Imaginary Worlds podcast artwork
Arts

Imaginary Worlds

by Eric Molinsky | Daylight Media
Explicit ArtsFictionScience Fiction

Today: #167 in Arts on our combined chart.

Chart positions today

Where it charts

Today’s combined position on our country charts, alongside the US charts above.

If you like Imaginary Worlds, try…

Ranking history

History builds daily. We started tracking this show on the Arts chart recently, so the trend line appears after a second day of data.
View as table
DateCombined RankApple Podcasts
Oct 8#167#135

About the show

Imaginary Worlds sounds like what would happen if NPR went to Comic-Con and decided that’s all they ever wanted to cover. The host Eric Molinsky spent over a decade working in public radio, and he uses those skills to create sound-rich storytelling, pop culture analysis and cultural commentary about speculative fiction and immersive worldbuilding. Eric interviews sci-fi fantasy creators of novels, TV shows, films, comic books, video games, tabletop games and anyone who works in the field of make-believe about their creative process. He also delves into fandoms, asking why we suspend our disbelief, and what happens if the spell is broken. Fantasy 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. Imaginary Worlds is a Gold Winner for Best Arts & Culture podcast in the Signal Awards and received an Ambie Award nomination for Best Indie Podcast. Episodes of Imaginary Worlds have been featured on the podcasts 99% Invisible, Twenty Thousand Hertz, Decoder Ring, Cautionary Tales, Science Friday, and The Allusionist.

Latest episodes

  • Stephen King and the Horror of the Ordinary

    October 7, 2026 · 38 min

    Stephen King is often described as a master of horror, but I talked with fans and experts who believe that King is not actually a horror writer. Caroline Bicks (author of Monsters in the Archives: My Year of Fear with Stephen King), Neil…

  • Is Mythology the Key to Understand AI?

    September 23, 2026 · 41 min

    With all the talk about rogue AI potentially ending civilization, it’s hard not to think of The Matrix. When there are stories about people falling in love with ChatGPT, it’s hard not to think of movies like Her. But it’s possible that…

  • Sci-Fi Walks the Runway

    September 9, 2026 · 34 min

    When sci-fi movies take a big swing in depicting futuristic fashion, sometimes they end up creating iconic outfits and other times they create fashion which looks laughably outdated in a few years. I’ve became fascinated by three fashion…

  • Widow’s Bay Builds a History with Horror

    August 26, 2026 · 43 min

    I’m a little obsessed with Widow's Bay. It’s a horror-comedy series on Apple TV set on a fictional island off the coast of Massachusetts. The island isn’t as famous as Martha's Vineyard or Nantucket -- for good reason. Widow's Bay is…

  • Economics in The Alien Franchise Isn't Science Fiction

    August 12, 2026 · 35 min

    Even if you’ve never seen an Alien film, you probably know about the monster in the franchise. The Xenomorph has an elongated head, a second set of jaws that protrude from its mouth and a body that’s like cross between a giant insect and a…

  • Is Money Ruining Fanfiction?

    July 29, 2026 · 44 min

    The world of fanfiction has changed a lot since our 2017 episode, Fanfiction (Don’t Judge.) At the time, I thought that 50 Shades of Gray – the novel that began as Twilight fanfiction – was a fluke. It turned out to be a harbinger of a…

  • Choose Your Own Odyssey

    July 15, 2026 · 41 min

    Christopher Nolan’s film The Odyssey is part of a long line of film adaptations, but Homer’s epic poem has quietly shaped another medium: role-playing games. The structure of The Odyssey is practically a blueprint for tabletop and video…

  • The U.S. of Play - Part 2: Silly Putty, Twister and Monopoly

    July 1, 2026 · 43 min

    In honor of America's 250th anniversary, we're continuing our mini-series on iconic American toys and games that took on lives of their own. Strong National Museum of Play curators Michelle Parnett-Dwer and Mirek Stolee, along with game…