This is a bonus episode of Science Fiction 101, in which we abandon our quizzes and throw our past/present/future items out the window, and just give you a straightforward interview. It's all about staging a science fiction film festival!

Our guest is Russ Repp, who is responsible for the mammoth, eight-week, science fiction film festival currently happening in Portland, Oregon, in the city's remarkable OMSI (Oregon Museum of Science and Industry).

Russ talks us through the history of the festival, and lets us in on the secrets of how a sci-fi film festival is programmed.

Full information on the OMSI Science Fiction Festival (which continues until late May 2024) can be found here: https://omsi.edu/exhibits/sci-fi-film-fest/

Even if - like Phil - you're nowhere near Oregon, this is still a fascinating tale of how a festival is put together.

Next episode, we'll be back to our usual format, but we hope you enjoy this little bonus!

Time for a new episode of the podcast. This time Colin and Phil meet the Hugo- and Nebula-winning author Robert J. Sawyer, to discuss his new novel The Downloaded.

You may recall we reviewed the Audible Original full-cast audio version of The Downloaded a couple of episodes ago (you can find it here). We were keen to find out how the book version differs from the audio version, so we invited Rob onto the show to discuss.

And what a discussion it is! 

Also in this episode, we have listener responses to our "to be a fan" episode, and our usual ramble through the past, present and future of SF.

For the full show notes, check out our website at 101sf.blogspot.com

Are you a science fiction fan? Possibly, or why else would you be listening to this podcast?

Phil and Colin ponder what it means to be a fan, and whether there are are specific rules for entry into fandom.

We also have our usual quiz, and our past/present/future discussion. For full show notes, check out our website at https://101sf.blogspot.com/

In this episode, we review The Downloaded, the new novel by multi-award-winning author Robert J. Sawyer. It's an "Audible Original", meaning that it's been published first as an audiobook - and not just any old audiobook. This has Oscar-winner Brendan Fraser as one member of a full cast.

We also have a quiz and our usual run-through of recommendations of past, present and future SF.

For more info, check out our shownotes at 101sf.blogspot.com

It's that time of year where we take a current science fiction magazine and review it from cover to cover - as something of an antidote to what we did last episode (which was to review an old magazine from the 1960s New Wave).

This time we work through one of the most successful of the current magazines, the multiple award-winning Uncanny.

If you want to read along with us, you can find the entire issue (no. 55) online for free at the official website, here: https://www.uncannymagazine.com/issues/uncanny-magazine-issue-fifty-five/

Check out our full show notes on our blog, 101sf.blogspot.com

It being the end of the year, Colin and Phil continue their annual tradition of travelling back in time to read an old science fiction magazine. This time, they stop off in 1968 - the height of the "new wave" in science fiction - and pick up an issue of New Worlds magazine from December 1968.

If you'd like to read along, you can find a PDF of that magazine here, courtesy of the Luminist website: west-1.wasabisys.com/luminist/SF/NW_1968_12.pdf?fbclid=IwAR2nObl2g9jhu5hMrHghGxroVTxbf8dm9ri2cROMCFecW6hSAPiDD99TndA">https://s3.us-west-1.wasabisys.com/luminist/SF/NW_1968_12.pdf

And if you'd like to join in our 1960s science fiction movie quiz, you'll find that on Youtube, here: https://youtu.be/vAFs4PfLCVw?si=ZYb1o02iABx7QI3Z

For more info on all the items mentioned in today's show, check out the full show notes at 101sf.blogspot.com

Colin and Phil review the short stories nominated for this year's Hugo Awards. As the World Science Fiction Convention is in China, this year's shortlist includes a number of Chinese stories!

We also have our usual run through of past, present and future science fiction.

Check out the full show notes on our blog - 101sf.blogspot.com - and check us out on Facebook.

We realised one day that we'd talked about our "desert island movies" and "desert island TV" choices, but not considered our BOOK choices. Time to rectify that oversight!

We discuss four types of book: science fiction novels; science fiction short story collections/anthologies; books which are SF-adjacent in some way; and books which have nothing at all to do with SF.

You're bound to recognise some of these, but we might have a few surprises or obscurities. Listen and find out!

And don't forget to let us know about your favourites - by leaving a comment on our blog at ⁠⁠101sf.blogspot.com⁠⁠, or by finding us as Science Fiction 101 Podcast on Facebook.

Phil and Colin like nothing more than a compare-and-contrast, so they return to Doctor Who to review an episode typical of the modern era. How does a Hugo Award-winning episode starring David Tennant stack up against the William Hartnell original episode (reviewed last time)?

We also have our usual past/present/future round-up.

For the full show notes, check out our web page at 101sf.blogspot.com.

This year, the long-running SF series Doctor Who is sixty years old - so Colin and Phil turn back the clock and watch the very first episode of the series, from 1963: "An Unearthly Child".

Phil's first proper Doctor was the third one, played by Jon Pertwee, although he has vague recollections of the second doctor (Patrick Troughton). On the other hand, like many Americans, Colin first knew of the show from the Tom Baker years.

What will they make of the gruff, original Doctor portrayed by William Hartnell?

We also have our usual skip through past, present and future science fiction.

Check out our show notes at 101sf.blogspot.com.