Talking Scared Podcast
1) 261 — The State of the Horror Nation 2025, with Emily Hughes, Anna Dupre & George Dunn
Welcome to the now sixth annual State of the Horror Nation. This is the mega-episode, in which I gather a darkly-inclined supergroup of horror fans and commentators—a horror cabinet, if you will—...Show More
2) [From the Vault] Carmen Maria Machado & Passing Literary Kidney Stones
It’s all about memory this week. Remember that time literary superstar Carmen Maria Machado came on the show? No? Well here’s your chance to catch up on what you missed. Carmen spoke to me a...Show More
3) [From the Vault] Jeff VanderMeer and Our First On-Air Murder
Jeff VanderMeer and I did not fall out!! This is a myth that has arisen since Jeff came on the show back in 2021, to discuss his eco-espionage crisis thriller, Hummingbird Salamander. Well, t...Show More
4) [From the Vault] Will Dean & The Two Faces of Off-Grid Living
Revisiting a true highlight this week! Will Dean’s The Last Thing to Burn is one of very few 10/10 books i've ever featured on this podcast. It’s a flawless study of isolation, survival, exploitat...Show More
5) [From the Vault] Courtney Summers and The Master of the Bitch
This flashback episode takes us to early 2021, when I was joined by Courtney Summers – the boundary-pushing author of dark YA fictions for a corrective lesson. Courtney came on the show to discus...Show More
6) [From the Vault] Tananarive Due & Black Girls Doing Magical Things
Time for a classic haunted house. I’m on a short break from the show, to recoup, read without pressure and generally try not to implode. So we’re heading into the vault for some older conversatio...Show More
7) 260 – Joe Hill & The One About the Dragon
Here be dragons! I’m celebrating Halloween week on Talking Scared with the very cream of the bucket list. Joe Hill is finally on the show! The author of Heart Shaped Box, NOS4A2, “The Black Ph...Show More
8) Let Us Palaver #5 – ‘Salem’s Lot Debrief
In our fifth Let Us Palaver, Nat and I dally a little longer in ‘Salem’s Lot to hunt down a few more vamps and follow up some threads mentioned in the main episode. This is where we get spoilery, ...Show More
9) The Dark Tower Deep Dive #5 – ‘Salem’s Lot
‘Salem’s Lot is FIFTY years old this month. Hellfire, how did that happen? We’re gonna celebrate the bloodsucking and small town shenanigans for all they are worth!! But some of you know that the ...Show More
10) Episode 259 – Joe Lansdale & Our Desperate Need to Be Less Dumb
Joe Lansdale is here to give us all a smack upside the head. We are talking about The Essential Horror of Joe R. Lansdale – his brand new career-retrospective, collecting the stories that have def...Show More