Share

cover art for Sentient plants // Joe Abercrombie // Kurt Vonnegut

Team Bugle

Sentient plants // Joe Abercrombie // Kurt Vonnegut

Ep. 14
•

Host Alice Fraser and James Colley bring you episode 14 of Realms Unknown: your one-stop show for genre fiction tropes, news and recommendations!


It's a mushroom / plant life / flora core / sentient forest special!



Episode 14

In this week's sci fi and fantasy/real world crossover news, is there life on distant planet K2-18B, and are dire wolves making a comeback?


James has been enjoying The Blade Itself by Joe Abercrombie and Labyrinths by Jorge Luis Borges, while Alice has been dipping a toe into Mushroom Blues by Adrian M. Gibson.


In this week's Trope on a Rope section, the forced 'here's six months earlier' flashbacks are annoying James and Alice really wishes that people would just wear appropriate headwear in the desert.


Kurt Vonnegut's use of misogyny tarnishes James' otherwise love of the author, along with fatness being used as shorthand for evil of some sort.


For all of the books mentioned in the sub genre deep dive this week, please see the lists below!


Hosts' books

Alice Fraser - A Passion for Passion

James Colley - The Next Big Thing


What have you been into?

The Blade Itself - Joe Abercrombie

Labyrinths - Jorge Luis Borges

Mushroom Blues - Adrian M. Gibson


Sub-genre deep dive: plant life / flora core

The Day of the Triffids - John Wyndham

War of the Worlds - HG Wells

FILM Little Shop of Horrors

Hyperion - Dan Simmons

TV Farscape

‘Amnesty’ from Bloodchild and Other Stories - Octavia Butler

TV/GAME The Last of Us

The Tainted Cup - Robert Jackson Bennett

TV Seeds of Doom - Dr Who episode

Blue Moon Rising - Simon R Green

GAME Botanica

GAME Strange Horticulture

GAME Caves of Qud

GAME Hollow Knight


🔔 Subscribe, like, and comment!

🦋 Find us on Bluesky!

Produced by Chris Skinner and Ped Hunter. Hosted by Alice Fraser and James Colley.

📧 Got questions, feedback, or suggestions? Email us at realmsunknown@thebuglepodcast.com

🌐 Visit thebuglepodcast.com to support us and find more!

More episodes

View all episodes

  • 521. Daddy Daddy, Please Don't Leave

    11:04||Season 1, Ep. 521
    Time to visit January 2021 now - and a special Bugle episode with Andy and Nish as they, like the rest of us, struggled to come to terms with the year we had just had. It’s Bugle issue 4179 - Daddy Daddy, Please Don't Leave.Hear more of our shows, buy our book, and help keep us alive by supporting us here: thebuglepodcast.com/Listen to Producer Chris on Mildly Informed https://www.youtube.com/@MildlyInformedPodThis episode was produced by Chris Skinner and Laura Turner 

  • Rage Bait Bugle (Bumper Edition!)

    01:13:35|
    Recorded live in Melbourne, this week’s Bugle is a full-throttle Rage bait Special, with Andy Zaltzman joined by Lloyd Langford, Sami Shah, and Alice Fraser to chew through the year’s biggest stories with fury, confusion, and jokes of questionable legality.🇦🇺 Australia: We confront the latest tragedies in Australia, and try (with limited success) to process them through satire, empathy, and yelling into the void.🇺🇸 Trump News: Meanwhile, Donald Trump continues to do… whatever it is he’s doing now. We attempt to identify it, label it, and possibly quarantine it.📁 Epstein: We dig a little deeper into what we do and don’t know — and why this story refuses to go away.📆 And we rummage through some of the other best (and worst) stories of 2025, because there’s always more. Always. Angry, funny, cathartic — this is The Bugle doing what it does best, in front of a live Australian audience.🎧 Support The Bugle! Become a Team Bugle subscriber for bonus episodes, exclusive video editions, and the righteous satisfaction of funding satire:http://thebuglepodcast.com📺 Watch Realms Unknown on YouTubeProduced by Tom Wright, Chris Skinner and Laura Turner.

  • 46. Christmas // Hogfather // It's A Wonderful Life

    41:35||Ep. 46
    Rejoice! For Tom Neenan joins Alice Fraser for a special festive episode 46 of your favourite sci-fi and fantasy podcast, Realms Unknown!📕 'A Passion For Passion' is back on sale! https://www.thebuglepodcast.com/news ❤️‍🔥 Buy 'A Passion For Passion' audiobook https://www.thebuglepodcast.com/news/we-are-18-t6flf-5n9mc💰 Support Realms Unknown by becoming a Team Bugle subscriber https://thebuglepodcast.com/donate📯 Subscribe to The Bugle YouTube channel https://www.youtube.com/@BuglePodcast📚 Buy books featured in this and other episodes 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 realmsunknown@thebuglepodcast.com

  • 520. Ou Est Le Buffoon?

    11:11||Season 1, Ep. 520
    September 2021 now, and Tiff Stevenson and Josh Gondelman joined Andy as Boris Johnson did his best to embarrass us all at the UN. It’s Bugle issue 4206 - Ou Est Le Buffoon?Hear more of our shows, buy our book, and help keep us alive by supporting us here: thebuglepodcast.com/This episode was produced by Chris Skinner and Laura Turner 

  • 519. What's that *** Doing?

    11:15||Season 1, Ep. 519
    In February 2018 we brought you a special live Bugle. Nish and Alice joined Andy on stage to countdown the days to Britain taking back control. It’s Bugle issue 4060 – What's that Aunt Doing?Hear more of our shows, buy our book, and help keep us alive by supporting us here: thebuglepodcast.com/This episode was produced by Chris Skinner and Laura Turner 

  • 45. Narnia // Stranger Things // Space Jesus

    34:09||Ep. 45
    Dive into your nearest wardrobe and enjoy Eleanor Morton and Alice Fraser on episode 45 of your favourite sci-fi and fantasy podcast, Realms Unknown!❤️‍🔥 Buy 'A Passion For Passion' audiobook https://www.thebuglepodcast.com/news/we-are-18-t6flf-5n9mc💰 Support Realms Unknown by becoming a Team Bugle subscriber https://thebuglepodcast.com/donate📚 Buy books featured in this and other episodes https://uk.bookshop.org/shop/RealmsUnknown📯 Subscribe to The Bugle YouTube channel https://www.youtube.com/@BuglePodcastEleanor Morton - Life Lessons From Historical Women🔔 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 realmsunknown@thebuglepodcast.com

  • 518. Geertcha

    09:57||Season 1, Ep. 518
     Let’s visit March 2017 now. Hari Kondabolu joined Andy to discuss some good-ish news from the Netherlands. It’s Bugle issue 4021 - Geertcha.Hear more of our shows, buy our book, and help keep us alive by supporting us here: thebuglepodcast.com/This episode was produced by Chris Skinner and Laura Turner 

  • 517. Tony The Tiger Rest In Peace

    11:01||Season 1, Ep. 517
    We’re going back to a moment in time now just before the world changed forever. October 2016, and Americans were soon to be heading to the polls. Hari Kondabolu joined me to try and get our heads round what was happening. It’s Bugle issue 4001 – Tony The Tiger RIP.Hear more of our shows, buy our book, and help keep us alive by supporting us here: thebuglepodcast.com/This episode was produced by Chris Skinner and Laura Turner 

  • 44. Unfiction // Dinotopia // Implausibly large ribcages

    31:31||Ep. 44
    A very welcome return for SFF author Nate Crowley as he joins Alice Fraser for episode 44 of your favourite sci-fi and fantasy podcast, Realms Unknown!❤️‍🔥 Buy 'A Passion For Passion' audiobook https://www.thebuglepodcast.com/news/we-are-18-t6flf-5n9mc💰 Support Realms Unknown by becoming a Team Bugle subscriber https://thebuglepodcast.com/donate📚 Buy books featured in this and other episodes https://uk.bookshop.org/shop/RealmsUnknownThe Twice-Dead King: Omnibus - Nate CrowleyNotes from Small Planets - Nate CrowleyNEWSFILM The Magic Faraway TreeEnid Blyton - The Magic Faraway TreeWHAT HAVE YOU BEEN PUTTING IN YOUR BRAIN?FILM BatmanTV Jurassic World: Chaos TheoryGumnut Babies - May GibbsWallet Babies - May GibbsSnugglepot and Cuddlepie - May GibbsKing’s Watch series - Mark HaydenTROPE ON A ROPEImplausibly large ribcagesGAME SubnauticaGAME BorderlandsFILM Star Wars: Episode IV - A New HopeFILM Godzilla vs KongPerdido Street Station - China MiévilleShadow of the Gods series - John GwynneLooming roar monstersSUB GENRE DEEP DIVE - Unfiction / fictional non-fictionDinotopia series - James GurneyExpedition - Wayne BarlowePODCAST Revolutions - Mike DuncanThe World of Kong: A Natural History of Skull Island - Weta WorkshopFILM King KongGAME NeuorocracyNotes from Small Planets - Nate CrowleyMINES OF URRGHThe Years of Rice and Salt - Kim Stanley RobinsonTV Wolf Hall💰 Support Realms Unknown by becoming a Team Bugle subscriber https://thebuglepodcast.com/donate❤️‍🔥 Buy 'A Passion For Passion' audiobook https://www.thebuglepodcast.com/news/we-are-18-t6flf-5n9mc📚 Buy books featured in this and other episodes https://uk.bookshop.org/shop/RealmsUnknown📯 Subscribe to The Bugle YouTube channel https://www.youtube.com/@BuglePodcast🔔 Subscribe, like, and comment!🦋 Follow us on Bluesky!🎚️ Produced by Chris Skinner and Ped Hunter. Hosted by Alice Fraser and Nate Crowley.📧 Got questions, feedback, or suggestions? Email us at realmsunknown@thebuglepodcast.com
Copyright Chris Skinner
Hosted with ❤️ by Acast