Imaginary Worlds

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...

23/09/2025

I'm thrilled that Imaginary Worlds is a finalist for a Signal Award for Best Arts & Culture podcast! I'm also eligible for a Listener's Choice Award. You can vote right here! Feel free to forward too!

The Signal Awards is mission-focused on uplifting the podcast medium by recognizing the most potent, meaningful and unprecedented audio projects being made today.

18/09/2025

4 years ago I did an episode about the brilliant game Disco Elysium. I'd been looking forward to the next game from this studio. Now I know why it never came out. 😔

The role-playing game Disco Elysium wowed critics by lacerating capitalism, communism and fascism. But instead of a sequel came bitter lawsuits and five rival studios.

10/09/2025

When Broadway needs fireballs, storms, or magic spells, there’s one Brooklyn company they call. This week, we explore the special effects behind the musicals of Beetlejuice, The Addams Family, Frozen, and more.

I’ve covered digital and practical effects in film and TV, but creating special effects for live theater is a whole other challenge. J&M Special Effects has been up to the task for 40 years. Their crew has worked on shows from Hadestown to Harry Potter and The Cursed Child to Disney musica

27/08/2025

Before introducing this week's episode from Cautionary Tales, I talk about visiting the Jaws exhibit at the MV Museum. It's a nice tribute to the locals who were instrumental in helping out behind-the-scenes, and appearing on camera to add local flavah. In fact, one of the fishermen became the accent model for Robert Shaw's character.

27/08/2025

This week, we hear an episode from the podcast Cautionary Tales about a young filmmaker, a difficult actor, and even more difficult mechanical shark that could’ve turned into a disaster. Instead, it produced a cinematic masterpiece.

I didn't want the summer to end without joining in on the 50th anniversary celebrations of Jaws. I spent summers on Cape Cod as a kid, where I often heard that Jaws was filmed nearby on Martha’s Vineyard. In fact, I recently went back and visited an exhibit on the 50th anniversary of Jaws at the ....

21/08/2025

People are often surprised when I tell them that I don't listen to many sci-fi fantasy podcasts. I'm more interested in how podcasters tell stories, regardless of the topic. But my podcast queue is shrinking as so many narrative podcasts are disappearing -- and not just podcasts but entire networks. This piece eloquently sums up what's going on right now.

This week, Left Of Dial published its Essential Listening Poll, a compilation of the 100 best podcasts of all time, according to industry creators, writers, and scholars (Disclosure: I was invited to contribute my selections to the poll, and Normal Gossip ranked on the list, though I was not allowed...

13/08/2025

From this week's episode: images of Dreamland and artist Zoe Beloff's installation piece, which imagines a Freudian Dreamland after the original one burned down in 1911.

13/08/2025

With summer winding down, we take a trip to Coney Island – over a century ago – to explore the bombastic and bizarre theme park Dreamland.

Coney Island still has the classic amusements you’d expect today like roller coasters, water slides, and carnival games. But over a century ago, it looked more like a proto–Disney World, with multiple theme parks, colossal buildings, and wildly imaginative rides. The most extravagant park along ...

08/08/2025

The IW merch store now sells shorts! https://imaginaryworlds.dashery.com/

30/07/2025

This week, I talk with video game composers at Hans Zimmer’s company Bleeding Fingers, and indie composer Winifred Phillips about the challenge of writing music for a visual medium that is constantly changing.

Creating a musical score for interactive video games is like trying to hit a moving target. Luckily, Hans Zimmer’s studio Bleeding Fingers has developed some clever strategies. I talk with their CEO Russell Emanuel and musicians Thom Lukas and Giovanni Rios about how they create innovative s