This week, Tom tries to get Mike to enjoy some science fiction, thinking he might dig Neal Stephenson’s early-90s vibe (and frequent use of early-90s slang; apparently in the future people start saying the word “tubular” again). People love the book Snow Crash, so it seemed like a good test to determine, once and for all, whether Mike just hates sci fi as a genre. The novel follows the adventures of a hacker/pizza deliveryman named Hiro Protagonist, as well as a skater/messenger who goes by Y.T. The plot–as is the case with most sci fi novels–is complicated, and kind of difficult to unpack, so let’s just say it involves the internet (or “the ‘net,” as the kids call it) and an online world that’s basically Second Life. Also some stuff about Sumeria?

Also this week: another segment of Fan Fiction Corner, this time featuring some very sexy sex action in the Nintendo universe. You can read the story in question, “A Nintendo Fan’s Lust,” if you dare.

As always, we’re happy to hear what you think about the stuff we talked about this week. Like maybe you think Mike is an idiot for not totally loving Snow Crash, or maybe you’d like to recommend some science fiction you think he might actually enjoy. You can email us directly, hit us up on Twitter, or just leave a comment here on the site. Also: we’re on Facebook, and gradually getting better about posting studio pics and links and such. So come visit us over there, like our page, etc. etc.

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Download Episode 91 (right-click, save-as)