This interview of Chris Weuve, a former U.S. Naval War College research professor, is a bit left field given what I normally cover on PSM, but this question and its answer are particularly revealing for what they say about literature’s impact on the real world:
Has sci-fi affected the way that our navies conduct warfare?
And this:
One of the great strengths of science fiction is that it allows you have a conversation about something that you otherwise couldn’t talk about because it’s too politically charged. It allows you to create the universe you need in order to have the conversation you want to have.