Democracy in a central European country is under threat. Authoritarianism is spreading around the globe. And the planet itself seems to be in peril from unexplained floods. These very contemporary themes are actually from a 1936 work of science fiction by Czech author Karel Capek called “War of the Newts.” It has now been adapted into an audio drama. Marco Werman speaks with Ian Coss, co-creator of “Newts,” a new radio drama podcast from PRX, about what drew him to the nearly 80-year-old novel and the life and career of its author.