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 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 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!

Stars End S2E12

“We Don’t Expect to Podcast Forever but We Do Intend to Hang On As Long As Possible!”

It’s the final episode of Season 2 where we wrap up our discussion of Season 1 of Foundation with the First Annual Stars End Hari Awards!  Frankly, a lot of it is the three of us gushing about how good the episodes and the performances were. 

But more importantly, you get to find out who won! Best Performance! Favorite Episode!  Favorite Podcast Guest!  All the important stuff.  Not included: unimportant things like “Least Inspirational Quote,” which must be “All love is programming.”

We couldn’t have done it without you!  Our thanks go out to everyone who supported us by voting, commenting, and listening! So, please join us!

Plus a preview of season three!  What will we be doing in the long dark interregnum before season 2 of Foundation?

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 S2E10

“Under the Genetic Dynasty, There is Only Room for One Podcast”

Haven’t watched Episode 10, “The Leap” yet? We’ll be here when you’re done.

Astoundingly, here we are at the end of Foundation’s Season 1. We’re all about to experience the teevee equivalent of empty nest syndrome.

But not yet! There are two more episodes of Stars End for this season! There’s this one, where we talk about Episode 10 and then there will be one more in about two weeks where we give an overview of Foundation’s epic first season! Also a special guest! Also, also some surprises!

And we’re here for the duration! It might feel like it will be 30,000 years until there will be new content on Apple TV+ but we’ll be here through this new interregnum to make sure that it feels like far less than 1000 years!

You’ve come with us this far! Let’s keep moving forward together!