Episode Sixteen: The Final Hour (April 6, 2012)

The fabulous studio in which we recorded the second half of SPF Edinburgh

The Final Show is upon us, already! To mark the occasion, we made sure it was a good one, talking about renewable energy, science fiction films, and some memories of our SPF experiences.

SPF Memories & Renewable Energy Elegy
By: Henry Hawkins
Being his final show ever, Henry got a little carried away on the show today, giving a summary of all the shows he’d done with SPF Ottawa & SPF Edinburgh, and some of his best memories throughout the years. He then talked a little about renewable heat in Scotland, and why the government’s target for 2020 is likely to fail.

Motherhood in the Alien Films
By: Jake Barber
Jake presented an analysis of motherhood in the Alien films, largely looking at the representation of Ripley and the aliens, taking on the metaphors of the ‘bitch’ and the ‘mother’. This segued into a long conversation about some other films – some of which we had seen

Memories of SPF
By: Ben Garlick
Ben took the opportunity to go on a slightly divergent ramble about his experiences with the show, and what we’ve managed to accomplish over the last 6 months of being on the air.

Listen [1:00:00]

Episode Fourteen: The Sci-Fi Special (March 23, 2012)

The original Far Side cartoon that indirectly inspired the movie Cowboys And Aliens

Today Ben had the day off, so Henry and Jake got carried away talking about sci-fi, as well as sneaking in a feature about races and nations.

Races & Nations
By: Henry Hawkins
From an idea by Jake, Henry took the question ‘are races and nations outdated concepts?’ and discussed the evolution of these concepts over time. He argued that the are outdated concepts, but they still hold meaning – although they have changed significantly from their original meanings.

Mainstream Science-Fiction Movies
By: Jake Barber
Using the recent catastrophic failure of John Carter From Mars as a springboard, Jake looked at some of the most common mainstream science -fiction films of recent years. He addressed the way science fiction is watered down for mass consumption, and some of the other massive flops from recent years.

Listen [1:00:00]

Episode Six: Make It So (December 5, 2011)

This week Henry was away, so Jake and Ben were left to carry the torch by themselves. They more than made up for it with an episode dedicated to Star Wars, Star Trek, with many, many soundboard clips.

The Ethics of Star Wars & Star Trek
By: Jake Barber & Ben Garlick
Jake talked a little bit about the moral codes imparted in TNG, specifically looking at the way the series can be seen as a metaphor for white America, with the crew of the Enterprise helping others whether they are wanted or not.

Ben then looked at Star Wars, examining the typical monoculture representation of worlds, even looking at the cultural identity of wookies. And using many soundboard contributions from captains Picard and Kirk, of course.

Geographical Song Analysis
Rihanna: Umbrella
Taking a look at the obvious geographical elements in Rihanna’s biggest song, Jake and Ben discussed the Jay-zeconomics as well as an interpretation through Marcel Mauss’ The Gift.

Some Rubbish Fieldwork
By: Ben Garlick
Ben wrapped up the show by talking about a bit of fieldwork he plans on doing, observing the ways in which people interact with garbage in cafes.

Listen [59:32]

Episode One: Halloween (October 31, 2011)

The very first episode of SPF Edinburgh started with a discussion of the history of Halloween from its origins as a Celtic ceremony, the spread of Americanized Halloween culture, and the geopolitical context of horror films.

Jake brought us the week’s news, and Ben discussed the environmental song of the week, Oh, Larson B by British Sea Power.

We also had some problems with the station’s online feed, so this episode was never broadcast, and is an online-exclusive!

Listen: [56:56]