Optimist Awakenings with Citizen Sleeper

We talk about the tabletop RPG/War game Lancer and its unusual utopianism Some topics: - Those who Walk Away from Omelas and the structure of Dystopia/Utopia - Reimagining the French Revolution - The Role of Violence in a Communist Utopia - Permanent Revolution

We never left, so we are not back. We just like to keep you guessing about episode times. This time we talk about the brilliant Saint of Bright Doors, a decolonial multifaceted dark fantasy novel that's quite a thinker, but also pretty accessible. Give it a read! Eden recommends playing "Laysara: Summit Kingdom", which kinda fits the theme of this episode.

We talk about how to critique the Fascist sentiments in Warhammer 40k, without worrying too much about the degrees of intent or satire behind it.

We talk about Ammonite, a somewhat under-the-radar excellent sci-fi book about a virus killing all the men in a far-off planet and exploring indigenous lands as a colonizer anthropologist Themes explored: - Anthrophopolitics and diversity within identity - Biopolitics and virology - "Going Native" (TM) - Some Ursula LeGuin themes Eden's ep of death-sentence about The Dawn of Everything: https://soundcloud.com/death-sentence-pod/david-wengrow-and-david-graeber-the-dawn-of-everything

We talk about the sci-fi strategy game Ixion and its somber adventure through space. Some topics discussed: - Shameful space - Space is silence and death - Gravestone science - Accelerating the flows - The eternal recurrence of the same - Middle management euphemisms Referenced Some More News video 'Jeff Bezons Learned Nothing in Space': https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=T7TQFFH9gj8&ab_channel=SomeMoreNews

This is an especially rambly episode of us talking about the excellent kitchen sink space romp movie Spacesweepers. Topics discussed: - Billionaires hate humanity - The limits of Villainry - What internationalism looks like - The ethics/politics distinction

We read Brooke Bolander's short and painful novelette and spoke about: - Nuclear semiotics - The uses of violence - The master's tools - Being pushed to the corner

Citizen Sleeper is touching and optimistic without being saccharine and might be just what we need in these trying times. The podcast opens with us venting our feelings and thoughts about another demonstration of incredible violence from Israel against the Palestinian people. Free Palestine! Then we talk some themes. Here's what you can expect: Gaming under capitalism Vicious and virtuous cycles Refugee experience Care ethics - A softer world is possible) Intra-class struggles Radical embodiment (Yes, Eden talks about the body some more)

We talk about Corey J White's modern vision of Cyberpunk: Repo Virtual, reimagining the genre and its radical potential. Topics discussed: - Data creep - Radical potential of games - Firearms in smart cities - Cyberpunk's questionable beginnings - Opting in / Opting out - Identity politics and data dystopia Referenced pieces: - Video discussing (among other things) how youtube manufactures identities: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=41B5YonixBs&ab_channel=F.DSignifier - Watched over by machines of loving grace: https://allpoetry.com/All-Watched-Over-By-Machines-Of-Loving-Grace

We discussed the role-playing game Spire, with its different ways of representing oppression and the struggle against it. - Epistemic vice and epistemic resistance - Construction of knowledge and infrastructure space - Adevnturism and the challenge of struggling in a hopeless fight - Good weird and bad weird Links: Eden's podcast appearance about magical realism and much more: https://www.patreon.com/posts/inner-experience-62792132?utm_medium=clipboard_copy&utm_source=copy_to_clipboard&utm_campaign=postshare Eden's essay on the topic: https://www.notthesky.com/posts/essays/on-becoming-a-god/