Leo X Robertson - Barhopping for Astronauts

Leo X Robertson - Barhopping for Astronauts

Author: Alan Warren November 20, 2025 Duration: 28:38

The Future is weird ... bring a drink.

  • An influencer lets the internet puppet his brand-new cyber-limbs.
  • Door-to-door sales-things arrive with a television that watches you.
  • Two YouTubers livestream a dinosaur attack — for the clout, of course.

Welcome to a dive bar at the edge of the multiverse, where every cocktail is spiked with existential dread. In these darkly satirical shorts, Leo X. Robertson skewers the absurdity of modern life through warped futures that feel unsettlingly familiar. Identity, surveillance, grief, pleasure — even the apocalypse — collapse into each other, often in the same paragraph.

These are the dreams of the doomed and the coping mechanisms of the barely functional — but also the love stories and inside jokes that bubble up as the world glitches around us. So if you’ve ever wanted to simulate the rest of your life as someone else, or found comfort in a soothing blue screen of death, pull up a barstool … the last round of reality is on the house.


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For over a decade, the House of Mystery radio show opened a door into the minds of the most imaginative authors in literature. What If? Science Fiction/ Fantasy Writers curates the very best of those conversations, hosted by Alan Warren. This isn't just a series of interviews; it's a deep exploration of the creative sparks behind otherworldly civilizations, magical systems, and the fundamental questions that define speculative fiction. Each episode lets you sit in on a genuine discussion, hearing directly from writers about how they build their universes, develop characters who feel real against impossible backdrops, and where they find their most extraordinary ideas. You'll get a sense of the person behind the pages, their influences, and the sometimes surprising paths that led them to craft the stories that shape our dreams of the future and reimaginings of the past. Tune into this podcast for a thoughtful and engaging archive that celebrates the arts of science fiction and fantasy writing, offering listeners a lasting connection to the voices that continue to push the boundaries of fiction and science.
Author: Language: English Episodes: 100

What If?  Science Fiction/ Fantasy Writers
Podcast Episodes
Zoey Michaels - Fractured Shadows [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 26:49
A world on the brink of change. Freedom stripped away for the greater good and a only a handful of brave people willing to risk their lives and their minds to save their world from being controlled by the Echolink design…
Deborah Wilde - Ace Of Shades [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 24:03
Gehenna isn’t on Google Maps and there’s no Angel Annihilation for Dummies. To Miriam Feldman, list lover extraordinaire, this is an irritating oversight.It’s fine. She’s got this mission under control. Sure, her instruc…
Matthew Hughes - Yalum [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 28:47
Yalum Erkatchian is captain and part owner of the space yacht Peregrinator when a distant relative lures him into returning to the planet he fled twenty-five years ago to escape a matriarchal cult. But it’s a trap and Ya…
Joe Clifford - The Skeleton Theory [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 34:30
He failed to catch the killer. Now, he’ll rewrite reality to save his daughter.Jericho "Echo" Keane is a broken man. Disgraced from the SFPD and living in self-imposed exile in a shipping container, he is tortured by the…
Sebastien de Castell - Our Lady of Blades [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 38:43
'A spirited swashbuckling fantasy about family, revenge and the price of justice' - Silvia Moreno-Garcia, author of Mexican GothicTwo sisters: divided by tragedy, united by steel. The incredible new novel in the Court of…
J.M. Clarke & C.J. Thompson - Rune Seeker [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 32:10
The Everfail will rise. His enemies will fall.Hiral is the Everfail, the weakest person on the flying island of Fallen Reach. He trains harder than any warrior. Studies longer than any scholar.But all his people are born…
J.M. Shaw - Ascension [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 20:57
.A hidden war is spilling into our world.Two realms. One veil. A conflict that won’t stay buried.Callum Walker never asked for power — and he certainly never asked for destiny.Born with arcane abilities he barely underst…
Douglas E. Richards - Split Second [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 24:21
Perhaps the most original take on time travel in 50 years. One of the top 100 paid books in the Kindle store for over seven months. From the master of near-future thrillers.What if you found a way to send something back…
James Voorhees - The Dragon Constellation [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 32:47
Thaddeus, the vampire, is on a quest to save all of time and space as he searches for his lost love. Follow his quest as he collects the weapons needed to conquer the Immortal beast that is bound for full destruction and…
James L. Hill - The Moth [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 19:57
From the dark distant past to the far-flung fantastic future comes crimes of passion and hopeful heroes.The world has fallen back into a more deadly Covid-19 pandemic. A journalist, Baron Beard, risks everything to uncov…