​NYC / WV — Scott McClanahan (b. 1978) is the author of eight books: Stories (2008), Stories II (2009), Stories V! (2011), The Collected Works of Scott McClanahan Vol. 1 (2012), Crapalachia (2013, Two Dollar Radio), Hill William (2013, Tyrant Books), The Incantations of Daniel Johnston (2016, Two Dollar Radio), and The Sarah Book (2017, Tyrant Books), which NPR called "brave, triumphant and beautiful." It is. They also said "it reads like a fever dream, and it feels like a miracle." It fkn does. 
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Sarah Book excerpt (2017)

​Very grateful to Scott for a taking a sec to riff one time.

Listen on iTunes  /  1 hr 5 min  /  July 31 

UPSTATE NY–HARLEM — Nicola Maye Goldberg is the author of the novella Other Women (Sad Spell, 2016), the chapbook The Doll Factory (Dancing Girl Press, 2017), and, most recently, the novel Nothing Can Hurt You (Bloomsbury, 2020). Cop here. 

Or here.

​Shout out Rebecca Godfrey, author of The Torn Skirt  (2001) and Under the Bridge (2005), for connecting me to Nicola's writing.

Nicola's website.
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Listen on Apple Podcasts  /  1 hr 7 min  /  July 9

COLLEGE PARK–HARLEM — Summer solstice sit down with Jordan Castro, editor of New York Tyrant Magazine and Pets: An Anthology, recently out from Tyrant Books. He is the author of Young Americans (CCM 2013) and if I really wanted to feel happy I’d feel happy already (CCM 2014). Recorded today, reflecting on our convo recorded one week ago on Pets (2020) and The Present [Reflective] Age (1843, Tr. Walter Kaufmann) by Kierkegaard. Last week's stab was solid but had to run it back one time, really rip it.

Do yourself a solid and cop PETS now, it's a banger.

Soundcloud  /  iTunes  /  2 hrs  /  June 21

COLLEGE PARK–HARLEM — Jordan Castro is the editor of New York Tyrant Magazine and PETS: An Anthology, recently out from Tyrant Books. I thoroughly enjoyed this book. Writers included are Patty Yumi Cottrell, Tao Lin, Ann Beattie, Sarah Manguso, Scott McClanahan, Kathryn Scanlan, Nicolette Polek, Yuka Igarashi, Chelsea Hodson, Blake Butler, Precious Okoyomon, Mark Leidner, Sam Pink, Ryunosuke Akutagawa, David Nutt, Reagan Bird, Michael W. Clune, Kristen Iskandrian, Christine Schutt and Mallory Whitten. I recommend it for anyone who has or had or wants pets.
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Recorded one week ago, Sunday 6/14. Precursor ep to this week's, on the reflective age.

SoundCloud  /  iTunes  /  1 hr 30 min  /  June 21

NYC-MICHIGAN — Sam Pink is the author of the novels Person (2010), The No Hellos Diet (2011), Rontel (2013), Witch Piss (2014), Garbage Times / White Ibis (Soft Skull, 2018), and the collections Ice Cream Man & Other Stories (Soft Skull, 2020) and Early Stuff (11:11, 2020)—which includes his 2009 debut I Am Going to Clone Myself Then Kill the Clone and Eat It—and 99 Poems . . . (Clash, 2019), among others. He slangs his paintings and early books via IG dm @sam_pink_art, holler at him.

I first encountered Sam Pink’s writing in 2017, when the homie and ex Soft Cartel (rip) editor Tren aka Based MTN recommended Witch Piss, which we immediate-react podded on. I’ve since read just about all Pink’s shit. I contacted him earlier this month about getting at one of his paintings, and our subsequent correspondence led to this pod. V psyched and grateful to Sam for being such a G, and for continuing to push this fire art.

SoundCloud  /  iTunes  /  1 hr 35 min  /  May 8

NYC-Wisconsin — Big Bruiser Dope Boy is the author of Your First Real Boyfriend & Other Poems (2019) / Foghorn Leghorn (2018) from Clash Books and After Denver (2020) forthcoming from 11:11 Press later this year.

Bruiser and I started corresponding in advance of the trip he was planning to make out to New York City with Sam Pink for the release of Pink's new book, Ice Cream Man and Other Stories (Soft Skull), before that shit got postponed due to the rona. 

Cop BBDB's book

Big Bruiser's writing

'The Goonifesto' by BBDB

'Pick-Up Artist in the Animal Kingdom' (Muumuu House) by BBDB

Recent Gay Death Trance piece 'Susboy' Bruiser edited

SoundCloud  /  iTunes  /  55 min  /  April 17

NYC — Andrew Weatherhead was born in Chicago, Illinois. He is the author of $50,000 (2020), Todd (2018) and Cats & Dogs (2014). He began writing $50,000 in 2015. I read $50,000 probably four times, each time in a single sitting, over the past fortnight since its release.
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Purchase $50,000 from Publishing Genius. 

iTunes  /  1 hr 30 min  /  March 1

HARLEM / ORLANDO — Cavin Bryce Gonzalez is a storywriter and editor and curator from Orlando, Florida. He is the editor-in-chief of Back Patio Press. He got mad quick hitters available online here. Cop his recent flash fiction collection, I COULD BE YOUR NEIGHBOR, ISN'T THAT HORRIFYING (2020).

Sam Pink is the author of many many fire books including Garbage Time/White Ibis (2018), Witch Piss (2014), Rontel (2013), The No Hellos Diet (2011), Person (2010), and Ice Cream Man And Other Stories (forthcoming Soft Skull 2020)

I Am Going to Clone Myself Then Kill the Clone and Eat It (2009) is an early collection consisting of collected writings from 2007-2009. His early hitters are available here. Or via dm @sam_pink_art

Sean Thor Conroe lives in Harlem. 

1 hr 30 min  /  Listen on iTunes

NYC — Al Jacobs, 30, is an NYC-based writer from Toledo, Ohio. He read the copy of Jesus' Son (1992) I lent him over the past few months. I reread the Picador Modern Classics pocket version i copped after lending him my old version over the same period. 

Jesus' Son (1992) is a series of interconnected short stories narrated by a guy, "Fuckhead," and follows several recurring characters, all addicts, who engage in drug use, petty crime, and murder. Denis Johnson (1949–2017) published Jesus' Son at the age of 43.

1 hr 20 min  /  Listen on iTunes

MANHATTAN — Harold, 22, is a writer, standup, and boxer. He grew up in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil and Steubenville, Ohio. He read Absalom, Absalom! in the fortnight following the death of his paternal grandfather, about a month ago. I read it around the same time, six months after the death of my paternal grandfather.

A lotta dad stuff in this ep. Apologies for this extended Faulky bender I'm on. This the last one for now. If you haven't read the book, the 20 min intro could be a good overview to maybe coax you into cracking it. If you have, I mean, shit, fuckwittit.

Outro song: "untitled 02 | 06.23.2014." by kendrick 

Sean Thor Conroe is a writer and carpenter living in Harlem. Bars in X-R-A-Y, Soft Cartel, Back Patio, Expat Lit; forthcoming in Philosophical Idiot, BULL Lit.

1 hr 15 min  /  Listen on iTunes