All Episodes
Speculative Sandbox — 130 episodes
86. Genre-blending in fiction
85. Forecasting through fiction
84. Black Swan Events
83. Cozy Fantasy
AUTHOR TAKEOVER: L.L. Madrid and Lora Durance talk about Writing When the World Feels Broken
AUTHOR TAKEOVER: Alisa Alering and Gloria Munoz talk about Hopeful Dystopia
AUTHOR TAKEOVER: Garrett K. Jones talks about writer's block
82. Death Games
81. Writing for the screen
80. Secrets in fiction
79. Speculative Flash Fiction
78. Avenging Angels
77. Romance in Speculative Fiction
76. Fated Destiny
75. Where are the aliens?
74. Fragmenting the Author
73. Uncanny Fiction
72. In Defense of Tropes
71. Gonzo Fiction
70. Mythical Archetypes
69. Authenticity in Writing
68. Paranormal Places
67. Time Loops
66. Anti-heroes
65. Fates Worse Than Death
64. "American Psycho" watch party
63. LatinX Representation in Speculative Fiction
62. What Booksellers Want
61. Spice & Everything Nice
60. The Lawless Lawman
59. RECORDED LIVE: Infidelity, guilt, and self-exploration with Jessica Elisheva Emerson
58. We're back!
[REWIND] Ensembles: The "Kings of the Wyld" character development tour
[REWIND] Cautionary Tales: Dystopian Societies
[REWIND] Am I the Drama? Problematic Protagonists
[REWIND] The End of the World: How to elevate the stakes beyond global annihilation
57. LIVE RECORDING: Father-and-son relationships and male friendships with Matt Mendez
Author Takeover: Can you judge a book by its cover?
Author takeover: Moby Dick, a fantasy novel?
Author Takeover: Deals with the Devil
Author Takeover: Finding authenticity in horror writing
Author Takeover: Ways to channel the writing muse
Author Takeover: Birth of a Superhero
Author Takeover: The importance of community
Author Takeover: The evolution of storytelling in media
56. Symbolism - the hidden layers of storytelling
55. Succession: The race for power
54. Mass Hysteria
53. Scifaiku and Astropoetry
52. Customized Humans: Gene-editing and mutations
51. Female Sleuths
50. Robots: A Character Study
49. Unreliable Narrators
48. Redemption: When bad characters turn good
47. RUNAWAY A.I. PART II: ChatGPT and what it means to be a writer
46: Whodunit? The usual suspects
45. So You're Writing About Paranormal Investigations
44. Music and Storytelling
[REWIND] The Immortality Dilemma: Legacy building gone wrong
[REWIND] Love and Death: Greek Myth Tropes and Archetypes
[REWIND] Corporatocracy: "The Warehouse" world-building tour
AUTHOR TAKEOVER: Examining Edgar Allan Poe
Speculative Sandbox Trailer
[REWIND] Chasing Utopia: The Horrors of Perfection
[BONUS] Playing God: A short look at "Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3"
AUTHOR TAKEOVER: Stop being an "aspiring" writer
43. Single-Biome Planets: Desert, ice, swamps, and beyond
42. Mind Control: From conditioning to the hive mind
41. Castles: A writer's world-building tour
40. Dogma: Systems of authority
39. Madness: Mental health in speculative fiction
38. Corporate Colonialism: Systems and motives of exploitation
37. Folk Horror: The horrors of nature and humanity
36. Time Travel: Paradoxes and time loops
35. Resurrection: When death can't hold you down
34. Food in Fiction: A menu of culinary literary devices
33. Magic Systems: Should magic users be forced to reveal themselves?
32. Spaceships: From take-off to "ludicrous" speed
31. Meet Cutes: From the serendipitous to the sinister
30. Ensembles: The "Kings of the Wyld" character development tour
AUTHOR TAKEOVER: Writing Tie-In Fiction
AUTHOR TAKEOVER: A journey from plotting to pantsing a novel
AUTHOR TAKEOVER: Tricksters!
AUTHOR TAKEOVER: How does a potato help you understand your characters?
AUTHOR TAKEOVER: The beginning
Best of 2022 and looking ahead to 2023
Day Twelve of "Twelve Days of Tropes"
Day Eleven of "Twelve Days of Tropes"
Day Ten of "Twelve Days of Tropes"
Day Nine of "Twelve Days of Tropes"
Day Eight of "Twelve Days of Tropes"
Day Seven of "Twelve Days of Tropes"
Day Six of "Twelve Days of Tropes"
Day Five of "Twelve Days of Tropes"
Day Four of "Twelve Days of Tropes"
Day Three of "Twelve Days of Tropes"
Day Two of "Twelve Days Of Tropes"
Day One of "Twelve Days of Tropes"
29. The End of the World: How to elevate the stakes beyond global annihilation
28. Taverns: Liquid courage for writers
27. Maps: Fictional placemaking and world building
26. De-Stressing the Damsel: Getting off the train tracks
25. Runaway A.I.: The technological singularity
24. Modern Gods: The Algorithm, Google, and Karen
23. HALLOWEEN SPECIAL (WITH VIDEO!): Tea leaves and spooky reads
22. Emergency Responders: Alien invasions and zombie outbreaks
21. Sexuality in Speculative Fiction
20. Dragons: Western and Eastern mythical beasts
19. Fighting Words: Everybody loves conflict writing
18. The Chosen One: When the world really does revolve around you
17. Corporatocracy: "The Warehouse" world-building tour
TRAILER: Fall 2022 season
BONUS: Speculative Sandbox goes on summer break
16. Drugs & Robots: "The Body Scout" World-Building Tour
15. Ghost Stories: Real-Life Hauntings and Fictional Tropes
14. The Internet Is Dead: Conspiracy Theories
13. Unhappy Endings: The Good, The Bad, and the Bittersweet
12. Shared Universes: Many Stories, One World
11. Space Cities: The Challenges of Leaving Earth
10. Modern Heroes for Modern Problems
9. Doomed Mentors: Common Occupational Hazards
BONUS: Query Letters and Analysis Paralysis
8. Asian American Voices in Speculative Fiction
7. Love and Death: Greek Myth Tropes and Archetypes
6. Crafting the Villain: Dark Triad Personalities
5. Chasing Utopia: The Horrors of Perfection
4. The Immortality Dilemma: Legacy building gone wrong
3. Cautionary Tales: Dystopian Societies
2. Am I the Drama? Problematic Protagonists
1. Introduction: A podcast for speculative fiction writers