David Barr Kirtley

Science fiction author and podcaster

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Science Fiction Author Robert Heinlein Deeply Involved in Upton Sinclair’s Campaign for Governor?

May 7, 2009 by David Barr Kirtley Leave a Comment

This morning I was doing a bit of historical research on poor working conditions, and I came across this tidbit on Wikipedia:

Upton Sinclair’s plan to end poverty quickly became a controversial issue. Conservatives in California were themselves galvanized by it, as they saw it as an attempted communist takeover of their state. They used massive political propaganda portraying Sinclair as a Communist, even as he was being portrayed by American and Soviet communists as a capitalist. Science fiction author Robert A. Heinlein was deeply involved in Sinclair’s campaign, a point that Heinlein tried to obscure from later biographies, as he tried to keep his personal politics separate from his public image as an author.

That’s interesting, both because I’d never heard about any Heinlein-Sinclair connection before, and also because when I think about science fiction authors who tried really hard to keep their personal politics separate from their public image as an author, Heinlein’s not exactly the first name to come to mind.

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Geeks Guide to the Galaxy

Geeks Guide to the Galaxy

Geek's Guide to the Galaxy is a podcast hosted by author David Barr Kirtley and produced by Lightspeed Magazine editor John Joseph Adams. The show features conversations about fantasy & science … Read more

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Geeks Guide to the Galaxy

Geeks Guide to the Galaxy

Geek's Guide to the Galaxy is a podcast hosted by author David Barr Kirtley and produced by Lightspeed Magazine editor John Joseph Adams. The show features conversations about fantasy & science … Read more

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David Barr Kirtley

David Barr Kirtley is the host of the Geek’s Guide to the Galaxy podcast, for which he’s interviewed over four hundred guests, including George R. R. Martin, Richard Dawkins, Paul Krugman, Simon Pegg, Margaret Atwood, Neil deGrasse Tyson, and Ursula K. Le Guin. His short fiction appears in the book Save Me Plz and Other Stories.
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