Nathaniel Hawthorne's classic 1836 story, first appearing in The Token and Atlantic Souvenir, later re-published in TWICE-TOLD TALES.

Andrew Edwards, the author of what just might be the best novel of 2025, joins me to talk conspiracy, LSD, the interior journey of writing, the 1980s, literary gnosticism, the quantification of everything, and, of course, his certified banger CROWBAR.

Buy Crowbar

Jacob Austin, mastermind behind the fantastic Gnostic Pulp substack joined me to talk about the work of Thomas Pynchon, what the heck was going on with PKD, the nature of UFOs, and much, much more.

Linktree

Some Gnostic Pulp pieces we touched on:

Further Adventures in Pynchonian Reality

Year of the Lichen

Moby-Dick is about UFOs

Writer, critic, and host of the podcast Strange Exiles, Bram E. Gieben joins me to talk about Philip K. Dick’s most unsettling work: THE THREE STIGMATA OF PALMER ELDRITCH: suspicion about reality, the commodification of the mind, PKD’s conception of God, whether sci-fi is still the trash stratum, and much more.


Subscribe to Bram’s substack for his ongoing series CRISIS masculinity, the latest episodes of Strange Exiles, his upcoming book on PKD, and everything else he’s up to.

Bram’s linktree.

The multi-talented Scott Laudati joined me to tell the crazy story of being courted by Hollywood for his great novel PLAY THE DEVIL, finding the spirit of America, and what it means to put in a hard day’s work.

Scott’s twitter

To Kingdom Come (full tour movie)

Buy PLAY THE DEVIL

Scott’s linktree

Freud’s influence on the history of Egon Praediger’s favorite drug.

Subscribe or sign up for a trial and check out the full episode: madmethodpod.com/subscribe

Writer David Leo Rice joined me to talk about his wildly imaginative and startlingly resonant new book THE SQUIMBOP CONDITION—along the way we discuss the deep meaning of the A-Bomb, the status of the American Dream, and how David came to be so freaking productive.

Buy David’s latest book THE SQUIMBOP CONDITION out now from 11:11 Press.

David’s substack

David’s twitter

The brilliant writer David Leo Rice joined me to talk Thomas Pynchon’s latest, and possibly last, novel SHADOW TICKET. Pynchonian Zones, the warp and weft of history, the end of the systems novel, and the uber-American triad of Beer, Cheese, and Bowling.

Buy David’s latest book THE SQUIMBOP CONDITION out now from 11:11 Press.

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raviddice.com

The relentless writer J David Osborne joins me to talk GODS FARE NO BETTER, his upcoming novel BERSERKER CLUB (pre-order now, out 12/1/2025), drilling mud, escaping twitter, the brilliance of sitcoms and Spark Master Tape—and helps me get my mojo back.

In 1924, Weird Tales published a story by the world famous magician Harry Houdini entitled “Imprisoned with the Pharaohs.” In truth, this story was written by H.P. Lovecraft with some initial ideas provided by Houdini, who is also the narrator of the tale—presented as a genuine encounter that Houdini experience in Egypt in 1910. The story has also been called “Under the Pyramids” and “Entombed with the Pharaohs.” This is a story that predates Call of Cthulhu and the Shunned house and At the Mountains of Madness and yet is arguably represents a subtle turning point in Lovecraft’s oeuvre.

The writer and photographer Lake Markham joins me to talk about Texas, Cormac McCarthy’s SUTTREE, and his brilliant novel LO SIENTO, coming October 21, 2025 from Apocalypse Confidential.

BUY LO SIENTO

Lake on instagram.
Lake on twitter.

Lake’s website.

A preview of my in-depth exploration of the labyrinth that lies beneath the first two volumes of Gene Wolfe’s masterpiece, BOOK OF THE NEW SUN.


Subscribe to get the whole thing, plus the ever-expanding Madness archive, and early access to all episodes. madmethodpod.com/subscribe

Writer and publisher Ben Thomas joins me to revel in the pleasures of the first two volumes of Gene Wolfe’s masterpiece tetralogy The Book of the New Sun. We talk science fiction vs. fantasy and why it matters, the linguistic brilliance embedded within the story, and how to savor the joy of not knowing what, exactly, is going on.

Ben’s publishing house House Blackwood

Melee 13

The erudite investigator himself, Dexter De La Paz, joined me to talk about John Keel and his enduring book of living mysteries OUR HAUNTED PLANET. I take a little sidequest from the strictly literary and into the unknown: ultraterrestrial theory, the mystery of the North American Mounds, and much, much more.

This will be on the free feed next week.

Follow Dexter on twitter.

Check out The Scarlet Thread Society

Check out Timeline Earth

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Andrew H., the mastermind behind the voluminous Pynchonian project The Exegesis of Thomas Pynchon, joined me to talk Pynchon, literature as history, the political art debate, Pynchon contra DeLillo, and more.


Follow him on substack or on twitter.

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In 1895, American author Robert W. Chambers released a collection of short stories entitled The King in Yellow. Four stories in this collection are connected by play called The King in Yellow and the eponymous malevolent entity. This story cycle would go on to inspire H.P. Lovecraft and many others working in the genre of supernatural horror...right down to today with eerie references to Yellow King in True Detective.

Melee 11
The brilliant moonandmouth joins me to talk about poetry, magic, holes, astral travel, and her magnificent new collection of poetry CATCALYSM MOVES ME I REGRET TO SAY out now from House of Vlad.

Buy the book.

Follow her on substack or on twitter.

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Episode 9.2
In this episode, I go in depth on Ellroy’s stylistic forebears, play a little Glass Bead Game between AMERICAN TABLOID and a (not so) very different book, give the quick and very dirty history of CONFIDENTIAL MAGAZINE, and go full-on true crime telling the ‘real’ story of Chuck Rogers.

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Menagerie #3
An audio recording of Richard Connell “The Most Dangerous Game.” Long considered one of the most popular short stories of all time, Connell’s thriller has influenced countless stories and at least one serial killer.


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Episode 9.1
The brilliant and magnanimous Jacob Everett, the mastermind behind Apocalypse Confidential, joins me to discuss AMERICAN TABLOID by James Ellroy—a masterful classic of paranoia, carnage, and the real deal behind the forces of history. We talk the potency of Ellroy’s style, crime fiction as high art, the resonance of the JFK assassination, Ellroy contra Quentin Tarantino, and figure out which more recent unsolved mystery is prime to spawn its own subgenre in the coming years.

Follow Jacob on Twitter.

Apocalypse Confidential is one the best literary mags out there. You should be reading it closely.

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