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On the show
From 10 epsHost
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Recent episodes
The Face of Another 1966: Scars & Identity in Post War Japan
Jun 21, 2026
Unknown duration
Blade Runner: Paul Franklin's Favourite Sci-Fi Film
Jun 7, 2026
Unknown duration
Fantastic Voyage: Psychedelic Nanotech in 1966
May 24, 2026
Unknown duration
Fahrenheit 451: Truffaut's 1966 Suburban Dystopia
May 10, 2026
Unknown duration
Seconds 1966: Rock Hudson's Devastating Disillusionment
Apr 26, 2026
58m 03s
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| Date | Episode | Topics | Guests | Brands | Places | Keywords | Sponsor | Length | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 6/21/26 | ![]() The Face of Another 1966: Scars & Identity in Post War Japan | Trigger warning: This discussion includes talk about sexual assault and sexual violence. This is a theme apparent in the film and the source material. It is mentioned a few times. The topic is not spoken about in detail, but I wanted to share a general trigger warning for those that would prefer to avoid the topic altogether. Subtitles for the intro: "It's not that I specialise in treating fingers. I'm a psychiatrist in fact. Inferiority complexes dig holes in the psyche, and I fill them in." As always, there are spoilers ahead! You can follow the podcast on social media on Threads, Instagram and Bluesky. If you have fancy pants and would like to be a patron of the podcast please do! You can join Patreon and for £3 or $3 a month you can get ad free version of the show. https://www.patreon.com/everyscififilm If you are interested in the plot of the film you can read an overview on the wikipedia page here. In 1964 Director Hiroshi Teshigahara's film Woman in the Dunes won the Special Jury Prize at Cannes. The film was the second of four in which Teshigahara would collaborate with writer Kōbō Abe.* The Face of Another rode the coattails of Woman in the Dunes but was nowhere near as successful. Although both films have a very bleak undertone, The Face of Another feels more jarring and less abstract in its confrontations. The story is of a man horribly disfigured from an accident in the lab where he works. He manages to find a possible solution to the isolation and desperation he experiences when he is given the opportunity to have a new face with which to navigate life. The story has many philosophical themes set in a Japan that is still wrangling with its post war cultural identity. Thankfully I have managed to procure two big brained and generous guests! Roger Luckhurst is a Professor at Birkbeck, University of London. He has written/edited numerous articles and books on cultural history and film. Jennifer Coates is a Professor of Japanese Studies at the University of Sheffield. She has written extensively about Japanese cultural history and cinema and is the President of the British Association of Japanese Studies. During the intro to the show I mention a video essay that I watched during research for the film which I found very interesting. You can find it here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yarOXWeZlzY Although this is not directly relevant to the film, one of the earliest shots is an x-ray of a skull in conversation. This is reminiscent of the very early 1996 film usually known as Macintyre's X-Ray Film. Just a small historical film curiosity which you might be interested in. You can find it here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SqMYHawAKmA Chapters 00:00 Introduction 01:35 Source Material: Kobe Abe's book 06:33 Abe and Teshigahara's collaboration: Woman in the Dunes 07:38 Face Masks 10:55 The manufactured Japanese New Wave 14:31 Japan in the 1960s 19:39 Alienation and Philosophy 24:47 Boundaries and skin 26:17 Moral boundaries 30:52 The skin, Japan and saving face 34:14 Scarring and the bomb 41:05 Identity and Japan 47:40 Visual delights 52:46 Legacy 55:03 Face transplants 56:51 Recommendations Recommendations: When the Woman Ascends the Stairs (1960) Eyes without a Face (1960) Suture (1993) NEXT EPISODE! Next episode we will be having a giant sprawling chat about the scientist Bernard Quatermass. You can watch the three earlier Quatermass films, The Quatermass Xperiment (1955), Quatermass 2 (1957) and Quatermass and the Pit (1967) in all sorts of places including major streaming platforms. The series (if you want to get really nerdy about it) are available as a boxed set on Apple TV and from other retailers. At least some of those episodes are available on YouTube. The first season of the TV series (1953) only has a few episodes as the rest were lost forever! | — | ||||||
| 6/7/26 | ![]() Blade Runner: Paul Franklin's Favourite Sci-Fi Film | As always there are spoilers ahead! Blade Runner was not a huge hit in 1982 but it did gain a fair few fans on its initial release. One of those fans was a teenager from Cheshire by the name of Paul Franklin who would go on to work on numerous big budget films and win two Oscars for his work as a Special Effects Supervisor on Interstellar and Inception. I spoke to Paul about his first impressions of the film, what makes it special and how it influences Batman Begins and The Dark Knight Rises. Apologies for the abrupt ending to this episode. It is late, I've been quite busy and I have other work I really must tend to. Details of the next episode at the bottom of the show notes. You can follow the podcast on social media on Threads, Instagram and Bluesky. If you would like to support the podcast you can become a patron and for £3 or $3 a month you can get ad free versions of the show. https://www.patreon.com/everyscififilm Chapters 00:00 Intro 01:47 Paul's first impressions 07:11 Influences on Blade Runner 14:01 Syd Mead's design 17:52 A future without Blade Runner 21:28 PK Dick & Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep 23:36 The plight of the androids 27:18 Deckard as replicant 32:01 Influence of Blade Runner on Paul's work 40:45 Vangelis 41:58 ET vs Blade Runner NEXT EPISODE! Next episode we will be discussing the rather striking and uncomfortable 1966 Japanese film The Face of Another. The film is available on Criterion Channel in the US and Canada and on YouTube. You can check the Just Watch website to see where the film is available in your region. | — | ||||||
| 5/24/26 | ![]() Fantastic Voyage: Psychedelic Nanotech in 1966 | As always there are spoilers ahead! You can follow the podcast on social media on Threads, Instagram and Bluesky. If you would like to be a patron of the podcast and help an indie podcaster out, you can join Patreon and for £3 or $3 a month you can get ad free version of the show. https://www.patreon.com/everyscififilm An extra huge thank you to my wonderful guests as this episode had to be re-recorded due to a major problem with the audio file the first time. You can find the synopsis of the film on Wikipedia here: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fantastic_Voyage#Plot In 1966 20th Century Fox chose a steady pair of hands in Richard Fleischer (the son of animation superstar Max Fleischer) to helm what at the time was both the tiniest and the biggest science fiction adventure. Tiny because of the nano science storyline and biggest because of it being the most expensive science fiction film ever made (at that time) costing over five million dollars. I talk to two top tier guests about the film. Jay Telotte is Professor Emeritus of film and media studies at Georgia Tech. He has written/edited numerous books and articles about science fiction film including his upcoming books Before Trek: Building American Science Fiction Television. Lisa Yaszek is Regents' Professor of Science Fiction Studies at Georgia Tech and has written/edited multiple books on science fiction including her upcoming book Mothership Rising: Afrofuturism in the Radium Age. Chapters 00:00 Introduction 01:40 Big budget scifi 05:45 Richard Fleischer 09:10 The history of Nanotech sci-fi 16:41 Sci-fi and scale in cinema 19:42 Richard Feynman and small science 22:55 1950s influences 25:53 James Bond and Spy-fi 27:05 Psychedelic scifi 31:22 Harper Goff, Disney and design 33:36 1960s crew dynamics 42:48 Asimov's novelisation 44:24 Secularism vs religion 46:52 Legacy 52:57 Recommendations Recommendations: The Diamond Lens by Fitz-James O'Brien (which can be found here) Surface Tension by James Blish Microcosmic God by Theodore Sturgeon Dr Cyclops (1940) The Incredible Shrinking Man (1957) Honey I Shrunk the Kids (1989) NEXT EPISODE! Next episode I will be speaking with Oscar winning Special Effects Supervisor Paul Franklin to discuss his favourite sci-fi film Blade Runner (1982). Paul has worked on an array of blockbusters including The Batman Begins trilogy, Venom (2018), Inception (2010) and Interstellar (2014). | — | ||||||
| 5/10/26 | ![]() Fahrenheit 451: Truffaut's 1966 Suburban Dystopia | Show notes As always there are spoilers ahead! You can follow the podcast on social media on Threads, Instagram and Bluesky. If you would like to be a patron of the podcast and feel like nobility funding the podcasting arts, I would like to encourage such sentiments! You can join Patreon and for £3 or $3 a month you can get ad free version of the show. https://www.patreon.com/everyscififilm If you are interested in the plot of the film you can read an overview on the wikipedia page here. In 1953 writer Ray Bradbury released his magnum opus Fahrenheit 451. It quickly became a widely acclaimed cautionary tale about the dangers of censorship, authoritarianism and the effects of mass media on human ideas and connection. One of the most prominent science fiction books it is easy to understand why François Truffaut, one of the French New Wave's most prominent directors, became utterly focused on making the story into a film. The process had its challenges with producers, funding and a casting changes causing delays. The film was finally wrapped up and released in 1966 to both positive and negative reviews. It is an interesting watch if not a gripping one and my two expert guests unravel the ins and outs of how it came to be. Ian Scott is a Professor of American Film and History at The University of Manchester. He has written extensively about politics and film in Hollywood including the book American Politics in Hollywood Film. Phil Nichols is a visiting lecturer at the University of Wolverhampton and a researcher with a special interest in Ray Bradbury. He is Senior Consultant to the Ray Bradbury Centre at Indiana University and editor of The New Ray Bradbury Review. He is also the man behind the Bradbury 100 podcast and the Science Fiction 101 podcas Chapters 00:00 Introduction 01:32 Fahrenheit 451: a sci-fi heavyweight 04:36 Truffaut and the book 11:03 Suburban scifi in the mid century 13:33 Politics of the story 15:07 Truffaut's perspective 20:01 Julie Christie's double role 26:50 Searching for Montag 34:29 Burning with her books 39:12 Bernard Herrmann's score 40:40 The 2018 remake 49:56 Bradbury's stage play 51:37 Recommendations Recommendations: Never Let Me Go (2010) The Wild Child (1970) NEXT EPISODE! Next episode we will be discussing Fantastic Voyage from 1966! The film is annoyingly a little tricky to find online but can be rented easily on mainstream platforms in some countries. You can check the Just Watch website to see where it is available in your region. | — | ||||||
| 4/26/26 | ![]() Seconds 1966: Rock Hudson's Devastating Disillusionment✨ | mid-life crisissuburban dissatisfaction+4 | Mark BouldSherryl Vint | University of West England, BristolUniversity of California, Riverside+2 | — | SecondsRock Hudson+7 | — | 58m 03s | |
| 4/12/26 | ![]() The 10th Victim: Italy's 1965 Pop Art Dystopia✨ | Italian cinema1960s culture+4 | Stephen GundleLeon Hunt | University of WarwickBrunel University+3 | Italy | The 10th VictimItalian cinema+4 | — | 54m 42s | |
| 3/29/26 | ![]() Star Trek: Woke Since 1966✨ | Star Trek1960s culture+3 | Julian ChamblissCarey Millsap-Spears | Michigan State UniversityMoraine Valley Community College+2 | — | Star TrekGene Roddenberry+7 | — | 56m 20s | |
| 3/15/26 | ![]() Planet of the Vampires 1965: Mario Bava's Budget Beauty✨ | Italian cinemafilm analysis+3 | Scott HigginsRuss Hunter | American International PicturesPlanet of the Vampires+1 | — | Planet of the VampiresMario Bava+5 | — | 55m 37s | |
| 3/1/26 | ![]() Alphaville: Godard's 1965 Break-up Tech Noir✨ | French New Wavescience fiction+3 | Roger LuckhurstDouglas Morrey | Birkbeck, University of LondonUniversity of Warwick+3 | — | AlphavilleJean-Luc Godard+5 | — | 58m 24s | |
| 2/15/26 | ![]() The Doctor, the Daleks & the 1960s✨ | Doctor Who1960s film+3 | Paul BoothLee Arnott | BBCPatreon+3 | — | Doctor WhoDaleks+6 | — | 55m 52s | |
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| 2/1/26 | ![]() First Men in the Moon: From HG Wells to 1964✨ | science fictionfilm history+3 | Keith WilliamsMatthew Rule-Jones | University of DundeeUniversity of Exeter+4 | — | H.G. WellsFirst Men in the Moon+3 | — | 54m 54s | |
| 1/18/26 | ![]() Missed Episode, Medicine & Metropolis✨ | healthfilm analysis+3 | Sonja FritzscheNoah Isenberg | MetropolisFirst Men in the Moon+1 | University of TexasGermany | MetropolisSonja Fritzsche+5 | — | 55m 54s | |
| 1/3/26 | ![]() Dr. Strangelove: Cold War Comedy & 1964 USA✨ | Cold Warsatire+3 | Mark BouldRodney F Hill | University of West EnglandLawrence Herbert School of Communication+4 | — | Dr. StrangeloveCold War+5 | — | 57m 48s | |
| 12/21/25 | ![]() What is Afrofuturism?✨ | Afrofuturismscience fiction+5 | Julian ChamblissYtasha Womack | Mapping Afrofuturism: Understanding Black Speculative PracticeAfrofuturism: The World of Black Sci-Fi and Fantasy Culture+3 | Michigan State University | Afrofuturismscience fiction+6 | — | 52m 50s | |
| 12/7/25 | ![]() Ikarie XB-1: 1963 Communist Utopia in Space | As always there are spoilers ahead! We've discussed Czech scifi before with Karel Zeman's gorgeous steam punk offering from 1958 Invention for Destruction (dubbed into the English language The Fabulous World of Jules Verne) and we've also covered Communists in Space with 1960s The Silent Star (AKA First Spaceship on Venus). The Czech Ikarie XB-1 (1963) has connections to both of those films but also offers an aesthetic that seems to directly inspire Kubrick for 2001: A Space Odyssey. The year is 2163, communism has won, and a crew of 40 are sent to find life on the white planet in Alpha Centauri with a journey fraught with sociological, psychological and physical challenges. I have two amazing academics to help give insight into the film. Evan Torner is an Associate Professor of German Studies and Niehoff Professor of Film & Media Studies at the University of Cincinnati. Simon Spiegel is a lecturer of Film Studies at the University of Zurich. He has written extensively about Science Fiction and Utopia and has just released the book The Fear of Knowing about spoilers in film and media. Chapters: 00:00 Introduction 01:11 Stanislaw Lem's The Magellanic Cloud 04:28 Czechoslovakian New Wave and film industry 09:49 The striking introductory scenes and Kubrick's 2001 13:05 Cabin fever in spaaace! 15:13 Music by Zdeněk Liška 16:57 Communist utopia in spaaace! 20:57 The draw of sociological stories 26:19 A utopian party and a red alert 28:15 The capitalist ship and the 20th century 32:47 Putting science into sci-fi 39:30 Evan's Dark Matter Shenanigans 42:21 Post Stalin faith 43:41 The ending 45:39 The US edit 47:27 Legacy 52:18 Recommendations NEXT EPISODE! I will be taking a detour next episode to talk about Afrofuturism which I've been wanting to discuss since the very early days of research before I launched the podcast. Almost two years late but I hope you enjoy it. After that we will be discussing Dr Strangelove and I would recommend you also watch Fail Safe (also 1964) if you have time. | — | ||||||
| 11/23/25 | ![]() X-Ray Eyes: Roger Corman's 1963 Psychedelic Sci-Fi | As always there are spoilers ahead! You can follow the podcast on social media on Threads, Instagram and Bluesky. If you would like to be a patron of the podcast you can join Patreon and for £3 or $3 a month you can get ad free version of the show. https://www.patreon.com/everyscififilm Roger Corman produced hundreds of films in his lifetime and directed dozens. X: The Man with the X-Ray Eyes is a colourful, psychedelic, 1960s extravaganza with aspirations of transcendence. If you wanted to join in, you can watch the film X: The Man with the X-Ray Eyes from 1963 first. DVDs of the film are available, but it is also available to rent and watch online on Apple TV and many other platforms. You can check the Just Watch website to see where it is available in your region. Oscar winner Ray Milland (we heard a bit about him in the Panic in Year Zero! episode) stars as a mad scientist who creates a serum that will help him understand the secret of life itself. A serum that unlocks the 90% of the visible spectrum that is beyond our realm of vision. The film is fun and pacey and the tone is once again firmly in the 1960s. I have two excellent guests to help us unravel the minds and life's mysteries around what could be Corman's magnus opus. Barry Keith Grant is professor Emeritus of Film Studies at Brock University Canada. He has written/edited numerous books, articles and essays about science fiction cinema. John Wills is a Professor of American Media and Culture at the University of Kent. He has written lots about popular culture including 1950s American and Nuclear film. Chapters: 00:00 Intro 01:57 Barry's experience of watching the film on release 03:48 Eyeballs and vision 08:58 The body in sci-fi 10:57 Mad science and closing in on the Gods 12:20 Science in the 60s 15:56 LSD 17:18 A film of two halves 19:18 Diane's romantic arc 21:57 Hays Code & the Nudie Cuties 25:35 Roger Corman's 2001: A Space Odyssey comparison 31:17 Special Effects 32:41 Gurus incoming 34:48 Blunt honesty of Xavier 37:36 The music of Les Baxter 39:59 Stephen King and the ending 44:23 Legacy 51:21 Recommendations CORRECTION: We refer to the female scientist as Diana but her name is Diane. NEXT EPISODE! Next episode we are heading back to the Eastern Bloc with the Czech 1963 scifi Ikarie XB-1. In terms of watching it, the American version is titled Voyage to the End of the Universe and is a different edit. Although Just Watch advertises the English language title it seems to not differentiate which edit is available. The original is available on The Criterion channel and also cultpix.com. | — | ||||||
| 11/9/25 | ![]() The Manchurian Candidate 1962: Politics, Power & Paranoia | As always there are spoilers ahead! You can follow the podcast on social media on Threads, Instagram and Bluesky. If you would like to be a patron of the podcast you can join Patreon and for £3 or $3 a month you can get ad free version of the show. https://www.patreon.com/everyscififilm In 1959 at the cusp of a new and exciting decade Richard Condon wrote a book that is largely described as a political thriller. And it is a political thriller. But it also fits neatly into my concept of science fiction. To learn more about what is and isn't science fiction you can head to the heady days of the first episode where the topic is discussed with science fiction scholars Lisa Yaszek and Glyn Morgan. (Please do excuse the fear in my eyes.) Just a few years later a film was made by John Frankenheimer, starring Frank Sinatra, Janet Leigh and a brilliant and manipulative Angela Lansbury. The 1960s USA is in peak cold war fears, and the CIA is undertaking covert operations of their own, with the MKUltra programme, testing on humans to discover whether they can be manipulated and brainwashed. Although this film continues many themes from the 1950s it is definitely a product of the new age as culture shifts and a new batch of Hollywood directors take cinema in a different direction. I am lucky to have two brilliant guests to talk us through the themes and context of this film. Ian Scott is a Professor of American Film and History at The University of Manchester. He has written extensively about politics and film in Hollywood including the book American Politics in Hollywood Film. Sherryl Vint is Professor of Science Fiction Media Studies at the University of California, Riverside. She has written/edited many books about science fiction. Chapters 00:00 Introduction 02:23 New Hollywood Directors 04:57 Richard Condon's novel 07:00 Mind control in science fiction 09:40 Cold War in the Far East 16:57 The brilliant brainwashing scene 25:28 Raymond Shaw the unlikely hero 29:17 Frank Sinatra as Marco 33:17 Angela Lansbury as Eleanor 37:54 Janet Leigh 44:04Eisenhower and the legacy of conspiracy films 48:31 The remake 52:29 Recommendations The recommendations this week are the films Suddenly (1954) and Seconds (1966). I will be covering Seconds in the near future so you can get ahead by watching it if you like! NEXT EPISODE! Next episode we will be discussing the Roger Corman film X: The Man with the X-Ray Eyes from 1963 starring Ray Milland. DVDs of the film are available but it is also available to rent and watch online on Apple TV and many other platforms. You can check the Just Watch website to see where it is available in your region. | — | ||||||
| 10/26/25 | ![]() The Day of the Triffids: Wyndham vs Sci-Fi Spectacle | There are spoilers ahead for all versions of The Day of the Triffids and also for the film Signs. You can follow the podcast on social media on Threads, Instagram and Bluesky. If you would like to be a patron of the podcast you can join Patreon and for £3 or $3 a month you can get ad free version of the show. https://www.patreon.com/everyscififilm This episode had been edited down to a more digestible length of under an hour but a longer (audio only) version is available for Patreon subscribers (alongside the shorter option). We are doing things a little differently and discussing the 1963 film along with the source material which is John Wyndham's 1951 book The Day of the Triffids. The Day of the Triffids film was released in 1963 after reshoots were required to add a whole new arc in the story and bring the time to a more suitable length for a feature. The film has many of the hallmarks of a 1950s science fiction film but seems to be reflective of the Golden Era of science fiction very much coming to its end. The film is (very loosely) based on John Wyndham's first successful novel but seems more dedicated to the tropes of a 1950s sci-fi marketed for a mass, US leaning audience. The book is chockful of themes that are touched upon throughout the story which have very little (if any) presence in the film. I have added a list of the characters we discuss below as well as a quick overview of their roles in the book and the film. As usual I have two insightful guests to help us understand all of this. Matthew Rule-Jones is a senior lecturer in film studies at the University of Exeter and author of the book Science Fiction Cinema and 1950s Britain: Recontextualising Cultural Anxiety. Adam Stock is a senior lecturer in English Literature at York St John University and author of the book Dystopian Fiction and Political Thought: Narratives of World Politics. Chapters: 00:00 Intro 01:30 John Wyndham's first hit 05:23 The concept of the cosy catastrophe 08:43 Wyndham's Britain: post-colonial triffids coming home to roost 14:48 The 1963 film: Wells, end of the golden age and marketing 20:04 The lighthouse sequences: Karen vs Josella 23:06 Weed killers in The Silent Spring era and WW2 imagery 25:17 The role of the Triffids 30:37 Bill Masen the hero 34:37 Coker's missing role 37:11 Women! 40:27 The ending 46:51 Legacy 53:57 Recommendations Bill Masen: Hero in both the book and the film. In the book Bill is English and works for the triffid farm where he has been almost blinded by a triffid sting. His colleague begins to suspect the triffids are indeed sentient and able to communicate. This brings up questions around exploitation and enslavement. In the film Bill is American and works for the US Navy who help save the hero and other survivors at the end of the film. Josella Playton: The heroine from the novel is not present in the 1963 film. Josella comes from a wealthy family (one with servants) and has written a notorious book titled Sex is my Adventure. Coker: Coker has a large role in the book and we meet him as an advocate for the newly blinded masses when many of the few sighted people left are attempting to save themselves from the threat of a disintegrating society. He is a strong public speaker from a working-class background who had learned to speak in a way that is more amenable to the intelligentsia and upper classes. His strongly held beliefs (of forcing the sighted to serve the blind) change through the book to become less idealistic and more practical. Coker in the film is an old man with a very minimal role who dies early in the story form a triffid attack. Susan: Is a young girl who is rescued by Bill in the film after a train crash and ensuing chaos. In the book Bill takes in Susan whose family have died. She is a capable young child who develops an understanding of triffid behaviour from observing them as she guards the home that Josella and Bill stay in for many years. Miss Durrant: In the film Miss Durrant is the beautiful heroine that Bill meets in a large house in France that is caring from blind survivors of the meteor shower. In the book, Miss Durrant is a religious minded woman who is appalled at a man named Beadley's attempts to rebuild society through polygamy. She seems to purposefully mislead Bill who is trying to track down Beadley because he thinks Josella will be with him. NEXT EPISODE! Next episode we will be speaking about The Manchurian Candidate from 1962 by John Frankenheimer. A film that may not fit the definition of science fiction for many people but by now I think we know how ambiguous those definitions can be! You can find the film on streaming platforms including Apple TV. The Just Watch website is a good resource to find where the film is available online in your region. | — | ||||||
| 10/12/25 | ![]() Panic in Year Zero: Nuclear Apocalypse & the Nuclear Family | As always there are spoilers ahead! You can follow the podcast on social media on Threads, Instagram and Bluesky. If you would like to be a patron of the podcast you can join Patreon and for £3 or $3 a month you can get ad free version of the show. https://www.patreon.com/everyscififilm There is a trigger warning for discussion of rape in this episode. I have marked the beginning of that part of the discussion with a beep and the discussion lasts for four minutes and four seconds after the beep if you wanted to skip past it. Last week we told you "Don't Panic!" but this week we focus in on the panic. Panic in Year Zero was directed by and stars Ray Milland and is about a father taking his family on the road to do some camping. One the way there a nuclear bomb is dropped on Los Angeles and the world starts to fall into disarray. Not because of the bomb causing devastation or radiation but because of how human s are absolute nutters given the slightest chance. This film has a very 1950s sensibility but with a Jazz laden soundtrack that hints at the unruly decade ahead. The Federal Civil Defense Administration in the US in the early 50s was set up by President Truman to educate and prepare the public in case of an attack on US soil. The short film mentioned in the discussion The House in the Middle can be viewed on YouTube here. This episode we talk not just about the film but the human fascination with apocalypse. I have the perfect guests for the task. Steven Schlozman is a psychiatrist and a writer of books including the novel The Zombie Autopsies which was being adapted to film by George Romero before his death in 2017. John Wills is a Professor of American Media and Culture at the University of Kent. He has written lots about popular culture including 1950s American and Nuclear film. Chapters 00:00 Introduction 01:52 The non-nuclear nuclear film 07:10 Nuclear drills in schools 10:07 USA nuclear prep: Civilian education and CONELRAD 16:33 Jazz music and sociopaths 20:05 Daddy's gaze 26:39 The fun of Armageddon 32:02 The developmental stage of apocalypse fantasy 37:35 Ann is always wrong 39:21 Sexual violence 43:27 A pre-cursor to zombie apocalypse 48:25 Legacy 52:45 Recommendations for the listener Recommendations Steven: The Day After (1983) is a made for TV film. John: The book Every Home a Fortress: Cold War Fatherhood and the Family Fallout Shelter by Thomas Bishop NEXT EPISODE! Next episode we will be discussing The Day of the Triffids! Although we will be using the 1963 film as a starting point there will be a lot of discussion about the original novel and the differences between the theme heavy book and the fun 50s style scifi of the film. The film can be found on Fubo, Roku, Pluto and Plex and a few other online streaming platforms in the US and UK. The Just Watch website is a good resource to find where the film may be available in your region. | — | ||||||
| 9/28/25 | ![]() Don't Panic: The Hitchhiker's Guide Phenomenon | As always there are spoilers ahead. You can buy the Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy book in most bookshops and you can listen to the radio play on YouTube and also on the Internet Archive. You can follow the podcast on social media on Threads, Instagram and Bluesky. If you would like to be a patron of the podcast you can join Patreon and for £3 or $3 a month you can get ad free version of the show and be revered amongst both the G'Gugvuntts and the Vl'Hurgs: https://www.patreon.com/everyscififilm As mentioned elsewhere this is not an analysis of the film or any kind of review of the book but more like a chat amongst fans of what the story means to us and why. My amazing guests are very qualified to wax lyrical about the topic at hand. Michael Newton is a University Lecturer at the Leiden University Centre for the Arts in Society. He is a cultural historian who has written about film amongst many other topics including being the Editor of the book The Origins of Science Fiction. Mark Steadman creative digital producer, long time podcaster and host of the Beware of the Leopard podcast which explored the A to Z of the Hitchhikers' Guide to the Galaxy. (He also has what I consider the best productivity podcast in the world as it takes into consideration that we are humans with feelings and lives. Undo – How history's outliers got stuff done can be found here.) Chapters 00:00 Introduction 01:52 When we were first exposed to H2G2 05:01The Late 70s and scifi 06:54 Mental health and the art of Zen 10: 40 Zaphod: Douglas Adams and the Pan Galactic Gargle Blaster 15:31 Arthur Dent and Ford Prefect 19:53 Suburban life and bathos 21:46 Douglas Adams' "first album" 24:41 The broad appeal 28:03 Douglas' delightful detours 32:25 We love Douglas and his thin plot 32:58 No happy ending 36:18 Absurdism 37:31 Sirius Cybernetics Corporation and Silicon Valley 41:29 Gadgetry in H2G2 47:11 Shoutout to the super intelligent colour blue 50:25 Legacy: Tech, atheism, and imagination 54:02 Recommendations for the listener NEXT EPISODE! In two week's time (if all goes well!) we shall be discussing Panic in the Year Zero (1962) and the appeal of Armageddon. The film is available to buy or rent online in many places in the USA and UK but may be tricky in certain regions. | — | ||||||
| 9/14/25 | ![]() La Jetée: French New Wave's 1962 Sci-Fi Classic | As always there are spoilers ahead! A quick note that I shall be at the London Film Festival on October the 16th giving a whistlestop tour of sci-fi cinema. It is a free event but you have to reserve tickets so if you happen to be in London and wanted to attend here is the information. Translation for the beginning of the podcast: "Later, he knew he had seen a man die. And sometime after came the destruction of Paris." You can follow the podcast on social media on Threads, Instagram and Bluesky. If you would like to be a patron of the podcast you can join Patreon and for £3 or $3 a month you can get ad free version of the show. https://www.patreon.com/everyscififilm La Jetée is very different from the science fiction films I have covered so far. A 28-minute art film mostly made of still images that went on to inspire many films as well as the 1995 12 Monkeys. The filmmaker, Chris Marker was an elusive French multimedia journalist, artist, writer, filmmaker, photographer who very rarely did interviews. He was part of the Left Bank group in Paris which was part of the larger French New Wave movement. My amazing science fiction authorities today are Lisa Yaszek who is Regents' Professor of Science Fiction Studies at Georgia Tech and has written/edited multiple books on science fiction and Mark Bould who is a professor of Film and Literature at the University of West England, Bristol. He has also written/edited numerous books on science fiction. Chapters 00:00 Introduction 02:15 The French New Wave 08:50 The New Wave of science fiction literature 13:00 The New Wave science fiction films 17:53 Vertigo's influence 21:10 Eros and Thanatos: Love and death (and time loops) 23:55 A very different science fiction film: Un photo-roman, sound and reliable narrators 32:00 The darker future: gritty retrofuturism and echoes of WWII 36:59 What is real? (And why is it so beautiful?) 40:52 Distressing distortions and more death 46:03 The one moving image 48:33 12 Monkeys 51:47 Legacy of the film 55:30 Recommendations for the listener NEXT EPISODE! Next episode is episode 42 and it seems patrons on Patreon would like a detour to cover the meaning of life the universe and everything. So we shall be talking about The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy. You do not need to watch the film but if you felt like reading the book , listening to the original radio play, watching the TV series or indeed watching the film either as a new experience or to refresh your memory you absolutely can! | — | ||||||
| 8/31/25 | ![]() The Day the Earth Caught Fire: Britain's 1961 Apocalypse | As always there are spoilers ahead! If you'd like to join in on more conversations and keep up to date on what I'm working on you can follow me on social media: Threads, Instagram and Bluesky. After last episode's UK village setting we stay in the country but head to London for a newsroom apocalyptic drama. We have more hints that we are heading into the 60s with a surly hero and a sultry ex-Disney heroine. The Day the Earth Caught Fire was finally released in 1961 after eight years of director Val Guest trying to get the film made. Perhaps the mid-50s Britian wasn't ready for this story although it would be interesting to see what kind of differences there would have been. (Val Guest was busy making The Quatermass Xperiment during that time!) I welcome back two excellent guests to teach us more about this film. Jay Telotte is Professor Emeritus of film and media studies at Georgia Tech. He has written/edited numerous books and articles about science fiction film including the 2023 book Selling Science Fiction Cinema. Glyn Morgan is Head of Collections and Principal Curator at the Science Museum in London and a science fiction scholar. Chapters 00:00 Introduction 02:17 1961: Anxiety, British Free Cinema & Angry Young Men 07:28 The CND and memories of the war 08:05 The highs and lows of Cli-Fi 13:16 The beginning of the end 15:47 Val Guest 18:43 Snappy dialogue or too much talk? 22:25 The newsroom 27:40 Arthur Christiansen 30:06 The surlier hero 34:47 Janet Munroe 37:05 Disney & breaking out of type 41:06 One foot firmly in the 60s 42:09 Ambiguous and alternate endings 46:39 Legacy 51:57 Recommendations NEXT EPISODE! Next week we will be talking about the beautiful, half hour long, science fiction art film La Jetée (1962) that 12 Monkeys was based on. You can find the film on Apple, Amazon and also on YouTube but the version with English subtitles is not great quality. | — | ||||||
| 8/17/25 | ![]() Village of the Damned: Creepy Kids & the Cosy Catastrophe | As always there are spoilers ahead! You can follow the podcast on Threads, Instagram and Bluesky. If you want to support the podcast you can get ad free versions at Patreon. In 1956 the film The Bad Seed was a big hit for Warner Bros featuring a blond-haired evil child. One blond scary child sometimes isn't enough! Writer John Wyndham published The Midwich Cuckoos in 1957 which had already sold to MGM before he'd completed it. The film tells the story of a different kind of alien invasion. Midwich village is infested with pregnancies affecting the female population who all give birth to blonde haired and light eyed, rapidly growing, telepathic children (did I mention they were creepy?). Outsiders who will go to any length to keep their kind alive. I have two absolutely amazing guests who can tease apart some of the history and themes of this wonderful sci-fi horror. Mark Bould is a professor of Film and Literature at the University of West England, Bristol. He has written/edited extensively about science fiction cinema. Roger Luckhurst is a Professor at Birkbeck, University of London. He has written/edited numerous articles and books on cultural history and film. Chapters 00:00 Introduction 01:38 John Wyndham, The Midwich Cuckoos and MGM's British studios 04:22 Post War anxieties 07:10 Wyndham and pacifism 08:29 Feminism, forced birth and Wyndham's women 11:16 The life of George Sanders: a fabulous cad 18:50 The Cosy Catastrophe 21:38 The premise: terrifying telepathic toddlers 27:20 The evil child and the concept of innocence 31:42 The legacy of the evil child in cinema 35:59 Telepathy 41:47 Class and post war social mobility 47:25 Legacy and the John Carpenter remake 51:29 Recommendations for the listener The telepathic couple Mark mentions are most likely the Piddingtons. When Mark says "Astounding" he is referring to the magazine Astounding Science Fiction where the editor was John W Campbell Jr. NEXT EPISODE! Next episode we will be talking about The Day the Earth Caught Fire from 1961. You can rent the film on Apple or Amazon in the US or on Amazon or BFI Player in the UK. The Just Watch website is a good option to find where films are available in your region. | — | ||||||
| 8/3/25 | ![]() The Silent Star: 1960 East German Sci-Fi & the Space Race | As always there are spoilers ahead! In 1951 Poland, during its Stalinist era, acclaimed science fiction writer Stanislaw Lem released his first book: The Astronauts. (He had already written the novel The Man from Mars which was serialised). In 1960 The Astronuats would go on to become the basis of East Germany's ambitious communist sci-fi film Der schweigende Stern or The Silent Star. The script would go through 12 drafts before filming by which time Lem had removed his name from the project. Although the script lacks focus it is full of historical and cultural significance and is a strong an indictment of why ideological control should not be asserted on the arts. The film is idealistic, looks great with some beautiful design and does not feature Christopher Nolan (link to Instagram post). I have two top notch academics to discuss the film. Sonja Fritzsche is a professor of German Studies and Senior Associate Dean at Michigan State University. She has also written/edited many books about science fiction. Evan Torner is an Associate Professor of German Studies and Niehoff Professor of Film & Media Studies at the University of Cincinnati. Chapters 00:00 Intro 01:53 Post Metropolis German Sci-Fi 09:50 East German filmmaking in 1960: DEFA, Kurt Maetzig & Utopian futures 16:34 The Bitterfelder Weg programme: the working class in the arts 18:50 The Polish influence: Stanislaw Lem, ideological space & the Polish October 24:31 12 drafts of the scripts: Too many cooks 29:24 Influences: Forbidden Planet, Woman in the Moon and If All the Guys in the World 32:03 The communist ideal in spaaaace! 38:32 Visual delights: Box office draw and Nazi Agfacolor 45:11 The stolen US edit: First Spaceship on Venus 47:15 Legacy, language and recommendations NEXT EPISODE! Back to Blighty for some good old fashioned evil children in Village of the Damned (1960). The film is easy to rent or buy on an array of streaming platforms including YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cujvDkHxFcg You can check the Just Watch website for details of where to find it in your region. | — | ||||||
| 7/19/25 | ![]() The Time Machine: HG Wells' Legacy in 1960s Sci-Fi | As always there are spoilers ahead! You can follow the podcast on Threads, Instagram and Bluesky. HG Wells shadow is a long one and his seminal work on time travel was published in 1895. But well over a half a century later Hollywood was still hooked on Herbert (George Wells). The Time Machine was directed by George Pal and released 1960. From the turn of the century to the beginning of a new decade my amazing guests break down the themes and influences on this mid-century steampunk precursor. Keith Williams is a Reader in English Literature at the University of Dundee where he runs the science fiction programme. He has a special interest in the pre 1945 period and is the author of the book H.G. Wells, Modernity and the Movies. Ian Scott is a Professor of American Film and History at The University of Manchester. He has written extensively about politics and film in Hollywood. Chapters 00:00 Intro 02:39 HG Wells in 1985: the book and the birth of cinema 05:37 1960s USA: the cusp of a new age 10:02 The influences on Wells: Thomas Henry Huxley and William Morris 17:21 James Bond: Rod Taylor's missed opportunity 19:08 Time travel: the time machine, mannequins and the BBC 27:57 The far-flung future: evolution, class and nuclear war 35:32 Fritz Lang, Metropolis, and the death of flower power 39:24 The Legacy 47:09 Recommendations for the listener NEXT EPISODE! Next week I will be discussing the Eastern Block with brainy experts and discussing one of the first sci-fi films from the region Der schweigende Stern, AKA The Silent Star from 1960. It was also re-edited and released as The First Spaceship on Venus. You may like to watch the MST3K version on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BVmgb3jEimQ If you are in the USA and have a public library card you should be able to find the film on Kanopy: https://www.kanopy.com/en/product/116646 The film is available to rent online depending on your region. Just Watch should be able to help. If you felt very committed you could also buy this DVD collection of DEFA sci-fi which includes writing and interviews with the amazing Sonja Fritzsche, Evan Torner and Mark Bould: https://eurekavideo.co.uk/movie/strange-new-worlds-science-fiction-at-defa/ | — | ||||||
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38 placements across 32 markets.
