Author: Lulu

This week, we’ve decided to be arbitrarily competitive! Tune in to listen to us discuss the literary death match we’ve decided to embark on in the month of May, plus how our reading has gone so far in 2025. Will our podcast survive this competition? Only time will tell!

As always, you can listen on Podbean, Spotify, Apple Podcasts, and more.

Thanks to the podcast Cracked Spines for the inspiration!

Media Mentioned

• Cracked Spines (podcast)
• Woodworking by Emily St. James
• The Death I Gave Him by Em X. Liu
• Hamlet by William Shakespeare
• The Maid and the Crocodile by Jordan Ifueko
• Raybearer by Jordan Ifueko
• Metal From Heaven by august clarke
• Sick Kids in Love by Hannah Moskowitz
• Headliners by Lucy Parker
• A Bloomy Head by J. Winifred Butterworth
• Personal Attention Roleplay by H. Felix Chau Bradley
• The Lesser Dead by Christopher Buehlman
• AMC’s Interview With the Vampire
• Deep Cuts by Holly Brickley
• Projections by S.E. Porter
• The Indian Card by Carrie Lowry Schuettpelz
• I Like to Watch by Emily Nussbaum
• True Detective
• The Bluestockings by Susanna Gibson
• Shakespeare’s Sisters by Ramie Targoff
• The History of Sound by Ben Shattuck
• The History of Sound dir. Oliver Hermanus (upcoming film)
• Blood Over Bright Haven by M.L. Wang
• The Hummingbird Killer by Finn Longman
• Captain America: The Winter Soldier dir. Anthony Russo and Joe Russo
• Enter Ghost by Isabella Hammad
• Monsters We Defy by Leslye Penelopee
• Sinners dir. Ryan Coogler
• A Dark and Drowning Tide by Allison Saft
• Evocation by S.T. Gibson
• A Dowry of Blood by S.T. Gibson
• An Education in Malice by S.T. Gibson
• Entangled Life by Merlin Sheldrake
• What Moves the Dead by T. Kingfisher
• Mexican by Silvia Moreno-Garcia
• Cosmo Sheldrake (musician)

This week, we’re back with a definitely-on-time episode about our favorite books of 2024! Tune in for spine-chilling horror, characters that consume us, and compelling nonfiction. As always, you can listen on Podbean, Apple Podcasts, Spotify, and more.

Media Mentioned:

• James by Percival Everett
• Jonathan Strange and Mr. Norrell by Susanna Clarke
• Between Earth and Sky by Rebecca Roanhorse
• Memoirs of Lady Trent by Marie Brennan
• The Lord of the Rings by J.R.R. Tolkien
• The Swifts by Beth Lincoln
• When the Angels Left the Old Country by Sacha Lincoln
• If Tomorrow Doesn’t Come by Jen St. Jude
• Gods of the Wyrdwood by R.J. Barker
• The Bone Ships by R.J. Barker
• Burning Girls and Other Stories by Veronica Schanoes
• The Black Count by Tom Reiss
• Napoleon (2024) dir. Ridley Scott
• Chevalier (2022) dir. Stephen Williams
• The Count of Monte Cristo (2024) dir. Matthieu Delaporte and Alexandre de La Patellière
• Greta and Valdin by Rebecca K. Reilly
• The Dangerous Kingdom of Love by Neil Blackmore
• Experienced by Kate Young
• The Tainted Cup by Robert Jackson Bennett
• Interesting Facts About Space by Emily Austin
• Long Live Evil by Sarah Rees Brennan
• Episode 41 – There’s No Place Like Rome
• A Fatal Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum by Emma Southon
• When the Tiger Came Down the Mountain by Nghi Vo
• A Feather So Black by Lyra Selene
• The Other Olympians by Michael Waters
• The Briar Club by Kate Quinn
• The Ride, the Rider, and the Rich Man’s Wife by Premee Mohamed
• Say Nothing by Patrick Radden Keefe
• The Hollow Places by T. Kingfisher
• Horror Movie by Paul Tremblay
• The Will Darling Adventures by KJ Charles
• The Cautious Traveler’s Guide to the Wastelands by Sarah Brooks
• One Day All of This Will Be Yours by Adrian Tchaikovsky
• Boys Weekend by Mattie Lubchansky
• Her First Palestinian by Saeed Teebi
• Dissolution by C.J. Sansom
• Shardlake (2024)
• The Ministry of Time by Kaliane Bradley
• Inverse Cowgirl: A Memoir by Alicia Roth Wiegel
• Belonging by Nora Krug
• The Dark Queens by Shelley Puhak
• A Kind of Spark by Elle McNicoll
• Thistlefoot by GennaRose Nethercott
• Cursebreakers by Madeline Nakamura
• Our Hideous Progeny by C.E. McGill
• When Among Crows by Veronica Roth
• The Gilded Crown by Marianne Gordon
• The Pale Queen by Ethan M. Aldridge
• The Jasmine Throne by Tasha Suri
• The Talented Mr. Ripley by Patricia Highsmith
• October Daye by Seanan McGuire
• World of Wonders by Aimee Nezhukumatathil
• The Hedgewitch of Foxhall by Anna Bright
• London Celebrities by Lucy Parker
• Movie Magic by Karen Healey
• Marlowe Banks, Redesigned by Jacqueline Firkins
• Glitter and Concrete by Elissa Maxx Goodman
• The Jasmine Throne by Tasha Suri
• Jonathan Strange and Mr. Norrell by Susanna Clarke
• Empress of Salt and Fortune by Nghi Vo
• The 100 Nights of Hero by Isabel Greenberg
• Wayward Lives, Beautiful Experiments by Saidiya Hartman
• The Trojan Women by Euripedes
• Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy by John Le Carré
• Dune by Frank Herbert
• The Lord of the Rings Trilogy by J.R.R. Tolkien
• The Last Unicorn by Peter S. Beagle

Content warnings:

• Mentions of suicidal ideation (24:30-27:00)
• Mentions of slavery and racism (34:00-39:30)
• Mentions of cancer (1:00:00:30-1:02:00)
• Mentions of murder and slavery (1:03:30-1:08:55)
• Mentions of fascism and transphobia (1:15:30–1:20:35)
• Mentions of Nazi Germany (1:46:33-1:47:30)
• Mentions of antisemitism (1:51:50-1:52:20)

Coming to you several months late, this week’s episode is a round-up of all the horror and generally spooky literature that we read in the month of October. Topics of discussion include female rage in the gothic genre, the blending of real history and supernatural horror, and how most college campus elevators are probably haunted. 

Content warnings: discussions of domestic abuse, serial killers, and the AIDs epidemic

Media mentioned

• The Scholar and the Last Faerie Door by H.G. Parry
• Upright (TV show)
• Woodworking by Emily St. James
• Severance (TV show)
• Episode 40 – Spooky Season Special
• Episode 41 – There’s No Place Like Rome
• Take All of Us by Natalie Leif
• The Girl With All the Gifts by M.R. Carey
• Love Will Tear Us Apart by Alaya Dawn Johnson
• Delicious Monsters by Liselle Sambury
• The House That Whispers by Lin Thompson
• Miss Peregrine’s Home for Peculiar Children by Ransom Riggs
• Here in the Night by Rebecca Turkewitz
• American Ghoul by Michelle McGill-Vargas
• The September House by Carissa Orlando
• Haunt Sweet Home by Sarah Pinsker
• “Where Oaken Hearts Do Gather” by Sarah Pinsker
• Don’t Let the Forest In by C.G. Drews
• “The V*mpire” by P.H. Lee at reactor.com
• Carmilla by Joseph Sheridan Le Fanu
• Dracula by Bram Stoker
• The Path of Thorns by A.G. Slatter
• All the Murmuring Bones by A.G. Slatter
• Red X by David Demchuk
• Witch by Jen Silverman

Happy New Year! We’re starting 2025 off with our longest episode yet, discussing the two Hollywood blockbuster behemoths of fall 2024: Wicked: Part 1 and Gladiator II. Topics of discussion include stage-to-screen adaptations, lesbian subtext, costume design, the perils of sequels, and a significant amount of complaining about historical inaccuracies. Spoilers abound for both movies, as well as the entirety of Wicked the musical and, randomly, Stranger Things season four. Our review of Wicked takes up the first half of the podcast while our discussion of Gladiator II starts at the 1:12:46 mark.

Media Mentioned:

• The Gentlemen on Netflix
• Say Nothing by Patrick Radden Keefe
• Cursebreakers by Madeline Nakamura
• Anna and the Apocalypse dir. John McPhail
• The Outrun dir. Nora Fingscheidt
• Bird dir. Andrea Arnold
• The Wizard of Oz by L. Frank Baum
• Wicked by Gregory Maguire
• The Divergent movies
• West Side Story dir. Stephen Spielberg
• Widows dir. Steve McQueen
• Victorious (TV show)
• Bridgerton
• Crashing (TV show)
• The Scarlet Pimpernel by Baroness Orczy
• The Fall dir. Tarsem Singh
• Everything Everywhere All at Once dir. Daniel Kwan and Daniel Scheinert
• Kaos (TV show)
• Eragon by Christopher Paolini
• Thistlefoot by Gennarose Nethercott
• Gladiator dir. Ridley Scott
• A Quiet Place: Day One dir. Michael Sarnoski
• Normal People (2020)
• All of Us Strangers dir. Andrew Haigh
• Aftersun dir. Charlotte Wells
• The Last of Us (TV show)
• The Mandalorian
• Much Ado About Nothing dir. Kenneth Brannagh
• Stranger Things
• The Fear Street Trilogy
• Episode 34–Saltblah
• House of the Dragon (2022–)
• A Fatal Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum by Emma Southon
• A Rome of One’s Own by Emma Southon
• Macbeth by William Shakespeare
• “It Was an Enormous Task: Gladiator II’s Costume Designers on Outfitting Ridley Scott’s Roman Epic (and Getting Denzel to Wear Those Little Earrings) by Elaina Patton for Vogue
• Napoleon dir. Ridley Scott
• Kingdom of Heaven dir. Ridley Scott

Content Warnings: discussions of slavery, death, violence, homophobia, ableism, colonialism, and fascism.

Happy holidays! Today we’re returning with a seasonally inappropriate episode on Halloween. In the month of October, we challenged ourselves to have a spooky good time and watch some horror movies. Topics include vampires (so many vampires), the joys and terrors of watching scary movies, and the beautiful but terrifyingly haunted nation of Ireland. (Despite the over-eager opening of this episode, we did not get around to discussing horror literature. Stay tuned!)

Media mentioned:

• Lord of the Rings by J.R.R. Tolkien
• Jonathan Strange and Mr. Norrell by Susanna Clarke
• The Dangerous Kingdom of Love by Neil Blackmore
• Arcane (2021-2024)
• The Poppy War trilogy by RF Kuang
• High Life dir. Claire Denis
• The Moth Diaries dir. Mary Harron
• Carmilla by Joseph Sheridan LeFanu
• Dracula by Bram Stoker
• Twilight by Stephanie Meyer
• Marina and the Diamonds
• American Psycho dir. Mary Harron
• Last Voyage of the Demeter dir. André Øvredal
• Dracula Daily (internet phenomenon)
• Renfield dir. Christ McKay
• The Company of Wolves dir. Neil Jordan
• Interview With the Vampire dir. Neil Jordan
• The Bloody Chamber by Angela Carter
• Labyrinth dir. Jim Henson
• Byzantium dir. Neil Jordan
• Pride and Prejudice and Zombies dir. Burr Steers
• Maleficent dir. Robert Stromberg
• Elementary (2012-2019)
• Only Lovers Left Alive dir. Jim Jarmusch
• What We Do in the Shadows
• Belle dir. Amma Asante
• All You Need is Death dir. Paul Duane
• Lankum (band)
• Beetlejuice dir. Tim Burton
• Beetlejuice Beetlejuice dir. Tim Burton
• Coraline dir. Henry Selick
• The Nightmare Before Christmas dir. Henry Selick
• Wendell and Wild dir. Henry Selick
• Now You See Me dir. Louis Leterrier
• Dumbo dir. Tim Burton
• Wednesday (2022-)
• Mamma Mia dir. Phyllida Lloyd
• Chloe and Jame dir. Drew Burnett Gregory
• Psycho dir. Alfred Hitchcock
• The Silence of the Lambs dir. Jonathan Demme
• Jennifer’s Body dir. Karyn Kusama
• Oddity dir. Damian McCarthy
• Dracula dir. Todd Browning
• Nosferatu dir. Robert Eggers
• The Vourdalak dir. Adrien Beau
• The Family of the Vourdalak by Aleksey Tolstoy
• BBC Trignometry

This week, we return from our lengthy and unplanned hiatus with the world’s! nichest! episode! That’s right, we’re talking about Among Others by Jo Walton, Ballad by Maggie Stiefvater, and Tam Lin by Pamela Dean, three fantasy novels set on school campuses that blend faerie folklore and coming-of-age stories.  Topics of discussion include how each book puts their own spin on the supernatural and the folkloric, tragically canceled book series, reproductive rights, and where on a college campus you’re most likely to run into a faerie. (And yes, this episode was meant to be released several months ago, as our discussion at the beginning indicates. Oops.)

Other media mentioned

• Greta and Valdin by Rebecca K Reilly
• La Chimera dir. Alica Rohrwacher
• Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy by John le Carre
• Challengers dir. Luca Guadagnino
• Dead Boy Detectives (Netflix show)
• You Let Me In by Camilla Bruce (creepy faerie book Lulu couldn’t remember the name of)
• The Wicker King by K. Ancrum
• Aye and Gomorrah by Samuel R. Delany
• Catwings by Ursula K. Le Guin
• The Raven Cycle by Maggie Stiefvater
• Shiver by Maggie Stiefvater
• The Scorpio Races by Maggie Stiefvater
• Chime by franny billingsley
• The Hounds of Ulster by Maggie Stiefvater
• Apotheosis (concept, not katabasis)
• A Song of Ice and Fire by George R.R. Martin
• StarCrossed by elizabeth bunce
• The Oracles of Delphi Keep by Victoria Laurie
• How to Train Your Dragon 
• Lord of the Rings (film & books)
• Fire and Hemlock by Diana Wynne Jones
• A Court of Thorns and Roses by Sarah J. Maas
• An Enchantment of Ravens by Margaret Rogerson

Content warnings: discussions of sibling death, parental abuse, a car crash, pregnancy and abortion, suicide, and dubious sexual consent