Imaginary Worlds

Series produced by Eric Molinsky

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Imaginary Worlds sounds like what would happen if NPR went to ComicCon and decided that’s all they ever wanted to cover.

Host Eric Molinsky spent over a decade working as a public radio reporter and producer, and he uses those skills to create thoughtful, sound-rich episodes about science fiction, fantasy, and other genres of speculative fiction. Every other week, he talks with comic book artists, game designers, novelists, screenwriters, filmmakers, and fans about how they craft their worlds, why we suspend our disbelief, and what happens if the spell is broken. Imaginary worlds may be set on distant planets or parallel dimensions, but they are crafted here on Earth and they’re always about us and our lived experiences.


226 Pieces

Order by: Newest First | Oldest First
This Ain't No Fairy Tale
From: Eric Molinsky
Series: Imaginary Worlds
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The conventional wisdom is that the brothers Grimm collected their fairy tale tales orally from the common folk and embraced the darkest elements o...

Bought by WXAV 88.3FM Chicago


  • Added: Feb 17, 2021
  • Length: 28:31
  • Purchases: 1
Embracing the Spooky Spooky
From: Eric Molinsky
Series: Imaginary Worlds
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In the 1950s and ‘60s, the vibrating sound of the Theremin instrument became synonymous with sci-fi to the point where the Theremin became a genre ...

Bought by WXAV 88.3FM Chicago


  • Added: Feb 03, 2021
  • Length: 26:43
  • Purchases: 1
Betty Boop and the Hays Code
From: Eric Molinsky
Series: Imaginary Worlds
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Through the prism of Betty Boop, we look at how the Hays Code censorship board of the 1930s is still influencing the way Hollywood tells stories.

Bought by WXAV 88.3FM Chicago


  • Added: Jan 20, 2021
  • Length: 29:09
  • Purchases: 1
Camelot Forever
From: Eric Molinsky
Series: Imaginary Worlds
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Camelot probably never existed. So why have writers over the centuries tried to make us believe that for one brief shining moment, there was a Came...

Bought by WXAV 88.3FM Chicago


  • Added: Jan 06, 2021
  • Length: 27:29
  • Purchases: 1
Making Up Creatures (Special Edition)
From: Eric Molinsky
Series: Imaginary Worlds
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Neill Gorton, creature designer for Doctor Who and Being Human, talks about the craft of making up monsters.

Bought by WXAV 88.3FM Chicago


  • Added: Dec 23, 2020
  • Length: 25:49
  • Purchases: 1
Monsters of 2020
From: Eric Molinsky
Series: Imaginary Worlds
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This was a very strange year, and it deserves an unconventional recap. We look at the monsters of the past which suddenly felt relevant again from ...

Bought by RadioFreePalmer and WXAV 88.3FM Chicago


  • Added: Dec 09, 2020
  • Length: 28:00
  • Purchases: 2
Fan Films Go Pro
From: Eric Molinsky
Series: Imaginary Worlds
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Fan films exist in a legal gray area between free speech and copyright infringement. But the courts favor fan films that are “transformative,” whic...

Bought by WXAV 88.3FM Chicago


  • Added: Nov 23, 2020
  • Length: 27:08
  • Purchases: 1
Fantasy in Translation
From: Eric Molinsky
Series: Imaginary Worlds
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We can’t get universal translators through The Enterprise or the TARDIS, so we have to rely on human translators. Of course, something is always lo...

Bought by WXAV 88.3FM Chicago


  • Added: Nov 11, 2020
  • Length: 30:38
  • Purchases: 1
Adulting with Cowboy Bebop
From: Eric Molinsky
Series: Imaginary Worlds
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When Cowboy Bebop debuted on Cartoon Network in 2001, many of the first fans in the U.S. were kids. And it took them decades to finally understand ...

Bought by WCNY and WXAV 88.3FM Chicago


  • Added: Oct 28, 2020
  • Length: 32:07
  • Purchases: 2
Law & Order Superheroes
From: Eric Molinsky
Series: Imaginary Worlds
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At a time when we’re reassessing the role of law enforcement in the real world, is it time to re-asses the role of vigilante super-cops in fantasy ...

Bought by WXAV 88.3FM Chicago


  • Added: Oct 14, 2020
  • Length: 28:30
  • Purchases: 1
Fantasy and Fascism
From: Eric Molinsky
Series: Imaginary Worlds
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Can fantasy worlds teach us to recognize and combat encroaching fascism?

Bought by KVSC, KZYX, and WXAV 88.3FM Chicago


  • Added: Sep 30, 2020
  • Length: 32:39
  • Purchases: 3
Ahsoka Tano - A New Hope
From: Eric Molinsky
Series: Imaginary Worlds
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If you’re the type of Star Wars fan who knows the original trilogy by heart but hasn’t seen much else, Ahsoka Tano may be the most beloved Star War...

Bought by KVSC and WXAV 88.3FM Chicago


  • Added: Sep 16, 2020
  • Length: 28:53
  • Purchases: 2
Doug Jones: Shapeshifter
From: Eric Molinsky
Series: Imaginary Worlds
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Doug Jones is one of the most widely seen actors that many people don’t know they’ve seen, thanks to makeup artists and his incredible versatility...

Bought by WXAV 88.3FM Chicago


  • Added: Aug 19, 2020
  • Length: 28:55
  • Purchases: 1
Dumbledore's Army (Updated)
From: Eric Molinsky
Series: Imaginary Worlds
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In this week’s episode, I talk with Jackson Bird (formally of The Harry Potter Alliance) about how transgender fans of Harry Potter can still find ...

  • Added: Aug 05, 2020
  • Length: 40:40
Inverting Lovecraft
From: Eric Molinsky
Series: Imaginary Worlds
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H.P. Lovecraft was exceptionally racist. Why are so many creators of color finding that his work can be great fodder to describe the experience of ...

Bought by WXAV 88.3FM Chicago


  • Added: Jul 22, 2020
  • Length: 34:48
  • Purchases: 1
Once and Future Comic Con
From: Eric Molinsky
Series: Imaginary Worlds
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For the first time in 50 years, San Diego Comic Con was cancelled – until it was brought back to life online. But can a virtual SDCC still feel lik...

Bought by WCNY, WXAV 88.3FM Chicago, and KVSC


  • Added: Jul 08, 2020
  • Length: 31:01
  • Purchases: 3
Making Up Creatures
From: Eric Molinsky
Series: Imaginary Worlds
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If we ever make contact with aliens, they probably won’t look like humans with pointy ears or bumpy noses, but as creature design is more about com...

Bought by WXAV 88.3FM Chicago


  • Added: Jun 24, 2020
  • Length: 29:09
  • Purchases: 1
Larping in Place
From: Eric Molinsky
Series: Imaginary Worlds
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Live theater has been shut down across the country, but live action role play (a.k.a. larp) is finding new ways to thrive in digital spaces with im...

  • Added: Jun 10, 2020
  • Length: 29:49
Time Travel Therapy
From: Eric Molinsky
Series: Imaginary Worlds
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People often criticize time travel for the logical inconsistencies, but what about the emotional logic these narratives? Are they psychologically u...

Bought by WXAV 88.3FM Chicago


  • Added: May 27, 2020
  • Length: 29:47
  • Purchases: 1
The Curse of The Curse
From: Eric Molinsky
Series: Imaginary Worlds
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There are countless lists of horror films that were allegedly cursed like The Exorcist and Poltergeist. But the myth of the curse became its own ty...

Bought by KVSC and WXAV 88.3FM Chicago


  • Added: May 13, 2020
  • Length: 28:14
  • Purchases: 2

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