We are destroying our planet.

The scientists agree, there is no denying that catastrophic climate change is imminent. And yet our leaders continue to pay lip service to the issue without taking real, impactful action. If things don’t change – drastically and soon – we won’t have a planet to call home.

Speculative fiction writers have long played with the idea of human-made dystopias, but in recent years they have gathered speed. After all, what speculative fiction is best at is encouraging audiences to view contemporary issues from new perspectives.

Cli-fi, or ‘climate fiction’, aims to make readers and viewers more aware of the possible future that awaits us before it is too late. In this episode, we are joined by the writing duo, Natasha Calder and Emma Szewczak, known as Calder Szewczak, to discuss cli-fi, women’s reproductive rights, and who should shoulder the responsibility of our changing planet.

Mentioned in this episode:

  • Star Trek (obvs)
  • The Man Who Fell to Earth by Walter Tevis
  • The Drowned World by J G Ballard
  • The Road by Cormac McCarthy
  • The Windup Girl by Paolo Bacigalupi
  • Riddley Walker by Russell Hoban
  • This Fragile Earth by Susannah Wise
  • Southern Reach Trilogy by Jeff VanderMeer
  • Solarpunk

Calder Szewczak is writing duo Natasha C. Calder and Emma Szewczak, who met while studying at Cambridge. Natasha is a graduate of Clarion West 2018 and her work has previously appeared in The Stinging FlyLackington’s and Curiosities, amongst others.

Emma researches contemporary representations of the Holocaust and has published work with T&T Clark and the Paulist Press. Find them on Twitter: @CalderSzewczak @EmmaSzewczak