The Speculative Collective

The Speculative Collective

A podcast about speculative fiction. Follow along with our panel, Steph, Brian, Ze’ev, Kami and Ash, as they discuss a broad range of topics and explore all that spec fic has to offer.

Episodes

April 20, 2025 91 mins

Next up is Episode 11 - The End.  The panel discusses post-apocalyptic fiction at its finesst.  Hear about Station Eleven by Emily St. John Mandel, Manhunt by Gretchen Felker-Martin, Lucifer's Hammer by Larry Niven & Jerry Pournelle, and The Road by Cormac McCarthy.

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This month is Episode 10 - The Pride.  The panel discusses the spec-fic books that address or represent the queer community through characters, themes, or by their authors.  Hear about Rainbow Rowell's Carry On, Tamsyn Muir's Gideon the Ninth,  Arthur C Clarke's The Fountains of Paradise, and H. E. Edgmon's The Witch King.

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August 7, 2024 76 mins

This month is Episode 9 - The Humour.  The panel discusses the spec-fic books that best tickle their funny bones and how humour can help or hinder the narrative.  Hear about Piers Anthony's A Spell for Chameleon, Douglas Adams' The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy,  Neil Gaiman* & Terry Pratchett's Good Omens, and Jasper Fforde's The Eyre Affair.

*Panel's Note - this recording was made pri...

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June 24, 2024 89 mins

This month is Episode 8 - The Science.  The panel discusses their favourite hard sci-fi novels and how science can become an integral part of the narrative.  Hear about Richard K. Morgan's Altered Carbon, Arthur C Clarke's Rendezvous with Rama,  Robert L. Forward's Dragon's Egg, and Frank Herbert's Dune.

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May 20, 2024 74 mins

This month is Episode 7 - The City.  The panel discusses their favourite Urban Fantasy novels and touch on how setting can become a character of its own, shape the narrative, and transform a story with signature style.  Hear about Tanya Huff's Blood Series, Richard Kadrey's Sandman Slim,  Laura Ann Gilman's Staying Dead (Retriever Series), and Charles de Lint's The Onion Girl.

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April 28, 2024 47 mins

This month is Episode 6 - The Quiz.  To commemorate our mid-season episode, the panel is challenged to five rounds of trivia all about their favourite topics.  Play along and test your own knowledge to see if you can come out on top!

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March 18, 2024 70 mins

This month is Episode 5 - The Canucks.  The panel discusses which Canadian spec-fic books, stories, and authors are on their must-read lists.  Hear about Sylvain Neuvel's Themis Files series, Gemma Files' A Book of Tongues,  Robert Sawyer's Calculating God, and Caitlin Sweet's The Pattern Scars.

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February 15, 2024 72 mins

We're back from our winter break and this month is Episode 4 - The Fright.  The panel discusses which horror books had them sleeping with the lights on.  Hear about Echopraxia by Peter Watts,  House of Leaves by Mark Z. Danielewski, Neuropath by R. Scott Bakker, and Eutopia by David Nickle.






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December 15, 2023 69 mins

This month is Episode 3 - The Loop.  The panel discusses which time travel books have them coming back to them time and time again.  Hear about Amal El-Mohtar and Max Gladstone's This is How You Lose the Time War, Connie Willis' The Doomsday Book, Chuck Palahniuk's Rant: An Oral Biography of Buster Casey, and Elan Mastai's All Our Wrong Todays.

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November 11, 2023 69 mins

This month is Episode 2 - The Pushers.  The panel discusses which books they would recommend to hook someone on to the genre.  Hear about Terry Pratchett and Stephen Baxter's The Long Earth, Martha Wells' All Systems Red, Orson Scott Card's Ender's Game, Garth Nix's Sabriel, and Andy Weir's The Martian.

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October 11, 2023 69 mins

Get to know the Speculative Collective panel and find out which books pulled them into the genre - this week, they talk about Isaac Asimov's Foundation, Madeleine L'Engle's A Wrinkle in Time, K.A. Applegate's Animorphs series, and Larry Niven's Ringworld.

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September 24, 2023 2 mins

Find out what the Speculative Collective is all about - and who sits on the panel!

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