Talking Scared

Latest Episodes:

250 – The End of the World As We Know It: Further Tales of The Stand (Part Two) Aug 26, 2025

Show notes

And so this infected Summer of the Stand comes to an end. With Part Two of The End of the World As We Know It – more conversations between contributors to this epic anthology, each expanding King’s OG novel in new ways.

This time around we have 8 guests, each armed with a story, pitted together in four short burst of conversation. I’m not saying who, cos that would spoil the fun… but there are BIG names.

We discuss sadness and hope, evil birds and heroic dogs, varied visions of the far far future, and we look at how the Superflu has ravaged other parts of the world beyond the USA.

This anthology really is a who’s who of horror in this golden, apocalyptic age of ours – and it’s been a privilege to put these episodes together for you.

But I am off for a nap now.

Enjoy!

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 talkingscaredpod@gmail.com

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Off Book #10 – Mick Garris and Adapting The Stand (1994) Aug 22, 2025

Show notes

No full treatment of The Stand would be complete without a look at Mick Garris’ landmark television adaptation. In 1994 he put together an adjacent epic, transforming 1300 pages into 8 hours of prime-time viewing.

It was my introduction to Stephen King. It is one of my fondest memories with my dad.

So it’s a true honour to get Mick on the show to talk about how it all came together. The scriptwriting with King, the killer cast, the Hollywood gossip, and the traffic-stopping shoot.

Plus, we talk about how Mick’s creative life has been entwined with King’s – for better or for worse.

Enjoy

Support Talking Scared on Patreon

Check out the Talking Scared Merch line – at VoidMerch

Come talk books on Twitter @talkscaredpod, on Instagram, or email direct to talkingscaredpod@gmail.com

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

249 – The End of the World As We Know It: Further Tales of The Stand (Part One) Aug 19, 2025

Show notes

The Summer of The Stand continues!

We may have reached the final pages of the novel, but the power of its story expands ever outwards. Now we turn to the brand-new anthology of stories set in King’s plague-shocked world

In The End of the World as We Know It: New Tales of Stephen King’s The Stand, editors Brian Keene and Christopher Golden have pulled together 36 of the biggest and brightest names in horror, and charged them with expanding Captain Trips and the good-versus-evil battle to new frontiers.

With so many contributors to consider, no single roundtable could ever suffice. So I’ve done something a little different, and a little more befitting of this mammoth project. It’s a lot of conversation, about a lot of very different stories.

Enjoy!

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 talkingscaredpod@gmail.com

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Let Us Palaver #4 – The Stand Debrief Aug 15, 2025

Show notes

The fourth Let Us Palaver Nat is all about The Stand and Randall Flagg, and how it all connects to The Dark Tower – all the stuff that Chris (and you virgin listeners) could not, should not, yet know.

We also get especially geeky (even by OUR standards) about all the easter eggs and Tower references that Nat has packed into his short story for the forthcoming expanded Stand anthology.

If you’ve been to the Tower before, enjoy this. If not, stay away or the Dark Man will get you!

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 talkingscaredpod@gmail.com

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

The Dark Tower Deep Dive #4 – The Stand (Part Two) Aug 12, 2025

Show notes

So, the circle closes… for now.

Here is the second and final part of our deep dive into Stephen King’s The Stand – the first of many major diversions on our way to The Dark Tower.

Last time we introduced the plague and the all-American heroes who survive it; this time we meet some of the weirder folk from the fringes of this apocalypse.

And we finally tangle with Randall Flagg, the Dark Man, the Walking Dude – our link to Mid-World and the travails of Roland Deschain.

We are loving making this for you. We hope you're enjoying listening.

Pre-order Chris’s Shitshow HERE

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 talkingscaredpod@gmail.com

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

The Dark Tower Deep Dive #4 – The Stand (Part One) Aug 05, 2025

Show notes

Time for a side quest.

Yes, this is the Dark Tower Readalong… you are not mistaken. But there are other worlds, and other books, and some of them have to be read for the fullest, most satisfying experience of Stephen King’s great saga.

In this first (of what will be many) diversions from the Ka-Tet’s quest, Nat, Chris and I turn to The Stand – the titanic tale of two tribes going to war. It’s a big big book, so this had to be a two-part thing. Here in episode one, we introduce Stu, Frannie, Larry and Nick, and discuss all things phlegmy and flu-like, and hint at why this book plays its part in the Dark Tower.

Plus. Rick Astley. Just wait.

Part Two is out next week, or available immediately on Patreon.

M-O-O-N, that spells thank you, to anyone who signs up and supports the show. Laws yes!

Enjoy!

Check out the Talking Scared Merch line – at VoidMerch

Come talk books on Bluesky @talkscaredpod.bsky.social on Instagram/Threads, or email direct to talkingscaredpod@gmail.com

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

248 – Scott Carson & The Anticipation of the Bang!! Jul 29, 2025

Show notes

After we spent last week in the muck and mire, this episode takes us up where skies are blue.

Just watch for the mushroom clouds.

The guest is Scott Carson, pseudonym of thriller writer, Michael Koryta, and author of The Chill (2020), Where They Wait (2021), and last year’s phenomenal Lost Man’s Lane. His new novel, Departure 37 is something totally different – it has Cold-War conspiracy, AI anxiety, tech-terror and nuclear brinkmanship.

Y’know, it’s like the news … but fun!

Scott and I discuss all of that, as well as the aviation mysteries that fascinate us both, and I give a much-deserved nod to the 90s brilliance of Michael Crichton.

Enjoy!

Other books mentioned:

Where They Wait (2021), by Scott Carson
Lost Man’s Lane (2024), by Scott Carson
The Chill (2020), by Scott Carson
Sole Survivor (1997), by Dean Koontz
The Shining (1977), by Stephen King
Nuclear War: A Scenario (2024), by Annie Jacobsen
Six Days of the Condor (1974), by James Grady
The Auctioneer (1975), by Joan Samson
King Sorrow (2025), by Joe Hill

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 talkingscaredpod@gmail.com

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

247 – Daniel Kraus and Sentenced to Death Jul 22, 2025

Show notes

Daniel Kraus has never lacked for ambition in his fiction – but Angel Down may be the most audacious horror book of the year. It’s the story of broken men and a fallen angel in the trenches of the First World War.

Oh … and it’s told in one long 300 page sentence. Cos Daniel can.

It’s not a gimmick, nor pretentiousness. No, this week, you’ll hear how the medium is very much the message. As well as our conversation about angels in horror, capturing the particular nightmare of 1914, and all the practical challenge that come with this single-sentence attempt.

It’s an inspiring episode.

Enjoy!

Other books mentioned:

Whalefall (2023), by Daniel Kraus
Blood Sugar (2019), by Daniel Kraus
The Death and Life of Zebulon Finch: Volume One (2015), by Daniel Kraus
Ducks, Newburyport (2019), by Lucy Ellman
Hurricane Season (2017), by Fernanda Melchor
Wolf at the Table (2024), by Adam Rapp
The Remembered Soldier (2025), by Anjet Daanje
From Under the Truck (2024), by Josh Brolin

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 talkingscaredpod@gmail.com

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

246 – Wendy Wagner & Scooby Doo On Mushrooms Jul 15, 2025

Show notes

Back on the trails for a mind-melting trip this week.

Wendy Wagner is in the hot-seat, playing shaman as we discuss The Girl in the Creek – her brand new novel of fungoid-terror, eco-thrills and psychedelic strangeness. It’s a beautiful, bewildering hallucination of a book.

Wendy’s inspirationsrange from cutting edge science to the antics of Scooby Doo and the gang, along with a sprinkle of Lovecraft, and a hint of self-hypnosis. We cover it all, along with a discussion of eco-grief, higher states of consciousness, weird non-fiction obsessions and a little bit of trail running chat – which I promise we make macabre.

Enjoy!

Other books mentioned:

“An Infestation of Blue” (2023), by Wendy Wagner
The Deer Kings (2021), by Wendy Wagner
Entangled Lives (2023), by Merlin Sheldrake
Are We Smart Enough To Know How Smart Animals Are? (2016), by Frans de Waal
The Zoologist’s Guide to the Galaxy: What Animals on Earth Reveal About Aliens – and Ourselves (2020), by Arik Kershenbaum
“The Colour Out of Space,” (1927), by H.P. Lovecraft
Lost in the Dark, and Other Excursions (2025), by John Langan
The October Film Haunt (2025), by Michael Wehunt

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 talkingscaredpod@gmail.com

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

245 – Giano Cromley & Our Friends in the Forest Jul 08, 2025

Show notes

This week we’re talking about my Roman Empire. BIGFOOT!!

But this time I have good reason to get geeky – my guest is Giano Cromley, hairy-hominid enthusiast, certified wildlife tracker, and author of the deeply charming American Mythology.

It’s the story of a group of lost souls, joined in their search for the fabled ‘squatch of the North American woods. It’s spooky for sure, but just as concerned with wonder and friendship as it is with fear.

Giano and I talk at length about Bigfoot – our theories, our stance, his personal encounter – as well as the treatment of positive male friendship in the novel, and the role that sceptics and pseudoscience play in our culture.

This one was a blast for me. I hope you enjoy it.

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 talkingscaredpod@gmail.com

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices