Explore every episode of the podcast Notes from the Uncanny Valley

“Is the star of The Truman Show suffering from the Truman Show delusion? Have culture and reality finally merged into one, trapping us in a feedback loop? What happens when reality doesn’t show up to the reality show?” 00:00 —On misnomers and false maps… 04:06 —Elevator Riders on the Storm 11:42 —Is Tomorrow a Virgin? 14:15 … Continue reading 15. Uncanny Valley Thanksgiving

“I’ve noticed that the last socially acceptable form of discrimination is astrological prejudice. Stereotyping based on gender, race, or sexual orientation is frowned upon, but it’s completely okay to say, ‘I’ll never date another Scorpio, because they’re evil, promiscuous, two-faced, jealous little bitches.’” 0:00 —A Failed MacGuffin 4:37 —The Library 12:14 —Hannah 17:40 — Autumn … Continue reading 14. Autumn is Nature’s Striptease

“If an alien force were observing Earth, would it see humans as the invasive species and send some kind of robot scarecrows to protect the habitat? Or would it further our survival by leading us away from danger? For a moment, I take a guilty solace in the latter fantasy. I imagine electric angels guiding … Continue reading 13. I’m a Stranger Here Myself

“Maybe all black holes are intelligent civilizations that got sucked up their own assholes.” 0:00 —People call him Superboy… 01:14 —Notes on Bigfoot 05:00 —A bus ride through the snow storm 08:13 —Notes on the Fermi paradox 10:21 —The nightwatchman’s lullaby 13:14 —A cosmic prank in the park 14:06 — “SETI to yeti, do you … Continue reading 12. The Night Watchman

“Sometimes you’ve gotta beat the crazy outta them.” 0:00 —Intro 00:30 —Riding the train backwards through downtown… 02:34 —Notes on Déjà vu 04:12 —The Return of the Mummy’s Shadow 09:14 —Drifting through downtown again with the soundtrack out of sync… 11:00 —Roy suggests a way to deal with Sam and reveals Dietzen’s identity…. 17:42 —Dan … Continue reading 11. Real Person Blues

“This is an irony you couldn’t get away with in fiction—socially impaired programmers creating social media environments for society to socialize within. And the irony doesn’t stop there. Grandin points out that the programmers require intense concentration to look at information for long periods of time. Meanwhile, the technology and media they create distract and … Continue reading 10. The Healthy Skeptic

“Having been enlisted to take a picture of the happy pair in front of the city, to serve as social media trophy and prosthetic memory, I suddenly feel the weight of my duty. Maybe this is to document a special anniversary. Perhaps it’s his birthday. After briefly familiarizing myself with the gadget, I hold it … Continue reading 9. My Selfie Hurts

“I look up at the hotel and wonder which of the fifteen stories of windows it might’ve originated from… The windows are dark and they all look the same. I can’t see into any of the rooms, though I’m certain that anyone looking out can see me.” 00:00 —Tonight on a very special episode of … Continue reading 8. The Way Home

“Who is this God that keeps sending wounded messengers? Is this God deranged? Or are the codes getting scrambled in some kind of cosmic game of telephone?“ 0:00 —The Day the Sirkis Took Over 01:00 —Crow-nies in the park 03:27 —Notes on the stenographer and the sign-language interpreter 09:03 —Escape from Reality Island: memoirs of … Continue reading 7. Interpreting the Interpreters

“The real problem is that his problem is real. His screams of pain are real, making the electric ray gun as real as anything else. This is the real problem because it leads to the next problem, which is that the ray gun is not real for his neighbors… or management… or, I assume, the … Continue reading 6. Sound Reasoning

“A machine has yet to officially pass such a test, and though it’s still a talking point in the dialogue about artificial intelligence, many argue that passing the Turing test doesn’t prove intelligence as much as an ability for mimicry. Which leads to the question: how much of what we call human intelligence is actually … Continue reading 5. The “Real” Question

“It occurs to me that these poor ghost hunters have been captured on video and in that sense have already been forced into ghostly repetition.” 00:00 —Intro (“Hot enough for you?”) 01:21 —An intimate moment in the elevator… 03:01 —A page from an uncolored coloring book… 05:09 —Ghosts in the waiting room… 10:56 —The Doctor… … Continue reading 4. The Invisible Script

“A street person on a street corner is screaming street words—words that aren’t words, though they come into sharper focus whenever someone walks by.” 00:00 —TMI 01:46 —A sci-fi writer and a scientist disagree about dystopias… 03:55 —TMI 05:42 —A broken TV (signs of reality at the electronics store)… 07:59: —TMI 09:36 —A noise coming … Continue reading 3. TMI

“I watch the novice robot mimicking his mentor’s demonstration of this glitchy dance from the near future of our distant past . . .“ 00:00 —Intro 00:59 —An early morning tongue bath… 03:13 —On the balcony with the Mummy and Shadow… 09:40 —Plato’s Cave-In… 18:17 —A dream of fire wood and ancient skulls… 19:30 minutes … Continue reading 2. Plato’s Cave-In

“My personal space has been invaded by a man looking for an invasion by an insect that practices an invasive form of procreation…” 0:00 —The bug-man… 04:15 —Do you ever suspect that the world actually did end in 2012 and we’ve simply failed to notice? … 04:56 —An elevator glitch leads to a staring contest … Continue reading 1. Somewhere in the Distant Present