Hosts In The Shell

Hosts In The Shell

The podcast where Jon Richter and Matt Adcock, writers and cyberpunk fans, discuss the genre's greatest works, as well as interviewing other cyberpunk creators.

Episodes

September 5, 2026 49 mins

You've probably heard Jon talk about Robocop about five million times, because he loves the film so much he's probably seen it about that many times... but you'll rarely have heard him mention the largely forgotten 2014 remake, because until now he's never seen it! Tune in to find out if the star-studded movie really is as much of a flop as ED-209's boardroom demo...

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We are honoured and delighted to welcome another big-hitting literary guest to our humble show, this time celebrated British sci-fi and fantasy writer Adrian Tchaikovsky! Famed for writing about non-human intelligences, Adrian also makes some fascinating predictions about future technological advances... as well as a compelling case that spiders might be alright after all.

Adrian's website: https://adriantchaikovsky.com/

Find Adrian ...

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August 22, 2026 38 mins

Not cyberpunk?? Pffffffft we'll be the judges of that! And anyway, who can begrudge us an episode to enthuse about arguably the greatest beat-em-up of all time... just watch out for bin chickens!

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The term 'legend' gets bandied about... but today's guest absolutely 100% meets the necessary criteria, having invented the word 'cyberpunk' as the title of his seminal 1980 short story!! We are honoured, delighted, starstruck and did we mention honoured to welcome Bruce Bethke to the show, who talks about being a genre pioneer along with his other work, including publishing other writers via Stupefying Stories (link below) , and t...

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August 8, 2026 38 mins

The lads are back, this time to chat about George Miller's iconic Mad Max movies!! Get ready for a guzzoline-soaked race through a wasteland that's anything but MEDIOCRE!!!!!

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No daft puns this time: it's an interview with Hugh Howey, the phenomenally talented, staggeringly successful, and astoundingly likeable writer, known primarily for his smash hit Silo novels, which went from self-published short pieces to internationally acclaimed novels and more recently an Apple TV adaptation!! Can't wait for you to hear this one: we're Silover the moon about it (okay maybe one daft pun...)

https://hughhowey.com/

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July 25, 2026 41 mins

Is this the least cyberpunk thing we've ever covered? Probably! Does it feature a loveable robot who inarguably embodies the true spirit of badass punk?? Possibly!! Is there one incredibly problematic aspect to these movies that the lads had completely forgotten about when they decided to talk about them??? Very much so!!!

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The baddies are always the best characters... but which of cyberpunk's rogues' gallery deserve the title of all-time greatest? Tune in to hear the lads joined by brilliant writer Tim Standish, author of The Sterling Directive, as they attempt to answer this very question...

Where to find more about Tim:

Website: https://timstandish.co.uk/who-is-tim-standish/

Twitter: @TimStandishUK

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July 11, 2026 35 mins

In today's episode, Matt and Jon are chatting about Harlan Ellison's massively influential 1967 short story, as well as its 1995 video game adaptation! In a typically rambling chat, they're also debating the most evil AI of all time, as well as the art of the perfect movie trailer...

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July 4, 2026 49 mins

Today's topic is another gem of a cyberpunk movie, Neill Blomkamp's Elysium, and today's guest is a gem of a cyberpunk writer, the prolific Phil Stitelmann! Tune in for a fascinating chat with a top creator, as well as Jon attempting a South African accent so bad that it may constitute a war crime.

Phil's debut novella and other upcoming books and articles can be hunted down at the following co-ordinates...

Website: https://digital-g...

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June 27, 2026 35 mins

If the lads had been able to think of a suitable pun, this podcast probably would have been named after Alien instead of Ghost In The Shell; that's how much they love this enduring, legendary, and admittedly patchy franchise. So it was with some trepidation that they ventured into Noah Hawley's TV show... tune in to find out what they made of it, and which character/eyeball stole the show!!

(Podmetheus? You Have My Sympodthies? Weyl...

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June 20, 2026 36 mins

Our first guest of the new season is the brilliant, talented, likeable, articulate and all-round ace SD Miller; alongside his excellent Nekonikon Punk novels, we'll be discussing a cyberpunk gem of a video game: Watch Dogs: Legion!

We're trying to be a bit better about including our guests' contact deets, so here's where to find out more about SD Miller's great books:

Website: https://www.sdmiller.ca/

Substack/Newsletter: https://www....

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WE'RE BACK BAYBEHHHHHHHHHHH!!!!! Season 3 of Hosts In The Shell kicks off in style with our customary discussion of something related to Ghost In The Shell, this time the spin-off anime series Standalone Complex. Tune in for an amusing and ever-so-slightly informative chat about the subject matter, a load of random tangents, and some EXCITING updates about forthcoming guests... including the creator of our brand new theme tune and ...

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The boys are BACK BAYBEHHHHH!!!!! Season 3 is incoming and promises more frequent episodes, the usual scintillating chat, some guests we're frankly staggered we managed to trick into appearing, and this rubbish trailer!!! Looking forward to wagging our cyber-chins with you in the coming weeks  :-)  :-)  :-)

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Season two of Hosts In The Shell lurches, careens and, erm, clatters to the end of another rollercoaster run! It's just Matt and Jon to close it out, revisiting their main inspiration and beloved anime franchise to revisit and (sort of) reappraise the 2017 live action version... listen as they figure out what went wrong with the movie, gush about our lovely guests and audience, and fantasise about a cyber-resurgence for the UK...

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As we hurtle like a malfunctioning hovercab towards our season finale, we thought it would be fun to dust off this 2021 recording: the first time Jon and Matt ever met! It was a guest appearance by Matt on Jon's other podcast, Dark Natter (where dark fiction gets dissected), but unsurprisingly Matt picked a cyberpunk topic - it's almost like this show was their inescapable destiny...

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April 27, 2025 46 mins

Those scoundrelly Hosts are joined by the far more wholesome, lovely, and massively talented cyber-graphic-novel-creator, Gustaffo Vargas, for a brilliant deep dive into the world of Peruvian cyberpunk! Tune in to find out how to modernise an ancient culture, Jon's favourite Studio Ghibli moment, and why Matt is changing his name to Adquot...

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April 13, 2025 57 mins

For those who haven't yet been introduced to this (ahem) masterpiece, Nemesis is the 1992 brainchild of legendary cyber-B-movie director Albert Pyun, and after you've watched it you'll be as incredulous as Jon that it spawned four sequels!! Tune in to find out what Jon and Matt made of this inexplicably endearing cyberpunk action (ahem) extravaganza...

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Despite covering The Matrix Resurrections way back at the start of this podcast's existence (before the cyberpsychosis had really kicked in), the Hosts have unbelievably never covered the original Matrix trilogy! Thankfully, brilliant multi-genre writer Keith Anthony Baird was on hand to join us to remedy that shocking state of affairs, resulting in a belter of an episode that aims to once and for all answer the question: why were ...

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March 16, 2025 54 mins

After years of podcasting, chatting and general cyber-film-buffery, it's unbelievable that the lads have only just realised they both absolutely love Kazuaki Kiriya's underrated (and bonkers) gem of a movie! Get yourselves suited up for a nice relaxing dip in a pool of body parts and Neo Cells...

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