Realms Unknown

By The Bugle

Fantasy, Sci Fi and speculative fiction, observed through the comedic lens of The Bugle. Become a Bugle subscriber to enjoy this show ad free and help us thrive.

Expect reviews and supern

... more

5

2121 ratings

Download on the App Store

Download on the App Store

Get it on Google Play

FAQs about Realms Unknown:

How many episodes does Realms Unknown have?

The podcast currently has 40 episodes available.

Realms Unknown episodes:

October 21, 2025 Words of power // Magic of language // Earthsea
Myq Kaplan joins Alice Fraser this week for another sci-fi and fantasy packed episode of Realms Unknown!

🔔 Set a reminder to watch Myq's new comedy special Rini on YouTube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=y0uf9i_z-Aw
💰 Support Realms Unknown by becoming a Team Bugle subscriber https://thebuglepodcast.com/donate
📚 Buy books featured in this and other episodes here! https://uk.bookshop.org/shop/RealmsUnknown

WHAT HAVE YOU BEEN PUTTING IN YOUR BRAIN?
Piranesi - Susanna Clarke
Jonathan Strange & Mr Norrell - Susanna Clarke
Antkind - Charlie Kaufman
Babel - RF Kuang

TROPE ON A ROPE
Exhalation: Stories - Ted Chiang
FILM Looper
TV Buffy the Vampire Slayer

SUB GENRE DEEP DIVE - words of power
The Books of Earthsea by Ursula K Le Guin
Rumplestiltskin - Jacob and Willhelm Grimm
Dylan Brody - Merlyn’s Mistake
GAME Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim
Name of the Wind - Patrick Rothfuss
GAME Myst
TV Star Trek

MINES OF URRGH
COMIC/TV The Boys - Garth Ennis
COMIC/TV Preacher - Garth Ennis

📯 Subscribe to The Bugle YouTube channel for episodes of all of our shows https://www.youtube.com/@BuglePodcast
📚 Help your local bookshop by buying the books mentioned in the show in our Bookshop affiliate store https://uk.bookshop.org/shop/RealmsUnknown

🔔 Subscribe, like, and comment!
🦋 Follow us on Bluesky!
Produced by Chris Skinner and Ped Hunter. Hosted by Alice Fraser and Myq Kaplan.
📧 Got questions, feedback, or suggestions? Email us at [email protected]
Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
...more
40min
October 14, 2025 Fan fiction // Alchemised // Alan Moore
It's an Alice-only special this week on Realms Unknown!

📚 Buy recommended books here! https://uk.bookshop.org/shop/RealmsUnknown

NEWS
APP Sora 2
FILM Barbie

WHAT HAVE YOU BEEN PUTTING IN YOUR BRAIN?
Damned Whores and God’s Police - Anne Summers
Queen Demon - Martha Wells
The Last Hour Between Worlds - Melissa Carusso
Sixteen Ways To Defend a Walled City - K.J. Parker

TROPE ON A ROPE
Being able to cut a chain with a sword

SUB-GENRE DEEP DIVE - Fan fiction
Manacled - SenLinYu
Alchemised - SenLinYu
COMIC The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen - Alan Moore
Sun Eater series - Christopher Ruocchio
FILM Pride and Prejudice and Zombies
Licence Expired: The Unauthorised James Bond - Madeline Ashby and David Nickle
COMIC Watchmen - Alan Moore
COMIC Supreme - Alan Moore
COMIC Tom Strong - Alan Moore
COMIC Neonomicon - Alan Moore
COMIC Providence - Alan Moore
COMIC The Courtyard - Alan Moore
COMIC Jack Staff - Paul Grist
COMIC Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles
COMIC Michael Fiffe - Copra
Twilight series - Stephanie Meyer
Fifty Shade of Grey - E.L. James
A Court of Thorns and Roses - Sarah J Maas
AUDIOBOOK A Passion For Passion - Alice Fraser. Buy NOW!

📯 Subscribe to The Bugle YouTube channel for episodes of all of our shows https://www.youtube.com/@BuglePodcast
💰 Support Realms Unknown by becoming a Team Bugle subscriber https://thebuglepodcast.com/donate
📚 Help your local bookshop by buying the books mentioned in the show in our Bookshop affiliate store https://uk.bookshop.org/shop/RealmsUnknown

🔔 Subscribe, like, and comment!
🦋 Follow us on Bluesky!
Produced by Chris Skinner and Ped Hunter. Hosted by Alice Fraser.
📧 Got questions, feedback, or suggestions? Email us at [email protected]
Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
...more
32min
October 08, 2025 We made a hit book, and saw none of the money! Chris and Alice Unleashed!!! B'Ankruptcy Edition
Chris and Alice tell the story of their experiences around Alice's hit book A Passion For Passion. A book that has generated over £50,000 in sales (maybe much more), yet we have barely seen a Penny. We tell the story of the publishers Unbound and Boundless who collapsed in debt, having failed to deliver for us (and a bunch of other authors).

BUT, we won't give up. We'll fight for our money, and we have released it, in full as an Audiobook, available now... https://www.thebuglepodcast.com/
Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
...more
43min
September 30, 2025 Post-colonial Africa // Alien: Earth // District 9
Tom Neenan joins Alice Fraser this week for another sci-fi and fantasy packed episode of Realms Unknown!

📚 Buy recommended books here! https://uk.bookshop.org/shop/RealmsUnknown

NEWS
TV Doctor Who
PLAY Amadeus
GAME Fortnite
TV The Boys
TV Peacemaker
FILM A Nightmare On Elm Street
FILM Longlegs

WHAT HAVE YOU BEEN WATCHING?
Alien:Earth

MINES OF UURGH
The Hunger Games - Suzanne Collins
PLAY Harry Potter & The Cursed Child

SUB GENRE DEEP DIVE - Post-colonial African sci fi and fantasy meeting Western Anglosphere markets
TV Doctor Who - The Story and the Engine
Rosewater - Tade Thompson (from the Wormwood trilogy)
Black Leopard, Red Wolf - Marlon James
FILM District 9
FILM Elysium
FILM Dirty Computer - Janelle Monae
Out There Screaming - Jordan Peele

📯 Subscribe to The Bugle YouTube channel for episodes of all of our shows https://www.youtube.com/@BuglePodcast
💰 Support Realms Unknown by becoming a Team Bugle subscriber https://thebuglepodcast.com/donate
📚 Help your local bookshop by buying the books mentioned in the show in our Bookshop affiliate store https://uk.bookshop.org/shop/RealmsUnknown

🔔 Subscribe, like, and comment!
🦋 Follow us on Bluesky!
Produced by Chris Skinner and Ped Hunter. Hosted by Alice Fraser and Tom Neenan.
📧 Got questions, feedback, or suggestions? Email us at [email protected]
Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
...more
38min
September 23, 2025 Installing buttons // Katherine Rundell // Harry Potter
Joining Alice Fraser this week is the brilliant Eleanor Morton!

📚 Buy recommended books here! https://uk.bookshop.org/shop/RealmsUnknown

Reading list to follow!

📯 Subscribe to The Bugle YouTube channel for episodes of all of our shows https://www.youtube.com/@BuglePodcast

💰 Support Realms Unknown by becoming a Team Bugle subscriber https://thebuglepodcast.com/donate

📚 Help your local bookshop by buying the books mentioned in the show in our Bookshop affiliate store https://uk.bookshop.org/shop/RealmsUnknown

🔔 Subscribe, like, and comment!
🦋 Follow us on Bluesky!
Produced by Chris Skinner and Ped Hunter. Hosted by Alice Fraser and Eleanor Morton.
📧 Got questions, feedback, or suggestions? Email us at [email protected]
Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
...more
36min
September 16, 2025 Competence // Star Trek // Outlander
Joining Alice Fraser this week is the satisfyingly and unrelentingly competent Tom Neenan! (The Mash Report, The Hauntening)

📚 Buy recommended books here! https://uk.bookshop.org/shop/RealmsUnknown

NEWS
TV Severance
TV Mission: Impossible - The Final Reckoning
FILM The Lord of the Rings: Return of the King
FILM Dune
TV Twisted Metal
FILM The Creator
TV Outlander: Blood of My Blood

WHAT HAVE YOU BEEN PUTTING IN YOUR BRAIN?
Star Trek: Strange New Worlds
TV Only Murders In The Building
The Phantom Tollbooth - Norton Juster
Haroun and the Sea of Stories - Salman Rushdie

TROPE ON A ROPE
Something has happened here…
Straight to camera blogging as disasters unfold

SUB GENRE DEEP DIVE - competence
The Martian - Andy Weir
FILM The Martian
FILM All Is Lost
FILM Die Hard
FILM The Mechanic
The Expanse series - James S. A. Corey
TV The Expanse
FILMS The Bourne franchise
Discworld series - Terry Pratchett
FILM Snatch
TV Doctor Who - Midnight episode
TV Columbo
TV Poirot
TV Jonathan Creek
Rivers of London - Ben Aaronovitch

MINES OF EURGH
FILM Ready Player One
Cautionary Tales for Children - Hilaire Belloc

📯 Subscribe to The Bugle YouTube channel for episodes of all of our shows https://www.youtube.com/@BuglePodcast
💰 Support Realms Unknown by becoming a Team Bugle subscriber https://thebuglepodcast.com/donate
📚 Help your local bookshop by buying the books mentioned in the show in our Bookshop affiliate store https://uk.bookshop.org/shop/RealmsUnknown

🔔 Subscribe, like, and comment!
🦋 Follow us on Bluesky!
Produced by Chris Skinner and Ped Hunter. Hosted by Alice Fraser and Tom Neenan.
📧 Got questions, feedback, or suggestions? Email us at [email protected]
Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
...more
41min
September 02, 2025 Paladins // Grady Hendrix // Star Wars: Starfighter
Joining Alice Fraser this week is Realms Unknown firm favourite Tom Neenan (The Mash Report, The Hauntening).

📚 Buy recommended books here! https://uk.bookshop.org/shop/RealmsUnknown

NEWS
FILM Star Wars: Starfighter
FILM K-Pop Demon Hunters

WHAT HAVE YOU BEEN INTO?
Witchcraft for Wayward Girls - Grady Hendrix
Horrorstör - Grady Hendrix
My Best Friend’s Exorcism - Grady Hendrix
Clockwork Boys - T. Kingfisher
The Wonder Engine - T. Kingfisher

TROPE ON A ROPE
FILM Mulan
Game of Thrones - George RR Martin

DEEP DIVE - the paladin
Paladin of Souls - Lois McMaster Bujold
FILM Dungeons & Dragons: Honor Among Thieves
TV Doctor Who - Revelation of the Daleks
COMIC Die - Kieron Gillen

MINES OF URRGH
Rapunzel

📯 Subscribe to The Bugle YouTube channel for episodes of all of our shows https://www.youtube.com/@BuglePodcast
💰 Support Realms Unknown by becoming a Team Bugle subscriber https://thebuglepodcast.com/donate
📚 Help your local bookshop by buying the books mentioned in the show in our Bookshop affiliate store https://uk.bookshop.org/shop/RealmsUnknown

🔔 Subscribe, like, and comment!
🦋 Follow us on Bluesky!
Produced by Chris Skinner and Ped Hunter. Hosted by Alice Fraser and Tom Neenan.
📧 Got questions, feedback, or suggestions? Email us at [email protected]
Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
...more
42min
August 29, 2025 Big news next week
For complicated reasons we've taken a week off. Enjoy our many shows, and hang on for something exciting!
Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
...more
1min
August 19, 2025 Bodies // Summer of Horror // Befuzzled kings
Joining Alice Fraser this week is the mighty Tom Neenan (The Mash Report, The Hauntening).

The subgenre deep dive this week looks at bodies / good use of embodiment - such as body swapping in Altered Carbon or Cronenbergian body horror. Tom espouses that 2025 has seen the greatest summer for cinematic horror in recent memory, discusses the trope of befuzzled kings leaving a trail of chaos in their wake, and feels a bit eurrgh about campery being shorthand for villainy.

📚 Buy recommended books here! https://uk.bookshop.org/shop/RealmsUnknown

NEWS
FILM Red Sonja

WHAT HAVE YOU BEEN PUTTING IN YOUR BRAIN?
FILM 28 Years Later
FILM Bring Her Back
FILM Weapons
FILM Together
Swordheart - T Kingfisher

TROPE ON A ROPE
Befuzzled kings and the chaos they leave in their wake
Looking in the mirror, pulling at something and creating a Cronenbergian horror

SUB GENRE DEEP DIVE - bodies
FILM Looper
FILM Together
TV Doctor Who - The Invisible Enemy
TV Doctor Who - Into The Dalek
FILM Tusk
PODCAST Smodcast
Altered Carbon - Richard K. Morgan
The Voyage of the Dawn Treader - C. S. Lewis
Ghost In The Shell
Dune - Frank Herbert
TV Alien: Earth
FILM Ex Machina

MINES OF EURRGH
Campery to mean villainy
FILM Jupiter Ascending
TV Twilight
FILM The Little Mermaid
FILM The Lion King
FILM Robin Hood
FILM The Fifth Element

📯 Subscribe to The Bugle YouTube channel for episodes of all of our shows https://www.youtube.com/@BuglePodcast
💰 Support Realms Unknown by becoming a Team Bugle subscriber https://thebuglepodcast.com/donate
📚 Help your local bookshop by buying the books mentioned in the show in our Bookshop affiliate store https://uk.bookshop.org/shop/RealmsUnknown

🔔 Subscribe, like, and comment!
🦋 Follow us on Bluesky!
Produced by Chris Skinner and Ped Hunter. Hosted by Alice Fraser and Tom Neenan.
📧 Got questions, feedback, or suggestions? Email us at [email protected]
Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
...more
39min
August 12, 2025 Interesting POVs // Romance // Dave Bautista
Alice Fraser is joined this week by Jen Prokop from the Fated Mates romance podcast, so expect a lot of romance recommendations and tropes!

The subgenre deep dive looks into interesting uses of POV, and Jen is uncomfortable with the increasing use of violence in romance books but enjoyed the romance elements in recent films Superman and Sinners.

📚 Buy recommended books here! https://uk.bookshop.org/shop/RealmsUnknown

NEWS
Who Is Elara Voss?
FILM Highlander
TV Outlander
Epic Games secures legal win against Google

WHAT HAVE YOU BEEN PUTTING IN YOUR BRAIN?
Superman
Sinners

TROPE ON A ROPE
Jack Reacher series - Lee Child
The Faraway Tree - Enid Blyton
The Hunger Games - Suzanne Collins

SUB GENRE DEEP DIVE - single POV
The Fifth Season - N.K. Jemison
Not Your Sidekick - C.B. Lee
Ancillary Justice - Ann Leckie
The Baby Dragon Cafe - A.T. Qureshi
The Baby Dragon Bakery - A.T. Qureshi
Piranesi - Susanna Clarke

MINES OF EURRGH
Girls and their dragons
Fourth Wing - Rebecca Yarros
Jack West Jr series - Matthew Reilly
American Gods - Neil Gaiman

📯 Subscribe to The Bugle YouTube channel for episodes of all of our shows https://www.youtube.com/@BuglePodcast
💰 Support Realms Unknown by becoming a Team Bugle subscriber https://thebuglepodcast.com/donate
📚 Help your local bookshop by buying the books mentioned in the show in our Bookshop affiliate store https://uk.bookshop.org/shop/RealmsUnknown

🔔 Subscribe, like, and comment!
🦋 Follow us on Bluesky!
Produced by Chris Skinner and Ped Hunter. Hosted by Alice Fraser and Jen Prokop.
📧 Got questions, feedback, or suggestions? Email us at [email protected]
Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
...more
34min

FAQs about Realms Unknown:

How many episodes does Realms Unknown have?

The podcast currently has 40 episodes available.

More shows like Realms Unknown

The Bugle by The Bugle

The Bugle

3,730 Listeners

Friday Night Comedy from BBC Radio 4 by BBC Radio 4

Friday Night Comedy from BBC Radio 4

2,118 Listeners

The Infinite Monkey Cage by BBC Radio 4

The Infinite Monkey Cage

1,915 Listeners

Answer Me This! by Helen and Olly

Answer Me This!

824 Listeners

No Such Thing As A Fish by No Such Thing As A Fish

No Such Thing As A Fish

4,853 Listeners

Comedy of the Week by BBC Radio 4

Comedy of the Week

487 Listeners

Page 94: The Private Eye Podcast by Page 94: The Private Eye Podcast

Page 94: The Private Eye Podcast

340 Listeners

RHLSTP with Richard Herring by Sky Potato, Go Faster Stripe and Fuzz Productions

RHLSTP with Richard Herring

355 Listeners

Beef And Dairy Network by MaximumFun.org

Beef And Dairy Network

1,515 Listeners

Catharsis by The Bugle

Catharsis

55 Listeners

The Skewer by BBC Radio 4

The Skewer

33 Listeners

The Gargle by The Bugle

The Gargle

223 Listeners

What The F*** Is Going On? with Mark Steel by WTF Productions

What The F*** Is Going On? with Mark Steel

103 Listeners

The Bugle Ashes ZaltzCast by The Bugle

The Bugle Ashes ZaltzCast

15 Listeners

Top Stories! by The Bugle

Top Stories!

45 Listeners

Here Comes The Guillotine by Global

Here Comes The Guillotine

71 Listeners

Strong Message Here by BBC Radio 4

Strong Message Here

54 Listeners