Episode 568: Bradbury Wasn't Kidding

Real Life Ben spent the week playing nurse, but at least it was a summer cold—infinitely easier than juggling tissues and PTO requests during the school year. The only upside to a sick kid when the sun's out? More cartoons, fewer emails. Hearing Ben wiping noses and handing out popsicles, Steven got nostalgic about Scrubs. Remember Scrubs? Wholesome chaos. Heartfelt weirdness. Probably due for a chaotic Gen Z reboot starring TikTok doctors and JD's ghost AI. Devon was out of town. No details, just gone. Like a Vulcan on shore leave or a cowboy riding off into a logical sunset. We assume he's fine. Or at least reading a very dense novel. Steven went full social butterfly with a jam-packed weekend featuring a wedding and a birthday party. Somehow in between the formal wear and paper plates, he managed to catch Fantastic Four: First Steps. And? He says it's the best Fantastic Four movie he's ever seen. Not necessarily the best Marvel movie, but undeniably its own thing: scientists-turned-superheroes faced with a moral conundrum, wrapped in bright tones and a vibe that says hope isn't dead, it's just been on vacation. Earth 828 (a sweet nod to Jack Kirby's birthday) plays host to a story that takes a deliberate break from the usual "everything is pain" comic fare. Also, there's now a universe where Matt Shakman didn't make Fantastic Four, but instead gifted us a cheerful, boldly optimistic fourth Kelvin Star Trek movie. It lives only in our dreams and this deeply bittersweet TrekMovie article. Sigh. Future or Now Ben, our resident Trekspert, has bucketload of Star Trek news from San Diego Comic-Con: Starfleet Academy got a first trailer, and introduced us to the U.S.S. Athena. George Takei and Tim Russ are teaming up in the Khan audio series, where we'll get to hear Sulu and Tuvok in action. (We assume Tim Russ will sigh at Takei at least once.) Strange New Worlds Season 4 teased a bold new puppet frontier? Yep. Puppets. And then there's the Gwarm. What is a Gwarm, you ask? It's a Star Wars thing, and before you know it, Ben and Steven are back in the Star Wars vs. Star Trek sandbox, flinging references like action figures. (We don't stop them. It's too entertaining.) Meanwhile, Steven was also reading science headlines between existential sighs. The latest? Allegro-FM just pushed material science forward by enabling simulations 1,000 times larger than previous ones. That's like going from Tinker Toys to a Dyson Sphere. Or from The Pedestrian to a full Black Mirror season. Link Book Club This week, we read The Pedestrian by Ray Bradbury. It's eerie how much this story hits in 2025. A man simply walking at night in Los Angeles gets stopped by an automated police car because being outside is just too suspicious. It's based on Bradbury's real address, and it feels uncomfortably like reality. Mausoleum houses, ghostly TV glow, no sidewalks—just suburban stillness and surveillance. If All Summer in a Day is melancholy, this one's… mournful. Next week we're sticking with Bradbury and reading All Summer in a Day. Rain, Venus, longing, and memory. If The Pedestrian feels like now, All Summer feels like childhood—brief, beautiful, and barely remembered. You can read it here or watch this version that captures the heartbreak with just the right number of slow pans and sad violins. That's it for this week. Whether you're dodging summer colds, traveling through alternate Marvels, or wondering if that sidewalk outside is still walkable, we'll be here—talking Trek, reading Bradbury, and keeping the lights on. Let us know what you thought of Fantastic Four: First Steps. And if you've ever been detained by a futuristic car for taking a stroll, uh… blink twice?