In a scandalous rejection of holiday spirit, Jo and Charlotte reflect on the dark, elegant pleasures of Gabrielle Wittkopf’s The Necrophiliac alongside contemporary novel conventions as deployed in Rebecca Novack’s Murder Bimbo. The hosts are then joined by dear friend Clio Chang, who outlines the timeless, charming, annoying allure of Cheryl Strayed’s hit memoir Wild (2012).

Also discussed in this episode: Charlotte Roche’s Wetlands, Gillian Flynn’s Gone Girl, and Lillian Fishman’s Acts of Service.

Clio Chang is a staff writer at Curbed who can do three pullups.

Please consider supporting our work on Patreon, where you can access additional materials and send us your guest (and book!) coverage requests. Questions and kind comments can be directed to readingwriterspod at gmail dot com.

Charlotte Shane’s most recent book is An Honest Woman. Her essay newsletter, Meant For You, can be subscribed to or read online for free. Her social media handle is @charoshane.

Jo Livingstone is a writer who teaches at Pratt Institute.

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Danny and Derek return from their holiday retreat at Bohemian Grove to bring you news from around the world. This week: Delcy Rodríguez assumes Venezuela’s presidency following Nicolás Maduro’s U.S. rendition (1:31), as questions mount over the indictment (3:51) and Washington moves toward de facto control of Venezuelan oil exports (6:36); Saudi-backed forces push back Southern Transitional Council gains in southern Yemen, with STC leader Aidarous al-Zubaidi fleeing to the UAE and facing treason charges (11:10); Israel bans 37 humanitarian organizations, including Doctors Without Borders (15:33), and advances the E-1 settlement project in the West Bank (17:49); protests spread across Iran amid currency collapse and renewed sanctions (21:05); Thailand and Cambodia’s December ceasefire largely holds despite a reported accidental mortar incident (25:33); U.S. airstrikes in northwestern Nigeria raise questions about targets and objectives (27:52); Israel becomes the first country to recognize Somaliland, prompting regional backlash and speculation about military basing and Gaza resettlement plans (30:44); European leaders discuss security guarantees for Ukraine as part of potential peace negotiations with Russia (36:00); Trump escalates rhetoric and planning around annexing or purchasing Greenland (37:54); the Trump administration pushes for a $1.5 trillion U.S. military budget (42:12); and Trump orders a U.S. withdrawal from dozens of UN and international institutions, particularly those related to climate governance (44:30).

Trump’s attack on Venezuela is likely to weaken his political support even further, because it does nothing about affordability or health care. And it’s not at all clear the big oil companies want to spend billions restoring Venezuelan production. John Nichols comments.

Also: the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals has ordered the VA to provide housing for disabled vets on its land in Los Angeles, something they have refused to do for more than a decade. The ruling should end homelessness among disabled vets everywhere – Mark Rosenbaum of Public Counsel, who won the case, explains.

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Danny and Derek are joined by historian Greg Grandin to go in depth on the recent U.S. operation in Venezuela. They talk about the removal of Nicolás Maduro while leaving the existing state structure intact, implying America’s preference for coercion over governance; the role of oil in U.S. rhetoric; internal divisions within the Trump administration; comparisons to past interventions in the region; and the weakening of regional resistance to U.S. dominance. The group also looks at Venezuela amid a shifting global order with declining hegemony, rising multipolarity, and limited state capacity for the U.S.

Danny and Derek are joined by journalist Seth Harp to discuss his book The Fort Bragg Cartel, which covers murder and drug trafficking around the North Carolina military installation. They talk about the rise and institutionalization of U.S. special operations after 9/11, how JSOC and related units expanded their role, permanent war reshaping military culture, special forces’ role in assassination campaigns, the end of the draft, reporting on drug trafficking networks, and the social effects of special operations culture on the families and communities connected to Fort Bragg.

Read Seth’s piece in Harper’s, “Mission Impossible.”

The year in politics: Harold Meyerson of The American Prospect comments on Trump’s collapsing support in 2025, and the rise of the resistance—in both the unprecedented national mobilizations culminating in the second No Kings Day, and the Democratic triumph in virtually all elections in 2025.

Also: the year in court: David Cole, who stepped down this year as national legal director of the ACLU, reviews the 149 rulings against Trump in federal courts this past year, and the 21 times the Supreme Court has supported his attacks on democracy.

Danny and Derek speak with journalist and cultural critic Daniel Waite Penny to discuss the relationship between masculinity, the manosphere, and climate politics, as explored in the new season of Drilled, Carbon Bros. They talk about the “manosphere,” libertarians promoting techno-fixes, and Silicon Valley elites pushing solutions like space colonization; how gendered ideas about strength, autonomy, and grievance have fused with climate denial and hostility toward environmental regulation; where these dynamics fit within broader shifts in political economy and the interests of fossil capital; and the roots of these alignments, their role in contemporary right-wing politics, and what they mean for efforts to build public support for climate action.

In June, Trump sent more than 4,000 National Guard troops and 700 Marines to occupy Los Angeles and terrorize the immigrant population. But by the end of July, almost all the Guard and the Marines were gone. Bill Gallegos explains how that happened and what other cities can learn from it.

Also: Bob Dylan fans have been puzzled and troubled by his Christmas album ever since he released it in 2009. To help figure out what Dylan was doing, we turn to Sean Wilentz. He’s author of Bob Dylan in America, and he also teaches history at Princeton. (Originally recorded in January, 2005.)​