Moiya is joined by fellow nerds Connie Gibbs and Delia Gallegos to discuss the worldbuilding in Tolkien's Lord of the Rings! There is so much to unpack, from the creation of the world, origin of its magic, Tolkien's inspirations, and the little matter of having a FLAT WORLD! HOSTED by Dr. Moiya McTier (@GoAstroMo), astrophysicist and folklorist GUESTS Connie Gibbs is a nerd, writer, and social media manager for Scholastic. Find her on twitter at @Constar24. Delia Gallegos is a writer, speaker, and podcaster. Follow her work at deliaistyping.com and listen to her new podcast CULTURE BY CULTURE ..read more

Moiya is joined by chemist Kiara Whittle to imagine a peaceful world where a special stone lets people communicate telepathically. This is one of the most earth-like worlds we've built on the show. HOSTED by Dr. Moiya McTier (@GoAstroMo), astrophysicist and folklorist GUEST Kiara Whittle is a chemist and science communicator who is actively pursuing her masters in public health while working as a scientist making and testing products for a medical company. Follow her on instagram @ki_thechemist or on twitter @BlowTheWhittle MIDBREAK Listen to TELL ME ABOUT IT every other Thursday! This epi ..read more

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.gay This episode is sponsored by ..read more

Moiya is joined by astrochemist Ashley Walker and together they imagine life on Saturn's moon Titan! Titan's thick atmosphere, ice caps, and methane lakes inspire them to imagine two related species who value family and HATE Martians. HOSTED by Dr. Moiya McTier (@GoAstroMo), astrophysicist and folklorist GUEST Ashley Walker is an astrochemist getting her PhD at Howard University studying gas giant atmospheres. You can follow her on twitter at @that_astro_chic. MIDBREAK Join the Multicrew with its fresh new tiers at multicrew.club Order my book, THE MILKY WAY: https://www.grandcentralpublis ..read more

Moiya invites game master Eric Silver to talk about the original world he built for Join the Party's third campaign. Three words: plant bug pirates! Eric shares his favorite details of the world and lots of great advice for anyone building a world for TTRPGs. HOSTED by Dr. Moiya McTier (@GoAstroMo), astrophysicist and folklorist GUEST Eric Silver is head of creative at Multitude Productions and the game master for their actual play podcast Join The Party. Follow him on socials at @El_Silvero or visit his website ericsilver.work SPONSORS This episode is sponsored by the .GAY domain. Get you ..read more

Moiya is joined by fantasy writer John Bierce who wanted to imagine a world where two drastically different species meet. What they create involves volcanoes, sneaky gossip, complicated social dynamics, and everyone's favorite kind of multipurpose hole: a cloaca! HOSTED by Dr. Moiya McTier (@GoAstroMo), astrophysicist and folklorist GUEST John Bierce is a fantasy novelist and history buff who loves to imagine science-inspired worlds. Follow him on twitter at @john_bierce and look for updates on his website johnbierce.com. MIDBREAK Check out Multitude's Podcasting Classes at multitude.produ ..read more

Moiya is joined by Princess Weekes to discuss the worldbuilding in Tamora Pierce's Tortall universe. They talk about bisexual icons, long histories in fiction, and the (in)appropriateness of age differences in romantic relationships. HOSTED by Dr. Moiya McTier (@GoAstroMo), astrophysicist and folklorist GUEST Princess Weekes is a writer, podcaster, and literature lover who hosts the podcasts It's Lit for PBS and Geeked for Netflix. Follow her on twitter at @WeekesPrincess or on youtube at @PrincessWeekes. MIDBREAK Listen to SPIRITS wherever you podcast or at spiritspodcast.com Practice mat ..read more

Moiya is joined by climate advocate Hannah Feuer to build a world that doesn't rely on fossil fuels. With that goal in mind, they imagined a world where beautiful connections to distant beings foster worldwide empathy. HOSTED by Dr. Moiya McTier (@GoAstroMo), astrophysicist and folklorist GUEST Hannah Feuer just earned her masters degree in Environment, Politics, and Society from University College London. She is passionate about climate activism and wrote her masters thesis on how worldbuilding can be used for climate justice. Contact Hannah via email at hannah.feuer.21[at]ucl.ac.uk ..read more

Moiya is joined by Emma Puranen to imagine life on a world being flung away from its home galaxy. Together they create a species of social but selfish airbags who insist on living in the moment. HOSTED by Dr. Moiya McTier (@GoAstroMo), astrophysicist and folklorist GUEST Emma Johanna Puranen is an astronomer, historian, writer, and PhD student at the University of Saint Andrews. Check out her list of fictional exoplanets and follow her work on her website emmajohannapuranen.wordpress.com or follow her on twitter at @spacesword13 MIDBREAK - Listen to SPIRITS at spiritspodcast.com or wherever ..read more

Moiya and guest Evan imagine a world full fit for a eusocial species. They talk about toxic atmospheres, bat wing anatomy, harmonic resonances, collective consciousness, and of course, crystal turds! HOSTED by Dr. Moiya McTier (@GoAstroMo), astrophysicist and folklorist GUEST Evan J. Peterson is a writer and writing instructor. Find them on twitter at @EvanJPeterson or on their website evanjpeterson.com. Check out their upcoming class called Witches Are People Too to learn how to write well-rounded magic users into your stories. MIDBREAK - Get 10% off your order at inkedgaming.com with the ..read more