Episode 27: Recombinatorial Storytelling with Roger Travis | 26 May 2026

Stephen and Trent interview their great friend and classics scholar, Dr. Roger Travis, whose forthcoming book from McFarland proposes a theory of recombinatorial storytelling in ancient epics and cooperative adventure card games. The trio discusses:

• Halo 2, The Aeneid, and reflections on Cultural Truth Value;

• Homeric bards as gamer-designers who leveraged an available technology (dactylic hexameter) to recompose myths;

• The repetitive “formulas” of ancient epics and their relation to modern cooperative adventure card games;

• Worldbuilding as a “social forces sandbox” that constrains and enables narrative possibilities;

• The shared structure of ancient Greek mythology and contemporary transmedia storytelling;

• Greek tragedy as a “snapshot” of living performance;

• The history of fiction writing and its parallels to curricular design;

• The Iliad, The Odyssey, and the Telemachy as instructional genre fiction for social education;

• Mirroring recomposition from the ancient world via modern transmedia stories like Star Wars;

• Treading the narrow line between fossilized and fluid storytelling;

• Plato’s Allegory of the Cave as the world’s first video game;

• Evolutionary tension between the desire for novel stimuli and the biochemical need for predictability; and

• Recomposition and worldbuilding as peas in a shared pod of iterative narrative creation.

Episode References:

• Travis, R. (2010, November 18). A note on the word “practomime” [Blog post]. Play The Past. https://www.playthepast.org/?p=198

• Bungie. (2004). Halo 2 (Version 1.0) [Xbox]. Microsoft Game Studios.

• Virgil. (1990). The Aeneid (R. Fitzgerald, Trans.). Vintage Books. (Original work published ca. 19 B.C.E.)

• Homer. (1990). The Iliad (R. Fagles, Trans.). Penguin Books. (Original work published ca. 8th century B.C.E.).

• Homer. (1996). The odyssey (R. Fagles, Trans.). Penguin Books. (Original work published ca. 8th century B.C.E.).

• Fantasy Flight Games. (2011). The Lord of the rings: The card game. [Board game]. Fantasy Flight Games.

• Plato. (1992). Republic (G. M. A. Grube, Trans.; C. D. C. Reeve, Rev.). Hackett Publishing. (Original work published ca. 380 B.C.E.)

• Aeschylus. (1922). Seven against Thebes (H. W. Smyth, Trans.). Perseus Digital Library. https://scaife.perseus.org/library/urn:cts:greekLit:tlg0085.tlg004/ (Original work published 467 B.C.E.)

• Plato. (1961). Letters. In E. Hamilton & H. Cairns (Eds.), The collected dialogues of Plato (L. A. Post, Trans.). Princeton University Press. (Original work written ca. 360 B.C.E.)

• Rocksteady Studios. (2009). Batman: Arkham asylum (v. 1.0) [Video game]. Eidos Interactive; Warner Bros. Interactive Entertainment.

• Burton, T. (Director). (1989). Batman [Film]. Warner Bros.

• Timm, B., & Radomski, E. (Executive Producers). (1992–1995). Batman: The Animated Series [TV series]. Warner Bros. Animation; DC Entertainment.

• Traveller’s Tales. (2026). LEGO Batman: Legacy of the Dark Knight (Version 1.0) [Video game]. Warner Bros. Games.

• Valve. (2007). Portal (Version 1.0.0) [Video game]. Valve.

• Squad. (2015). Kerbal Space Program (Version 1.0) [Video game]. Private Division.

• ZA/UM. (2019). Disco Elysium [Video game]. ZA/UM.

• Pope, L. (2013). Papers, Please (Version 1.4.15) [Video game]. 3909.

• Lem, S. (2002). Solaris (J. Kilmartin & S. Cox, Trans.). Harcourt Brace. (Original work published 1961).

• Tchaikovsky, A. (2015). Children of time (Children of Time series, Book 1). Orbit.

Episode 26: Accessibility | 19 May 2026

Stephen and Trent discuss the ins and outs of accessibility as relates to worldbuilding, design practices, and the broader educational ecosystem, including:

• Biomedical vs. social models of disability;

• Framing disability and accessibility in terms of environments rather than people;

• Yanni vs. Laurel, “The Dress,” and subjective perception;

• The inseparability of language and context;

• Situated cognition and how each of us “talks” to the world;

• The Spoon Theory of Disability;

• The “Roy Rogers” Model of toggleable accessibility options;

• Why and how to incorporate multiple modalities during the design process;

• Universal Design for Learning (UDL) and its wide-ranging applications;

• Understanding and combating systemic capitalist hurdles to inclusivity;

• Weighing the benefits and drawbacks of low-tech vs. high-tech accessibility solutions;

• Overcoming faulty cultural assumptions and outdated beliefs concerning learner (dis)abilities;

• Debunking and replacing the “learning styles” myth; and

• Practical accessibility design resources for educators and designers.

Episode References:

• Miserandino, C. (2003). The spoon theory. But You Don't Look Sick. https://butyoudontlooksick.com/articles/written-by-christine/the-spoon-theory/

• AbleGamers. (2026). AbleGamers: Combating social isolation through play. https://ablegamers.org/

• Brown, M. (n.d.). Video Game Accessibility [YouTube playlist]. Game Maker's Toolkit. YouTube. https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLc38fcMFcV_vvWOhMDriBlVocTZ8mKQzR

• University of Michigan. (2024, January 10). Roundup on research: The myth of 'learning styles'. Center for Academic Innovation. https://onlineteaching.umich.edu/articles/the-myth-of-learning-styles/

• National Center for Learning Disabilities. (n.d.). NCLD: Unrestricted access and unlimited opportunity. https://ncld.org

• Galiatsos S., Kruse L., Whitaker M. (2019). Forward together: Helping educators unlock the power of students who learn differently. National Center for Learning Disabilities. https://www.understood.org/en/research-and-surveys/forward-together

• Understood for All, Inc. (2024). 2023 annual report. https://www.understood.org/en/annual-report

• Cognition and Technology Group at Vanderbilt. (1992). The Jasper Series as an Example of Anchored Instruction: Theory, Program Description, and Assessment Data. Educational Psychologist, 27(3), 291–315. https://doi.org/10.1207/s15326985ep2703_3

• Saylor, S. (n.d.). Video Game Accessibility [YouTube channel]. YouTube. https://www.youtube.com/@SteveSaylor

• Evmanova, A. (n.d.). Anya Evmanova. George Mason University College of Education and Human Development. https://cehd.gmu.edu/people/faculty/aevmenov/

• Evmenova, A. S., Hollingshead, A., Lowrey, K. A., Rao, K., & Williams, L. D. (2024). Designing for diversity and inclusion: UDL-based strategies for college courses (practice brief). Journal of Postsecondary Education and Disability, 37(1), 81-88. https://www.ahead.org/professional-resources/publications/jped

Episode 25: [World Anvil Interview] Hopeful Speculative Fiction | 12 May 2026

Speculative fiction often serves as a warning, but in darker times, it can help imagine the way to brighter days.

In this episode, World Anvil’s Janet Forbes interviews Trent and Stephen about writing hopeful (but evidence-based!) speculative fiction. The trio discusses The Worldbuilding Workshop and how worldbuilding methodology can help untangle and demystify large contemporary social problems.

Episode References:

• Hergenrader, T. & Slota, S. (2025). The worldbuilding workshop: Teaching critical thinking and empathy through world modeling, simulation, and play. The MIT Press.

• Hergenrader, T. (2019). Collaborative worldbuilding for writers and gamers. Bloomsbury Academic.

• Young, M. F., Slota, S. T., Cutter, A., Jalette, G., Mullin, G., Lai, B., Simeoni, Z., Tran, M., & Yukhymenko, M. (2012). Our princess is in another castle: A review of trends in serious gaming for education. Review of Educational Research, 82(1), 61-89. doi: 10.3102/0034654312436980

• Atwood, M. (1986). The handmaid’s tale. Random House.

• Le Guin, U. K. (1974). The dispossessed: An ambiguous utopia. Harper & Row.

• Robinson, K. S. (2020). Three Californias: The wild shore, The gold coast, and Pacific edge. Tor Books.

• Collins, S. (2014). The hunger games trilogy. Scholastic.

• Gilroy, T. (Executive Producer). (2022–2025). Andor [TV series]. Lucasfilm; Disney+.

• Lucas, G. (Director). (1977). Star Wars Episode IV: A New Hope [Film]. Lucasfilm; 20th Century Fox.

• Härenstam, T. (2020). Vaesen: Nordic horror roleplaying [Tabletop game]. Free League Publishing.

• Nintendo. (2020). Animal Crossing: New Horizons [Video game]. Nintendo.

• Barone, E. (2016). Stardew valley [Video game]. ConcernedApe.

• Naughty Dog. (2013). The Last of Us [Video game]. Sony Computer Entertainment.

• Wizards of the Coast. (2014). Dungeons & dragons player’s handbook (5th ed.) [Tabletop game]. Wizards of the Coast.

• Martin, G. R. R. (1996–2011). A Song of Ice and Fire (Vols. 1–5). HarperVoyager.

• Martin, G. R. R. (2018). Fire & blood (1st ed.). Bantam Books.

• Benioff, D., Weiss, D. B., Strauss, C., Doelger, F., Caulfield, B., Cogman, B., Sapochnik, M., & Nutter, D. (Executive Producers). (2011–2019). Game of thrones [TV series]. Home Box Office (HBO); Television 360; Grok! Television; Generator Entertainment; Startling Television; Bighead Littlehead.

• Gilligan, V. (Creator). (2008–2013). Breaking Bad [TV series]. Sony Pictures Television.

• Gilligan, V. & Gould, P. (Executive Producers). (2015–2022). Better Call Saul [TV series]. High Bridge Productions; Crystal Diner Productions; Gran Via Productions; Sony Pictures Television.

• Del Toro, G. (Executive Producer). (2022). Cabinet of Curiosities [TV series]. Double Dare You Productions; Netflix.

• Flanagan, M. (Executive Producer). (2018). The haunting of hill house [TV series]. Amblin Television; Paramount Television; Intrepid Pictures.

• Conrad, S. (Creator). (2026). DTF St. Louis [TV miniseries]. Aggregate Films; Bravo Axolotl; Escape Artists; MGM Television; HBO.

• Schoenbrun, J. (Director). (2024). I saw the TV glow [Film]. A24; Fruit Tree; Smudge Films; Hypnic Jerk.

• Sudeikis, J., Hunt, B., Kelly, J., Lawrence, B., & Wriston, J. (Executive Producers). (2020–2023). Ted Lasso [TV series]. Apple Inc.; Warner Bros. Television.

• Tolkien, J. R. R. (1954-1955). The Lord of the Rings. Allen & Unwin.

• Campbell, J. (1949). The hero with a thousand faces. Pantheon Books.

• Dick, P. K. (1969). Ubik. Doubleday & Co., Inc.

• Epic Games. (2006). Gears of war [Video game]. Microsoft Game Studios.

• Herbert, F. (1965). Dune. Chilton Books.

• Cameron, J. (Director). (2009). Avatar [Film]. 20th Century Fox.

• Costner, K. (Director). (1990). Dances with Wolves [Film]. Orion Pictures.

• Miéville, C. (2000). Perdido street station. Macmillan.

• Miéville, C. (2002). The scar. Del Rey/Ballantine Books.

• Gilligan, V. (Creator). (2025–present). Plur1bus [TV series]. High Bridge Productions; Sony Pictures Television.

• Siegel, D. (Director). (1956). Invasion of the Body Snatchers [Film]. Walter Wanger Productions.

• Edwards, G. (Director). (2016). Rogue One: A Star Wars Story [Film]. Lucasfilm; Walt Disney Studios Motion Pictures.

Episode 24: Star Wars Holiday Special | 5 May 2026

In honor of May the Fourth and Revenge of the Fifth, Trent and Stephen express their love of (and occasional frustration with) the biggest and best example of transmedia storytelling on earth: STAR WARS.

Join the duo as they discuss the fabled franchise’s five decades of social, cultural, and economic ascendance, including:

• A brief history of the Star Wars transmedia storyworld;

• The crisscrossing relationship(s) between diverse Star Wars stories;

• Star Wars as a model for future multi-modal artists;

• Recursive storytelling;

• How Star Wars fostered a complex, global Community of Practice;

• Balancing new ideas with internal consistency and canonicity;

• Diminishing returns from retreading the same content;

• Rebels as a skeleton key to the Disney Star Wars universe;

• The cross-generational benefits of transmedia storytelling;

• “No chocolate, all Easter eggs”;

• Deciding what makes Star Wars “Star Wars”;

• Exerting creative restraint to keep stories grounded and facilitate suspension of disbelief;

• Andor as the peak representation of purposeful Star Wars storytelling;

• Determining how much story can be told through a given medium;

• Stories as a product of and response to the times in which they are written;

• How the Star Wars tabletop role-playing game scaffolded Star Wars into its current popularity and scope;

• Cosplay, theme parks, and community-building through mutual love of Star Wars; and

• What Star Wars can do for real-world educational systems, approaches, and tools.

Episode References:

Episode References:

• Jenkins, H. (2006). Convergence culture: Where old and new media collide. New York University Press.

• Wachowski, L. & Wachowski, L. (Directors). (1999). The Matrix [Film]. Warner Bros.

• Lucas, G. (Director). (1977). Star Wars Episode IV: A New Hope [Film]. Lucasfilm; 20th Century Fox.

• Lucas, G. (Director). (2005). Star wars: Episode III – Revenge of the sith [Film]. Lucasfilm; 20th Century Fox.

• Lucas, G. (Executive Producer). (2008–2020). Star Wars: The Clone Wars [TV series]. Lucasfilm; Cartoon Network/Netflix.

• Foster, A. D. (1978). Splinter of the mind’s eye [From the adventures of Luke Skywalker]. Ballantine Books.

• Kaminski, M. (2008). The secret history of Star Wars: The art of storytelling and the making of a modern epic. Legacy Books Press.

• Nintendo of America. (1988–2012). Nintendo Power. Nintendo of America.

• Howard, R. (Director). (2018). Solo: A Star Wars Story [Film]. Walt Disney Pictures; Lucasfilm Ltd.

• Gray, C. (2017). Leia, Princess of Alderaan. Disney Lucasfilm Press.

• Johnston, E. K. (2016). Ahsoka. Disney Lucasfilm Press.

• Johnson, R. (Director). (2017). Star Wars: The Last Jedi [Film]. Lucasfilm; Walt Disney Studios Motion Pictures.

• Headland, L., Kennedy, K., Emanuel, S., King, J. F., & Micallef, J. (Executive Producers). (2024). Star Wars: The Acolyte [TV series]. Lucasfilm; Walt Disney Company.

• Kennedy, K., Rejwan, M., Chow, D., McGregor, E., & Harold, J. (Executive Producers). (2022). Obi-Wan Kenobi [TV series]. Lucasfilm; Disney+.

• Favreau, J. (Executive Producer). (2021–2022). The Book of Boba Fett [TV series]. Lucasfilm; Golem Creations

• Jenkins, Henry. “Transmedia Storytelling 101.” Confessions of an Aca-Fan. 22 Mar. 2007. Web.

• Abrams, J. J. (Director). (2015). Star Wars: The Force Awakens [Film]. Lucasfilm Ltd.; Bad Robot.

• Miller, J. J. (2014). A new dawn: Star Wars (1st ed.). Del Rey.

• Weisman, G. (2015). Star Wars: Kanan—The Last Padawan (P. Larraz & J. Camagni, Illus.). Marvel Worldwide, Inc.

• Filoni, D., Kinsey, H., & Ratliff, K. (Executive Producers). (2014–2018). Star Wars Rebels [TV series]. Lucasfilm; Lucasfilm Animation.

• Edwards, G. (Director). (2016). Rogue One: A Star Wars Story [Film]. Lucasfilm; Walt Disney Studios Motion Pictures.

• Lucas, G. (Director). (1999). Star Wars: Episode I – The Phantom Menace [Film]. Lucasfilm Ltd.; 20th Century Fox.

• Gilroy, T. (Executive Producer). (2022–2025). Andor [TV series]. Lucasfilm; Disney+.

• Lucas, G. (Director). (2002). Star Wars: Episode II - Attack of the Clones [Film]. Lucasfilm Ltd.; 20th Century Fox.

• Favreau, J., Filoni, D., Kennedy, K., & Wilson, C. (Executive Producers). (2019–present). The Mandalorian [TV series]. Lucasfilm; Golem Creations.

• Filoni, D., Favreau, J., & Kennedy, K. (Executive Producers). (2023–present). Ahsoka [TV series]. Lucasfilm; Walt Disney Studios Motion Pictures.

• Spielberg, S. (Director). (1975). Jaws [Film]. Universal Pictures.

• Hitchcock, A. (Director & Producer). (1960). Psycho [Film]. United States: Universal Studios.

• Scorsese, M. (Director). (1976). Taxi driver [Film]. Columbia Pictures.

• Zahn, T. (1991). Heir to the Empire (Star Wars: The Thrawn Trilogy, Vol. 1). Bantam Spectra.

• Costikyan, G. (1987). Star Wars: The role-playing game (1st ed.) [Role-playing game]. West End Games.

Episode 23: Worldbuilding Walkthrough - Part III | 28 April 2026

In this three-episode series, Stephen and Trent walk the walk by collaboratively constructing a storyworld using The Worldbuilding Workshop card deck and design process!

Parts I and II featured animated conversation about a burgeoning gothic horror boomtown and its underlying Governmental, Economic, Social, and Cultural systems; the range of potential interactions between its fourteen substructural categories; and the scope, sequence, breadth, depth, and genre elements that would provide a maximally delectable worldbuild-y flavor profile. Now, in Part III, the duo applies Trent’s character-building system to develop a diverse panoply of citizens that breathe life into a five-scene, three-act story concerning “big ideas” about the world’s social forces.

Episode References:

• Shelley, M. (1818). Frankenstein; or, the modern Prometheus. Lackington, Hughes, Harding, Mavor, & Jones.

• Härenstam, T. (2020). Vaesen: Nordic horror roleplaying [Tabletop game]. Free League Publishing.

• Naughty Dog. (2013). The Last of Us [Video game]. Sony Computer Entertainment.

• Drennan, J. (2009). Fiasco [Tabletop role-playing game]. Bully Pulpit Games.

• Wizards of the Coast. (2014). Dungeons & dragons player’s handbook (5th ed.) [Tabletop game]. Wizards of the Coast.

• Tolkien, J. R. R. (1954-1955). The Lord of the Rings. Allen & Unwin.

• Kershner, I. (Director). (1980). Star wars: Episode V - The empire strikes back [Film]. Lucasfilm; 20th Century Fox.

• Martin, G. R. R. (1996–2011). A Song of Ice and Fire (Vols. 1–5). HarperVoyager.

• Benioff, D., Weiss, D. B., Strauss, C., Doelger, F., Caulfield, B., Cogman, B., Sapochnik, M., & Nutter, D. (Executive Producers). (2011–2019). Game of thrones [TV series]. Home Box Office (HBO); Television 360; Grok! Television; Generator Entertainment; Startling Television; Bighead Littlehead.

• Gilligan, V. (Creator). (2008–2013). Breaking Bad [TV series]. Sony Pictures Television.

• Gilligan, V. & Gould, P. (Executive Producers). (2015–2022). Better Call Saul [TV series]. High Bridge Productions; Crystal Diner Productions; Gran Via Productions; Sony Pictures Television.

• Gilroy, T. (Executive Producer). (2022–2025). Andor [TV series]. Lucasfilm.

• Edwards, G. (Director). (2016). Rogue one: A Star Wars story [Film]. Lucasfilm Ltd.; Walt Disney Studios Motion Pictures.

• Magill, F. N. (Ed.). (1963). Masterplots: Best masterplots (1963 annual vol.). Salem Press.

• Cook, W. W. (1928). Plotto: The master book of all plots. Ellis Publishing Company.

• Meehan, T. (Book), Strouse, C. (Music), & Charnin, M. (Lyrics) (1977, April 21). Annie [Live performance at the Alvin Theatre]. New York, NY.

• Coen, J. (Director). (2000). O Brother, Where Art Thou? [Film]. Touchstone Pictures; Universal Pictures.

• Homer. (1996). The odyssey (R. Fagles, Trans.). Penguin Books. (Original work published ca. 8th century B.C.E.).

• Favreau, J., Filoni, D., Rodriguez, R., Kennedy, K., & Wilson, C. (Executive Producers). (2021–2022). The book of Boba Fett [TV series]. Lucasfilm; Golem Creations.

• Filoni, D., Kinsey, S., & Ratcliffe, S. (Executive Producers). (2014–2018). Star Wars Rebels [TV series]. Lucasfilm.

• Tolkien, J. R. R. (1977). The Silmarillion (C. Tolkien, Ed.). Houghton Mifflin.

• Tolkien, J. R. R. (1937). The hobbit, or, there and back again. George Allen & Unwin.

• Nintendo. (2015). Splatoon [Video game]. Nintendo.

Episode 22: Worldbuilding Walkthrough - Part II | 21 April 2026

In this three-episode series, Stephen and Trent walk the walk by collaboratively constructing a storyworld using The Worldbuilding Workshop card deck and design process!

In Part I, the duo assigned numerical values to each of their new world’s Governmental, Economic, Social, and Cultural substructures. Now, in Part II, they debate genre, theme, scope, and sequence, developing a “40,000-foot view” of the world’s Places, Things, and Events. This will prepare them to interrogate emergent social forces and generate a diverse population of characters in their concluding segment, Part III.

Episode References:

• Collins, S. (2014). The hunger games trilogy. Scholastic.

• Lucas, G. (Director). (1971). THX 1138 [Film]. American Zoetrope; Warner Bros.

• Lucas, G. (Director). (1977). Star Wars Episode IV: A New Hope [Film]. Lucasfilm; 20th Century Fox.

• Tolkien, J. R. R. (1954-1955). The Lord of the Rings. Allen & Unwin.

• Racioppa, S., Kirkman, R., Alpert, D., Winder, C., & Ryp, J. (Executive Producers). (2021–present). Invincible [TV series]. Skybound; Amazon Studios.

• Kripke, E., Goldberg, E., & Rogen, S. (Executive Producers). (2019–present). The Boys [TV series]. Amazon Studios; Sony Pictures Television; Kripke Enterprises; Point Grey Pictures; Original Film.

• Härenstam, T. (2020). Vaesen: Nordic horror roleplaying [Tabletop game]. Free League Publishing.

• Docter, P. (Director). (2001). Monsters, Inc. [Film]. Pixar Animation Studios; Walt Disney Pictures.

• Lasseter, J. (Director), & Stanton, A. (Co-director). (1998). A bug's life [Film]. Walt Disney Pictures; Pixar Animation Studios.

• Coen, J. (Director). (2000). O Brother, Where Art Thou? [Film]. Touchstone Pictures; Universal Pictures.

• Coen, J. & Coen, E. (Directors). (2007). No country for old men [Film]. Miramax Films; Scott Rudin Productions.

• Bennett, J. & Huddy, J. (Executive Producers). (2023-present). Scavengers Reign [TV series]. Max; Titmouse.

• Coen, J. & Coen, E. (Directors/Writers). (2018). The Ballad of Buster Scruggs [Film]. Annapurna Pictures; Netflix.

• Milch, D. (Executive Producer). (2004–2006). Deadwood [TV series]. Paramount Television; Home Box Office (HBO).

• Scott, R. (Director). (1979). Alien [Film]. Twentieth Century Fox; Brandywine Productions.

• Hawley, N. (Executive Producer). (2025–present). Alien: Earth [TV series]. 20th Television; Brandywine Productions.

• Scott, R. (Director). (2015). The Martian [Film]. Twentieth Century Fox.

• Roddenberry, G. (Executive Producer). (1966–1969). Star Trek [TV series]. Desilu Productions; Paramount Television.

• Golding, W. (1954). Lord of the flies. Faber & Faber.

• EA Redwood Shores. (2008). Dead Space [Video game]. Electronic Arts.

• Muschietti, A., Muschietti, B., & Fuchs, J. (Executive Producers). (2025–present). It: Welcome to Derry [TV series]. Double Dream; FiveTen Productions; Rideback; Vertigo Entertainment; Warner Bros. Television; HBO.

• Sapkowski, A. (2007). The last wish (D. French, Trans.). Orbit. (Original work published 1993).

• Spielberg, S. (Director). (1981). Raiders of the lost ark [Film]. Lucasfilm; Paramount Pictures.

• Bethesda Game Studios. (2008). Fallout 3 [Video game]. Bethesda Softworks.

• Scott, R. (Director). (2012). Prometheus [Film]. Scott Free Productions; Brandywine Productions; 20th Century Fox.

• Carter, C. (Executive Producer). (1993–2018). The X-Files [TV series]. Ten Thirteen Productions; 20th Century Fox Television.

• Lem, S. (2002). Solaris (J. Kilmartin & S. Cox, Trans.). Harcourt Brace. (Original work published 1961).

• Wizards of the Coast. (2014). Dungeons & dragons player’s handbook (5th ed.) [Tabletop game]. Wizards of the Coast.

Episode 21: Worldbuilding Walkthrough - Part I | 14 April 2026

In this three-episode series, Stephen and Trent walk the walk by collaboratively constructing a storyworld using The Worldbuilding Workshop card deck and design process!

Part I features a brief recap of the 14-substructure worldbuilding framework, examples of how different substructures are expressed in different popular media, and a step-by-step assignment of numerical values to a “from scratch” world. Then, the duo interprets, scaffolds, and contextualizes their world’s substructural values in advance of Part II (determining genre, theme, scope, and sequence) and Part III (generating a diverse population of characters).

Episode References:

• Atwood, M. (1986). The handmaid’s tale. Random House.

• Wizards of the Coast. (2014). Dungeons & dragons player’s handbook (5th ed.) [Tabletop game]. Wizards of the Coast.

• Härenstam, T. (2020). Vaesen: Nordic horror roleplaying [Tabletop game]. Free League Publishing.

• Lucas, G. (Director). (1977). Star Wars Episode IV: A New Hope [Film]. Lucasfilm; 20th Century Fox.

• Tolkien, J. R. R. (1954). The fellowship of the ring. George Allen & Unwin.

• Spielberg, S. (Director). (2002). Minority Report [Film]. Twentieth Century Fox.

• Orwell, G. (1949). 1984. Secker & Warburg.

• Huxley, A. (2010). Brave new world (11th ed.). Vintage.

• Culliford, P. [Peyo] (Creator). (1981–1989). The Smurfs [TV series]. Hanna-Barbera Productions; NBC.

• Naughty Dog. (2013). The Last of Us [Video game]. Sony Computer Entertainment.

• Irrational Games. (2007). BioShock [Video game]. 2K Games.

• Rockstar San Diego. (2010). Red Dead Redemption [Video game]. Rockstar Games.

• Le Guin, U. K. (1974). The dispossessed: An ambiguous utopia. Harper & Row.

• DiMartino, M. D. & Konietzko, B. (Creators). (2005–2008). Avatar: The Last Airbender [TV series]. Nickelodeon Animation Studio; Nickelodeon.

• Fergus, M. & Ostby, H. (Creators). (2015–2022). The expanse [TV series]. Alcon Entertainment; Alcon Television Group; Hivemind; Amazon Studios.

• Herbert, F. (1965). Dune. Chilton Books.

• Groening, M. (Creator). (1989–present). The Simpsons [TV series]. Gracie Films; 20th Television Animation; Fox Broadcasting Company.

• Blizzard Entertainment. (2004). World of Warcraft [Massively multiplayer online role-playing game]. Blizzard Entertainment.

• Meier, S. & Shelley, B. (Designers). (1991). Sid Meier's Civilization [Computer game]. MicroProse.

• Ross, H. (Director). (1984). Footloose [Film]. IndieProd Company; Phoenix Pictures; Paramount Pictures.

• Scott, R. (Director). (1984, January 22). 1984 [TV advertisement]. Chiat/Day; Apple Computer.

• Jackson, S. (1948, June 26). The lottery. The New Yorker. https://www.newyorker.com/magazine/1948/06/26/the-lottery

• Hawthorne, N. (2015). The scarlet letter. Penguin Classics. (Original work published 1850).

• Martin, G. R. R. (1996–2011). A Song of Ice and Fire (Vols. 1–5). HarperVoyager.

• Joy, L. & Nolan, J. (Executive Producers). (2024–present). Fallout [TV series]. Kilter Films; Amazon MGM Studios.

• Berman, R. & Piller, M. (Executive Producers). (1993–1999). Star Trek: Deep Space Nine [TV series]. Paramount Television.

Episode 20: Transmedia Storytelling | 7 April 2026

Stephen and Trent achieve escape velocity to soar beyond The Worldbuilding Workshop’s pages! In this episode, the dynamic duo digs into the distinct (but critical!) topic of transmedia storytelling, including:

• Similarities and differences between fictional and nonfictional storyworlds;

• Remediation as a means of reaching into the past and carrying familiarity into the future;

• Strategic application of diverse media to emphasize diverse themes across diverse slices of a world’s scope and sequence;

• Storytelling as a biological imperative for meaning-making and long-term survival;

• Capturing the human experience in language, visual arts, and sound;

• How religion, legends, and day-to-day stories cohere to form the continuum of our life-worlds;

• Using stories to communicate relativistic perceptions and combat solipsism;

• Applying Sam Ford’s definition of “storyworld” to contemporary transmedia storytelling;

• Development of transmedia stories for specific thematic purposes or no purpose at all;

• Why book-to-film and other adaptations are a kind of transmedia storytelling;

• “Same planet, different worlds” as a framework for interpreting perspective;

• How the Fallout transmedia storyworld teaches varied sociopolitical lessons through a complex metanarrative;

• The relationship between rules, laws, language, and storytelling;

• Algorithmic determinism, community atomization, and how the internet corroded the social contract;

• Camus' The Plague and how symbolism helps us grapple with complexity;

• Using transmedia stories to rescue black-pilled nihilists from antisocial “black hole” Communities of Practice;

• Worldbuilding as a mechanism for interrogating personal beliefs, enculturation, and capital-T “Truth”;

• Transmedia worldbuilding to navigate nihilism, solipsism, and epiphenomenalism (physicalism vs. qualia);

• Making decisions about how the world can and should work;

• Deferred meaning and the competing visions of Einstein and Derrida; and

• Empathizing with other humans across space and time.

Episode References:

• Lucas, G. (Director). (1977). Star Wars Episode IV: A New Hope [Film]. Lucasfilm; 20th Century Fox.

• Tolkien, J. R. R. (1991). The Silmarillion. HarperCollins.

• Joy, L. & Nolan, J. (Executive Producers). (2024–present). Fallout [TV series]. Kilter Films; Amazon MGM Studios.

• Novik, N. (2006). Temeraire (or His Majesty's Dragon). Del Rey.

• Games Workshop. (2020). Warhammer 40,000 (9th ed.) [Tabletop game].

• Ford, S. E. (2007). As the World Turns in a convergence culture [Master's thesis, Massachusetts Institute of Technology]. MIT Comparative Media Studies. https://files01.core.ac.uk/download/pdf/4403908.pdf

• Gilroy, T. (Executive Producer). (2022–2025). Andor [TV series]. Lucasfilm; Walt Disney Pictures.

• King, S. (2003). The gunslinger (Revised ed.). Viking.

• Martin, G. R. R. (1996). A game of thrones. Bantam Books.

• Roddenberry, G., Berman, R., & Piller, M. (Executive Producers). (1987–1994). Star Trek: The Next Generation [TV series]. Paramount Domestic Television; Paramount Television.

• Homer. (1990). The Iliad (R. Fagles, Trans.). Penguin Books. (Original work published ca. 8th century B.C.E.).

• Homer. (1996). The odyssey (R. Fagles, Trans.). Penguin Books. (Original work published ca. 8th century B.C.E.).

• George, A. R. (Trans.). (2003). The epic of Gilgamesh (New ed.). Penguin Books. (Original work published ca. 2000 B.C.E.).

• Cervantes, M. de. (1992). Don Quixote (P. A. Motteaux, Trans.). Wordsworth Editions. (Original work published 1605-1615).

• Gilliam, T. (Director). (1988). The adventures of Baron Munchausen [Film]. Allied Filmmakers; Laura Film; Prominent Features.

• Bethesda Game Studios. (2008). Fallout 3 [Video game]. Bethesda Softworks.

• Camus, A. (1991). The plague. Vintage Books. (Original work published 1947).

• Woodard, C. (2012). American nations: A history of the eleven rival regional cultures of North America. Penguin Books.

• Brown, M. W. (1947). Goodnight moon (C. Hurd, Illus.). Harper & Brothers.

• Davies, R. T. & Moffat, S. (Executive Producers). (2005–present). Doctor Who [TV series]. BBC Studios.

• Game Freak. (1998). Pokémon red and blue [Video game]. Nintendo.

• Reeve, E. (2024). Black pill: How I witnessed the darkest corners of the internet come to life, poison society, and capture American politics. Atria Books.

• Cochran, A. (2022). Contrasting cases for the design of an esports coaching curriculum: A communities of practice perspective [Doctoral dissertation, University of Connecticut].

• Calvino, I. (1974). Invisible cities (W. Weaver, Trans.). Harcourt, Inc.

• Jackson, F. (1982). Epiphenomenal qualia. The Philosophical Quarterly, 32(127), 127–136. https://doi.org/10.2307/2960077

Episode 19: Interview with Bryan Alexander | 31 March 2026

Stephen and Trent interview their colleague, friend, and author of The Worldbuilding Workshop’s foreword, Dr. Bryan Alexander. The trio discusses:

• The poly-crisis engulfing higher education, the United States, and the broader world;

• How financial stress, declining enrollment, and political pressures have put universities in a “defensive crouch”;

• Why universities should encourage graduate students/future faculty to study contemporary pedagogy within their respective domains;

• Institutional constraints and their effects on “bottom-up” innovation;

• Generative AI as both a threat and a tool;

• Preventing devolution into a transactional cycle where instructors use AI to write questions that learners use AI to answer;

• Persistent resistance to gaming and playful learning in higher education, especially compared to K-12 environments;

• Applying Kaufman and Beghetto’s “4C Model of Creativity” to evaluate individual acts versus societal contributions;

• Differences between worldbuilding content versus concepts, including the use of fictional storyworlds as vehicles for deconstructing reality;

• The relationship between transmedia storytelling, ethical decision-making, and professional collaboration;

• Navigating the tension between metrics and process;

• Identifying ways to quantify qualitative data and qualify quantitative data;

• Treating critical reflection as an essential component of fostering empathy; and

• Worldbuilding as an act of care.

Episode References:

• Alexander, B. (2026). Peak higher ed: How to survive the looming academic crisis. Johns Hopkins University Press.

• Shoulson, J. & Burkey, D. D. (Chairs). (2021, June). Future of Learning Committee final report. University of Connecticut, Office of the Provost. https://provost.uconn.edu/wp-content/uploads/sites/2165/2021/08/FoL-Final-Report-Final-June-2021-1.pdf

• Kaufman, J. C. & Beghetto, R. A. (2009). Beyond big and little: The four C model of creativity. Review of General Psychology, 13(1), 1-12.

• Slota, S. T. & Young, M. F. (2017). The inevitability of epic fail: Exploding the castle with situated learning. In Young, M. F. & Slota, S. T. (Eds.) Exploding the Castle: Rethinking How Video Games & Game Mechanics Can Shape the Future of Education. Charlotte, NC: Information Age Publishing.

• Bradley, E. (Reporter). (1985, September 15). Dungeons & Dragons [TV series episode]. In D. Hewitt (Executive Producer), 60 Minutes. CBS News.

• Stern, S. H. (Director). (1982). Mazes and monsters [Film]. McDermott Productions; Procter & Gamble Productions.

• Ringenbach, C. (2018). Climate Fresk (V8.1) [Card game]. La Fresque du Climat.

• Leacock, M. (2008). Pandemic [Board game]. Z-Man Games.

• Leacock, M. & Menapace, M. (2023). Daybreak [Board game]. CMYK.

• Bogost, I., Ferrari, S., & Schweizer, B. (2010). Newsgames: Journalism at play. MIT Press.

• Schwartz, D. L. & Bransford, J. D. (1998). A time for telling. Cognition and Instruction, 16(4), 475–522. https://doi.org/10.1207/s1532690xci1604_4

• Alighieri, D. (2004). Inferno (A. Mandelbaum, Trans.). Bantam Classics. (Original work published ca. 1307–1314).

• Asimov, I. (1966). Fantastic voyage. Houghton Mifflin.

• Gick, M. L. & Holyoak, K. J. (1980). Analogical problem solving. Cognitive Psychology, 12(3), 306–355. https://doi.org/10.1016/0010-0285(80)90013-4.

Episode 18: Epilogue - Notes From the End of the World | 24 March 2026

Stephen and Trent embrace their inner Waldorf and Statler to entertainingly grouse about higher education in The Worldbuilding Workshop’s epilogue, “Notes From the End of the World,” including:

• Six contentions about academia that explain why and how universities are failing;

• The toxic, cyclical relationship between universities and corporations;

• How to escape the profit-minded career preparation ouroboros;

• Orienting education toward creativity and open-ended problem solving rather than task performance;

• The problem(s) with treating educational and other social institutions like businesses;

• Common misconceptions about university funding, organization, and administration;

• Dueling visions of higher education and their consequences for socioculture, economics, and politics;

• Universities as community-building resources;

• Distributed, decentralized education and how decentralization affects the broader Community of Practice;

• Gatekeeping scholarship and why universities should value public communication;

• Providing professors and K12 educators with the resources needed to actually do their jobs;

• Striving to do public good versus wasting energy on intra/interuniversity competition;

• From The Landlord's Game to Squid Game, the misguided mission of educational capitalism;

• Adopting instructional strategies at the micro level to affect change at the macro level;

• Worldbuilding and playful learning as tools for reimagining K12 and higher education;

• Expanding prosocial, constructivist professional development instead of collapsing good ideas into sellable “turn-key” products;

• Cultivating a shared cultural focus on life-long learning; and

• Coming to see The Worldbuilding Workshop as an open-ended framework for experimentation with novel, interesting, and “out there” instructional strategies.

Episode References:

• Robinson, K. (2006, February). Do schools kill creativity? [Video]. TED Conferences. https://www.ted.com/talks/sir_ken_robinson_do_schools_kill_creativity

• Ainsworth-Land, G. T. & Jarman, B. (1992). Breakpoint and beyond: Mastering the future—today. Harper Business.

• Alexander, B. (2020). Academia Next: The Futures of Higher Education. Baltimore: John Hopkins University Press.

• Slota, S. T. & Young, M. F. (2014, June). Project TECHNOLOGIA: A game-based approach to understanding situated intentionality. Paper presented at 2014 Games, Learning, and Society Conference, Madison, WI. https://youtu.be/XJSwLhB8Kpg?si=aWYmlewegS-Eo-qr

• Joyce, J. (1992). Ulysses. Modern Library. (Original work published 1922)

• Magie, E. J. (1904). The Landlord's Game [Board game]. Original patent (U.S. Patent No. 748,626), Washington D.C.

• Hwang, D.-h. (Creator, Writer, Executive Producer). (2021). Squid game [TV series]. Siren Pictures.

• Cognition and Technology Group at Vanderbilt. (1992). The Jasper series as an example of anchored instruction: Theory, program description, and assessment data. Educational Psychologist, 27(3), 291–315.

Episode 17: Wrap-Up and Critical Reflection | 17 March 2026

Stephen and Trent debrief on the debriefing process in The Worldbuilding Workshop’s fifteenth chapter, “Wrap-Up and Critical Reflection,” including:

• A bookended critical reflection strategy (opening the worldbuilding activity with a discussion about target goals and closing with a debrief about whether and how those goals were fulfilled);

• Encouraging learners to critically reflect on both individual and group experiences;

• Why it’s worth writing down and discussing learner observations as a large group;

• Differences between instructor and learner interpretations of project success;

• Navigating the more traditional educator peak-and-valley workload vs. the steady-stream worldbuilding workload;

• ADDIE and the importance of flexible, iterative evaluation;

• Feedback delivery as piecing together a papier-mâché piñata;

• Blending standards-based assessment with other qualitative data;

• Avoiding the game of cheater whack-a-mole by developing cheat-proof qualitative assessments;

• How to implement peer evaluation methods throughout your worldbuilding project;

• Identifying and acknowledging your strongest project leaders (especially the quiet ones);

• Exchanging the “banking model” of teaching and learning for a more Socratic, conversational model;

• Overcoming imposter syndrome and defensiveness to be a better, more productive teacher;

• Connecting with and better understanding our learners’ individual life-worlds via critical reflection activities;

• Helping learners articulate their genuine thoughts rather than bullshit the instructor;

• Emphasizing integration and externalization over memorization and regurgitation (not WHAT but WHY and HOW);

• Benefits of maintaining personal thought journals while worldbuilding;

• The rarity of transfer in corporate training and professional development contexts;

• Empathizing with those who exist downstream of our decisions;

• The Stanford Marshmallow Experiment and how worldbuilding can help learners develop tolerance for delayed gratification; and

• Changing the educational system by dumping capitalist economic interests in favor of human-centric sociocultural and political goals.

Episode References:

• Csikszentmihalyi, M. (1990). Flow: The psychology of optimal experience. Harper & Row.

• Slota, S. T. (2014). Project TECHNOLOGIA: A game-based approach to understanding situated intentionality [Doctoral dissertation, University of Connecticut]. UConn OpenCommons. https://digitalcommons.lib.uconn.edu/dissertations/638/

• Mischel, W. & Ebbesen, E. B. (1970). Attention in delay of gratification. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology. 16 (2): 329–337. doi:10.1037/h0029815

• National Research Council. (2011). Learning science through computer games and simulations. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press.

[BONUS] Future Trends Forum: Worldbuilding Q&A | 5 March 2026

On Thursday, March 5, 2026, the Future Trends Forum returned to the topic of creative teaching.

Host Bryan Alexander spoke with two experts on the topic: Rochester Institute of Technology associate professor Trent Hergenrader and Dr. Stephen Slota, authors of the new book The Worldbuilding Workshop: Teaching Critical Thinking and Empathy Through World Modeling, Simulation, and Play (MIT Press).

In addition to addressing Bryan’s questions, Trent and Stephen responded to audience inquiries about pedagogical practices, artifacts, support structures, disciplines, and more.

https://forum.futureofeducation.us/

Episode 16: Role-Play | 10 March 2026

Stephen and Trent provide a professorial profile of performative play practice in their deconstruction of The Worldbuilding Workshop’s fourteenth chapter, “Role-Play,” including:

• Separating “role-play” from “simulation”;

• Inhabiting a character (first-person) vs. observing and analyzing a character (third-person);

• A brief history of role-play in education;

• Revisiting life-worlds and questioning what it means to “be in the same room”;

• Encouraging learners to role-play and reflect in a logically coherent way;

• Connecting in-character decision-making with real-world decision-making;

• “Bootstrapping” as an example of contextual complexity vs. overly simplistic reasoning;

• Thinking critically and empathetically about others’ perspectives;

• Attending to learners as complicated, changing people;

• The Ship of Theseus model for our moment-to-moment reconstitution of identity;

• Using role-play to interrogate stereotypes and essentialisms;

• Role-play for deconstructing complex systems in corporate environments;

• Voter ID legislation, drug testing for government benefits, and building a border wall as examples of reductive problem-solving;

• Good-faith vs. bad-faith argumentation;

• The “Do”s and “Do Not Do”s of educational role-play;

• Consent-driven role-play and why you probably shouldn’t position learners as oppressors/oppressed;

• The importance of debriefing role-play activities to break down power dynamics;

• Going meta on role-play, memory, and lived experience;

• How Nathan Fielder's The Rehearsal taught commercial airline pilots about critical thinking and empathy via richly authentic, socially collaborative role-play;

• The critical difference between regurgitating rote information on an exam and demonstrating knowledge through performance;

• Using role-play to understand everything from sweeping historical events to an individual’s day-to-day decision-making; and

• Whether the arc of history truly bends toward justice (spoiler: possibly, but only if we bend it).

Episode References:

• Deterding, S. & Zagal, J. P. (Eds.). (2018). Role-playing game studies: Transmedia foundations. Routledge. https://doi.org/10.4324/9781315637532

• Morningstar, J. (2009). Fiasco [Tabletop game]. Bully Pulpit Games.

• Wizards of the Coast. (2014). Dungeons & dragons player’s handbook (5th ed.) [Tabletop game]. Wizards of the Coast.

• Härenstam, T. (2020). Vaesen: Nordic horror roleplaying [Tabletop game]. Free League Publishing.

• Howitt, G. & Taylor, C. (2020). Heart: The city beneath [Tabletop game]. Rowan, Rook & Decard.

• Harmon, D. (Executive Producer). (2013–present). Rick and Morty [TV series]. Harmonius Claptrap; Williams Street.

• Gilligan, V. (Creator). (2008–2013). Breaking bad [TV series]. Sony Pictures Television.

• Romero, B. (2009). Train [Board game]. Romero Games.

• Ferguson, A. (2017, May 26). Texas teachers give 'most likely to become a terrorist' award to 13-year-old. The Washington Post. https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/morning-mix/wp/2017/05/26/texas-teachers-give-most-likely-to-become-a-terrorist-award-to-13-year-old/

• Schönberg, C.-M. (1998). Les misérables [Musical score/Script]. Alain Boublil Music; Hal Leonard.

• Orwell, G. (1949). 1984. Secker & Warburg.

• Fielder, N. (Writer/Director). (2026). The rehearsal [TV series]. Distraction Inc.; HBO.

• White Wolf Entertainment. (2018). Vampire: The masquerade (5th ed.) [Tabletop game]. White Wolf Entertainment.

• Choi, B., Slota, S. T., Lai, B., & Young, M. F. (2015). Influence [Board game]. UConn Two Summers Master’s Program for Educational Technology.

Episode 15: Simulations | 3 March 2026

Stephen and Trent (re)simulate the brainstorming and co-authorship process behind The Worldbuilding Workshop’s (spooOoOOoky) thirteenth chapter, “Simulations,” including:

• Differentiating between “simulations” and “games”;

• Kerbal Space Program as an exemplary simulation-game hybrid;

• How Democracy 3, SimCity, and Civilization encourage learners to tinker with real-world complex systems and visualize their effects;

• Simulations as a way to explore “what-if” scenarios via learner inquiry and critical thinking;

• Procedural rhetoric and evaluating the biases embedded in simulation design;

• First-person versus third-person perspectives and whether calling third-person distant “god-like” is a misnomer with respect to simulations;

• Understanding simulations as teaching how systems operate versus role-plays teaching how people operate;

• Knowledge-as-doing and the criticality of maintaining a one-to-one relationship between learning and simulation objectives;

• Separating evaluation of a system from individual people's performances *within* that system;

• Beyond Nuremberg: Courtroom 600 as an example inquiry-driven, museum-based virtual reality simulation;

• Balancing agency in simulations of well-defined historical events;

• Examining the rhetoric of decision-making trees to identify how individual actions can affect multiple parts of a complex system;

• “Bumper cars” (exerting agency within a constrained system) versus “rollercoasters” (being locked into a linear pathway from beginning to end);

• Simulations for teaching cause, effect, and nuanced reasoning;

• Benefits of the “choose-your-own-adventure” model;

• Going meta on the decision-making process to situate thinking in real-world problems;

• The Model United Nations program, GlobalEd research project, and Mars: An Ethical Expedition video game as tools for studying intersectional governmental, economic, social, and cultural structures;

• Avoiding the artificiality of traditional assessments via simulations of ill-defined problems;

• Transforming education from transactional career preparation into a vehicle for teaching critical thinking and empathy;

• Helping future teachers understand specific instructional technologies (giving them a fish) versus helping them understand foundational principles of technology integration (teaching them how to fish);

• Why reductive, essentialist thinking can’t and won’t solve “wicked problems”; and

• Demonstrating how “practomime” (Roger Travis’ term for “performative play practice”) shapes learner thinking and behavior.

Episode References:

• Maxis. (2000). The Sims [Video game]. Electronic Arts.

• MicroProse. (1991). Sid Meier’s Civilization [Video game]. MicroProse.

• Maxis. (1989). SimCity [Video game]. Brøderbund Software.

• Young, M. F. & Slota, S. T. (Eds.). (2017). Exploding the castle: Rethinking how video games & game mechanics can shape the future of education. Information Age Publishing.

• Squad. (2015). Kerbal Space Program [Video game]. Private Division.

• Positech Games. (2013). Democracy 3 [Video game]. PosiTech Games.

• Miyamoto, S. (1985). Super Mario Bros. [Video game]. Nintendo.

• Deterding, S. & Zagal, J. P. (Eds.). (2018). Role-playing game studies: Transmedia foundations. Routledge. https://doi.org/10.4324/9781315637532

• Bogost, I. (2007). Persuasive games: The expressive power of videogames. MIT Press.

• Greenhouse Studios. (2020). Courtroom 600: A virtual reality encounter with evidence of the Holocaust [Virtual reality game]. University of Connecticut.

• Capcom. (2019). Phoenix Wright: Ace Attorney Trilogy [Video game]. Capcom.

• Streiner, S., Burkey, D. D., Young, M. F., Cimino, R. T., Pascal, J., Dahm, K. D. & Wagner, T. (2022–2026). Mars: An Ethical Expedition [Video game]. University of Pittsburgh Swanson School of Engineering/University of Connecticut.

• Brown, S. W., Lawless, K. A., & Boyer, M. A. (2013). Promoting positive academic dispositions using a web-based PBL environment: The GlobalEd 2 project. Interdisciplinary Journal of Problem-Based Learning, 7(1), 67–90.

• Lichtman, G. (2014). #EdJourney: A roadmap to the future of education. Jossey-Bass.

• Levitt, S. D.& Dubner, S. J. (2005). Freakonomics: A rogue economist explores the hidden side of everything. William Morrow.

• Johnson, S. (1998). Who moved my cheese?: An amazing way to deal with change in your work and in your life. G. P. Putnam's Sons.

• Travis, R. (2010, November 18). A note on the word “practomime” [Blog post]. Play The Past. www.playthepast.org.

Episode 14: Cataloging People, Places, and Things | 24 February 2026

Stephen and Trent hop, skip, and jump through the creation of wiki entries for complex, coherent, and convincing worlds as described in The Worldbuilding Workshop’s twelfth chapter, “Cataloging People, Places, and Things,” including:

• Ensuring all aspects of a world add up to one hundred percent;

• Cataloging as a way to transition back and forth between group and individual inquiry/authorship;

• Entry-creation as a vehicle for studying niche interests;

• Categories as opportunities for self-insertion into a given storyworld;

• Understanding relationships between majorities and minorities;

• Tinkering with entries until they provide a richly authentic sense of scale and scope;

• Using historically-accurate characters (rather than real people) to get the gist of a world's substructural influence without committing to specific lived histories;

• People, Places, Things, Groups, and Events as interconnected, cross-sectional indicators of a world's structures and substructures;

• Focusing on people who exist in cross-sections between dominant poles;

• Character + Setting = Plot;

• Walter White, Jesse Pinkman, and the character-shaping power of a rich environmental context;

• Helping learners understand the world as experienced through someone else's eyes (or shoes);

• How the tabletop role-playing game The End of the World helps players deconstruct their own identities and project them onto an alternate reality;

• Character identity and how it interfaces with being in the right place at the right time;

• Dwarf Fortress, RimWorld, and simulation-based games as emergent narrative generators;

• Policing the line between historical accuracy and historical fan fiction;

• The personal nature of worldbuilding research and the criticality of learner agency for dissuading GenAI/LLM use;

• A Song of Ice and Fire, The War of Roses, and George R. R. Martin as a story gardener;

• Elder Scrolls, Fallout, and reinforcement of "main character syndrome";

• How and why Symbaroum highlights the (in)ability of individual characters to influence global events;

• Reconciling grand heroic adventures with more mundane hopes and dreams;

• Using spreadsheets to track bias toward or against certain character archetypes;

• Writing minorities back into history through research-driven social constructivism;

• Dismantling the just-world fallacy;

• How catalog entries help us evaluate intersectional privilege and oppression;

• Deconstructing oppression and engaging in empathy through the study of the Tuskegee Experiment, Henrietta Lacks, and the Tulsa Race Massacre; and

• Practicing the Golden Rule and attempting to make your corner of the world a little bit more pleasant for everyone.

Episode References:

• Larian Studios. (2023). Baldur's Gate 3 [Video game]. Larian Studios.

• Gilligan, V. (Creator). (2008–2013). Breaking bad [TV series]. Sony Pictures Television.

• Gaines, A., & Trani, M. (2014). The end of the world [Tabletop role-playing game]. Fantasy Flight Games.

• Bay 12 Games. (2022). Dwarf Fortress [Video game]. Kitfox Games.

• Ludeon Studios. (2018). RimWorld [Video game]. https://rimworldgame.com/

• Gibson, M. (Director). (1995). Braveheart [Film]. Paramount Pictures.

• Martin, G. R. R. (1996–2011). A Song of Ice and Fire (Vols. 1–5). HarperVoyager.

• Free League Publishing. (2015). Symbaroum [Tabletop role-playing game]. Free League Publishing.

• Pavlovitz, J. (2019, February 21). Everyone around you is grieving. Go easy. https://johnpavlovitz.com/2019/02/21/everyone-around-you-is-grieving-go-easy/

• Lindelof, D. (Executive Producer). (2019). Watchmen [TV series]. HBO; White Rabbit; Warner Bros. Television.

• Wolper, D. L. (Executive Producer). (1977). Roots [TV series]. ABC.

• Brown, D. (1970). Bury my heart at Wounded Knee: An Indian history of the American West. Holt, Rinehart & Winston.

• Orwell, G. (1949). 1984. Secker & Warburg.

Episode 13: Constructing the World Narrative | 17 February 2026

Stephen and Trent meditate on metanarrative leads and apply their characteristically zen thinking to The Worldbuilding Workshop’s eleventh chapter, “Constructing the World Narrative,” including:

• Defining your metanarrative lead and the "story" of your world;

• Studying location-based Wikipedia pages to understand the organization and presentation of varied metanarrative leads;

• Focusing on salient details to avoid bloated writing;

• Embracing the notion that everything is political (but it isn't all partisan);

• Comparing substructural categories across the worlds of Breaking Bad, Better Call Saul, Narcos, The Wire, and The Sopranos;

• How contrasting cases and recognition of invariance across storyworlds informs learner understanding and transfer;

• Tracing a character or individual's choices based on the intersectional social forces that most impact their life-world;

• Critical discernment versus uncritical media consumption;

• Art (and the humanities, broadly) as the gateway to critical thinking and empathy;

• Art imitating life versus art creating reality;

• The Western genre as a lens for understanding Americanism and critiquing history;

• Reading 1-star reviews to interrogate interpretations that are "all text, no subtext";

• Using qualifiers to add texture to oversimplified histories;

• Composing a metanarrative lead to situate ideas and behaviors in-context;

• Grappling with interactions between social forces and life-worlds to more accurately project ourselves forward and backward in time;

• Gutenberg, literacy rates, and Enlightenment values;

• The relationship between Chaos Theory and social forces as determinants of long-term consequences;

• The metanarrative lead as a vehicle to interpret reality from multiple perspectives;

• Leveraging your metanarrative lead to scaffold a one-to-one ratio between learning and activity objectives;

• Balancing quantity and quality to develop a succinct, meaningful, targeted metanarrative;

• Precision, concision, and why you should always use a thesaurus; and

• "Show, don't tell," "sheep-in-the-box," and "less is more" as helpful guidelines for communicating substructures and social forces without direct exposition.

Episode References:

• Gilligan, V. (Executive Producer). (2008–2013). Breaking Bad [TV series]. Sony Pictures Television.

• Gilligan, V. & Gould, P. (Executive Producers). (2015–2022). Better Call Saul [TV series]. High Bridge Productions; Crystal Diner Productions; Gran Via Productions; Sony Pictures Television.

• Newman, E., Brancato, C., Bernard, D., & Miro, J. (Executive Producers). (2015–2017). Narcos [TV series]. Netflix.

• Simon, D., Colesberry, R. F., & Kostroff Noble, N. (Executive Producers). (2002-2008). The Wire [TV series]. Blown Deadline Productions; HBO Entertainment.

• Chase, D., Grey, B., Green, R., Burgess, M., Landress, I. S., Winter, T., & Weiner, M. (1999–2007). The Sopranos [TV series]. Chase Films; Brad Grey Television; HBO Entertainment.

• Eastwood, C. (Director). (1992). Unforgiven [Film]. Warner Home Video.

• Zahler, S. C. (Director). (2015). Bone Tomahawk [Film]. Caliber Media Company; The Fyzz Facility.

• Saint-Exupéry, A. d. (1943). Le petit prince. Gallimard.

Episode 12: Wikipedia as a Model for Worldbuilding | 10 February 2026

Stephen and Trent sing Wikipedia’s praises (and dread the death of truth) in an impassioned discussion about The Worldbuilding Workshop’s tenth chapter, “Wikipedia as a Model for Worldbuilding,” including:

• Wikipedia as an open-source public good;

• Whether teachers should police learners' use of Wikipedia;

• Co-construction of reality and meaningful generalization;

• Commonality between Wikipedia page frameworks versus diversity of their contents;

• Contested history and the challenges of crowdsourcing truth;

• Treating imperfections in collaborative writing as opportunities for learners to “go meta”;

• Instructors as community experts who can facilitate reflection on “good” versus “bad” consensus building;

• Wikipedia's approach to maintaining article accuracy and diversity of opinion;

• Steven Pruitt (the most prolific Wikipedia contributor, editor, and administrator) as an exemplary Wikipedian;

• Neutral Point of View and egalitarian editing;

• Why tech oligarchs hate Wikipedia (spoiler: they can't control it);

• Making, changing, and shifting capital-T “Truth”;

• Negotiating meaning through nuance rather than "defeating" alternative points of view;

• "Strategic inefficiency" as a way to avoid rushed judgment and better understand the “real” world;

• Generative AI (GenAI), large language models (LLMs), and John Searle's “Chinese Room” thought experiment;

• Why GenAI and LLMs cannot replace human-driven collaborative discussion about thoughts, ideas, and creative endeavors;

• Wikipedia as a starting point for manual research over LLMs as hallucinating curators;

• The ability of instructors to shape learner thinking and behavior via on-the-fly interaction, intentional complication, and reflection;

• GenAI and LLMs as “highways to mediocrity”;

• Public transparency of Wikipedia editing versus the “black box” of GenAI and LLM response construction;

• The messiness of authentic, human-driven collaborative writing as the primary goal of good teaching and learning;

• The criticality of decentralizing power and ensuring knowledge generation remains as small-d “democratic” as possible;

• Whether truth can survive in a world where algorithms drive human perception;

• The unreality of Rush Limbaugh, Fox News, and the war on knowledge-generating institutions;

• Separating what we know, what we feel, and what we intend to do about it; and

• Consequences of corporate media consolidation, Steve Bannon's “flood the zone” mentality, and the transition away from journalistic contextualization to verbatim transcription of bad-faith arguments.

Episode References:

• Inskeep, S. (2012, October 3). Wikipedia Policies limit editing Haymarket bombing. NPR. https://www.npr.org/2012/10/03/162203092/wikipedia-politicizes-landmark-historical-event

• Giles, J. (2005). Internet encyclopaedias go head to head. Nature, 438(7070), 900–901. https://doi.org/10.1038/438900a

• Searle, J. (1980), “Minds, brains and programs.” Behavioral and Brain Sciences, 3 (3): 417–457. doi: 10.1017/S0140525X00005756

• Klein, E. (Host). (2025, July 8). How the attention economy is devouring Gen Z — and the rest of us [Audio podcast episode featuring Kyla Scanlon]. In The Ezra Klein Show. The New York Times. https://www.nytimes.com/2025/07/08/opinion/ezra-klein-podcast-kyla-scanlon.html

Episode 11: Class Preparations | 3 February 2026

Stephen playfully ponders Trent’s project planning pop-quiz as the pair probes Chapter 9 of The Worldbuilding Workshop, “Class Preparations,” including:

• Pre-class preparations and their relevance to community-building, lesson design, and assessment;

• Avoiding a "Peggy Hill"-style overly scripted plan;

• Budgeting time to properly introduce and implement world modeling and/or role-play;

• Mapping activities to your learning objectives;

• Modeling attitudes and behaviors such that learners will replicate those attitudes and behaviors throughout the course or project;

• Structured, "on-time" instruction versus unstructured, fluid facilitation;

• Aligning learning theory, pedagogical approach, evaluation methods, and technologies based on the needs and incentives of a particular audience;

• Adopting the "flipped classroom" model to introduce concepts, values, and activities *outside of* class so they can be collaboratively interrogated *during* class;

• Using discussion boards, digital announcements, and other communication tools to provide essential information before the course or workshop begins;

• The importance of saying "I don't know" when confronted with a question whose answer you don't know;

• Establishing the sociocultural norms of an instructional space;

• Inviting learners to co-develop a socially-agreed-upon syllabus;

• Balancing instructor discretion with learner goals for class and project structure;

• The Wright brothers as an analogy for getting course design "just right";

• Deciding whether to assign random characters or ask learners to create their own;

• The potential benefits of assigning randomized foundational characteristics but allowing learners to engage in inquiry-driven, problem-based critical thinking to explore an individual's growth and change over time;

• Case-based learning as a means of helping learners recognize variance and invariance between stories or environments;

• The "sandbox-on-rails" metaphor for one-to-one alignment of course and activity objectives;

• Reasons to incorporate historically-accurate representations of different people or communities rather than genuine historical figures;

• "FOMO" (fear of missing out) as a motivator for learners to complete readings before joining a role-play exercise;

• Contingency planning for absences, fire alarms, and other externalities;

• The story of Henrietta Lacks and why we constrain historical role-play;

• Reacting to "Reacting to the Past"; and

• Preferring the messiness of collaborative worldbuilding to contrived, "gamified" role-play.

Episode References:

• Boss, K. (Writer) & Kuhlman, A. (Director). (1999, October 31). Little Horrors of Shop (Season 4, Episode 4) [Television series episode]. In M. Judge & G. Daniels (Executive Producers), King of the Hill. 20th Century Fox.

• Lambert, R., Rilstone, A., & Wallis, J. (1994). Once upon a time: The storytelling card game [Card game]. Atlas Games.

• Bök, C. (2001). Eunoia. Coach House Books.

Episode 10: Examining Life-Worlds Through Demographics | 27 January 2026

In what Trent and Stephen have dubbed their “most (potentially) polarizing episode yet,” the two discuss Chapter 8 of The Worldbuilding Workshop, “Examining Life-Worlds Through Demographics,” including:

• Defining "life-worlds" and what they mean for worldbuilding and modeling;

• Worldbuilding and modeling as ideologically agnostic processes;

• Why role-play can never replace authentic lived experience;

• Navigating the relationship between privilege, empathy, and inviting others to understand your life-world;

• Using the Dungeons & Dragons Monster Manual to better understand quantitative/nominal data versus qualitative/narrative data;

• Capturing the reality of day-to-day life in language;

• Establishing scope and sequence, accounting for structures and substructures, and connecting the dots with demographics;

• Who is included when devising demographic categories, and why does it matter;

• Recognizing intersectional privilege versus intersectional discrimination;

• The importance of extending privilege to one-hundred percent of the population;

• Avoiding a deficit-driven model of individual ability;

• AppleTV's (2022) Severance and the foundational question: "Who are you?";

• Our individual sense of self and the performance of identity;

• "Going meta" to transfer worldbuilding-based learning into lived reality;

• Race, nationality, and making sense of social constructs;

• Understanding individual differences as subjective, relative, and situated;

• The context-dependence of personal characteristics;

• Thinking like a lawyer versus thinking like a scientist (backward justification versus empirical investigation);

• Trans rights and why some aspects of individual identity aren't negotiable;

• Demographics, life-worlds, and taking action to diminish essentialism;

• American corporate and cultural prioritization of "efficiency" over human well-being;

• Administrative writing and whether to provide open-ended or narrowly constrained survey questions;

• Soliciting and incorporating community member feedback when designing for a particular community;

• Radical individualism versus conformity as opposing sociocultural, political, and economic worldviews;

• Foundational principles of universal design and inclusivity;

• Social media, government surveillance, and the negative downstream consequences of data aggregation;

• The value of flexible worldviews and the tendency of rigid perspectives to shatter; and

• Escaping political, economic, social, and cultural bubbles to understand other people as fellow humans with lives just as rich and complex as your own.

Episode References:

• Mearls, M., Crawford, J., Perkins, C., Sims, C., & Thompson, R. (2014). Monster manual (5th ed.). Wizards of the Coast.

• Barab, S. A., & Roth, W.-M. (2006). Curriculum-based ecosystems: Supporting knowing from an ecological perspective. Educational Researcher, 35(5), 3–13. https://doi.org/10.3102/0013189X035005003

• Erickson, D. (Executive Producer). (2022–present). Severance [TV series]. Red Hour Productions; Apple Studios.

Episode 09: Structures and Substructures | 20 January 2026

Trent and Stephen break down Chapter 7 of The Worldbuilding Workshop, “Structures and Substructures,” including:

• Origins and function of the structures and substructures employed throughout the collaborative worldbuilding process;

• Choosing whether to quantify or qualitatively describe the presence or absence of each structure and substructure in a given world;

• Definitions for the four structures and fourteen substructures, including Governance, Economics, Social Relations, and Cultural Influences;

• The decision to add or subtract substructures in a given worldbuilding project;

• Negotiating the meaning of each structure and substructure based on its relative presence or absence in a world;

• Identifying and explaining a society's values through the lens of its most prevalent substructural categories;

• The (2023) film The Creator as an example of storytelling via "show, don't tell";

• How individual people or characters perceive and react to a world's social forces (as dictated by its substructures);

• Star Trek as a roving "world" through which the audience can explore interactions between substructural categories;

• Structures and substructures as an investigatory framework rather than an objective characterization of reality;

• Sliding back-and-forth on a timeline to understand the world "before" and "after" structure-changing events;

• Understanding structures and substructures as human-made and human-enforced;

• The Expanse as a vehicle to deconstruct real-ish socioeconomic and sociopolitical forces;

• JK Rowling, George Lucas, and the risk of overcomplicating a world with unnecessary details nobody asked for;

• Examining The Lord of the Rings, The Witcher, and A Song of Ice and Fire to compare how historical social forces and constructs are understood through a modern lens;

• The evolution of civilization, globalization, and how ideas ripple across substructures;

• Avoiding simple thinking about complex problems; and

• Applying intersectional world modeling to understand privilege, critique antisocial perspectives, and directly address real-world political, economic, social, and cultural challenges.

Episode References:

• Edwards, G. (Director). (2023). The creator [Film]. 20th Century Studios; Regency Enterprises.

• Bluth, D. (Director), Freudberg, J., & Geiss, T. (Writers). (1986). An American tail [Film]. Amblin Entertainment; Universal Pictures.

• Roddenberry, G. (Creator). (1966–1969). Star trek [TV series]. Desilu Productions; Paramount Television.

• Fergus, M. & Ostby, H. (Creators). (2015–2022). The expanse [TV Series]. Alcon Entertainment; Alcon Television Group; Hivemind; Amazon Studios.

• Tolkien, J. R. R. (1954). The fellowship of the ring. George Allen & Unwin.

• Sapkowski, A. (1990). Wiedźmin [The Witcher]. Reporter.

• Martin, G. R. R. (1996). A game of thrones. Bantam Books.

• Green, M. (Executive Producer). (2020). Lovecraft country [TV series]. Monkeypaw Productions; Bad Robot Productions; Warner Bros. Television.