Collection

Science Fiction Radio Show Collection

• 1967 - 2021 (Création/Production)

7 boxes, 277 digital recordings (MP3 files)

This collection consists of reel-to-reel audio recordings, audio recordings on tape cassette, and digitized recordings of these materials, of interviews conducted on the Science Fiction Radio Show, which ran from 1980-1983. The show was created by David Carson, Keith Johnson, and David Crews and originally broadcast from Odessa College (in Odessa, TX) starting in June 1980. Carson and Johnson had proposed a science fiction course for the college, and when it was denied, they turned instead towards developing a radio show as a way of bringing their interest in science fiction to a wider audience.

Starting in the spring of 1982 (after a hiatus beginning in Fall 1981) and proceeding through the last broadcast on December 31, 1983, the show was syndicated for national broadcasting by the Longhorn Radio Network in Austin. This helped give the show a nationwide following.

The Science Fiction Radio Show conducted interviews with a wide variety of significant personalities over its run, including Stephen R. Donaldson, Gordon R. Dickson (and his about-to-be-published novel The Final Encyclopedia), Philip Jose Farmer (just as he was concluding his Riverworld series), Hal Clement, Theodore Sturgeon, Howard Waldrop, C.J. Cherryh, Poul Anderson, Terry Carr, L. Sprague de Camp, Michael Whelan, Roger Ebert, Jim Henson (interviewed during the production of his film The Dark Crystal), and many others. Some shows were also dedicated to specific subjects, including computers, L. Frank Baum, and science fiction music.

Over the course of its life, the show conducted 81 interviews, most of them lasting 1-2 hours. The Longhorn Radio Network estimated that between 100,000 - 200,000 people listened to the show every week.

The collection includes a few recordings made from other sources than the Science Fiction Radio Show.

Digitized recordings of the tapes are available for researcher access. Please consult the Reading Room for access.

These materials are stored offsite and require additional time for retrieval.

Copyright for these materials is held by David Carson.

• anglais

Collection processed by Jeremy Brett, 2022.
Collection record and finding aid created by Jeremy Brett, 2022.

• Science Fiction & Fantasy

• Sound recordings