Moiya asks pop culture writer Amanda Silberling about her favorite video game, Splatoon! It involves squid kids, apocalypse stories, judgemental cats, and just the right level of violence. HOSTED by Dr. Moiya McTier (@GoAstroMo), astrophysicist and folklorist GUEST Amanda Silberling is a senior culture writer at TechCrunch and co-host of Wow If True, a podcast about internet culture. Find her work online at amandasilberling.com and follow her on twitter @asilbwrites. MESSAGES Listen to...

Moiya is joined by writer Rachel Feltman to imagine a beautiful but foreboding world. They end up with a genre-bending world full of people convinced they have magical powers.  HOSTED by Dr. Moiya McTier (@GoAstroMo), astrophysicist and folklorist GUEST Rachel Feltman is a science and technology writer, editor, and host of the weirdest thing I learned this week podcast. Follow Rachel on X @RachelFeltman and check out her website rachelfeltman.com MESSAGES Help us out on the...

Moiya returns to this episode about fictional mapmaking. She talks with mapmaker Jessica Khoury about how mountains don't bend and rivers don't split, the logic behind human settlements, and how to name your places. Plus, there are dogs. HOSTED by Dr. Moiya McTier (@GoAstroMo), astrophysicist and folklorist GUEST Jessica Khoury is an author and fantasy cartographer who makes beautiful, believable maps. You can follow her on twitter at @jkbibliophile. Check out her personal work, including...

Moiya is joined by geologist Kristina Gustovich to imagine a world built on justice and social cohesion. They end up creating sparkly cats who can see into the future and totally believe in universal basic income.  HOSTED by Dr. Moiya McTier (@GoAstroMo), astrophysicist and folklorist GUEST Kristina Gustovich is a geologist and science communicator, currently getting a PhD in science education.  MESSAGES Order Kalipso at https://www.amazon.com/dp/1998017044 Listen to my other...

Monster Expert Dr. Emily Zarka joins Moiya to talk about the origins of monster myths! Together, they conjure up some spooky monsters to inhabit three previously built Exolore worlds. HOSTED by Dr. Moiya McTier (@GoAstroMo), astrophysicist and folklorist GUEST Dr. Emily Zarka is a professor, writer, host, and monster expert. Find her on twitter at @ZarkaEmily or on her website emilyelizabethzarka.com. Be sure to check out Monstrum and Fate & Fabled on PBS's Storied youtube channel. ...

Moiya and mythologist John Bucher put their minds together to imagine an ancient mythic underworld. It has triels, elemental symbolism, and lots of silly little guys! What's not to love? HOSTED by Dr. Moiya McTier (@GoAstroMo), astrophysicist and folklorist GUEST John Bucher is a mythologist, a writer, and the executive director of the Joseph Campbell Foundation. Follow John's work at tellingabetterstory.com. MESSAGES Sign up for Moiya's worldbuilding class with Atlas Obscura Listen...

Moiya and fellow Multitudian Eric Silver discuss their favorite and least favorite Superhero worlds, plus best practices for building your own. HOSTED by Dr. Moiya McTier (@GoAstroMo), astrophysicist and folklorist GUEST  Eric Silver is a writer, podcaster, game designer, and head of development at Multitude Productions. Follow him on X at @El_Silvero MESSAGES Sign up for Moiya's worldbuilding class with Atlas Obscura Listen to Join the Party every Tuesday HOUSEKEEPING Order my...

Moiya and writer Victoria Male talk about best pracices for adapting old stories into new versions and discuss their favorite/least favorite reboots. HOSTED by Dr. Moiya McTier (@GoAstroMo), astrophysicist and folklorist GUEST  Victoria Male is an award-winning writer and multimedia producer. Find her on IG at @victoriamale1 and learn more at her website victoriamale.com MESSAGES Listen to Big Game Hunger every Monday HOUSEKEEPING Order my book, THE MILKY...

Moiya and astrobiologist Dr. Seven Rasmussen imagine life on some distant gas giant's moon. What they come up with is cute and curious and exceptionally weird.  HOSTED by Dr. Moiya McTier (@GoAstroMo), astrophysicist and folklorist GUEST Dr. Seven Rasmussen is a writer and astrobiologist whose debut science book LIFE IN SEVEN NUMBERS: THE DRAKE EQUATION REVEALED is expected in 2025. Follow her on twitter @toomanyspectra MESSAGES Listen to Pale Blue Pod every Monday HOUSEKEEPING ...

Moiya's here with a little update on her second book, a history of invention written by the Greek Muses. HOSTED by Dr. Moiya McTier (@GoAstroMo), astrophysicist and folklorist MESSAGES Join the multicrew at multicrew.club HOUSEKEEPING Order my book, THE MILKY WAY: https://www.grandcentralpublishing.com/titles/moiya-mctier/the-milky-way/9781538754153/ BUY EXOLORE SWAG: store.dftba.com/collections/exolore   FIND US ONLINE patreon: patreon.com/exolorepod...

Moiya and neuroscientist Devon Collins build a homeworld for that species in sci-fi that spread its humanoid DNA around the galaxy. They end up being curious amphibious with grander memory palaces than you can imagine. HOSTED by Dr. Moiya McTier (@GoAstroMo), astrophysicist and folklorist GUEST Dr. Devon Collins is a neuroscientist and science communicator who studied drugs' effects on human brains. He works with Biobus and Genspace, two outreach/education initiatives in NYC. MESSAGES ...

Moiya talks with debut author Christy Healy about UNBOUND, an exciting new twist on Beauty and the Beast. They chat character creation, irish folklore, and whether Happily Ever Afters are really necessary just in time for V Day.  HOSTED by Dr. Moiya McTier (@GoAstroMo), astrophysicist and folklorist GUEST Christy Healy is an English and Rhetoric professor, a teacher of classical languages, and author of the fantasy book UNBOUND. FOllow Chrity on instagram @christyhealywrites MESSAGES ...

Moiya invites musician and writer Roux Bedrosian to gush about a world they love: the video game Bioshock! Long live Sander Cohen, the little sisters, and the big daddies! HOSTED by Dr. Moiya McTier (@GoAstroMo), astrophysicist and folklorist GUEST Roux Bedrosian is a musician, writer, and a multi-talented creator. Their website is rouxbedrosian.com and you can follow them on social @harleyroux  MESSAGES Listen to Big Game Hunger every Monday Sign up to support The Details of Our...

Moiya invites game streamer Jenna Stoeber to imagine a world and it gets crafty fast! The Great Crafter invited some beetles to their word of yarn and glitter, and the rest is history.  HOSTED by Dr. Moiya McTier (@GoAstroMo), astrophysicist and folklorist GUEST Jenna Stoeber is a podcaster, twitch streamer, and internet personality. Find her on socials @thejenna or at this linktree.  MESSAGES Listen to PALE BLUE POD every Monday   HOUSEKEEPING Order my book, THE MILKY...

Moiya invites food sustainability expert Alice Guillaume to imagine a world without food inequities. What they come up with is bright, colorful, and spectacularly diverse for something so genetically similar.  HOSTED by Dr. Moiya McTier (@GoAstroMo), astrophysicist and folklorist GUEST Alice Guillaume manages the Cambridge Food Hub and Cambridge Organic Food Company. She’s passionate about building sustainable food initiatives to create a better world here on earth.  MESSAGES Sign up...

Moiya returns to her conversation about constructing languages. They talk mouth and nose shapes, the relevance of trees, and the brain-melting subject of sentence word order in different languages.  HOSTED by Dr. Moiya McTier (@GoAstroMo), astrophysicist and folklorist GUESTS Dr. Jessie Sams is a linguist and conlanger who has helped make languages for shows including Motherland: Fort Salem and Vampire Academy.  MESSAGES Listen to TELL ME ABOUT IT every other THursday   HOUSEKEEPING ...

A sociologist, a biologist, and an astrophysicist walk into a zoom room and discuss what it would be like if everyone had three parents. Here's a hint: it gets complicated real fast. We discuss speculative science, the difficulty of large collaborations, mating types, and ~bedroom activity~ HOSTED by Dr. Moiya McTier (@GoAstroMo), astrophysicist and folklorist GUESTS Dr. Tamara van der Does is a computational sociologist who studies how environment shapes beliefs and identity. You can...

What does it take to build a fictional culture from scratch? How can you respectfully draw inspiration from real-world cultures? Two anthropologists join me to share their tips! HOSTED by Dr. Moiya McTier (@GoAstroMo), astrophysicist and folklorist GUESTS Dr. Carole McGranahan is an anthropology professor at UC Boulder. You can follow her work on her website. Liam Gleason is a PhD candidate in evolutionary anthropology at ASU. You can follow them on twitter at @anthro_outlier and stay up...

What causes seasons on Earth? Our planet's axial tilt! But what might life be like on a world with no tilt at all? HOSTED by Moiya McTier (@GoAstroMo), astrophysicist and folklorist GUESTS Maureen Kahiu is a Masters student of plant sciences at Penn State with a focus on turf grass pathology. She also has experience working as a golf course supervisor, a field dominated by men. You can follow Maureen on twitter at @MaureenKahiu. Ferris Jabr is a science writer who has contributed to the...

Moiya is joined by squid scientist Dr. Diana Li to imagine a marine world where everyone gets to find their own meaning of life... and it gives them magic powers! Did you know squid brains are shaped like donuts?!!  HOSTED by Dr. Moiya McTier (@GoAstroMo), astrophysicist and folklorist GUEST Dr. Diana Li is a science communicator and public engagement expert who studied the neurophysiology and biomechanics of squid swimming. Follow her on social at @dianateuthis and check out her website...

Moiya is joined by lung scientist/cancer researcher Em Costa to imagine a world that is annoying, but not dangerous to its inhabitants. They end up creating a crabby species who need to be near each other, but complain about it all the time.   HOSTED by Dr. Moiya McTier (@GoAstroMo), astrophysicist and folklorist GUEST Em Costa is a lung scientist who studies genes related to cancer. She's also a trivia host and 1/3 of the Facts Machine Podcast team. Find her on twitter at @_emcosta   ...

Moiya is joined by bestselling author Alyssa Cole, who wanted to imagine a world inhabited by giant gentle rodents.  HOSTED by Dr. Moiya McTier (@GoAstroMo), astrophysicist and folklorist GUEST Alyssa Cole is a New York Times and USA Today Bestselling author of romance and thrillers like When No One is Watching, An Extraordinary Union, and A Princess in Theory. SPONSORS Design your own mini statue at heroforge.com Get high-quality puzzles at Ravensburger.us   HOUSEKEEPING Join the...

Moiya is joined by author Alyssa Cole to imagine a peaceful world full of gentle capybaras working with their environment instead of against it. The result is as adorable as you'd imagine HOSTED by Dr. Moiya McTier (@GoAstroMo), astrophysicist and folklorist GUEST Alyssa Cole is a bestselling author of When No One is Watching and An Extraordinary Union! Follow her on IG at @alyssacolelit and stay updated on her website alyssacole.com. MIDBREAK Design your own custom mini statues at...

Moiya is joined by geneticist Dr. Alex Dainis to imagine a friendly world where life evolved two separate times. They talk DNA, folklore around food, crystals storing information, and wide-orbiting moons. HOSTED by Dr. Moiya McTier (@GoAstroMo), astrophysicist and folklorist GUEST Dr. Alex is a geneticist and science communicator on all the platforms. Find her on social at @alex.dainis and watch her new PBSDS show Hungry Planet on PBS Terra! MIDBREAK Listen to Tell Me About It every...