142. How Science Fiction and Fantasy Can Change the World

“ I would say I live in this space with my Janey McCallister Space Station Mystery series. I think a lot about the sweet spot between current technology and future speculation.”

In this How To Write the Future podcast episode, host and award-winning science fiction author, Beth Barany, discusses how science fiction and fantasy can inspire social change and presents eight potential topics for future episodes, including AI characters, climate fiction, and Afrofuturism, inviting audience participation through voting on your favorite.

1 - Writing Speculative Fiction for Social Change

2 - World Building in Climate Fiction

3 - AI and Robot Characters in Fiction

4 - Afro-futurism and Cultural Narratives

5 - Space Opera and Interstellar Societies

6 - Near Future Technology in Fiction

7 - Time Travel Narratives

8 - Biotech and Future Medicine

Cast your vote on which topics you’d like to see highlighted by emailing beth@bethbarany.com or connecting on Instagram @BethBarany or taking the poll here: https://bethbarany.com/htwtfpoll25

ABOUT THE HOW TO WRITE THE FUTURE PODCAST

The How To Write The Future podcast is for science fiction and fantasy writers who want to write positive futures and successfully bring those stories out into the marketplace. Hosted by Beth Barany, science fiction novelist and creativity coach for writers. We cover tips for fiction writers and get curious about the future of humanity.

ABOUT BETH BARANY

Beth Barany, an award-winning fantasy and science fiction novelist, teaches novelists how to write, edit, and publish their books as a coach, teacher, consultant, and developmental editor.

RESOURCES

GET HELP WITH YOUR WORLD BUILDING - START HERE

Free World Building Workbook for Fiction Writers: https://writersfunzone.com/blog/world-building-resources/

Sign up for the 30-minute Story Success Clinic with Beth Barany: https://writersfunzone.com/blog/story-success-clinic/

Get support for your fiction writing by a novelist and writing teacher and coach. Schedule an exploratory call here and see if Beth can support you today: https://writersfunzone.com/blog/discovery-call/

• SHOW PRODUCTION BY Beth Barany
• SHOW CO-PRODUCTION by Kerry-Ann McDade

c. 2025 BETH BARANY

https://bethbarany.com/

--
CONNECT
Contact Beth: https://writersfunzone.com/blog/podcast/#tve-jump-185b4422580
Email: beth@bethbarany.com
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/bethbarany/

CREDITS
EDITED WITH DESCRIPT: https://get.descript.com/0clwwvlf6e3j
MUSIC: Uppbeat.io
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Transcript

142. How Science Fiction and Fantasy Can Change the World

[00:00] Introduction and Purpose of the Podcast

BETH BARANY: Hey everyone. Beth Barany here with How to Write The Future Podcast. Science fiction and fantasy can change the world. I want your help. I really believe that science fiction and fantasy can change the world, and that's one of my motivations for this podcast. 

[00:16] Overview of Eight Potential Topics

BETH BARANY: So in this episode I'm gonna present to you eight different topics that could be, whole episodes. And I'm gonna ask some questions and I would love to hear from you. Which of these eight are you wanting me to do an episode on? 

So I'm gonna state what the eight are. Then I'm gonna talk a little bit about each one, and then I'll restate them at the end and you'll have a link in the show notes or, wherever you're listening to this podcast, that will take you to a poll.

So you can tell me what would you love a deep dive in. Okay.

[00:52] List of Possible Episodes

BETH BARANY: 

 Here are the topics I'm gonna cover briefly in today's episode:

BETH BARANY: Writing speculative fiction for social change

World building in climate fiction 

AI and robot characters in fiction 

Afrofuturism and cultural narratives 

Space opera and interstellar societies

Near future technology in fiction 

Time travel narratives 

and lastly: Biotech and Future Medicine.

Now that is eight topics. 

Alright, here we go. 

[01:25] Topic 1: Writing Speculative Fiction for Social Change

BETH BARANY: So first off, writing speculative fiction for social change.

Science fiction is great for exploring real world policies and social movements. We can really do some great explorations with science fiction and fantasy as well. So speculative fiction include science fiction and fantasy and all the variations. 

So how can these science fiction and fantasy narratives effectively influence policy makers and social movements?

That could be something I could explore. We can also talk about what real world examples have we seen of science fiction, inspiring actual technological or social change. And I could say Star Trek is a great example of that. 

[02:06] Topic 2: World Building in Climate Fiction

BETH BARANY: Alright, next topic, which is world building in climate fiction, this is all about how do we build believable worlds affected by climate change?

And that might show up in science fiction, fantasy, all kinds of speculative fiction. So how do you balance scientific accuracy, if that's important to you with storytelling when you depict climate affected futures? 

Another question that we could explore is what unique challenges do characters face in climate changed environments? 

My example for this is Dune.

Dune is a culture that's highly adapted to a low water, high desert environment. So we could explore that. Let me know if you want me to explore that one. Next... 

[02:49] Topic 3: AI and Robot Characters in Fiction

BETH BARANY: AI and robot characters in fiction, we could explore that more. 

How do we write compelling narratives with AI characters? 

And so something to explore would be what makes an AI character feel authentic rather than just a human with mechanical parts?

And another question is: how do you explore the ethical implications of AI consciousness in fiction? 

And a great book recommendation that I have and one that does explore these beautifully is the book called Activation Degradation by Marina J. Lostetter. She did the Murder Bot series.This is a standalone novel. I thought it was really good Activation, Degradation by Marina J. Lostetter. 

[03:29] Topic 4: Afrofuturism and Cultural Narratives

BETH BARANY: Next we could explore Afrofuturism and cultural narratives. And this is bringing cultural heritage, for example, from a region in Africa or from some other part of the world, and bring it into futuristic narratives. So the questions to explore here would be how can writers respectfully incorporate cultural elements into future narratives? 

And also, what role does cultural heritage play in shaping future societies? 

And a great example of this is all the work of Nnedi Okorafor. I just love her Binti series. And I know, this is a very juicy topic, so let me know if you want me to explore this one in greater depth.

I can also probably find people to interview for this topic very easily as well as the others. 

Another topic we could explore together. 

[04:15] Topic 5: Space Opera and Interstellar Societies

BETH BARANY: Space opera and interstellar societies. How do we build stories? Complex narratives of space faring civilizations?

And so as a writer, we ask, how do you create believable social structures for space faring civilizations? And also what are some unique challenges that arise when you are governing multi-planetary populations? 

One of my favorite examples of this is the science fiction series by Elizabeth Moon, which I'm gonna talk about in the next episode. And I have a stack of books right here. I'm gonna be recording that soon. 

Jim Hines has a great series called Janitors of the Post Apocalypse. He's got a three book series. I just adore it. He does a great job with this whole space faring civilizations really fun. 

[05:00] Topic 6: Near Future Technology in Fiction

BETH BARANY: Alright, next topic, we can dive deeper into: Near future technology in fiction. How do we write about emerging technologies realistically? 

And a question we can discuss: how do you research emerging technologies to make near future scenarios plausible? 

Also, what's that sweet spot between current technology and future speculation? 

And I would say I live in this space with my Janey McCallister Space Station Mystery series. I think a lot about the sweet spot between current technology and future speculation. And I, yeah, I have a lot to say about this and I might have already said it in some past episodes. So that is definitely something I have a lot to say on. 

[05:43] Topic 7: Time Travel Narratives

BETH BARANY: Next time travel narratives: managing the paradoxes and creating consistent time travel rules.

So a question you might ask as a writer is: how do you maintain internal consistency in your time travel rules?

What are some creative ways to handle temporal paradoxes? 

So I have a great example of this and it's the Beryl Blue series by Janet Ray Stevens, a friend of mine and I just adore her time travel series.

It's very fun and funny and has rules around time travel. I really adore it. That's one example. 

So let me know if you want me to discuss more about time travel narratives. 

[06:22] Topic 8: Biotech and Future Medicine

BETH BARANY: And then this is the last one I'm gonna talk about today, which is biotech and future medicine. This is stories that are writing about medical advances and their implications. 

So how might advanced medical technology change human society and what ethical dilemmas arise with biotech advancement?

So let me know if you want me to discuss that one. 

And I wanna bring up Elizabeth Moon again because she has life extension as a thing in her, science fiction. She discusses the implications of that. It has sociopolitical implications if people are living longer and that has impact and pressure on her characters and her stories. It's really interesting. 

[07:04] Wrap-Up and Call to Action: Vote for your Favorite

BETH BARANY: Alright, so those are my eight topics. 

And vote for the one that you want me to dive deeper into.

Alright. And I'm gonna repeat them for you. 

Writing speculative fiction for social change 

World building in climate fiction

BETH BARANY: AI and robot characters in fiction

Afrofuturism and cultural narratives

Space opera and interstellar societies

Near future technology in fiction

Time travel narratives 

And lastly, biotech and future medicine in narrative. 

BETH BARANY: Alright, that's it for this week, everyone. 

[07:44] Additional Resources and Next Episode Teaser

BETH BARANY: Just wanna quickly remind you, I have a world building workbook for fiction writers. If you want support and guidance and brainstorm tools around your world building. I highly recommend you check out my world building workbook for fiction writers and that will help you get going.

And last but not least, stay tuned till next week's episode. I'm gonna talk about Elizabeth Moon, one of my favorite science fiction and fantasy writers. All right, write long and prosper.