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 defined him for decades as one of the most edgy, provocative writers of the grim and grotesque. We cover some of the classics, like “Bubba Ho Tep,” “Mr Weed Eater” and “On the Far Side of the Cadillac Desert with Dead Folks” – asking where the craziness came from, and finding the roots in Joe’s colourful life. But we also discuss more serious matters, such as the hatred depicted in “The Night They Missed the Horror Show,” and what it means in our current puritanical, easily-outraged era. Enjoy! Beware! Other books mentioned: The Thicket (2013), by Joe R. Lansdale Paradise Sky (2015), by Joe R. Lansdale The Nightrunners (1987), by Joe R. Lansdale “A Rose For Emily” (1930), by William Faulkner “Cannibalism in the Cars” (1868), by Mark Twain “Duel” (1971), by Richard Matheson Adventures of Huckleberry Finn (1884), by Mark Twain Neither Beg Nor Yield: Stories With an S&S Attitude (2024), edited by Jason M. Waltz Swords in the Shadows (2025), edited by Cullen Bunn The Only Good Indians (2020), by Stephen Graham Jones The Buffalo Hunter Hunter (2025), by Stephen Graham Jones The Gunfighters: How Texas Made the West Wild (2025), by Bryan Burrough Lonesome Dove (1985), by Larry McMurtry 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 [e-mail] Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Joe Lansdale is a Treasure!

Neil interviews author Joe Lansdale in this week's episode and Joe's latest collection "The Essential Horror of Joe R. Landsdale" that released earlier this month. The episode spans a broad variety of genres from horror to fantasy to westerns and includes discussion of the likes of Faulkner, Matheson, and Twain.

The episode is a joy to listen to and hear Joe talk about what he reads and him discussing his colorful life. If you're a fan of great conversation, horror, or great books, you should give this a listen!