Utopian Horizons

A host of fantastic guests join the show to talk about utopian and dystopian places in videogames. We've got Rosie from Diane on Dark Souls, Lana Polansky on Space Funeral, Cameron Kunzelman on State of Decay, Jon Bailes on Persona 5, Trevor Strunk on Mega Man and me talking about Final Fantasy VII. Utopian Horizons is a podcast about utopia. Each episode covers a different utopia, dystopia, utopian thinker, or utopian movement, asking what they can tell us about ourselves, our society, and our future. Twitter: @utopianhorizons Email: utopianhorizonspod [at] gmail dot com Support: patreon.com/utopianhorizons Music: The Fiction of Utopian Studies/The Road To Oceania by The Fucked Up Beat.

Jon Bailes, author of the book Ideology and the Virtual City, joins the podcast to talk about the pop-cultural phenomenon that is GTA 5. We discuss whether GTA thinks of its representation of neoliberal capitalism as dystopian, the vital role cynicism plays in the game, and the significance of GTA's position as a consumer product to its cowardly satire. Utopian Horizons is a podcast about utopia. Each episode covers a different utopia, dystopia, utopian thinker, or utopian movement, asking what they can tell us about ourselves, our society, and our future. Twitter: @utopianhorizons Email: utopianhorizonspod [at] gmail dot com Support: patreon.com/utopianhorizons Music: The Fiction of Utopian Studies/The Road To Oceania by The Fucked Up Beat.

I return to Economic Science Fictions to look at its first essay on the relationship between economics and science fiction and how the two can benefit from each other. Utopian Horizons is a podcast about utopia. Each episode covers a different utopia, dystopia, utopian thinker, or utopian movement, asking what they can tell us about ourselves, our society, and our future. email: utopianhorizonspod [at] gmail.com Twitter: @utopianhorizons Support: patreon.com/utopianhorizons Music: The Fiction of Utopian Studies/The Road To Oceania by The Fucked Up Beat.

Marianne Kac-Vergne joins the podcast to talk about two visions of the future from the early 90s in Demolition Man and Predator 2. We discuss the films' representations of race, masculinity and the End of History in a world where every restaurant is a Pizza Hut. Utopian Horizons is a podcast about utopia. Each episode covers a different utopia, dystopia, utopian thinker, or utopian movement, asking what they can tell us about ourselves, our society, and our future. Twitter: @utopianhorizons Support: patreon.com/utopianhorizons Music: The Fiction of Utopian Studies/The Road To Oceania by The Fucked Up Beat.

Economic Science Fictions is a collection of essays merging the worlds of economics and science fiction to ask "how we might harness the power of the utopian imagination to revitalise economic thinking". I start a journey through the book with an introduction that lays the groundwork on why those two worlds should be combined and what vital questions this union can help us address. Utopian Horizons is a podcast about utopia. Each episode covers a different utopia, dystopia, utopian thinker, or utopian movement, asking what they can tell us about ourselves, our society, and our future. Twitter: @utopianhorizons Support: patreon.com/utopianhorizons Music: The Fiction of Utopian Studies/The Road To Oceania by The Fucked Up Beat.

Cartoonist Stuart McMillen joins the podcast to talk about "the Leonardo Da Vinci of the twentieth century", the fascinating Buckminster Fuller. We discuss his utopian world view, his penchant for creating new terminology, his designs and inventions, both functional and fantastic. Utopian Horizons is a podcast about utopia. Each episode covers a different utopia, dystopia, utopian thinker, or utopian movement, asking what they can tell us about ourselves, our society, and our future. Twitter: @utopianhorizons Support: patreon.com/utopianhorizons Music: The Fiction of Utopian Studies/The Road To Oceania by The Fucked Up Beat.

Aaron Bastani joins the podcast to discuss his new book, Fully Automated Luxury Communism: A Manifesto. We touch on automation, gene editing, free energy, and the trajectories the surprising progress of these new technologies could lead us on. Utopian Horizons is a podcast about utopia. Each episode covers a different utopia, dystopia, utopian thinker, or utopian movement, asking what they can tell us about ourselves, our society, and our future. Twitter: @utopianhorizons Support: patreon.com/utopianhorizons Music: The Fiction of Utopian Studies/The Road To Oceania by The Fucked Up Beat.

Ibtisam Ahmed joins the podcast to help guide us through Begum Rokeya's short story Sultana's Dream and the utopia it depicts called Ladyland. We discuss Rokeya's valuable approach to utopia, colonialism, technology and lots more. Utopian Horizons is a podcast about utopia. Each episode covers a different utopia, dystopia, utopian thinker, or utopian movement, asking what they can tell us about ourselves, our society, and our future. Music: The Fiction of Utopian Studies/The Road To Oceania by The Fucked Up Beat.

Siobhan Carroll joins the podcast to introduce us to the idea of atopia, guiding us through modern globalised spaces, natural environments hostile to humanity and the connections between them. We discuss The Martian and Gravity as explorations of atopic space and as responses to contemporary anxieties about globalisation. Utopian Horizons is a podcast about utopia. Each episode covers a different utopia, dystopia, utopian thinker, or utopian movement, asking what they can tell us about ourselves, our society, and our future. Music: The Fiction of Utopian Studies/The Road To Oceania by The Fucked Up Beat.

Diletta De Cristofaro joins me to talk about David Mitchell's 2004 novel Cloud Atlas. We talk about the relationship of utopia and dystopia to the idea of the apocalypse, the significance of Cloud Atlas' structure and how an apocalyptic understanding of time can be used as a tool by the powerful. Utopian Horizons is a podcast about utopia. Each episode covers a different utopia, dystopia, utopian thinker, or utopian movement, asking what they can tell us about ourselves, our society, and our future. Music: The Fiction of Utopian Studies/The Road To Oceania by The Fucked Up Beat.

The prospect of a shorter working week is the subject of this episode, with Aidan Harper from the 4 day week campaign and the New Economics Foundation joining me to make the case for reducing working hours without a reduction a pay. We discuss crises of productivity, mental health, automation and climate, and how the 4 day week could help address these problems. Utopian Horizons is a podcast about utopia. Each episode covers a different utopia, dystopia, utopian thinker, or utopian movement, asking what they can tell us about ourselves, our society, and our future. Music: The Fiction of Utopian Studies/The Road To Oceania by The Fucked Up Beat.

The phenomenon that is the Battle Royale videogame genre and the pseudo-dystopias depicted in games like PUBG, Fortnite and Apex Legends is the subject of this episode. Academic, writer and co-founder of Ranged Touch, Cameron Kunzelman, joins me to loot the genre's barren thematic landscapes for some fragments of meaning. Utopian Horizons is a podcast about utopia. Each episode covers a different utopia, dystopia, utopian thinker, or utopian movement, asking what they can tell us about ourselves, our society, and our future. Music: The Fiction of Utopian Studies/The Road To Oceania by The Fucked Up Beat.

A host of guests join me to talk about a chosen song or artist in relation to utopia: sci-fi author and academic Adam Roberts on The Kinks, Anna McFarlane from the University of Glasgow on The Tale of the Giant Stone Eater, Imaginary Cities author Darran Anderson on Talking Heads, Fatima Vieira from the University of Porto on Grandola Vila Morena, All Units' Sean McTiernan on Nomeansno and David Bell on jazz. Utopian Horizons is a podcast about utopia. Each episode covers a different utopia, dystopia, utopian thinker, or utopian movement, asking what they can tell us about ourselves, our society, and our future. Music: The Fiction of Utopian Studies/The Road To Oceania by The Fucked Up Beat.

Rosie from the Shadow Trap and Diane podcasts joins me to talk about From Software's PS4 game Bloodborne. We talk about utopia's relationship to the secular, living dystopias in videogames, the role of utopia in religion and the idea of reaching utopia through evolution or transformation. Utopian Horizons is a podcast about utopia. Each episode covers a different utopia, dystopia, utopian thinker, or utopian movement, asking what they can tell us about ourselves, our society, and our future. Music: The Fiction of Utopian Studies/The Road To Oceania by The Fucked Up Beat.

Deirdre Hollman from The Black Comics Collective joins the podcast to talk about Marvel's Black Panther film, the utopia that is Wakanda, and the representation of its characters. Utopian Horizons is a podcast about utopia. Each episode covers a different utopia, dystopia, utopian thinker, or utopian movement, asking what they can tell us about ourselves, our society, and our future. Music: The Fiction of Utopian Studies/The Road To Oceania by The Fucked Up Beat.

I return to my solo-run through Philip K. Dick's novels, this time touching down on the Alphane Moon to discuss misogyny, the psychopathology of power, and the utopian potential of empathy. Utopian Horizons is a podcast about utopia. Each episode covers a different utopia, dystopia, utopian thinker, or utopian movement, asking what they can tell us about ourselves, our society, and our future. Music: The Fiction of Utopian Studies/The Road To Oceania by The Fucked Up Beat.

Trevor Strunk from No Cartridge joins the podcast to talk about Hideo Kojima's cyberpunk detective game, Snatcher. We discuss the game's take on immigration, body snatching, Russia hysteria and more. Utopian Horizons is a podcast about utopia. Each episode covers a different utopia, dystopia, utopian thinker, or utopian movement, asking what they can tell us about ourselves, our society, and our future. Music: The Fiction of Utopian Studies/The Road To Oceania by The Fucked Up Beat.

Sarah Lohmann returns for part 2 of our conversation on Ursula Le Guin's The Dispossessed, where we continue to delve into the anarchist world of Anarres. Utopian Horizons is a podcast about utopia. Each episode covers a different utopia, dystopia, utopian thinker, or utopian movement, asking what they can tell us about ourselves, our society, and our future. Music: The Fiction of Utopian Studies/The Road To Oceania by The Fucked Up Beat.

Sarah Lohmann from Durham University joins me to talk about Ursula Le Guin's classic utopian novel The Dispossessed. We discuss the anarchist world of Anarres, complexity theory, time, complementarity and more. Utopian Horizons is a podcast about utopia. Each episode covers a different utopia, dystopia, utopian thinker, or utopian movement, asking what they can tell us about ourselves, our society, and our future. Music: The Fiction of Utopian Studies/The Road To Oceania by The Fucked Up Beat.

Continuing my solo run through every Philip K Dick novel, I discuss The Simulacra. I talk about celebrity politicians, Clinton, Merkel and Macron as images, politics as cause and effect, how ideology requires complicity and more. Utopian Horizons is a podcast about utopias, real and imaginary. Each episode covers a different utopia, dystopia, utopian thinker, or utopian movement, asking what they can tell us about ourselves, our society, and our future. Music: The Fiction of Utopian Studies/The Road To Oceania by The Fucked Up Beat.