A Nation Dreams of Itself
Imaginary Worlds17 Mar 2022

A Nation Dreams of Itself

The Russian invasion of Ukraine shocked the world, but this conflict was foreshadowed in Ukrainian and Russian speculative fiction. I talk with several fantasy writers in Ukraine about how they’ve used speculative fiction to break away from Russia’s sphere of influence, and why magic and folklore can be valuable tools to explore and defend their sense of national identity. I also talk with Ukrainian ex-pats in the U.S. about how Russian fantasy and sci-fi has grown increasingly imperialistic in recent years with fantasies of restoring a lost empire. Featuring Maria Galina, Borys Sydiuk, Volodymir Arenev, Svitlana Taratorina, Alex Shvartsman, and Anatoly Belilovsky. You can help donate to organizations resettling refugees like Direct Relief, Mercy Corps, International Medical Corps and Save the Children. This episode is sponsored by Brooklinen. Our ad partner is Multitude. If you’re interested in advertising on Imaginary Worlds, you can contact them here. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Episoder(300)

Unlocking the Door Between Escape Rooms and Immersive Theater

Unlocking the Door Between Escape Rooms and Immersive Theater

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Narrating Audiobooks From Other Worlds

Narrating Audiobooks From Other Worlds

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31 Jul 202439min

Fantasy and Fascism Part II: When Democracy Fails

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The Team Behind Hans Zimmer

The Team Behind Hans Zimmer

Who really composed the scores of Dune, Interstellar, Blade Runner 2049, The Dark Knight, Man of Steel, Pirates of the Caribbean and The Lion King? Were they all written by Hans Zimmer? Or were those ...

3 Jul 202455min

Swept Away by Romantasy

Swept Away by Romantasy

The hottest trend in fantasy novels – in fact the hottest trend in publishing overall – is fantasy romance or romantasy. These stories take place in worlds with dragons, faeries, vampires and werewolv...

19 Jun 202443min

Books Under Fire

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5 Jun 202443min

The George Lucas Talk Show

The George Lucas Talk Show

Did you know that in retirement, George Lucas decided to host a live talk show with his sidekick Watto? That’s the conceit of The George Lucas Talk Show starring Connor Ratliff (from the podcast Dead ...

22 Mai 202444min

How Nintendo Leveled Up

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Over the past 40 years, Shigeru Miyamoto has been inventing the modern video game one pixel at a time. From Donkey Kong to Super Mario Bros to The Legend of Zelda, Miyamoto turned wonder and explorati...

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