There's something almost romantic about airships--from zeppelins to dirigibles to little Goodyear Blimps. The image of a giant, floating aircraft feels both nostalgic and futuristic. In the early 20th century, airships were on the leading edge of aviation; today, they mostly live on in the domain of steampunk art and speculative fiction.But a number of companies are betting they can bring airships out of the history books and into modern real-world applications like cargo transport and military uses.

This hour, we talk with speculative fiction author Ken Liu, as well as a journalist and the leader of a modern hybrid airship company about airships, real and imagined.

GUESTS:

• Ken Liu - Speculative fiction author and futurist, the author of the Dandelion Dynasty, an epic fantasy featuring airships
• Jeanne Marie Laskas - Journalist; she wrote a piece for The New Yorker in 2016 on modern airships
• Nick Allman - Chief Operating Officer of Hybrid Air Vehicles

Support the show: http://www.wnpr.org/donate

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.