Episode 79 - Dystopia

Norah and Ben are feeling a bit philosophical this week (as illustrated by the topic word), and in our humble opinion they do not disappoint on the discussion front. First up on the docket, what they have been up to. Norah has been preparing a (timely) history presentation, and Ben has been playing a Sega game created as an April Fools prank. The conversation then turns to dystopian themes in fiction and other media. Ben shares some information about an inclusive community in India before moving to Russia (not literally) and the game Atomic Heart by Mundfish. Norah closes the show with an interesting question for your post-show debating pleasure. 00:00:21 - Ben doing some “workshopping,” and Norah’s discussion and presentation groups 00:03:03 - Going from being a teacher to being a teacher, and Sonic is murdered?!? 00:05:38 - Playing the role of an anthropomorphic quokka that works on the “mystery train” 00:08:41 - Starting the conversation with the definitions and origins of utopia and dystopia 00:10:40 - Jonathan Swift’s “Gulliver’s Travels,” and Ben can’t remember the Brobdingnagians 00:12:25 - Cacotopians, Anthony Burgess’ quote, and Norah starts sharing her research 00:14:51 - Mango and Bash are being bureau-cats, types of control, and data collection 00:17:00 - Differing opinions on the word apocalypse, and authors of dystopian fiction 00:20:02 - Phillip K. Dick is a strange Dick, Norah’s not a fan of Sci-Fi, and Mexican food 00:23:18 - Book burning, self-expression, Lithuanian story, and Ben doesn’t care for that Hitler 00:26:03 - Dystopian themes, Willian Golding’s “Lord of the Flies,” and a “real” utopia 00:28:33 - BuzzFeed’s “Follow This” Auroville (City of Dawn) investigation by Editor Rega Jha 00:31:18 - The 4 point charter, other episode of Follow This, and the problem with humans 00:38:02 - Ben’s experiences with the game Atomic Heart and its 1950’s dystopian setting 00:40:07 - The brief history of Facility 3826, and could robots create a utopia? 00:42:49 - Controversial rumblings about Mundfish and the release of Atomic Heart 00:45:40 - The Ministry of Digital Transformation, video game revenue models, and tanks 00:48:02 - A love letter to BioShock, what Ben enjoyed in the game, and obvious Easter eggs 00:52:45 - Things Ben thought needed additional development attention in Atomic Heart 00:54:24 - ELEVATORS, loading screens on the PS5, and dystopias in real life 00:57:33 - Closing the show with Norah’s philosophical question about a dystopia