The Forge
Why We Build Worlds
The World Kiln started as a question: why do some fictional worlds feel real enough to live in, while others feel like painted backdrops? We've been chasing that answer ever since.
How the Kiln Was Lit
The World Kiln grew out of years of obsessive note-taking — margins filled with continent sketches, political timelines, and half-baked magic systems that never made it into any story. The podcast was born from the conviction that the process of world building deserves its own stage.
Every episode is a forge session: we take a single concept — geology, language, religion, economics — and heat it until it reveals something useful. Not theory for its own sake, but craft you can actually use.
Whether you're writing a novel, running a tabletop campaign, designing a game, or just building worlds for the love of it — this show is for you.
Craft Over Theory
Every concept we explore has to be usable. We're not here to lecture — we're here to forge tools you can actually pick up.
Worlds That Breathe
The best fictional worlds feel like they existed before the story started and will keep existing after it ends. That's the standard we hold ourselves to.
The Long Burn
Good world building isn't a weekend project. We're in it for the long haul — and we want to build that journey with you.
Your Hosts
Klayton Korstjens
Co-Host & avid WorldBuilder
A writer and lifelong world builder with a weakness for geological maps and invented calendars. Klayton brings a deep love of craft to every episode — dissecting the systems that make fictional worlds feel lived-in and real.
When not recording, you'll find him deep in a notebook, arguing about the plausibility of fictional river systems, or trying to explain why a continent's rain shadow matters to a fantasy novel's plot.
Tim Harris
Co-Host, author, & Narrative architect
A storyteller and narrative designer who approaches world building from the inside out — starting with the people, cultures, and conflicts that give a world its heartbeat before worrying about the map.
Tim keeps the show grounded in story, always asking the question that matters most: does this world make the narrative better? If the answer isn't yes, back to the forge it goes.
Ready to Enter the Forge?
Subscribe for new episodes, world-building resources, and the occasional deep dive into something gloriously obscure.
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