Imaginary Worlds

17/12/2025

It’s time for my annual audio drama! This year, I interview supernatural folklore characters that are synonymous with the holiday season outside America, but they’ve been overshadowed by the cultural juggernaut of Santa Claus

In my annual audio drama, I interview several folklore figures who are synonymous with the holiday season outside America -- but they’ve been overshadowed by the cultural juggernaut of Santa Claus. So they’re on a tour to reintroduce themselves. While I went into this press junket with the best ...

03/12/2025

Cryptids are popping up everywhere – not just in the wilderness but at festivals across the country. I talk with Native Alaskan podcaster James Dommek Jr and author J.W. Ocker about why some people see cryptids as a vital part of their culture.

When I was growing up, Bigfoot appeared regularly on the covers of supermarket tabloids, so I assumed he was a joke. But I’ve discovered that he’s part of a larger and even stranger world of cryptids – creatures that people believe are real but haven’t been scientifically verified. Cryptids ...

29/11/2025

New Yorkers, there’s a new SFF bookstore in Prospect Heights called . Definitely go check it out!

25/11/2025

Maybe this will inspire cities to pay Batman cosplayers to roam the streets. They don't need to fight crime, just look like they could.

It turns out that the mere presence of a guy dressed as Batman is enough to turn dead inside commuters into momentary altruists.

19/11/2025

This week, a trio of conversations that track the history of animation in my lifetime, and my life in animation. Act I: Acid Tab Cartoons. Act II: Looking Like SpongeBob. Act III: Saving Nimona. These stories come from Between Imaginary Worlds, which is available to listeners who pledge on Patreon.

As longtime listeners know, I worked in the animation industry before switching careers and going into broadcasting. Today’s episode features a trio of conversations that trace the history of animation in my lifetime, and my life in animation. The interviews come from Between Imaginary Worlds , a ...

05/11/2025

This week, I talk with Tamara Deverell, the production designer on the new Frankenstein film directed by Guillermo del Toro. We discuss where she looked for inspiration, and how she reimagined the iconic lab where The Creature comes to life.

When director Guillermo del Toro asked Tamara Deverell to be the production designer on his film adaptation of Frankenstein, she had a good idea of what he wanted. Del Toro had been dreaming of making a Frankenstein movie for years, and she had worked with him on several projects before. She told

22/10/2025

This week, we look at the origins of two of the most famous horror novels -- Frankenstein and Dracula -- and talk with scholars about what might have inspired Mary Shelley and Bram Stoker.

In honor of the spooky season, we present two monstrous origin stories -- Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein and Bram Stoker’s Dracula. We know when these books were written in the 19th century. But what inspired the imaginations of the rebellious teenager Mary Shelley, or the beleaguered theatrical pr...

15/10/2025

Imaginary Worlds is taking home the gold! I'm so excited, the podcast has never won an award before and the Signal Awards are a big deal.

11/10/2025

NYCC 2025

08/10/2025

This week, we explore the groundbreaking score that Louis and Bebe Barron created for the 1956 sci-fi film Forbidden Planet. It changed the sound of science fiction music, but not everyone was ready to accept the future of film scoring.

In the 1950s, the avant-garde music scene in New York and the movie studios of Los Angeles might have seemed like opposite ends of a cultural spectrum. But they came together (and blew apart) when MGM hired Louis and Bebe Barron to write the score for the sci-fi classic Forbidden Planet. It was the

29/09/2025

The end is neigh for podcasts made by human beings, but at least we can laugh about it.

Sloppers AI is redefining podcasting with fully AI-generated hosts and shows. Faster, cheaper, and infinitely scalable, we create entertaining audio personalities that feel human—while flooding the industry with bold, experimental content.

24/09/2025

Viola! The French graphic novel Les Guerres de Lucas is out now in English with a new title, Lucas Wars. I talked with artist Renaud Roche and writer Laurent Hopman about how they depicted the making of Star Wars, and why it was such an uphill battle for Lucas himself.

Movies that change cinema often come from outsiders – whether it’s Orson Welles making Citizen Kane or George Lucas making Star Wars a.k.a. Episode IV: A New Hope. The excellent graphic novel Lucas Wars by by artist Renaud Roche and writer Laurent Hopman just came out in English (the original Fr...