Part one of a two part episode

Sci-fi and fantasy have portrayed many workplace settings over the decades - engineers and pilots on space craft, for example, or fairy smiths and kitchen witches in fantasy. However while fantasy has been leaning into the idea of leaving unfulfilling work and finding a perfect cosy profession, sci-fi has been delving into the nightmare of the bad workplace. This week, Jules and Madeleine take a look at the common criticisms and fallacies of the workplace highlighted by fiction, and just why this is finding an avid audience now.

Title music: Ecstasy by Smiling Cynic

Disney, purveyors and creators of magical family friendly (mostly) entertainment have existed through an interesting and checquered 9 decades. The company is responsible for some of the most beloved fairytale retellings and pioneered the animated feature film. However, it's not all magic kingdoms and pixiedust. As with all multi billion dollar corporations, there's a dark side.

The company has shapeshifted several times over the decades and interestingly, it seems to be undergoing a change again right now. Whether that will be for good or ill remains to be seen. This week the dragons look at why Disney might have a creativity problem and why the family friendly image is more of a facade than ever.

Title music: Ecstasy by Smiling Cynic

Have you ever picked up a book, full of anticipation, only to quit 100 pages in? Or maybe you read the whole thing and were left annoyed and baffled when you reached the end? Welcome to the baked in cognitive dissonance of the bookish community. Uber hyped books can turn out to be...bad. Not just bad in your opinion but objectively bad when employing the metrics of writing skill, storytelling and production values. So why exactly are they selling millions of copies? This week, Jules and Madeleine delve into the roots of this question. Is it really a matter of opinion? Can you measure the fitness of a book based entirely on measurable considerations? Is it ever fair to call any book bad? Join the dragons as they interrogate their own beliefs on the subject.

Title music: Ecstasy by Smiling Cynic