Utopian and Dystopian Fictions
Utopian and Dystopian Fictions
Podcast Description
Utopian and Dystopian Fictions is a podcast for scholars, thinkers, and anyone with an interest in utopian and dystopian theory, literature, film, and television. It’s hosted by Dr Matthew Leggatt (Senior Lecturer in English Literature at the University of Winchester) and Dr Liam Knight (Independent Scholar). In each episode we interview a different academic in the field and interrogate myths and common misconceptions about the genre. If you have any feedback or questions, please feel free to send us an email, using [email protected].
Podcast Insights
Content Themes
The podcast explores themes related to utopian and dystopian theory across various media, with episodes discussing topics such as Green Utopianism, the evolution of utopian literature from the 18th century, the relationship between utopia and activism, pessimistic views of utopianism, and the representation of utopia in film. For instance, Episode 6 features discussions on how literary and social movements can intersect in Green Utopianism.
Utopian and Dystopian Fictions is a podcast for scholars, thinkers, and anyone with an interest in utopian and dystopian theory, literature, film, and television. It’s hosted by Dr Matthew Leggatt (Senior Lecturer in English Literature at the University of Winchester) and Dr Liam Knight (Independent Scholar). In each episode we interview a different academic in the field and interrogate myths and common misconceptions about the genre. If you have any feedback or questions, please feel free to send us an email, using [email protected].
In this episode we are joined by two guests, Taylor Cavallo (an Instructor at the University of Minnesota) and Mark Gatto (Assistant Professor in Critical Organisation Studies at Northumbria University). Our conversation with Taylor and Mark centres on the topic of work, drawing on their academic, professional, and personal experiences, and examines the dystopian and utopian elements of real and imagined work practices. We open by discussing how work is presented in the television shows Severance (2022+) and The Handmaid's Tale (2017-2025), and go on to talk about real-world work policies around things like parental leave may have utopian or dystopian bearings.
We discuss Taylor's and Mark's publications throughout this episode. Taylor's article, 'Beyond the womb: a mosaic of organizational advocacy for reproductive justice' (2023), co-authored with Nicole Dillard, can be found here. You can find Mark's book, Parents at Work:A Dystopian ‘Fictocriticism’ to Subvert Patriarchal Organisations (2023), here, and his article, 'Parenthood demands: resisting a dystopia in the workplace' (2020), here.
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