S2E25: Lisa Yaszek Interview – A Reader's History of Science Fiction
In the series finale, I interview Dr. Lisa Yaszek, a sci-fi historian from Georgia Tech, about where we can expect science fiction to go in the future. Dr. Yaszek's recommendations: Wormwood Trilogy by Tade Thompson The Matrix Sunspot Jungle, ed. Bill Campbell Other works discussed: Binti Trilogy by Nnedi Okorafor "The Sixth World" by Nanobah Becker The Stars are Legion by Kameron Hurley The Universe of Xuya series by Aliette de Bodard Unstoppable series by Charlie Jane Anders
Science fiction frequently plays with language in different ways to explore the concepts of philosophy, culture, and cognition; and constructed languages (or conlangs) are a big part of that. In this episode, I highlight how conlangs have contributed to the genre over its history.
TV recommendation: Defiance (Kastithanu, L’Irathi, Indojisnen, and Kinuk’aaz, by David J. Peterson)
My blog posts about language in Creationism.
jan Misali’s Conlang Critic playlist.
Other languages discussed:
Newspeak (Nineteen Eighty-Four, by George Orwell)
Láadan (Native Tongue, by Suzette Elgin)
Klingon (Star Trek, by Marc Okrand)
Na’vi (Avatar, by Paul Frommer)
Science Meets Fiction 