Wizards & Spaceships

Against Hopepunk ft. Nick Mamatas

Wizards & Spaceships

Show Notes

Sci-fi and fantasy has always had an optimistic current, whether it’s utopian space-age cities or noble chosen ones vanquishing a dark lord. In recent years, with the popularity of romantasy and cozy fantasy, it’s easier than ever to immerse yourself in a more hopeful world. But what if instead we made you feel bad? In this wide-ranging conversation with multitalented author and editor Nick Mamatas, we talk about crushing your joy, corporate greed in the publishing and music production industries, and why the 80s and 90s were objectively the best time for music. Show Notes: Alex Rowland’s original hopepunk post. Buy 120 Murders Nick’s Bluesky Perfect Crime Party Dark Yonder Issue 1 Nick’s website that never gets updated That Slayer meme

Have you bought Blight yet? If you like dark things, you should! Buy it from your favourite online retailer Buy direct from the publisher

"Do You Love the Colour Of the Sky?" in Trollbreath Magazine

More from Wizards & Spaceships

Oct 15, 2026

Happy Halloween! There's no shortage of horrors, but the best one is the horror found in forces that are so large, so abstract, or upsetting that to engage with them directly would drive you insane. With us to discuss cosmic horror are Devinder Thiara and Jesse Scoble, co-creators of a new comic, Dead Money. Show notes: https://jdstudios.art/ Devinder on Facebook Jesse on Bluesky Jesse’s Substack Moby Dick illustration with the eye

Sep 15, 2026

It’s the 20th anniversary of Blindsight! David and Rachel sit down in Rachel’s living room with marine biologist, critically acclaimed author, and enemy-of-the-state Peter Watts to drink two bottles of wine and talk about theories of consciousness, cigar-shaped harbour seals, the climate collapse, and why dystopian sci-fi authors are in fact childishly optimistic. Additional audio engineering by Rick Innis. Show Notes: Rifters The Collapse Is Coming. Will Humanity Adapt? The Sheep Look Up, John Brunner The Limits To Growth Philosophical Zombie Consciousness and its function, David M. Rosenthal Michael Timothy Bennett Erik Hoel Mirror Test The Hidden Spring Arthur Jafa

Aug 15, 2026

The podcast is part of the oral tradition, and joining us to talk about ancient epics, living texts in dead languages, Babylonian Pride parades, and how all of this relates to sci-fi, fantasy, and horror is writer, translator, and cultural historian Sophus Helle. Show notes: Sophus’ website Electronic Babylonian Library Babylonian Myths, Sophus Helle Critical Antiquities, including Human: Babylonian Reflections on Labour, Sophus Helle Beowulf: The Monsters and the Critics, J.R.R. Tolkien Beowulf: A New Translation, Maria Dahvana Headley The Complete Mahabharata (online) The Mahabharata (Penguin Classics) Ovid's Metamorphoses: A New Translation, C. Luke Soucy Query, Zilla Novikov The Ur-Pisode: The Queer Heart of the Epic of Gilgamesh, ft. Julian Gunn

Jul 15, 2026

A contract with one of the five big publishing companies means placement in bookstores and libraries, reviews in major publications, award nominations, and a huge advance—even a chance to get on the bestsellers list. But is this actually the case? Joining us to talk about how the sausage gets made is Jeremy Szal, author of the Common Trilogy. Show Notes:Jeremy’s website Follow him on:Bluesky Instagram TikTok “Everything is random in publishing. Success is random. Bestsellers are random. So that is why we are the Random House!” Are there more libraries or McDonald’s? Author (and professional chef) Rohan O’Duill trying out one of the recipes from the Sad Bastard Cookbook

Jun 15, 2026

So you've trashed the world. An EMP or a nuclear bomb or a plague of zombies have taken out civic infrastructure—now it's your chance to show off your survival skills. Fortunately, there's an incredible resurgence of Indigenous post-apocalyptic fiction that offers alternative visions to surviving collapse. In this episode, we talk to author, educator in Plant Medicine & Midwifery, and hippy prepper Daphne Singingtree about how to survive and thrive after the end. We're nominated for an Aurora Award for Best Fan-Related Work! Check out the ballot (and consider casting a vote for us) at the Canadian Science Fiction and Fantasy Association.

See all episodes →