This is part 2 of our final episode of the season! Stephen talks with Peter Watts, author of Blindsight and Echopraxia (and much more), about alien intelligence, how vampires work, and the choice to use Creative Commons licensing.

This episode contains spoilers for Blindsight.

Website/blog

Merril Links

The Merril Collection! Friends of Merril (Facebook & Twitter)

Works & artists mentioned

• Master and Commander by Patrick O’Brian (sheepshank)
• Behemoth by Peter Watts
• Cory Doctorow
• John Scalzi
• Neill Blomkamp
• Arthur Jafa
• Spike Lee
• Eyes Wide Shut (1999, dir. Stanley Kubrick)
• The Twenty-One Second God by Peter Watts
• Sunflower cycle by Peter Watts

Host: Stephen Geraghty Producer: Janet Mowat

This episode was recorded in the spring of 2024.

We do not advocate running down the street naked, shooting shotguns.

This is part 1 of our final episode of the season! Stephen talks with Peter Watts, author of Blindsight and Echopraxia (and much more), about UFOs, his influences, and the functional utility of consciousness.

This episode contains spoilers for Blindsight.

Website/blog

Merril Links

The Merril Collection! Friends of Merril (Facebook & Twitter)

Works & artists mentioned

• Star Trek: The Original Series
• The Day the Earth Stood Still (1951)
• Neuropath by Scott Bakker
• Larry Niven
• Ray Bradbury
• Solaris by Stanislav Lem
• Solaris (1972; dir. Andrei Tarkovsky)
• Solaris (2002; dir. Steven Soderberg)
• The Creator (2023)
• Charles Stross
• Richard Dawkins (sorry, Janet couldn't find the work mentioned)
• Alien movie series

Host: Stephen Geraghty Producer: Janet Mowat

This episode was recorded in the spring of 2024.

Stephen talks with Charles Stross, author of the Laundry Files series (and much more), about humour in speculative fiction, the element of surprise, and what makes him laugh.

Charlie's Diary Mastodon Bluesky

Merril Links

The Merril Collection! Friends of Merril (Facebook & Twitter)

Works, games, & artists mentioned

• H.P. Lovecraft
• Laundry Files series by Charles Stross
• New Management series by Charles Stross
• A Colder War by Charles Stross
• Len Deighton
• John Le Carré
• Discworld series by Terry Pratchett
• James Bond series by Ian Fleming
• Adam Hall
• Anthony Price
• Modesty Blaise
• Quentin Tarentino
• Vampire: The Masquerade (game)
• Merchant Princes series by Charles Stross
• Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy series by Douglas Adams
• Gil’s All-Fright Diner by A. Lee Martinez
• J.W. Wells & Co. series by Tom Holt
• Monty Python's Flying Circus
• Call of Cthulu (game)
• The Laundry (game)
• George R.R. Martin
• Dungeons & Dragons (game)

Host: Stephen Geraghty Producer: Janet Mowat

This episode was recorded in the spring of 2024.