The Dark Forest by Cixin Liu | Part 1

Abu and Obssa continue their read-through of The Dark Forest by Cixin Liu. They work through all of Part I, where the UN hands four Wallfacers nearly unlimited resources and orders them to keep their plans to themselves.

Zhang Beihai quickly becomes Abu's favorite character in the book, while Luo Ji spends his new power hunting for a woman he once invented in his head. The hosts also cover the plans of Frederick Tyler, Manuel Rey Diaz and Bill Hines, plus a group of retired neighbors arguing over who deserves a ticket off Earth. In the back half, Obssa asks why one Wallbreaker's reunion with his Trisolaran Lord feels so plausible, connecting it to modern science skepticism and the way cults of personality hold on to their followers.