The Functional Nerds Podcast

This week, Patrick and Tracy welcome Rebecca Fraimow, author of THE IRON CHILDREN. About THE IRON CHILDREN: Asher has been training her entire life to become a Sor-Commander. One day, she’ll give her soul to the gilded, mechanical body of the Sor and become a commander to a battalion of Dedicates. These soldiers, encased in exoskeletons, with extra arms, and telepathic subordination to the Sor-Commanders, are the only thing that’s kept the much larger Levastani army of conquest at bay for decades. But while on a training journey, Asher and her party are attacked, and her commander is incapacitated, leaving her alone to lead the unit across a bitterly cold, unstable mountain. Worse, one of the Dedicates is not what they seem: a spy for the enemy, with their own reasons to hate their mechanical body and the people who put them in it. To get off the mountain alive, Asher and her unit will need to decide how much they’re willing to sacrifice — and what for. About Rebecca Fraimow: Rebecca Fraimow is an author and archivist living in Boston, writing primarily science fiction and fantasy. Her short fiction has recently appeared in PodCastle, The Fantasist, and Consolation Songs: Optimistic Speculative Fiction for a Time of Pandemic, among other venues. Her short story in Consolation Songs, “This Is New Gehesran Calling,” appeared on the longlist for the 2021 Hugo Award. This week’s picks: * Rebecca: O Human Star – by Blue Delliquanti * Tracy: Crokinole Game * Patrick: Star Trek: Strange New Worlds Season 2 Links: * Rebecca Fraimow on Twitter * Tracy Townsend on Twitter * Patrick Hester on Twitter * The Functional Nerds Patreon Page © 2023 Patrick Hester

This week, Patrick and Tracy welcome Fonda Lee, author of UNTETHERED SKY. About UNTETHERED SKY: Ester’s family was torn apart when a manticore killed her mother and baby brother, leaving her with nothing but her father’s painful silence and a single, overwhelming need to kill the monsters that took her family. Ester’s path leads her to the King’s Royal Mews, where the giant rocs of legend are flown to hunt manticores by their brave and dedicated ruhkers. Paired with a fledgling roc named Zahra, Ester finds purpose and acclaim by devoting herself to a calling that demands absolute sacrifice and a creature that will never return her love. The terrifying partnership between woman and roc leads Ester not only on the empire’s most dangerous manticore hunt, but on a journey of perseverance and acceptance. About Fonda Lee: Fonda Lee is the author of the epic fantasy Green Bone Saga, beginning with Jade City, continuing in Jade War, and concluding in Jade Legacy. She is also the author of the science fiction novels Zeroboxer, Exo and Cross Fire, and two novellas, the Green Bone Saga prequel The Jade Setter of Janloon, and the upcoming Untethered Sky. Fonda is a winner of the World Fantasy Award, the Locus Award, and a four-time winner of the Aurora Award (Canada’s national science fiction and fantasy award), as well as a multiple finalist for the Hugo Award, the Nebula Award, and the Oregon Book Award. Her novels have garnered multiple starred reviews and appeared on Best of Year lists from NPR, Barnes & Noble, Syfy Wire, and others. Jade City has been translated in a dozen languages, named to TIME Magazine’s Top 100 Fantasy Books of All Time, and optioned for television development. She has also written acclaimed short fiction and been an instructor at writing workshops including Viable Paradise and Clarion West. Fonda is a former corporate strategist and black belt martial artist who loves action movies and Eggs Benedict. Born and raised in Canada, she currently resides in the Pacific Northwest. This week’s picks: * Fonda: Haikyu! (Crunchyroll) * Tracy: Axe Throwing * Patrick: MLB Games Links: * Fonda Lee on Twitter * Tracy Townsend on Twitter * Patrick Hester on Twitter * The Functional Nerds Patreon Page © 2023 Patrick Hester

This week, Patrick and Tracy welcome K.B. Wagers, author of THE GHOSTS OF TRAPPIST. About THE GHOSTS OF TRAPPIST: NeoG—the Near-Earth Orbital Guard, a diverse military force that patrols and protects the solar system, inspired by the real-life mission of the Coast Guard—and the crew of Zuma’s Ghost are under attack, and shocking truths are about to be exposed. What the black takes should stay in the black. Ensign Nell “Sapphi” Zika has been working hard to get past her trauma, but the unnerving pleas for help she’s hearing in the Verge and the song she can’t get out of her head are making that increasingly difficult. As Zuma’s Ghost gears up for a final run at the Boarding Games, their expert hacker is feeling anything but confident. Plus, her chief’s robot dog, Doge, is acting weird—a computer problem she can’t find an answer to—and the increasing number of missing freighters is putting everyone living on or stationed around Trappist on edge. It doesn’t help the NeoG’s mission that Dread Treasure is sidelined from competing in the Boarding Games, and Commander D’Arcy Montaglione is stuck on the front lines of the mystery of the missing ships while also stuck in his own head. Never good at trusting people to begin with, he’s struggling to piece together his new crew in the aftermath of a great betrayal, knowing this may be his final chance at command. The last thing he wants to do is prove his enemies right and end up getting shoved behind a desk and forgotten. The easy answer to missing ships is pirates, but D’Arcy soon realizes the easiest answer is rarely the right one out in the vacuum of space. What’s worse is that the actual pirates are scared of something out beyond the asteroid belt. Something that’s been taking their ships too… As the unknowns multiply and one of their mysterious enemies escalates by launching an attack on the NeoG itself, the Interceptor crews must brave both cyber and outer space to hunt down their foes, but no one is prepared for the truth that is revealed or the way it will shake the foundations of everything they believe about the universe. About K.B. Wagers: K.B. Wagers is the author of the NeoG Adventures from Harper Voyager and the the Indranan and Farian War trilogies from Orbit Books. They are a fan of whiskey and cats, Jupiter Ascending and the Muppets. This week’s picks: * K.B.: Rest Is Resistance: A Manifesto by Tricia Hersey * Tracy: Skipjack Kayaks * Patrick: Triptych (Will Trent book 1) By Karin Slaughter Links: * K.B. Wagers on Twitter * Tracy Townsend on Twitter * Patrick Hester on Twitter * The Functional Nerds Patreon Page © 2023 Patrick Hester

This week, Patrick and Tracy welcome Emma Mieko Candon, author of THE ARCHIVE UNDYING. About THE ARCHIVE UNDYING: When the robotic god of Khuon Mo went mad, it destroyed everything it touched. It killed its priests, its city, and all its wondrous works. But in its final death throes, the god brought one thing back to life: its favorite child, Sunai. For the seventeen years since, Sunai has walked the land like a ghost, unable to die, unable to age, and unable to forget the horrors he’s seen. He’s run as far as he can from the wreckage of his faith, drowning himself in drink, drugs, and men. But when Sunai wakes up in the bed of the one man he never should have slept with, he finds himself on a path straight back into the world of gods and machines. About Emma Mieko Candon: Emma Mieko Candon (she/they) is a best-selling queer author and escaped academic drawn to tales of devouring ghosts, cursed linguistics, and mediocre robots. Her forthcoming work includes Star Wars Visions: Ronin (2021), a Japanese reimagining of the Star Wars mythos, and The Archive Undying (2023), an original speculative novel about sad giant robots and funny-mean queers dragged screaming toward revolution. As an actual cyborg whose blood has been taken for science, Emma’s grateful to be stationed at home in Hawaii, where they were born and raised as a fourth-generation Japanese settler. By day, they edit anime nonsense for Seven Seas, and by night they remain academically haunted by identity, ideology, and imperialism. At all hours of the day, they are beholden to the whims of two lopsided cats and relieved by the support of an enviably handsome wife. Find Emma airing unimpeachable anime opinions on Twitter at @EmmaCandon or wailing about video games under the bushes in front of the nearest boba tea joint. This week’s picks: * Emma: Dead Country by Max Gladstone * Emma: Friends at the Table * Tracy: Because Internet: Understanding the New Rules of Language by Gretchen McCulloch * Patrick: Rodney Scott’s World of BBQ: Every Day Is a Good Day: A Cookbook by Rodney Scott & Lolis Eric Elie Links: * Emma Mieko Candon on Twitter * Tracy Townsend on Twitter * Patrick Hester on Twitter * The Functional Nerds Patreon Page © 2023 Patrick Hester

This week, Patrick and Tracy welcome Nathan Ballingrud, author of THE STRANGE. About THE STRANGE: Since Anabelle’s mother left for Earth to care for her own ailing mother, her days in New Galveston have been spent at school and her nights at her laconic father’s diner with Watson, the family Kitchen Engine and dishwasher as her only companion. When the Silence came, and communication and shipments from Earth to its colonies on Mars stopped, life seemed stuck in foreboding stasis until the night Silas Mundt and his gang attacked. At once evoking the dreams of an America explored in Ray Bradbury’s The Martian Chronicles and the harder realities of frontier life in Charles Portis True Grit, Ballingrud’s novel is haunting in its evocation of Anabelle’s quest for revenge amidst a spent and angry world accompanied by a domestic Engine, a drunken space pilot, and the toughest woman on Mars. About Nathan Ballingrud: Nathan was born in Massachusetts in 1970, but spent most of his life in the South. He studied literature at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill and at the University of New Orleans. Among other things, he’s been a cook on oil rigs and barges, a waiter, and a bartender in New Orleans. His most recent book is called Wounds: Six Stories from the Border of Hell, from Saga Press. His first book is North American Lake Monsters, from Small Beer Press. He’s won two Shirley Jackson Awards, and has been shortlisted for the World Fantasy, British Fantasy, and Bram Stoker Awards. His novella “The Visible Filth” was made into a movie called Wounds, from Annapurna Pictures. It’s written and directed by Babak Anvari and stars Armie Hammer, Zazie Beetz, and Dakota Johnson. He lives in Asheville, NC. This week’s picks: * Nathan: Driving and exploring the backroads * Tracy: On Looking: Eleven Walks with Expert Eyes by Alexandra Horowitz * Patrick: Project Smoke: Seven Steps to Smoked Food Nirvana by Steven Raichlen Links: * Nathan Ballingrud on Twitter * Tracy Townsend on Twitter * Patrick Hester on Twitter * The Functional Nerds Patreon Page © 2023 Patrick Hester

This week, it’s a very special Just Us clip episode from Patrick and Tracy! What’s a Just Us episode? Well, I’m glad you asked. As you know Bob, we have a Patreon over at patreon.com/functionalnerds. And one of the reward tiers is a special, patrons-only episode of the show each month. When something comes up and we don’t have a regular episode to drop into this public feed, Patrick sometimes grab one of the Just Us episodes – but that hasn’t happened in a while, so we thought we’d do a clip show from a couple different Just Us episodes to give you a sense of what goes on there and some of the topics we cover. If you like what you hear today, please consider heading over to patreon.com/functionalnerds and backing us so you, too, can get one of these every single month. Links: * Tracy Townsend on Twitter * Patrick Hester on Twitter * The Functional Nerds Patreon Page © 2023 Patrick Hester

This week, Patrick and Tracy welcome Beth Cato, author of A Thousand Recipes for Revenge. About A Thousand Recipes for Revenge: Adamantine “Ada” Garland has an empathic connection to food and wine, a magical perception of aromas, flavors, and ingredients. Invaluable property of the royal court, Ada was in service to the Five Gods and to the Gods-ordained rulers of Verdania?until she had enough of injustice and bloodshed and deserted, seeking to chart her own destiny. When mysterious assassins ferret her out after sixteen years in hiding, Ada, now a rogue Chef, and her beloved Grand-mère run for their lives, only to find themselves on a path toward an unexpected ally. A foreign princess in a strange court, Solenn unknowingly shares more with Ada than an epicurean gift. They share blood. With her newfound magical perception, she becomes aware of a plot to kill her fiancé, the prince. It’s part of a ploy by adversarial forces in the rival country of Albion to sow conflict, and Solenn is set up to take the blame. As Ada’s and Solenn’s paths converge, a mother and her long-lost daughter reunite toward a common goal, and against a shadowy enemy from Ada’s past who is out for revenge. But what sacrifices must be made? What hope is there when powerful Gods pick sides in a war simmering to eruption? About Beth Cato: Beth Cato hails from Hanford, California, but currently writes and bakes cookies in a far distant realm. She’s the Nebula Award-nominated author of A THOUSAND RECIPES FOR REVENGE from 47North (June 2023), plus the Clockwork Dagger duology and the Blood of Earth trilogy from Harper Voyager. Her short stories can be found in publications ranging from Beneath Ceaseless Skies to Uncanny Magazine. In 2019 and 2022, she won the Rhysling Award for short speculative poetry. Her website BethCato.com includes not only a vast bibliography, but a treasure trove of recipes for delectable goodies. Find her on Twitter as @BethCato and Instagram as @catocatsandcheese. This week’s picks: * Beth: Satori BellaVitano Whiskey Cheese * Tracy: Taste of Home Everyday Sheet Pan recipes * Patrick: Star Wars Visions: Vol 2 (Disney+) Links: * Beth Cato on Twitter * Tracy Townsend on Twitter * Patrick Hester on Twitter * The Functional Nerds Patreon Page © 2023 Patrick Hester

This week, Patrick and Tracy welcome Gail Carriger, author of DIVINITY 36. About DIVINITY 36: Phex is a barista on a forgotten moon. Which is fine – he likes being ignored and he’s good at making drinks. Until one day an alien hears him singing and recruits him to become a god. Now Phex is thrust headfirst into the galaxy’s most cutthroat entertainment industry, where music is visible, the price of fame can kill, and the only friends he has want to be worshiped. Welcome to the divinity. Where there is no difference between celebrity and religion, love and belief, acolyte and alien. Where the right kind of obsession can drive a person crazy or turn them divine. About Gail Carriger: Gail Carriger has multiple NYT bestsellers and millions of books in print in dozens of different languages. She writes book hugs – comedies of manners mixed with urban fantasy and sci-fi (and sexy queer joy as GL Carriger). She is best known for the Parasol Protectorate and Finishing School series. She was once an archaeologist and is fond of shoes, octopuses, and tea. This week’s picks: * Gail: Our Dining Table – Manga * Gail: The Rise of Cozy SFF * Tracy: Is It Cake? (Netflix) * Patrick: The Diplomat (Netflix) * Patrick: The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel S5 (Prime) Links: * Gail Carriger on Twitter * Tracy Townsend on Twitter * Patrick Hester on Twitter * The Functional Nerds Patreon Page © 2023 Patrick Hester

This week, Patrick and Tracy welcome Kat Howard, author of A SLEIGHT OF SHADOWS. About A SLEIGHT OF SHADOWS: After taking down the source of the corruption of the Unseen World, Sydney is left with almost no magical ability. Feeling estranged from herself, she is determined to find a way back to her status as one of the world’s most dangerous magicians. Unfortunately, she needs to do this quickly: the House of Shadows, the hell on earth that shaped her into who she was, the place she sacrificed everything to destroy, is rebuilding itself. “The House of shadows sits on bones. All of the sacrifices, all of the magicians who died in Shadows, they’re buried beneath the foundations. Bones hold magic.” The magic of the Unseen World is acting strangely, faltering, bleeding out from the edges. Determined to keep the House of Shadows from returning to power and to defeat the magicians who want nothing more than to have it back, Sydney turns to extremes in a desperate attempt to regain her sacrificed magic. She is forced to decide what she will give up and what she will lose and whether what must be destroyed is not only the House of Shadows, but the Unseen World itself. About Kat Howard: Kat Howard is a writer of fantasy, science fiction, and horror who lives and writes in Minnesota. Her novella, The End of the Sentence, co-written with Maria Dahvana Headley, was one of NPR’s best books of 2014, and her debut novel, Roses and Rot was a finalist for the Locus Award for Best First Novel. An Unkindness of Magicians was named a best book of 2017 by NPR, and won a 2018 Alex Award. Her short fiction collection, A Cathedral of Myth and Bone, collects work that has been nominated for the World Fantasy Award, performed as part of Selected Shorts, and anthologized in year’s best and best of volumes, as well as new pieces original to the collection. She was the writer for the first 18 issues of The Books of Magic, part of DC Comics’ Sandman Universe. Her next novel, A Sleight of Shadows, the sequel to An Unkindness of Magicians, is coming April 25, 2023. In the past, she’s been a competitive fencer and a college professor. This week’s picks: * Kat: Florence + The Machine – Mermaids * Tracy: Equinox (Game) * Patrick: Picard S3 (Paramount+) * Patrick: The Mandalorian S3 (Disney+) Links: * Kat Howard on Twitter * Tracy Townsend on Twitter * Patrick Hester on Twitter * The Functional Nerds Patreon Page © 2023 Patrick Hester

This week, Patrick and Tracy welcome Daniel M. Ford, author of THE WARDEN. About THE WARDEN: There was a plan. She had the money, the connections, even the brains. It was simple: become one of the only female necromancers, earn as many degrees as possible, get a post in one of the grand cities, then prove she’s capable of greatness. The funny thing about plans is that they are seldom under your control. Now Aelis de Lenti, a daughter of a noble house and recent graduate of the esteemed Magisters’ Lyceum, finds herself in the far-removed village of Lone Pine. Mending fences, matching wits with goats, and serving people who want nothing to do with her. But, not all is well in Lone Pine, and as the villagers Aelis is reluctantly getting to know start to behave strangely, Aelis begins to suspect that there is far greater need for a Warden of her talents than she previously thought. Old magics are restless, and an insignificant village on the farthest border of the kingdom might hold secrets far beyond what anyone expected. Aelis might be the only person standing between one of the greatest evils ever known and the rest of the world. About Daniel M. Ford: Daniel M. Ford was born and raised near Baltimore, Maryland. He holds a B.A. in English from Villanova University, an M.A. in Irish Literature from Boston College and an M.F.A. in Creative Writing, concentrating in Poetry, from George Mason University. As a poet, his work has appeared most recently in Soundings Review, as well as Phoebe, Floorboard Review, The Cossack, and Vending Machine Press. He teaches English at a college prep high school in North East, Maryland. Ordination is his first novel. This week’s picks: * Daniel: MLB The Show (Game) * Tracy: Lost Ruins of Arnak (Game) * Patrick #1: Ahsoka (Trailer) * Patrick #2: The Night Agent (Netflic) Links: * Daniel M. Ford on Twitter * Tracy Townsend on Twitter * Patrick Hester on Twitter * The Functional Nerds Patreon Page © 2023 Patrick Hester

This week, Patrick and Tracy welcome Emily Tesh, author of SOME DESPERATE GLORY. About SOME DESPERATE GLORY: Since she was born, Kyr has trained for the day she can avenge the murder of planet Earth. Raised in the bowels of Gaea Station alongside the last scraps of humanity, she readies herself to face the Wisdom, the powerful, reality-shaping weapon that gave the majoda their victory over humanity. They are what’s left. They are what must survive. Kyr is one of the best warriors of her generation, the sword of a dead planet. When Command assigns her brother to certain death and relegates her to Nursery to bear sons until she dies trying, she knows she must take humanity’s revenge into her own hands. Alongside her brother’s brilliant but seditious friend and a lonely, captive alien, Kyr escapes from everything she’s known into a universe far more complicated than she was taught and far more wondrous than she could have imagined. About Emily Tesh: Emily Tesh is the author of the Greenhollow Duology, which begins with Silver in the Wood and concludes with Drowned Country. Tesh is a winner of the Astounding Award and of the World Fantasy Award for Best Novella. Some Desperate Glory, her first novel, is forthcoming in 2022 from tordotcom publishing. This week’s picks: * Emily #1: Animal Crossing (Game) * Emily #2: Les Misérables: A Novel by Victor Hugo * Tracy: Network Effect: A Murderbot Novel by Martha Wells * Patrick: NPCs by Drew Hayes Links: * Emily Tesh on Instagram * Tracy Townsend on Twitter * Patrick Hester on Twitter * The Functional Nerds Patreon Page © 2023 Patrick Hester

This week, Patrick and Tracy welcome Julie Novakova and Susan Forest, two of the driving forces behind Life Beyond Us: An Original Anthology of SF Stories and Science Essays. About Life Beyond Us: An Original Anthology of SF Stories and Science Essays: How would first contact—on earth, in space, on another planet—transform our understandings of technology, philosophy, and what it means to be human? What kind of cognitive dissonance would society experience, if we discovered a previously unrecognized sentience on Earth? What would life be like if it originated in a frigid ocean beneath an impenetrable shell of ice? Or on a world whose haze obscures any view of the universe beyond? Or on an unfathomable scale in the depths of space? Life—beyond us. Dive in as the European Astrobiology Institute presents fifty-four original SF Stories and Science Essays on life, from microbial to macro, from automatic to sagacious. Each speculative story is followed by a professional essay illuminating the scientific underpinnings of the story and providing a new window into the cutting-edge knowledge about exploration for life in the universe. SF STORIES BY: Eugen Bacon, Gregory Benford, Renan Bernardo, Jana Bianchi, Tobias S. Buckell, Eric Choi, Julie E. Czerneda, Tessa Fisher, Simone Heller, Valentin D. Ivanov, Mary Robinette Kowal, Lisa Jenny Krieg (translated by Simone Heller), Geoffrey A. Landis, Rich Larson, Liu Yang (translated by Ladon Gao), Lucie Luka?ovi?ová, Premee Mohamed, G. David Nordley, Malka Older, Deji Bryce Olukotun, Tomáš Petrásek, Brian Rappatta, Arula Ratnakar, D.A. Xiaolin Spires, Bogi Takács, Peter Watts, and B. Zelkovich. SCIENCE ESSAYS BY: Jacques Arnould, William Bains, José A. Caballero, Dimitra Demertzi, Martina Dimoska, Tessa Fisher, Dennis Höning, Valentin D. Ivanov, Fabian Klenner, Nina Kopacz, Geoffrey A. Landis, Natuschka Lee, Ania Losiak, Stephen Francis Mann, Connor Martini, Tony Milligan, Philippe Nauny, Julie Nováková, Erik Persson, Tomáš Petrásek, Joanna Piotrowska, Giovanni Poggiali, Amedeo Romagnolo, Stefano Sandrelli, Floris van der Tak, Jan Toman, Sheri Wells-Jensen, and Raymond M. Wheeler. Introduction by Stephen Baxter Foreword by Julie Nováková Afterwords by Wolf D. Geppert; Lucas K. Law & Susan Forest About Julie Novakova: Julie Novakova (*1991) is an award-winning Czech author of science fiction and detective stories. She published seven novels, one anthology, one story collection and over thirty short pieces in Czech. Her work in English has appeared in Clarkesworld, Asimov’s, Analog and elsewhere, and has been reprinted e.g. in Rich Horton’s The Year’s Best Science Fiction & Fantasy 2019. Some of her works have been translated into Chinese, Romanian, Estonian, Filipino, German, Ukrainian, Bulgarian and Portuguese, and she acts as a translator of Czech stories into English (in Tor.com, Strange Horizons, F&SF). She edited an anthology of Czech speculative fiction in translation, titled Dreams From Beyond, an anthology of astrobiological SF stories Strangest of All (for the European Astrobiology Institute), and co-edited a book of European SF in Filipino translation, titled Haka, together with the former Czech ambassador in the Philippines, Jaroslav Olša, Jr. Most recently, she has co-edited an anthology titled Life Beyond Us (upcoming in April 2023),

This week, Patrick and Tracy welcome S.B. Divya, author of MERU. About MERU: For five centuries, human life has been restricted to Earth, while posthuman descendants called alloys freely explore the galaxy. But when the Earthlike planet of Meru is discovered, two unlikely companions venture forth to test the habitability of this unoccupied new world and the future of human-alloy relations. For Jayanthi, the adopted human child of alloy parents, it’s an opportunity to rectify the ancient reputation of her species as avaricious and destructive, and to give humanity a new place in the universe. For Vaha, Jayanthi’s alloy pilot, it’s a daunting yet irresistible adventure to find success as an individual. As the journey challenges their resolve in unexpected ways, the two form a bond that only deepens with their time alone on Meru. But how can Jayanthi succeed at freeing humanity from its past when she and Vaha have been set up to fail? Against all odds, hope is human, too. About S.B. Divya: S.B. Divya (she/any) is a lover of science, math, fiction, and the Oxford comma. She is the Hugo and Nebula nominated author of Meru and Machinehood. Her short stories have appeared in numerous magazines and anthologies, and she is a former editor of Escape Pod, the weekly science fiction podcast. Divya holds degrees in Computational Neuroscience and Signal Processing. She worked for twenty years as an electrical engineer before becoming an author. Born in Pondicherry, India, Divya now resides in Southern California with her spouse, child, and two fur babies. She enjoys subverting expectations and breaking stereotypes whenever she can. This week’s picks: * S.B.: Spy x Family (Crunchyroll) * Tracy: Soos the Cat * Patrick: This Is Where I Leave You Links: * S.B. Divya on Twitter * Tracy Townsend on Twitter * Patrick Hester on Twitter * The Functional Nerds Patreon Page © 2023 Patrick Hester

This week, Patrick and Tracy welcome Steve Scearce and Bear Weiter from the Station 151 Podcast. About Station 151: Located on Alexander Island, Antarctica, Station 151 is the southernmost continent’s first and only astronomical radio observatory. Built by the Telders Corporation at an estimated cost of $200M USD, Station 151 is comprised of 50 radio antennas arrayed in a spiral configuration. Astrophysicist Wayne Robertson was hired by The Telders Corporation as the sole operator of Station 151, Antarctica for a 12-month pilot to test the station’s cutting-edge radio interferometer. Leaving behind his fiancé in the States, Wayne travels alone to Antarctica to fulfill a lifelong dream to peer deeper into the universe than ever thought possible. But after arriving at the station, Wayne’s hopes of a career defining role are dashed as he is thrust into a strange and unsettling new world. The Station 151 audio drama podcast was written and developed by Andy Scearce and Steven James Scearce and is produced by Pale Matter Productions and Bear Weiter. You can listen to the Station 151 Podcast on all popular podcast platforms, including Apple Podcasts and Spotify, and you can follow Station 151 on Instagram, Facebook, and Twitter. For a deeper dive and even more goodies, as well as exclusive content, you can support Station 151 on Patreon. About Steve Scearce: Steven James Scearce is a writer, voice actor, and one of the creators of the speculative science fiction web series Unknown Transmission. He is also a contributor to the companion series Station 151. His printed work appears in a number of anthologies including Rigor Amortis and Cthulhurotica. Mr. Scearce has just completed work on his first novel-length manuscript, a supernatural horror story called Cottonwood. About Bear Weiter: Bear Weiter is an illustrator, animator, podcast producer, and writer. He’s also the art director for Monte Cook Games, where he oversees the visual design and production of the various tabletop roleplaying games, crowdfunding campaigns, and more. His fiction appears in a number of magazines and anthologies including Black Static, Atomic Age Cthulhu, and LORE. You can follow him on Twitter @bearthw. He lives in the suburbs of Kansas City. This week’s picks: * Steve: Kill FM (Podcast) * Bear: The Last of Us (HBO) * Tracy: Science Wars: What Scientists Know and How They Know It (Audible) * Patrick: Star Wars: The Bad Batch Season 2 (Disney+) Links: * Station 151 on Twitter * Steve Scearce on Twitter * Bear Weiter on Twitter * Tracy Townsend on Twitter * Patrick Hester on Twitter *

This week, Patrick and Tracy welcome Moses Ose Utomi, author of THE LIES OF THE AJUNGO. About THE LIES OF THE AJUNGO: They say there is no water in the City of Lies. They say there are no heroes in the City of Lies. They say there are no friends beyond the City of Lies. But would you believe what they say in the City of Lies? In the City of Lies, they cut out your tongue when you turn thirteen, to appease the terrifying Ajungo Empire and make sure it continues sending water. Tutu will be thirteen in three days, but his parched mother won’t last that long. So Tutu goes to his oba and makes a deal: she provides water for his mother, and in exchange he will travel out into the desert and bring back water for the city. Thus begins Tutu’s quest for the salvation of his mother, his city, and himself. About Moses Ose Utomi: Moses Ose Utomi wrote his first book when he was 5. It was a book about warrior bunnies from Mars, and the only copy is owned by his mother. Since then, he has gone on to write many more, slightly better stories. He primarily writes fantasy “but with the plot and pacing of a psychological thriller” and his fiction often grows out of the West African culture and mythology he was raised in as a Nigerian American. He holds a Master of Fine Arts degree in fiction writing as well as a Certificate in Book Publishing, and he has short fiction in various publications. Most notably, he is the author of the young adult fantasy novel Daughters of Oduma and the adult fantasy novella trilogy that begins with The Lies of the Ajungo. He is also a martial arts, karaoke, and obscure sports addict. This week’s picks: * Moses: Coherence (Movie) * Tracy: The Ballad of Black Tom by Victor LaValle (Novella) * Patrick: Picard: Season 3 (Paramount+) Links: * Moses Ose Utomi on Twitter * Tracy Townsend on Twitter * Patrick Hester on Twitter * The Functional Nerds Patreon Page © 2023 Patrick Hester