Category: Prelude to Foundation

Stars End S3E08

“The Podcast Makes No Allowance For Unwitting Harm”

How time flies!  It’s our final Episode on Prelude to Foundation and you’re not going to want to miss this one!

Our heroes finally, despite their best efforts, find themselves in the sector of Wye.  That’s pronounced “why” and The Great and Glorious Az has a bit of fun with that.  Also, “Who” is the Prime Minister, “What” is the neighboring sector, and “I Don’t Know” is on third.  And while Raych gets to go to the Zoo, Rachelle eventually finds herself in the penalty box.  I’m kidding, mostly.  But whadya asking me for?  You should take a look at this to see how it’s supposed to be done!

https://youtu.be/2ve20PVNZ18

Also War! And the final climactic ending which, in classic Asimovian style, is people in rooms having conversations!  But with tons of intrigue, lots of reveals, and a bit of what some might even call romance.

There’s more!  A special report from our man on the scene at Star Trek: Mission Chicago!  A special interview with a classic Captain of the USS Enterprise and a special surprise from one of our favorite Foundation actors!

Don’t wait!  You don’t want to wait! Let’s go!

Stars End S3E07

“No Sane Podcast Wants to Uphold an Imperial System That Maintains Itself By Fostering Mutual Hatred and Suspicions”

It is a little-known fact that each April 1st on Terminus, Hologram Hari Seldon would appear in the Vault and, in the absence of a bona fide Seldon Crisis, would launch into the strangest and most mystifying stand-up routines anyone had ever seen from a hologram in a wheelchair.  Mostly no one was in attendance but there are legends of routines entertaining maintenance workers and assorted rodents alike.  Inexplicably, the jokes were mainly concerned with skin caps, luxurious black mustaches, and someone known only as “Prince Albert in a Can.”  Seldon never seemed to warm to the audience centuries in his future.

Encyclopedia Galactica, 116th Edition, 1020 FE.

It’s our penultimate episode on Prelude to Foundation!  We wrap up Dors and Hari’s visit to Dahl with more intrigue and more fisticuffs!  Did someone call the police?  Also, an announcement from Jon that you WILL NOT WANT TO MISS!  Let’s go!

Stars End S3E06

“The Podcast Was Alone in the Galaxy for Thousands of Years – Millions of Years”

Did you know that sleep podcasts are a thing? Podcasts that people listen to go to sleep.

You can imagine it, can’t you?  Someone like Sam Waterston, Tony Shalhoub, or Jane Lynch probably reading poetry in a quiet, soothing voice.  Like, what?  I don’t know.  Something in the public domain probably.  Wordsworth?

Calm is all nature as a resting wheel.  
The kine are couched upon the dewy grass;  
The horse alone, seen dimly as I pass,  
Is cropping audibly his later meal…

I’m sleepy already.  Most poets will do, but not Emily Dickinson.  Everyone who’s anyone knows that all of her poems can be sung to the tune of the Yellow Rose of Texas.  Try it, it’s fun!

Because I could not stop for Death-  
He kindly stopped for me-   
The Carriage held but just Ourselves-   
And Immortality.

We’re not one of those. If you’re reading along with us, this time we’re talking about “Heatsink” and “Billibotton” from Prelude to Foundation.

We’ve left the depilated pates of Mycogen behind, but the strangeness remains.  Hari and Dors arrive in Dahl, where all the men luxuriate in their impressive black mustaches and sweaty people provide half of Trantor’s power while in various states of undress.  Also, Dors buys TWO knives (“I’ve got two hands,” she explains) and she and Hari fight off a bunch of street toughs.  Plus we meet Hari’s future adoptive son Raych and hear the first arcane and enigmatic legends of a planet called “Earth.”

Plus, a bonus: Foundation shines at the Visual Effects Society Awards!

Join us! No one could fall asleep to this one!

Stars End S3E05

“We Have Something Far Better than Religion We Have a Podcast”

Introducing this episode puts me in mind of Tom Lehrer’s Alma, which was inspired by, as he puts it, “the juiciest, spiciest, raciest obituary it has ever been my pleasure to read.”  The amount of prime humor that one mathematician can fit into a three-and-a-half-minute sound clip is impressive.

Hari Seldon, our protagonal mathematician, isn’t nearly so funny.  In fact, he seems to take himself quite seriously.  But he does get to participate in the juiciest, spiciest, raciest scene in the entire Asimov canon.  And that includes the non-fiction.

That scene is also startlingly strange.  We’ll talk about it.  Then we’ll move on to other grandiose notions like the nature of religion, governmental ethics, and Pascal’s Wager.  Also, there is a robot!

Join us as we follow Hari and Dors through the remainder of their sojourn in Mycogen.  You’ll be glad you did!

Stars End S3E04

“The Podcast as a Whole in its Full Complexity Cannot Be Represented By any Simulation Smaller Than Itself”

After our break, we’re back to reading Prelude to Foundation and things are starting to get weird. Dors and Hari finally journey to Mycogen as we embark on a Voyage to the Space Amish, with apologies to A. E. Van Vogt.

This one has it all! Dors and Chetter deconstructing Hari’s trip to Upperside ad nauseam! Bad bald caps (Boy, does Issac like the word “pate!”)! Rigidly defined gender roles! Lots of complaining! Dors and Hari don’t understand their room! More complaining! And Hari drags some poor guy out of bed in the middle of the night to make him a sandwich. Let’s just say he’s not the ideal guest. Also with some more apologies, this time to Rod Serling, there’s an iPad… and IT’S A COOKBOOK!

Also a new Apple TV+ Minute! Buckle up! This one will be fun!

Stars End S3E02

“The History of Podcasts is Full of Simple Questions That Had Only the Most Complicated of Answers or None At All”

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Our second conversation about Prelude to Foundation, in which we discuss “Library,” “Upperside,” and “Rescue.”

It was 1-degree Fahrenheit when we recorded this episode. That’s -17 Celcius to the rest of the world. I personally prepared for this episode by running around outside dressed as though I still lived in Florida or on Helicon, maybe. Then I rearranged all my bookshelves and wondered if I could create a model that would predict the future of the Marvel Universe.

In these chapters, Hari gets settled in at Streeling University and begins working on Psychohistory in earnest.  We also meet Dors Venabili who knows her way around a history library and is a quick study at Tennis. And Hari goes for a stroll to get some fresh air; that’s easier said than done on Trantor.

Also Trees! And our first M*A*S*H reference!  Don’t miss it!

Stars End S3E01

“The More Complex a Podcast the More Likely It is to Become Chaotic”

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In the criminal justice system, the podcast is represented by two separate, but equally important kinds of seasons.  The odd-numbered seasons, which directly discuss Asimov’s Foundation and the even-numbered seasons that talk about the Apple TV+ series.

So now we start the interregnum between seasons 1 and 2 of Apple TV’s Foundation.  That’s our cue to start Stars End season 3.  That’s as many seasons as Gilligan’s Island or the original Star Trek but far fewer than Law & Order.  We’re shooting for the latter.

We have a plan and if you follow our plan and listen to our podcast it will seem like far less than 30,000 years until we start to get new episodes of the teevee show.

In this episode, we start discussing Prelude to Foundation in which we meet Eto Demerzel and begin Hari Seldon’s long journey to create Psychohistory.  If you’re reading along this time we talk about the first three sections, “Mathematician,” “Flight,” and “University.” But whether you’re reading along or not, let’s go!  This will be fun!