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Talking Scared

Talking Scared

By: Neil McRobert
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Conversations with the biggest names in horror fiction. A podcast for horror readers who want to know where their favourite stories came from . . . and what frightens the people who wrote them.© 2024 Talking Scared Art Literary History & Criticism Social Sciences
Episodes
  • [From the Vault] Carmen Maria Machado & Passing Literary Kidney Stones

    [From the Vault] Carmen Maria Machado & Passing Literary Kidney Stones
    Dec 2 2025
    It’s all about memory this week. Remember that time literary superstar Carmen Maria Machado came on the show? No? Well here’s your chance to catch up on what you missed. Carmen spoke to me about Her Body and Other Parties and In the Dream House – the former a collection of folktale and fable, spun to hideous effect; the latter a piercing fictionalised memoir of abuse and haunted relationships. This was a daunting interview – we went deep into life, love and all the horrors they can bring. But we came up smiling. It’s a happy memory. Enjoy. The Argonauts (2015), by Maggie Nelson The Ghost Variations (2021), by Kevin Brockmeier A Few Seconds of Radiant Filmstrip: A Memoir of Seventh Grade (2014), by Kevin Brockmeier Proxies: Essays Near Knowing (2016), by Brian Blanchfield Monster Portraits (2018), by Sofia Samatar The Hot Zone (1994), by Richard Preston The Haunting of Hill House (1959), by Shirley Jackson The Bloody Chamber (1979), by Angela Carter 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
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    1 hr and 11 mins
  • [From the Vault] Jeff VanderMeer and Our First On-Air Murder

    [From the Vault] Jeff VanderMeer and Our First On-Air Murder
    Nov 25 2025
    Jeff VanderMeer and I did not fall out!! This is a myth that has arisen since Jeff came on the show back in 2021, to discuss his eco-espionage crisis thriller, Hummingbird Salamander. Well, this trip back to the Vault will hopefully dispel that rumour. Instead what you’ll hear is a conversation with the Emperor of Weird fiction, talking about conservation and climate catastrophe, about plans to save the world and the villainy of tech – and about the furthest (Southern) reaches of a mad imagination. Enjoy! Other books mentioned: Annihilation (2014), by Jeff VanderMeer Borne (2017), by Jeff VanderMeer The Rain Heron (2020), by Robbie Arnaut 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
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    1 hr and 7 mins
  • [From the Vault] Will Dean & The Two Faces of Off-Grid Living

    [From the Vault] Will Dean & The Two Faces of Off-Grid Living
    Nov 18 2025
    Revisiting a true highlight this week! Will Dean’s The Last Thing to Burn is one of very few 10/10 books i've ever featured on this podcast. It’s a flawless study of isolation, survival, exploitation and the most toxic of masculinities – all about a Vietnamese immigrant, trapped in the home of her ‘husband,’ the monstrous Leonard. Will is an amazing writer, with an amazing life. He’s creating classics like this, as well as the ongoing Tuva Moodyson series, all from the depths of a Scandinavian forest. We talk about his journey from small town UK to his fairytale present, the role of landscape and isolation in his work, broken psyches and much more… Trust me, this book will stay with you! Enjoy! Other books mentioned: Misery (1987), by Stephen King On Writing (2000), by Stephen King Room (2010), by Emma Donaghue The Collector (1963), by John Fowles The Road (2006), by Cormac McCarthy Asylum (1996), by Patrick McGrath Tickets for the Northern Weird event at Blackwells, Manchester. 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
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    56 mins
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An excellent podcast interviewing horror writers, plus some horror book reviews. Neil McRobert does a stellar job of both selecting authors to interview and interviewing them. I've gotten so many excellent book recommendations from this podcast, often by authors I'd never even heard of before.

Neil is great at sticking to the point. If you're sick of bloated podcasts with hosts going on and on about stuff that has nothing to do with the subject matter, Talking Scared will be a real treat for you.

If you want to sample it, I particularly enjoyed episode 168 (Tananarive Due & Locked in with the Monsters, on her book set in a haunted juvenile reformatory in the 1950s), 147 (Mike Flanagan & Lighting Up the Darkness, mostly on his Stephen King adaptations), 127 (Grady Hendrix and the Radical Puppet Collective, in which he reveals that he actually belonged to one), 54 (Stephen Graham Jones & Dancing with the Slasher, about My Heart is a Chainsaw), and 40 (Zakiya Dalila Harris & the Fear of not being Black Enough, about her book best read totally unspoiled, The Other Black Girl.)

The best horror podcast I've found

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Loved the suggested titles! Neil, Janelle and Emily expertly go through key horror books and authors in 2022 and beyond. So many great books, so little time!

Great overview of 2022!

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I found "Talking Scared" podcast wholly by accident, but wow, what a find! In each installment host Neil McRobert has an author on as a guest and they discuss their latest work. I was late to the show, and have started working my way backwards as well as listening to each new episode that drops. McRobert has opened my eyes to some authors that I had not previously read as well as their recommendations, many of which are added to my ever-growing TBR list!

McRobert has had authors on such as Stephen King, Josh Malerman, Paul Tremblay, Stephen Graham Jones, Chuck Palahniuk, Tananarive Due, and many, many more authors. He hosts others as well such as Mike Flanagan.

If you're a fan of horror fiction or even just being scared I think you'll enjoy listening to McRobert ask fascinating questions of some of the current great writers of horror fiction.

Great Horror Podcast

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