Talking Scared

• 233 – Tariq Ashkanani & Bloodstained Hands Across the Ocean

  This week we go from Edinburgh, Scotland to Nashville, Tennessee, in the company of crime author Tariq Ashkanani.   Tariq’s The Midnight King is a tricky, quasi-metafictional murder mystery about cursed manuscripts, familial secrets and the most heinous murders. It’s also a love letter to the kind of occult-tinged American crime epics that both he and I grew up loving.   We talk about the challenge of writing about serial killing without exploitation, about the unstable boundary between crime and horror fiction, about the allure of Hannibal Lecter and the pressure of a good twist.   But mostly we just pay homage to the messy, bloodsoaked myth of America that inspired us so much over the years.   Enjoy!   Other books mentioned:   Welcome to Cooper (2021), by Tariq Ashkanani Red Dragon (1981), by Thomas Harris Galveston (2010), by Nic Pizzolatto The Five: The Untold Lives of the Women Killed by Jack the Ripper (2019), by Hallie Rubenhold The Devil All the Time (2011), by Donald Ray Pollock Uzumaki (2000), by Junji Ito Support Talking Scared on Patreon   Check out the Talking Scared Merch line – at VoidMerch   Come talk books on Bluesky @talkscaredpod.bsky.social  on Instagram/Threads, or email direct to [email protected] Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

  --------  

  1:15:20
• 232 – Punk Goes Horror, with William Sterling, Wendy Dalrymple & Brian McAauley

  Time to throw ourselves around. We’re covering Punk Goes Horror.   The anthology of stories inspired by punk and alternative rock songs came out just a few weeks back. It brings together a mosh-pit full of authors, both new and established, to transmute their favourite songs into nasty little stories.   I invited the anthology editor, William Sterling, and two of his contributors, Wendy Dalrymple and Brian McCauley, to talk about punk, and horror and the affinity between the two.   We get into our favourite ever gig experiences, the creepy assumptions behind certain emo-songs, and why punk (and music generally) is such an important light in dark times.   Enjoy!   Other books mentioned:   Rebel Girl: My Life as a Feminist Punk (2024), by Kathleen Hanna Victorian Psycho (2025), by Virginia Feito Blood on her Tongue (2025), by Johanna van Veen Credenza (2025), by Wendy Dalrymple Breathe in, Bleed Out (2025), by Brian McCauley Poisoned Soup for the Macabre, Depraved and Insane: An Anthology of Nostalgic Terrors (2025), edited by Wendy Dalrymple and Grace R. Reynolds Support Talking Scared on Patreon   Check out the Talking Scared Merch line – at VoidMerch   Come talk books on Bluesky @talkscaredpod.bsky.social  on Instagram/Threads, or email direct to [email protected]   Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

  --------  

  1:05:26
• Let Us Palaver #2 — The Drawing of the Three Debrief

  The second Let Us Palaver minisode – in which Nat Cassidy dig into the things we couldn't say about The Drawing of the Three, and give MAJOR SPOILERS about whole Dark Tower series. We're really start to wonder if Chris is punking us.   Support Talking Scared on Patreon Check out the Talking Scared Merch line – at VoidMerch Come talk books on Bluesky @talkscaredpod.bsky.social  on Instagram/Threads, or email direct to [email protected] Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

  --------  

  31:41
• The Dark Tower Deep Dive #2 – The Drawing of the Three

  The Ka-tet picks up exactly where we left off: on the beaches of Midworld, with Roland Deschain. (If none of that makes any sense to you, go listen to episode one of the Dark Tower Deep Dive immediately) Nat Cassidy, Chris Panatier and I gather for a long, philosophical, expletive-littered conversation about Book 2: The Drawing of the Three. We get further into the character of Roland and his quest, and spend some time with the gaggle of oddballs he meets along his scenic tour of the coast. The seafood is particularly tasty! It’s good to be talking Tower again. Enjoy.   Nnedi Okorafor's article on Odetta/Detta   Support Talking Scared on Patreon Check out the Talking Scared Merch line – at VoidMerch Come talk books on Bluesky @talkscaredpod.bsky.social  on Instagram/Threads, or email direct to [email protected] Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

  --------  

  2:15:10
• 231 – Stephen Graham Jones & Rewilding the Vampire

  It’s always great when Stephen Graham Jones comes to Talk Scared with us – but for once we aren’t talking about slashers!   No, this time, we’re talking vampires! Or are we?   Stephen’s new novel, The Buffalo Hunter Hunter, is his best yet. Or at least the one that I love the most. It’s an epic and brutal saga of American history and shame, told through three very distinctive voices, speaking across the centuries. There are monsters with fangs AND with flags.   We talk about Stephen’s relationship with so-called Indian stories…about his use and misuse of animals in fiction, and the white-knuckle, red-hot writing style that leads to some truly crazy things.   Enjoy!   Other books mentioned:   Ledfeather (2008), by Stephen Graham Jones The Only Good Indians (2020), by Stephen Graham Jones The Babysitter Lives / Killer on the Road (2025), by Stephen Graham Jones Ceremony (1977), by Leslie Marmon Silko Riddley Walker (1980), by Russell Hoban A Game of Thrones (1996), by George R. R. Martin The Devils (2025), by Joe Abercrombie I Am Legend (1954), by Richard Matheson Dark Places (2009), by Gillian Flynn Dubliners (1914), by James Joyce Angel Down (2025), by Daniel Kraus The Warm Hands of Ghosts (2024), by Katherine Arden Victorian Psycho (2025), by Virginia Feito Curse of the Reaper (2022), by Brian McCauley Breathe in, Bleed Out (2025), by Brian McCauley   Support Talking Scared on Patreon   Check out the Talking Scared Merch line – at VoidMerch   Come talk books on Bluesky @talkscaredpod.bsky.social  on Instagram/Threads, or email direct to [email protected] Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

  --------  

  1:16:11

More Arts podcasts

Trending Arts podcasts

About Talking Scared