Science fiction is typically viewed as a genre or maybe a sub-culture, but a new book makes the case that science fiction after World War II is one of the most important and most under recognized influences on contemporary pop culture.
What's more, authorAlec Nevala-Lee argues that most of that influence was mediated by one man, John W. Campbell Junior, who edited one magazine that over the course of several decades that bore the names: Astounding, Astounding Stories, Astounding Science Fiction and finally Analog Science Fiction. Alec Nevala-Lee’s new book is also called Astounding. He joined us to talk about the topic.