In which we wrap up Foundation with a discussion of “The Merchant Princes.” and get ready to start Foundation and Empire. We’ll also have another Apple TV+ minute for you and another installment of Asimov Trivia! Is this true? It certainly sounds true!
We just recorded our fifth episode last night. Five isn’t a big, round number, it isn’t even a round number. But it is half of a round number. Also it is prime. Prime numbers are cool. Let’s call it a minor milestone.
Five episodes is almost as many as Manimal, which was quality programming. It was a philosophical examination of the human state and its relationship to the environment in the postindustrial age. Probably. I never watched it but I’m sure that’s what it was about. That or a werewolf detective or something but probably the first thing. Anyway, almost as many as Manimal and we did it without being notoriously terrible or infamously offensive! Mostly.
Unlike “the Wedge” (aka The Traders), which was published with little to no fanfare, John W. Campbell was a lot more enthusiastic about “The Big and the Little” (aka The Merchant Princes). It takes up the lion’s share of July’s coming attractions (above) and, like “Bridle and Saddle” it was Astounding’s cover when it ran in August of 1944.
So, next time we discuss “The Merchant Princes” and foreshadow a bit of Foundation and Empire. We’ll also have another Apple TV+ minute for you, which will inspire a tangent into the DC Comics Extended Universe of all things.
A quick bit of Trivia: I just learned that “The Traders” and “The Merchant Princes” were both nominated for Retro Hugo’s in 2020, 75 years after they first would have been eligible had there been a World Science Fiction Convention in 1945. Neither won its category.
And speaking of trivia we’ll also have another installment of Asimov Trivia for you! Is there drama in the game this time? You’ll have to listen to see!
Coming soon to a platform near you. Join us!
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Our fourth episode, “A Podcast is the Last Refuge of the Incompetent” is now available for your edification. We’ve run out of Laws of Robotics and have moved on to famous Salvor Hardin aphorisms. That’s a bit more on-brand for a Foundation podcast.
We talk about “The Traders,” part four of Foundation. This story first appeared, with surprisingly little fanfare in the October 1944 issue of Astounding under the title “The Wedge.”
In addition we have our second Apple Plus Minute and another edition of Asimov Trivia with a new contestant and a new quiz master!
Please join us! We’re looking forward to it and Hari Seldon already knows how it’s going to end!
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As foretold! Mayors! Bridles! Saddles! Oddly, no actual horses! And the ultimate answer to the ultimate cliffhanger! It’s “A Podcast must protect its own existence as long as such protection does not conflict with the First or Second Episode!”
Also show news, we react to the trailer (this one, here)…
…and more Asimov trivia! Join us! Please rate and review.
We hope you’re enjoying our podcast so far and if you are, you’re probably as anxious to see the resolution of the cliffhanger that ended our second episode as we are! Do you think what has to be done to keep Terminus safe from Anachreon was obvious? We didn’t particularly think so despite 20-year-old Isaac’s assurances to the contrary. “The Enyclopedeaists” appeared as “Foundation” in Astounding Science Fiction for May, 1942. Here are the coming attractions from that issue.
It’s clear that John W. Campbell expected that riddle to bring people back to Astounding for the June issue. He didn’t stop there though, “Bridle and Saddle” was featured on the cover as well.
Of course, we now know “Bridle and Saddle” as “The Mayors,” the title it was given in Foundation.
We’ll also bring you up to date on what we know about the show so far and we’ll treat you to another edition of Asimov Trivia.
In future episodes, we’ll continue to work our way through the books, have show news as it become available and more!
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Our second episode, entitled “Podcast must obey the orders given it by human beings except where such orders would conflict with the First Episode” is posted, and available wherever fine podcasts blossom or will be when Anchor gets around to uploading it for us. Of course, we are now begging the question… what will the fourth episode be called?
We start discussing the first novel, Foundation, in earnest and get all the way through the first two stories, “The Psychohistorians,” and “The Encyclopedists.” We also try our hand at a new segment, “Asimov Trivia.” You can join us at the link below.
Stars End: A Foundation Podcast 