Episode 182: Stranger than Fiction, ft. GABRIELLA BUBA

Episode 182: Stranger than Fiction, ft. GABRIELLA BUBA

June 3, 2026 · 1h 20m · Season 7 · Episode 26

About this episode

Gabriella Buba discusses the integration of real science into magical worldbuilding and its implications for society's understanding of information and power.

Sometimes, the truth is weirder and stranger than anything we could make up -- and that's something a worldbuilder can use to their benefit! Guest Gabriella Buba joins us to talk about building real science into our magical worlds -- and the implications that can, in turn, have about a society's relationship with information, education, and the power structures that both derive from and control them. When blending science and magic together, writers can play with a lot of different factors and considerations. Is magic in a given world really about the movement of electrons or the interaction of chemicals, or is it a truly unexplainable force? What do your characters think about the scientific realities of their world? How do they test theories, and do they have a magical R&D department? And what might be the difference between how much the writer needs to know, how much the characters need to know, and how much the reader needs to know? Finding the balance can be tricky, and won't be the same for every project, but getting it right can add invaluable texture to your world. [Transcript for Episode 182] Our Guest: Gabriella Buba is a mixed Filipina-Czech author-illustrator and…

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Guest: Gabriella Buba

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