Before Le Guin, there was Chad Oliver—an anthropologist-turned-sci-fi author whose work deserves a far brighter spotlight today. In this week’s Rocketeer podcast, I dive into “Field Expedient,” Oliver’s 1955 story about social engineering on a future Venus. Forget the swamps and space monsters—this tale is about rebuilding civilization from the ground up. With deep anthropological insight, Field Expedient shows us how a society might be created from the ground up to aid declining Earth. Thoughtful, pulpy, and eerily prescient—this is classic sci-fi that still hits the mark.
As an anthropologist and storyteller, I feel a strong connection to Chad Oliver’s work. He chaired the Anthropology Department at the University of Texas while I was earning my own degrees in the field. His stories—especially Field Expedient—resonate with me deeply. In many ways, I’m continuing the conversation he started—using pulp-inspired fiction to examine deeper patterns affecting our world.
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