Unknown Worlds of the Merril Collection

By The Friends of Merril

In Unknown Worlds of the Merril Collection, host Stephen Geraghty interviews special guests about notable history and new frontiers in the worlds of science fiction, fantasy and horror as found in

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FAQs about Unknown Worlds of the Merril Collection:

How many episodes does Unknown Worlds of the Merril Collection have?

The podcast currently has 26 episodes available.

Unknown Worlds of the Merril Collection episodes:

January 26, 2026First Contact pt. 2
This is part 2 of our final episode of the season! Stephen talks with Peter Watts, author of Blindsight and Echopraxia (and much more), about alien intelligence, how vampires work, and the choice to use Creative Commons licensing.
This episode contains spoilers for Blindsight.
Website/blog
Merril Links
The Merril Collection!
Friends of Merril (Facebook & Twitter)
Works & artists mentioned
Master and Commander by Patrick O’Brian (sheepshank)
Behemoth by Peter Watts
Cory Doctorow
John Scalzi
Neill Blomkamp
Arthur Jafa
Spike Lee
Eyes Wide Shut (1999, dir. Stanley Kubrick)
The Twenty-One Second God by Peter Watts
Sunflower cycle by Peter Watts
Host: Stephen Geraghty
Producer: Janet Mowat
This episode was recorded in the spring of 2024.
We do not advocate running down the street naked, shooting shotguns.
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35min
January 19, 2026First Contact pt. 1
This is part 1 of our final episode of the season! Stephen talks with Peter Watts, author of Blindsight and Echopraxia (and much more), about UFOs, his influences, and the functional utility of consciousness.
This episode contains spoilers for Blindsight.
Website/blog
Merril Links
The Merril Collection!
Friends of Merril (Facebook & Twitter)
Works & artists mentioned
Star Trek: The Original Series
The Day the Earth Stood Still (1951)
Neuropath by Scott Bakker
Larry Niven
Ray Bradbury
Solaris by Stanislav Lem
Solaris (1972; dir. Andrei Tarkovsky)
Solaris (2002; dir. Steven Soderberg)
The Creator (2023)
Charles Stross
Richard Dawkins (sorry, Janet couldn't find the work mentioned)
Alien movie series
Host: Stephen Geraghty
Producer: Janet Mowat
This episode was recorded in the spring of 2024.
...more
36min
January 12, 2026Humour and SF
Stephen talks with Charles Stross, author of the Laundry Files series (and much more), about humour in speculative fiction, the element of surprise, and what makes him laugh.
Charlie's Diary
Mastodon
Bluesky
Merril Links
The Merril Collection!
Friends of Merril (Facebook & Twitter)
Works, games, & artists mentioned
H.P. Lovecraft
Laundry Files series by Charles Stross
New Management series by Charles Stross
A Colder War by Charles Stross
Len Deighton
John Le Carré
Discworld series by Terry Pratchett
James Bond series by Ian Fleming
Adam Hall
Anthony Price
Modesty Blaise
Quentin Tarentino
Vampire: The Masquerade (game)
Merchant Princes series by Charles Stross
Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy series by Douglas Adams
Gil’s All-Fright Diner by A. Lee Martinez
J.W. Wells & Co. series by Tom Holt
Monty Python's Flying Circus
Call of Cthulu (game)
The Laundry (game)
George R.R. Martin
Dungeons & Dragons (game)
Host: Stephen Geraghty
Producer: Janet Mowat
This episode was recorded in the spring of 2024.
...more
33min
January 05, 2026Alternate Futures
Stephen talks with Kenna Alexander, creator of the RPG Coyote & Crow, about alternate futures, creating an Indigenous roleplaying game, and decolonising gaming.
At the time of this interview, Kenna was known by a different name and pronouns. We acknowledge and celebrate her true identity.
Coyote & Crow Games
Discord
YouTube
Bluesky
Reddit
Merril Links
The Merril Collection!
Friends of Merril (Facebook & Twitter)
Works, games, & artists mentioned
Dungeons & Dragons
Settlers of Catan
Other Coyote & Crow games and adventures
Hemlock and Sage by Tali Inlow
Robert Heinlein
Isaac Asimov
Ray Bradbury
Host: Stephen Geraghty
Producer: Janet Mowat
This episode was recorded in the spring of 2024.
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36min
December 29, 2025Optimistic SF
Stephen talks with author Alyx Dellamonica about optimistic SF, balancing optimism with realism, and their Bounceback book series.

Merril Links
The Merril Collection!
Friends of Merril (Facebook & Twitter)
Works & artists mentioned
Ray Bradbury
Spider Robinson
War of the Worlds by H.G. Wells
Foundation novels by Isaac Asimov
Star Trek: The Original Series
Horse Woman by LX Beckett
Gamechanger & Dealbreaker by LX Beckett
Annalee Newitz
Nnedi Okorafor
Host: Stephen Geraghty
Producer: Janet Mowat
This episode was recorded in the autumn of 2023.
...more
34min
December 22, 2025Music and SF
Stephen discusses filk, storytelling, community, and the intersections of music and speculative fiction with two legends: 'Decadent' Dave Clement and Steven Brust.
Note: For copyright reasons, we didn't include any songs in this episode. The songs we would have used are 'This Island Earth' (Dandelion Wine) and 'Stars Overhead' (Cats Laughing) from the albums linked below.
Circles in the Grain - Dandelion Wine
Another Way to Travel - Cats Laughing
Cats Laughing website
Merril Links
The Merril Collection!
Friends of Merril (Facebook & Twitter)
Events mentioned
Keycon
Filk Ontario
Festival of the Living Rooms
Ohio Valley Filk Festival
Pegasus awards
Select works & artists mentioned
Beth Friedman
Vlad Taltos series by Steven Brust
Khaavren Romances series by Steven Brust
DC Star Trek comic “Debt of Honor” written by Christopher S. Claremont, illustrated by Adam T. Hughes and Karl C. Story
The Callahan Touch by Spider Robinson
Borderland series by Terri Windling
Adam Stemple
Emma Bull
The Gypsy by Megan Lindholme and Steven Brust
Songs from The Gypsy by Boiled in Lead (album)
Joe Haldeman
Lyorn by Steven Brust (released April 2024)
How Much for Just the Planet? by John M. Ford
Once More, With Feeling - Buffy the Vampire Slayer s6e7
Host: Stephen Geraghty
Producer: Janet Mowat
This episode was recorded in the autumn of 2023.
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30min
December 15, 2025Cosy Fantasy
Stephen talks with Yilin Wang and André Geleynse of Tales & Feathers magazine about cosy fiction.
Tales & Feathers magazine
Augur magazine
Facebook
Twitter
Instagram
Merril Links
The Merril Collection!
Friends of Merril (Facebook & Twitter)
Works & artists mentioned
Long Way to a Small Angry Planet, Monk & Robot series by Becky Chambers
John Wiswell
Game of Thrones series by George R.R. Martin
The Lord of the Rings by J.R.R. Tolkien
Diana Wynne Jones
I Am a Cat by Natsume Sōseki
My Neighbour Totoro (1988)
Shadow Life by Hiromi Goto
Legends & Lattes by Travis Baldree
Kiki’s Delivery Service (1989)
Hakumei and Mikochi by Takuto Kashiki
Host: Stephen Geraghty
Producer: Janet Mowat
This episode was recorded in the autumn of 2023.
...more
35min
December 06, 2025Apocalypse
New host Stephen talks with Waubgeshig Rice about apocalyptic stories, Indigenous SF, and his books Moon of the Crusted Snow and Moon of the Turning Leaves.
Waub's website
Facebook
Twitter
Instagram
Goodreads
Merril Links
The Merril Collection!
Friends of Merril (Facebook & Twitter)
Works & artists mentioned
Moon of the Crusted Snow, Moon of the Turning Leaves by Waubgeshig Rice
Station Eleven by Emily St. John Mandel
The Chrysalids by John Wyndham
Mad Max (1979)
The Last of Us (video game - 2013; TV series - 2023)
The Marrow Thieves by Cherie Dimaline
Trickster series by Eden Robinson
The Road by Cormack McCarthy
Host: Stephen Geraghty
Producer: Janet Mowat
This episode was recorded in the autumn of 2023.
...more
47min
December 31, 2022 Climate Fiction
In his final episode as host of the podcast, Oliver chats with author Kim Stanley Robinson about Climate Fiction.
KimStanleyRobinson.info

Merril Links
The Merril Collection!
Friends of Merril (Facebook & Twitter)
...more
50min
August 08, 2022 Folklore and the Four Winds Storytellers Library
Oliver talks with Norman Perrin about folklore in general, and Norman's unique, privately owned, publicly accessible archive of folklore knowledge he’s run from his Toronto apartment since 1990.
The Four Winds Storytellers Library on Facebook
Merril Links
The Merril Collection!
Friends of Merril (Facebook & Twitter)

...more
33min

FAQs about Unknown Worlds of the Merril Collection:

How many episodes does Unknown Worlds of the Merril Collection have?

The podcast currently has 26 episodes available.