Welcome to Plugged In Podcast

Lauren Shoemaker: Welcome to Plugged In: A Women-Centered Science Fiction Book Club podcast. I’m your host Lauren Shoemaker. In this semi-regular podcast series we’ll explore subgenres, tropes, history, and current trends of science fiction written by women. My goal is to demystify the science fiction genre as something that is only about space invaders or robots, and to dispel the notion that it is not a genre for women. I personally find the science fiction genre to be a space for radically progressive ideas, and I am excited to discuss these ideas with you and my guests on the show. 

I started this show because I am inspired by the work done by women in the science fiction genre. My introduction to the genre was likely similar to others like me. When I was a kid my dad showed me the Star Wars saga, which I love and hold dearly. But it was really once I started exploring the genre on my own that I began to really enjoy reading literature in the canon. I have a bachelor's degree in English Literature from Florida State University and it was in the coursework of that program that I was really educated on what science fiction is other than the most popular films and novels. In the spring of my junior year, I took a course on the Cyberpunk subgenre of science fiction, and I absolutely loved it. I was so excited to explore ideas about transhumanism, culture, technology, and so much more. At the same time, I had signed up for a philosophy in literature course through the philosophy department, and was pleasantly surprised when I found out that the professor had decided to tailor the course readings to philosophy in science fiction. The following fall, I took a Literature History course that had an entire unit devoted to science fiction, and I was able to continue to study this exciting genre. Since graduating I have continued to read science fiction on my own, and have found that some of my favorites are written by women. That’s where this podcast comes in.

Just like a regular book club, I’ll pick books and short stories that I think are exciting and talk about them so that hopefully you, too, will think they're exciting, and when I have guests, I’ll let them pick our topic. At the end of each episode, I’ll share what the next story is so that you can read along and make this an interactive podcast. For our first episode, we will be talking about “The Girl Who Was Plugged In” by James Tiptree Jr. I’m so excited to embark on this journey with you all and read my way through women-centered science fiction! Subscribe on Spotify, and follow along on Instagram at pluggedin.podcast. To access the transcript of this episode and all episodes, check out pluggedinpod.com.