Have no fear, listeners, for Abby and Sarah finally reveal how to make a real-life Philosopher's Stone! This week is all about Genshin Impact, the great work of alchemists, and some recipes that are questionably about food. . Resources: 1. Read, J. (1933) "Alchemy and Alchemists." 2. Timmermann, A. (2003) "An Edition of the Medieval Alchemical Poem 'Verses Upon the Elixir.'" 3. Timmermann, A. (2013) "Introduction to a Corpus of Middle English Alchemical Poetry." 4. Crichfield, G. (1983) "The Alchemical 'Magnum Opus' in Nodier's 'La Fee Aux Miettes.'" Music: "Dance Robot ACTIVATE" by Loyalty Fr ..read more

We're back from our hiatus and on a new Thursday release schedule! This week, Marcus and Abby jump through the multiverse as they try to record this episode, explain the man behind the many-worlds theory, and find some hope in our parallel existences. . Resources: 1. Byrne, P. (2008) "The Many Worlds of Hugh Everett." Music: "Dance Robot ACTIVATE" by Loyalty Freak Music. [All views expressed are our own and do not represent the opinions of any entity with which we are affiliated ..read more

Persona 5 is a fever dream of a JRPG, so it's no surprise that the protagonists' friendships are labeled with the major arcana from a tarot deck. From Italy to France (but DEFINITELY not Egypt), tarot cards have been used for gaming, divination, and just generally looking cool. Also, the French are liars sometimes ..read more

This week we discuss Mass Effect and faster-than-light travel. Scientists may not have figured out how to make it work yet, but we crack the solution wide open. Spoiler alert: it’s hatred. . Resources: 1. Baez, J. (1998) "Is Faster-Than-Light Travel or Communication Possible?" 2. Lentz, E. (2021) "Breaking the warp barrier: hyper-fast solitons in Einstein-Maxwell-plasma theory." 3. Brobrick, A. (2021) "Introducing physical warp drives." 4. NASA. "Dark Energy, Dark Matter." Music: "Dance Robot ACTIVATE" by Loyalty Freak Music. [All views expressed are our own and do not represent the opinions o ..read more

In this episode, we continue our discussion of Battlestar Galactica and AI. We go into more details about the underlying technology, and how decentralization can save us from a dystopian future. Also, our love of Michael B. Jordan. . Resources: Joshi, N. (2019) “7 Types of Artificial Intelligence.” Hintze, A. (2016) “Understanding the Four Types of Artificial Intelligence.” Rodriguez, J. (2020) “Decentralized AI in 5 Minutes.” Music: "Dance Robot ACTIVATE" by Loyalty Freak Music. [All views expressed are our own and do not represent the opinions of any entity with which we are affiliated ..read more

The debate about whether AI are really human is a key feature of Battlestar Galactica, so this week we discuss the history of real-world AI, the philosophy behind AI personhood, and the ways in which computers “dreaming” mimics human behavior.  . Resources: Anyoha, R. (2017) “History of AI.” Rescorla, M. (2020) “The Computational Theory of Mind.” Cole, D. (2020) “The Chinese Room Argument.” Wilkin, H. (2017) “Computers Dreaming.” Music: "Dance Robot ACTIVATE" by Loyalty Freak Music. [All views expressed are our own and do not represent the opinions of any entity with which we are affili ..read more

In our last episode for The Viscount Who Loved Me, Abby discusses pall-mall, croquet, and late-1800s feminism. Speculative Friction is our bite-sized spinoff podcast about the nonfiction side of romance novels, to be released when Marcus and Sarah are otherwise occupied. . Resources: Sterngass, J. (1998) "Cheating, Gender Roles, and the Nineteenth-Century Croquet Craze." Music: "Grab A Partner" by Loyalty Freak Music. [All views expressed are our own and do not represent the opinions of any entity with which we are affiliated ..read more

This week Abby talks about another phobia from The Viscount Who Loved Me: thunderstorms! Which is more electric: lightning, or the romance between Anthony and Kate? Listen to get the facts so you can decide! Speculative Friction is our bite-sized spinoff podcast about the nonfiction side of romance novels, which will come out when Marcus and Sarah have other obligations. . Music: "Grab A Partner" by Loyalty Freak Music. [All views expressed are our own and do not represent the opinions of any entity with which we are affiliated ..read more

Abby hosts solo this week to talk about The Viscount Who Loved Me and bee allergies! This is our first Speculative Friction episode, a series about the nonfiction side of romance novels, which will come out when Marcus and Sarah have other obligations. I don’t know whether you’re more likely to feel your pulse racing from the sexual tension or the anaphylaxis. . Music: "Grab A Partner" by Loyalty Freak Music. [All views expressed are our own and do not represent the opinions of any entity with which we are affiliated ..read more

This week, we leave fantasy behind and jump into science fiction with Battlestar Galactica (especially the mini series). Cylon sleeper agents play a large role in the show, so we discuss a few real-life examples of spies for comparison. So say we all! . Music: "Dance Robot ACTIVATE" by Loyalty Freak Music. [All views expressed are our own and do not represent the opinions of any entity with which we are affiliated ..read more