Reality Break Podcast

Our guest this episode is author, futurist and design professor Bruce Sterling. This interview was recorded in Fall 1996 around the release of his novel Holy Fire. He has written ten novels, dozens of short stories, multiple books of essays on futurism and design theory, and the only book on cybercrime from one of the canonical cyberpunk writers, The Hacker Crackdown: Law And Disorder On The Electronic Frontier. He and William Gibson are widely regarded as kickstarters of the modern “steampunk” movement with their novel The Difference Engine. His most recent novel is The Zenith Angle and his next novel The Caryatids will be published next spring.

You can listen to the episode here, in the flash player below or you can subscribe in iTunes or directly via RSS and get every episode. If you’d like to discuss this episode, you can talk about it in the Reality Break forum.

Thanks for listening!

Bruce Sterling links:

• Bruce Sterling’s blog for Wired
• Bruce Sterling books at Powells.com

 

 Standard Podcast [31:32m]: Play Now | Play in Popup | Download

Our guest this episode is the late Robert Jordan. This nterview was recorded in Atlanta GA in October 1994, when he was on book tour with Lord of Chaos, the sixth Wheel of Time book.

Robert Jordan was most well known for his Wheel of Time novels, but he also wrote seven Conan novels which were collected in The Conan Chronicles and The Further Chronicles of Conan. The Wheel of Time series began with The Eye of the World and the most recently published book is the eleventh volume Knife of Dreams . The Wheel of Time series has always been published by Tor books. The twelfth and final volume of the series is scheduled to be published in 2009 and will be completed by fantasy author Brandon Sanderson.

You can listen to the episode here, in the flash player below or you can subscribe in iTunes or directly via RSS and get every episode. If you’d like to discuss this episode, you can talk about it in the Reality Break forum.

Thanks for listening!

Robert Jordan links:

• Dragonmount, a Wheel of Time community
• The Dragonmount hosted Robert Jordan blog
• Tor Book’s Robert Jordan site

 

 Standard Podcast [31:56m]: Play Now | Play in Popup | Download

Our guest this episode is Cory Doctorow. This is the first interview recorded for this program back when this project was first coming together. I sat down with Cory at Orycon 2006 and we discussed fandom and his upbringing in it, the intersection of SF and cyberculture, and how fantastic literature has become the new mainstream and influenced the world we live in.

Cory Doctorow is one of the co-editors of Boing Boing. He has published the novels Down and Out in the Magic Kingdom, Eastern Standard Tribe, and Someone Comes to Town Someone Leaves Town - all from Tor Books. He has also published the story collections a Place So Foreign from Four Walls Eight Windows and Overclocked from Thunder’s Mouth Press. IDW Publishing has put out the comic book adaptation series Cory Doctorow’s Futuristic Tales of the Here and Now, and his newest book is the young adult novel Little Brother from Tor books.

You can listen to the episode here, in the flash player below or you can subscribe in iTunes or directly via RSS and get every episode. If you’d like to discuss this episode, you can talk about it in the Reality Break forum.

Thanks for listening!

Cory Doctorow links:

• Cory Doctorow’s personal site
• Cory’s Little Brother page

 

 Standard Podcast [27:50m]: Play Now | Play in Popup | Download

Welcome to the first episode of Reality Break! In order to make this a special one, our premier interview is with a giant in the field of graphic literature who sadly is no longer with us. In 1998 I interviewed Will Eisner on his then current graphic novel A Family Matter . I consider this one of the high points of the series and of my interviewing career as a whole. Even though I felt like a scared kid who had no business in this conversation, Mr. Eisner was very kind and easy to talk to. As a teenager I had met Mr. Eisner at a comic convention in 1984 and he must have talked to me for 10 minutes, telling me jokes and flipping through my stack of Will Eisner’s Quarterly issues and pointing out things he particularly was proud of. He was a true class act and is deeply missed by everyone.

Will Eisner was one of the true founders of the comic book industry. He created or co-created many Golden Age characters such as Blackhawk, Doll Man, Lady Luck and Mr. Mystic but his most enduring creation is the Spirit. Currently a feature film of the Spirit is in production, being directed by Frank Miller. Later in his career, Will Eisner pioneered the graphic novel format and in fact he coined the term to describe his 1978 book A Contract With God. He was active in graphic literature up until his death in 2005, producing such notable work as Last Day in Vietnam, The Dreamer, and The Plot.

You can listen to the episode here, in the flash player below or you can subscribe in iTunes or directly via RSS and get every episode. If you’d like to discuss this episode, you can talk about it in the Reality Break forum.

Thanks for listening!

 

 Reality Break Episode #1 [32:59m]: Play Now | Play in Popup | Download

This is a brief introductory episode to explain what the program is about, the history of Reality Break as both a radio show and a podcast, and what to expect from upcoming shows. Thanks for checking it out.

 

 Standard Podcast [8:18m]: Play Now | Play in Popup | Download