Novum

The jungle gym (or if you’re in the UK, the climbing frame) might seem like little more than a fun diversion for children. But the jungle gym was actually once seen as a portal to the unseen fourth dimension. Once you hear its astonishing backstory, you will never look at the playground the same way again.

From Disneyland's Monsanto House of the Future, to Apple's famous 1984 commercial, science fiction and advertising have had a rich history together. It turns out that using fiction to sell reality is a pretty profitable idea. But behind the curtain, this seemingly innocuous partnership has a much more intriguing, and sinister, story than you might think. How much can utopia possibly cost? Let's dig in even deeper and find out what else science fiction has on offer. All of the clips mentioned in today's episode will be posted at https://www.facebook.com/novumpodcast/.

It seems inevitable that advertisements will play a starring role in the future. Our most futuristic-looking spaces (think New York's Times Square or Tokyo's Shibuya Crossing) are those populated with enormous, LED billboard ads. In this day and age, ad agencies certainly have access to some impressive technology. But one day, even these enshrined corporate monuments will appear primitive. The Advertisement of the Future is coming. It is more effective and more convincing. Its products are more tantalizing and more addictive. There will be no escape. Science fiction has long chronicled how advertisements might evolve in an advanced technological landscape. How corporate control might come to threaten the very foundation of government. Today on the show, we explore a few of these visions, many of which have already come to pass. [This is part one of a series on science fiction and advertising.]

Since 2013, the Adult Swim animated sitcom "Rick and Morty" has been garnering obsessive fans and critical acclaim. But what exactly makes the show so great? And what makes this dark show so funny? Today, we'll seek to answer those questions, and many more. More importantly, we'll be delving into what makes the show both an effective satire of where science fiction has been, and a bellwether of where good science fiction may be heading. Got thoughts on today's episode or suggestions for new ones? You can get in touch via our Facebook page or novumpodcast@gmail.com.

If you've ever questioned the very nature of reality, you're not alone. As it turns out, humans have been trying to disprove or escape reality for hundreds, if not thousands, of years. But if this world isn't real, would we even recognize what is? Many novels, films, and TV shows have wrangled with the question of what is real: The Matrix, The Truman Show, and The OA, to name just a few. To explore these examples and many more from throughout history, Novum welcomes Yogesh Raut to the program. Yogesh Raut is a PhD candidate in social psychology at New Mexico State University, with degrees in psychology and Cinematic Arts from USC, NYU, and Stanford University. He is also a renowned quizbowl champion. You can find out more about Yogesh at http://harpo84.blogspot.com

Get ready for a roundtable discussion on one of 2009's hottest sci-fi films: Duncan Jones's "Moon." Starring Sam Rockwell as Sam Bell, the film confronts serious topics such as sentience, exploitation, and non-human rights with reverence and humor. Here, we attempt to do the same. The roundtable includes Ari Brin, Christopher McIntyre, Samuel James Knight, and Nico Nauta. Warning: this episode contains the occasional curse word and too many Sams for comfortable listening.

Ari reads a short story by David Brin. "The Logs" stars a young Russian girl who comes to terms with her life on an asteroid work camp. Brin's style mixes moments of levity with themes of perseverance and struggle. We are faced with the question: is any possible future just a recapitulation of the past? And how can we use those lessons gleaned from the past to endure?

2016 was the year that I really began my science fiction journey, and I'm taking a survey of my most memorable science fiction moments from the last year. Today's episode is an overview of five impactful books I read in 2016. I discuss authors such as Arthur C. Clarke, Robert Silverberg, and Cordwainer Smith. Welcome to the new year!

In this episode, Ari talks science fiction, comics, and making an idea into a tangible reality with comic creator David Robertson (Fred Egg Comics). You can check out David's work here: www.fredeggcomics.com/

If you're fearful of the coming robot apocalypse, you're not alone. Science fiction writers for two centuries have been trying to figure out what humanity's place in the world will be when the robots have risen. You and I, right now, are in the midst of that rise. Robots are on their way to becoming stronger, smarter, and sexier than we could ever hope to be. Are we, as, humans, destined for oblivion? One SF writer has made the shocking claim that, actually, the robot uprising might not be all that bad.

Science fiction asks a lot of what-ifs. But what about when it asks: what if God were real? In this episode, we'll explore a bunch of hard SF works that take religious very, very seriously. We'll discuss Arthur C. Clarke's "The Nine Billion Names of God", James Morrow's "Towing Jehovah", and more.

This episode of Novum makes the acquaintance of a fascinating author of science fiction: Robert Duncan Milne. Milne's vivid tales of gothic science have largely been lost and forgotten in favor of the other big names of 19th century SF, such as Verne and Wells. Milne was popular in his day, but struggled to find his path and lived life cut short by tragedy. His stories reveal a unique genius, one that grasped the future opportunities and dangers of the nascent technology of his day. This week, we'll explore Milne's visions of future teleportation, surveillance, and drone warfare.

This episode of Novum examines the fear that our species will suddenly, at a moment's notice, retrogress. Is it possible that our civilization is no more than a convincing facade? What if a barbarous, animal nature lies just below? In the wake of Donald Trump's elections, this fear seems especially pronounced. We'll examine a few examples of this idea from the classic SF novel "The Island of Doctor Moreau" to the 2016 movie Zootopia. Or is it Zootropolis? I really don't know what to call this film.

This week's episode of Novum deals with an unusual consequence of the feminist utopia: male isolationism and the post-gendered, pregnant man. We'll consider what the future holds for the two-sex binary. Science fiction posits both the possibility that the divide will be abolished, and the possibility that it will become an impassable chasm. During this episode of the program, we'll be discussing pregnant 'men' in fiction and reality, from Ursula Le Guin to the Arnold Schwarzenegger vehicle "Junior."

This week's episode of Novum is all about the sleeper. From Sleeping Beauty to Woody Allen, we find that plenty of characters have simply slept through centuries, to find themselves, unwittingly, in the distant future. Today, stories about time travel, sans time machine. And what will happen when at last the sleeper awakes?

Earth has been invaded countless times by aliens in film and literature for over 100 years. Often, our technology is useless against our attackers... and our finest cities are left in ruins! Why is this genre so compelling to us? I think works about invasion can carry an unexpected deeper meaning... This is the first episode of NOVUM, a podcast exploring the importance and impact of science fiction.