Category Archives: Blog

What is the PROBLEM with transhumanism?

We’re exploring The Machine in the new series of video essays on the Science Fiction channel… …and one upcoming essay in that series is Those Transhuman Bstrds : a history of transhumanity. Here’s a little preview. The modern world is built around a powerful mythic image THE MACHINE We think of reality as a bigContinue reading “What is the PROBLEM with transhumanism?”

All warfare is narrative warfare

All warfare is narrative warfare. The tanks and bombs, or drones and robodogs, the explosions and killings, the military dominance and monopoly on violence are all about one thing. Whose story wins. Imagine you woke up tomorrow and everyone around you spoke German and Japanese. White Americans are the underclass. The history youtube channels allContinue reading “All warfare is narrative warfare”

Scifi For Dummies

Consumer capitalism makes people dumb THE CONSUMER IS ALWAYS RIGHT (as long as they keep consuming) Consumerism tells you that the measure of EVERYTHING is your emotional response Imagine if we did science this way “Einsteinian relativity didn’t work for me, I’ll be sticking with good ol’ Newton” And we ARE doing science this way,Continue reading “Scifi For Dummies”

The mythic king England needed. To steal.

An interesting thing about the Arthurian mythos is that there is no canonical version. Indeed there’s no especially good King Arthur. Arthur has stayed in existence more for political than literary reasons. England and Britain have a very scrappy history. The Celts were hundreds of tribes that didn’t know they were Celts until centuries afterContinue reading “The mythic king England needed. To steal.”

Why did science fiction die?

So, why did science fiction die? Science fiction’s “golden age” is really the late 1800s and early 1900s when it is a powerful creative and political force. Edward Bellamy’s Looking Backward published in 1888 almost sparked a social revolution in the United States. When people compared what their lives could be in a better future,Continue reading “Why did science fiction die?”

A thought on Le Guin

I don’t know how science fiction gained the reputation of being written by and for men. Actually…wait…no…I do. Mary Wollstonecraft Shelley the “mother” of science fiction is, in the early 1800s, actually about midway in the early history of the science fiction novel. Between the late 1600s and Margaret Cavendish’ Blazing World to the earlyContinue reading “A thought on Le Guin”

Jupiter Ascending SCRIPT PREVIEW

So. Why. WHY. Have I written a 5000 word script about the Wachowski’s worst movie? It’s not to make fun of Mila Kunis non-acting, although rest assured, fun is made. Or Sean Bean cashing a big cheque for what is, even for him, an epicly lazy performance. Or the brown sludge CGI that is 78%Continue reading “Jupiter Ascending SCRIPT PREVIEW”

Ursula K Le Guin banned in Russia

Ursula K. Le Guin has always been the GOAT of speculative fiction, the kind of writer who rewired how we think about society. But as of late 2025, she’s achieved a new level of clout: getting personally targeted by the FSB. Vladimir Putin just did the one thing guaranteed to make a 1969 sci-fi cultContinue reading “Ursula K Le Guin banned in Russia”

Joker Right SCRIPT PREVIEW

Sometimes a video essay script needs a final stage of work – to secure it against the Almighty Algorithm. Our new robo-censors can’t tell the difference between actual Nazis and critique of Nazis. Also people love to clip critiques of racism out of context to make the critic look racist. So I have to findContinue reading “Joker Right SCRIPT PREVIEW”