Utopian and Dystopian Fictions

Utopian and Dystopian Fictions
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Utopian and Dystopian Fictions is a podcast for scholars, thinkers, and anyone with an interest in utopian and dystopian theory, literature, film, and television. It’s hosted by Dr Matthew Leggatt (Senior Lecturer in English Literature at the University of Winchester) and Dr Liam Knight (Independent Scholar). In each episode we interview a different academic in the field and interrogate myths and common misconceptions about the genre. If you have any feedback or questions, please feel free to send us an email, using utopiananddystopianfictions@gmail.com.

  1. JAN 30

    Episode 19: Author Interview - Paul E. Hardisty, "The Hope", and Ecodystopia.

    In this episode, we speak with Paul E. Hardisty, an environmental scientist, keen conservationist, and novelist known first for his 'Claymore Straker' series and, most recently, 'The Forcing' trilogy - a series of dystopian fiction with an ecological emphasis that has been called 'provocative and insightful, visceral and terrifying'. We speak with Paul about The Hope, the final instalment of 'The Forcing' trilogy, which came out on January 29th 2026! Called a 'superbly handled tale of struggle and survival in a maimed world' by The Times, The Hope is set in the near-future, where climate collapse, famine, and war have ravaged the world. It features sixteen-year-old Boo Ashworth, a girl with the remarkable ability to perfectly recall anything she had read previously, who fights to save her loved ones and bring hope to a broken world. You can find Paul on the Orenda Books website, Facebook, Substack, and X. You can order The Hope here. You can read the Australian National Outlook - the report we discussed with Paul that sets out how Australia can move towards a more sustainable future - here. Paul's non-fiction recommendations are: In Hot Water: Inside the Battle to Save the Great Barrier Reef, by Paul E. HardistyThe Golden Spruce, by John ValliantNatural Capitalism, by Amory Lovins, Hunter Lovins, and Paul HawkenLess is More: How Degrowth will Save the World, by Jason Hickel A huge thanks to Paul for joining us on the podcast, and to his publishers at Orenda Books for reaching out and sending us proof copies of The Hope. If you enjoyed this episode, please let us know! You can follow and rate the podcast, leave us a comment, or email us on ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠utopiananddystopianfictions@gmail.com

    1h 9m

  2. JAN 9

    Episode 18: Amy Brookes, Architecture and Speculative Fiction

    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 Reading. In our conversation with Amy, we turn our attention to the intersections between architecture, utopianism, and speculative fiction. Drawing on literary texts, theoretical ideas, and real-world practice, we have a far reaching discussion in which we discuss the utopian impulse behind architectural practice (and the debate within the field of architecture about whether architects are utopianists) and the insights that reading speculative fiction may reveal to architects, among other topics. Amy's love for speculative fiction really comes across in this interview, with her interview possibly containing the most varied list of references to speculative texts to date! You can find out more about Amy and her work here. And you can read her most recent paper, 'Held in common: science fiction and collective spaces' here. If you enjoyed this episode, please let us know! You can follow and rate the podcast, leave us a comment, or email us on ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠utopiananddystopianfictions@gmail.com

    1h 25m

  3. 10/31/2025

    Episode 17: Halloween Special (Season 2 Finale) - Dystopia and Horror

    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's to come in Season 3, before then discussing a very seasonal topic for this Halloween Special: Dystopia and Horror! We talk about the relationship between these two genres by focusing on two short stories (among other texts): Shirley Jackson's 'The Lottery' (1948) and Ray Bradbury's 'The Veldt' (1950). Both these texts, we suggest, straddle the line between Dystopia and Horror, and we talk about how and why one might fall more on the dystopian side and the other might fall more on the horrifying side. If you enjoyed this episode, please let us know! You can follow and rate the podcast, leave us a comment, or email us on ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠utopiananddystopianfictions@gmail.com

    57 min

  4. 10/08/2025

    Episode 16: Stefano Gualeni, Utopia, Play, and Fictional Games

    In this episode, we speak with Stefano Gualeni, a Full Professor at the Institute of Digital Games, University of Malta. In our conversation with Stefano, we draw on his varied professional expertise as a philosopher, game designer, and writer of fiction to discuss all things related to utopias and dystopias, play, and fictional games. In doing so, we cover ideas Stefano discusses in Fictional Games: A Philosophy of Worldbuilding and Imaginary Play (2022) and his most recent novel What We Owe The Dead (2025). You can find out more about Stefano and his work here: ⁠https://gua-le-ni.com/ - you can even play some of his games on his website too, so do give them a go! Matt also has a new book out! You can find Play in Utopian and Dystopian Fiction here: https://www.liverpooluniversitypress.co.uk/doi/book/10.3828/9781836244790 We also want to bring your attention to ‘Teaching Utopia’, a public repository of syllabi, reading lists, and teaching materials about utopia and dystopia housed on Zotero. There are two ways to contribute. You can upload them directly to Zotero yourself after joining the group library entitled “Teaching Utopia” (https://www.zotero.org/groups/6069510/teaching_utopia/library). Or you can contribute by filling out a brief Google Form (https://tinyurl.com/teachingutopia). If you have any trouble, you can contact Sophie Cardin – who created and manages the repository –  via email at sophie.cardin@politics.ox.ac.uk or on Bluesky @sophiecardin.bsky.social. Sophie is a doctoral researcher at the University of Oxford, where she studies utopia and the history of Yiddish political thought.If you enjoyed this episode, please let us know! You can follow and rate the podcast, leave us a comment, or email us on ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠utopiananddystopianfictions@gmail.com

    1h 20m

  5. 09/17/2025

    Episode 15: Daniel Jenkin-Smith, Bureaucracy, Utopia, Dystopia

    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 literature of the long 19th century. Daniel also co-hosts the spectacular Save Me From My Shelf Podcast. In our chat with Daniel, we turn our attention to the topic of bureaucracy: what are its origins, is it fundamentally utopian or dystopian, and where does it feature in utopian and dystopian texts? With reference to Kafka's The Trial, Morris's News from Nowhere, and Orwell's Nineteen Eighty-Four, among other works, our chat features a number of insights on the utopian and dystopian genres. Daniel's book, The Rise of Office Literature: Bureaucratization and Aesthetics in Britain and France, 1810-1900 (2025) is published by Bloomsbury. The Save Me From My Shelf podcast can be found on Spotify and all other good podcasting services. Daniel can also be found at dcjenkin-smith.bsky.social If you enjoyed this episode, please let us know! You can follow and rate the podcast, leave us a comment, or email us on ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠utopiananddystopianfictions@gmail.com

    1h 10m

  6. 08/27/2025

    Episode 14: Athira Unni, Postcolonial Dystopias and Social Reproduction Theory

    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 Athira, we discuss postcolonial dystopian fiction, with a particular emphasis on South Asian and Caribbean texts. Here, Athira notes how dystopian texts from these regions reflect multiple layers of oppression. She also suggests that something which sets postcolonial dystopias apart from Western dystopian traditions is that they focus on independence, rather than revolution. Our conversation also focuses on social reproductive theory, a framework which Athira examines throughout her work, and how reading utopian and dystopian texts with this theory in mind generates new insights. You can find out more about Athira and her work here: https://athiraunni.owlstown.net/ You can read Athira's paper, 'Social Reproductive Labor and Uto/Dystopia: An Analysis of Leila, Midnight Robber and Woman World' here. If you enjoyed this episode, please let us know! You can follow and rate the podcast, leave us a comment, or email us on ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠utopiananddystopianfictions@gmail.com

    59 min

  7. 07/14/2025

    Episode 13: andré carrington, Speculative Blackness and The Black Fantastic

    In this episode, we speak with andré carrington, an Associate Professor in the English Department at the University of California, Riverside. In our conversation with andré, we discuss speculative fiction and the emerging opportunities for Black writers in this genre across a range of literary modes. Here, andré offers unique insights, blending his role as an academic, critic, fan, and literary editor. Here, we question who gets to imagine the future, how they are able to express their imaginings, and what happens as a result of these imaginings. You can find out more about andré and his work here: https://profiles.ucr.edu/app/home/profile/andrc You can find andré's Speculative Blackness here: https://www.upress.umn.edu/9780816678969/speculative-blackness/ And you can buy The Black Fantastic here: https://www.loa.org/books/the-black-fantastic-20-afrofuturist-stories-paperback/ If you enjoyed this episode, please let us know! You can follow and rate the podcast, leave us a comment, or email us on ⁠⁠⁠⁠utopiananddystopianfictions@gmail.com

    1h 14m

  8. 05/30/2025

    Episode 12: Jordan Carroll, Science Fiction, the Alt-Right, and 'Speculative Whiteness'

    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, Davis. Our discussion with Jordan primarily centres on his most recent book, Speculative Whiteness: Science Fiction and the Alt-Right (University of Minnesota Press, 2024), which reveals the alt-right’s project to claim science fiction and - by extension - the future. Here, we discuss the relationship between the alt-right and science fiction (and how and why the alt-right might choose to appropriate or misread the genre), science fiction as a colonialist genre, and the nebulous, ever-changing nature of the alt-right in the contemporary moment. You can find out more about Jordan and his work here: https://jordanscarroll.wordpress.com/ And you can buy Speculative Whiteness here: https://www.amazon.co.uk/Speculative-Whiteness-Science-Alt-Right-Forerunners/dp/1517917085 If you enjoyed this episode, please let us know! You can follow and rate the podcast, leave us a comment, or email us on ⁠⁠⁠utopiananddystopianfictions@gmail.com

    57 min
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About

Utopian and Dystopian Fictions is a podcast for scholars, thinkers, and anyone with an interest in utopian and dystopian theory, literature, film, and television. It’s hosted by Dr Matthew Leggatt (Senior Lecturer in English Literature at the University of Winchester) and Dr Liam Knight (Independent Scholar). In each episode we interview a different academic in the field and interrogate myths and common misconceptions about the genre. If you have any feedback or questions, please feel free to send us an email, using utopiananddystopianfictions@gmail.com.

Information

  • Creator
    Utopian and Dystopian Fictions
  • Years Active
    2024 - 2026
  • Episodes
    19
  • Rating
    Clean
  • Copyright
    © Utopian and Dystopian Fictions
  • Show Website
    Utopian and Dystopian Fictions