THE SCI-FI PODCAST EP 31: Rogue One (2016) – LIVE!

Posted on December 29, 2016 by SciFiHost

Welcome to The SciFi Podcast, ~~a wretched hive of scum and villainy~~ a bi-weekly podcast focused on in-depth discussion of all things Science Fiction. The SciFi Podcast features four hosts—Mattroid, Brain, Solo, and Station!—and frequent guests. Each episode we look at a science fiction theme or franchise and take the discussion where no show has gone before.

This episode is another LIVE! recording (sorry about the sound flubs!), where your lovable band of podcasting misfits gleefully discuss the highly anticipated, eagerly awaited, very first Star Wars anthology movie, Rogue One. The second half of the episode is a spoiler-heavy discussion, but if you’ve not yet seen the movie, you can still get a full, spoiler-free review in the first part of the show.

Did you love it? Hate it? Somewhere in the middle? Let us know!

Theme music courtesy of TMMC, which features Matt on guitar, and I Hear Sirens, featuring Matt on bass and Liz on keyboard. Hear more of I Hear Sirens ethereal, instrumental, post-rock at BandCamp. Podcast production and artwork by Mattroid and SpaceWolf.

THE SCI-FI PODCAST EP 16: The Legacy of Star Wars

Posted on January 21, 2016 by IcarusArts

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YUB NUB! And welcome to The SciFi Podcast, ~~a wretched hive of scum and villainy~~ a bi-weekly podcast focused on in-depth discussion of all things Science Fiction. The SciFi Podcast features three hosts—Mattroid, Solo, and Station!—and frequent guests. Each episode we look at a science fiction theme or franchise and take the discussion where no show has gone before.

This episode we’re joined again by Brain and two very special guests–fine artist and friend Nicholas Coleman and the Wildman Willis Wheeler–for a roundtable discussion about the colossal imprint that Star Wars has left on the world.

Theme music courtesy of I Hear Sirens, featuring Matt on bass and Liz on keyboard. Hear more of I Hear Sirens ethereal, instrumental, post-rock at BandCamp. Podcast production by Mattroid. Artwork by SpaceWolf.
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THE SCI-FI PODCAST EP 15: The Origins of Star Wars

Posted on December 13, 2015 by IcarusArts

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Welcome to The SciFi Podcast, ~~a wretched hive of scum and villainy~~ a bi-weekly podcast focused on in-depth discussion of all things Science Fiction. The SciFi Podcast features three hosts—Mattroid, Solo, and Station!—and frequent guests. Each episode we look at a science fiction theme or franchise and take the discussion where no show has gone before.

This episode we’re joined again by SpaceWolf for a deep discussion of the origins of Star Wars from Flash Gordon to The Hero’s Journey and more.

Theme music courtesy of I Hear Sirens, featuring Matt on bass and Liz on keyboard. Hear more of I Hear Sirens ethereal, instrumental, post-rock at BandCamp. Podcast production by Mattroid. Artwork by SpaceWolf.

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THE SCI-FI PODCAST EP 14: The Science of Star Wars

Posted on November 26, 2015 by IcarusArts

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Welcome to The SciFi Podcast, ~~a wretched hive of scum and villainy~~ a bi-weekly podcast focused on in-depth discussion of all things Science Fiction. The SciFi Podcast features three hosts—Mattroid, Solo, and Station!—and frequent guests. Each episode we look at a science fiction theme or franchise and take the discussion where no show has gone before.

This episode we bring back our real life friend and a real life physicist, Brian “The Brain” Patchett, to get his insights on the use of science (and pseudo-science) in the Star Wars saga. Brian teases lightsabers and gives us a full rundown on speeders, blasters, warp drives, deflector shields, The Death Star and more.

We also officially welcome Brain into the fold, updating his status from “special guest” to “contributor” … but contributing what, exactly? Well, besides guesting on great podcasts like this that will melt YOUR brain, OUR Brain writes incredibly-interesting essays for the site about the real science behind filmic fiction. If you haven’t read his “Brain Blogs” you are truly doing yourself a disservice. The most applicable to this week’s episode is his most recent essay, “Laser vs. Plasma, Sword Battle of Doom!,” or as Matt says “All About Lightsabers,” but they are all great.

BRAIN BLOG: Laser vs. Plasma, Sword Battle of Doom!

Posted on November 17, 2015 by IcarusArts

Original Star Wars concept art by Ralph McQuarrie

1 STARKILLER AND HIS TRUSTY LAZERSWORD

Stories abound on the internet these days about early drafts of the original Star Wars trilogy. Lucas made the move from Starkiller to Skywalker, from Bogan to The Dark Side, and since when is Biggs Luke’s brother? But most importantly for this essay, he went from Lazersword to Lightsaber, (check out starwarz.com for more). Both of which are terrible misnomers, even though the latter is far cooler sounding. Unfortunately both regular light and light amplified by the stimulated emission of radiation are completely useless as a weapon, or a tool, or anything beyond a fancy colored flashlight for finding your way through a dense jungle cavern. So let’s do this . . .
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BRAIN BLOG: The Physics of Ant-Man or The Science of Small

Posted on August 12, 2015 by IcarusArts

Artwork by the very talented Rodolfo Reyes via the Poster Posse

1 THE SCIENCE OF SMALL

Shrinking ourselves down to the size of an ant has long been a popular theme in science fiction. Movies such as Honey I Shrunk the Kids, Innerspace, Fantastic Voyage, The Incredible Shrinking Woman, and many more have depicted shrinking in various forms or another, all culminating in the same result; I was big, now I’m small. But how realistic is this? Have these movies portrayed the science of small correctly, or are there scientific issues far beyond what is portrayed on the silver screen?

To address these questions and more, we will take a look at the 2015 release of Marvel’s Ant-Man and the modern physical laws that come into play in the movie.
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THE SCI-FI PODCAST EP 2: “The Chosen One” in Science Fiction and Jupiter Ascending (2015)

Posted on March 20, 2015 by IcarusArts

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Welcome to The Sci-Fi Podcast, ~~a wretched hive of scum and villainy~~ a bi-weekly podcast focused on in-depth discussion of all things Science Fiction. The Sci-Fi Podcast features three hosts—Mattroid, Solo, and Station!—and frequent guests. Each episode we look at a science fiction theme or franchise and take the discussion where no show has gone before.

On this episode of The Sci-Fi Podcast, we welcome guest Cody Clark for our discussion of the fantasy concept of “The Chosen One” as it relates to and is utilized in the science fiction genre. We’ll also give you our review of the recently released 2015 film Jupiter Ascending, another chosen one film from the creators of The Matrix.

Theme music courtesy of I Hear Sirens, featuring Matt on Bass and Liz on keyboard. Hear more of I Hear Sirens ethereal, instrumental, post-rock at BandCamp. Podcast production and artwork by SpaceWolf who can be found podcasting at Movie Stream Cast and Horror Movie Podcast. You can also follow him on Twitter @IcarusArts.

Show notes after the jump.
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