Sami Ahmad Khan

In episode three of season four, host Anjali Alappat sits down with writer, academic and documentary producer, Sami Ahmad Khan. He is the author of Red Jihad: Battle for South Asia (2012), Aliens in Delhi (2017), and the monograph Star Warriors of the Modern Raj: Materiality, Mythology and Technology of Indian Science Fiction (2021). Sami was shortlisted for the Sahitya Akademi Yuva Puraskar and his fiction has been the subject of formal academic research and a part of university syllabi in India and the US. His overview of Indian SF has been translated into Czech and his short story has been translated into Marathi. His creative and critical writings have appeared in leading academic journals (Science Fiction Studies, The Journal of Popular Culture, Foundation), university presses (MIT Press, University of Wales Press), and trade imprints (Gollancz, Hachette, Bloomsbury, Routledge, Rupa, Juggernaut, Niyogi). Sami is also the recipient of a Marie Sklodowska-Curie Actions Fellowship (University of Oslo, Norway), a Fulbright FLTA grant (University of Iowa, USA), and a UGC-MANF Senior Research Fellowship (Jawaharlal Nehru University, India). He currently discusses life and Science Fiction at Jawaharlal Nehru University, India, where he teaches MA and PhD-level courses on SF, as well as supervises PhD research on Indian SF. In this episode, we discuss our love for pulpy science fiction, T-rexes, Black holes, and the Bermuda triangle, thought experiments, being a fan, genre conventions, and the future of Indian science fiction. You can follow Sami on X @SamiAhmadKhan Read Sami's Work: Books 1. Aliens in Delhi. Niyogi Books (2017) 2. Red Jihad: Battle for South Asia. Rupa & Co. (2012) 3. Star Warriors of the Modern Raj: Materiality, Mythology and Technology of Indian Science Fiction. University of Wales Press (2021) Edited Collection: 1. The Speculative Route: Futures from South and Southwest Asia and North Africa. Routledge (2025, co-edited with Merve Tabur) Short fiction: 1. "Ancient Zombies: Six Indian Narratives of the Undead" . Sahitya Akademi's Indian Literature. Jan-Feb. 2024. 2. " Biryani Bagh ", The Gollancz Book of South Asian Science Fiction II. Hachette (2021) 3. " 15004 ", The Gollancz Book of South Asian Science Fiction. Gollancz (2019) 4. " PT Period ", Muse India (2016) Podcast: 1. The NeoMONSTERS Podcast Academic articles: 1. " Zombies and India: The neoMONSTERS Epidemiology ". The Journal of Popular Culture, 56(2). 341-355. (2023) 2. " Dom(e)inating India's Tomorrow(s)? Global Climate Change in Select Anglophonic Narratives" . Fafnir – Nordic Journal of Science Fiction and Fantasy Research. 6(2). 25-37 (2019) 3. " The Others in India's Other Futures ," Science Fiction Studies. 43(3), Indian SF. 479-495 (2016) 4. " Gods of War Toke While Riding a Vimana: Hindu Gods in Three Indian Science Fiction Novels ." Journal of Science Fiction. 1(1) 17-31 (2016) 5. " Control+Alt+Delete Humanity " Uneven Futures: Strategies for Community Survival from Speculative Fiction. Ed. By Yoshinaga, Guynes and Canavan. MIT Press (2022)

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Sami Ahmad Khan is an episode from The Subverse by Dark 'N' Light.

This episode is 35:42 long.

This episode was published on Sep 29, 2025.

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