Ars Paradoxica Explained

Genre:	Science Fiction, Time Travel
Creator:	Mischa Stanton Daniel Manning
Language:	English
Updates:	Completed
Length:	30–55 minutes
Opentheme:	"Redshift (Theme for ars Paradoxica)" by Mischa Stanton
Endtheme:	"Electric River (acoustic)" by Eno Freedman-Brodmann
Num Episodes:	36
Began:	June 1, 2015
Ended:	June 6, 2018

Ars Paradoxica (stylized as ars PARADOXICA) is a science fiction podcast created by Mischa Stanton and Daniel Manning.^[1] In-universe audio recordings tell the story of Dr. Sally Grissom, a scientist from the present day that accidentally invents time travel and is sent back to the USS Eldridge in 1943.^[2] The series was originally aired from June 2015 to June 2018.^[3]

Ars Paradoxica's production was funded in part by their Patreon, which garnered them around $800 a month as of 2017. The show has also received several awards, including best writing, best engineering, best new show, and best show overall from Audio Verse.^[4]

Summary

Synopsis

Modern-day scientist Dr. Sally Grissom accidentally sends herself back to 1943, finding herself aboard the USS Eldridge during the Philadelphia Experiment. She is recruited by the United States government to continue developing this new time travel technology under a secret branch of the government called the Office of Developed Anomalous Resources (ODAR), with the goal of using this technology to help the United States win World War II and the Cold War. Grissom and her colleagues find themselves entrenched in politics and interpersonal struggles as they work to repair and improve their time travel device, the Timepiece, and avoid changing too much of the past.^{[5] [6]}

After the end of World War II, the government continues to fund their work as new obstacles arise. They discover that time travel causes an illness called Butterfly Syndrome, which causes brain damage that makes individuals constantly switch tenses while speaking. A cure is eventually discovered—raising children backwards through time makes them immune to Butterfly Syndrome—but the cost is steep.^[7]

Cast and characters

• Kristen DiMercurio as Dr. Sally Grissom, a theoretical physicist and the fictional granddaughter of astronaut Gus Grissom. She is aromantic and asexual.^[8]
• Reyn Beeler as Chet Whickman, the first person Grissom met upon arriving in 1943 and an officer in the U.S. Navy.
• Katie Speed as Esther Roberts, an ambitious woman that started out as a calculator.
• Zach Ehrlich as Jack Wyatt, Esther Roberts' lab partner.
• Robin Gabrielli as Anthony Partridge, a former high school math teacher that now runs ODAR's Predictive Mechanics division after discovering how to reliably predict the future.
• Susanna Kavee as Helen Partridge, a singer and wife of Anthony Partridge.
• Rob Slotnick as Director Bill Donovan, a character based on William "Wild Bill" Donovan, former director of the OSS.
• Dan Anderson as Hank Cornish
• Arjun Gupta as Dr. Nikhil Sharma, an ODAR agent from the future that Grissom encounters in Philadelphia.^[9]
• Lia Peros as Petra
• L. Jeffrey Moore as Lou Gaines
• Preston Allen as Bridget Chambers, ex-lover of Esther Roberts.
• Lee Satterwhite as Quentin Barlowe/Ben Quigley
• Hannah Trobaugh as June Barlowe
• Charlotte Mary Wen as Penny Wise
• Bernardo Cubría as Mateo Morales
• Richard Malmos as Agent Ray Vico
• Richard Penner as Dr. Fitzgerald
• Lauren Shippen as Maggie Elbourne
• Tina Huang as Tonya LeMartine
• Sammi Lappin as Miriam Roberts
• Ego Mikitas as Adler^[10]

Awards and nominations

Audio Verse Awards!Year!Award!Recipient!Status!Ref.

2016	Best Audio Engineering of an Original, Ongoing, Long Form Production	Mischa Stanton for ars PARADOXICA		^[11]
	Best Writing of an Original, Long Form, Large Cast, Ongoing Production	Daniel Manning, Mischa Stanton, Julian Mundy, Tau Zaman, Danielle Shemaiah Pointer and Eli Barraza for ars PARADOXICA
	Best Original, Long Form, Large Cast, Ongoing, Dramatic Production	ars PARADOXICA
	Best New Original, Long Form, Large Cast, Ongoing Production	ars PARADOXICA
	Best Performance of an Actress in an Original Leading Role for a Long Form Production	Kristen DiMercurio as Sally Grissom in ars PARADOXICA		^[12]
2017	Best Audio Engineering for an Ongoing, Dramatic, Production	Mischa Stanton for ars PARADOXICA		^[13]

The Webby Awards!Year!Award!Recipient!Status!Ref.

2017

Best Sound Design/ Original Music Score 2017

ars PARADOXICA

^[14]

Notes and References

1. Web site: Thang . Patricia . May 4, 2017 . 3 More Fiction Podcasts to Satisfy Your Love of Stories . November 23, 2024 . BOOK RIOT . en-US.
2. Web site: Mitchell . Brandon . October 12, 2018 . "ARS Paradoxica": A Podcast Review . November 21, 2024 . Niner Times . en.
3. Web site: About . November 21, 2024 . ars PARADOXICA . en-US.
4. Web site: ars PARADOXICA – Searching for Meaning in a Universe that Aggressively Lacks One . November 21, 2024 . Vassar College . en-US.
5. Web site: ars PARADOXICA . November 21, 2024 . Apple Podcasts . en-US.
6. Web site: Zutter . Natalie . May 8, 2020 . 10 Long-Running SFF/Horror Fiction Podcasts . November 23, 2024 . Reactor . en-US.
7. Web site: 2019-12-13 . A (Written) Oral History of “ars PARADOXICA” . 2024-11-24 . Wil Williams Writes . en.
8. Web site: May 9, 2018 . ars PARADOXICA is the Time Travel Podcast You Didn't Know You Wanted . November 23, 2024 . Discover the Best Podcasts Discover Pods . en-US.
9. Web site: 2019-04-12 . Let’s Go Back to ars PARADOXICA: “14: Anchor” . 2024-11-24 . Wil Williams Writes . en.
10. Web site: Cast . November 21, 2024 . ars PARADOXICA . en-US.
11. Web site: December 28, 2016 . 2016 Winners – The Audio Verse Awards . November 21, 2024 . en-US.
12. Web site: November 20, 2016 . 2016 List of Finalists – The Audio Verse Awards . November 21, 2024 . en-US.
13. Web site: December 19, 2017 . 2017 Winners – The Audio Verse Awards . November 21, 2024 . en-US.
14. Web site: Nominee: ars Paradoxica . November 21, 2024 . . en.