Wizards & Spaceships

In this episode, we talk about meeting sentient extraterrestrials: The challenges of communication, what first contact stories say about our own Earthbound society, and why the aliens won't return our texts. David's recommendations: "Darmok" (Star Trek TNG) "The Inner Light" (Star Trek TNG) The Day the Earth Stood Still Arrival The Sparrow, Mary Doria Russell Rachel's recommendations "Species 10-C" (Star Trek Discovery) Children of Time, Adrian Tchaikovsky Attack the Block Xenogenesis Trilogy (Lilith’s Brood), Octavia E. Butler Blindsight, Peter Watts

In this episode, we're talking about the Space Western! Was Firefly cancelled too soon or is it massively overrated? Why does it continue to grip the Nerd Imagination? Is it even okay to use Western elements in SFFH?Credits: Shamelessly stolen from Star Trek's "Spectre of the Gun," the Expanse Season 1 trailer, UFO Cowboy's official trailer, and Firefly's "Jayne's Town." The background music clips are "Somewhere In the Dark" and "Western Showdown" by Holizna and licensed under Creative Commons.

Welcome to Wizards & Spaceships, a podcast that's about both wizards and spaceships, featuring poet David L. Clink and novelist Rachel A. Rosen. In this episode, we introduce ourselves, talk about our favourite media, and explain why genre snobs need to get a lot less snobby. Do infodumps have a place in literature? Do all fantasy novels need to be a series? Grab a metaphorical drink with your newest nerdy friends and join us for our podcast launch.