Podcast recommendation: Marooned on Mars

25 November 2024

I mentioned yesterday that this month I’ve enjoyed rereading Kim Stanley Robinson’s Mars Trilogy. This time around, after completing my re-read, I’ve enjoyed listening to Marooned on Mars, a podcast devoted to Kim Stanley Robinson’s fiction. The initial conceit of the podcast was that the hosts, Matt Hauske and Hilary Strang (two humanities academics, based in Chicago) would take a section from the Mars Trilogy, one episode at a time, and discuss it, drawing out themes, pointing out connections, and generally, enjoying talking about the work.

Hilary and Matt know their stuff (Hilary teaches literature, and in particular, science fiction, while Matt works in cinema studies), but the conversation reads as a discussion between knowledgeable friends, rather than an academic seminar.

A highlight of the initial series of podcasts, on the Mars Trilogy, is their delight (and trepidation) over being contacted by Kim Stanley Robinson himself, who has turned out to be a listener (and fellow fan) of the podcast. He’s now appeared on the podcast a couple of times, and it’s insightful to see an author respond–nondefensively–to critical and sympathetic readers of their work. There’s lots to enjoy here, and Matt and Hilary have continued their podcast to cover other KSR novels, too. I will return to Marooned on Mars when KSR returns to my reading pile. Thanks, Hilary and Matt.