Maren Hunsberger breaks down Pern

Exolore: facts-based fictional worldbuilding

Moiya is joined by microbiologist Maren Hunsberger to talk about the world from Anne McCaffrey's Dragonriders of Pern series! They discuss the world's long timescale, the blurred line between sci-fi and fantasy, the importance of strong female leads, and how to write about bathing in your fiction.

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

GUEST

• Maren Hunsberger is a microbiologist, actor, podcaster, and science communicator. Find her and her work at marenhunsberger.com

SPONSORS

• Get a FREE .gay domain for a whole year at exolore.gay
• This episode is sponsored by Betterhelp. Visit betterhelp.com/worldbuilder for 10% off your first month

HOUSEKEEPING

• Order my book, THE MILKY WAY: https://www.grandcentralpublishing.com/titles/moiya-mctier/the-milky-way/9781538754153/
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CREDITS

• Music: https://www.purple-planet.com
• Cover art: Stephen J. Reisig, http://stephenjreisig.com/
• Editing: Mischa Stanton, https://www.mischastanton.com/

ABOUT US

How would you like to swim in an ocean ruled by matriarchal squid, or fly over a planet as it rotates with a swarm of migrating wasps? No, it's not the latest VR craze (... yet); it's Exolore! Exolore helps you imagine other worlds with the help of facts and science. Every other week, host Dr. Moiya McTier invites experts to build a world from scratch or sits down with a fiction fan to dive deep into their favorite worlds. Every episode will make you laugh, go "huh?" and appreciate how special our world really is.

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