This week’s #FreeFictionFriday is “Blackstart” by @bjcooper.bsky.social. One torrid July night, the citizens of Arizona find themselves in a blackout. Disaster response and civilians work together to stay cool while volunteers try to solve the problem before the sun rises. medium.com/@imagination...

For the 200,000 veterans who leave military service each year, adjusting to civilian life can be difficult to navigate alone. Two Marine Corps veterans and researchers at ASU know these challenges well and are working to address them through a new community-based intervention.

This week’s #FreeFictionFriday is “Death on Mars” by @madelineashby.bsky.social. Crew members on a mission to Mars first become a community, then a family, who must learn to adapt and heal with one another when the imperfect nature of our species causes emotional rifts. csi.asu.edu/books/vvev/

In this last episode of The Imagination Desk, @edfinn.bsky.social talks with Matt Heffernan, writer, software developer, and sharer of indigenous voices, about the effect of imagination on creating art, language, technology, and identity. Listen onApple Podcasts and Spotify.

We’re thrilled to bring you a new set of classic sci-fi films that have sparked our imaginations. Each screening at Tempe’s Majestic Theater is paired with a scholarly discussion from a local speaker offering new perspectives on the films and how they reflect the hopes and dreams of decades past.

For years, we at CSI have been helping organizations like NASA, Google, and the Smithsonian prepare for the future through scenario planning, storytelling, and speculative art. Now, we’re using those tools to inspire personal transformation for service members transitioning to civilian life.

This week’s #FreeFictionFriday is “Efficiency” by @paolobacigalupi.bsky.social. After solar energy supersedes fossil fuels as the dominant energy source in Chicago, its flaws and limitations become contentious. csi.asu.edu/story/chicag...

Our own Om Gawali recently talked to @anaklimchy.bsky.social about how Jules Verne’s story "From the Earth to the Moon" inspired us to consider the past, present, and future of spaceflight from scientific, humanistic, social, legal, and ethical angles. Watch here: youtu.be/pgGL_J1o7K8?...

In this episode of The Imagination Desk, @edfinn.bsky.social and @patpat.bsky.social, professor at MIT and founding director of the cyborg psychology research group, discuss the impact of AI on human growth and ethical considerations of AI addiction and dependency. Listen on Spotify and Apple Music.

Today we launch the debut book in our "Imagination, Annotated" series with @mitpress.bsky.social, "From the Earth to the Moon: Annotated for Our Spacefaring Age" edited by @anaklimchy.bsky.social. 20% off code: READMIT20 30% off code [TODAY ONLY]: MITP30 www.penguinrandomhouse.com/books/814346...

Today's #FreeFictionResponse essay is "In the Blink of an Eye" by Will Hellwarth in response to Sofia Samatar's "Mirror, Mirror" from @issuesinst.bsky.social. Hellwarth compares the creation process seen in "Mirror, Mirror" to his experience creating "Before Your Eyes". issues.org/futuretensef...

This week's #FreeFictionFriday is "Mirror, Mirror" by Sofia Samatar from @issuesinst.bsky.social. What happens when you hold someone’s gaze—really hold it? An artist and an inventor try to recreate that experience in Sofia Samatar’s Future Tense Fiction story. Read here: issues.org/futuretensef...

In this episode, @edfinn.bsky.social is joined by @brianchristian.bsky.social to talk about the intersection of art and technology and the pitfalls of co-creating with AI, brainstorming a hopeful future of AI and imagination and AI's effects on creative agency. Listen on Spotify and Apple music!

Check out this conversation with @edfinn.bsky.social and Deji Olukotun with moderator @beritanderson.bsky.social. Join FiRe next year for more at the 2027 conference www.futureinreview.com/event-details-registration/future-in-review-2027 Or see this year's conference: www.youtube.com/watch?v=DjaB...

This week’s #FreeFictionFriday is “Plasticized” by Katheryn E. Hill, part of the “Everything Change: Volume III” collection. In this story, Hill thinks through the ways that plastics manifest in our daily lives, our culture, and our biology through motherhood. Read here: csi.asu.edu/story/plasti...

In case you missed it, author @monicabyrne13.bsky.social joined Jason Lloyd on Substack in collaboration with @issuesinst.bsky.social for a conversation on world-building in speculative fiction. View the full conversation here: futuretensefiction.substack.com/p/world-buil...

Join Grist’s @torystephens.bsky.social, founder of Imagine 2200: Climate Future for Future Ancestors, for a deep conversation on speculative climate fiction with renowned author @ShereeReneeThomas.bsky.social, professor of physics Vandana Singh, and engineer @wtalabi.com. luma.com/19l5xgr9

We’re excited to present the first episode of our all-new season of The Imagination Desk, a discussion on AI and the imagination, hosted by our own Ed Finn with Doctor @anna-abraham.bsky.social, professor and neuroscientist.The full season is available to listen to on Apple Podcasts and Spotify.

This week’s #FreeFictionFriday is “Field Notes” by Natasha Seymour. A mysterious landmark emerges from the earth amidst a sunbleached Turkish summer. Tourists, archaeologists, and native residents speculate on its relation to the intensifying heat. csi.asu.edu/story/field-...

Join Future Tense Fiction and @monicabyrne13.bsky.social for a live conversation about worldbuilding in speculative fiction. We’ll discuss the social, scientific, and policy dimensions of her fictional worlds, and the tools she uses to create them. open.substack.com/live-stream/...

This week's #FreeFictionResponse essay is "The Purpose of Punishment" by Randy McDonald in response to @monicabyrne13.bsky.social "Golden Rule" from @issuesinst.bsky.social McDonald relates fundamental principles of correction to the justice system in "Golden Rule". issues.org/futuretensef...

This week's #FreeFictionFriday is 'Golden Rule' by @monicabyrne13.bsky.social. A legal system built on the concept of “an eye for an eye”; if you commit a crime, your punishment is that someday a network of state agents will perpetrate the same crime against you. issues.org/futuretensef...

Our latest issue of Imaginary Papers, our quarterly newsletter, is out now, featuring CY Ballard on the video game “Mutazione,”; Jason Nabi on the short story “Runaround”; and Vandana Singh on An Educator’s Guide to Climate Science and Colonialism. mailchi.mp/asu.edu/imag...

If climate fiction is your thing, don't miss this. June 10 I'm hosting Vandana Singh, Sheree Renée Thomas & Wole Talabi on how speculative storytelling shapes what futures feel possible. Free on Zoom | 11am ET. RSVP here: luma.com/19l5xgr9 #CliFi #Solarpunk #Climate #Fiction

This week’s #FreeFictionFriday is “Three-World Cantata” by Vandana Singh, part of the “Climate Imagination: Dispatches from Hopeful Futures” collection, a story of three manifestations of our current reality where realistic questions meet idealistic concepts. www.climatealmanac.org/pub/ud2xkkx1...

The Veterans Imagination Project is returning this fall! Our initiative to improve the transition from military service to civilian life using design thinking and strategic narrative foresight is free to all veterans in Arizona with paid research opportunities. Learn more: csi.asu.edu/veterans/apply

In mid April, speculative fiction magazine @strangehorizons.bsky.social published a review of "Climate Imagination: Dispatches from Hopeful Futures". Seamus Sullivan reflects on the diversity of adaptations relating to anthropogenic climate change around the world strangehorizons.com/wordpress/no...

This week’s #freefictionfriday is “Notes for Adda” by Hannah Onoguwe. People from all walks of life grapple with the friction of readjusting to life after a contagious parasite shakes the community. How can the common good flourish when hope is shared? Read here: direct.mit.edu/books/oa-edi...

We couldn’t have wrapped this marvelous semester at CSI without the brilliant contributions of our student workers. Congratulations to our new graduates, Eliza DelaPaz, Laura Hechel, and Ethan Van Gils! Thank you for imagining with us. We can’t wait to see what the future holds for each of you!

Happy publishing day to our very imaginary friend @solarshades.club for the release of his debut novel, "Absence". Check out our interview with him for a closer look at his creative process: csi.asu.edu/projects/int.... "Absence" is available here: www.penguinrandomhouse.com/books/803125...

In March, Vector Magazine, critical journal of the British Science Fiction Association, released a review of our book "Climate Imagination: Dispatches from Hopeful Futures". The writer analyzes utopian futures and points out the uniqueness of collective imagination. vector-bsfa.com/2026/03/28/a...

This week’s #FreeFictionFriday is “Tomorrow is Another Daze” by @ernesthogan.bsky.social, a look at the relationship between rapidly growing technologies and the lives we’ve had without it. When the future shows up at the door, how do we define house-rules on the spot? csi.asu.edu/story/hogan-...

Fiction lovers! The Protopian Prize Fiction Contest invites artists, storytellers, and dreamers to share their vision of people working toward liberatory futures, meeting obstacles, & making real change. Hosted by @metagov.bsky.social and the Public AI Network. Learn more at protopianprize.com.

Steve Willis is a chemical engineer and Genevieve Hilton is an author and journalist. Together, they are the coauthors of Fairhaven: A Novel of Climate Optimism. For their fellowship project, they will present sessions on climate fiction storytelling. More info here: csi.asu.edu/community-cl...

In an article from Vector magazine, by the British Science Fiction Association, Ed Finn and Joey Eschrich discuss zoefuturism, and examine how the term relates to us as a collective of collaborators focused on imagining hopeful futures in a realistic way. Read here: vector-bsfa.com/2026/03/27/r...

Journalists, filmmakers, and content creators: Join us at the Outrider.org Nuclear Media Summit in Los Angeles on October 22–23! This free, two-day event will focus on how #nuclearweapons issues intersect with AI, community health, #climatechange, and outer space. APPLY: outrider.org/conference/2...

Marilinda Guerrero Valenzuela is a writer and storyteller who explores the boundaries between the real and the imagined. For her fellowship project, She will create a storytelling workshop on climate change, community realities, hope, and alternative futures. More info: csi.asu.edu/community-cl...

Happy Earth Day! Through books and essays, from community hackathons to United Nations convenings, and stories exploring everything from the depths of the ocean to the Atmosphæra Incognita above, we are delighted to share this corner of the galaxy with you. Photo: Earthset, Christina Koch/NASA

In celebration of Earth Month, the ASU Book Group's April 2026 reading selection is “Climate Imagination: Dispatches from Hopeful Futures,” edited by Center for Science and the Imagination Managing Editor Joey Eschrich and Director Ed Finn. Register here: asuevents.asu.edu/event/asu-bo...

This week’s #FreeFictionFriday is “When We Call a Place Home” by Chinelo Onwualu. Centuries of dark chronology for our world finally ends, and the blank slate it leaves behind gives way to a human-wide rebirth. From the wounds of the old world blooms a utopia. Read here: csi.asu.edu/story/chinel...

Vicky García Toloza’s career is a lawyer with a postgraduate degree in Pedagogy of Differences. For her project, She will create a set of three “Rolling Trees,” moveable shade structures, acting as community spaces for reflection, action, and connection. More info here: csi.asu.edu/people/vicky...

This week's #FreeFictionFriday is “Things That Bend, But Don’t Break” by S.B. Divya. Increasingly frequent storms worsen in Puerto Rico, but push for clean energy revitalizes the island. Read more here: csi.asu.edu/story/san-ju...

Tan Su Lin is an award-winning journalist, communications specialist, science communicator, and media trainer. Her fellowship project will take place in Sabah with the Kadazandusun people, the largest Indigenous group in Sabah. Read more here: csi.asu.edu/community-cl...

This week’s #FreeFictionFriday is “The Lullaby-Dirge” by Mason Carr. Climate change causes a slow-rumbling population crisis to reach an dire low, and the country comes to grasp a desperate solution. The nation learns to adapt, and new communities blossom. More here: csi.asu.edu/story/the-lu...

Today, NASA launched #ArtemisII, the first crewed mission to the Moon since 1972. Om Gawali talked to Dr. Anastasia Klimchynskaya about how Jules Verne’s stories have inspired spaceflight; youtu.be/pgGL_J1o7K8. 'From the Earth to the Moon' is open for preorder here mitpress.mit.edu/978026255386...

This month’s #FutureTenseFiction story is “The Pocket Box” by Gunnar Anderson. A new discovery breaks the bounds of physics as we once understood them. Quickly, scientific awe morphs into commercial prospecting—with little regulation and horrifying consequences. More here: issues.org/futuretensef...

This weeks #FreeFictionFriday is “Night Shift” by Eileen Gunn. Nights are slow at NASA for Sina as she supervises her evolving AI companion, Seth. When a problematic feature of Seth’s programming arises, it puts his ascribed personhood into question. Read here: csi.asu.edu/books/vvev/

Happy Sun Devil Giving Day, our imaginary friends! Every action we take builds a better tomorrow, so please consider giving to the future today. Thank you for your enthusiasm, your big ideas, and your support! Donate at csi.asu.edu/donate

This week’s #FreeFictionFriday is “The God of the Sea” by Barakat Akinsiku. After a natural disaster ruffles her close-knit beachside community, Layi unearths a curiosity within her for the powerful yet serene neighbor lapping at her home shore. Read more here: csi.asu.edu/books/everyt...

Wen Di Sia is a writer and researcher based in Malaysia. She was trained as a journalist, spent a decade in advertising, and now dedicates herself as a collaborative partner to Peninsular Malaysia’s Indigenous communities through Gerimis Art. Find our more here: csi.asu.edu/community-cl...