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
Action Figureland
From: Eric Molinsky
Series: Imaginary Worlds
Caption: A sculptor at NECA works on a Heath Ledger/Joker action figure., Credit: Eric Molinsky
Action figure collectables for adults is booming, even when kids are loosing interest in little plastic guys.

Bought by WXAV 88.3FM Chicago, WABE, and PRX Remix


  • Added: Dec 27, 2019
  • Length: 18:11
  • Purchases: 3
True Vampires of New Haven
From: Eric Molinsky
Series: Imaginary Worlds
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In this radio drama, I visit a vampire who has been let out of a state-sponsored safe house, and is now living under the care of an old friend.

Bought by PRX Remix


  • Added: Dec 27, 2019
  • Length: 13:28
  • Purchases: 1
Why Ron Moore Killed Captain Kirk
From: Eric Molinsky
Series: Imaginary Worlds
Caption: Ronald D. Moore, Credit: Eric Molinsky
Growing up, Ronald D. Moore's hero was Captain James T. Kirk, and by extension the man who dreamed up Star Trek, Gene Roddenberry. But Moore discov...

Bought by WXAV 88.3FM Chicago and WABE


  • Added: Dec 27, 2019
  • Length: 14:27
  • Purchases: 2
Time Travelers of Renwick St.
From: Eric Molinsky
Series: Imaginary Worlds
Caption: The astronomer from the 15 Renwick Ad campaign., Credit: MARCH/IF Studio
New York City real estate is usually not a hotbed of fantasy, but one ad campaign is defying conventional wisdom with fantastical characters.

Bought by WABE and PRX Remix


  • Added: Dec 27, 2019
  • Length: 14:24
  • Purchases: 2
The Greatest Cartoon Almost Made
From: Eric Molinsky
Series: Imaginary Worlds
Caption: Richard Williams in the 1970s, Credit: Eric Molinsky
Richard Williams spent 30 years working on an extraordinary animated feature film called The Thief and The Cobbler. But he made a deal with a studi...

Bought by WABE, WXAV 88.3FM Chicago, KRZA, and PRX Remix


  • Added: Dec 27, 2019
  • Length: 27:11
  • Purchases: 4
Doppelgangers 2.0
From: Eric Molinsky
Series: Imaginary Worlds
Caption: Tatiana Maslany from Orphan Black, Credit: Eric Molinsky
Doppelgängers multiplying in movies and TV. Partly it's because filmmakers can pull off this trick much easier with digital effects. But they also ...

Bought by WXAV 88.3FM Chicago and WABE


  • Added: Dec 27, 2019
  • Length: 17:39
  • Purchases: 2
Fixing the Hobo Suit
From: Eric Molinsky
Series: Imaginary Worlds
Caption: Henry Cavill as Superman, Credit: Eric Molinsky
Live-action superhero costumes used to be cringe-worthy, but lately they've been looking great, with surprisingly few complaints from fans. What ch...

Bought by PRX Remix, WXAV 88.3FM Chicago, and WABE


  • Added: Dec 27, 2019
  • Length: 15:13
  • Purchases: 3
Heroines
From: Eric Molinsky
Series: Imaginary Worlds
Caption: Scarlett Johansson as Natasha Romanoff, a.k.a. Black Widow, Credit: Eric Molinsky
The Strong Female Character sounds positive, but it's actually a term used by feminist critics to describe the token girl let into the boys' clubho...

Bought by KALW, WXAV 88.3FM Chicago, and WABE


  • Added: Dec 27, 2019
  • Length: 17:08
  • Purchases: 3
Rolling the Twenty Sided Dice
From: Eric Molinsky
Series: Imaginary Worlds
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I never played Dungeons & Dragons as a kid, but after reading interviews with lots of interesting creative people who credit D&D with their success...

Bought by WXAV 88.3FM Chicago and WABE


  • Added: Sep 22, 2015
  • Length: 31:04
  • Purchases: 2
The Truth is Out There
From: Eric Molinsky
Series: Imaginary Worlds
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FBI agents Fox Mulder and Dana Scully are reopening The X-Files in January 2016. And the Internet couldn't be more excited. Every casting update, e...

Bought by WABE and WXAV 88.3FM Chicago


  • Added: Dec 27, 2019
  • Length: 20:00
  • Purchases: 2
First Contact
From: Eric Molinsky
Series: Imaginary Worlds
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They arrive out of nowhere in shockingly large ships, brandishing weapons we've never seen, offering false promises of peace when they really want ...

Bought by New Hampshire Public Radio, WABE, and WXAV 88.3FM Chicago


  • Added: Dec 27, 2019
  • Length: 12:11
  • Purchases: 3
1977
From: Eric Molinsky
Series: Imaginary Worlds
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It is a period of civil war. Rebel spaceships, striking from a hidden base, have won their first victory against the evil Galactic Empire . . . Bef...

Bought by WTJU, WABE, and WXAV 88.3FM Chicago


  • Added: Dec 27, 2019
  • Length: 23:22
  • Purchases: 3
Empire vs Rebels
From: Eric Molinsky
Series: Imaginary Worlds
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The epic battle between the Evil Empire and the Rebel Alliance has became a metaphor we love to use in sports and politics. But what happens when y...

Bought by WTJU, WABE, and WXAV 88.3FM Chicago


  • Added: Dec 27, 2019
  • Length: 20:38
  • Purchases: 3
Slave Leia
From: Eric Molinsky
Series: Imaginary Worlds
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The gold metal bikini has become the dominant image of Princess Leia from Cosplay to toy shelves. But the context of that costume -- being a sex sl...

Bought by WABE, PRX Remix, and WXAV 88.3FM Chicago


  • Added: Dec 27, 2019
  • Length: 18:04
  • Purchases: 3
Han Shot Solo
From: Eric Molinsky
Series: Imaginary Worlds
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In 1997, George Lucas digitally altered Han Solo's introduction. But that additional special effect sparked a war between Lucas and the fans that w...

Bought by WXAV 88.3FM Chicago


  • Added: Dec 27, 2019
  • Length: 16:52
  • Purchases: 1
The Expanded Universe
From: Eric Molinsky
Series: Imaginary Worlds
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When The Force Awakens came out, millions flocked to the theaters to find out what happened to the characters since Return of the Jedi. But hardcor...

Bought by WXAV 88.3FM Chicago


  • Added: Dec 27, 2019
  • Length: 25:45
  • Purchases: 1
Inside the Snow Globe
From: Eric Molinsky
Series: Imaginary Worlds
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Tom Fontana is a writer and producer who worked on St. Elsewhere in the 1980s. The show was a pretty straightforward hospital drama, but Fontana ha...

Bought by KALW, WABE, PRX Remix, and WXAV 88.3FM Chicago


  • Added: Dec 27, 2019
  • Length: 14:21
  • Purchases: 4
Why They Fight
From: Eric Molinsky
Series: Imaginary Worlds
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Batman vs Superman. Captain America vs Iron Man. Daredevil vs Punisher. These days, we seem to be more interested in watching superheroes fight eac...

Bought by WXAV 88.3FM Chicago


  • Added: Dec 27, 2019
  • Length: 23:30
  • Purchases: 1
Imagining Wonder Woman
From: Eric Molinsky
Series: Imaginary Worlds
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Wonder Woman is finally going to make her cinematic debut in Batman v Superman. Bringing her to the big screen has been a long and fraught process....

Bought by WXAV 88.3FM Chicago


  • Added: Dec 27, 2019
  • Length: 24:18
  • Purchases: 1
Dracula From Nebraska
From: Eric Molinsky
Series: Imaginary Worlds
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We all know that Bram Stoker based the character of Dracula off Vlad the Impailer, the Romanian prince who fought off the Turks. Or that's the urba...

Bought by PRX Remix, WXAV 88.3FM Chicago, and WABE


  • Added: Dec 27, 2019
  • Length: 22:45
  • Purchases: 3

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