Content Warnings: blood and injury; frank discussions of racism and xenophobia.



We're not yet a Star Trek podcast! Instead, we open with Binti, written by Nnedi Okorafor. We discuss the tension between violence and empathy, the nature of magic and mysticism in science fiction, and how it feels to be ostracized by every inch of your skin and finding a path forward anyway.



We'd love to hear what you think! You can hail us at [email protected], contact us on social media, or comment on our website at beforethefuture.space.



Works cited:




Clarke, A. C. (1968). 2001: A space odyssey. Hutchinson.



Clarke, A. C. (1973). Rendezvous with Rama. Gollancz.



Czerneda, J. E. (1997). A thousand words for stranger. DAW.



Marron, D. (Host). (2023). The redemption of Jar Jar Binks [Audio podcast]. TED. https://www.ted.com/podcasts/the-redemption-of-jar-jar-binks



Moon, E. (1992). The deed of Paksenarrion (1st omnibus ed.). Baen Books.



Straczynski, J.M. (Writer & Producer). (1993-1998). Babylon 5 [TV Series]. Babylonian Productions, Inc., Synthetic Worlds, Ltd., Warner Bros. Television.*



Verne, J. (1871). Twenty thousand leagues under the seas (1st collected ed.). Pierre-Jules Hetzel.



Villeneuve, D. (Director). (2016). Arrival [Film]. FilmNation Entertainment, Lava Bear Films, 21 Laps Entertainment.*



Vygotsky, L. (1972). Thought and language (Hanfmann, E. & Vakar, G., Trans.). MIT Press. (Original work published 1934)



Wells, H. G. (1898). War of the worlds (1st collected ed.). William Heinemann.



Williams, T. (1996). Otherland. Legend Books.




* Struck work under the current SAG-AFTRA strike guidelines.



Our next episode will cover the book The Wild Robot by Peter Brown.



Before the Future Came is edited by Lucy Arnold, transcribed by Melissa Avery-Weir, and webmavened by Gregory Avery-Weir.



Our theme is “Let’s Pretend” by Josh Woodward, available under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 License.

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