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
The Westworld Experience
From: Eric Molinsky
Series: Imaginary Worlds
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To promote season 2 of Westworld, HBO built the town of Sweetwater at the SXSW festival. But what happened at the exhibit reflected the TV show a l...

Bought by WXAV 88.3FM Chicago


  • Added: Dec 27, 2019
  • Length: 32:29
  • Purchases: 1
Jack Kirby's Marvels
From: Eric Molinsky
Series: Imaginary Worlds
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Infinity War brought together Marvel characters from across the universe, but many of them already shared a common bond -- their creator Jack Kirby.

Bought by WXAV 88.3FM Chicago


  • Added: Dec 27, 2019
  • Length: 32:03
  • Purchases: 1
Living in Space
From: Eric Molinsky
Series: Imaginary Worlds
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People dream of living away from the Earth, from an impossibly curved space habitat to a moon base on the verge of breaking apart.

Bought by WXAV 88.3FM Chicago


  • Added: Dec 27, 2019
  • Length: 31:19
  • Purchases: 1
Visions of Philip K. Dick
From: Eric Molinsky
Series: Imaginary Worlds
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What do aliens, God, the KGB, and ancient Romans all have in common? They each may have tried to contact sci-fi author Philip K. Dick in 1974.

Bought by WXAV 88.3FM Chicago


  • Added: Dec 27, 2019
  • Length: 26:19
  • Purchases: 1
Stuck in the Uncanny Valley
From: Eric Molinsky
Series: Imaginary Worlds
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What does it take to create digital humans that can pass for the real thing?

Bought by WXAV 88.3FM Chicago


  • Added: Dec 27, 2019
  • Length: 26:22
  • Purchases: 1
Remembering Ursula K. Le Guin
From: Eric Molinsky
Series: Imaginary Worlds
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Arwen Curry discusses her documentary, Worlds of Ursula K. Le Guin, about how the daughter of a Berkeley anthropologist became a master of fantasy ...

Bought by WXAV 88.3FM Chicago


  • Added: Dec 27, 2019
  • Length: 24:36
  • Purchases: 1
Behind the Daleks
From: Eric Molinsky
Series: Imaginary Worlds
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The most dangerous creatures in the universe of Doctor Who -- The Daleks -- look like they were built out of household appliances. But the show wou...

Bought by WXAV 88.3FM Chicago


  • Added: Dec 27, 2019
  • Length: 29:44
  • Purchases: 1
Traveling in The TARDIS
From: Eric Molinsky
Series: Imaginary Worlds
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Doctor Who always includes at least one companion traveling with The Doctor. But going that deep into the universe can change a person in ways they...

Bought by WXAV 88.3FM Chicago


  • Added: Dec 27, 2019
  • Length: 27:11
  • Purchases: 1
Doctor Who?
From: Eric Molinsky
Series: Imaginary Worlds
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I kick off my three-part series on the alien who has no name and no possessions except for a spaceship/time machine that he stole. Even his face (o...

Bought by WTJU and WXAV 88.3FM Chicago


  • Added: Jan 24, 2018
  • Length: 33:09
  • Purchases: 2
Politics of The Expanse
From: Eric Molinsky
Series: Imaginary Worlds
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The creators of The Expanse novels and TV show discuss why a future war between human colonies across the solar system feels relevant to our politi...

Bought by WXAV 88.3FM Chicago


  • Added: Dec 27, 2019
  • Length: 26:43
  • Purchases: 1
Robot Collar Jobs
From: Eric Molinsky
Series: Imaginary Worlds
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Are we prepared for a future where robots are the most sought after employees?

Bought by WXAV 88.3FM Chicago


  • Added: Dec 27, 2019
  • Length: 21:03
  • Purchases: 1
On The Front Lines of Fantasy
From: Eric Molinsky
Series: Imaginary Worlds
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Can the subgenre of military sci-fi and fantasy help civilians better understand the military experience while mixing in aliens and sorcerers?

Bought by WXAV 88.3FM Chicago and PRX Remix


  • Added: Dec 27, 2019
  • Length: 22:20
  • Purchases: 2
The Haunted Mansion
From: Eric Molinsky
Series: Imaginary Worlds
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We all know it. We all love it. But the The Haunted Mansion ride at Disneyland actually had a fraught 12-year long development where many people wo...

Bought by WXAV 88.3FM Chicago


  • Added: Jan 17, 2019
  • Length: 24:11
  • Purchases: 1
Rappers with Arm Cannons
From: Eric Molinsky
Series: Imaginary Worlds
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In the second half of my mini-series on musical worlds, I talk with Sammus and Mega Ran, hip hop artists that create concept albums about their fav...

Bought by WXAV 88.3FM Chicago and PRX Remix


  • Added: Dec 27, 2019
  • Length: 21:20
  • Purchases: 2
Worldbuilding with Music
From: Eric Molinsky
Series: Imaginary Worlds
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In the first of a series on musical worlds, I talk with members of Vertigo Drift about their sci-fi concept album Phase 3.

Bought by PRX Remix and WXAV 88.3FM Chicago


  • Added: Dec 27, 2019
  • Length: 14:29
  • Purchases: 2
Technobabble
From: Eric Molinsky
Series: Imaginary Worlds
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Helen Zaltzman of The Allusionist podcast helps me figure out why some technobabble is good, bad or just plain baffling.

Bought by WXAV 88.3FM Chicago


  • Added: Dec 27, 2019
  • Length: 24:15
  • Purchases: 1
Scott Snyder
From: Eric Molinsky
Series: Imaginary Worlds
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This week I open the vault to play an extended cut of my 2014 interview with the Batman comic book writer Scott Snyder.

Bought by WXAV 88.3FM Chicago


  • Added: Dec 27, 2019
  • Length: 25:37
  • Purchases: 1
Evil Plans
From: Eric Molinsky
Series: Imaginary Worlds
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The evil plan is the much maligned trope of superhero and other fantasy genres. But it doesn't have to be that way.

Bought by WXAV 88.3FM Chicago


  • Added: Dec 27, 2019
  • Length: 25:19
  • Purchases: 1
The Book of Dune
From: Eric Molinsky
Series: Imaginary Worlds
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How do Muslims readers feel about Dune since the book appropriates aspects of Islam and Arab culture to tell an unconventional hero's journey?

Bought by PRX Remix and WXAV 88.3FM Chicago


  • Added: Jul 12, 2017
  • Length: 26:19
  • Purchases: 2
World War EVE
From: Eric Molinsky
Series: Imaginary Worlds
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Players from around the world explain why they live a double life in a virtual galaxy called EVE Online.

Bought by WXAV 88.3FM Chicago


  • Added: Dec 27, 2019
  • Length: 25:33
  • Purchases: 1

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