Culture Chat: '3 Body Problem', Netflix’s next big swing
Life and Art from FT Weekend
Forhecz Topher
4.6 • 601 Ratings
🗓️ 22 March 2024
⏱️ 21 minutes
🧾️ Download transcript
Summary
Today we take on 3 Body Problem, the new buzzy Netflix sci-fi series from the creators of Game of Thrones. The show is based on Liu Cixin’s best-selling Chinese trilogy and is about humankind’s first contact with an alien civilisation. It spans timelines, worlds and dimensions. Lilah is joined by the FT’s AI editor Madhumita Murgia and work and careers journalist Emma Jacobs to discuss how well the show depicts our fears around advancing technology and how it fits into prestige TV right now.
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We love hearing from you. Lilah is on Instagram @lilahrap and we’re on X @lifeandartpod. You can email us at lifeandart@ft.com. We are grateful for reviews, on Apple, Spotify, etc!
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Links (all FT links get you past the paywall):
– 3 Body Problem is out on Netflix now
– The FT’s review by Dan Einav is here: https://on.ft.com/3vlGlTZ
– Madhu’s book is called Code Dependent: Living in the Shadow of AI and is out this week in the UK and in June in the US. You can pre-order it here or at your retailer of choice. It’s been longlisted for the Women’s Prize for Non Fiction.
– You can check out Emma’s writing here. We loved this piece on the Willy Wonka experience — and how it’s reflective of the ‘overpromise and underdeliver’ mentality of the British: https://on.ft.com/49Z7xqz.
– Emma is on X @emmavj. Madhu is at @madhumita29.
More or Less:
– Madhu wants to see more writing by women on subjects including science, tech and philosophy. She recommends Doppelganger by Naomi Klein. You can check out the full Women’s Prize non-fiction longlist here.
– Emma wants to see more short TV. She recommends Mr & Mrs Smith on Amazon Prime, and Swedish-language show Tore on Netflix.
– Lilah wants more exploring the enclaves of your cities. Follow her on Instagram to read her Globetrotter piece in a few weeks.
A previous version of this podcast mentioned that an episode is set in the 10th dimension. A chapter of the trilogy is, but not an episode of the show.
Read a transcript of this episode on FT.com
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Transcript
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| 0:00.0 | Welcome to Life and Art from FT Weekend. I'm Lila Raptopoulos, and this is our Friday chat show. |
| 0:08.2 | Today we are talking about Netflix's buzzy news show Three Body Problem, an eight-part sci-fi series based on the best-selling Chinese trilogy by Liu Shai Shin, which is out now. |
| 0:19.2 | The show is a sprawling epic that spans different worlds, timelines, and dimensions. |
| 0:24.9 | It begins as a murder mystery with a group of elite scientists mysteriously dying, presumably |
| 0:30.2 | by suicide. |
| 0:31.8 | But it gets even weirder very quickly. |
| 0:33.9 | There's a subplot set in the Chinese Cultural Revolution. |
| 0:37.0 | At one point, a bunch of sun-dried humans who've been rolled up like carpets get re-inflated in a pond and come back to life. |
| 0:43.3 | There are aliens. Basically, there's a lot going on. |
| 0:47.3 | When your consciousness ends in one world, it could continue to exist in many other worlds. |
| 0:59.9 | What do you think is happening? |
| 1:05.8 | Three body problem is a big deal |
| 1:07.7 | because it was created by the ambitious team |
| 1:09.7 | behind Game of Thrones, |
| 1:11.3 | David Benioff and D.B. Weiss. It also had a reported budget of $200 million. So today we're |
| 1:17.9 | going to talk about it. I'm Lila and an invisible woman just lit my cigarette. Joining me in London |
| 1:23.3 | is our work and careers journalist Emma Jacobs. She often writes about television for the FT, |
| 1:29.0 | and rumor has it she's currently seeing a countdown that's making her act pretty weird. |
| 1:33.4 | Welcome, Emma. Hi. Also in London is Madhu Mita Merja. Madhu is our AI editor and the author |
| 1:41.5 | of upcoming book Code Dependent, which has just been long listed for the |
| 1:45.1 | women's prize. She's also just watched the heat death of the universe on her VR. |
| 1:50.0 | It's then. I might be welcome. Hi. So nice to have both of you here. Thanks for having you. |
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