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Interview with Robert J. Sawyer on "The Downloaded"

We speak with acclaimed science fiction author Robert J. Sawyer about his new novel, The Downloaded.

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68:03
  • June 6th, 2024
  • Episode:01-001
  • Host: Patrick Burrows
  • Guest: Robert J. Sawyer
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Show Description

We speak with acclaimed science fiction author Robert J. Sawyer about his new novel, "The Downloaded." The discussion ranges from the state of science fiction to reflections on Robert’s personal experiences and the broader societal implications influencing his work. We cover the development of “The Downloaded”, which was shaped by pandemic-related production challenges. We talk to Robert about how "The Downloaded" touches on complex issues like justice reform, societal surveillance, and human responsibility in the face of disaster, and how this novel may be his last. See full show notes and transcript at https://oxygenleaks.com/interviews/sawyer-downloaded

Transcript

Patrick Burrows:

I wanted to start off talking about you for a little bit. Over a 35-year period, you've written dozens of novels, won countless awards, hosted TV shows, and had your work adopted for TV. How did you get here? How did that happen?

Robert J. Sawyer:

I'm a huge science fiction fan, and it has to do with when I was born. I was born in 1960. So, the backdrop of my first decade of life was the American effort to put a person on the moon: Mercury, Gemini, and Apollo. And that real life background that my generation was going to go into space absolutely captivated me. In fact, I had a great children's book called You Will Go To the Moon, and the final frame of that children's book, the writer was named Ira Freeman, is a picture of a guy on the moon looking at Mars in the lunar sky and saying, “that's where you're going to go next.” I read that when I was five or six years old and was captivated.

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