Science vs. Fiction

Few authors have reshaped the landscape of speculative fiction like N.K. Jemisin. Founding Director of Sciences Janna Levin hosted the legendary writer to discuss Far Sector, Broken Earth, and how to process our apocalyptic present.

Famed Academy Award and Emmy Award-nominated writer, director, and producer Jonathan Nolan joins PW Director of Sciences Janna Levin to talk about his catalogue of imaginative works, from "Memento" to "The Prestige" to "Westworld" to "The Peripheral."

To launch his new memoir, Every Man for Himself and God Against All, Werner Herzog sat down with Janna Levin to talk about his childhood of poverty in Germany, the “murderousness” of nature, and surviving against all odds. 

In celebration of his latest film, "The Whale," award-winning director Darren Aronofsky is joined by our Director of Sciences, astrophysicist Janna Levin, for a special conversation about storytelling, science, math, and god.

In celebration of Jennifer Egan's new book, The Candy House, a sibling novel to her Pulitzer Prize-winning A Visit from the Goon Squad, Egan is joined by author, astrophysicist, and Pioneer Works Director of Sciences Janna Levin to discuss memories, the collective unconscious, and a dystopian present. Possibly a reference to the sinister edible houses of folklore, The Candy House deftly interweaves stories, narrative styles, and incisive observations to inspire speculation as well as nostalgia about both the past and the future.

In celebration of Marlon James's epic new book "Moon Witch, Spider King," the second installment in his acclaimed Dark Star trilogy—his self-described “African Game of Thrones”—James is joined by author, astrophysicist, and Pioneer Works Director of Sciences Janna Levin to discuss fiction, speculation, and fantasy.

Is there a distinction we should draw between dystopian and apocalyptic? Or between Sci Fi and speculative fiction? Tune in while Jonathan Lethem and Janna Levin converse from their own murky environments in the ether.