Hello!
New listener here.
Greatly enjoyed your perspectives of Foundation, which I read in my formative years and hold much affection for.
As does, apparently, Paul Krugman, who cites the novel as inspiring his interest in economics.
I will certainly concede that the premise of psychohistory is fairly absurd, but it could be charitably viewed as SFnal behavioural economics.
Am presently re-reading that classic of alternate history, "Lest Darkness Fall", by Sprague de Camp.
(The premise: accidental time travel to Rome in the time of Theodahad and Belisarius, where Our Hero attempts to prevent the "dark ages", a thousand year "interregnum" where "Europe would be in darkness from a scientific aspect")
The parallels to Foundation seem fairly obvious; given that it was published in '39 (as a short) and '41 (novel), and that Sprague worked with Asimov and Heinlein at the Philadelphia Naval Yard, they must have surely discussed the period, the Great Man theory, Gibbon and points beyond!
Highly recommend "Lest..." (despite its no doubt dated scholarship) as well as Sprague's historical fiction. "An elephant for Aristotle" is, in particular, a delight.
I look forward to your other episodes (I've added a review and will locate your Patreon!)