Ex Urbe Ad Astra Podcast By Ada Palmer cover art

Ex Urbe Ad Astra

Ex Urbe Ad Astra

By: Ada Palmer
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Historian and novelist Ada Palmer and author and vocateur reader Jo Walton interview other fiction authors, historians, scientists, editors, and friends, interspersed with bonus episodes where they discuss topics such as history, gelato, and the craft of writing. World
Episodes
  • Ex Urbe Ad Astra #13 - The Florentine Renaissance with Larry Rothfield

    Ex Urbe Ad Astra #13 - The Florentine Renaissance with Larry Rothfield
    Feb 13 2024

    In this episode, Ada and Jo speak with historian Larry Rothfield about the political nuances of 15th century Florence, and the shifting perspectives of the Renaissance to come since then.
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    1 hr and 47 mins
  • Ex Urbe Ad Astra #12 - Pacing with Ken Liu

    Ex Urbe Ad Astra #12 - Pacing with Ken Liu
    Jan 9 2024

    In this episode, Ada and Jo discuss the merits of good pacing across a range of story lengths with Hugo and Nebula award-winning author, Ken Liu.
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    1 hr and 53 mins
  • Ex Urbe Ad Astra #11 - The Problem of Evil in Narrative with Alexis Shotwell

    Ex Urbe Ad Astra #11 - The Problem of Evil in Narrative with Alexis Shotwell
    Dec 5 2023

    In this episode, Ada and Jo speak with Alexis Shotwell about the issues that arise from ill-intentioned characters, and the moral questions they present to readers.
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    1 hr and 43 mins
All stars
Most relevant
I listened to episode 12 because I loved Ada Palmer's Too Like the Lightning and Ken Liu's The Paper Menagerie. This episode met and far exceeded my expectations. It makes me want to listen to the other 11 episodes posted as of writing---once I've squeezed the juices from this episode, of course. I've never read Jo Walton's work, but this podcast got me curious about that, too.

I write and I listen to a lot of writing podcasts and videos, and I often find my eyes glaze over when other hosts retread familiar ideas. I never felt that way listening to this episode. Every point felt a delightfully fresh and interesting and grounded. I found a lot to love and to apply in this episode, so much so that I want to listen to it again so I can get it all down. I can't recommend episode 12 strongly enough, and I've got my eye on the rest of the podcast and on new episodes as well.

A damn delightful listen

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