In Episode 16 of Dystopian Fiction Has Been Moved to Current Affairs, Clare Coombe and Masha Yakovleva are discussing the mind-bending physics-filled Netflix Drama, 3 Body Problem. In this episode, we look at the depiction of Mao's China and the Cultural Revolution, and the Chinese novel on which the show is based. We mention articles from The Guardian, New York Times, and Radio Free Asia. We discuss the likelihood of extra-terrestrial life and communicating across the universe, including the Fermi Paradox and everything Clare knows about science from The Infinite Monkey Cage podcast ..read more

In Episode 15 of Dystopian Fiction Has Been Moved to Current Affairs, Clare and Masha are discussing Oscar-winning film Poor Things, which we absolutely loved. Content Warning: suicide, sexual content, FGM Themes in this episode include: brain transplants, animal and human testing, and medical ethics the legacy of Frankenstein, Gothic literature, and monstrosity identity, social mores, nature vs nurture, and growing up issues of sexuality, especially women's sexuality, and its depiction on screen childhood, curiosity, and consent women in STEM, intellectual developmen ..read more

In Episode 14 of Dystopian Fiction Has Been Moved to Current Affairs, Clare and Masha are discussing The Way, a recent dystopian drama from the BBC, set in Port Talbot, Wales. Content Warning: this episode includes reference to suicide. In this episode, we talk about divided families and generational trauma, with particular relation to changing industrial landscapes in Britain. In particular, we discuss the theme of Welsh steel, and compare the real-life situation in Port Talbot right now. You can read more about this situation here, here, and here. Another area we focus on is p ..read more

In Episode 13 of Dystopian Fiction Has Been Moved to Current Affairs, Clare and Masha are talking about the film Downsizing. Resting on the premise that people can choose to shrink to around 10cm tall as part of a project to reduce overpopulation, this odd comedy is full of themes of science fiction, environmentalism, innovation, social justice, and relationship. In this episode, we refer to this study in our discussion of global methane emissions, and these facts and figures for our understanding of overpopulation. In our exploration of the fictional physics of cellular shrinki ..read more

In Episode 12 of Dystopian Fiction Has Been Moved to Current Affairs, Clare and Masha discuss the 2023 Netflix film, Leave the World Behind. As well as themes of cyber warfare, disinformation, privilege in the apocalypse, fear, and the place of trust, we also look at how to see off a f***load of deer, and whether people are really as dreadful as one of the characters proclaims. In this episode, we reference the interview with Robert Sapolsky on Leading, the excellent book Citizens by Jon Alexander, and Techno Feudalism: What Killed Capitalism by Yanis Varoufakis ..read more

In our eleventh episode of Dystopian Fiction Has Been Moved to Current Affairs, Clare and Masha are diving into A Clockwork Orange, both the Stanley Kubrick film of 1971 and the novella by Anthony Burgess from 1962. Content Warning: themes of sexual violence, physical violence, and suicide In this episode, we look at multiple layers of dystopian society: the violent world where Alex and his droogs commit their ultraviolence; the police and prison system; and the Ludovico technique which claims to cure Alex of his criminal ways with negative reinforcement in the face of sex ..read more

In Episode 10 of Dystopian Fiction Has Been Moved to Current Affairs, Clare Coombe and Masha Yakovleva are discussing Netflix drama The Society.  CW: please be aware that this episode makes reference to suicide and domestic abuse. In its single season, this is a drama that covers all aspects of how best a society should be organized and led, without resorting to a state-of-nature post-apocalyptic scenario. Instead, The Society takes place in (possibly) a parallel-universe version of a small American town, where everyone other than the senior high-schoolers seem to have ..read more

In Episode 8 of Dystopian Fiction Has Been Moved to Current Affairs, Clare Coombe and Masha Yakovleva discuss The Children of Men, both the 1992 novel by PD James and the 2006 film starring Clive Owen.  In this episode, we explore the speculative concept of both book and film, in which the human race has long since ceased to be able to have children. Each version imagines differently the consequent development of the society of the UK, its morality, its attitude to outsiders, and how people might react to such a drawn out apocalypse. Please be aware that this episode includes referen ..read more

In Episode 7 of Dystopian Fiction Has Been Moved to Current Affairs, Clare Coombe and Masha Yakovleva explore the world of the Hunger Games, through the lens of the prequel novel and latest film, The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes. Along with their discussion of the character of Coriolanus Snow and his relationships, they assess the purpose of the Hunger Games, the analysis of human nature, the role of class, post-apocalyptic authoritarianism, and why you should always carry a snake. Clare and Masha apologize for the unavoidable lateness of this episode owing to illness. Regular listeners shou ..read more

In Episode 6 of Dystopian Fiction Has Been Moved to Current Affairs, Clare and Masha enter the world of the Matrix, considering the themes of AI, authenticity, authoritarianism, and aesthetic. Join in and decide whether you would dare to take the red pill ..read more