Imaginary Worlds

When Joe Dever died in 2016, he hadn’t written the last several books in his Lone Wolf series. The Lone Wolf books take place in a deeply rich fantasy universe, and they’re written as a combination of choose-your-own-adventure stories and role playing games like D&D. Joe’s final wish was that his son Ben would finish the series for him. However, Ben was unfamiliar with his father’s books, and the legions of Lone Wolf fans he would have to please. I talked with Ben Devere (who spells his last name differently) about the creative, practical, and personal struggles he went through as a writer, and how he was able to get to know his late father by immersing himself in his father’s fantasy world. Jonathan Stark, co-host of the official Lone Wolf podcast Journeys Through Magnamund, explains why Lone Wolf means so much to fans like him, and how he ended up fulfilling his own dreams of writing a Lone Wolf book.Today's episode is sponsored by Henson Shaving, Magic Spoon and Miracle Made.Visit www.hensonshaving.com/imaginary and use the code IMAGINARY to get two years' worth of blades free with your razor – just make sure to add them to your cart.Get your next delicious bowl of high-protein cereal at www.magicspoon.com/imaginary and use the code IMAGINARY to save five dollars off.Go to www.trymiracle.com/imaginary and use the code IMAGINARY to claim your free 3 piece towel set and save over 40% off. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Nnedi Okorafor and Chinelo Onwualu discuss Africanfuturism mixing traditional and futuristic elements with climate change themes. Africanfuturist cli-fi focuses on hope and community solutions. The podcast explores stories by African writers reflecting the continent's climate emergencies with a sense of resilience and creativity.

Language creator David J. Peterson and his wife discuss developing the Fremen language for Dune: Part Two. They delve into the creative process of inventing fictional languages and the challenge of translating simple English phrases into the Chakobsa language from Dune novels. The episode also features interviews with other language creators, such as the inventor of Klingon and a language consultant for Star Trek: Discovery. Klingon Pop Warrior adds a fun twist to the discussion.

Uncover how L. Frank Baum's mother-in-law Matilda Joslyn Gage influenced the iconic Wizard of Oz story, with insights into gender politics, suffrage movement, and feminist symbolism. Discover the personal connections of therapist Dr. Gita Dorothy Morena to the Oz books and explore the impact of strong women characters on the narrative.

Discover the term 'toyetic' coined by Bernie Loomis of Kenner Toys and the evolution of marketing to children. Learn about the risky business of licensed toys, the unlikely origins of Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, and the complex partnership dynamics of creative partners. Delve into the history of He-Man and the darker tones of the 1990 live action TMNT film.

Explore the origins of Transformers and Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, from toy creations to cultural dominance. Learn how the creators navigated success and creativity, and the challenges of creating content to sell products. Hear from industry experts and delve into the rags to riches story of the Turtles creators and the creation of iconic Transformers characters.

Delve into the influential cyberpunk novel Neuromancer and its impact on mainstream culture. Explore the connection between Neuromancer and data harvesting, neoliberalism, and the evolution of cyberpunk. Learn about the punk edge of cyberpunk and its influence on technology. Discover the intriguing plot of The Body Scout and its exploration of billionaire influence.

When I interviewed special effects artist Shannon Shea about The Terminator and other villains of ’84, we also discussed his experiences working on Terminator 2. He tells me about the many life-sized puppets of Arnold Schwarzenegger they built and how the industry has changed in the last 40 years. We also hear an outtake from my conversation with Neill Gorton about why the industry is moving away from depicting villains with scars and disabilities. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Neill Gorton and Shannon Shea, make-up and creature designers, discuss the golden age of monsters in the 80s. Yannie ten Brooke analyzes the '84 villains. JR Forasteros talks about the changing portrayal of villains. Topics include Terminator's design, lack of empathy in villains, Gremlins' dark side, social satire in Gremlins, and the appeal of 80s villains compared to today.

I was blown away by the Netflix animated series Blue Eye Samurai. I’m not alone, it has 100% rating on Rotten Tomatoes. I was pleasantly surprised to discover the supervising director and producer of the show, Jane Wu, began her career as an animation storyboard artist. In fact, we were working at different animation studios at the same time in L.A. We talk about why she took a live action approach to planning animated sequences in Blue Eye Samurai, and how she wanted to represent Japanese culture in a way that’s never been done in Western animation. Jane also discusses how her background in martial arts and how her personal history helped her understand the main character Mizu, a woman with dual identities on a quest for revenge 17th century Japan.Use the promo code IMAGINARY at shipstation.com to sign up for your free 30-day trial.Go to hensonshaving.com and enter IMAGINARY at checkout to get 100 free blades with your purchase. (Note: you must add both the 100-blade pack and the razor for the discount to apply.) Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices