Our Opinions Are Correct: We’re Still Traumatized By This Writing Debate
Not long ago, everybody was arguing about whether characters need to be "relatable". We get to the bottom of a debate that still makes us intensely grouchy. Plus we talk…
Our Opinions Are Correct: The Future of Science Fiction Conventions
We love science fiction and fantasy conventions — especially the ones that are run by fans, for fans. But they haven't changed much since the 1970s in many ways, and…
Twenty Thousand Hertz: The Secret Soundtracks of Movies & TV
In the ‘60s and ‘70s, world-class musicians gathered in smoky studios to record tracks that you couldn’t buy in a store… but ended up everywhere. In this episode, Dallas and…
The Devil You Know with Sarah Marshall: Moral (Panic) Entrepreneurship
Mary deYoung had always been interested in deviants and deviance. As a social-psychologist, she studied “behavior that broke the rules,” and whether the worst parts of a person’s behavior were…
Imaginary Worlds: Creature Double Feature
In honor of the spooky season, we present two monstrous origin stories -- Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein and Bram Stoker’s Dracula. We know when these books were written in the 19th…
The Devil You Know with Sarah Marshall: Marylyn Remembers
Michelle Remembers is the 1980 “biographical” book that brought the idea of Satanic cults into the mainstream. In it, Michelle Smith documents years of alleged Satanic ritual abuse and the…
99% Invisible: Your Call Is Important to Us
What if all those dropped calls, endless wait times and dead end hotlines every time you try to reach customer service weren’t accidents but part of the plan?
History Extra podcast: Sex and sensationalism: a history of the tabloids
Tabloid journalists often get a bad press. From publishing libellous headlines to hacking celebrities’ phones, recent years have not exactly done much to enhance Fleet Street’s reputation. But where did…
History Extra podcast: 11th-century Europe: not just the Norman Conquest
When we think of Europe in the 11th century, one date stands out: 1066. However, as Professor Charles West explains, this was a century of great change, and great events,…
Imaginary Worlds: Music of a Forbidden Planet
In the 1950s, the avant-garde music scene in New York and the movie studios of Los Angeles might have seemed like opposite ends of a cultural spectrum. But they came…