Every Single Sci-Fi Film Ever* cover art

Every Single Sci-Fi Film Ever*

Every Single Sci-Fi Film Ever*

By: Ayesha Khan
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The Every Single Sci-Fi Film Ever* podcast looks back at more than a century of films, beginning in 1902 and working towards the future. Each episode focuses on a film, director or theme and brings in experts to discuss the history, politics, and influences. Join sci-fi enthusiast Ayesha Khan as she travels through time and space, encounters aliens, and battles authoritarian regimes all from the comfort of your home planet. Released every two weeks*Almost Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.© 2025 Every Single Sci-Fi Film Ever* Art
Episodes
  • The Face of Another 1966: Scars & Identity in Post War Japan

    The Face of Another 1966: Scars & Identity in Post War Japan
    Jun 21 2026
    Trigger warning: This discussion includes talk about sexual assault and sexual violence. This is a theme apparent in the film and the source material. It is mentioned a few times. The topic is not spoken about in detail, but I wanted to share a general trigger warning for those that would prefer to avoid the topic altogether. Subtitles for the intro: "It's not that I specialise in treating fingers. I'm a psychiatrist in fact. Inferiority complexes dig holes in the psyche, and I fill them in." As always, there are spoilers ahead! You can follow the podcast on social media on Threads, Instagram and Bluesky. If you have fancy pants and would like to be a patron of the podcast please do! You can join Patreon and for £3 or $3 a month you can get ad free version of the show. https://www.patreon.com/everyscififilm If you are interested in the plot of the film you can read an overview on the wikipedia page here. In 1964 Director Hiroshi Teshigahara's film Woman in the Dunes won the Special Jury Prize at Cannes. The film was the second of four in which Teshigahara would collaborate with writer Kōbō Abe.* The Face of Another rode the coattails of Woman in the Dunes but was nowhere near as successful. Although both films have a very bleak undertone, The Face of Another feels more jarring and less abstract in its confrontations. The story is of a man horribly disfigured from an accident in the lab where he works. He manages to find a possible solution to the isolation and desperation he experiences when he is given the opportunity to have a new face with which to navigate life. The story has many philosophical themes set in a Japan that is still wrangling with its post war cultural identity. Thankfully I have managed to procure two big brained and generous guests! Roger Luckhurst is a Professor at Birkbeck, University of London. He has written/edited numerous articles and books on cultural history and film. Jennifer Coates is a Professor of Japanese Studies at the University of Sheffield. She has written extensively about Japanese cultural history and cinema and is the President of the British Association of Japanese Studies. During the intro to the show I mention a video essay that I watched during research for the film which I found very interesting. You can find it here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yarOXWeZlzY Although this is not directly relevant to the film, one of the earliest shots is an x-ray of a skull in conversation. This is reminiscent of the very early 1996 film usually known as Macintyre's X-Ray Film. Just a small historical film curiosity which you might be interested in. You can find it here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SqMYHawAKmA Chapters 00:00 Introduction 01:35 Source Material: Kobe Abe's book 06:33 Abe and Teshigahara's collaboration: Woman in the Dunes 07:38 Face Masks 10:55 The manufactured Japanese New Wave 14:31 Japan in the 1960s 19:39 Alienation and Philosophy 24:47 Boundaries and skin 26:17 Moral boundaries 30:52 The skin, Japan and saving face 34:14 Scarring and the bomb 41:05 Identity and Japan 47:40 Visual delights 52:46 Legacy 55:03 Face transplants 56:51 Recommendations Recommendations: When the Woman Ascends the Stairs (1960) Eyes without a Face (1960) Suture (1993) NEXT EPISODE! Next episode we will be having a giant sprawling chat about the scientist Bernard Quatermass. You can watch the three earlier Quatermass films, The Quatermass Xperiment (1955), Quatermass 2 (1957) and Quatermass and the Pit (1967) in all sorts of places including major streaming platforms. The series (if you want to get really nerdy about it) are available as a boxed set on Apple TV and from other retailers. At least some of those episodes are available on YouTube. The first season of the TV series (1953) only has a few episodes as the rest were lost forever!
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    59 mins
  • Blade Runner: Paul Franklin's Favourite Sci-Fi Film

    Blade Runner: Paul Franklin's Favourite Sci-Fi Film
    Jun 7 2026

    As always there are spoilers ahead!

    Blade Runner was not a huge hit in 1982 but it did gain a fair few fans on its initial release. One of those fans was a teenager from Cheshire by the name of Paul Franklin who would go on to work on numerous big budget films and win two Oscars for his work as a Special Effects Supervisor on Interstellar and Inception.

    I spoke to Paul about his first impressions of the film, what makes it special and how it influences Batman Begins and The Dark Knight Rises.

    Apologies for the abrupt ending to this episode. It is late, I've been quite busy and I have other work I really must tend to. Details of the next episode at the bottom of the show notes.

    You can follow the podcast on social media on Threads, Instagram and Bluesky.

    If you would like to support the podcast you can become a patron and for £3 or $3 a month you can get ad free versions of the show. https://www.patreon.com/everyscififilm

    Chapters

    00:00 Intro

    01:47 Paul's first impressions

    07:11 Influences on Blade Runner

    14:01 Syd Mead's design

    17:52 A future without Blade Runner

    21:28 PK Dick & Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep

    23:36 The plight of the androids

    27:18 Deckard as replicant

    32:01 Influence of Blade Runner on Paul's work

    40:45 Vangelis

    41:58 ET vs Blade Runner

    NEXT EPISODE!

    Next episode we will be discussing the rather striking and uncomfortable 1966 Japanese film The Face of Another. The film is available on Criterion Channel in the US and Canada and on YouTube. You can check the Just Watch website to see where the film is available in your region.
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    46 mins
  • Fantastic Voyage: Psychedelic Nanotech in 1966

    Fantastic Voyage: Psychedelic Nanotech in 1966
    May 24 2026

    As always there are spoilers ahead!

    You can follow the podcast on social media on Threads, Instagram and Bluesky.

    If you would like to be a patron of the podcast and help an indie podcaster out, you can join Patreon and for £3 or $3 a month you can get ad free version of the show. https://www.patreon.com/everyscififilm

    An extra huge thank you to my wonderful guests as this episode had to be re-recorded due to a major problem with the audio file the first time.

    You can find the synopsis of the film on Wikipedia here: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fantastic_Voyage#Plot

    In 1966 20th Century Fox chose a steady pair of hands in Richard Fleischer (the son of animation superstar Max Fleischer) to helm what at the time was both the tiniest and the biggest science fiction adventure. Tiny because of the nano science storyline and biggest because of it being the most expensive science fiction film ever made (at that time) costing over five million dollars.

    I talk to two top tier guests about the film.

    Jay Telotte is Professor Emeritus of film and media studies at Georgia Tech. He has written/edited numerous books and articles about science fiction film including his upcoming books Before Trek: Building American Science Fiction Television.

    Lisa Yaszek is Regents' Professor of Science Fiction Studies at Georgia Tech and has written/edited multiple books on science fiction including her upcoming book Mothership Rising: Afrofuturism in the Radium Age.

    Chapters

    00:00 Introduction

    01:40 Big budget scifi

    05:45 Richard Fleischer

    09:10 The history of Nanotech sci-fi

    16:41 Sci-fi and scale in cinema

    19:42 Richard Feynman and small science

    22:55 1950s influences

    25:53 James Bond and Spy-fi

    27:05 Psychedelic scifi

    31:22 Harper Goff, Disney and design

    33:36 1960s crew dynamics

    42:48 Asimov's novelisation

    44:24 Secularism vs religion

    46:52 Legacy

    52:57 Recommendations

    Recommendations:

    The Diamond Lens by Fitz-James O'Brien (which can be found here)

    Surface Tension by James Blish

    Microcosmic God by Theodore Sturgeon

    Dr Cyclops (1940)

    The Incredible Shrinking Man (1957)

    Honey I Shrunk the Kids (1989)

    NEXT EPISODE!

    Next episode I will be speaking with Oscar winning Special Effects Supervisor Paul Franklin to discuss his favourite sci-fi film Blade Runner (1982). Paul has worked on an array of blockbusters including The Batman Begins trilogy, Venom (2018), Inception (2010) and Interstellar (2014).
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    57 mins
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