Seldon Crisis – The Podcast

About Seldon Crisis – The Podcast

From Asimov to AI, an exploration of the range of possibilities for life and intelligence in the near and distant future.

Publisher

Joel McKinnon

Category

fiction · science

Language

en

Explicit

No

First episode

12 Apr 2021

Latest episode

17 Aug 2026

Latest episodes

1 of 49 episodes have a transcript.

1. 

   17 Aug 2026TRANSCRIPT

   Jeff Wright on Homer, Nolan, and The Odyssey

   "I really have no problems with anything that Nolan did. He had to make an Odyssey, and he made an Odyssey. And as far as I'm concerned, the conversation about Odysseus and these stories is 3,000 years old, and Nolan's is just another contribution to the conversation." Storyteller, scholar, and podcaster Jeff Wright, author of Trojan War: the Podcast, Odyssey: the Podcast, and now a full length non-fiction account of the entire Trojan War cycle in Greek myths, The Full Disclosure Iliad, joins Seldon Crisis to go back three millennia in human history to discuss Homer's The Odyssey and Christopher Nolan's new film treatment of the epic.

2. 

   26 Jan 2026

   From Asimov to Planetary Intelligence: Rebooting Seldon Crisis

   After a long pause, Seldon Crisis is back—with a new name, a broader focus, and a new home. What began as a Foundation-focused story + dramatization + commentary show is rebooting as Seldon Crisis: Beyond Foundation, exploring the near- and long-term futures of life, intelligence, and civilization—especially as today’s headlines start to echo Asimov’s themes of collapse and recovery. In This Episode Why I started Seldon Crisis five years ago What changed—and why the show paused Why Foundation feels newly relevant in the era of: AI acceleration climate and planetary crisis inequality and political dysfunction systemic and existential risk The new show identity and direction The move to Substack and what it enables What’s New New title: Seldon Crisis: Beyond Foundation New description: An exploration of the range of possibilities for life and intelligence in the near and distant future. New platform/home: Substack via seldoncrisis.net Better organization: episodes categorized as: Story (narrative episodes) Conversations (guest interviews) Reflections (solo essays & commentary) Some topics may be written-only when visuals matter. Upcoming Topics A planned episode inspired by three major thinkers: Sara Imari Walker — Assembly Theory (with Lee Cronin) and new ideas about the origin of life David Grinspoon — Earth in Human Hands and intentional planetary stewardship; co-author (with Walker) on planetary intelligence Benjamin Bratton — speculative theory on planetary computation and large-scale systems thinking Also coming: more guest conversations, including returning and new guests. Release Schedule Note Posts will typically appear on Substack first, then be recorded and released as podcast episodes. As of recording, this post and two more are already up at seldoncrisis.net, with audio versions coming soon. Credits Theme music: Tom Barnes (updated theme featured after the close) Thank you to everyone who listened in the past—and to everyone returning now. I’m excited to keep going in a format that can last. Next episode: Assembling Gaia

3. 

   24 Jan 2025

   Being Bayta with Amanda Kreitler

   Host Joel McKinnon interviews voice actor Amanda Kreitler about voicing Bayta Darell in the Foundation podcast series, exploring her approach to the character and Bayta's impact as a pioneering female figure.

Inside a recent episode

Jeff Wright on Homer, Nolan, and The Odyssey

Published 17 Aug 2026 · Transcript excerpt

[…] So and then you get to Odysseus. And the thing that makes Odysseus so interesting is that you can't help but be intrigued and cheer for him because he's so clever and witty and his ability to use language and to manipulate language to his advantage or to be opportunistic is delightful. He's a classic trickster in that sense. He's really, really sharp. But then just when you're beginning to delight in him, he uses those same skills his same incredible wit and intelligence to do some absolutely horrifying and abominable things i mean he's he's he can be delightful and then despicable and stupid things and then turn around and his mouth which is his greatest asset sometimes he should just learn how to shut it up because he gets himself into all sorts of trouble i mean you know uh you know announcing to a cyclops he's just blinded who thinks, you know, the Cyclops thinks the guy's name will blind him as no one. […]

Who has been a guest on Seldon Crisis – The Podcast

Names identified in recent episode analyses. Showing up to five guests.

• Amanda Kreitler
• Jamie Woodhouse
• Jon Blumenfeld
• Cora Buhlert
• GPT-4

Reach and audience

Public platform figures. Ratings count people who left a rating, not total listeners.

YouTube views

6,521

Score snapshot 15 Sept 2025

Apple Podcasts (US)

4.9 / 5

32 ratings

Podcast Authority Score: 71 / 100

A composite of feed quality, social presence, YouTube performance and engagement. Read the methodology.

Quality

92

Social presence

0

YouTube

74

Engagement

51

Contact Seldon Crisis – The Podcast

Guest appearances

Books guests

Based on episode analysis; this does not confirm that the show is currently accepting guests.

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