Weird Predictions – 2024

The episode opens with the hosts greeting each other for 2024 and then moving into a discussion of older dystopian science fiction that reflected the anxieties of its era. They talk about Logan's Run, Make Room, Make Room/Soylent Green, Clockwork Orange, and Silent Running as stories shaped by fears about population growth, pollution, youth violence, and social instability, before widening the conversation into how people now think about depopulation, fertility decline, and whether modern cynicism is distorting judgments about the present and the past. From there, the episode moves through a 2024 predictions segment covering Artemis, Starship, the presidential election, and the broader role of AI and robotics. The hosts also discuss how chat-based AI is already useful in daily life, debate what counts as AGI and how the Turing test is commonly misunderstood, then finish with reactions to Monarch: Legacy of Monsters and Rebel Moon before ending on recommendations for Fargo, Lower Decks, A Clockwork Orange, and The OA. Key topics 1970s dystopian fiction as a response to overpopulation and environmental anxiety: The hosts connect Logan's Run, Make Room, Make Room/Soylent Green, Clockwork Orange, and Silent Running to concerns about population growth, pollution, young people, and societal breakdown. The American vs. English endings of A Clockwork Orange: Brian explains the different endings, saying the English version includes a redemption arc while the American version is darker