The Skiffy and Fanty Show

Rangers Trish, Brandon, and Daniel are back after their long break to tackle an anthology that is near and dear to our hearts. To be fair, our very own Julia Rios is part of it. Plus, we’re big fans of John Picacio and his MexicanX Initiative, and some of the initiative’s participants contributed stories to said anthology. That’s right! We’re talking about A Larger Reality: Speculative Fiction from the Bicultural Margins / Una realidad más amplia: Historias desde la periferia bicultural edited by Libia Brenda! The Rangers dig their heels into the stories to examine their styles and themes. They also discuss the thematic and tonal pairing of the stories and how they worked together to create the wonderful, FREE anthology from the MexicanX Initiative! We hope you enjoy the episode! Show Notes: A Larger Reality: Speculative Fiction from the Bicultural Margins / Una realidad más amplia: Historias desde la periferia bicultural edited by Libia Brenda The MexicanX Initiative If you have a question you’d like us to answer, feel free to shoot us a message on our contact page. Our new intro and outro music comes from “Rock Thing” by Creo (CC BY 4.0), which has been slightly modified to include sound effects and for length purposes.

Superman 4, motorcycle gangs, and *eye twitch* tentacle monsters, oh my! This episode exists thanks to the hardwork and determination of our lovely patron, Joseph. Thank you, Joseph, for repeatedly insisting that we watch the 1975 film, Super Inframan!! This Shaw Brothers Studio Production sought to capitalize on the tokusatsu craze in Japan, borrowing tropes, music, and more from tokusatsu series like Kamen Rider and Ultraman. With that in mind, Brandon, one of our resident tokusatsu experts with a new podcast series in the Skiffy and Fanty family focusing on Kamen Rider, Righteous Kicks (with co-host Iori Kusano), joins Jen and Paul to talk about this “3 stars from Roger Ebert” rated film. No, we don’t know why Roger Ebert gave it three stars, but he must have had a reason. There ends up being quite a bit to talk about, including the relative intelligence of the villain, the wide variety of monsters, how She-Demon was totally wasted, and why we all want an Infragirl movie. We hope you enjoy the episode! Show Notes: Infra-Man (1975) (IMDb) The Super Inframan (1975) (Wikipedia) Righteous Kicks If you have a question you’d like us to answer, feel free to shoot us a message on our contact page. Our new intro and outro music comes from “Rock Thing” by Creo (CC BY 4.0), which has been slightly modified to include sound effects and for length purposes.

February offered us more short fiction than anything else, though we did get the absolutely wonderful anthology of Chinese SFT edited and translated by Ken Liu: Broken Stars. In terms of the short fiction, fantasy dominated, with stories from the Chinese, Spanish, Portuguese, Japanese, and Korean. Rachel and Daniel also talk about the fiction they’re looking forward to in the upcoming months and the books they’re currently reading/teaching. Plus they discuss the great Korean SFT news from Neil Clarke! Remember: with new stories and books coming to their attention each week, make sure to check the SFT website for updates. Enjoy, and keep reading! A bientôt! Show notes: SFT Out in February “The Butcher of New Tasmania” by Suo Hefu, translated from the Chinese by Andy Dudak (Clarkesworld Magazine, February 1). “Art” by Alberto Chimal, translated from the Spanish by David Bowles, The Dark, February. “Everyone Sleeps at Night” by Anderson Fonseca, translated from the Portuguese by Toshiya Kamei (Idle Ink, February 25). “For Humanity Today and Tomorrow” by Sou Saito, translated from the Japanese by Toshiya Kamei (Aphelion, February). “A Young Man’s Fortune” by Alberto Chimal, translated from the Spanish by Toshiya Kamei (Bewildering Stories, February). “Home” by Soyeon Jeong, translated from the Korean by Sophie Bowman (Guernica, February 28). The Nine Cloud Dream by Kim Man-Jung, translated from the Korean by Heinz Insu Fenkl (Penguin, February 5). Broken Stars: Contemporary Chinese Science Fiction in Translation, edited and translated by Ken Liu (Tor Books, February 19). Reviews Ian Mond reviews Mars in Locus Magazine Ruoji Tang reviews A Hero Born Daniel Haeusser reviews The Complete Stories of Leonora Carrington Alvaro Zinos-Amaro reviews Mouthful of Birds Articles/Essays/Interviews “Translating the Dark Surrealism of Samanta Schweblin’s Mouthful of Birds” Readers’ Corner Daniel is teaching Frankenstein in Baghdad Rachel is reading A Bond Undone (Legends of the Condor Heroes #2) Rachel is translating an Italian story by Raul Ciannela General Links Speculative Fiction in Translation website Speculative Fiction in Translation facebook page SFT on twitter: @Rcordas Feel free to shoot us an email at skiffyandfanty [at] gmail [dot] com! You can also leave a comment on our website. Our new intro and outro music comes “Rock Thing” by Creo (CC BY 4.0), which has been slightly modified to include sound effects and for length purposes.

It’s the triumphant return of Totally Pretentious, David and Shaun’s silly-with-a-side-of-pretentiousness movie review project that disappeared for a brief moment in time. But now they’re back with an episode they recorded a long time ago and forgot to release! In today’s super late episode, David and Shaun talk about some of the films they saw (back in 2016), especially Independence Day: Resurgence (2016) and its relation to Roland Emmerich’s ouevre, the Conjuring and Saw films, and more. Then they dive deep into David’s pick for this episode, Jesús Franco’s 1966 horror film, Succubus. They discuss the film’s reception, its approach to horror elements and the femme fatale, the challenges it presents to the audience of 1966 and our perceptions of narrative, and more. Enjoy the episode, and prepare yourselves for their next foray into cinematic goodness! Show Notes: Today’s Movie: Succubus (1968) Succubus (Wikipedia) Our Next Movie: M (1931). Here are some places where you can watch it: Vudu iTunes Amazon Feel free to shoot us an email at skiffyandfanty [at] gmail [dot] com! You can also leave a comment on our website. Our intro/outro music comes from “Sundancer” by Wild Shores. Licensed under Creative Commons: Attribution 4.0  

In today’s episode of Signal Boost, Jen interviews L. D. Lewis, short story writer, author of A Ruin of Shadows, and Art Director of FIYAH Literary Magazine for Black Speculative Fiction! L. explains why the theme of changing allegiances after discovering the truth is something she likes to explore, how science fantasy helps her ground her world-building, her upcoming essay in Take the Mic: Fictional Stories of Everyday Existence, and what it means to be the Art Director of FIYAH and how she uses that platform to boost the work of Black artists. Then Jen talks to fangirl, Associate Professor, and KidLit activist, Ebony Elizabeth Thomas, about her new non-fiction work, The Dark Fantastic: Race and the Imagination from Harry Potter to the Hunger Games. Jen refused to cut anything because they talk about everything from the imagination gap in publishing to how Ebony’s long involvement with fandom and as a fangirl led to the critical lens through which she developed The Dark Fantastic, whether diversity in media is a moment or a movement, and so much more goodness that you just have to listen! We hope you enjoy the episode! Show Notes: L.D. Lewis (01:00 – 22:07) L.’s Website L. on Twitter A Ruin of Shadows (GO BUY IT!) Take the Mic: Fictional Stories of Everyday Resistance ed. by Bethany C. Morrow (GO PRE-ORDER THIS!) FIYAH Literary Magazine of Black Speculative Fiction (GIVE IT ALL YOUR LOVE!) Ebony Elizabeth Thomas (22:13 – 57:53) Ebony’s Professional Bio Ebony on Twitter The Dark Fantastic: Race and the Imagination from Harry Potter to the Hunger Games (GO PRE-ORDER IT!) If you have a question you’d like us to answer, feel free to shoot us a message on our contact page. Our new intro and outro music comes from “Rock Thing” by Creo (CC BY 4.0), which has been slightly modified to include sound effects and for length purposes.

Origami, abused toys, and kissing daddy, oh my! Since it’s finally 2019, the year that Ridley Scott’s Blade Runner takes place, it was time for us to finally discuss one of the most influential science fiction films of all time. As such, Shaun, Jen, and Paul, sit down to have a chat about the biggest problems in the film (including the treatment of Rachel, the Orientalism, what it means that so many POC are left behind on earth in the world of Blade Runner), what the central theme of the film is and whether or not Deckard is a Replicant (or if it even matters), the brilliant cinematography and its inspirations, the pros and cons of the various version of the film, and more! We hope you enjoy the episode! Show Notes: Blade Runner (Final Cut) (1982/2007)(IMDb) If you have a question you’d like us to answer, feel free to shoot us a message on our contact page. Our new intro and outro music comes from “Rock Thing” by Creo (CC BY 4.0), which has been slightly modified to include sound effects and for length purposes.

Chill your coaxium and holster your blasters, the team is BACK!! That’s right, Shaun, Alex, and Kate have returned after a too long absence to tackle their first book in the NEW Canon, Bloodline by Claudia Gray. If you haven’t read the book yet, no worries, because the team will give you a giant spoiler wall just in case you think a book that whatever happens before Force Awakens and after Return of the Jedi could actually spoil anything for you. The team discusses how this is primarily a Leia book, what gave rise to the First Order, how and why this is not your mom’s hopeful Star Wars, and so, so much more. We hope you enjoy the episode! Show Notes: Bloodline (Wookieepedia) Bloodline (Wikipedia) Bloodline (Amazon) Bloodline (Audible.com; read by January LaVoy) Kate’s Stuff: Kate’s Website Kate’s Twitter Alex’s Stuff: Alex’s Website Alex’s Twitter Shaun’s Stuff: Shaun’s Twitter Shaun’s Website Our NEXT book (get it NOW to read along with us!): Crosscurrent by Paul S. Kemp If you have iTunes and like this show, please give us a review on our iTunes page. Want to suggest a book? Think we should add a feature? Have a question? Feel free to shoot us a message on our contact page. Our intro music comes “Juno” by Chronox (CC BY 4.0), which has been slightly modified to include sound effects and for length purposes.

Increasingly terrified horror academics, high school musical, and Trish’s new job, oh my! Trish and Jen sit down with the CEO and COO of Escape Artists, Alasdair Stuart and Marguerite Kenner! The duo discusses the history of Escape Artists and the changes in both audio fiction and short fiction, their decision to withdraw from the Parsec Awards this year, their goal to hire diverse narrators for diverse stories, the difficulty of getting things right and learning from mistakes when you don’t, the larger podcasting market, and so much more. If you have any interest in audio fiction or podcasting, this is the… well… the podcast interview for you! (Hinthint: These folks are eligible for Hugos!) We hope you enjoy the episode! Show Notes: Escape Artists EscapePod PodCastle PseudoPod Cast of Wonder Alasdair Stuart’s Stuff Alasdair on Twitter Alasdair’s Website After the War RPG by Jason Pitre (GO PRE-ORDER IT!) Magnus Archives Marguerite Kenner’s Stuff Marguerite on Twitter Marguerite’s Website If you have a question you’d like us to answer, feel free to shoot us a message on our contact page. Our new intro and outro music comes from “Rock Thing” by Creo (CC BY 4.0), which has been slightly modified to include sound effects and for length purposes.

In today’s episode of Signal Boost, Jen talks to short story and interactive game designer, Erin Roberts, about her work. They talk about what Erin really enjoys exploring thematically, one of the key features that connects her story, Sour Milk Girls, with her game, Thanks for the Memories, the differences and connections between writing short stories and designing interactive games, and more! Then Paul interviews Sarah Chorn about her debut novel, Seraphina’s Lament. They discuss how she used a large cast to better tell the story, the historical events that inspired the novel and how she found that inspiration, where she plans to take the next book in her planned trilogy, and a few more things besides. We hope you enjoy the episode! Show Notes: Erin Roberts (01:00 – 17:00) Erin’s Website Erin on Twitter 2018 Eligible Works (GO ENJOY!) Sarah Chorn (17:06 – 37:58) Sarah’s Website Sarah on Twitter Seraphina’s Lament (GO BUY IT!) If you have a question you’d like us to answer, feel free to shoot us a message on our contact page. Our new intro and outro music comes from “Rock Thing” by Creo (CC BY 4.0), which has been slightly modified to include sound effects and for length purposes.      

Pink bodysuits, the bisexual 80s, and legs that go on forever, oh my! Today on Torture Cinema, Paul, Alex, and Daniel review the (not so) particularly beloved 1980s fantasy musical, Xanadu! The film also has the distinction of being Gene Kelly’s last picture, so nobody can be too mad at it. If you love camp and ELO (Paul and Alex will fight you on this), then you too might truly love this movie. If you don’t, then you just might have a few things in common with at least some of our hosts. We hope you enjoy the episode! Show Notes: Xanadu (1980)(IMDb) If you have a question you’d like us to answer, feel free to shoot us a message on our contact page. Our new intro and outro music comes from “Rock Thing” by Creo (CC BY 4.0), which has been slightly modified to include sound effects and for length purposes.

Welcome to the first episode of Righteous Kicks — the podcast where two science fiction writers geek out about men in spandex bodysuits who kick evildoers to death in abandoned quarries until they explode. Here, we plan to ramble at length about the good, the bad, and the absolutely silly parts of the Japanese science fiction television franchise, Kamen Rider. Hopefully, we’ll introduce you to a series you’ll love to watch. For our introductory episode, Iori Kusano and Brandon O’Brien give a brief overview of Kamen Rider‘s beginnings, their introductions to the franchise, their favourite elements of the series they’ve seen so far, and what they look forward to discussing in future episodes. Next episode: we dive into the first 16 episodes of Kamen Rider Drive, the only Rider who gets a car instead of a motorcycle. He gets a lot of cars, in fact. Sports cars that talk. Toy cars that fight. Technically, his suit is a car… it’s wild. Be Transformed, and Stay Righteous! Show Notes: Kamen Rider on Wikipedia and the Kamen Rider Wiki A .gif from the Iron Chef episode of Kamen Rider Kabuto The Kamen Rider Guide Kamen Rider Drive on the Kamen Rider Wiki Watch Kamen Rider fansubs at KRDL.moe

In this episode of Into the Wardrobe, Shaun and Jen are joined by the lovely Becca to talk about the movie that defined Jen’s childhood, terrified Shaun, and has now inspired Becca to find a luck dragon. That move is 1984’s The Neverending Story directed by Wolfgang Peterson. Our intrepid crew discuss their own childhood traumas that made them connect so strongly with Bastian, the problems with Atreyu’s coding as Native, the movie’s approach to the tyranny of adulthood under capitalism, the good and the bad of the film’s ending, and so much more that we lost track about half-way through and can’t continue telling you. Basically, listen to the podcast. Enjoy! Show Notes: The Neverending Story (1984)(IMDB) The Wiki Page (Film) Rotten Tomatoes Jen’s Review of The Neverending Story by Michael Ende If you have a question you’d like us to answer, feel free to shoot us a message on our contact page. Our new intro and outro music comes from “Rock Thing” by Creo (CC BY 4.0), which has been slightly modified to include sound effects and for length purposes.

Hello, Rangers! We’re back with everyone’s favorite Space Nancy Drew in Memory! Did you miss us? This time Paul, Trish, Kate, and Alex are joined by Trish’s lovely twin, Sarah Elkins! If you’ve been reading along, Miles Vorkosigan has been through quite a few ups and downs over the series, but things finally catch up to him and, after being caught in a big lie, Miles must come to terms with who he wants to be, Lord Vorkosigan or Admiral Naismith. The team discuss Bujold’s masterful differentiation between plot and story and how Memory acts as both a valediction and a bridge between the past and the future of the Vorkosiverse. Next time in our journey through the Vorkosigan Adventures, we’ll discuss Komarr! We hope you enjoy the episode! Note: If you have iTunes and like this show, please give us a review on our iTunes page, or feel free to email us with your thoughts about the show! Show Notes: Memory Chronological Reading Order of The Vorkosigan Saga (though we’re not totally using this) Komarr Sarah Elkins on Twitter   If you have a question you’d like us to answer, feel free to shoot us a message on our contact page. Our new intro and outro music comes from “Rock Thing” by Creo (CC BY 4.0), which has been slightly modified to include sound effects and for length purposes.

It’s a new year, and we have a lot of new and exciting SF in translation coming out. Chinese fantasy, Czech space opera, Argentine surrealism…Daniel and I tell you all about it. We also take a look back at November and December and briefly summarize what you might have missed when our beloved podcast took a brief wintry haitus. Daniel also talks about the wide variety of short fiction in January and why you should get excited about reading these stories from the Polish, Japanese, Spanish, and more. Extra exciting is the fact that you can also hear Rachel’s interview with the talented author and translator Andy Dudak. Translating Chinese SF, living abroad, how reading and writing and translating influence one another: it’s all covered. Remember: with new stories and books coming to our attention each week, make sure to check the SFT website for updates. Enjoy, and keep reading! A bientôt! Show notes: SFT Out in January “And the Wind Passes Dancing…” by Massimo Soumaré, translated from Italian by Toshiya Kamei (Unreal Magazine, January 1). “The Talus of Madame Liken” by Asja Bakić, translated from the Croatian by Jennifer Zoble (World Literature Today, January) “The Eternal Idol” by Amélie Olaiz, translated from the Japanese by Toshiya Kamei (Menacing Hedge, January). “Soul Tree” by Katsuya Yatsukawa, translated from the Japanese by Toshiya Kamei (SFT, January 15). “Sketches of a Worldwide Christo and Jeanne-Claude” by M.H. Vesseur, translated from the Dutch by Paul Vincent (Unfit Magazine, January 12). “The Small White” by Marian Coman, translated from the Romanian by Sebastian Simon (Apex Magazine, January 15). “All Saints’ Mountain” by Olga Tokarczuk, translated from the Polish by Jennifer Croft (Hazlitt, January 23). “Astrolabe” by Raquel Castro, translated from the Spanish by Lawrence Schimel (Cascadia Subduction Zone, January) A Bond Undone (Legends of the Condor Heroes Vol. 2) by Jin Yong, translated from the Chinese by Gigi Chang (MacLehose Press, January 24). Frontiers of the Imperium (Central Imperium Book 1) by Jan Kotouc, translated from the Czech by Isabel Stainsby (Arbiter Press, January 3). The Plotters by Un-su Kim, translated from the Korean by Sora Kim-Russell (Doubleday, January 29). The Origin of the Fays, edited and translated by Brian Stableford (Black Coat Press, January 1). The Enchanter’s Mirror and Other Stories by Marie-Antoinette Fagnan, translated from the French by Brian Stableford (Black Coat Press, January 1). Mouthful of Birds by Samanta Schweblin, translated from the Spanish by Megan McDowell (Riverhead Books, January 8). Reviews Ellen Jones reviews Tentacle in LARB Lanie Tankard reviews Secret Passages in a Hillside Town in World Literature Today Andrew Singer reviews CoDex 1962 for World Literature Today Jenni Råback reviews Oneiron for Asymptote Journal Jonathan Kirsch reviews Zion’s Fiction: A Treasury of Israeli Speculative Fiction James Kidd reviews Legends of the Condor Heroes Book 2 Articles/Essays “The Beautiful Mind-Bending of Stanislaw Lem” by Paul Grimstad, The New Yorker Ken Liu’s Introduction to Broken Stars Heather Cleary interviews Samanta Schweblin on Lithub “Home is Where the Haunt Is: The Fantastic in Translated Fiction” by Heather Cleary Readers’ Corner Daniel recently read Leonora Carrington’s Complete Stories Rachel is reading The Ouroboros Wave Rachel is translating a story by Raul Ciannella General Links Speculative Fiction in Translation website Speculative Fiction in Translation facebook page SFT on twitter: @Rcordas Feel free to shoot us an email at skiffyandfanty [at] gmail [dot] com! You can also leave a comment on our website. Our new intro and outro music comes “Rock Thing” by Creo (CC BY 4.0), which has been slightly modified to include sound effects and for length purposes.