Dreaming of Coney Island's Dreamland
Imaginary Worlds13 Elo 2025

Dreaming of Coney Island's Dreamland

Coney Island still has the classic amusements you’d expect today like roller coasters, water slides, and carnival games. But over a century ago, it looked more like a proto–Disney World, with multiple theme parks, colossal buildings, and wildly imaginative rides. The most extravagant park along the boardwalk was Dreamland. At Dreamland, you could take a trip to Hell, experience the end of the world, ride through fake Venetian canals, or visit a city built to scale for little people. I talk with historian and novelist Kevin Baker about why Dreamland remains so intriguing and deeply problematic. We also hear voice actor Lofty Fulton read a passage from Kevin’s novel “Dreamland.” Plus, I talk with visual artist Zoe Beloff. She was fascinated that Sigmund Freud visited Dreamland in 1909. So she invented an alternative history where Freud’s disciples in Brooklyn tried to rebuild the park with overtly Freudian rides and exhibits. This week’s episode is sponsored by Hims, ShipStation and ButcherBox. For your free online visit, Hims.com/IMAGINARY Go to shipstation.com and use code IMAGINARY to sign up for your FREE trial. ButcherBox is offering our listeners $20 off their first box and free protein for a year. Go to ButcherBox.com/imaginary to get this limited time offer and free shipping. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

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Fantastical Feasts

Fantastical Feasts

What is the role of food in worldbuilding? Characters usually have to eat to stay alive -- but food is also culture, and if you're creating a fantasy culture, food will be an expression of those value...

5 Syys 201826min

D&D Revisited

D&D Revisited

Stubborn Lippi a.k.a. Stubbs is a halfling, a bard, and a sorcerer. He's also the character I've been playing since I produced my 2015 episode "Rolling the Twenty Sided Dice," where I learned how to p...

23 Elo 201835min

Fanfiction (Special Edition)

Fanfiction (Special Edition)

Last year, I interviewed Francesca Coppa for my episode Fanfiction (Don't Judge.) She's the author of the book "The Fanfiction Reader," and one of the founders of the fanfic site Archive of Our Own. F...

9 Elo 201834min

Do You Speak Conlang?

Do You Speak Conlang?

Sci-fi fantasy worlds often use constructed languages (or conlangs for short) as a worldbuilding tool that can make us believe the characters come from an ancient or alien culture. But art can take on...

26 Heinä 201829min

Imaginary Deaths

Imaginary Deaths

Have you ever mourned the loss of a fictional character? It can be tough to get over, and difficult to convince people not caught up in that fictional world that your sense of mourning is valid. I tal...

12 Heinä 201831min

Fahrenheit 451 Still Burns

Fahrenheit 451 Still Burns

The writer Neil Gaiman first became entranced with Fahrenheit 451 as a kid, but he says the novel is the kind of masterpiece that seems like a different story every time you read it depending on where...

27 Kesä 201829min

Gathering the Magic

Gathering the Magic

At its core, Magic: The Gathering is a card game and your goal is to knock your opponent down to zero points. But Magic: The Gathering also has a deep mythology about an infinite number of parallel wo...

14 Kesä 201828min

The First Three Lives of Catherine Webb

The First Three Lives of Catherine Webb

You may know her as Claire North, author of the best-selling novel "The First Fifteen Lives of Harry August." You might also know her as Kate Griffin, author of the urban fantasy series about modern d...

31 Touko 201838min

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