Authors J.A. Ironside and M.E. Vaughan talk about books, films and all aspects of speculative fiction, from the nuts and bolts of writing it, to its (occasionally) obscure origins.
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2025 has felt like a bit of a slog for many people - including, at points, the dragons. But despite that, and despite some longstanding terrible events in the News, lost of amazing things have happened this year. As has become tradition, Jules and Madeleine take a look a selection of 'good news' items from 2025 - including developments in science, technology and medicine, wins in conservation and…
On the surface, you probably wouldn't immediately think of time travel when you think of Christmas stories, and yet there is a distinct connection which is hard to deny. Nor does it date to when Dr Who regularly began to deliver Christmas special episodes - it goes far further back than that. For the final episode in this year's festive selection, the dragons dive into why Christmas is the perfect…
Every enduring Christmas story has a villain woven in somewhere - whether that's King Herod in the nativity or Ebenezer Scrooge, the Grinch of Hans Gruber in Die Hard. Whether the audience is rooting for huge redemption arc or waiting for the bad guy to take a nosedive off the Nakatomi Plaza, there's something about a festive story that uniquely lends itself to a good villain. This week Jules and…
Sliding towards the festive season, Jules and Madeleine take a look at gifts. Everyone loves a present, right? But what does a present actually signify? Are they always good things or can they be sinister or manipulative? From fae gifts to mystical burdens, the dragons take a deep dive into the sort of present you can't exchange for something else on your xmas list. Title music: Ecstasy by Smiling…
'Ugly' is a subjective term, of course. Tastes vary and opinions are heavily influenced by how we perceive someone or how much we like them. However, there are plenty of characters in speculative fiction who even on the page do not fit the parameters of being conventionally physically attractive. When those books are translated to the screen, often the 'it' actors of the moment are cast in these…
Moving slightly away from spooky season and weird folklore, the dragons are clocking in with a writing episode. At the moment, Romantasy is the biggest whale splashing around in the sea of fantasy, partially drowning out other subgenres (at least temporarily). While romantasy is a lot of fun, it's caused further changes in the 'strong female character' trope which are less fun. This week, Jules…
How many jobs and professions have existed over the centuries which we now no longer know anything about? Who thinks about warreners and coopers? Fowlers and knocker-ups? And yet this now unnecessary work lingers in surname origins and in the strange tales that grow up around these jobs. This week, still feeling semi spooky and continuing their recent folklore deep dive, Jules and Madeleine take a…
Still in the spooky zone, this week Jules and Madeleine take a look at the fascinating phenomenon of folklore being created in real time. There have always been parallels between technology and superstition, magic and science. As technology moves further into the non tangible realm of digital space, ghosts and other entities have begun to echo this shift. So what exactly is the part that folklore…
As far as the dragons are concerned it's still spooky season and this week, they are featuring one of the most beloved 'universal monsters' - the Mummy. From Ancient Egypt to Victorian obsession to post war film era, the Mummy has been a symbol for secrets and forbidden knowledge, often reflecting discomforting truths back at us. Jules and Madeleine take a look at why this is a universal monster -…
Sleep - something so mundane we do it around eight hours out of every twenty-four - makes a great vehicle for horror. Judging by folkloric record and cross cultural points of similarity, it's been part of horror for millennia. From old hag syndrome to nightmares to the simple but essential necessity of being unaware and vulnerable for blocks of time, sleep is it's own carnival of terror. This week…
