Exolore: facts-based fictional worldbuilding

Latest Episodes:

Thoughts on The Nightmare Before Christmas Dec 31, 2020

Show notes

TBH this episode was mostly my excuse to talk about where holidays come from, but I do talk a bit about my worldbuilding interpretation of TNBC.

HOSTED by Moiya McTier (@GoAstroMo), astrophysicist and folklorist

SPONSORS!

- Tab for a Cause: tabforacause.org/exolore

FIND US ONLINE

- patreon: patreon.com/goastromo

- twitter: twitter.com/ExolorePod

- instagram: instagram.com/exolorepod

- website: exolorepod.com

CREDITS

- Music: https://www.purple-planet.com

- Cover art: Stephen J. Reisig, http://stephenjreisig.com/

ABOUT US

Have you ever wished you could travel to a different world? Exolore can help with that! In each episode, astrophysicist/folklorist Moiya McTier explores fictional worlds by building them with a panel of expert guests, interviewing professional worldbuilders, or reviewing the merits of worlds that have already been built. You'll learn, you'll laugh, and you'll gain an appreciation for how special our planet really is.

Exolore is a member of Multitude Productions, an independent podcast collective and production studio.

See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

The World of Civilized Dinos Dec 17, 2020

Show notes

65 million years ago, a comet wiped out the non-avian dinosaurs on Earth. But what if we just... undid that? In this episode, we imagine what could have happened if that space rock had flown just a few thousand miles to the left.

HOSTED by Moiya McTier (@GoAstroMo), astrophysicist and folklorist

GUESTS

Dustin Growick is a dinosaur expert and science communicator who leads an awesome museum tour. You can follow him on twitter at @DustinGrowick and you can check out his Dino 101s with Atlas Obscura every Friday.

Amanda Rossillo is a science writer and PhD candidate in evolutionary anthropology at Duke University. You can follow her on twitter at @amanda_rossillo and catch up on her writing projects on her website.

SPONSORS!

- Brilliant: brilliant.org/exolore

- Inked Gaming: inkedgaming.com/exolore with the code EXOLORE at checkout

FIND US ONLINE

- patreon: patreon.com/goastromo

- twitter: twitter.com/ExolorePod

- instagram: instagram.com/exolorepod

- website: exolorepod.com

CREDITS

- Music: https://www.purple-planet.com

- Cover art: Stephen J. Reisig, http://stephenjreisig.com/

- Editing: Mischa Stanton, https://www.mischastanton.com/

ABOUT US

Exolore is a member of Multitude Productions, an independent podcast collective and production studio.

See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Worldbuilding with Cassandra Hatton (Auctions) Dec 03, 2020

Show notes

There's more to an auction than a loud man talking real fast. In this episode, Cassandra Hatton and I chat about Biggie Smalls, the importance of keeping your receipts, and secret societies, among other things.

HOSTED by Moiya McTier (@GoAstroMo), astrophysicist and folklorist

GUEST

Cassandra Hatton is a vice president and senior specialist at Sotheby's. She specializes in space artifacts, rare books and manuscripts, and hip-hop memorabilia (so cool!). You can follow Cassandra on Twitter at @the_lynx_eyed.

SPONSORS!

- Brilliant: brilliant.org/exolore

- Inked Gaming: inkedgaming.com/exolore with the code EXOLORE at checkout

FIND US ONLINE

- patreon: patreon.com/goastromo

- twitter: twitter.com/ExolorePod

- instagram: instagram.com/exolorepod

- website: exolorepod.com

CREDITS

- Music: https://www.purple-planet.com

- Cover art: Stephen J. Reisig, http://stephenjreisig.com/

- Editing: Mischa Stanton, https://www.mischastanton.com/

ABOUT US

Exolore is a member of Multitude Productions, an independent podcast collective and production studio.

See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Thoughts on Raised by Wolves Nov 19, 2020

Show notes

Have you heard of HBOMax's new show set on the planet Kepler 22b? It's called Raised by Wolves and here are my thoughts. *NO MAJOR SPOILERS*

HOSTED by Moiya McTier (@GoAstroMo), astrophysicist and folklorist

SPONSORS!

- Brilliant: brilliant.org/exolore

- Inked Gaming: inkedgaming.com/exolore with the code EXOLORE at checkout

FIND US ONLINE

- patreon: patreon.com/goastromo

- twitter: twitter.com/ExolorePod

- instagram: instagram.com/exolorepod

- website: exolorepod.com

CREDITS

- Music: https://www.purple-planet.com

- Cover art: Stephen J. Reisig, http://stephenjreisig.com/

ABOUT US

Exolore is a member of Multitude Productions, an independent podcast collective and production studio.

See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

The World of Partying Birds Nov 05, 2020

Show notes

Bird is the word on this rapidly rotating world. Harsh storms and flooded continents can't poop on this avian party.

HOSTED by Moiya McTier (@GoAstroMo), astrophysicist and folklorist

GUESTS

Katherine Hatcher is a chronobiologist at Albany Medical College who researches reproduction and puberty. You can follow her on twitter at @superchiasmatic and you can visit her website, kmhatcher.com.

Zak Martellucci is a museum educator who co-hosts VERSUS and Tales from the Museum, which has a show coming up on November 10! You can follow Zak on twitter at @ZakMartellucci and on instagram at @zzzzzzak

SPONSORS!

- Brilliant: brilliant.org/exolore

- Inked Gaming: inkedgaming.com/exolore with the code EXOLORE at checkout

FIND US ONLINE

- patreon: patreon.com/goastromo

- twitter: twitter.com/ExolorePod

- instagram: instagram.com/exolorepod

- website: exolorepod.com

CREDITS

- Music: https://www.purple-planet.com

- Cover art: Stephen J. Reisig, http://stephenjreisig.com/

ABOUT US

Exolore is a member of Multitude Productions, an independent podcast collective and production studio.

See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Worldbuilding with Nina Lutz (through makeup!) Oct 22, 2020

Show notes

Y'all, makeup is so cool! I've been sleeping on this whole category of products that can be used to affirm people's gender, create spooky sci-fi monsters, and protect people's identities during protests?! Nina Lutz is here to tell me what I've been missing.

HOSTED by Moiya McTier (@GoAstroMo), astrophysicist and folklorist

GUEST

Nina Lutz is a graduate student at the MIT Media Lab who uses computers to remind us to think of other people. You can follow her on twitter at @ninalikespi and you can learn more about her work on her website: https://www.media.mit.edu/people/nlutz/overview/.

SPECIAL LINKS

- Medling Adults: https://www.meddlingadults.com/s2e7

FIND US ONLINE

- patreon: patreon.com/goastromo

- twitter: twitter.com/ExolorePod

- instagram: instagram.com/exolorepod

- website: exolorepod.com

CREDITS

- Music: https://www.purple-planet.com

- Cover art: Stephen J. Reisig, http://stephenjreisig.com/

ABOUT US

Exolore is a member of Multitude Productions, an independent podcast collective and production studio.

See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Thoughts on The Mermaid, the Witch, and the Sea Oct 08, 2020

Show notes

So Maggie Tokuda-Hall created this beautiful sea-centered world and then expected me NOT to talk about it?? Get ready for a discussion about how magic relates to linguistic hypotheses and why people have personified the sea for centuries. **contains spoilers**

HOSTED by Moiya McTier (@GoAstroMo), astrophysicist and folklorist

GUEST

Julia Schifini is a writer, historian, voice actor, and cohost of the podcasts Spirits and Join the Party. She's awesome and fun and you can follow her on Twitter at @JuliaSchifini. Check out her fiction birdwatching podcast, Who Watches the Birdwatchers.

SPECIAL LINKS

- The Mermaid, the Witch, and the Sea by Maggie Tokuda Hall: https://bookshop.org/books/the-mermaid-the-witch-and-the-sea/9781536204315

- WORLDBUILDING CLASS with AtlasObscura: https://www.atlasobscura.com/experiences/facts-based-worldbuilding-online-course

FIND US ONLINE

- patreon: patreon.com/goastromo

- twitter: https://twitter.com/ExolorePod

- instagram: https://www.instagram.com/exolorepod/

- website: https://www.exolorepod.com/

CREDITS

- Music: https://www.purple-planet.com

- Cover art: Stephen J. Reisig, http://stephenjreisig.com/

ABOUT US

Exolore is a member of Multitude Productions, an independent podcast collective and production studio.

See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

The World of Social Dragonflies Sep 24, 2020

Show notes

Astronomers recently found phosphine in Venus’ atmosphere, which indicates that there MIGHT be life there. Obviously, I couldn’t stop myself from imagining what that life could be like, and then this episode happened.

HOSTED by Moiya McTier (@GoAstroMo), astrophysicist and folklorist

GUESTS

Jazmin Scarlett is a social volcanologist. You can follow her on twitter at @scarlett_jazmin. You can read her blog at https://phdvolcanology.wordpress.com/. And you should watch out for her upcoming podcast, What On Earth?!

Marielle Pellegrino is an astrodynamicist and a PhD candidate in aerospace engineering at UC Boulder. You can follow her on twitter at @MissAerospace and you can learn more about her on her website: http://www.missaerospace.com/

Jessica Ware is an entomologist who studies dragonflies and damselflies. She’s an assistant curator at the American Museum of Natural History, which is now open at limited capacity! You can follow her on twitter at @JessicaWareLab and check out her website: https://www.jessicalwarelab.com/

SPECIAL LINKS

- WORLDBUILDING CLASS with AtlasObscura: https://www.atlasobscura.com/experiences/facts-based-worldbuilding-online-course

- Multicrew membership: https://multitude.productions/multicrew

- Antarctica installation: https://syrusmarcusware.com/past-projects-exhibitions/antarctica/

- self-contained Biosphere in Arizona: https://biosphere2.org/visit/what-is-biosphere-2

FIND US ONLINE

- patreon: patreon.com/goastromo

- twitter: https://twitter.com/ExolorePod

- instagram: https://www.instagram.com/exolorepod/

- website: https://exolorepod.wixsite.com/exolore

CREDITS

- Music: https://www.purple-planet.com

- Cover art: Stephen J. Reisig, http://stephenjreisig.com/

ABOUT US

Exolore is a member of Multitude Productions, an independent podcast collective and production studio.

See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Worldbuilding with Alison Luhrs Sep 10, 2020

Show notes

Dungeons & Dragons is one of the most well-known role playing games in the world, but their methods for creating the game are a bit more obscure. I chatted with Alison Luhrs, the person who builds some of the worlds and writes some of the stories of D&D about how she does it.

HOSTED by Moiya McTier (@GoAstroMo), astrophysicist and folklorist

GUEST

Alison Luhrs is the Narrative Design Lead of Digital Publishing at Wizards of the Coast. She's responsible for making sure the worlds, storylines, and characters make sense together and are coherent with what's been written before. You can follow her on twitter at @alisontheperson

FIND US ONLINE

- patreon: patreon.com/goastromo

- twitter: https://twitter.com/ExolorePod

- instagram: https://www.instagram.com/exolorepod/

- website: https://exolorepod.wixsite.com/exolore

CREDITS

- Music: https://www.purple-planet.com

- Cover art: Stephen J. Reisig, http://stephenjreisig.com/

ABOUT US

Have you ever wondered what life would be like on a planet different from our own, or how writers create your favorite fictional worlds? Well, wonder no more because we have the facts for you! Every other week, astrophysicist/folklorist Moiya McTier explores fictional worlds by building them with a panel of expert guests, interviewing professional worldbuilders, or reviewing the merits of worlds that have already been built. You'll learn, you'll laugh, and you'll gain an appreciation for how special our planet really is.

Exolore is a member of Multitude, an independent podcast collective and production studio.

See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.