Podcast Summary: LeVar Burton Reads – “The Toynbee Convector” by Ray Bradbury

Host: LeVar Burton
Date: May 7, 2024
Episode Type: Short story reading with commentary
Main Theme: The power and necessity of hope, the ability of a story (and a necessary “lie”) to inspire a better future, and the role of science fiction in shaping human aspiration.

Overview

In the final episode of Season 13, LeVar Burton chooses Ray Bradbury’s classic science fiction tale “The Toynbee Convector.” Burton frames the story as one that transcends the mechanics of time travel in favor of exploring how stories themselves can propel humanity toward hope and collective action. After voicing Bradbury’s intricate prose in immersive 3D audio, Burton reflects on the optimism embedded in speculative fiction and the enduring human impulse to “look up,” dream, and create the future we need.

Key Discussion Points & Story Breakdown

Introduction: Why This Story, Why Now?

• LeVar Burton’s Motivation:
  “Ray Bradbury’s stories are so powerful and appeal to so many people, partially because they are lyrical and colloquial, often playful, while all the time engaging with difficult truths.” (00:34)
• Theme Selection:
  Burton highlights “The Toynbee Convector” for its commentary on time travel, human destiny, and—most of all—the power of storytelling itself. He reflects on Bradbury’s reference to historian Arnold J. Toynbee, who advocated for societies to “seize the future and shape it.”

Section 1: The Set-Up – Roger Shumway Meets the Time Traveler

• Premise:
  A century after humanity’s supposed redemption, young reporter Roger Shumway is invited to interview Craig Bennett Stiles, the famous but reclusive time traveler, on the anniversary of his journey.
• World-Building:
  The world has allegedly advanced utopically, inspired by Stiles’s message after his “return from the future”—a world rebuilt, peaceful, and thriving.
• Atmosphere:
  Burton vividly narrates the scene atop La Jolla’s cliffs, swarming with kites, media, dignitaries, and anticipation for the time machine’s reappearance.

Section 2: The Encounter & The Device

• First Impressions:
  Despite his age, Stiles is full of vitality, guiding the awed Shumway through both small talk and philosophical banter.
• Time Machine Tour:
  Stiles offers Shumway the rare honor of sitting in the “Toynbee Convector,” a mysterious machine surrounded by reverence and myth.
• Notable Quote:
  “Don’t be afraid...I won’t send you on a journey.”—Stiles (15:35)
• Symbolism:
  The machine is described with mystical imagery—spiderwebs of memory and tides of ghostly seasons—evoking the thematic interplay between illusion and aspiration.

Section 3: The Great Arrival – Truth Revealed

• Countdown:
  As the anticipated moment of the machine’s return approaches, global attention focuses on the sky; Shumway and Stiles toast to the world’s potential.

• Notable Quote:
  “I put a stop to it myself...I realized how dangerous it was.”—Stiles, explaining why no one else used the time machine (19:55)

• Twist:
  Nothing happens; Stiles quietly confesses:

  “I lied. You what? ... I never went anywhere. I stayed, but made it seem I went. There is no time machine, only something that looks like one.” (23:12)

• Reason:
  Stiles admits he fabricated the journey because he lived in an era wracked by cynicism and despair.

  “Because I was born and raised in a time in the 60s, 70s, and 80s when people had stopped believing in themselves…” (23:45)

Section 4: The Motivation Behind the Lie

• Diagnosis:
  Stiles describes a late-twentieth-century world mired in nihilism, plagued by defeatism and resigned to decline.

  “The fifth Horseman, worse than all the rest, rode with them—despair wrapped in dark shrouds of defeat, crying only repetitions of past disasters, present failures, future cowardices…” (25:10)

• Construction of Hope:
  By faking the voyage—and its wondrous evidence—he gave humanity the narrative it needed to believe, strive, and create the future it yearned for.
• Notable Quote:
  “You see the point, don’t you, son? Life has always been lying to ourselves...to gently lie and prove the lie true, to weave dreams and put brains and ideas and flesh in the truly real beneath the dreams.” (33:46)

Section 5: The Farewell & Legacy

• Passing the Torch:
  Stiles appoints Shumway as his “son,” tasking him to steward the truth and all artifacts of the story.

• Climax:
  Instructing Shumway to throw the final switch, Stiles appears to begin one last “journey”—this time, his death—achieving, in metaphor, a true passage into the past.

  “The old man had indeed gone back in time, and its name was Death. He was traveling in the past now, forever.” (35:44)

• Resolution:
  Shumway incinerates the tapes and evidence, choosing to perpetuate the myth over the disillusioning truth—preserving hope for a waiting world.

Host Reflection: The Power of Looking Up

LeVar Burton’s Closing Thoughts:

• Deeply personal, Burton shares that speculative fiction inspires hope by encouraging society to dream and “look up.”
• He references astronaut Dr. Mae Jemison and the 100 Year Starship project, drawing a parallel to Bradbury’s message:

  “...it’s important for us to look up, right? To actually connect to the stars, to acknowledge that we come from them and that there is a calling that lives inside of us to return to that which we came from.” (41:30)

• The episode, and the season, concludes with an appeal to the listener’s imagination and collective hope:

  “Keep looking up, y’all...That is the fuel that is going to power the commitment necessary to dream big and change the world.” (44:02)

Notable Quotes & Moments With Timestamps

• “Ray Bradbury’s stories are so powerful because they are lyrical and colloquial, often playful, while all the time engaging with difficult truths.” — LeVar Burton (00:34)
• “He was and remained the only man in history to travel in time.” (04:20)
• “Don’t be afraid...I won’t send you on a journey.” — Stiles (15:35)
• “I lied...I never went anywhere. I stayed, but made it seem I went.” — Stiles (23:12)
• “The fifth Horseman, worse than all the rest, rode with them—despair wrapped in dark shrouds of defeat, crying only repetitions of past disasters, present failures, future cowardices...” — Stiles (25:10)
• “Life has always been lying to ourselves...to gently lie and prove the lie true, to weave dreams and put brains and ideas and flesh in the truly real beneath the dreams.” — Stiles (33:46)
• “The old man had indeed gone back in time, and its name was Death. He was traveling in the past now, forever.” — Narration (35:44)
• “Keep looking up, y’all. That is the fuel that is going to power the commitment necessary to dream big and change the world.” — LeVar Burton (44:02)

Episode Flow / Timestamps for Key Segments

• 00:34 – 04:10: LeVar introduces Bradbury, the story’s background, and historical context.
• 04:10 – 14:45: Story begins; Shumway’s arrival and his introduction to Stiles and the world’s anticipation.
• 15:31 – 23:12: Encounters with the “Toynbee Convector”; countdown to “the return”; reveal that the voyage was a fabrication.
• 23:45 – 33:46: Stiles explains his motivations and diagnoses his era’s despair in detail.
• 33:46 – 39:30: Stiles’s passing, Shumway’s decision, and resolution of the story.
• 41:20 – 44:30: Burton’s reflections on science fiction, hope, and his message to listeners.

Tone & Style

• Language: Warm, lyrical, reflective, and laden with both mythic and conversational undertones—Bradbury’s prose is given life by Burton’s nuanced narration.
• Atmosphere: Hopeful yet clear-eyed about humanity’s challenges; reverent toward those who inspire us to “look up.”

Takeaways

• Central Lesson: Sometimes, humanity needs a beautiful “lie”—a visionary narrative—to galvanize a better reality. It’s not deception, but a necessary myth-making that rallies us to action.
• Burton’s Encouragement: The episode is a call to arms for listeners—to read, dream, imagine, and persist in hope, “looking up” toward a better, self-created future.