The 1970s were one of the most overtly political decades for science fiction filmmaking. Humor writer Tom Gerencer grew up watching movies such as Logan's Run, Silent Running, and Beneath the Planet of the Apes, all of which contain clear political messages. "We were watching industrialization do what it's continued to do now, getting worse and worse and worse, and we had a lot of voices back then saying, 'No, we have to stop this,' and rightly so," Gerencer says in Episode 543 of the Geek's Guide to the Galaxy podcast. Geek's Guide to the Galaxy host David Barr Kirtley was impressed by the continued relevance of many '70s science fiction movies, whether it's the idea of a deadly new virus in The Andromeda Strain or the threat of artificial intelligence in Colossus: The Forbin Project. "If you look at some of the issues they're dealing with--pandemics, AI, ecological collapse, youth culture, nuclear war--you would have to say that they did a pretty good job of honing in on some of the issues that were going to be important over the coming decades," he says.

HBO's hit series The Last of Us is based on a popular video game from Naughty Dog. Science fiction author Zach Chapman appreciates that the show is a faithful adaptation of one of his favorite games. "The show is in many episodes a shot-for-shot remake of the game," Chapman says in Episode 539 of the Geek's Guide to the Galaxy podcast. "The script is almost exactly the same, you just don't get the gameplay." The Last of Us has a reputation as one of the best video game stories ever told.

The Best American Science Fiction and Fantasy 2022, which collects 20 of the best fantasy and science fiction stories of the past year, features a wide range of characters and settings. Guest editor Rebecca Roanhorse made the final selections for this year's volume. "This is not your father's science fiction and fantasy collection," Roanhorse says in Episode 538 of the Geek's Guide to the Galaxy podcast. "I'm excited to see what people are writing, and where the genre is going, and what sort of new voices can be discovered, and how far we can push boundaries and still tell universal stories." P. Djèlí Clark's genre-bending "If the Martians Have Magic" features Haitian priests battling the alien invaders from The War of the Worlds. "I always think my stories are too weird," Clark says.

The 1969 novel Dune Messiah is a sequel to Frank Herbert's sci-fi classic Dune. TV writer Andrea Kail is a diehard fan of the original Dune, but has always found the sequel disappointing. "Overall, as a book, it just feels like it's very unformed," Kail says in Episode 537 of the Geek's Guide to the Galaxy podcast. "It just felt like, 'These are the ideas, and I put these ideas down, and here's a first draft. Now let's go back and fix it.' And then, no, never went back to fix it."

The Netflix series Arcane, a collaboration between Riot Games and Studio Fortiche, is an animated show based on the popular computer game League of Legends. Science fiction author Zach Chapman loved Arcane, despite having never played League of Legends. "You don't have to have any knowledge of the game," Chapman says in Episode 536 of the Geek's Guide to the Galaxy podcast. "In fact, less knowledge of the game is even better. It doesn't need any of that. It just works really great as a standalone show."

The recent Hulu movie Prey, a prequel to the 1987 sci-fi horror film Predator, pits a young Comanche woman against a brutal alien hunter. Science fiction author Zach Chapman loved the new movie. "It's definitely my favorite Predator film," Chapman says in Episode 524 of the Geek's Guide to the Galaxy podcast. "I think it's the only one in the franchise that has a theme--or at least that commits to a theme in a meaningful way--and the action is super awesome." Prey has been a hit with audiences and critics alike, a much-needed boost for the franchise after flops like The Predator and Alien vs. Predator: Requiem.

Unfortunately one aspect of the novel that has dated badly is its stereotypical view of gender roles. Science fiction professor Lisa Yaszek was initially intrigued by the book's female lead Wyoming Knot, and was disappointed that the character plays such a minor role in the story. "I do not want to be a woman in that revolution, sitting around serving the coffee," Yaszek says. "It really makes you understand what women were up in arms about in the 1960s." Listen to the complete interview with Anthony Ha, Robby Soave, and Lisa Yaszek in Episode 516 of Geek's Guide to the Galaxy (above). And check out some highlights from the discussion below.

The Apple TV series Severance presents a world in which office workers have their minds split into two personalities--one who only remembers what happens at work and one who only remembers what happens outside of it. Science fiction author John Kessel loves the show's inventive premise. "After we watched the first episode, I said to my wife, 'This is one of the smartest shows I've seen in a long time,'" Kessel says in Episode 509 of the Geek's Guide to the Galaxy podcast. "I rank it--at least through this first season--as highly as I do things like Breaking Bad. I really think it's classic."

Larry Niven's 1970 novel Ringworld is a beloved classic that received the Hugo, Nebula, and Locus awards. But science fiction author Rajan Khanna says the book has some major shortcomings for a modern reader. "I think that what this novel becomes is basically two thought experiments that get sandwiched together," Khanna says in Episode 505 of the Geek's Guide to the Galaxy podcast. "The characters are there to help explain these parts of the thought experiments, but they don't really--for me--become fully fledged, likable, relatable, or even interesting characters." Ringworld is currently being adapted for television by Akiva Goldsman, with Game of Thrones director Alan Taylor slated to direct the pilot.

The Apple TV series Foundation tells the story of a group of scientists trying to shepherd the galaxy through a centuries-long dark age. Science fiction author Anthony Ha says the series strays a bit too far from its highly intellectual source material, a series of classic novels by Isaac Asimov. And in the show it's really all about individual action, and psychohistory becomes this kind of magic that can predict individual action," Ha says in Episode 503 of the Geek's Guide to the Galaxy podcast. "I understand why they made that change. If you make a show where the hero doesn't matter, individuals don't matter, that is both a bleak and maybe not particularly interesting show, but it did feel like there was a real loss in that adaptation choice." Geek's Guide to the Galaxy host David Barr Kirtley agrees that Foundation often substitutes Hollywood formula for Asimov's more cerebral approach. "Asimov's whole appeal is that you see smart people being rational," he says. "If I wanted to see hot people expressing strong emotions and doing cool athletic stuff, I could watch anything on TV.