Geek's Guide to the Galaxy - A Science Fiction Podcast
David Barr Kirtley
** Ad-free episodes are available to our paid supporters over at patreon.com/geeks ** Host David Barr Kirtley, author of the book Save Me Plz and Other Stories, talks geek culture with guests such as Neil Gaiman, George R. R. Martin, Margaret Atwood, Richard Dawkins, Simon Pegg, Amanda Knox, Andrew Yang, Joyce Carol Oates, Neil deGrasse Tyson, and Ursula K. Le Guin. Geek’s Guide to the Galaxy has appeared on recommended podcast lists from NPR, The Guardian, Wired, The A.V. Club, BBC America, CBC Radio, WVXU, io9, Omni, The Strand, Library Journal, and Popular Mechanics. CBC Radio writes, "You may not think a podcast about science fiction and fantasy would be the place to go for political insight, but -- it is. Geek's Guide to the Galaxy manages to be more insightful about politics than many pundits." View a complete list of guests and topics at geeksguideshow.com/episodes/. Listen to the show on YouTube at youtube.com/@geeksguidetothegalaxy to easily skip ahead to our discussion of a particular movie or story.
Episodes
Mentioned books
9 snips
May 1, 2026 • 1h 1min
618. The Story of Fallout (with Chris Avellone)
Chris Avellone, veteran RPG writer behind Planescape: Torment and Fallout: New Vegas, reflects on Fallout's storytelling and influences. He talks about the game's reactive endings, tonal choices like humor born from desperation, design origins from Wasteland and A Boy and His Dog, Dogmeat’s accidental impact, faction rebuilding in New Vegas, and adapting the world for TV.
Apr 13, 2026 • 1h 23min
617. Creatures of Light and Darkness by Roger Zelazny Review
Rajan Khanna, author and game designer; Tom Gerencer, author and journalist; Andrea Kael, sci-fi writer and TV alum. They dive into Roger Zelazny’s Creatures of Light and Darkness: rich language and poetic experiments. They wrestle with nonlinear plotting, myth mashups from Egypt to Norse, dark comedy set pieces, and memorable surreal scenes. A lively conversation that highlights why the book rewards rereading.
Apr 2, 2026 • 2h 14min
616. The Best of Kim Stanley Robinson Part 2 Review (with Anthony Ha)
Anthony Ha, TechCrunch weekend editor and short fiction writer, dives into the second half of The Best of Kim Stanley Robinson. They dissect tales of language and alien otherness, climate-driven domestic life, lunar miners and mysticism, magical whiteness, Viking hoaxes, Mars controversies, and musical resistance under Nazism. Short fiction links to Robinson's larger novel themes.
Mar 18, 2026 • 1h 46min
615. A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms Season 1 Review
Christopher M. Cevasco, fantasy author and RPG writer; Rajan Khanna, post-apocalyptic novelist and game designer; John Joseph Adams, editor and anthologist. They dissect the show's tone, standout performances, and the humor that lands or misfires. They debate added music, pacing and flashbacks, medieval realism and fight choreography, plus how expanded roles and franchise plans might shape future seasons.
Mar 5, 2026 • 2h 2min
614. Jonathan Kay: Pluribus and Cancel Culture
Jonathan Kay, journalist and author known for writing on culture and controversies, discusses the Apple TV+ series Pluribus and his book Panics and Persecutions. They talk about the show’s strange hive-mind premise, Carol Struka’s abrasive protagonist, cinematic risks and character motives. Then they shift to crowdsourced censorship, high-profile cancelation cases, and how social media turbocharges tribal exclusion.
Feb 26, 2026 • 1h 59min
613. The Best of Kim Stanley Robinson Part 1 Review (with Anthony Ha)
Anthony Ha, a technology journalist and short fiction writer, walks through the first half of The Best of Kim Stanley Robinson. They discuss tales ranging from drowned Venice and dream-state catastrophe to Mars baseball, mathematical intrigue, comic Yeti adventures, and alternate-history misfires. Multiple short stories and Robinson's strengths and limits in short fiction are highlighted.
Feb 7, 2026 • 1h 3min
612. David P. Silverman: Science Fiction and Atheism
David P. Silverman, atheist activist and author of Fighting God and Darkshiner, shares sci‑fi roots from Doctor Who to Star Trek. He talks conventions and meeting Douglas Adams. Discussion covers Darkshiner’s premise, using multiple AIs plus human editors, scientific fact‑checking, character naming, and thoughts on Babylon 5 and modern sci‑fi TV.
Jan 29, 2026 • 1h 44min
611. Roadmarks by Roger Zelazny Review (with Tom Gerencer, Rajan Khanna)
Rajan Khanna, novelist and game designer who writes for Analog and Asimov's, and Tom Gerencer, fiction and non-fiction author, dive into Roger Zelazny’s Roadmarks. They trace Zelazny origins, the Road’s rules and time-travel highway, the book’s split structure and odd chapter scheme. They debate improvisational plotting, assassins and pulp nods, and that late dragon/aging revelation.
Jan 8, 2026 • 1h 3min
610. Megan McArdle, host of Reasonably Optimistic
Washington Post columnist Megan McArdle joins us to discuss her favorite science fiction and her new podcast Reasonably Optimistic. Topics discussed: Robert Heinlein and libertarianism, working in book publishing, Lord of the Rings and Rendezvous with Rama, Peter Suderman and video games, Dungeons & Dragons and Call of Cthulhu, Megan’s science fiction novel, the state of book publishing, explaining science fiction to women, Dune and artificial intelligence, Megan’s podcast and optimism. Ad-free episodes are available to our paid supporters over at patreon.com/geeks. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
Dec 23, 2025 • 2h 5min
609. Stephen King Movies: The Running Man, The Long Walk, The Dead Zone, The Mist (with Andrea Kail, Matthew Kressel, Tom Gerencer)
Andrea Kail, Matthew Kressel, and Tom Gerencer join us to discuss the Stephen King movie adaptations The Running Man, The Long Walk, The Dead Zone, and The Mist. Time stamps: The Running Man (17:44), The Long Walk (47:14), The Dead Zone (1:10:45), The Mist (1:30:20). Ad-free episodes are available to our paid supporters over at patreon.com/geeks. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
