The Optimist Behind Blade Runner's Dystopia
Imaginary Worlds23 Apr 2025

The Optimist Behind Blade Runner's Dystopia

The late Syd Mead was a visual futurist who was hired to imagine the worlds of Blade Runner, Tron, Aliens, Elysium and other sci-fi films. His work in Hollywood has been lauded for decades, but there’s a new exhibit in New York that shows a different side of the artist. Syd Mead: Future Pastime is a collection of his personal and commercial paintings, which are all works of science fiction. Despite his connection to the dystopian world of Blade Runner, Mead’s personal vision of the future was unwaveringly optimistic. I talk with Mead’s husband and business partner Roger Servick, and the curators of the exhibit, Elon Solo and William Corman, about Mead’s predictions for the future of technology, sexuality and spirituality. (Image courtesy of Syd Mead Inc.) This week’s episode is sponsored by ShipStation and Hims Go to shipstation.com and use the code IMAGINARY to sign up for a free trial. Get your free online visit at hims.com/IMAGINARY. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Avsnitt(300)

Scarlet Hollow Draws a Picture of Success

Scarlet Hollow Draws a Picture of Success

Scarlet Hollow is a successful indie video game – and that’s no small feat. It’s been a long journey, and the game is made almost entirely by two people: Abby Howard and Tony Howard-Arias of Black Tab...

28 Jan 37min

Making History with Assassin's Creed

Making History with Assassin's Creed

Darby McDevitt is a narrative director and writer at Ubisoft . He’s worked on multiple games in the Assassin’s Creed franchise, which spans time periods from Ancient Greece to Victorian England. But w...

14 Jan 36min

Say No to Santa World Tour: An Audio Drama

Say No to Santa World Tour: An Audio Drama

In my annual audio drama, I interview several folklore figures who are synonymous with the holiday season outside America -- but they’ve been overshadowed by the cultural juggernaut of Santa Claus. So...

17 Dec 202541min

Searching for Cryptids

Searching for Cryptids

When I was growing up, Bigfoot appeared regularly on the covers of supermarket tabloids, so I assumed he was a joke. But I’ve discovered that he’s part of a larger and even stranger world of cryptids ...

3 Dec 202540min

This Animated Life

This Animated Life

As longtime listeners know, I worked in the animation industry before switching careers and going into broadcasting. Today’s episode features a trio of conversations that trace the history of animatio...

19 Nov 202540min

Bringing Guillermo del Toro's Frankenstein to Life

Bringing Guillermo del Toro's Frankenstein to Life

When director Guillermo del Toro asked Tamara Deverell to be the production designer on his film adaptation of Frankenstein, she had a good idea of what he wanted. Del Toro had been dreaming of making...

5 Nov 202534min

Creature Double Feature

Creature Double Feature

In honor of the spooky season, we present two monstrous origin stories --Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein and Bram Stoker’s Dracula. We know when these books were written in the 19th century. But what insp...

22 Okt 202541min

Music of a Forbidden Planet

Music of a Forbidden Planet

In the 1950s, the avant-garde music scene in New York and the movie studios of Los Angeles might have seemed like opposite ends of a cultural spectrum. But they came together (and blew apart) when MGM...

8 Okt 202535min

Populärt inom Samhälle & Kultur

podme-dokumentar
badfluence
p3-dokumentar
en-mork-historia
mardromsgasten
aftonbladet-krim
gynning-berg
creepypodden-med-jack-werner
skaringer-nessvold
nemo-moter-en-van
killradet
flashback-forever
hor-har
kod-katastrof
aftonbladet-daily
p3-historia
spar
svenska-fall
vad-blir-det-for-mord
rattsfallen