Podcast Episodes
Back to SearchGuys and Dolls
I’ve long been fascinated by automatons – wind up mechanical beings that create the illusion of life. People have been making automatons for centurie…
3 years, 7 months ago
The Art of Piracy
Our Flag Means Death is a hilarious anachronistic pirate comedy on HBO Max. But the backstory of its main characters is surprisingly real. I talk wit…
3 years, 8 months ago
200 Imaginary Worlds
When I began this podcast in September 2014, I couldn’t imagine myself someday celebrating 200 episodes of Imaginary Worlds. It feels like a momentou…
3 years, 8 months ago
Mystery Science Theater Reopens
Mystery Science Theater 3000 or MST3K is back once again. The show was first created by Joel Hodgson, then a stand-up comedian who was ambivalent abo…
3 years, 9 months ago
Snow Crashing Into The Metaverse
For the last 30 years, the real world has been catching up to Neal Stephenson’s vision of the future in his 1992 novel Snow Crash, which influenced t…
3 years, 9 months ago
De-Aging Well
There’s an old saying that everyone wants to live long, but no one wants to get old. The same can be applied to our favorite sci-fi fantasy franchise…
3 years, 9 months ago
Neurodivergent Futures
One of the most common requests I've gotten over the years has been to do an episode about why so many autistic people are drawn towards science fict…
3 years, 10 months ago
Nosferatu Live
100 years ago this month, the vampire film Nosferatu was released in Germany. Not long after, it was hit with a lawsuit – which the filmmakers lost –…
3 years, 10 months ago
A Nation Dreams of Itself
The Russian invasion of Ukraine shocked the world, but this conflict was foreshadowed in Ukrainian and Russian speculative fiction. I talk with sever…
3 years, 11 months ago
Asian Futures Without Asians
It’s a future we’re all very familiar with. The rainy streets are full of neon dragons, noodle shops, and other Asian iconography mixed up and decont…
3 years, 11 months ago