Episode 181: Journey to the Past, ft. SHANNON CHAKRABORTY
From Worldbuilding for Masochists by worldbuildingformasochists
May 20, 2026 · 1h 18m · Season 7 · Episode 25
About this episode
The episode discusses the importance of history in fantasy worldbuilding with guest Shannon Chakraborty.
History underpins so much of what we do in the fantasy genre, directly and indirectly. So how do we make that history feel real in an invented world? What makes it feel old and settled as opposed to a culture that popped up out of the snow like a daisy to give the protagonist their story? Guest Shannon Chakraborty joins us to chat about why we love history, how we study it, and how we weave it together with the fantastical. History’s not only about what was, but what is, how a society constructs the myth of itself, shapes its values, claims legitimacy, and that means it's not just the source of tomes of lore -- it's so much of what influences who your characters are, how they think, and what obstacles are in their way. Depicting history is also a commentary on today, part of an ongoing project of how we shape our ideas of ourselves and whose stories get to be heard. That makes it a powerful tool to use in crafting fantasy narratives. [Transcript for Episode 181 TK] Our Guest: Shannon Chakraborty is the critically acclaimed, New York Times bestselling author of The Daevabad Trilogy and The Adventures of Amina al-Sirafi. Her work has been translated into over a dozen languages and…
People in this episode
Guest: Shannon Chakraborty
Topics covered
- history in fantasy
- worldbuilding
- cultural mythology
- character development
- fantasy narratives
Keywords
- fantasy genre
- worldbuilding
- history
- cultural values
- character obstacles
Mentioned in this episode
Organizations: New York Times
Books & works: The Daevabad Trilogy, The Adventures of Amina al-Sirafi
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