Category: Guests!

Stars End S3E13

“The Creation of the Podcast Was Looked Upon as the Prime Example of the Overweening Arrogance of Humanity.”

Well, we’re between books this episode, so we decided to read “The Robot Chronicles” from the Great and Glorious Az’s Gold: The Final Science Fiction Collection. It’s an essay in which Asimov discusses his robot stories, their inspirations, and their milestones.

So far, I’ve found Gold enjoyable. It contains the last of Asimov’s science fiction short stories, essays about his stories, and essays about writing Science Fiction. He insists, by the way, that Science Fiction be abbreviated “SF” and not “sci-fi.” You can find out why and read “The Robot Chronicles” and the rest of Gold here.

But, really, the bulk of this episode is an engaging and free-wheeling conversation with our special guest Travis Johnson, whom you may know from Twitter as @travisjohnson and/or @startravcommand. He’s one of the hosts of the Black Alert Podcast and created, with his 11-year-old daughter, a Star Trek Prodigy podcast called Star Trek Podigy. He has also published A Matter of Right: Futures of Justice, a “science fiction comics and prose anthology” about the US criminal justice system. Join us as we discuss Robots, Foundation, all things Asimov, and more! You don’t want to miss this one!

Update: sometimes I forget stuff, and I only remember when I listen to the episode after it’s published. This time it’s the Asimov bust that Travis told us he 3-D printed. It’s an impressive bit of work and here it is for your edification.

Stars End S3E11

“No one outside the podcast has the faintest knowledge of how psychohistory works and not everyone inside does either.”

If you’re read our one piece of fan fiction, “Dors,” by our very own Jon Blumenfeld, you’ve read an origin story of sorts for Dors Venábili.  If you like this character like so many others you should check it out; it’s excellent.

In this episode, we finally get to the chapter of Forward the Foundation featuring… well no, they all feature Hari but this one’s named after Dors.  It was called “The Consort” when it ran in Asimov’s Science Fiction in April of 1993 and to be honest, Dors plays a larger role in this story than the so-called “featured” characters in the other eponymous chapters.  If you hadn’t noticed the book has a bit of a pattern.  In each section, Hari says farewell to his friends and loved ones as his life winds down in ten-year increments. In this story, Hari and we get to say goodbye to Dors, nicely bookending with Jon’s story.

Our guest this week is one of Joseph’s oldest friends, Rick Tetrault. Rick is the host of the Starbase 66 Podcast from the Infinite Potato Alliance and also qualifies as an “old friend” of Stars End. Rick gave us a great deal of sage advice when we were just figuring out how to do a podcast. You might recall that Starbase 66 was the site of our first collective guest appearance back in December. You’re more than invited to check that out here: Starbase 66: Foundationally Speaking.

But first, without further ado: Episode 11!

Featured Image: Interior artwork from Asimov’s Science Fiction Magazine, April 1993.

Stars End S3E09

“I Suspect You Will Find That No Podcast Is Ever Truly Crucial”

Have you been with us for a while? If you have you might remember some jokes back in the long, long ago about the longevity of our podcast. We were pretty stoked (is that what the kids say nowadays?) back in Season 1 Episode 8 when we surpassed the Manimal Threshold for example.

Well, on 26 April 2021 our first episode was squirted out into the aether so we have another milestone to celebrate; we’ve officially been a podcast for over a year.

Thirty-two episodes in and we’re starting to talk about our fifth book, Forward the Foundation by the Great and Glorious Az.

It’s a departure in that it started life as a series of novellas like the original trilogy; three of those appeared in Asimov’s Science Fiction Magazine starting in November 1991. The book and the stories within are somewhat bittersweet; we touch on that a bit in the podcast and we’ll get back to that here as soon as we’re able.

And we have a special guest in this episode, who you may know as @stratotron from that bluebird site! They are a perfect person to join us in a discussion of a chapter entitled “Eto Demerzel.” Join us and welcome the delightful Daneel Adrian Cayce to the conversation, Asimov Enthusiast, Trekkie, Twitterer, chiptune creator, and namesake of the quintessential character in the entire Asimov canon! It’s going to be good!

And thanks to everyone who’s stuck with us for an entire trip around the sun! Never fear, there’s no getting rid of us now!

Stars End S3E03

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I think I need to listen to “Flowers in the Dirt” again.  That’s the 1989 Paul McCartney album where Sir Paul collaborated with Elvis Costello.  I was hoping that Elvis might bring some of the sharper edges that John Lennon brought to the Lennon-McCartney songwriting duo.  No such luck as I recall but maybe 32 years farther on I’ll hear something new.

What brought that up?  Well with Hari on the mend from his excursion to Upperside we’ve decided to take a quick break from Prelude to Foundation before we begin our excursion to Mycogen.

We’re joined this time by Paul Levinson; Fordham University Professor, author, singer-songwriter, podcaster, and all-around renaissance human.  Lots of that springs from his philosophy, “If I enjoy something, I try to do it,” he says.  We chat about robots, the Foundation, robots, Asimov, robots, artificial intelligence, robots, and lots of other things.  Also robots.

Want to know more about Paul?  Check out his blog, Paul Levinson’s Infinite Regress, his podcast Light On Light Through, or his Twitter feed, @PaulLev. You can take it from there.

Oh, and that “Flowers in the Dirt” thing? That was mentioned in Paul’s new short story, “It’s Real Life,” an alternate history story involving the Beatles. You can read that for free here.

But first, our latest Episode: “Your Podcast is Obscure but I Think I Understand.” Let’s go!

Stars End S2E11

“We Send Podcasts Out Into Space Hoping Someone Will Answer!”

Although we’re going to continue to refer back to Foundation Season 1 a lot this year, this is the penultimate episode of our official discussion!

And we’ve got quite a lot to say!  This is our first conversation about the season in its entirety!  We’re joined by special guest Luigi DiMeglio of the Foundation Era YouTube Channel!

And be on the lookout for questions and polls!  In our next episode, we’ll be hosting StarsEnd’s First Annual Hari Awards!  And WE want to hear from YOU on all the big awards!  Plus there will be some surprises!  Stay Tuned to our Twitter account @StarsEndPodcast and here at our website StarsEndPodcast.com for news, official announcements, and our usual load of whimsy.

But first: S2E11! Let’s go!

Stars End S2E08

Stars End S2E08 – “Your Lack of Understanding Does Not Obligate Us to Podcast”

If you’re a Lee Pace fan, or “stan” as the kids say, or even an “aficionado” like they said back in my day, “The Missing Piece” may be for you!  It’s like the last temptation of Brother Day meets Dune with 100% fewer sandworms.  That is to say, it’s a lot of loincloths and wandering around in the desert. Damn sand gets in everything!

Plus Hari’s still incorporeal, Gaal indulges in some casual vandalism, Salvor and Phara go on a trip, and Ethel the Aardvark goes quantity surveying.

As usual, we talk about it.

This week we’re joined by Rich Greenberg, a screenwriter and old friend of Jon’s.  Rich is known for Zoe (2018), starring Ewan McGregor, Léa Seydoux, and Rashida Jones, as well as the Emmy Award-Winning The Beauty Inside (2018).  Rich will tell us about the process of adapting an intellectual property, particularly a science fiction IP for television.

Join us!  

Stars End S2E07

Stars End S2E07 – An Exhortation from one of the Galaxy’s Major Podcasts

It’s Halloween evening as I write this and the two biggest Sci-Fi franchises have new episodes out.  The premiere of Star Trek Prodigy was last Thursday and the season opener for Doctor Who was this evening.  

But I have another venerable old franchise on my mind.

Namely Twilight Zone.  “Hey, kids!  You want to see something really scary?!?”

Well, “scary” probably isn’t the right word for “Mysteries and Martyrs” but I think some of us found it a little unsettling.

Still, there are lots of big questions!  Is Psychohistory as we know it a thing of the past?  What is the Anacreoneans horrific plan for the Invictus? Has the show succumbed to the Great and Glorious Az’s predilection for exposition?  And in the show with the most per-capita executions might someone get put to death for erroneous thumb-clasping?

We don’t know!  But we’re going to talk about it anyway!  With extra special guest star Cathy Blumenfeld, who has the distinction of escaping that Asimovian indoctrination so many of us suffered as teens.

Join us!  You’ll love it!  It will be like losing yourself in the scar and seeing real clouds!

Stars End S2E06

Stars End S2E06 – An Entire Galaxy Pivoting Around the Actions of an Individual Podcast

There are a lot of things happening in Episode 6, “Death and the Maiden.”

Beware! The spoilers are probably even more densely packed than usual.  “The spoiler-space may even be compact,” he said mathematically.

What a difference a week makes!  We described Episode 5 as a “bridge” episode. In episode 6, there’s stuff going on right and left!  Actually, maybe even in 2, 3, or, 4 dimensions!  This cries out for an “Age of Aquarius” joke, but I don’t have one.  Any help?

Politics!  Religion!  Explosions!  Big themes! Hints about how everything fits together!  This one has it all!

And we have Morgan, as our latest very special guest! She’s a self-described Daneel Olivaw stan and biotechnologist who loves all things Asimov and tweets Foundation-related stuff as @AsimovPosting. She joined us and brought a fresh new voice to the conversation!

You should join us and join the conversation too! You’ll be glad you did!

Stars End S2E05

Stars End S2E5 – The Seers Condemned this Podcast

If you’d rather not be rudely awakened by some spoilers, you know what to do! We’ll be here when you’re ready.

And speaking of rude awakenings, how about that Gaal Dornick? That whole ordeal didn’t seem pleasant at all!

What isn’t rude is our conversation this week, about Foundation’s Episode 5, “Upon Awakening,” it’s better than being roused by a thunderstorm, a smoke alarm, or a cat licking your face.

And this will really shake you out of your slumber! We’ve got a very special episode for you because we’ve been joined by a very special guest, Joel McKinnon host of the very excellent Seldon Crisis Podcast! Joel’s a very interesting guy with a very interesting podcast and some very interesting other irons in the fire.

If you’d prefer to listen to Seldon Crisis another way, it’s also available on the You Tube.

Also, Joel is in a band! The Jupiter Sheep! You can learn more about them and listen to their music here! And

Also also Joel has written a rock opera called Planet and Sky, which was performed by the Max Wyvern Band and expanded into yet another podcast!

And you can discover the rest by following Joel on Twitter @JoelGMcKinnon.

You should check these things out.

But not right now! Right now it’s time for the also excellent StarsEnd Podcast! Let’s go!

Episode 7

All the children danced in the street! “It’s here! It’s here!” they cried! “The seventh episode of Stars End is here!!”

It’s true! Our seventh episode, “Never let your sense of morals prevent you from doing a podcast” is now available! Even though we had some technical difficulties (the sound quality isn’t up to our usual standards; our apologies) it’s a great episode!

Cora Buhlert

It’s great in part because it’s different! We’re honored to welcome Cora Buhlert as our first guest on the podcast! Instead of talking about Foundation, we’ll talk to someone else about Foundation. Also, science fiction in general, becoming an SF fan as a kid, Hugo Awards and, a bunch of other stuff.

Cora is an amazingly prolific and eclectic writer. So prolific that Jon joked about her owning “Asimov’s Typewriter” and we suddenly had a new imaginary episode of Warehouse 13 in our heads. So eclectic that no matter your tastes there’s a good chance that she’s written something that you’d enjoy. If you like stories about galactic empires like Foundation, she’s written two full series you might like, In Love and War and Shattered Empire.  She’s also a two-time Hugo Finalist for Best Fan Writer.

I could go on and we do in the Episode. She was an excellent first guest and you can learn more about her at corabuhlert.com.

The episode is also great because it’s the same! We have new installments of our two regular features, the “Apple TV+ Minute” and “Asimov Trivia.: In the Trivia segment, we explore Asimov and Comic Books while in the Apple TV minute we react to the new trailer which you can watch “with” us right here!

Join us and Enjoy! Please rate and review.