Utopian and Dystopian Fictions
Episodes
Episode 20: Taylor Cavallo and Mark Gatto, Work Dystopias and the Business of Gender
27 Feb 2026
Contributed by Lukas
In this episode we are joined by two guests, Taylor Cavallo (an Instructor at the University of Minnesota) and Mark Gatto (Assistant Professor in Crit...
Episode 19: Author Interview - Paul E. Hardisty, "The Hope", and Ecodystopia.
30 Jan 2026
Contributed by Lukas
In this episode, we speak with Paul E. Hardisty, an environmental scientist, keen conservationist, and novelist known first for his 'Claymore Stra...
Episode 18: Amy Brookes, Architecture and Speculative Fiction
09 Jan 2026
Contributed by Lukas
We begin Season 3 of the Utopian and Dystopian Fictions Podcast by chatting with Amy Brookes, an architect and Associate Lecturer at the University of...
Episode 17: Halloween Special (Season 2 Finale) - Dystopia and Horror
31 Oct 2025
Contributed by Lukas
In this Season 2 Finale, Matt and Liam spend some time looking back at Season 2 of the Utopian and Dystopian Fictions podcast and chatting about what&...
Episode 16: Stefano Gualeni, Utopia, Play, and Fictional Games
08 Oct 2025
Contributed by Lukas
In this episode, we speak with Stefano Gualeni, a Full Professor at the Institute of Digital Games, University of Malta.In our conversation with Stefa...
Episode 15: Daniel Jenkin-Smith, Bureaucracy, Utopia, Dystopia
17 Sep 2025
Contributed by Lukas
In this episode, we speak with Daniel Jenkin-Smith, who teaches at the University of Wales Trinity Saint David and is an expert in English and French ...
Episode 14: Athira Unni, Postcolonial Dystopias and Social Reproduction Theory
27 Aug 2025
Contributed by Lukas
In this episode, we speak with Athira Unni, an Independent Scholar who holds a PhD in English from Leeds Beckett University.In our conversation with A...
Episode 13: andré carrington, Speculative Blackness and The Black Fantastic
14 Jul 2025
Contributed by Lukas
In this episode, we speak with andré carrington, an Associate Professor in the English Department at the University of California, Riverside.In our c...
Episode 12: Jordan Carroll, Science Fiction, the Alt-Right, and 'Speculative Whiteness'
30 May 2025
Contributed by Lukas
In this episode, we speak with Jordan Carroll, a writer, editor, and scholar who holds a PhD in English Literature from the University of California, ...
Episode 11: Author Interview - Eve Smith, "The Cure", and Bioethics
11 May 2025
Contributed by Lukas
In this episode, we speak with Eve Smith, a novelist who writes speculative thrillers, mainly about the things that scare her. Her novels have been re...
Episode 10: Ruth Houghton and Aoife O'Donoghue, Law, Utopianism, and Feminist Utopias
12 Apr 2025
Contributed by Lukas
In this episode, we speak with Ruth Houghton - a Senior Lecturer at Newcastle Law School - and Aoife O'Donoghue - a Professor in Law at Queen's Univer...
Episode 9: Nathan Waddell, George Orwell and Nineteen Eighty-Four
30 Mar 2025
Contributed by Lukas
In this episode, we speak with Nathan Waddell, a Professor in Twentieth Century Literature in the English Literature Department at the University of B...
Episode 8: Diletta De Cristofaro, (Post-)Apocalyptic Fictions
21 Feb 2025
Contributed by Lukas
In this episode, we speak with Diletta De Cristofaro, an Assistant Professor in the Humanities Department at Northumbria University.We chat with Dilet...
Episode 7: Season 1 Christmas Special
20 Dec 2024
Contributed by Lukas
Join Matt and Liam for a Christmas special! In this episode, we recap Season 1 of the podcast, talk about some plans for Season 2, and then chat about...
Episode 6: Heather Alberro, Green Utopianism
15 Dec 2024
Contributed by Lukas
In this episode, we speak with Heather Alberro, a Lecturer in Sustainability at the University of Manchester. We chat with Heather about Green Utopia...
Episode 5: Sebastian Mitchell, 18th Century Utopias
01 Dec 2024
Contributed by Lukas
In this episode, we interview Dr Sebastian Mitchell, a Senior Lecturer in English Literature at the University of Birmingham. We chat with Sebastian ...
Episode 4: Heather McKnight, Utopia and Activism
16 Nov 2024
Contributed by Lukas
In this episode, we interview Heather McKnight, Independent Scholar and Co-Founder of the Magnetic Ideals Collective. We chat with Heather about what...
Episode 3: Sean Seeger, Pessimistic Utopianism
02 Nov 2024
Contributed by Lukas
In this episode, we interview Sean Seeger, Senior Lecturer in Modern and Contemporary Literature at the University of Essex, England. We chat with Se...
Episode 2: Daniel Varndell, Utopia and Film
19 Oct 2024
Contributed by Lukas
In this episode, we interview Daniel Varndell, Senior Lecturer in English Literature at the University of Winchester, England. We chat with Dan about...
Episode 1: Raffaella Baccolini, the Critical Dystopia
05 Oct 2024
Contributed by Lukas
In this episode, we interview Raffaella Baccolini, Professor of American Literature and Gender Studies at the University of Bologna, Italy. One of th...