290: Māori Science Fiction and Being Joyously Weird (with Sascha Stronach)

This week we’re joined by author Sascha Stronach to talk about his debut novel, The Dawnhounds. We chat about spreading Māori science fiction, mushroom cities, and being joyously weird.   Content Warning: This episode contains conversations about or mentions of pandemic, politics, colonization, colorism, racism, violence, mold/decay, sewage, and climate change.    Guest Sascha Stronach (Kāi Tahu, Kāti Huirapa Rūnaka ki Puketeraki) is a speculative fiction author based out of Wellington, New Zealand. His debut novel The Dawnhounds is equal parts Perdido Street Station and Discworld; Tamsyn Muir called it "a wonderful queer noir fever dream". You can order The Dawnhounds now! Follow him on Twitter @understatesman    Housekeeping - Live Show: Join us on July 15th in-person in NYC OR stream the show live!  - Recommendation: This week, Amanda recommends Under One Roof by Ali Hazelwood! - Books: Check out our previous book recommendations, guests’ books, and more at spiritspodcast.com/books - Call to Action: Check out NEXT STOP: An audio sitcom that explores the turbulent time of your mid-to-late 20s when everyone is changing around you -- and you worry that you might not catch up. Season 1 is out now! Search for NEXT STOP in your podcast app or go to nextstopshow.com   Sponsors - Inked Gaming is your one-stop-shop for premium gaming goods. Visit inkedgaming.com/spirits and use the code: spirits when you’re ready to checkout! - BetterHelp is a secure online counseling service. Get 10% off your first month at betterhelp.com/spirits - Cornbread Hemp is a USDA Organic CBD company based in Kentucky that offers Flower-Only™ full spectrum products. Go to cornbreadhemp.com and use code SPIRITS for 25% off your order. Find Us Online If you like Spirits, help us grow by spreading the word! Follow us @SpiritsPodcast on Twitter, Facebook, Instagram, and Goodreads. You can support us on Patreon (http://patreon.com/spiritspodcast) to unlock bonus Your Urban Legends episodes, director’s commentaries, custom recipe cards, and so much more. We also have lists of our book recommendations and previous guests’ books at http://spiritspodcast.com/books. Transcripts are available at http://spiritspodcast.com/episodes. To buy merch, hear us on other podcasts, contact us, find our mailing address, or download our press kit, head on over to http://spiritspodcast.com.   About Us Spirits was created by Julia Schifini, Amanda McLoughlin and Eric Schneider. We are founding members of Multitude, an independent podcast collective and production studio. Our music is "Danger Storm" by Kevin MacLeod (http://incompetech.com), licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 3.0.