About this episode
This episode discusses Isaac Asimov's short story 'Runaround', which introduces the Three Laws of Robotics.
A robot must obey orders, but must also, on the other hand, have sense enough to disobey if the order would destroy it. But that can lead to a most embarrassing sort of situation, when a robot gives its owners a handsome runaround! Today's story is "Runaround", by Isaac Asimov. It appeared in the March 1942 issue of "Astounding Science Fiction" on pages 94 to 103. "Runaround" is the first story to feature explicitly the Three Laws of Robotics. It appears in the collections "I, Robot" (1950), "The Complete Robot" (1982), and "Robot Visions" (1990). In 2018, "Runaround" was nominated for a retrospective 1943 Hugo Award for best short story. The story also features engineers Gregory Powell and Mike Donovan, recurring characters in several of Asimov's robot stories. ----- Isaac Asimov (c. January 2, 1920 – April 6, 1992) was an American writer and professor of biochemistry at Boston University. During his lifetime, Asimov was considered one of the "Big Three" science fiction writers, along with Robert A. Heinlein and Arthur C. Clarke. A prolific writer, he wrote or edited more than 500 books. He also wrote an estimated 90,000 letters and postcards. Best known for his hard science…
People in this episode
Host: Paul Lawley-Jones
Topics covered
- robotics
- science fiction
- Asimov's laws
- engineering
- short stories
Keywords
- Isaac Asimov
- Runaround
- Three Laws of Robotics
- science fiction
- robot stories
Mentioned in this episode
Books & works: Runaround, Astounding Science Fiction, I, Robot, The Complete Robot, Robot Visions
More episodes of Golden Age Fiction
- Helen O’Loy, by Lester del Rey · June 7, 2026 · 31 min
- The Story of the Late Mr Elvesham, by H G Wells · May 24, 2026 · 49 min
- Compassion Circuit, by John Wyndham · May 17, 2026 · 27 min
- The Mordant, by Merab Eberle · May 10, 2026 · 31 min
- The Fate of the Poseidonia, by Clare Winger Harris · May 3, 2026 · 1h 0m
- The Adventure of the Egyptian Tomb, by Agatha Christie · April 26, 2026 · 38 min
Explore listener stats, chart rankings, contacts and more on the Golden Age Fiction podcast page.