The Character of Science
This is a podcast on how we can use sci-fi TV/movies as a barometer for how we feel about science. In each episode, our guests touch on the implications of fiction becoming reality, and how movies can be used to communicate the science that is changing our world.
Episodes
3 episodes
Pay-to-play Genetics (Gattaca)
Many companies are now taking advantage of rapid advancements in genetic technology to offer (and heavily market) new services in reproductive healthcare. This episode will consider these recent developments alongside the 1997 film Gattaca<...
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Season 1
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Episode 3
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1:02:04
Heroes and Villains (The Martian and Ex-Machina)
Focusing on the 2013 film Ex Machina and the 2015 film The Martian, we will discuss what effect the simplistic representations of scientists in popular culture as either heroes or as villains has on the publics’ view of scienc...
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Season 1
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Episode 2
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43:31
Life Imitating Art (Contagion/Covid)
In this episode we’ll discuss the 2011 film Contagion, directed by Steven Soderbergh and staring Matt Damon, Kate Winslet, Jude Law and Lawrence Fishburn. It explores, arguably with frightening prescience, the global response to the ou...
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Season 1
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Episode 1
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48:47