Imaginary Worlds
Eric Molinsky | QCODE
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Top 10 Imaginary Worlds Episodes
Goodpods has curated a list of the 10 best Imaginary Worlds episodes, ranked by the number of listens and likes each episode have garnered from our listeners. If you are listening to Imaginary Worlds for the first time, there's no better place to start than with one of these standout episodes. If you are a fan of the show, vote for your favorite Imaginary Worlds episode by adding your comments to the episode page.
Politics of the Funnies Part 1
Imaginary Worlds
01/06/22 • 33 min
Once upon a time, the funnies or the comics pages dominated newspapers – back when newspapers were the main source of information for most Americans. In those days, Walt Kelly and Al Capp were titans of the funnies. Their strips Pogo and Li’l Abner were cultural sensations. Both artists were groundbreaking in the way they incorporated satire into their fantastical worlds, back when the comics page was supposed to be an apolitical neutral zone. Even though their strips are not front and center in pop culture today, we are still feeling the ripple effects of what they accomplished. In part one, I talk with Mercer University professor Jay Black, BYU professor Kerry Soper and Harper College professor Brian Cremins about how Pogo met the enemy, and why he is us.
Link to Jay Black's book, "Walt Kelly and Pogo: The Art of the Political Swamp"
Link to Kerry Soper's book, "We Go Pogo"
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6 Listeners
1 Comment
1
Paper Girls on Bikes
Imaginary Worlds
08/04/22 • 29 min
When the artist Cliff Chiang co-created the comic book series Paper Girls, about four suburban kids in the ‘80s who get caught up in forces that can break space and time, he thought they’d come up with something totally original. But soon after the comic book came out, Stranger Things debuted on Netflix. Both creative projects are part of a genre that’s more popular than ever: Kids on Bikes. I talk with Cliff about why he wanted Paper Girls to stand out from other Kids on Bikes stories. Screenwriter Stephany Folsom discusses how she adapted Paper Girls into an Amazon Prime Video live-action show by pitching it as “anti-nostalgia.” I also talk with game designers Jon Gilmour and Doug Levandowski about how they distilled the elements of Kids on Bikes stories into a role-playing game, and whether the genre is ready to outgrow its 1980s setting.
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4 Listeners
Law & Order Superheroes
Imaginary Worlds
10/15/20 • 33 min
You know the scene. A pair of muggers are in an alleyway when a superhero leaps down and beats them to a pulp. It’s a classic scenario, but in a year when we’re reassessing the role of law enforcement in the real world, is it time to reimagine the role of super-cops in fantasy worlds? I talk with prosecutor Patrick O’Connor and police officer Henry Wong about how Batman or The Punisher could better reflect the times. Matthew Westfox, co-host of the podcast Superhero Ethics, discusses the moral quandaries of Daredevil. Peter Nowak, author of “The Rise of Real-Life Superheroes,” explains why costumed crime fighters are no longer just in fiction, and we hear from The Grim and Violet Valkyrie, who actually patrol the streets of San Diego as their superhero alter-egos.
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2 Listeners
Guys and Dolls
Imaginary Worlds
07/07/22 • 37 min
I’ve long been fascinated by automatons – wind up mechanical beings that create the illusion of life. People have been making automatons for centuries, but how many automatons get to sing opera? This week’s episode comes from the podcast Aria Code from WQXR, WNYC Studios and The Metropolitan Opera. The show breaks down famous arias and looks at the meaning behind them. Host Rhiannon Giddens, along with Soprano Erin Morley, conductor Johannes Debus, machine learning researcher Caroline Sinders, and psychologist Robert Epstein explore Jacques Offenbach’s 1881 opera The Tales of Hoffmann and how its automated character Olympia echoes current day concerns about A.I. technology.
This episode is sponsored by Nord VPN. Exclusive deal -- grab the NordVPN deal at https://nordvpn.com/imaginaryworlds. Try it risk-free now with a 30-day money-back guarantee!
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2 Listeners
Fighting a Virtual Pandemic
Imaginary Worlds
04/02/20 • 31 min
In 2005, the multiplayer online game World of Warcraft was taken over by a virus called Corrupted Blood, and the virtual pandemic in this fantasy world played out remarkably like COVID-19. I talk with epidemiologist and gamer Eric Lofgren, NYU game design instructor Alexander King and longtime player Virginia Wilkerson about the parallels between the pandemic in World of Warcraft the one we’re facing in the real world, and what lessons we can learn by studying how players reacted to a virtual virus.
Also if you want to submit a story for our upcoming toys episode, email us at [email protected]
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2 Listeners
1 Comment
1
Creating Hindu Fantasy Worlds
Imaginary Worlds
10/25/23 • 37 min
Kritika H. Rao, Shveta Thakrar, Roshani Chokshi, and Ram V are helping to create a new genre. They use elements of their Hindu backgrounds to write fantasy books primarily aimed at a Western marketplace. I talked with them about the challenge of drawing on a diverse religion of beliefs and gods that many Western readers and publishers might be unfamiliar with. Our panel discussion also turned out to be an opportunity for the authors to bond over their favorite deities, the Hindu comics they grew up reading, and the questions they’ve faced about who gets to tell their stories.
Roshani Chokshi writes the middle-grade series, Aru Shah, and she’s the author of The Star-Touched Queen trilogy of YA novels.
Kritika H. Rao is the author of The Surviving Sky, which will be part of The Rages Trilogy.
Shveta Thakrar is the author of Star Daughter and The Dream Runners.
Ram V is a comic book writer, and the author of the graphic novel, The Many Deaths of Laila Starr.
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2 Listeners
African Sci-Fi Looks to a Future Climate
Imaginary Worlds
04/10/24 • 41 min
When the writer Nnedi Okorafor coined the term Africanfuturism, she wanted to distinguish sci-fi written about Africa from Afrofuturism, which is focuses on the experiences of Black people in the diaspora. Africanfuturism mixes the traditional with the futuristic in a way that resembles modern life in Africa, and many of these stories grapple with climate change. Although the writer Chinelo Onwualu says cli-fi isn’t a subgenre for African writers. It’s often baked into a lot of Africanfuturism because the continent is already at the forefront of climate emergencies. And the writers Suyi Davies Okungbowa and Wole Talabi explain that Africanfuturist cli-fi isn’t as dystopian as Western cli-fi. These visions of the future may feel daunting but there is often a sense of hope and the solutions are more community focused. The actress Nneka Okoye reads from their stories, and other works by African writers.
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Reading list from this episode:
- Works of Nnedi Okorafor
- Wole Talabi’s anthology Convergence Problems
- Suyi Davies Okungbowa's novella Lost Ark Dreaming
- Chinelo Onwualu’s short story Letters to My Mother
- Dilman Dila’s story The Leafy Man from the book A Killing in the Sun
- Mame Bougouma’s story Lekki Lekki from Africanfuturism: An Anthology
- Omenana Magazine
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2 Listeners
Politics of the Funnies Part 2
Imaginary Worlds
01/20/22 • 31 min
Once upon a time, the funnies or the comics pages dominated newspapers – back when newspapers were the main source of information for most Americans. In those days, Walt Kelly and Al Capp were titans of the funnies. Their strips Pogo and Li’l Abner were cultural sensations. Both artists were groundbreaking in the way they incorporated satire into their fantastical worlds, back when the comics page was supposed to be an apolitical neutral zone. Even though their strips are not front and center in pop culture today, we are still feeling the ripple effects of what they accomplished. In part two, I talk with BYU professor Kerry Soper and comic book publisher and author Denis Kitchen about how Al Capp became a hero to the left and the right, while questioning who should be the subject of satire.
Link to Denis Kitchen's book, "Al Capp: A Life to the Contrary"
Link to Kerry Soper's book, "We Go Pogo"
This episode is sponsored by Brooklinen. Our ad partner is Multitude. If you’re interested in advertising on Imaginary Worlds, you can contact them here.
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2 Listeners
200 Imaginary Worlds
Imaginary Worlds
06/09/22 • 41 min
When I began this podcast in September 2014, I couldn’t imagine myself someday celebrating 200 episodes of Imaginary Worlds. It feels like a momentous occasion, a moment to reflect and celebrate. So, I put together a super-sized episode where I check in on creative people that I’ve interviewed in the past. We also hear from listeners about where they listen to the show, and how those places evoke imaginary worlds for them. Featuring Caro Murphy, Jason Suran, Tim Lapetino, Shari Spiros of AdMagic, and Scot and Jane Noel of DreamForge magazine. You can learn more about Jason's show Reconnected here.
This episode is sponsored by Backblaze and Squarespace. Our ad partner is Multitude. If you’re interested in advertising on Imaginary Worlds, you can contact them here.
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2 Listeners
When Human Met Creature
Imaginary Worlds
09/24/14 • 17 min
Computer animation vs. puppets. Fans have been debating for years which is more believable -- especially when a creature is sharing a scene with a human actor. I talk with ILM animator Charles Alleneck who worked on the Star Wars prequels, and Stephanie D'Abruzzo who works on Sesame Street and performed Kate Monster in the original cast of Ave Q. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
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2 Listeners
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FAQ
How many episodes does Imaginary Worlds have?
Imaginary Worlds currently has 268 episodes available.
What topics does Imaginary Worlds cover?
The podcast is about Fiction, Podcasts, Science Fiction and Arts.
What is the most popular episode on Imaginary Worlds?
The episode title 'Politics of the Funnies Part 1' is the most popular.
What is the average episode length on Imaginary Worlds?
The average episode length on Imaginary Worlds is 31 minutes.
How often are episodes of Imaginary Worlds released?
Episodes of Imaginary Worlds are typically released every 14 days.
When was the first episode of Imaginary Worlds?
The first episode of Imaginary Worlds was released on Sep 10, 2014.
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