You might remember that Nina Niskanen wrote an essay for Speculative Insight last year, about the problems she sees with cargo ships in space. For 2025’s first essay, she examines a different theme in science fiction: that of “found family.” This is something that I tend to love: the people who are thrown together in some way, or for some reason, who make a life together despite their differences. The different ways in which people can contribute, and the different variations of what family can be - that stuff is a delight. Niskanen looks at a range of works, and points out the similarities and differences in the ways they discuss ‘family’ and how those families work. And this does, of course, also speak to the real world.