Wizards & Spaceships

By Rachel A. Rosen & David L. Clink

Welcome to Wizards and Spaceships, the only podcast that’s about wizards and also about spaceships. Well, probably not, but it does involve wizards, spaceships, and the things we love (and complain ab... more

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FAQs about Wizards & Spaceships:

How many episodes does Wizards & Spaceships have?

The podcast currently has 20 episodes available.

Wizards & Spaceships episodes:

November 15, 2025How to Write a Kick-Ass Fantasy Battle ft. Suzannah Rowntree
Anyone who’s ever written fantasy has faced this problem: You have hit the point of conflict in a story where problems can no longer be worked out with witty retorts or a magic spell. The orcs are at the gates, the peace talks have broken down…that’s right—you’re going to have to write a battle scene. In this episode, we talk to Suzannah Rowntree, author of How to Write a Fantasy Battle: Basic Medieval and Modern Military Tactics for Authors, The Watchers of Outremer Series, and other historical fantasies, about how to get a battle right.
Show Notes:
Suzannah's Bluesky: suzannahrowntree
Suzannah's Instagram: suzannahsnaps
Suzannahrowntree.site
How to Write a Fantasy Battle: Basic Medieval and Modern Military Tactics for Authors
Western Warfare In The Age Of The Crusades, 1000-1300 by John France
Byzantine flamethrower
Battle of Antioch (1098)
Battle of Hattin (1187)
Seventh Crusade
Medicine in the Crusades: Warfare, Wounds and the Medieval Surgeon by Piers D. Mitchell
Magistra Hersend
Godfrey of Bouillon
The Rebellion Of Count Hugh Of Jaffa
...more
39min
October 15, 2025WITCHES!
Happy Halloween! We're talking about WITCHES! A staple of fantasy, horror, and Broadway musicals, witches can be anything from a murderous presence in the woods to the friendly neighbourhood Wiccan who revives your dying African violet. So let's get our witch on!
Show Notes:
Kiki’s Delivery Service (1989)
Spirited Away (2001)
VenCo by Cherie Dimaline
Buffy the Vampire Slayer, "Helpless"
Barbie-Yaga Dream Hut
Cool People Who Did Cool Stuff, "Baba Yaga: Everyone's Favorite Witch From Folklore" Part 1 and Part 2
Baba Yaga: The greatest 'wicked witch' of all?
The Chronicles of Narnia by CS Lewis
Caliban and the Witch by Silvia Federici
A Wizard’s Guide to Defensive Baking by T. Kingfisher
"Love Potion No. 9" by the Clovers
The Witch Boy by Molly Knox Ostertag
Season of the Witch (2011)
Bewitched (1964-1972)
The Good Witch (2008)
The Chilling Adventures of Sabrina (2018-2020)
Charmed (1998-2006)
...more
48min
September 15, 2025The Science Bros Answer Your Science Questions, Part 2, ft. Rob & Jon Mound
You guys had so many science questions that our resident scientists couldn't answer them all in just one episode! In this episode, Rob & Jon Mound tackle important questions such as time travel, the mutability or lack thereof of the laws of physics, and dragon taxonomy. Also, why we are not going to Mars.
Show Notes:
The Forever War, Joe Haldeman
The Chronicles of Narnia, C.S. Lewis
The Time Machine (1960)
Ninefox Gambit, Yoon Ha Lee
The Walking Dead
World of Warcraft corrupted blood incident
Game of Thrones dragons
Coelacanth
Unusual anal fin offers new insight into evolution
Tiktaalik
Total Recall (1990) terraforming Mars scene
Spaceballs (1987)

Keep the conversation going, or ask the Science Bros more questions by joining our Discord or Facebook group!
...more
49min
August 15, 2025The Science Bros Answer Your Science Questions, Part 1, ft. Rob & Jon Mound
Suspension of disbelief is a cornerstone of speculative fiction, but as writers and fans, we often find ourselves wondering just how grounded in reality our favourite stories really are. We asked you, our listeners, for questions like:
What would happen if I went through a wormhole?
Does a Star Trek transporter just kill you and create a new copy of you?
What kind of technology can or can’t you use to blow up the world?

And then we got biologist Rob Mound and geophysicist Jon Mound to answer the questions you sent. There were so many we had to split it into two parts! In this part, we look at jumping out of a spaceship without a suit (why?), octopus people (yes!), sex in space (obviously!), and more!
Show Notes
The Core (2003)
The Expanse - 5x07 | Naomi's Leap From The Pella
A City On Mars, Kelly Weinersmith and Zach Weinersmith
Star Trek Voyager "Cathexis" on Memory Alpha
Gattaca (1997)
When You Nut In Space, It Push You Backwards (NSFW)
"There Are Four Lights," scene from Star Trek: The Next Generation
Best Served Cold, Joe Abercrombie
Gerald Bull
The Martian growing poop potatoes

Keep the conversation going, or ask the Science Bros more questions by joining our Discord or Facebook group!
...more
1h 2min
July 15, 2025Against Hopepunk ft. Nick Mamatas
Sci-fi and fantasy has always had an optimistic current, whether it’s utopian space-age cities or noble chosen ones vanquishing a dark lord. In recent years, with the popularity of romantasy and cozy fantasy, it’s easier than ever to immerse yourself in a more hopeful world.
But what if instead we made you feel bad?
In this wide-ranging conversation with multitalented author and editor Nick Mamatas, we talk about crushing your joy, corporate greed in the publishing and music production industries, and why the 80s and 90s were objectively the best time for music.
Show Notes:
Alex Rowland’s original hopepunk post.
Buy 120 Murders
Nick’s Bluesky
Perfect Crime Party
Dark Yonder Issue 1
Nick’s website that never gets updated
That Slayer meme

Have you bought Blight yet? If you like dark things, you should!
Buy it from your favourite online retailer
Buy direct from the publisher

"Do You Love the Colour Of the Sky?" in Trollbreath Magazine
...more
46min
June 15, 2025The Ur-Pisode: The Queer Heart of The Epic of Gilgamesh, ft. Julian Gunn
For 4000 years, The Epic of Gilgamesh has influenced mythology, theology, and literature, and its rediscovery in the 1850s is itself an epic tale of war, theft, and Hobby Lobby. A meditation on love and death, rage and grief, civilization and nature, starring two problematic queer frat boys, it is the foundation of so many of our stories. In this episode, we talk to poet, artist, and essayist Julian Gunn about the story that started it all.
Show Notes:
Gilgamesh, A King, At Uruk (Star Trek: The Next Generation, "Darmok")
What makes the world’s first bar joke funny? No one knows.
@radiantfracture on instagram
Julian's blog
Julian's games
Victoria Festival of Authors
The Epic of Gilgamesh, translated by Maureen Kovacs
The Epic of Gilgamesh, translated by Andrew George
The Epic of Gilgamesh, translated by Sophus Helle

If you haven't had enough problematic gays raging against the gods by the end of this episode, you might enjoy Rachel's new novel, Blight! Buy it from your favourite online bookstore or directly from the publisher.
Also, voting for the Aurora Awards opens June 7th! You can vote for us. Or other people. But please vote for us.
...more
55min
May 15, 2025Blight, ft. Rachel A. Rosen
Break out the cake, balloons, and gigantic bone tentacles, it's season 2 of Wizards & Spaceships! Rachel has a new book out, Blight, the sequel to her first novel, Cascade. In this episode, you get a behind-the-scenes look at the newest instalment in the Sleep of Reason series.

And did you know that tomorrow is Rachel's birthday? Why not celebrate by buying one or more of her books?

Pre-order Blight (The Sleep of Reason Book 2):

Amazon

Other online bookstores

Direct from the publisher

Buy Cascade (The Sleep of Reason Book 2)Buy (or download the free ebook) The Sad Bastard Cookbook: Food You Can Make So You Don't DieBuy Instant Classic (That No One Will Read)Aurora Awards 2025 BallotWant to stay informed? Here's how to find Rachel all over social media:

Newsletter

Blog

Bluesky

Mastodon

Instagram

Facebook

Threads

Goodreads
...more
50min
April 15, 2025Transhumanism and AI ft. Robert J. Sawyer
It's been an entire year of Wizards & Spaceships! Thank you for coming along with us on this wild and magical space ride.
You can't turn on the news or doomscroll social media without hearing about how AI will revolutionize everything. Unfortunately, the worst people in the world seem to be in charge of it. In this episode, we talk to sci-fi legend Robert J. Sawyer about what AI and transhumanism really mean for humanity and our planet and how we can stand up to corporate hype and greed.
Show notes:
Robert's website
Robert's Bluesky
AI's environmental problems
AI's thirst for electricity
...more
1h 1min
March 15, 2025TTRPG Design ft. Jesse Pohlman
There’s a huge crossover between tabletop role-playing game players, genre fans, and genre writers, and many of us fell in love with genre fiction by playing D&D in the basement. In this episode, we're joined by author and game designer Jesse Pohlman to talk about the considerations that go into building your own TTPRG.
Show notes:
Jesse’s website
Jesse’s Bluesky
Blight cover reveal
...more
37min
February 15, 2025Toxic Schlock Syndrome ft. Shawn Whitney
Pulp fiction is a cornerstone of the genres we love. In this episode, we talk to screenwriter, ghostwriter, and author of the new zombie novel Deads Rise, Shawn Whitney, about manly men doing manly things, the perils of writing romance, and close encounters with sexy lizard aliens.
Show notes:
Shawn's website
Shawn's Twitter
The Pulp Magazines Project
Pulps In Special Collections
...more
41min

FAQs about Wizards & Spaceships:

How many episodes does Wizards & Spaceships have?

The podcast currently has 20 episodes available.