Unknown Orbits

0036: Tunnel Under the World, by Frederik Pohl

Feeling watched, counted, measured, tabulated and recorded? Maybe it's not the apps on your phone. Today we discuss Frederik Pohl's 1955 story "The Tunnel Under the World." 

0035: The Stars My Destination, by Alfred Bester

The Stars My Destination by Alfred Bester is featured in this episode, and then we take a personal journey into the writers and books that have inspired us.

0034: Cities in Flight, by James Blish

We discuss the four-novel series "Cities in Flight" by James Blish in which entire cities lift off into space to search for economic opportunity. Then we argue the difference between conceptual and speculative science in fiction.

0033: Tangent, by F. L. Clarke

Today we discuss the 1949 story Tangent, by the infamous F. L. Clarke, who was known as one of the worst human beings to become a science fiction writer, hated by writers and editors alike, yet somehow always managing to be at the center of the science fiction universe.

0032: Of Missing Persons, by Jack Finney

What happens to all the people who dissapear? We find out in Jack Finney's "Of Missing Persons," which then leads into a discussion of The Twilight Zone and Ray Bradbury's little-known involvement in it.

0031: The Waveries, By Frederic Brown

Invading radio waves throw the world into chaos in Frederic Brown's The Waverlies. Then we come up with our own classifications for the types of alien invasion stories and discuss examples.

0030: The Gnurrs Come from the Voodvork Out, by Reginald Bretnor

What are they? Gnurrs! Where do they come out? The voodvork! The Gnurrs Come from the Voodvork Out is a classic humorous science fiction story by Reginald Bretnor, and appeared in The Magazine of Fantasy and Science Fiction. We discuss this story, then do a brief survey of other notable funny SF stories.

0029: Guilty Pleasures

We made each other read our guilty science fiction pleasures - swapping Magnus, Robot Fighter comic books and Hugh Walters' U.N.E.X.A. space adventure series. After making fun of both, we move on to our mutual honorable mention, kaiju movies.

0028: Born of Man and Woman, by Richard Matheson

This episode we consider Richard Matheson's Born of Man and Woman. Then after a short detour through ABC's Movie of the Week, we discuss the importantance of The Magazine of Fantasy and Science Fiction.

0027: Betelgeuse Bridge by William Tenn

This episode we talk about interstellar confidence tricksters in William Tenn's Betelgeuse Bridge, which leads us into Galaxy Magazine and the rapid growth of science fiction publishing in the 1950s.