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You're listening to imaginary worlds.

A show about how we create them and why we suspend our disbelief.

I'm Eric Mowlinski.

When I read a novel by Becky Chambers, there's something very familiar about the characters.

They talk like people I know, they're navigating issues of diversity, inclusion, or politics,

with a light touch and a sense of humor.

But these characters aren't people, or most of them aren't, they're aliens, outlandish

aliens, or artificial intelligence.

And if they are human, they're from a distant future when the earth is not really habitable.

Becky Chambers is best known for writing the Wayfarer series, which is a really beloved

and popular series.

Each novel is a self-contained story in the same universe, and there's really only

kind of a loose narrative thread between the books.

Her universe is so densely populated.

The only way she's been able to keep track of all her different alien civilizations is

...