyson, and Ursula K. Le Guin. Geek’s Guide to the Galaxy has appeared on recommended podcast lists from NPR, The Guardian, Wired, The A.V. Club, BBC America, CBC Radio, WVXU, io9, Omni, The Strand, Library Journal, and Popular Mechanics. CBC Radio writes, "You may not think a podcast about science fiction and fantasy would be the place to go for political insight, but -- it is. Geek's Guide to the Galaxy manages to be more insightful about politics than many pundits." View a complete list of guests and topics at geeksguideshow.com/episodes/. Listen to the show on YouTube at youtube.com/@geeksguidetothegalaxy to easily skip ahead to our discussion of a particular movie or story.

Episodes

August 20, 2025 98 mins
In this special 600th episode David Barr Kirtley interviews his wife Steph Grossman, short story writer and co-host of the Basement Girls horror podcast. Ad-free episodes are available to our paid supporters over at patreon.com/geeks. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
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Tom Gerencer joins us to discuss the book Storyteller: Writing Lessons and More from 27 Years of the Clarion Writers’ Workshop by Kate Wilhelm. Ad-free episodes are available to our paid supporters over at patreon.com/geeks. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
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Matt London joins us to discuss narrative design, George R. R. Martin, and the new book Grace Given: The Mythology of Elden Ring by George Truscott. Ad-free episodes are available to our paid supporters over at patreon.com/geeks. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
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Matthew Kressel joins us to discuss his short story collection Histories Within Us and his new novel Space Trucker Jess. Ad-free episodes are available to our paid supporters over at patreon.com/geeks. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
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Andrea Kail, Matthew Kressel, and Rajan Khanna join us to discuss God Emperor of Dune by Frank Herbert, the fourth book in the Dune series. Ad-free episodes are available to our paid supporters over at patreon.com/geeks. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
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Tom Gerencer joins us to discuss the book The Business of Science Fiction by Mike Resnick and Barry N. Malzberg. Ad-free episodes are available to our paid supporters over at patreon.com/geeks. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
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Andrea Kail, Erin Lindsey, and Matt London join us to discuss Season 2 of the Disney+ series Andor, a prequel to the movie Rogue One: A Star Wars Story. Ad-free episodes are available to our paid supporters over at patreon.com/geeks. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
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Warren Lapine joins us to discuss editing the book On Writing Science Fiction and Fantasy by Roger Zelazny. Ad-free episodes are available to our paid supporters over at patreon.com/geeks. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
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Anthony Ha joins us to discuss the first eight stories in the book The Best of Greg Egan, part of the SF Masterworks series of science fiction classics. Stories discussed: "Learning to Be Me" (20:42), "Axiomatic" (44:03), "Appropriate Love" (50:10), "Into Darkness" (1:00:30), "Unstable Orbits in the Space of Lies" (1:14:47), "Closer" (1:26:42), "Chaff" (1:38:50), "Luminous" (1:52:12). Ad-free episodes are available to our paid supp...
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Tom Gerencer joins us to discuss the book The Top of the Volcano: The Award-Winning Stories of Harlan Ellison, which contains 11 stories not included in Harlan Ellison’s Greatest Hits. Stories discussed: "A Boy and His Dog" (1:39), "The Region Between" (37:12), "Basilisk" (48:29), "Adrift Just Off the Islets of Langerhans: Latitude 38° 54' N, Longitude 77° 00' 13" W" (53:57), "Croatoan" (1:05:55), "Count the Clock that Tells the Ti...
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Mercurio D. Rivera joins us to discuss the first nine stories in the book The Best of Larry Niven, edited by Jonathan Strahan. Stories discussed: "Becalmed in Hell" (5:10), "Bordered in Black" (17:54), "Neutron Star" (26:35), "The Soft Weapon" (38:16), "The Jigsaw Man" (56:27), "The Deadlier Weapon" (1:02:55), "All the Myriad Ways" (1:08:16), "Not Long Before the End" (1:19:48), "Man of Steel, Woman of Kleenex" (1:28:01). Ad-free e...
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Andrea Kail, Matthew Kressel, and Rajan Khanna join us to discuss Season 1 of the HBO series Dune: Prophecy, a prequel set 10,000 years before the events of Frank Herbert’s Dune. Ad-free episodes are available to our paid supporters over at patreon.com/geeks. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
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James Wynn and Craig Brewer, hosts of the ReReading Wolfe podcast, join us to discuss Gene Wolfe’s classic novel The Urth of the New Sun, a sequel to The Book of the New Sun. Ad-free episodes are available to our paid supporters over at patreon.com/geeks. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
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Andrea Kail, Matthew Kressel, and Tom Gerencer join us to discuss the science fiction noir movies Dark City, Strange Days, The Thirteenth Floor, Looker, and Alphaville. Time stamps: Dark City (3:25), Strange Days (28:55), The Thirteenth Floor (48:19), Looker (1:00:43), Alphaville (1:16:19). Ad-free episodes are available to our paid supporters over at patreon.com/geeks. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoice...
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Tom Gerencer joins us to discuss the second half of the new short story collection Harlan Ellison’s Greatest Hits, edited by J. Michael Straczynski. Stories discussed: "On the Downhill Side" (2:34), "Paladin of the Lost Hour" (12:00), "The Beast That Shouted Love at the Heart of the World" (30:08), "I'm Looking for Kadak" (39:10), "How Interesting: A Tiny Man" (48:42), "Djinn, No Chaser" (59:36), "How's the Nightlife on Cissalda?" ...
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Philip Gelatt joins us to discuss writing the hard science fiction film The Europa Report and the animated sword & sorcery film The Spine of Night. Ad-free episodes are available to our paid supporters over at patreon.com/geeks. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
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J.T. Petty joins us to discuss serving as executive producer on the new Amazon series Secret Level, a collection of animated shorts set in the worlds of popular video games. Ad-free episodes are available to our paid supporters over at patreon.com/geeks. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
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Tom Gerencer joins us to discuss the first half of the new short story collection Harlan Ellison’s Greatest Hits, edited by J. Michael Straczynski. Stories discussed: "'Repent Harlequin,' Said the Ticktockman" (13:08), "I Have No Mouth, and I Must Scream" (26:00), "The Deathbird" (37:17), "Chatting with Anubis" (47:39), "The Whimper of Whipped Dogs" (51:29), "Jefty is Five" (59:10), "Pretty Maggie Moneyeyes" (1:11:39), "Shatterday"...
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James Wynn and Craig Brewer, hosts of the ReReading Wolfe podcast, join us to discuss Gene Wolfe’s classic novel The Fifth Head of Cerberus, about two planets that may or may not be inhabited by shapeshifting aliens. Ad-free episodes are available to our paid supporters over at patreon.com/geeks. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
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Andrea Kail, Matthew Kressel, and Tom Gerencer join us to discuss the movies Gattaca, The Truman Show, Simone, In Time, and Anon, all of which were written by Andrew Niccol. Time stamps: Gattaca (11:57), The Truman Show (45:09), Simone (1:03:13), In Time (1:18:08), Anon (1:25:59). Ad-free episodes are available to our paid supporters over at patreon.com/geeks. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
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