Moiya is joined by microbiologist Maren Hunsberger to talk about the world from Anne McCaffrey's Dragonriders of Pern series! They discuss the world's long timescale, the blurred line between sci-fi and fantasy, the importance of strong female leads, and how to write about bathing in your fiction. HOSTED by Dr. Moiya McTier (@GoAstroMo), astrophysicist and folklorist GUEST Maren Hunsberger is a microbiologist, actor, podcaster, and science communicator. Find her and her work at marenhunsberger.com SPONSORS Get a FREE .gay domain for a whole year at exolore.gayThis episode is sponsored by Betterhelp. Visit betterhelp.com/worldbuilder for 10% off your first month 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/exolorepodtwitter: twitter.com/ExolorePodinstagram: instagram.com/exolorepodwebsite: exolorepod.comsubreddit: reddit.com/r/ExolorePod CREDITS Music: https://www.purple-planet.comCover art: Stephen J. Reisig, http://stephenjreisig.com/Editing: Mischa Stanton, https://www.mischastanton.com/  ABOUT US How would you like to swim in an ocean ruled by matriarchal squid, or fly over a planet as it rotates with a swarm of migrating wasps? No, it's not the latest VR craze (... yet); it's Exolore! Exolore helps you imagine other worlds with the help of facts and science. Every other week, host Dr. Moiya McTier invites experts to build a world from scratch or sits down with a fiction fan to dive deep into their favorite worlds. Every episode will make you laugh, go "huh?" and appreciate how special our world really is. Exolore is a member of Multitude Productions, an independent podcast collective and production studio.