154: Innocence in the Postapocalypse

Stories Are Soul Food

Today's Stories Are Soul Food episode covers two new dystopian tales, a book and a show. The book is Leif Enger's "I Cheerfully Refuse", which Brian cheerfully despised for Leif's overly luminous characters and bass-playing giant protagonist. The show is Amazon Prime's "Fallout," which Nate skipped his way through, watching the innocence of the virginal protagonist be stripped from her episode by episode through violence, immorality, and (apparently) cannibalism. Nate talks about how the show's potential was ruined because the director, Jonathan Nolan, had only one trick: take innocence and corrupt it. Beyond that, the show never gets beyond the video game logic which bounds it. Brian asks why the destruction of the innocent seems to be the theme of most postapocalyptic fiction, and the guys talk their way through Margaret Atwood, The Road, Mad Max, and other tales of scientific dystopia. Why do we love such stories? Brian answers that it's because our lives are so easy. Listen to the episode to see if Nate agrees...

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