Post-Apocalyptia

Our season finale has arrived! This week on Post-Apocalyptia, we look at Alfonso Cuarón's 2006 film, Children of Men. We'll talk about terrorism, assisted suicide, and the death of the world's youngest person. We have combat, long action sequences, and perhaps the most fundamentally human apocalypse we've ever seen: The end of fertility and birth. And we'll ask ourselves, what keeps people going when the end is inevitable? Thi...

Today on Post-Apocalyptia, Marley joins us to pick up where we left off last season: We're looking at the Netflix series, Sweet Tooth, season two! We're checking in on Gus, Big Man, and all the hybrid children you can handle. We'll battle the Last Men, make new allies, and suffer terrible losses. And we'll ask ourselves: What is it all about--loyalty, or ambition? This and more, in season two of Sweet Tooth! Join us there, at the e...

Today on Post-Apocalyptia, we have something special. The story we're covering occurs on this very day--August 4th, 2026--and that is an opportunity we can't pass up! Professor David Perlmutter joins us again to talk about Ray Bradbury's 1950 short story, "There Will Come Soft Rains". We'll talk about the end of humanity, and the persistence of humanity's works. We'll think about the history that led to this story, and the per...

This week on Post-Apocalyptia: We're saving our regular episode, and for a very good reason! On August 4, we will be looking at Ray Bradbury's 1950 short story, "There Will Come Soft Rains". It's a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to cover a story on the very date that it takes place--and we can't pass that up! In the meantime, enjoy this bonus episode on the life and work of Sara Teasdale, and her poem of the same title, which is fe...

We're back! This week, we're looking at our second alien invasion of the season, in the 2018 film, A Quiet Place. We'll talk about sign language and sonic weapons, family and forgiveness, and just what makes an alien invasion story believable. And we'll ponder the question: What will we do for those we love when we're faced with the end of the world? This and more, in A Quiet Place! Join us there, at the end of the world.

A Qu...

This week, Claire Weaver of the Days Gone Podcast joins us to talk about the 2019 video game by Bend Studio, Days Gone! We'll talk about antiheroes and Freakers, soldiers, and cultists, and the best characterization in any game we've covered yet. We'll travel the Oregon wilderness and take on Hordes of Freaks (don't call them zombies!), and regain our--that is, Deacon St. John's--own humanity. And we'll ask ourselves the quest...

This week on Post-Apocalyptia: Professor David Perlmutter returns to talk about the saddest book we've ever read: Nevil Shute's 1957 novel, On The Beach! And its movie adaptations, as well. We'll look at grief, fate, time, and how people approach them. We'll take a ride on the last submarine in service, and the fastest car in Australia. And we'll ask ourselves the only question left that matters: How do you live when you see t...

This week on Post-Apocalyptia: We look at a lesser-known film by Star Trek creator Gene Roddenberry, 1973's Genesis II! We'll talk about suspended animation, mutants, and the third World War. We'll look at high tech subway lines, '70s sex appeal, and the ugly specter of slavery. And we'll ask ourselves: Just what's it take to get a show on the air, anyway? This and more, in Gene Roddenberry's Genesis II! Join us...

This week on Post-Apocalyptia: We return to Mid-World, with the third book in Stephen King's The Dark Tower series, The Waste Lands! We'll meet up with Roland the last gunslinger and his ka-tet as they find the path of the Beam, and make their way to the crumbling city of Lud. We'll learn the layout of the world, and more clues about the apocalypse that created it--and we'll end with a showdown with an insane supercompute...

Welcome back! Today Michael Lee joins us to talk about the 2013 video game masterpiece from Naughty Dog, The Last of Us, Part I! We'll look at a brand new type of zombie, and a chance at a cure. We'll talk about fatherhood, trust, and lies, and we'll look at whether it's the humans or the infected who are the real danger. And we'll ask the most pressing question: What is it with 2013 games impaling their protagonists? This and...

We're back! Today, musician and streamer RemmyLebo joins us to wrap up our look at Richard Matheson's I Am Legend with the final film adaptation, 2007's (appropriately titled) I Am Legend! We'll talk about vampires vs. zombies, basement labs, and just how highly ranked you have to be to build professional defenses. We'll compare with the other versions of the story, and look at the social anxieties that made this ver...

We're back! Today in this special bonus episode, we continue down the trail of Richard Matheson's I Am Legend with the second of its three adaptations: 1971's The Omega Man, starring Moses himself, Charlton Heston. We'll compare the movie with the novella and with its predecessor, and talk about racial issues in 1970s film (bet you didn't see THAT coming!) We'll discuss the relative success of each adaptation, and the ways thi...

We're back! Today in this special bonus episode, we continue down the trail of Richard Matheson's I Am Legend with the first of its three adaptations: 1964's The Last Man on Earth, starring Vincent Price. We'll compare the movie with the novella, and talk about the urge to soften the blow. We'll discuss Matheson's favorites versus Price's favorites, and we'll ask ourselves the question we least expected: Vampires, in a ch...

This week on Post-Apocalyptia: James Gomes of the Jimbo Radio podcast joins us to talk about Richard Matheson's 1954 novella, I Am Legend! We'll talk about vampires, germ theory, and the last man on earth. We'll look at military service and PTSD; the power of purpose; and even a little hysterical blindness. And we'll ask ourselves, why can't a movie go all in on the ending? This and more, in I Am Legend! Join us there, at...

We're back, and visiting a new part of the world! Today, let's take a look at the Russian response to the apocalypse, in 4A Games' 2010 game, Metro 2033! We'll talk about psychic mutants, bullets as currency, and winged demons. And we'll ask ourselves, could we actually survive the apocalypse in a subway system? All this and more in Metro 2033 (and its remaster, 2014's Metro 2033 Redux)! Join us there, at the en...

This week on Post-Apocalyptia: We go way back to a cautionary tale from more than a century ago, in E.M. Forster's "The Machine Stops"! We talk about AI, conformity, and a world that wasn't ready for social media--and whether ours is. And we ask the question: Where do we draw our lines? Because when the Machine stops, it may well take us with it! All this and more, in "The Machine Stops". Join us there, at the end of the world!

"Th...

Today on a special bonus episode of Post-Apocalyptia: Enjoy this audiobook of the story we'll be covering this weekend, E.M. Forster's 1909 short story, "The Machine Stops"! And join us on Sunday for our discussion of this disturbingly prophetic story, on our regular weekly episode. Join us there, at the end of the world!

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This week on Post-Apocalyptia: The zombies have evolved! In Danny Boyle's 2002 film, 28 Days Later, we'll check out a new breed of zombies. They don't want to eat you, they just want to kill you--and they're fast enough and angry enough to do it. The Rage virus takes over England, and we're here to see just how badly that works out (spoiler: it's VERY bad!). All this and more, in 28 Days Later! Join us there, at the end of the...

What does it take to ruin a life? We'll find out today on Post-Apocalyptia, as we look at the most famous episode of Rod Serling's The Twilight Zone, "Time Enough At Last"! We'll talk about relationships, duty, and the love of reading; and we'll ask ourselves, what good is survival if everything you love is gone? All this and more, as we accompany nearsighted bank teller Henry Bemis (played by the fantastic Burgess Meredi...