Patrick and Dan talk about the newest feature of the podcast: a series in which they combine their long-running seminars on (international) politics and science fiction.

In each episode of “Whiskey & IR Theory… in Space!” Patrick and Dan will discuss a book, television episode, or film that they’ve assigned in classes past. Here, though, they introduce the series by talking about the good, the bad, and the ugly of using popular culture in general — and science fiction in particular — to explore social science and social theory.

Works discussed, inter alia, include Jutta Weldes’ To Seek Out New Worlds: Exploring Links between Science Fiction and World Politics and Iver Neumann & Daniel Nexon’s Harry Potter and International Relations.