Ursula K. Le Guin was born on this day in 1929. She used science fiction to explore the failures of capitalist society — and the alternative worlds we could build in its place.
Unlike many classic works of sci-fi, Star Trek offered an optimistic vision of humanity’s future — one where democracy triumphs, exploitation is ended, and everyone’s material needs are met.
Somehow, society is going to have to figure out what it’s comfortable having A.I. doing, and what A.I. should not be permitted to try, before it is too late to make those decisions.
Encompassing everything from the ecosystems novel to sci-fi, a growing body of literature is imagining and interrogating the past, present, and future of the planet's climate.
The story is full of very relatable pandemic moments: workers questioning whether it’s safe to go to work or whether they should stay home, streets suddenly emptied, N-95 masks. What makes this all so remarkable is that it was published in 2018...
Bernie Sanders Eviscerates Elon Musk. Come As You Are (Nirvana) | Playing for Change. The Year in Jordan Klepper 2021. Don't Look Up | Leonardo DiCaprio, Jennifer Lawrence. 2021, in 6 Minutes.
How Denis Villeneuve broke the curse.
New York Times
Villeneuve’s hugely anticipated, pandemic-delayed adaptation of Frank Herbert’s classic sci-fi novel Dune is an environmental fable, a parable of the oil economy, a critique of colonialism, a warning against putting your faith in charismatic leaders.
The latest film adaptation of Dune, Frank Herbert’s cult sci-fi novel series, is out next month. With its often-reactionary mix of political cynicism, ecological catastrophism, and lurid orientalism, it remains oddly attractive to left-wing audiences
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