Award-winning, science-fiction author Nnedi Okorafor wrote a story set on Chicago's Rainbow Beach, decades in the future. After a conversation with a Great Lakes expert, she imagined a future world where the water is contaminated and Chicagoans on the South Side are separated from any access to clean water. In this interview with Shannon Heffernan, Okorafor talked about the real life scenarios behind her sci-fi story.

You can hear Nnedi Okorafor's story, "Poison Fish" on our Soundcloud and at afterwater.tumblr.com.

(Photo of Nnedi Okorafor by Shannon Heffernan)