July 2020 Bookclub Pick
The July 2020 Bookclub pick is N.K. Jemisons The City We Became.
An Unkindness of Ghosts
This month, host Lisa Schweitzer is joined by David Sloane, Denise McIver, and Aubrey Hicks to discuss An Unkindness of Ghosts, by Rivers Solomon. We talk about slave allegories, generation ships, spatial hierarchies, gender, autism … so much to talk about with this debut novel from Solomon.
To listen to the Bedrosian Book Club discussion of An Unkindness of Ghosts, click the arrow in the player on this post. Or you can download it and subscribe through ApplePodcasts, Soundcloud, Google Play, Stitcher or your favorite podcasting app!
Kindred
“I lost an arm on my last trip home.
My left arm.”
The iconic first line of Octavia Butler’s novel, Kindred, puts the reader right there. The gravity of the legacy of slavery is there in the face. Who has lost an arm? How? Why?
Listen as host Jeffery Jenkins and guests Ange-Marie Alfaro, Caroline Bhalla, and Aubrey Hicks as they think about this classic work of American fiction.
To listen to the Bedrosian Book Club discussion of the “Kindred” episode click the arrow in the player on this post. Or you can download it and subscribe through ApplePodcasts, Soundcloud, Google Play, Stitcher or your favorite podcasting app!
Blade Runner 2049
Is Blade Runner 2049 the sequel we didn’t know we needed? Set in a dystopian future Los Angeles, Ryan Gosling’s K is a replicant who hunts down dis-loyal replicants: a Blade Runner. When a secret is uncovered, he sets out on a quest. The journey becomes one to not only find the secret but to answer some of the fundamental questions. What does it mean to be alive, to be human?
To listen to the Price Projection Room discussion of Blade Runner 2049 click the orange arrow in the Soundcloud player at the top of this post. Or download and subscribe through Apple Podcasts, Soundcloud, or Google Play.
Ghost in the Shell
Our third episode of the Price Projection Room features a discussion of the sci-fi film Ghost in the Shell directed by Rupert Sanders, based on the famous Japanese Manga written and illustrated by Masamune Shirow.
The film has also sparked controversy on its casting choices, with many critics claiming another instance of Hollywood whitewashing due to film’s Japanese origin. We discuss the nature of remakes, the whitewashing controversy, whether the film adds to the Ghost world, and Scarlett Johansson – is Ghost in the Shell the perfect conversation starter for the cultural moment?
To listen to the Price Projection Room discussion of Ghost in the Shell click the arrow in the player here. Or download and subscribe through iTunes, Soundcloud, or Google Play.
The Water Knife
Paolo Bacigalupi’s The Water Knife looks at our use and manipulation of water and water rights in the US and brings us to an ultimate conclusion.
Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep?
Written in 1968, Do Androids Dream of ElectricSheep is set in a near-future San Francisco amid vast desertion to off-world colonies. Those remaining on Earth contend with nuclear fallout dust and other dangers. Dick asks fundamental questions in the novel and our discussion touches on just a few of these.