The Present State of the Future

10/16/15 • 9 min

Explore the meaning of science fiction as a means of uncovering difficult truths about world history and the human experience. This episode uses the recent film Chappie to ask questions about how one of the most easily dismissed genres is able to speak truth about the present by posing scenarios about our future.

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Charlie Chaplin, Buster Keaton and the Suicidal Clowns of New York

Video Podcast + Trailer. Looking for Charlie; Or, Why Do Clowns Kill Themselves is the new feature length documentary from historians Darren R. Reid and Brett Sanders. It explores the thin line between happiness and despair among comedy legends from the early twentieth century. This video podcast provides an arresting first look into the new documentary and its story of love, laughter, hopelessness, and suicide.

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The Politics of Star Wars

In this episode, Dr. Reid examines the rich politics which underpinned the original Star Wars film. From the importance to the guerrilla fighters in the post-Vietnam era through to contemporary warnings of empires built upon technological advantages, Star Wars, in spite of the seeming simplicity of its depictions of good and evil, had much to say about America and its place in the world.