Unnatural Selection

Emma Shannon
  • 5.0 (2)
  • FILM REVIEWS
  • UPDATED MONTHLY

Unnatural Selection is a monthly podcast about film adaptations of books, the weird choices Hollywood makes, and what actually constitutes a "good" adaptation. Each episode is hosted by Emma Shannon and a rotating cast of special guests.

  1. FEB 16

    Jurassic Park feat. Greg Steffensen

    Life finds a way and so do film adaptations. Join Emma and Greg to celebrate Valentine’s Day and Unnatural Selection’s third anniversary with the adaptation that both started their relationship and made Emma want to start this podcast—welcome, to the Jurassic Park episode! Emma and Greg get into the nitty gritty details of dinosaur development, blending lawyers and PR guys, and how sometimes making changes to characters based on who you cast makes things better, actually. Content warnings for Jurassic Park by Michael Crichton include: dinosaur-related gore and death, death of an infant, children in peril, mild weirdly handled classism/racism, the folly of capitalism, and more computations than you’re expecting. Content warnings for Jurassic Park (1993) include: dinosaur-related gore and death, children in peril, electrocution, and the folly of capitalism. The book and articles Emma references in this episode can be found here: Shay, Don; Duncan, Jody “Making of Jurassic Park” Copyright 1993. Published by Ballantine Books. New York https://www.nytimes.com/1993/06/06/movies/film-visiting-jurassic-park-for-real.html https://sffgazette.com/sci_fi/creating-jurassic-park-a-classic-interview-with-author-michael-crichton-a1296 https://abcnews.com/Entertainment/jurassic-park-turns-25-scenes-moments-iconic-summer/story?id=55332468 You can find Emma on bluesky @crabmoney.bsky.social and Greg on discord at Hamamelis. Unnatural Selection is a part of the Moonshot Podcast Network. If you like what you’ve heard and was to support the network, you can become a patron at patreon.com/moonshotnetwork.    The music for this show was commissioned from and composed by Jake Loranger. You can check out more of his work at https://amaranthine.bandcamp.com/https://amaranthine.bandcamp.com

    1h 39m

  2. JAN 16

    Johnny Mnemonic feat. CJ Linton

    Become a very technical boy with Emma and CJ as they break down how on Earth a $1.5 million pitch for a film of William Gibson’s short story Johnny Mnemonic became a $30 million Hollywood flick starring Keanu Reeves. They get into Gibson and director Robert Longo’s friendship, the fact a director’s cut does not really exist, and how sometimes editing is everything. Content warnings for Johnny Mnemonic by William Gibson include: violence, cyberpunk gore, vaguely questionable portrayals of trans characters, and a junkie dolphin.  Content warnings for Johnny Mnemonic (1995) include: violence, cyberpunk gore, slightly more questionable portrayals of trans characters, memory loss, mourning the death of a child, an epidemic taking place in the early 2020’s (but not that one), and whatever the hell is going on with the Preacher. The articles and resources Emma and CJ reference on this episode can be found here: https://www.wired.com/1995/06/gibson-4/ https://www.wordyard.com/dmz/digicult/gibson-8-4-94.html https://www.screenslate.com/articles/johnny-mnemonic-black-and-white-robert-longo-interview https://web.archive.org/web/20070627074200/http://www.peak.sfu.ca/the-peak/98-3/issue7/gibson.html https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-1995-05-24-fi-5524-story.html https://legacy.aintitcool.com/node/5140 https://www.theguardian.com/film/2021/apr/30/johnny-mnmemonic-keanu-reeves-william-gibson Smith PA, ed. Conversations with William Gibson / Edited by Patrick A. Smith. University Press of Mississippi; 2014. You can find Emma on bluesky @crabmoney.bsky.social and CJ on most socials @nearfutures. CJ is a part of Sly Robot Games and you can find more of his work at https://cjlinton.com/ including his game Bring Down the House, which Emma loves dearly. Unnatural Selection is a part of the Moonshot Podcast Network. If you like what you’ve heard and was to support the network, you can become a patron at patreon.com/moonshotnetwork.    The music for this show was commissioned from and composed by Jake Loranger. You can check out more of his work at https://amaranthine.bandcamp.com

    1h 14m

  3. 10/15/2025

    I, Robot feat. Dominique Dickey

    Journey forward to the year 2035 and take a trip to Chicago with Emma and Dominique to figure out just what all the robots are up to these days. These two read the quintessential robot sci-text I, Robot by Isaac Asimov and do a bit of their own puzzle solving to figure out just how this series of short conundrums with the three laws of robotics became a Will Smith cop action movie in 2004. Get real deep into the concept of robots as a metaphor, grounded near-future tech, and egregious product placement in this month’s Unnatural Selection.   Content warnings for I, Robot by Isaac Asimov include: space religion, robotic puzzles, cave-ins, being trapped on an asteroids, being separated from your robot caregiver, and dying (but only for a little bit).   Content warnings for I, Robot (2004) include: standard action-movie violence, drowning of a child, car accidents, robot racism, uncanny valley special effects, and an absolutely absurd price for two beers.   The articles Emma references in this article can be found here: https://www.screenwritersutopia.com/article/d19127d8 https://www.syfy.com/syfy-wire/i-robot-movie-writer-interview-jeff-vintar-talks-isaac-asimov-ties https://variety.com/2025/film/news/alan-tudyk-i-robot-test-screenings-will-smith-1236486844/   You can find Emma on bluesky @crabmoney.bsky.social and Dominique on most socials @DomSDickey. You can find places to read their writing at https://dominiquedickey.com/ or through Neon Hemlock press for their novella Redundancies and Potentials. Unnatural Selection is a part of the Moonshot Podcast Network. If you like what you’ve heard and was to support the network, you can become a patron at patreon.com/moonshotnetwork.   The music for this show was commissioned from and composed by Jake Loranger. You can check out more of his work at https://amaranthine.bandcamp.com

    1h 34m

  4. 09/15/2025

    Christine feat. Marn Lastname

    Time to turn on the radio and cruise down the highway with Marn and Emma as they get into Stephen King’s Christine and its 1983 John Carpenter adaptation. They get into how much interiority can really be kept when making a killer car movie for a paycheck, where that old man’s ghost went, and what is so compelling about Pittsburgh’s suburbs.   Content warnings for _Christine _include: sexism, 50’s views of the world, graphic car violence, suicide, asphyxiation, death of a child, death of a parent, death of a loved one, growing apart from your childhood best friend, Stephen King standard grossness and weirdness, and a truly unfortunate slang term for a car part that is now considered a slur against trans people.  The articles Emma references in this episode can be found here: https://home.dartmouth.edu/news/2016/10/killer-car-movie-bill-phillips-making-christine http://blog.thehorrorshow.tv/exclusive-interview-with-christine-firestarter-screenwriter-bill-phillips/ https://scvhistory.com/scvhistory/lw2230.htm https://lofficier.com/christine.htm https://www.gamesradar.com/john-carpenter-keith-gordon-christine-exclusive-interview/ https://www.petersen.org/vehicle-spotlights/1958-plymouth-fury-christine   You can find Emma on bluesky @crabmoney.bsky.social and the show on twitter @UnselectPod. Marn can be found on most social media @corpserevivers. The web serial she writes with her wife can be found at https://prairiesongserial.com/ and her show Batman: Bump in the Night is part of the Moonshot Patreon feed.   Unnatural Selection is a part of the Moonshot Podcast Network. If you like what you’ve heard from either Emma, Marn, or the myriad shows they make together, you can become a patron at patreon.com/moonshotnetwork   The music for this show was commissioned from and composed by Jake Loranger. You can check out more of his work at https://amaranthine.bandcamp.com/

    1h 10m

  5. 07/18/2025

    The Sword in the Stone feat. Juliet

    Travel back to Medieval times with Emma and Juliet this month and see if you can pull the sword from the stone (well, anvil, actually) and assume your place as the true king of England! They dive into T.H. White’s The Sword in the Stone from The Once and Future King, usually regarded as the correct version of the novel to read, without realizing until it’s too late that the 1963 film is NOT based on the 1958 novel, but rather the original 1938 version! Which is more different than you might think! World War II changes a man, after all.    Content warnings for The Sword in the Stone include general Medieval vulgarity, lots of droppings and scat just everywhere, a weird praising of Feudalism that comes off as uncomfortably sympathetic to slavery as an institution, 1960s questionable views and anachronisms, and a completely unexpected use of a racial slur.    The articles and interviews Emma references in this episode can be found here: https://cartoonresearch.com/index.php/live-like-a-king-the-60th-anniversary-of-the-sword-in-the-stone/ https://cartoonresearch.com/index.php/in-his-own-words-floyd-norman-on-disneys-the-sword-in-the-stone/ https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-zySgUZHDNM https://www.hoganmag.com/blog/seldom-re-peeted-the-bill-peet-interview https://thecityoflostbooks.glasgow.ac.uk/t-h-white-the-sword-in-the-stone/ https://cartoonresearch.com/index.php/mad-madam-mim/   Emma can be found on twitter at @ematsca and on bluesky @crabmoney.bsky.social. The show can be found on twitter @UnselectPod. Juliet can be found on social media @follypersist on most platforms. Unnatural Selection and Juliet’s show I’ll Be Pod For Castmas are a part of the Moonshot Podcast Network. If you like what you’ve heard and want to support them, you can become a patron at https://www.patreon.com/moonshotnetwork   The music for this show was composed by Jake Loranger. You can find more of his work at https://amaranthine.bandcamp.co

    1h 12m

  6. 06/19/2025

    Eclipse feat. Kat Jamolin

    It’s June so you know what that means! Kat and Emma return to the woods for their annual trek through the Twilight series. Listen along as Emma has an existential crisis realizing that Eclipse might actually be good, Kat gets into the lore of it all, and we realize that everyone, even Stephanie Meyer, might agree that polyamory could be the answer to this love triangle.   Content warnings for Eclipse include: references to domestic violence, controlling behavior, vague confederate sympathies, self-harm, weird racism towards werewolves, an unfortunate introduction to the concept of imprinting, and insensitive depictions of the Quileute people. The article Emma promised to find and video essay Kat referenced can be found here: https://www.slashfilm.com/1700668/why-bryce-dallas-howard-replaced-rachelle-lefevre-twilight-victoria/ https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zT5unKXnSUk   For more information on the Quileute people, visit https://www.burkemuseum.org/static/truth_vs_twilight/ You can find Emma on twitter @ematsca, Kat @StrawberrySiren, and the show @UnselectPod. Emma is also on bluesky at crabmoney.bsky.social. Kat can be found on Instagram @swordsandsirens and her dog Walter is @WalterWednesdays. Unnatural Selection is a part of the Moonshot Podcast Network. If you like what you’ve heard and want to support them, you can become a patron at patreon.com/moonshotnetwork The music for this show was commissioned from and composed by Jake Loranger. You can check out more of his work at https://amaranthine.bandcamp.com/

    1h 13m

  7. 05/15/2025

    Dracula feat. Jeff Stormer

    It’s that time of year when our good friend Jonathan Harker takes a trip to Transylvania, and in honor of such it’s time for Jeff and Emma to break down what surely has to be the most accurate Dracula adaptation—Bram Stoker’s Dracula (1992). It’s even got the author’s name! The cowboy is there! Wait, what? What do you mean they make Dracula a brooding antihero? What do you mean Mina wants to f**k him like her life depends on it? What do you mean Jonathan is played by Keanu Reeves? Oh boy, sounds like the creatures of the night have sure made some… strange... music with this one.   Content warnings for Dracula include: sexual assault, gaslighting, death of a loved one, death of a family member, medical horror, racism and xenophobia towards the Romani people, some weird Victorian values, and the consuming of one baby.   Content warnings for Bram Stoker’s Dracula (1992) include: all of the above content warnings PLUS a frankly ridiculous level of horniness.   The articles and interviews Emma references in this episode can be found here: https://people.com/movies/francis-ford-coppola-denies-winona-ryder-verbal-abuse-dracula/ https://ew.com/article/2015/10/06/francis-ford-coppola-remembers-dracula/ https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9WwF6vRG3FE https://ew.com/article/2015/08/03/bram-stokers-dracula-francis-ford-coppola-bluray/ https://www.thedigitalfix.com/dracula/cary-elwes-interview-francis-ford-coppola https://www.theguardian.com/culture/2024/nov/20/bram-stokers-dracula-francis-ford-coppolas-very-horny-vampire-epic https://www.polygon.com/horror/507232/bram-stokers-dracula-1992-nosferatu-horny-vampire-sex https://www.nytimes.com/1992/12/06/style/the-new-blood-culture.html   You can find Emma on twitter @ematsca and the show @UnselectPod. Emma is also on bluesky now @crabmoney.bsky.social. You can find Jeff @jeffstormer.gobirds.online. Unnatural Selection is a part of the Moonshot Podcast Network. If you like what you’ve heard from Emma and Jeff and want to support the network, you can become a patron at patreon.com/moonshotnetwork.   The music for this podcast was composed by Jake Loranger. You can find more of his work at https://amaranthine.bandcamp.com

    1h 31m

  8. 04/15/2025

    Fight Club feat. August aka S. Gates

    The first rule of Fight Club by Chuck Palahniuk is don’t talk about it. The second rule of Fight Club (1999 dir. David Fincher) is don’t talk about it. The fourth rule is two men (gender neutral) to a podcast. Emma and August dissect this cult classic, how gay it is, and how the actors actually learned to make soap! With a special appearance from the Alexandrite System to dig into the notorious plot twist.   Content warnings for Fight Club include: graphic violence, terrorism, just kind of being gross, suicide, and a questionable depiction of DID.    The articles Emma references in this episode can be found here: https://lithub.com/behind-the-scenes-of-david-finchers-fight-club/ https://cinephiliabeyond.org/fight-club-david-finchers-stylish-exploration-modern-day-mans-estrangement-disillusionment/ https://collider.com/fight-club-alternate-ending-china/ https://ew.com/article/1999/10/15/blood-sweat-fears-fight-club/ https://www.theringer.com/2019/03/26/movies/fight-club-davis-fincher-making-of-brad-pitt-edward-norton   You can find Emma on twitter @ematsca and the show @UnselectPod. August can be found on bluesky at harpydora.bsky.social and their podcast Follow the Leader at ftlcast.bsky.social. Unnatural Selection is a part of the Moonshot Podcast Network. If you like what you’ve heard and want to support the network, you can become a patron at patreon.com/moonshotnetwork   The music for this podcast was composed by Jake Loranger. You can check out more of his work at https://amaranthine.bandcamp.com

    1h 20m
See All (31)

Trailer

Ratings & Reviews

5
out of 5
2 Ratings

About

Unnatural Selection is a monthly podcast about film adaptations of books, the weird choices Hollywood makes, and what actually constitutes a "good" adaptation. Each episode is hosted by Emma Shannon and a rotating cast of special guests.

Information

  • Creator
    Emma Shannon
  • Years Active
    2023 - 2026
  • Episodes
    31
  • Rating
    Explicit
  • Copyright
    © Copyright 2026
  • Show Website
    Unnatural Selection