April will be an economics month at the New Worlds Patreon! We’re starting off with sources of wealth — comment over there . . .

Five Fridays make a theory post! The New Worlds Patreon is still talking about magic, but now we turn our attention to how magic intersects — or all too often doesn’t intersect — with the rest of the world around it. Comment over there!

I promise the New Worlds Patreon will get less grim very soon now . . . but before then, we have to talk about capital punishment. Comment over there . . .

Rather dark material this week on the New Worlds Patreon, as we look at the (regrettably) long history and wide use of torture, especially for interrogation purposes. If you’re up for that subject, then comment over there.

The New Worlds Patreon continues its look at police with the question of what kinds of duties fall under their responsibility — comment over there!

And so the New Worlds Patreon rounds the corner into a new year! Year Seven, to be precise, and the wheels are turning in the background for the Year Six collection, which will be out next month. If you aren’t a patron, this is a splendid time to become one and get access to additional goodies (which include weekly photos from my travel stash, monthly non-fiction book reviews, behind-the-scenes looks at my own worldbuilding process, and more). And whether you’re a patron or not, this is also a splendid time to mention the project to people you think might enjoy it!

Meanwhile, the project itself marches on. We’re going back to crime again, but this time from the side of how we respond to it — starting with the origins of police. Comment over there!

Here we are, at the end of Year Six of the New Worlds Patreon! We wrap up this set with vegetarianism and other forms of food prohibition . . . comment over there!

Have you ever been hunting? This week the New Worlds Patreon turns its attention to the sport of kings — which is also the feeding of hunter-gatherers, the hobby of modern people, and many other things. Comment over there!

Do you like to think of a particular animal as representing you? The New Worlds Patreon is taking a look at animal symbolism — comment over there!

We’re in the final month of Year Six (!) of the New Worlds Patreon, and for our last topic, my patrons have voted for some essays about the interactions between humans and animals/the natural environment more generally. We begin with invasive species — comment over there!

Sometimes the organization of the New Worlds Patreon doesn’t work out as tidily as I might like. Since I’ve said my bit on violent crimes (sexual assault having been covered previously), instead we’re wrapping up the month with something that more belongs back with the theft essays from the start of this Patreon year: smuggling! Comment over there.

No discussion of violent crimes would be complete without murder, so this week, the New Worlds Patreon takes a swing in that direction. Comment over there . . .

Another week, another round of violent crimes at the New Worlds Patreon — in this case, assault and battery. Comment over there . . .

What a way to start off 2023 . . . but my loyal New Worlds patrons voted for violent crime this month, so here we go! First up is abduction — including the variants where it wasn’t actually a kidnapping, or it was but the law is on the kidnapper’s side . . . comment over there.

2022 and Year Six of the New Worlds Patreon are squeezing in one more fifth-Friday theory essay before the end! We’ve been talking about magic this year; here that means looking at the personal element that often distinguishes magic from science. Comment over there!

It’s generally been the pattern for the New Worlds Patreon that when we have an arts month, three of the essays are directly about art, and the fourth is about some adjacent topic. In this case, it’s patronage — comment over there!

And while we’re at it, this is a dandy time to remind you that New Worlds is indeed a Patreon, i.e. supported by the patronage of my readers. If you are not among their ranks already, it’s easy to join; members get a weekly photo, a monthly book review, and various other goodies at higher tiers, like voting rights in the topic polls and behind-the-scenes looks at how I build worlds for my own work. Even if you’re not able to support the Patreon directly, I’m grateful for any signal-boosting you can offer!

The New Worlds Patreon has finally gotten far enough into the topic of music to talk about the things that make most of the melodies, aka the strings and the winds! Comment over there.

The New Worlds Patreon continues its musical tour with something nearly as elemental as the voice: drums! Comment over there . . .

A new month; a new topic for for the New Worlds Patreon! This time around, my loyal patrons have voted for music. And so we start where music itself probably did — with the human voice . . . Comment over there!

“Ideological stuff we rarely stop to think about” month at the New Worlds Patreon draws to a close with the question of personal privacy — several different levels thereof. Comment over there!