Disconnection as Apocalypse and the Post-Pandemic Future: An Analysis of the Podcast Caso 63

Abstract

The podcast is a genre where, in recent years, the exploration of science fiction and dystopian narratives has grown, particularly those related to climate catastrophe, the collapse of the information society, and pandemics. The Chilean fiction podcast Caso 63 (Rojas Gutiérrez, 2020) presents a post-apocalyptic scenario resulting from a pandemic that devastated the world following COVID-19 and a forced disconnection that has destroyed existing digital communication methods. Its intricate space-time construction combines eco-dystopia with uchronic fiction, envisioning alternative scenarios arising from the pandemic crisis. The digital disconnection scenario as an apocalypse raises questions about the relationship between data, information, memory, and archives, prompting contemplation on the podcast in relation to the Latin American literary archive. It does so through numerous references to science fiction in literature and popular culture within the science fiction genre. In the context of what Pierre Lévy referred (1997) to as "cyberculture," Caso 63 also portrays an affectivity marked by isolation and the predominance of information technologies in interpersonal relationships.