Richardson's Rubicon

Matt Witten joins me to talk about 51%, his speculative thriller set in a near-future America where corporations own everything, including people.

We dig into one of the book’s strongest ideas: a privatised justice system where detectives have to crowdfund murder investigations. That opens up a wider discussion about debt, ownership, healthcare, policing, and how worldbuilding becomes far more powerful when it creates real pressure on characters’ daily choices.

If you like dystopian fiction with clear systems and strong moral stakes, this one has plenty to get into.

Find out more, including shownotes, here: https://rubipod.link/51percent

My first vampire-themed author conversation on the show.

In this episode, I speak with Sara A. Freites, author of the Rise of Midnight series, a YA fantasy that puts a human girl inside a hidden vampire society with its own rules, pressures, and dangers.

We talk about Autumn Hayes, past-life power, demons, spellcraft, and the uneasy reality of living among vampires when you are needed, but not fully trusted. What stood out to me most was the social tension of that setup: a world with its own customs and hierarchy, where daily life changes the moment Autumn is forced inside it.

We also get into how Sara approaches vampire lore, supernatural pressure, and the challenge of building a world that feels dangerous without losing sight of character.

A conversation about hidden societies, power, belonging, and what it means to remain human in a world that does not see you as one.

Episode link:
https://rubipod.link/midnight

#SpeculativeFiction #Worldbuilding #Vampires #YAFantasy #AuthorInterview

Meteor impacts slam into North America and the crisis doesn’t stay on the ground. In this episode I’m joined by sci-fi author Ryan McGinnis to talk about Terrestrial, a dual-thread disaster story split between scientists investigating strange growth at the impact sites and a stranded crew on the International Space Station dealing with an invasive stowaway. We dig into why parallel narratives work, how to build escalation without losing plausibility, and how politics and information control can make a bad situation vastly worse. If you like your sci-fi tense, grounded, and built on consequences, this one’s for you.

Episode page with full notes: https://rubipod.link/terrestrial

#SciFi #SpeculativeFiction #WritingCommunity #Podcast #Worldbuilding

In this episode I’m joined by author Nathan Ogloff to talk about a deceptively powerful worldbuilding constraint: what happens when there’s no oil. (Or coffee, as it happens).

Nathan’s Sapien Empire is set after the worst of the collapse, when settlements are trying to rebuild into something like civilisation again. But movement is never casual. Biofuel is expensive, roads are rough, and even short journeys become strategic decisions that shape trade, power, and safety.

We also touch on Shindo Dacan, a mechanically gifted protagonist whose skills can shift the balance of power, and Nathan’s approach to writing machines with “just enough” detail to feel real without turning the story into an engineering manual.

Listen or watch now, and if you’re writing post-apocalyptic or rebuilding-era sci-fi, steal the principle: put a real price on movement and your story instantly gets sharper.

See more and see subscription options on the show notes: https://rubipod.link/sapiens

#PostApocalyptic #SpecFic #Worldbuilding #AmWriting #WritingCraft #Podcast

What happens when magic is illegal, but survival depends on it? 🎙️

I’m joined by Melinda Kucsera to talk about Curse Breaker Enchanted, a fantasy world where magic is punishable by death, an enchanted forest has rules of its own, and the people most at risk may also be the people others quietly rely on.

Melinda takes us into underground cities, forest rangers, dangerous promises, and a protagonist whose glowing green eyes make hiding his magic almost impossible. We also dig into Sarn’s indenture, the secret he is desperate to protect, and the uncomfortable question at the heart of the story: what happens when a society tries to legislate magic out of existence?

If you like speculative fiction, worldbuilding, and stories where the rules bite back, this one should be right up your street, or forest path.

Find the full episode and comprehensive show notes here: https://rubipod.link/SecrecyAndSurvival

#FantasyWorlds #SpeculativeFiction #Worldbuilding #FantasyBooks #WritingCraft

In folk horror, you know it’s getting serious when the locals would rather see a house burn than let an outsider move in. 🔥

I’m chatting with Jack Callaghan about Wyrd Water, set in the Lake District in 1979. We dig into how you build fear with rules rather than jump scares: what a community won’t say out loud, what it will do to protect a secret, and how a place can turn everyday life into a set of survival habits.

We also talk rune magic as lived practice, not flashy spell-slinging, plus the quiet power of removing modern tech. No internet, no easy verification, no quick exit. Just people, pressure, and a landscape that doesn’t care what you believe.

If you like settings where the rituals aren’t decoration but mechanisms, this one’s for you.

Episode show notes: https://rubipod.link/WyrdWater

#Worldbuilding #FolkHorror #SpecFic #Podcasting #WritingCommunity

Bob Freeman joins me to talk about the H2 Lift Ships series, a comic science-fiction setting built around solar-sail cargo ships, hydrogen lift, semi-sentient bioGels, and a trading civilisation that has to manage without faster-than-light travel.

We get into the practical side of the world, including ship design, unusual crew roles, and what starts to break when the systems people rely on stop behaving properly. It's a playful conversation, but there is a real worldbuilding idea underneath it, and that is what makes it interesting.

Show notes and more: https://richardsonsrubicon.com/worldbuilding-non-ftl-realities-bob-freeman-h2-lift-ships/

In a world where mercy comes with a bill, things get interesting fast. 🎙️

This time I’m joined by Travis Kuffel, author of Unleashed and the Tales of Ganden setting. We talk about why Baksa Ranger Cadel risks his standing by sparing a thief, and how justice changes when the nearest proper prison is a long, dangerous ride away. We also get into Hadrek, a magic system with real costs, plus the way relics become lethal incentives when fear and desperation start driving the chase.

This is worldbuilding under pressure, where choices have definite consequences and the world keeps pushing back. Every question I asked, tick, tick, tick!

Listen now, and visit the episode page on my site for extras.

https://richardsonsrubicon.com/worldbuilding-distant-prisons-and-brutality-travis-kuffel-unleashed/

#SpeculativeFiction #Worldbuilding #FantasyWriting #amwriting #Podcast

Trying to build an epic world or magic system without it collapsing into waffle?

In this episode I talk to Mave Hathaway about The Breaking, book one of the Dodsfell Chapter. We get into belief, power, social control, magical limits, and what happens when a world teaches people to fear the very abilities they rely on.

We also discuss something I found especially interesting: Mave spent five years building the world of Baelia and pressure-tested it through a D&D campaign before writing. That is exactly the sort of thing that helps expose weak points before readers do.

If you write fantasy, sci-fi, or horror and want stronger worldbuilding with real consequences, there should be something useful here for you.

Mave's site: https://loftywingspress.com/

Episode page with shownotes: https://richardsonsrubicon.com/worldbuilding-belief-vs-power-mave-hathaway-the-breaking/

#Worldbuilding #MagicSystems #FantasyWriting #SpeculativeFiction #WritingCraft

What if Charles Babbage’s mechanical computers had actually worked, and by 1896 London was already stumbling into an early information age?

I’m joined by Tim Standish, author of The Sterling Directive. His version of late-Victorian London has engines, telegraph networks, and a state security machine that’s worrying in a very familiar way: once records become searchable, identity becomes traceable.

We talk through the nuts and bolts of making that world feel real without turning it into homework. What the tech can do, where it breaks, who controls it, who gets left out, and how “tappers” (his world’s hackers) make the whole thing dangerous. There’s also airships, because obviously there are.

If you like alternate history that actually changes behaviour, or you’re writing your own world and want a few solid craft ideas, you’ll get a lot out of this one.

Episode page with notes: https://richardsonsrubicon.com/worldbuilding-a-victorian-information-state-tim-standish-the-sterling-directive/

Tim's website: https://timstandish.co.uk/

The Episode Question! https://richardsonsrubicon.com/community/season-5-speculative-fiction-where-worlds-meet/new-tech-who-gets-the-power/

#Steampunk #AlternateHistory #SpeculativeFiction #Worldbuilding #AmWriting