The Anti-Dystopians

Share this post
Astrotopia: The Dangerous Religion of the Corporate Space Race
alinautrata.substack.com

Astrotopia: The Dangerous Religion of the Corporate Space Race

A conversation with Mary Jane Rubenstein

Alina Utrata
Dec 19, 2022
1
Share this post
Astrotopia: The Dangerous Religion of the Corporate Space Race
alinautrata.substack.com

If you’re wondering what’s going on with Elon Musk (at Twitter and beyond), taking a religious approach can reveal some interesting things . . So I talked to Mary-Jane Rubenstein, a professor of Religion and Science in Society at Wesleyan University and the author of the new book Astrotopia: The Dangerous Religion of the Corporate Space Race.

We discussed whether Elon Musk is like a religious leader (and if that might help us understand how to react to him), the ways that science fiction has acted as a mythology for space expansionists, how imperial Christianity set the stage for capitalism and (space) colonialism, and the history of a Nazi rocket scientist turned evangelical Christian who partnered with Disney to popularize America’s Manifest Destiny in the stars. This conversation is fascinating, so be sure to take a listen over the holiday break!

As always, you can listen to it here or subscribe here (Spotify) or here (Apple Podcasts). If you like us, please rate, review and share the Anti-Dystopians to help us get new listeners. If you want to support the production of the show, you can visit here.


Further reading from the episode:

By Mary-Jane:

  • Mary Jane’s book Astrotopia: The Dangerous Religion of the Corporate Space Race

  • Mary Jane Rubenstein in conversation with me at The Philosopher (we discuss different points than the podcast!)

By Me:

  • Company Rules: Martian Colonies and Silicon Valley’s Corporations in Space comparing colonial corporations’ rule to Musk and Bezos’s plans for space

  • Lost in Space, looking at the ideology and history of space expansion, in the Boston Review

Other Articles:

  • William Shatner: My Trip to Space Filled Me With ‘Overwhelming Sadness’

  • The Historical Roots of Our Ecologic Crisis by Lynn White Jr.

  • The High Frontier and Jeff Bezos’s vision of American Imperialism by Ben Little and Alison Winch

  • More on Werner von Braun, the Nazi rocket scientist who worked for Disney and NASA

  • Jill Lepore’s podcast series on Elon Musk and outer space, The Evening Rocket

  • Jeff Bezos, Michael Strahan to Appear in Animated Series ‘Blue Origin Space Rangers’


Tweet of the Week

I’ll likely be winding down Twitter presence for the foreseeable future, so be sure to subscribe to the Anti Dystopians’ substack.

Twitter avatar for @daisyldixon
Daisy Dixon🍂🍁 @daisyldixon
why do people wanna go to Mars so damn much when our own planet has *this*
6:15 PM ∙ Dec 10, 2022
247Likes19Retweets
Share this post
Astrotopia: The Dangerous Religion of the Corporate Space Race
alinautrata.substack.com
Comments
TopNewCommunity

No posts

Ready for more?

© 2023 Alina Utrata
Privacy ∙ Terms ∙ Collection notice
Start WritingGet the app
Substack is the home for great writing