
History Mystery (episode 64)
From Science Fiction 101 by Phil Nichols
April 2, 2026 · 1h 7m · Episode 64
About this episode
The episode discusses the idea that all science fiction writers are historians and features a historical SF short story by David Brin.
This time we react to a fascinating article from Strange Horizons , which claims that all SF writers are... historians! You can read the article here: https://strangehorizons.com/wordpress/non-fiction/why-all-science-fiction-and-fantasy-writers-are-historians/ Related to this topic, we also read a delightful historical SF short story by David Brin, "A Professor at Harvard". Find it here: https://davidbrin.blogspot.com/2026/02/a-little-sci-fi-tale-to-boost-your.html We also have a fiendish quiz sent in by a listener, and our usual round-up of SF past, present and future. For the full shownotes with links to all the items mentioned, visit our blog at 101sf.blogspot.com
People in this episode
Host: Phil Nichols
Topics covered
- science fiction
- history
- literature
- short stories
- quizzes
Keywords
- science fiction
- history
- David Brin
- Strange Horizons
- short story
- quiz
Mentioned in this episode
Organizations: Strange Horizons
Books & works: A Professor at Harvard
More episodes of Science Fiction 101
- Be Vewwy Quiet, We're Hunting Hugos · June 4, 2026 · 1h 9m
- Scientifiction One Hundred and One (episode 65) · April 29, 2026 · 56 min
- Back to the Futures (episode 63) · March 5, 2026 · 1h 8m
- Asimov's Lore (episode 62) · February 4, 2026 · 1h 10m
- Gimme That Old-Time Magazine (episode 61) · December 18, 2025 · 1h 16m
- Toynbee Convecting for Beginners (episode 60) · October 24, 2025 · 1h 5m
Explore listener stats, chart rankings, contacts and more on the Science Fiction 101 podcast page.