Nerds of the Old Republic: The Drinking Person’s #Scifi Club
We’re a drinking person’s SFF club online. Each month, we’ll discuss the best pop culture scifi along with enjoying a signature cocktail. Join us as we talk cocktails and give recommendations for those who love sci fi, fantasy and speculative fiction!
Episodes
24 hours ago
24 hours ago
Today we review a book that's all about our avatar's baby cousin -- the octopus. Ray Naylor's The Mountain in the Sea. What's better than octopodes with a culture and written language? How about a near future where we've created the first sentient android, and a security officer with a first name so long you'd have to scroll down to read it all?
There's more to Naylor's Mountain than this, but after a few surprise beverages from Shaun in our running series of Shaun surprises Mike and Adam with a new brew, what else is there to know? Grab a copy of the book and dive on in!
If first contact with new intelligences isn't your thing, what about the OG cyberpunk from William Gibson? Up next for us is his genre-defining Neuromancer.
Thursday Apr 11, 2024
Nerds Movie Review: Dune 2
Thursday Apr 11, 2024
Thursday Apr 11, 2024
What do you get when you put three nerds in a room together with spicy margaritas? Our latest 'cast where we discuss the recently released Dune Part 2 based on Frank Herbert's novel, Dune.
Come for the movie review, stay for the Christopher Walken impressions! And if space operas with intense IR camera filmed scenes of Roman Gladiatorial combat isn't your kind of nerdy, then join us next episode where we discuss Ray Naylor's The Mountain in the Sea, as well as our favorite plural for octopus, what it means to be a sentient human, and bad ass security officers who choose shitty translator devices to stay socially and emotionally distant.
Thursday Mar 21, 2024
ChatGPT Does our Homework: "Fear and Loathing in Dallas"
Thursday Mar 21, 2024
Thursday Mar 21, 2024
In a one-off, we read the ChatGPT generated audio drama we discussed in the previous episode; it's a first for us, and a first for podcasts (as far as we know). Listen in as we read the audio drama "Fear and Loathing in Dallas": three friends trying to escape their rustbelt blues on a road trip to see the Buffalo Bills play in the Super Bowl.
Try not to laugh, or give in and do! Then, listen in next time as we discuss The Mountain in the Sea by Ray Nayler. It's got AI powered slave ships, kidnapping, Matrix-esque hackers, octopods trying to communicate with humans, security officers who fight in a fishbowl of gel and the moral quandries surrounding creating the first sentient robot.
We'll see you in the next episode, stay nerdy friends. Cheers!
Thursday Mar 07, 2024
Nerds AI Experiment: ChatGPT Does our Writing
Thursday Mar 07, 2024
Thursday Mar 07, 2024
Join us as we do something a little weird, even for us. As teachers, we are fighting and intrigued by what AI, specifically ChatGPT, can do. So join us for an episode where we ask Chat to do our homework for us to write a story.
Then, tune in next time as we unveil, for the first time anywhere, our radio drama written by ChatGPT, and performed by none other than us -- your friendly Nerds of the Old Republic!
Thursday Feb 22, 2024
Nerds Book Review: Out There Screaming
Thursday Feb 22, 2024
Thursday Feb 22, 2024
Here we go with a new book: Jordan Peele’s Out There Screaming, a collection of new black horror.
We at Nerds are HUGE fans of the editor’s work so we wanted to see what his taste in literature would be like. And man is there a lot to talk about!
Thursday Jan 18, 2024
Nerds Review Quentin Tarantino: Once Upon a Time in Hollywood
Thursday Jan 18, 2024
Thursday Jan 18, 2024
Well, now, this is an end of an era. The last Tarantino movie to review: Once Upon a Time in Hollywood. Listen in as Mike, Shaun and I give the director one last send off, and add a bit of a retrospective as well.
Then, get ready to return to form: we're heading back to books! First, we're going to read Jordan Peele's collection of new black horror in Out There Screaming, then have a little fun with AI in what I'm calling, ChatGPT Story Hour. We've got plenty more cued up after that, but I like to play it close to the chest.
If you enjoy what we're doing, the best way to support our nerdy selves is to share our podcast with a friend. Just find that "share" button on your podcast player, and think of one person whose as smart as you are. They'll appreciate it!
Cheers!
Thursday Dec 28, 2023
Nerds Review Quentin Tarantino: Hateful Eight
Thursday Dec 28, 2023
Thursday Dec 28, 2023
We’re neck deep into our retrospective here on the man himself: Quentin Tarantino. Join us for a quickie on Hateful Eight before a look on the Once Upon a Time in Hollywood.
After that we have a return to form, as we’re going back to books with the collection by Nope director Jordan Peele, titled Out There Screaming. Looking forward to the Wilhelm scream references!
‘Till then, cheers, nerds!
Wednesday Dec 13, 2023
Nerds Review Quentin Tarantino: Django Unchained
Wednesday Dec 13, 2023
Wednesday Dec 13, 2023
Hello you poor devils! Welcome to the second last Tarantino episode from us, the Nerds of the Old Republic! We're talking Django Unchained (the D is silent).
If you like what you're hearing, we've got two more - Hateful Eight, and Once Upon a Time in Hollywood! What's next, after that? We'll only the AI chatbot will know. Listen in!
Thursday Nov 23, 2023
Nerds Review Quentin Tarantino: Inglourious Basterds
Thursday Nov 23, 2023
Thursday Nov 23, 2023
We know the holidays can be a a difficult time to be around the family, so why not talk about something we can all agree on: killin' Nazis with Quentin Tarantino's Inglourious Basterds!
Listen in, go back and watch if you've not yet seen this masterpiece of alternate history war fiction, and if you know the whip cream strudel scene, let me know if you too think it's a lot more sexual than it seems!
If you're new, and are just tuning in, check out our other QT work. If his movies aren't your thing, we do a lot with books too; check those out! We'd like to think we've got something for everyone.
On our next cast, we're moving onto QT phase three with his final three films: Django Unchained, Hateful Eight, and most recently Once Upon a Time in Hollywood.
Thursday Nov 09, 2023
Nerds Review Quentin Tarantino’s Kill Bill Vol. 2
Thursday Nov 09, 2023
Thursday Nov 09, 2023
Hey there kiddo... let's finish this, shall we? Listen in as we talk about the second half of what Tarantino considers a single film; part samurai warrior, part spaghetti western.
Let's talk all things The Bride.
When you're done with this cast, check out our other conversations on Tarantino. Or better yet, check out his next film we will be talking about: Inglorious Basterds. That's right, we're skipping Death Proof. Leave your hate comments on nerdsofoldrepublic@gmail.com. One of us will patiently answer them in a dead language.