Imaginary Worlds is hosted by Eric Molinsky, who spent over a decade working as a public radio reporter and producer. He uses those skills to create thoughtful, sound-rich episodes about science fiction, fantasy, and other genres of speculative fiction. We heard about this podcast from Sam of 90 Minutes Or Less Film Fest, who recommended this one on episode 97 of the Pod Bible podcast. (We also learned the fun fact that Eric also used to work on the Rugrats TV programme!)

We caught up with Eric to ask more about why he moved over to podcasting,, and how Imaginary Worlds came to be…

What was the first podcast you ever listened to?

I started listening to podcasts on my click wheel iPod back in 2004. I was working at WNYC, and On The Media was one of the few shows at the station that put their entire program in their podcast feed. It felt like a big experiment back then, and I loved the fact I could listen to Brooke and Bob any time, even when I was underground on the subway.

Why did you decide to start podcasting in the first place?

I wanted to be a host, but public radio stations had so few slots for hosts. Podcasting felt like a revolutionary way to declare yourself a host even if you started without a built-in audience. I also thought that narrowcasting worked well in podcasting. So, I brainstormed what my focus would be and I remembered that I had a lot of ideas for radio stories which I didn’t even bother pitching because they were too geeky for a general audience. I wrote them all down and realized I had a first season of a sci-fi fantasy themed podcast.

Which podcasts do you take inspiration from?

My initial inspiration for Imaginary Worlds was 99% Invisible. I often found myself wanting to tell stories about fictional characters or works of culture. I admired the way that Roman Mars could turn a work of architecture or a piece design into a character that you cared about. But the show was still about people. They willed that inanimate thing into existence, they reacted to it negatively or positively, they changed it over time, and they ultimately gave it a character arc.

Who’s your dream guest for the podcast?

Having said all that about doing episodes on works of culture or fictional characters, I also enjoy doing full episode one-on-one interviews with novelists. Nnedi Okorafor is one of my favorite sci-fi authors. I’ve read all of her books, and I’d love to talk with her.

What’s the biggest lesson you’ve learnt so far as a podcaster?

When I was working in radio or reporting for other podcasts, fact checking was something that would often happen organically throughout the writing, editing and production process with my editor or the team. In making episodes from start to finish, I’ve come to realize how important it is to constantly fact check myself or get someone to fact check my scripts. That’s especially true when reporting on subjects like Star Wars or Marvel that I know very well – or think I know very well.

Which episode would you say is the perfect introduction to your podcast?

My first episode ‘Origin Stories’ is still a perfect thesis statement for the whole show, and it sets up the tone of how I wanted to cover sci-fi and fantasy. Although when I started out, the episodes were much shorter with fewer guests, and I’ve learned a lot about mixing and sound design. A good recent episode to start with would be ‘Neurodivergent Futures‘, where I talked with autistic fans and writers about why science fiction feels particularly relevant or meaningful to them.

Is there anything else you’d like to add?

Shows like mine can fall into an uncanny valley where they’re big enough to be actual shows. Producing them is a full-time job, and the audience is sizable enough to attract advertisers. But the show isn’t at that superstar level. And as the podcasting landscape keeps becoming more corporate and celebrity driven, it’s harder and harder to be discovered by new listeners. So, I appreciate the fact that you’re spotlighting indie podcasts!

Listen to Imaginary Worlds on Apple Podcasts, Spotify and other popular podcast apps.

The post Imaginary Worlds: In-depth analysis of sci-fi and fantasy appeared first on POD BIBLE.

Why do you love podcasts?

IG: I love them for the reason I think most people love them. There’s an intimacy to them, to just hearing people’s voices. It’s easier to connect. It’s easier to have feelings. A story told on podcast hits you harder than most films or books ever do.

What was the first pod you ever listened to?

I hope this isn’t a bratty answer but our show This American Life was such an early podcast – we were doing the show even before podcasts existed – that I’m afraid the true answer is – my own show was the first podcast I ever heard. What’s interesting about the popularity of our show as a podcast is that we really designed it as a radio show. It went on the air in 1995. But the style of the show – personal stories told in a compelling way, lots of them very funny – meshed naturally with what makes a great podcast. So when we started offering it for free as a podcast, it took off without us doing anything at all to promote it. Now roughly 3 million people download it each week, a bigger audience than our radio audience.

Which podcast makes you laugh the most?

I don’t listen to a lot of comedy podcasts but I do like Mike Birbiglia’s Working It Out, and he has very funny people on: John Mulaney, Colbert, Sarah Silverman, Conan, Gaffigan.

Which podcast has educated you the most?

The Daily of course is the gold standard for clear explanation of complicated news on a super-fast turnaround, and I listen every day. I’m also a superfan of the Radiolab podcast – it invented a way of telling a story that’s so fun to listen to and – honestly, at this point – I listen partly to hear how they keep re-inventing what they do, over and over. Their recent mini-series on Harry Pace was just masterful, I thought, and a very tough story to tell: about a guy who left no recordings or writing to know his thoughts. They’re always trying new stuff and so out to entertain. I even listen to their host Jad Abumrad’s music podcast on Apple Music: Everything. Together.

Can you recommend a show our readers may not have heard?

Hard to restrict it to one! Our show S-Town was super-popular but there are people out there who still haven’t heard it. A great example of a story built around someone who’s intensely, magnetically charismatic and also quite a mystery. I loved Malcolm Gladwell’s Bomber Mafia which is on a subject I normally care nothing about but he pulls you in and tells a fantastic true tale. Couldn’t turn it off. You have to google it and pay for it, but IMO, worth it. I love the Dave Chapelle podcast on Luminary The Midnight Miracle where they sound design the hell out of it and it just feels so original and like nothing out there at all. If you’re in a rush, skip to the last ep where he talks about opening for Richard Pryor. Oh my. Perfect audio moments in that one and in so many of them. (Luminary you have to pay for but if you’re cheap, they give you a week for free.) Also: Heavyweight is still killing, after all these years. Check out their Barbara Ep from Season Six.

Listen to This American Life on Apple Podcasts, Spotify and other popular podcast apps.

The post Ira Glass: “A story told on podcast hits you harder” appeared first on POD BIBLE.

Who are you and what’s your podcast about?

We are Phil Nichol and David Tims and we are Songs In The Key of Laugh, a lighthearted celebration of comedy songs and musical comedians. We chat, play games and interview some of the finest purveyors of the musical comedy arts. Confirmed guests include Nick Helm, Jayde Adams, Tim Minchin, Harry Hill and many more.

What was the first podcast you ever listened to?

I appeared on the recently departed Phil Butlers comedy greenroom podcast The Giggle Inn many years ago. I was a fan of Serial and I most recently listened to John Luke Roberts Sound Heap. I had small part in Poppy Hillstead Has Entered The Chat. It won an award.

Why did you decide to start podcasting in the first place?

During the lockdown, local musician David Tims and I bumped into each other and went for a walk. David slipped and fell in the mud. I laughed so hard that I thought I must work with him. He is such a lovely man. By the end of the walk we had formulated the idea and had the title.

Which podcasts do you take inspiration from?

Adam and Joe, Richard Herring, Rich Wilson, Brett Goldstein.

Who’s your dream guest for the podcast?

Billy Connolly

What’s the biggest lesson you’ve learnt so far as a podcaster?

You need technical help. We asked James Hingley to help us and he immediately made it easier, took on more responsibility and now accidentally has become our producer. He’s great and we couldn’t do it without him. It’s a team effort.

Which episode would you say is the perfect introduction to your podcast?

Nick Helm, episode 1, is the beginning. We are getting better each time and we have some great guest coming up so jump in anywhere really. We are open to feedback as well. So write to us at songsinthekeyoflaugh@gmail.com

Where can the Pod Bible readers find out more about you?

Our website- songsinthekeyoflaugh.com

Listen to Songs In The Key of Laugh on ACAST,  or your favourite podcast app.

The post Songs In The Key Of Laugh: A celebration of musical comedians appeared first on POD BIBLE.

What was the drive behind starting the podcast and with so much going on in Europe every second, how do you go about selecting your topics for conversation?

Katy: The podcast was born in late 2017. It kind of grew out of Brexit in that, as two Brits, we felt like when “Europe” got talked about in our national media, it was almost as if Europe and Brexit were the same thing and there was nothing worth following in European news that wasn’t Brexit. As two people living on the continent — me in Paris, and Dominic in Amsterdam — we knew of course that this wasn’t true. I was working as a journalist covering French politics at the time, and Dominic is a total news junkie, so we knew there were all kinds of topics worth talking about. But we also felt they could be made more accessible, so we wanted to make a podcast that talked about European politics in a fun and approachable way.  

Dominic: I noticed that I knew so much more about what was going on in America than I did about what was happening in the continent I was living in. I was, like most European citizens, pretty oblivious to how the institutions of the European Union worked and I was initially worried that this ignorance would be a problem when making a podcast about Europe. But in the end, I think our status as relative outsiders from the ‘Brussels-bubble’ has actually helped make our podcast a success. Week on week, we are trying to cut through the Euro-jargon and to learn more about how Europe works, bringing our audience along with us on this somewhat nerdy ride. 

Katy: In terms of where our topics come from, a lot of them just come from news stories we’ve been following in any particular week, whether it’s an election or some juicy political scandal. Between us our team speaks five languages so we try to keep an eye on different national media around the continent, but of course there’s far more going on than we can keep track of. So quite often, we get brilliant ideas sent in for topics or potential guests from our listeners, by email or on Instagram or Twitter. 

What does preparation for your topics typically look like?

Katy: Our style is pretty chatty and conversational, but actually a huge amount of research goes into making the show each week! We’re very conscious that we’re not experts on what’s happening in every country, so we make sure we read as widely as possible on topics that we’re going to talk about as it’s super important to us that we get it right. Quite often I will hunt down local experts on whatever topic it is we’re talking about and read everything they’ve written or tweeted about it.

Political and cultural views tend to be topics of discussion avoided at the dinner table, how careful are you when introducing personal opinions?

Katy: It’s a difficult line to tread! I don’t feel like the point of our podcast is to tell people what to think, necessarily, and I’m always wary of shoving my views down other people’s throats. But at the same time I don’t think we necessarily try to hide it when we have an opinion about something. For me the ideal balance is not hiding my own opinions, but trying not to give the impression that I’m trying to tell people how to think either. 

Dominic: I remember that Katy, was initially pretty reluctant to express any hint of her own opinion at all on the show. I totally got that for her as a professional journalist who is trained to report neutrally on the news. I was, on the other hand, as an opera singer with no journalistic training, initially a bit looser with expressing my opinions. Over the years, I think we have both shifted a bit towards each other’s default position and found a happy medium in our chatter.

What do you have coming soon that your listeners can look forward to!?

Katy: I’m really looking forward to seeing episodes two and three of the visual podcast series (that’s right, visual podcasts!) that we’re making with Are We Europe. The series is called This Is What A Generation Sounds Like and it’s a series of eight very intimate stories told by young people around Europe. The first of these, “Josh and Franco”, was about a father and son in southern Italy who are both gay, having a very raw and honest conversation about their relationship and the difficulties of coming out in a very macho culture. It was so amazing to see the design wizards at Are We Europe turn the podcast into something that can be watched as well as heard, and we can’t wait to see what they do with the second and third of these stories.

Listen to The Europeans on ACAST, SPOTIFY and other platforms.

The post Exclusive interview with award-winning The Europeans appeared first on POD BIBLE.

Who are you and what’s your podcast about?

My name is Alan Hudson and I was a professional footballer in the Sixties, Seventies and Eighties with Chelsea, Stoke City, Arsenal and Seattle Sounders. I’m regarded as something of a Maverick Footballer. I also won two caps for England. The Alan Hudson Podcast is all about retro football. The chat is casual, informal and unscripted and takes listeners and viewers back to a time when the only diving taking place was down to the pub at the final whistle. We think our slogan ‘Proper Football, Proper Talk’ sums it up.

Why did you decide to start podcasting in the first place?

I got the idea to start a podcast when I saw my good friend and former Chelsea team-mate Johnny Boyle in one. Johnny delivered some great anecdotes from his time as a player and I decided to approach another good friend of mine, Tony Jimenez, about starting my own podcast. Tony is an experienced sports journalist and I thought he would be a good choice to anchor the podcast.

What’s the first podcast you ever listened to?

Johnny Boyle’s podcast was the first one I saw. It was not really a genre I was familiar with but I immediately liked the format and thought the world of retro football was something of an untapped market. I have a host of contacts from the world of football and seem to have little trouble enticing some of the game’s great names on to our show. Among our guests have been Harry Redknapp, Bryan Robson, Steve Perryman and Tony Currie.

Which podcasts do you take inspiration from?

I can’t say I watch or listen to many podcasts although I like former England striker Peter Crouch’s BBC podcast. I particularly enjoy the relaxed format of that one and, again, Peter seems to have a wealth of good stories from his career as a much-travelled footballer who played for several elite clubs and also enjoyed a highly successful England career.

Who’s your dream guest for the podcast?

I’ve been trying to entice Frank Lampard to come on to my podcast for almost a year now, ever since he was sacked as manager of Chelsea. Frank is a near neighbour of mine in Chelsea and an old acquaintance. I played a sizeable role in him joining Chelsea from West Ham in 2001. I know his father Frank Senior well. He consulted me when Frank was about to leave West Ham and I told his dad that Stamford Bridge would be the ideal club for his son. It turned out to be good advice!

Which episode would you say is the perfect introduction to your podcast?

I particularly like the podcast we did with former Tottenham Hotspur captain Steve Perryman. I know Steve from way back – we played together in the same midfield for the England Under-21 team – and I’ve always admired him as a footballer and as a person. We don’t agree on all footballing matters but we have a great connection and total respect for one another’s opinions.

What’s the biggest lesson you’ve learnt so far as a podcaster?

When we began our podcasts, I felt something of an obligation, as host, to try and lead the discussion with our guests. But now that we have produced 30 or 40 of them, I can see it works much better when we allow our guests full licence to go where they want when they are talking, without unnecessarily stopping the flow of conversation.

Where can your audience find out more about you?

Our podcast is available in audio form from all the main podcast suppliers and we also feature video clips from our shows on YouTube. One of our first podcasts was an ‘introduction to Alan Hudson’ type show where I gave listeners and viewers an insight to my football career and my rollercoaster life away from the pitch.

Listen to The Alan Hudson Podcast now on ACAST, SPOTIFY or your favourite podcast app.

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