The looting of science fiction

The looting of science fiction

July 14, 2026 · 29 min

About this episode

This episode explores how tech titans have appropriated science fiction narratives to reflect their own political views.

Tech titans claim the genre inspired them. But all they’ve done is graft their politics onto stories of a better future. Aeon audio explores the most profound and relevant ideas, told through essays that help us make sense of ourselves and the world. We ask the big, existentially significant questions and find the freshest, most original answers, provided by leading thinkers on philosophy, science, psychology, society and culture. Each episode features a narrated Aeon essay, a journey into expert concepts and stories that provoke, enrich and expand our horizons. Aeon is a nonprofit digital magazine publishing essays and videos that seek to illuminate the big questions of life. Free to read and now free to listen, Aeon’s mission is to share knowledge and insight with everyone, everywhere. Discover essays and videos at aeon.co . Aeon essays are only ever written and edited by human experts. We use AI for audio narration only.

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