The Functional Nerds Podcast

The Functional Nerds
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The Functional Nerds Podcast

Functional Nerds is the weekly podcast from author/blogger Patrick Hester and Author/Teacher Tracy Townsend focusing on science fiction and fantasy media: television, film, comics, and new media such as fan films, audio dramas, online animated comics and more, technology, gadgets and all things Apple as well as music and the occasional video game.

  1. 2D AGO

    Episode 654-With Catriona Silvey

    This week on the podcast, Patrick and Tracy welcome Catriona Silvey, author of LOVE AND OTHER PARADOXES. About LOVE AND OTHER PARADOXES: Cambridge University, 2005: Student Joe Greene scribbles verses in the margins of his notebook, dreaming of a future where his words will echo through the ages, all while doubting it could ever happen. Then, the future quite literally finds him—in the form of Esi. She’s part of a time-traveling tour, a trip for people in the future to witness history’s greatest moments firsthand. The star of this tour? Joe Greene. In Esi’s era, Joe is as renowned as Shakespeare. And he’s about to meet Diana, a fellow student and aspiring actress, who will become his muse and the subject of his famous love poems. But Esi is harboring a secret. She’s not here because she idolizes Joe—actually, she thinks his poetry is overrated. Something will happen at Cambridge this year that will wreck Esi’s life, and she’s hell-bent on changing it. When Esi goes rogue from her tour, she bumps into Joe and sends his destiny into a tailspin. To save both their futures, Esi becomes Joe’s dating coach, helping him win over Diana. But when Joe’s romantic endeavors go off-script—and worse, he starts falling for Esi instead—they both face a crucial question: Is the future set in stone, or can we pen our own fates? About Catriona Silvey: Catriona Silvey was born in Glasgow and grew up in Perthshire and Derbyshire, which left her with a strange accent and a distrust of flat places. She overcame the latter to do a BA in English at Cambridge, and spent the next few years there working in scientific publishing. After that she moved to Edinburgh and did a PhD in language evolution, in the hope of finding out where all these words came from in the first place. Following stints in Chicago and back in Cambridge, she returned to Edinburgh, where she lives with her husband and children. When she’s not working as a technical writer for a software company, she writes character-driven science fiction. Her debut novel Meet Me in Another Life was published in 2021. Her next book, the time-travel romantic comedy Love and Other Paradoxes, will be released in 2025. This week’s picks: * Catriona: The Gilded Crown (Raven’s Trade Book 1) by Marianne Gordon * Tracy: Klikbeet * Patrick: GenghisCon 2025 Links: * Tracy Townsend on BluSky * Patrick Hester on Instagram * The Functional Nerds Patreon Page © 2025 Patrick Hester

    41 min

  2. MAR 11

    Episode 653-With Allison Epstein

    This week on the podcast, Patrick and Tracy welcome Allison Epstein, author of Fagin the Thief. About Fagin the Thief: Long before Oliver Twist stumbled onto the scene, Jacob Fagin was scratching out a life for himself in the dark alleys of nineteenth-century London. Born in the Jewish enclave of Stepney shortly after his father was executed as a thief, Jacob and his open-minded mother, Leah, are each other’s whole world. But Jacob’s prospects are forever altered when a light-fingered pickpocket takes Jacob under his wing and teaches him a trade that pays far better than the neighborhood boys could possibly dream. Striking out on his own, Jacob familiarizes himself with London’s highest value neighborhoods while forging his own path in the shadows. But everything changes when he adopts an aspiring teenage thief named Bill Sikes, whose mercurial temper poses a danger to himself and anyone foolish enough to cross him. Along the way, Jacob’s found family expands to include his closest friend, Nancy, and his greatest protege, the Artful Dodger. But as Bill’s ambition soars and a major robbery goes awry, Jacob is forced to decide what he really stands for—and what a life is worth. About Allison Epstein: Allison Epstein earned her MFA in fiction from Northwestern University and a BA in creative writing from the University of Michigan. A Michigan native, she now lives in Chicago, where she enjoys good theater, bad puns, and fancy jackets. She is the author of historical novels including A Tip for the Hangman, Let the Dead Bury the Dead, and Fagin the Thief. This week’s picks: * Allison: Maddalena and the Dark: A Novel by Julia Fine * Tracy: This Is the Honey: An Anthology of Contemporary Black Poets Edited by Kwame Alexander * Patrick: Daredevil: Born Again (Disney+) Links: * Allison Epstein on Instagram * Tracy Townsend on BluSky * Patrick Hester on Instagram * The Functional Nerds Patreon Page © 2025 Patrick Hester

    44 min

  3. FEB 25

    Episode 652-With John Scalzi

    This week on the podcast, Patrick and Tracy welcome John Scalzi, author of WHEN THE MOON HITS YOUR EYE. About WHEN THE MOON HITS YOUR EYE: The moon has turned into cheese. Now humanity has to deal with it. For some it’s an opportunity. For others it’s a moment to question their faith: In God, in science, in everything. Still others try to keep the world running in the face of absurdity and uncertainty. And then there are the billions looking to the sky and wondering how a thing that was always just there is now… something absolutely impossible. Astronauts and billionaires, comedians and bank executives, professors and presidents, teenagers and terminal patients at the end of their lives — over the length of an entire lunar cycle, each get their moment in the moonlight. To panic, to plan, to wonder and to pray, to laugh and to grieve. All in a kaleidoscopic novel that goes all the places you’d expect, and then to so many places you wouldn’t. It’s a wild moonage daydream. Ride this rocket. About John Scalzi: John Scalzi writes books. He’s best known for writing science fiction, including the New York Times bestseller “Redshirts,” which won the Hugo Award for Best Novel. He also writes non-fiction, on subjects ranging from personal finance to astronomy to film, was the Creative Consultant for the Stargate: Universe television series. He enjoys pie, as should all right thinking people. You can get to his blog by typing the word “Whatever” into Google. No, seriously, try it. This week’s picks: * John: The Martian Contingency by Mary Robinette Kowal * Tracy: The Expanse Season 1 * Patrick: SLY LIVES (AKA The Burden Of Black Genius) (Hulu) Links: * John Scalzi on BlueSky * Tracy Townsend on BluSky * Patrick Hester on Instagram * The Functional Nerds Patreon Page © 2025 Patrick Hester

    48 min

  4. FEB 11

    Episode 651-With L.J. Cohen

    This week on the podcast, Patrick and Tracy welcome L.J. Cohen, author of Litany for a Broken World. About Litany for a Broken World: A young girl’s disastrous first foray through the multiverse cleaves her from her family and abandons her in a homeless encampment, adrift in a world and a body not her own. A doctor struggling with grief volunteers for the annual Boston homeless census and is confronted by the impossible and her deeply buried childhood trauma. A lonely, disaffected seer, rejected by those he seeks to help, is drawn from his home by a desperate call across the world walls. When the three strangers, each broken in some way, are pulled into a conflict between those with the ability to travel the multiverse and the organization seeking to exploit them, they must risk everything that matters to heal the fractured places in themselves and throughout reality. About L.J. Cohen: LJ Cohen is a poet, novelist, blogger, ceramics artist, local food enthusiast, Doctor Who fan, and relentless optimist. She lives on a homestead farm in Central Massachusetts with her partner and two dogs (only one of which actually ever listens to her). When she doesn’t have her hands busy in dirt, clay, or yarn, LJ can be found writing, which looks a lot like daydreaming. LJ is a member of SFWA (Science Fiction and Fantasy Writers of America) and Broad Universe, a national organization promoting women and other marginalized gender writers of science fiction, fantasy, and horror. This week’s picks: * L.J.: Snow! * Tracy: The Spice House – Chicago * Patrick: Jalapeno Cheese Bread Links: * L.J. Cohen on Instagram * Tracy Townsend on BluSky * Patrick Hester on Instagram * The Functional Nerds Patreon Page © 2025 Patrick Hester

    1h 7m

  5. JAN 28

    Episode 650-With Michael Nayak

    This week, Patrick and Tracy welcome Michael Nayak, author of SYMBIOTE. About SYMBIOTE: As World War III rages, the scientists in Antarctica are thankful for the isolation – until a group of Chinese scientists arrive at the American research base. In their truck is a dead body, the first murder in Antarctica. The potential for a geopolitical firestorm is great, and, with no clear jurisdiction, the Americans don’t know what to do. But they soon realize the Chinese scientists have brought far more with them than the body… Within seventy-two hours, thirteen others lie dead in the snow, murdered in acts of madness and superhuman strength.An extremophile parasite from the truck, triggered by severe cold, is spreading by touch. It is learning from them. Evolving. It triggers violent tendencies in the winter crew, and, more insidiously, the beginnings of a strange symbiotic telepathy. Exhausted by suspicion and fear, with rescue impossible for months, the desperate crew members turn on each other. A small group of survivors try to resist the siren call of the growing hive mind and stay alive long enough to solve the mystery of the symbiotic microbe’s origins. But the symbiote is more than a disease – it is a biological weapon that can change the balance of power in a time of war. The survivors cannot let anyone infected make it to the summer season, when planes will arrive to take them – and potentially the symbiote – back to civilization. About Michael Nayak: Michael Nayak was born in Los Angeles and now lives in Washington, DC. By day, he is Doctor/Major Nayak, working for DARPA (Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency). Michael is a former Antarctic researcher, space shuttle engineer. He is a USAF Test Pilot School graduate, Rotary National Award for Space Achievement recipient, and has 1,000+ hours of flight time in 40+ aircraft. His real-world experience in the science and intelligence communities adds next-level authentic details and a touch of hyper-realism to his work. This week’s picks: * Michael: OK Go – Upside Down & Inside Out (Video) * Tracy: Sky Team (Game) * Patrick: J.R.R. Tolkien – Poems And Songs Of Middle Earth (Album) Links: * Michael Nayak on the network formerly known as Twitter * Tracy Townsend on BluSky * Patrick Hester on Instagram * The Functional Nerds Patreon Page © 2025 Patrick Hester

    52 min

  6. JAN 21

    Episode 649-With Strange Horizon’s Kat Kourbeti and Michael Ireland

    This week, Patrick and Tracy welcome Kat Kourbeti and Michael Ireland from Strange Horizons to talk about the new podcast project celebrating 25 years of the magazine: S.H.@25. S.H.@25 Links: * Arkady Martine’s SH@25 episode, featuring her soundscaped poem * The John Scalzi interview * Ootheca by Mário Coelho (with the cockroaches for teeth) * Alhaji Jerry by ML Kejera (with musical interludes by the author) * Kat’s favourite author narration she’s produced (Rasharelle Little by Isaana Skeete, who now volunteers with SH): About Strange Horizons: Strange Horizons is a weekly magazine of and about speculative fiction. We publish fiction, poetry, reviews, essays, interviews, roundtable discussions, and art. About Kat Kourbeti: Kat is a queer Greek/Serbian SFF writer, film critic, and podcaster based in London, UK. Her (very gay) novel-in-progress about a secret society of Swedish superheroes was shortlisted for the London Writers Awards in 2019, and she was a juror for the Best Non-Fiction category in the 2020 British Fantasy Awards. She organises Spectrum, the largest critique group for SFF writers in the UK, and her day job is in theatre. You can find her on all social media as @darthjuno. About Michael Ireland: Michael Ireland is the Podcast Producer for Strange Horizons. Based near Glasgow, Scotland, he is also the co-creator and director of the acclaimed audio drama The Secret of St Kilda. As a disabled creator, he has also worked in television, short films and documentaries. He only has four cats at present and would be easily convinced to adopt more. @mickallister on Bluesky and @MichaelStKilda on other Social Media. Links: * Kat Kourbeti on BluSky * Michael Ireland on BluSky * Tracy Townsend on BluSky * Patrick Hester on Instagram * The Functional Nerds Patreon Page © 2025 Patrick Hester

    51 min

  7. JAN 14

    Episode 648-With Jack Campbell

    This week, Patrick and Tracy welcome Jack Campbell, author of Destiny’s Way Book 2 of The Doomed Earth Duology. About Destiny’s Way: Lieutenant Selene Genji is hurled into the past to try and save a world that doesn’t want her in this action-packed adventure from New York Times bestselling author Jack Campbell. Earth was destroyed on June 12, 2180. Lieutenant Selene Genji watched it happen. And only she can prevent it. Thrown forty years into the past, into a time before the Universal War began, Genji can only guess what to do to change the events that led to the death of all humanity. She has no way of knowing the long-term impacts of her actions and can only depend on her instincts. But many of the people Genji’s trying to save want her dead. Her creation was an experiment: a fusing of human and alien DNA. To them, she’s a monster who can’t be trusted, a tool of the aliens who have just made first contact. Fortunately, she has an unshakable ally in Lieutenant Kayl Owen, who has risked everything to help her mission. Declared a traitor to humanity by Earth Guard, Owen is determined to help Genji save the Earth. Even if he dies trying. About Jack Campbell: Jack Campbell is the pen name of John G. Hemry, a retired U.S. Navy officer. His father (LCDR Jack M. Hemry, USN ret.) is a mustang (an officer who was promoted through the enlisted ranks), so John grew up living everywhere from Pensacola, Florida to San Diego, California, including an especially memorable few year on Midway Island. John graduated from Lyons High School in Lyons, Kansas in 1974, then attended the U.S. Naval Academy (Class of ’78), where he was labeled “the un-Midshipman” by his roommates. John speaks the remnants of Russian painstakingly pounded into him by Professor Vladimir Tolstoy (yes, he was related to that Tolstoy). He lives in Maryland with a wife who is too good for him and three great kids. The two eldest children are diagnosed as autistic but are slowly improving with therapies, education and medications. This week’s picks: * Jack #1: The Cleopatras: The Forgotten Queens of Egypt by Lloyd Llewellyn-Jones * Jack #2: The music of Sandra Boynton * Jack #3: Agatha All Along (Disney+) * Tracy: Kinfire Chronicles (Game) * Patrick: Norman’s Rare Guitars Documentary Links: * Jack Campbell * Tracy Townsend on BluSky * Patrick Hester on Instagram * The Functional Nerds Patreon Page © 2025 Patrick Hester

    50 min

  8. JAN 7

    Episode 647-With Lauren J. A. Bear

    This week, Patrick and Tracy welcome Lauren J. A. Bear, author of MOTHER OF ROME. About MOTHER OF ROME: The names Romulus and Remus may be immortalized in map and stone and chronicle, but their mother exists only as a preface to her sons’ journey, the princess turned oath-breaking priestess, condemned to death alongside her children. But she did not die; she survived. And so does her story. Beautiful, royal, rich: Rhea has it all—until her father loses his kingdom in a treacherous coup, and she is sent to the order of the Vestal Virgins to ensure she will never produce an heir. Except when mortals scheme, gods laugh. Rhea becomes pregnant, and human society turns against her. Abandoned, ostracized, and facing the gravest punishment, Rhea forges a dangerous deal with the divine, one that will forever change the trajectory of her life…and her beloved land. To save her sons and reclaim their birthright, Rhea must summon nature’s mightiest force – a mother’s love – and fight. All roads may lead to Rome, but they began with Rhea Silvia. About Lauren J. A. Bear: Lauren J.A. Bear is a reader and writer, an educator, a troublemaker, and a fierce mama bear. Lauren was born in Boston and raised in Long Beach, CA. After studying English at UCLA and Education at LMU, she taught middle-school Humanities for over a decade — and survived! She is a teaching fellow for the Holocaust Center for Humanity, and lives in Seattle with her husband and three young children. She likes crossword puzzles and being on or near the water without getting wet. This week’s picks: * Lauren: Laurence King Jigsaw Puzzles * Tracy: 7 Minute Workout App * Patrick: Lioness Season 2 (Paramount+) Links: * Lauren J. A. Bear on Instagram * Tracy Townsend on BluSky * Patrick Hester on Instagram * The Functional Nerds Patreon Page © 2025 Patrick Hester

    50 min
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4.8
out of 5
48 Ratings

About

Functional Nerds is the weekly podcast from author/blogger Patrick Hester and Author/Teacher Tracy Townsend focusing on science fiction and fantasy media: television, film, comics, and new media such as fan films, audio dramas, online animated comics and more, technology, gadgets and all things Apple as well as music and the occasional video game.

Information

  • Creator
    The Functional Nerds
  • Years Active
    2010 - 2025
  • Episodes
    100
  • Rating
    Explicit
  • Copyright
    © 2010 - 2024 Patrick Hester
  • Show Website
    The Functional Nerds Podcast

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