Fascinating Gadgets, Gizmos, and Gear Based Technologies

About Fascinating Gadgets, Gizmos, and Gear Based Technologies

Making your favorite fictional technology a reality

Publisher

Daniel J. Glenn

Category

science · technology · tv & film

Language

en

Explicit

No

First episode

23 Oct 2017

Latest episode

19 Aug 2026

Latest episodes

286 episodes in the feed.

1. 

   19 Aug 2026

   Ep. 225 Gnomish Technology (that looks like magic)

   What if the greatest magic in the D&D world was actually technology? In this season 10 finale of FGGGbT we celebrate the gnomes: D&D’s most exuberant, most creative, and most explosion-prone technological pioneers. They dig into gnomish clockwork constructs, airships, and the philosophical question at the heart of every gnomish invention: is it poorly executed, or is it just missing safety features? Daniel J. Glenn argues mediocre execution. Dr. Michael Dennin and Ben Siepser argue it’s the purest form of “fail fast” engineering — and the debate gets surprisingly heated. Along the way they explore gnomish technology that mirrors real-world inventions — the Cup of Infinite Water (a pocket fire hose), the Magical Alarm Clock (which may wake you with a fireball), Hare’s Legs spring boots (ankle support sold separately), the Excessively Thin Hat of Excessive Coolness (remove before leaving extreme heat), and the marble-dispensing escape buckle that definitely won’t trip you up. They also talk dark vision goggles, the physics of cat eye reflectivity, the engineering of miniaturization, and why gnomes are the ultimate anti-capitalists — inventing purely for the joy of invention. Listen to all our episodes on magic: The Magical World of….well MAGIC! (https://bit.ly/FGGGbT_Magic) Facebook (https://www.facebook.com/fgggbt) Twitter (https://www.twitter.com/fgggbtpod) Support the show by buying cool merch at Glennco Designs (https://bit.ly/Glennco_Designs)!

2. 

   12 Aug 2026

   Ep. 224 Psionic Creatures

   What do a brain-eating squid creature, a giant praying mantis, and a snake person have in common? They’re all psionic — and that’s about where the similarities end. In this episode of FGGGbT, we tackle the most challenging taxonomy of the season: psionic creatures. Unlike the undead or the Fey, this group has almost nothing in common except one thing — the power of the mind. They kick things off with the most iconic psionic creature in D&D: the mind flayer — part Cthulhu, part Billy Corgan, all terrifying — breaking down their reproductive cycle (ceremorphosis), their elder brain hive mind, and whether their brain-eating habit is a dietary preference or a biological necessity. From there they explore the Githyanki and Githzerai — two genetically identical races who responded to mind flayer subjugation in completely opposite ways, one militaristic and dragon-riding, one monk-like and meditative — before moving to the Thri-kreen, the praying mantis creatures whose entirely open telepathic society raises a disturbing question: what would a world with no mental privacy actually look like? They also dig into the Yuan-Ti and their cold, emotionless psionic manipulation, the convergent evolution of psychic powers across wildly different species, and the Elan — a human who voluntarily transforms into an entirely new psionic creature — asking whether gaining mental powers is enough to make you a different species entirely. Listen to all our episodes on magic: The Magical World of….well MAGIC! (https://bit.ly/FGGGbT_Magic) Facebook (https://www.facebook.com/fgggbt) Twitter (https://www.twitter.com/fgggbtpod) Support the show by buying cool merch at Glennco Designs (https://bit.ly/Glennco_Designs)!

3. 

   5 Aug 2026

   Ep. 223 Creatures of the Forest

   What separates a pixie from a sprite, a brownie from a hag, and a nymph from a siren — and why does any of it matter? In this episode of FGGGbT, we tackle one of the most ambitious taxonomy projects of the season: building a complete classification system for the Fey. Unlike the undead, who are defined by their deadness, the Fey are defined by their otherness — their deep, fundamental connection to nature and the feywild. Using six core classification categories — former mortality, degree of humanity, power hierarchy, corporeal vs. non-corporeal, elemental connections, and relationship to mortals — Daniel J. Glenn, Dr. Michael Dennin, and Ben Siepser work through the full roster: pixies, sprites, brownies, leprechauns, satyrs, centaurs, dryads, nymphs, treants, and hags. Along the way they debate whether satyrs are evil or just really fun at parties, why the centaur is nature’s original cyborg, whether hags are actually villains or just very aggressive conservationists, and how every Fey creature ultimately represents some aspect of nature brought to life. They also introduce a simple four-bucket framework for understanding the Fey: helpers, tricksters, enchanters, and corruptors — and how every bargain with the Fey falls into one of those categories.

Reach and audience

Public platform figures. Ratings count people who left a rating, not total listeners.

Apple Podcasts (US)

5.0 / 5

8 ratings

Spotify

5.0 / 5

1 ratings

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Guest appearances

Books guests

Based on episode analysis; this does not confirm that the show is currently accepting guests.