In the years since my 2020 episode Fantasy and Fascism, I knew that I had to make a follow-up episode. The political landscape was changing in ways I didn’t expect while major sci-fi fantasy franchises were reflecting those anxieties. Last time, I focused on how SFF worlds depicted fascism. This time, I wanted to look at the other half of the equation -- why people lose faith in democracy. I interviewed Trinity College Dublin professor David Kenny about his paper on the lessons we can learn from the collapse of the old Republic in Star Wars. I also talked with historian and podcaster Stefan Sasse, and teacher and writer Shawn Taylor about why the New Republic made the same mistakes, and all new ones. Plus, we look at what it takes to maintain democracy in the latest Star Trek shows, and X-Men ’97. Spoilers included.

Today’s episode is brought to you by TodayTix, ShipStation and GreenChef.

• Go to TodayTix.com/imaginary and use promo code IMAGINARY to get $20 off your first TodayTix purchase.


• Go to shipstation.com and use the code IMAGINARY to sign up for your free 60-day trial.


• Go to greenchef.com/imaginary50 and use the code IMAGINARY50 to get 50% off, plus 20% off your next two months.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices