Sci Minus Fi: Recent Episodes
Sci Minus Fi
Friends Christopher Stern and Nathan Yim host the science club for movie nerds and movie club for science nerds. Every other week we watch a sci-fi film and talk about it, breaking down its science and comparing it with present day technologies.
Who knew Galaxy Quest offered such a deep exploration on the nature of history and truth. In today's landscape, Chris and Nathan discuss the Star Trek homage and parody Galaxy Quest. With a great cast of character and funny story, they dissect what Galaxy Quest says about truth, documenting history and how bad actors take advantage of our information.
One "who controls the spice, controls the universe." You guessed it! This week we're talking about Denis Villeneuve's latest film, Dune. Chris and Nathan get on their stillsuits and share their thoughts on Part One of this political epic about young Paul Atreides and his family's time on the desert planet Arrakis. Looking at the technology of the Dune universe, Nathan remarks on its uniquely mechanical and manual nature as we discuss ornithopters, stillsuits and Holtzman shields. Note: we recorded before the announcement that Part 2 has been confirmed!
This week, Chris and Nathan watch Richard Linklater's A Scanner Darkly and compare its technologies to our contemporary world. From surveillance and scramblesuits to the dangerous Substance D they find current tech that is similar to what they see in the movie. You'll also learn about the merits of the interpolated rotoscoping that Linklater used to animate the film.
Today Chris sits down with guest host Veronica Sullivan to discuss Denis Villeneuve's 2016 film Arrival and how it explores linguistic relativity and another classic Sci Minus Fi topic - time. Veronica provides insight on speaking multiple languages and discusses the idea of determinism as explored in the movie.
What does life look like on other planets? How similar would it be to life on Earth? And, as a side note, who brings a cat on a mission in space??? Nathan and Chris get into these hard hitting questions as they discuss Ridley Scott's 1979 film, Alien, starring Sigourney Weaver, John Hurt and Ian Holm. They discuss the movie's creepy aesthetic brought to you by H.R. Giger as well as the science of space ship design and extraterrestrial life.
After a brief hiatus, Chris and Nathan are back and talking about Interstellar! Christopher Nolan's 2014 film was the film that inspired this show. Now, we use it to discuss black holes, Murphy's Law and debate whether humans will actually become interstellar beings. You'll also learn about Spielberg's connection to the film and what exactly is Hawking Radiation.
After all these years, some say Michael Jordan is still the G.O.A.T. After watching Space Jam: A New Legacy Nathan would certainly give Jordan points for making a better movie. But how much better? This week Chris and Nathan discuss the basketball movie beloved by millennials everywhere, Space Jam. Chris learns about the history and politics of the sport while Nathan has some things to say about His Airness.
Spike Jonze's 2013 film Her starring Joaquin Phoenix and Scarlett Johansson is a perfect film, if you ask Chris. This week, Chris and Nathan explore how this film has become even more relevant since its release. From digital relationships to deep fakes this film predicts the near future too well. Following this trajectory, Nathan dares to ask if one day we'll become purely digital beings. If it makes watching sex scenes with parents less awkward, then count us in.
In Justin Benson and Aaron Moorhead's 2019 film, a new drug brings people back in time but they don't know where they'll end up. It's an original take on the time travel genre that has lofty goals of exploring the past, relationships, racism and family. With Latin, angst ridden teens and mid-life crises, Synchronic has it all. However, Chris and Nathan discuss whether it all works. Or if any of it works for that matter.
Nathan and Chris are here to iron out the wrinkles in the fabric of spacetime because who wants those? If you want to be sophisticated like Charles Wallace you need your spacetime looking sharp and presentable. Ava DuVernay's version of A Wrinkle in Time follows Meg Murry and friends on a quest through the galaxy. Join us as we go on our own quest to find out why numerology is attractive to people, what the differences between science fantasy and science fiction are and where the centaur went!!!
In a post apocalyptic world where cities drive around the European countryside, there's only one rule: which jacket should I wear? Chris and Nathan talk with special guest Veronica Sullivan about Mortal Engines. Together they discuss about director Christian Rivers's connection with Peter Jackson, building moving mega-cities and sustainability. If you've ever wanted to learn about the best designed city in the world, this is the place. For the record, it's Singapore.
What's the difference between a wormhole and a black hole? In Paul W. S. Anderson's Event Horizon it isn't clear. So Chris and Nathan help to clarify the issue by breaking down what wormholes are. They also riff on what it would take to build one and where it might take us. Notable movie talking points: practical VFX, how to take stuff home from a film set and Lucius Malfoy in space!
There were two podcasters who swallowed a fly. I don't know why they swallowed a fly. Perhaps someone should check on them for ice cream cravings and basic personal hygiene. We don't need more Brundleflies. This week Chris and Nathan watch David Cronenberg's iconic body horror film which brings them into a discussion about teleportation. But be forewarned. This gets into quantum mechanics which breaks Chris's brain and blows Nathan's mind.
If you're looking for a 4/20 friendly movie this is definitely it because Chris and Nathan can't agree on whether "ZARDOZ IS GOOD." They also debate the merits of 23rd century facial hair. The science is still out on whether eternal life is all it's chalked up to be. Nathan brings up a list of immortal animals while Chris talks about the next step in human evolution that might lead to our own immortality.
Is being invisible the worst super power? It can certainly be terrifying, at least for Chris. This week Chris and Nathan figure out what makes The Invisible Man work so well and discuss the latest advances in invisibility, cloaking and camouflage.
Look out! It's Chris and Nathan talking about Godzilla! Created by the effects of nuclear radiation, Godzilla is usually a warning about human destruction. But this film seems to ignore most of that. It still gave us a lot to dive into regarding the risks or nuclear radiation, the safety of current nuclear technology and how to protect future civilizations from being harmed by nuclear waste.
If you had a stolen police robot would you teach it: a) to be a thinker, b) to do heists, c) a strict but not well thought out set of morals that can be easily manipulated by bad actors and have terrible consequences for an entire city or d) all of the above? After watching Chappie, Christopher and Nathan have some thoughts. Today we discuss training AI programs, how to program consciousness and whether transferring consciousness is possible and what that even means.
Christopher and Nathan will remember it for you wholesale... Or maybe that's someone else. Anyway, we dive into the deep recesses of our minds to talk about memory, what is known about it and how it works. Christopher also teaches Nathan how to implant a false memory into someone's mind.
In the near future Christopher and Nathan look to Brad Pitt for the promise of progress. Ad Astra provides a lot to discuss about the search for extra terrestrial intelligence (SETI), space travel and the commercialization of space.
Welcome to Sci Minus Fi! We spared no expense to bring this experience to you. Join Christopher and Nathan on their first ever episode where they tear into the science behind cloning and chaos theory and explain how they work in the context of the film. Hopefully nothing goes wrong!