From artificial disabilities to Bartledan

Mark Steadman, Jon Bounds and Jon Hickman continue their mission to discuss everything in the Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy canon , in alphabetical order. Artificial disabilities A medical marvel that can make your life as difficult as you need it to be, and provide a winning backstory for your next talent show appearance. Asgard The world of norse myth that brought us Thor, and gives us a good opportunity to talk about gods in sci-fi literature. Babel fish The most improbable thing to exist, and proof of the non-existence of God. Or so it would seem. Bangbang and Shooty These two trigger-pumpin’ cops don’t get name-checked in the book, but they do have names. The team discusses what role 70s TV dramas may have had in the creation of this double-act. Barnard’s Star A hyperspace junction, and inspiration for the discussion of whether Earth and the other planets in the hyperspace express route could have just been moved out of the way. Bartledan A place full of netball-loving people with no imagination. We discuss Bartledanian literature, and Arthur’s romantic soul. Book recommendation This week we’re recommending And Another Thing, the sixth book in the trilogy, by Eoin Colfer. Pick it up in audiobook form for free by taking out a free 30 day trial with Audible. Just head to audibletrial.com/leopard to get started. Hypothetical Zaphod Vote on your favourite actor to play Zaphod in a hypothetical new Netflix series of the Hitchhiker’s Guide. Get in touch Share some of your thoughts on the babel fish and more by emailing [email protected]. Follow @iamsteadman, @bounder and @jonhickman on Twitter.