John Richardson

talkingupscotlandtwo.com/2026/10/26/t...

Well. We certainly have turned a corner, haven't we? I'm thinking of doing a worldbuilding season on building resistance movements. Who's with me?

This is a disgrace on something many levels. Those poor children. The United States is a deliberately cruel. Fucking evil. They can't just blame Trump because no one has done anything substantial to remove him. The enablers and bystanders are as much to blame.

It's been a privilege interviewing some authors, thank you. To listeners and viewers, I would also like to thank you too. I'm taking an indefinite break. See you on the other side.

On YouTube, episodes are grouped into playlists: Clinic: https://rubipod.link/worldbuildingclinic Trust: https://rubipod.link/readerstrust Worlds: https://rubipod.link/worldsthatwork Channel: https://rubipod.link/YouTubeChannel

Prefer YouTube as your player? Start with a playlist: Clinic: https://rubipod.link/worldbuildingclinic Trust: https://rubipod.link/readerstrust Worlds: https://rubipod.link/worldsthatwork Channel: https://rubipod.link/YouTubeChannel

Episodes are on YouTube too, organised into playlists: Worldbuilding Clinic: https://rubipod.link/worldbuildingclinic Reader Trust: https://rubipod.link/readerstrust Worlds That Work: https://rubipod.link/worldsthatwork Channel: https://rubipod.link/YouTubeChannel

What’s one worldbuilding detail that'd make your life harder if you lived in your favourite fictional world? That’s where the interesting stuff is! 🎙️ Send a voice/video: https://rubipod.link/msg #Worldbuilding #SpeculativeFiction You can leave a voice note or video, link in first comment!

YouTube option, neatly sorted by theme: Worldbuilding Clinic: https://rubipod.link/worldbuildingclinic Reader Trust: https://rubipod.link/readerstrust Worlds That Work: https://rubipod.link/worldsthatwork Channel: https://rubipod.link/YouTubeChannel

On YouTube, episodes are grouped into playlists: Clinic: https://rubipod.link/worldbuildingclinic Trust: https://rubipod.link/readerstrust Worlds: https://rubipod.link/worldsthatwork Channel: https://rubipod.link/YouTubeChannel

Drop yourself into a fictional world. What’s the first thing that actually goes wrong? Be honest! 🎙️ Send a voice/video response: https://rubipod.link/msg #SpeculativeFiction #Worldbuilding

Good worldbuilding is not wallpaper. It changes what characters can afford, risk, refuse, investigate, and survive. That is what makes Matt Witten’s 51% worth discussing. https://rubipod.link/51percent #Worldbuilding #WritingCraft #SpeculativeFiction

Sometimes one invented job title explains the whole world. In 51%, Haylee Navarro is a crime marketing consultant. When justice needs funding, even murder has to be sold. That’s a strong bit of systems-driven worldbuilding. https://rubipod.link/51percent #SpeculativeFiction #Worldbuilding #Writing

The real sting in 51% is not just corporate power. It’s the ownership model. Education, healthcare, debt, survival. Sell enough of your future and the system starts owning you back. That’s the sort of practical worldbuilding I like getting into. https://rubipod.link/51percent #Worldbuilding

My favorite podcast I've done this year!

What if justice had to be crowdfunded? Matt Witten’s 51% imagines a privatised America where even murder investigations depend on money, visibility, and marketability. That gives the world real teeth. Episode here: https://rubipod.link/51percent #SpeculativeFiction #Worldbuilding #DystopianFiction

Heads up! There's a new episode of the show out, right now! Visit Richardson's Rubicon to subscribe via your favourite podcatching service. https://richardsonsrubicon.com/#subscribe #worldbuilding #specfic

Prefer YouTube as your player? Start with a playlist: Clinic: https://rubipod.link/worldbuildingclinic Trust: https://rubipod.link/readerstrust Worlds: https://rubipod.link/worldsthatwork Channel: https://rubipod.link/YouTubeChannel

From the archives: a stronger dystopian premise is not “bad people seize control” but “a single cure becomes mandatory because resistance can be framed as irresponsibility.” That is where this one bites. https://rubipod.link/neuroxoneconspiracy #DystopianFiction #SpeculativeFiction

Boarded windows, restricted movement, hunting nights. Autumn’s world changes because vampire society changes the ordinary rules of life. Fascinating chat! https://rubipod.link/midnight #YAFantasy #Worldbuilding #FantasyBooks

The real hook here is not just vampire lore. It is a human protagonist trapped inside a hidden social order built by predators. That's right, she's prey. https://rubipod.link/midnight #SpeculativeFiction #Vampires #AuthorInterview

Magic gets more interesting when it has limits. Sara A. Freites talks here about spellcasting tied to ingredients, control, and cost rather than easy power. https://rubipod.link/midnight

In Rise of Midnight, vampires consume souls rather than blood. Strong hook. Better still, Autumn has to survive inside their society while still being seen as prey. https://rubipod.link/midnight #Worldbuilding #Vampires #SpeculativeFiction

Heads up! There's a new episode of the show out, right now! Visit Richardson's Rubicon to subscribe via your favourite podcatching service. https://richardsonsrubicon.com/#subscribe #worldbuilding #specfic

Episodes are on YouTube too, organised into playlists: Worldbuilding Clinic: https://rubipod.link/worldbuildingclinic Reader Trust: https://rubipod.link/readerstrust Worlds That Work: https://rubipod.link/worldsthatwork Channel: https://rubipod.link/YouTubeChannel

From the archives: alien design gets stronger when each species reflects a different pressure point in the human world. That is one of the sharper ideas in Momoko Uno’s sci-fi comedy. https://rubipod.link/hellohumans #amwritingscifi #SpeculativeFiction

Steal-this-technique: make the system a character. Incentives, comms, authority, fear. Then drop the meteor. Your readers: 🍿 Episode link: https://rubipod.link/terrestrial #SpeculativeFiction

Disaster stories live or die on pressure: what a character wants, what the world blocks, what they’re willing to trade. That’s the focus in this chat with Ryan McGinnis. https://rubipod.link/terrestrial #WritingCommunity #SciFi

Parallel narratives: cut at the wrong moment and you kill tension. Cut at the right moment and you double it. We talk structure and escalation in Terrestrial. https://rubipod.link/terrestrial #AmWriting #Worldbuilding

Meteor impacts + an invasive lifeform + an ISS crisis you can’t phone home about. Ryan McGinnis on Terrestrial. https://rubipod.link/terrestrial #SciFi #Podcast

Heads up! There's a new episode of the show out, right now! Visit Richardson's Rubicon to subscribe via your favourite podcatching service. https://richardsonsrubicon.com/#subscribe #worldbuilding #specfic

YouTube option, neatly sorted by theme: Worldbuilding Clinic: https://rubipod.link/worldbuildingclinic Reader Trust: https://rubipod.link/readerstrust Worlds That Work: https://rubipod.link/worldsthatwork Channel: https://rubipod.link/YouTubeChannel

From the archives: magic builds more trust when it comes with cost, not just capability. J.F. Monroe leans into that by treating power as burden before gift. https://rubipod.link/legacyofthefour #amwritingfantasy #SpeculativeFiction

What’s one worldbuilding detail that'd make your life harder if you lived in your favourite fictional world? That’s where the interesting stuff is! 🎙️ Send a voice/video: https://rubipod.link/msg #Worldbuilding #SpeculativeFiction You can leave a voice note or video, link in first comment!

A thousand apologies! This weeks episode release has been unavoidably delayed. Normal service will resume Sunday 31st May, just in time for summer! 😎☀️🌅

On YouTube, episodes are grouped into playlists: Clinic: https://rubipod.link/worldbuildingclinic Trust: https://rubipod.link/readerstrust Worlds: https://rubipod.link/worldsthatwork Channel: https://rubipod.link/YouTubeChannel

From the archives: a fantasy world is more convincing when it does not hand the hero competence for free. Richard Sparks builds trust by making the leap from gamer to avatar exciting, then immediately difficult. https://rubipod.link/newrock #amwritingfantasy #SpeculativeFiction

Shindo Dacan is a mechanic inside a warlord’s system, carrying guilt for what his machines enabled. Power isn’t abstract when you build it with your own hands. https://rubipod.link/sapiens #SpecFic #Worldbuilding #AmWriting

If you write post-apocalyptic or rebuilding-era fiction: put a real price on travel. It instantly tightens tension, trade, and politics. https://rubipod.link/sapiens #WritingTips #SciFi #Worldbuilding

“Logistics is plot” is the core takeaway: rough roads + scarce fuel = fewer easy escapes and more believable choices. https://rubipod.link/sapiens #WritingCraft #Worldbuilding

No oil is a great constraint because it turns movement into a serious decision, not background noise. Biofuel exists, but it’s expensive and changes the shape of the world. https://rubipod.link/sapiens #Worldbuilding #SciFi #AmWriting

Heads up! There's a new episode of the show out, right now! Visit Richardson's Rubicon to subscribe via your favourite podcatching service. https://richardsonsrubicon.com/#subscribe #worldbuilding #specfic

Prefer YouTube as your player? Start with a playlist: Clinic: https://rubipod.link/worldbuildingclinic Trust: https://rubipod.link/readerstrust Worlds: https://rubipod.link/worldsthatwork Channel: https://rubipod.link/YouTubeChannel

From the archives: a setting gets more interesting when it solves a real pressure point in the world. Here, the enchanted Forest Plain explains how multiple cultures stay distinct without pretending history has no appetite for conquest. https://rubipod.link/SpiritOfThePlain #amwritingfantasy