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Swords, Sorcery, and Socialism
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© 2025 Swords, Sorcery, and Socialism
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An exploration of the politics and themes hiding inside our genre fiction.
66 Episodes
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What happens when you can't trust your teammates, your senses, or even your own mind? Impenetrable secrets, deadly environments, and the nature of what can be known all await as Aurora and Ketho dive into the eerie and mind-bending scifi novella Annihilation by Jeff VanderMeer. patreon.com/swordsandsocialism Email: SwordsAndSocialismPod@protonmail.com The Show: @SwordsNSocPod Aurora: @Herbo_Anarchist Ketho: @StupidPuma69
In a utopian world where all your needs are met, what does it mean to try and find meaning? Between tea, robots, and the sound of crickets, Aurora and Ketho are joined by Theresa to talk about A Psalm for the Wild Built by Becky Chambers. patreon.com/swordsandsocialism Email: SwordsAndSocialismPod@protonmail.com The Show: @SwordsNSocPod Aurora: @Herbo_Anarchist Ketho: @StupidPuma69
If you like djinn, magic, and the whole world teaming up to make one woman's life worse, then you'll enjoy Aurora and Trevor talking about City of Brass by S. A. Chakraborty. Set far outside the Euro-centric confines of most fantasy, City of Brass mixes deep and interesting world building with characters we loved to hate. Also war crimes. patreon.com/swordsandsocialism Email: SwordsAndSocialismPod@protonmail.com The Show: @SwordsNSocPod Aurora: @Herbo_Anarchist Ketho: @StupidPuma69
It's time for a classic. We are joined by returning champion Trevor to discuss Ursula K. Le Guin's seminal work, The Left Hand of Darkness. We talk about gender, how you have states without war, and of course, the balance of light and dark. patreon.com/swordsandsocialism Email: SwordsAndSocialismPod@protonmail.com The Show: @SwordsNSocPod Aurora: @Herbo_Anarchist Ketho: @StupidPuma69
It's time for a little sci-fi horror! This episode we are joined by Bry and Fry from the Pontifacts pod to talk about Feed by Mira Grant. A near future were zombies are a fact of everyday life, bloggers are super important, and we look with post 2020 eyes at how someone in 2010 imagined we would react to a world wide deadly pandemic. Sometimes dystopia is actually more positive that reality. @pontifactspod https://pontifacts.podbean.com/ patreon.com/swordsandsocialism Email: SwordsAndSocia...
A crossover episode with Trevor from The History of Persia from a couple years ago. We discuss historicity, Zoroastrianism, and well, creation! patreon.com/swordsandsocialism Email: SwordsAndSocialismPod@protonmail.com The Show: @SwordsNSocPod Aurora: @Herbo_Anarchist Ketho: @StupidPuma69
A crossover episode with Trevor from The History of Persia from a couple years ago. We discuss historicity, Zoroastrianism, and well, creation! patreon.com/swordsandsocialism Email: SwordsAndSocialismPod@protonmail.com The Show: @SwordsNSocPod Aurora: @Herbo_Anarchist Ketho: @StupidPuma69
We are back for the end of Pride Month with one of Aurora's favorite books, the lesbian scifi love story This Is How You Lose The Time War. Robotic bodies, complex time travel, and handwritten love letters dominate this wonderful book. patreon.com/swordsandsocialism Email: SwordsAndSocialismPod@protonmail.com The Show: @SwordsNSocPod Aurora: @Herbo_Anarchist Ketho: @StupidPuma69
In the 2nd part of our conversation about Cyberpunk 2077 we are rejoined by Roberto to talk The Soul of Theseus, morality, and sexism in the player community. Spoilers for every possible ending to the game (along with which one makes you a good person). Roberto's Pods: @tsarpowerpod & @History_Georgia patreon.com/swordsandsocialism Email: SwordsAndSocialismPod@protonmail.com The Show: @SwordsNSocPod Aurora: @Herbo_Anarchist Ketho: @StupidPuma69
We have brain worms we need to exorcise, and so we've invited our friend Roberto on to talk about the video game Cyberpunk 2077. Made by CD PROJEKT RED and set in the universe created by Mike Pondsmith, this game is a masterful blend of politics, themes, and storytelling. In part 1 we discuss the political situation of Night City, the implications of all the chrome, and how to write love interests. Sorry for the wait and we hope you love this game as much as we do. Roberto's Pods: @tsarpower...
What if the kid from Hatchet went to the post apocalypse future instead of Canada? That's what we're here to discuss in Gary Paulsen's "The Transall Saga". We talk slavery, YA romance, and the world's fastest language learner. One of Asha's favorite childhood books! patreon.com/swordsandsocialism Email: SwordsAndSocialismPod@protonmail.com The Show: @SwordsNSocPod Aurora: @Herbo_Anarchist Ketho: @StupidPuma69
*CONTENT WARNING* What happens when you take a YA novel and throw in a healthy dose or horrendous war crimes? The Poppy War by R. F. Kuang! We talk with our guest Shawn about fiction depicting barely disguised real history and the morality of retributive violence. Follow Shawn on twitter @theavatarshawn patreon.com/swordsandsocialism Email: SwordsAndSocialismPod@protonmail.com The Show: @SwordsNSocPod Aurora: @Herbo_Anarchist Ketho: @StupidPuma69
Aliens, math, and the utter failure of the Cultural Revolution are the main points of discussion in this episode about The Three Body Problem by Liu Cixin. Liberal reforms and the fate of humanity are intertwined in a way that made Asha say, "I don't give a shit about computers, where the fuck are the aliens?" patreon.com/swordsandsocialism Email: SwordsAndSocialismPod@protonmail.com The Show: @SwordsNSocPod Aurora: @Herbo_Anarchist Ketho: @StupidPuma69
It's been 2 years since we started the pod, so we wanted to take a quick look back at what we've learned, and talk about what's coming up in the future. A heartfelt thank you to everyone who listens and has stuck with us. You're the best. patreon.com/swordsandsocialism Email: SwordsAndSocialismPod@protonmail.com The Show: @SwordsNSocPod Aurora: @Herbo_Anarchist Ketho: @StupidPuma69
It's a very special episode for our 2 year anniversary. We sat down with Dr. Sara Brown, Chair of Language and Literature at Signum University, to talk about her upcoming book: Race, Gender, and The Other in Tolkien. Sara leads us through a wonderful discussion about Orcs, Eowyn, Shelob, and how queer Lord of the Rings can really be. Thank you all for 2 years of listening! You can find Dr Brown on twitter @AranelParmadil or on her website https://sarabrown.academia.edu/ patreon.com/swordsa...
1This week we cover a classic of the scifi genre: Harlan EllIson's seminal short story, "I Have No Mouth, and I Must Scream". Horror, humanism, and the final triumph of the human spirit are blended together in a precursor to much of the modern scifi movement. patreon.com/swordsandsocialism Email: SwordsAndSocialismPod@protonmail.com The Show: @SwordsNSocPod Aurora: @Herbo_Anarchist Ketho: @StupidPuma69
This is the end! Of Narnia anyway. Asha and Ketho are rejoined by Trevor and Alex to discuss Revelations for children. A false prophet, a gay unicorn, and quite a bit of confusing Christian theology join together for the end of C. S. Lewis' "The Chronicles of Narnia". It's all been building to this. Alex: @humvadev Sapphic Sweets & Reads: https://shop.sweetreadsict.com/ Trevor: @HistoryofPersia History of Persia: https://historyofpersiapodcast.com/ patreon.com/swordsandsocialism Email: S...
It's time for Genesis! Ketho and Asha are joined by Trevor from The History of Persia to talk about the 6th book in the Narnia series, "The Magician's Nephew", in which Alastair Crowley tricks children into multiverse travel, Jadis tries to girl-boss London, and we discuss the academic obsession with Atlantis. Also Jesus gets bonked on the head with a pipe. Please check out Trevor's podcast @HistoryofPersia patreon.com/swordsandsocialism Email: SwordsAndSocialismPod@protonmail.com The Show:...
Part 2 of our 4 part series on C. S. Lewis' The Chronicles of Narnia. Ketho and Asha discuss The Silver Chair and The Horse And His Boy. We have a reversal of favorite and least favorite books in the series, Jadis 2.0, and a plot so well done it probably belongs in a different series. patreon.com/swordsandsocialism Email: SwordsAndSocialismPod@protonmail.com The Show: @SwordsNSocPod Aurora: @Herbo_Anarchist Ketho: @StupidPuma69
We begin our 4 part series covering the entire Chronicles of Narnia by C. S. Lewis. Covered here are The Lion, The Witch, and The Wardrobe, Prince Caspian, and The Voyage of the Dawn Treader. We welcome Alex to the podcast to discuss Lewis' particular brand of Christianity, his incorporation of ancient Greece, and why its very very important that you understand that Aslan IS Jesus. Follow Alex on twitter @humvadev, or shop her book store Sapphic Sweets & Reads at https://shop.sweet...
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