Best Peculiar Book Club Podcasts (2025)

1
Come Dig Up Some Flora-Fossils with Riley Black and Bethany Brookshire 1:11:36

7d ago1:11:36

1:11:36

Featured: RILEY BLACK, When the Earth Was Green: Plants, Animals, and Evolution's Greatest RomanceA favorite author returns! Once again featuring the marvelous Riley Black, author of The Last Days of the Dinosaurs, whose latest book takes a long look at prehistoric plants! It’s so rare that we see this type of book, one that gives us the actual lan…

1
We're all a buzz about The Fly (Peculiar Movie Club) 1:12:01

9d ago1:12:01

1:12:01

Welcome to the Peculiar Movie Club, a bonus podcast linked to our main show the Peculiar Book Club through common themes in media. This week, in honor of the book Humans: a Monstrous History, we are reviewing the classic monster movie from 1986 The Fly. Join Davey Berris and Darren Cross as they take a deep dive into this body horror classic. We'll…

1
We're giving credit where credit is due with Allison Tyra and Uncredited 26:05

10d ago26:05

26:05

Uncredited proves that not only have there been hundreds of ground-breaking women in all professions, but that their accomplishments have been overlooked, denigrated, or downright repressed by their male colleagues or historians. Uncredited explores why women have not been properly acknowledged for their accomplishments, both historically and today…

1
There are Monsters Among Us with Surekha Davies and HUMANS 1:03:44

15d ago1:03:44

1:03:44

Featuring : SUREKHA DAVIES, Humans: A Monstrous HistoryGuess what? We are featuring one of our own! Surekha Davis, long time peculiar, debuts a book on monsters. I mean on humans. Well. I mean both. Why do humans make monsters, and what do monsters tell us about humanity? Davies reveals how people have defined the human in relation to everything fr…

1
We've got a long climb with Chuck Wendig and The Staircase in the Woods (Peculiar Mystery Club) 26:03

1M ago26:03

26:03

A group of friends investigates the mystery of a strange staircase in the woods in this mesmerizing horror novel from the New York Times bestselling author of The Book of Accidents. Website: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://brandyschillace.com/peculiar/⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ Newsletter: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠http://eepurl.com/ixJJ2Y⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ Patreon: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https…

1
We're making a splash with Free Willy (Peculiar Movie Club) 1:16:14

1M ago1:16:14

1:16:14

Welcome to the Peculiar Movie Club, a bonus podcast linked to our main show the Peculiar Book Club through common themes in media. This week, in honor of the book The Killer Whale Journals, we are reviewing a movie from our childhoods, 1993's Free Willy. Join Davey Berris and Darren Cross as they take a deep dive into this childhood favorite. We'll…

1
We're having a sobering discussion with Abbi Waxman and One Death at a Time (Peculiar Mystery Club) 23:30

1M ago23:30

23:30

When Julia Mann, a bad-tempered ex-actress and professional thorn in the side of authority, runs into Natasha Mason at an AA meeting, it’s anything but a meet-cute. Julia just found a dead body in her swimming pool, and the cops say she did it (she already went to jail for murder once, so now they think she’s making a habit of it). Mason is eager t…

1
Join Us for a "Killer" Show about WHALES! We're on the Seas with Hanne Strager 1:04:23

2M ago1:04:23

1:04:23

Featuring : HANNE STRAGER, The Killer Whale Journals: Our Love and Fear of OrcasORCA! It’s about time one of our Book Club shows featured these fascinating animals! When Hanne Strager, then an intrepid biology student, volunteered to be the cook on a small research vessel in Norway's Lofoten Islands, she couldn’t know the trip would launch a decade…

1
We'll All Be Faithful Unto DEATH with Paul Koudounaris 1:17:13

2M ago1:17:13

1:17:13

Featuring : PAUL KOUDOUNARIS, Faithful unto Death: Pet cemeteries, animal graves, and eternal devotionWhen a little dog named Cherry died in 1881, his owners arranged for a grave in a nearby gatekeeper's garden in London. At this time, the idea that a pet, even one that had lived as a family member, might be given a dignified burial was considered …

1
We'll bring the road trip snacks with Sarah Kendzior and The Last American Road Trip 29:29

2M ago29:29

29:29

The New York Times bestselling author of They Knew, Hiding in Plain Sight, and The View from Flyover Country navigates a changing America as she and her family embark on a series of road trips, in a book that is part memoir, part history, and wholly unique. It is one thing to study the fall of democracy, another to have it hit your homeland -- and …

1
You're Getting a BRAND NEW appreciation for the Female Body with Cat Bohannon and Eve 1:09:42

3M ago1:09:42

1:09:42

Featuring : CAT BOHANNON, Eve: How the Female Body Drove 200 Million Years of Human EvolutionYou loved Rachel Gross’s VAGINA OBSCURA? Of course you did. Then you MUST join us for this myth-busting, eye-opening landmark account of how humans evolved—answering questions like what IS the female body? How did it come to be? How does this evolution stil…

1
We're Killing it with Deanna Raybourn and Kills Well with Others (Peculiar Mystery Club) 27:58

3M ago27:58

27:58

“Much like fine wine, battle-hardened assassins grow better with age.” #1 New York Times bestselling author Lisa Gardner Four women assassins, senior in status—and in age—sharpen their knives for another bloody good adventure in this riotous follow-up to the New York Times bestselling sensation Killers of a Certain Age. After more than a year of la…

1
We will seek out new life with Star Trek: The Next Generation (Peculiar Movie Club) 1:19:50

3M ago1:19:50

1:19:50

Welcome to the Peculiar Movie Club, a bonus podcast linked to our main show the Peculiar Book Club through common themes in media. This week, in honor of the book The Possibility of Life, we are stepping away from the movie world and into the TV world with 3 episodes of Star Trek: The Next Generation. They are: season 3 episode 2 "The Ensigns of Co…

1
Slow down, take a breath with Carl Zimmer and Air-Borne 32:14

3M ago32:14

32:14

The fascinating, untold story of the air we breathe, the hidden life it contains, and invisible dangers that can turn the world upside down Every day we draw in two thousand gallons of air—and thousands of living things. From the ground to the stratosphere, the air teems with invisible life. This last great biological frontier remains so mysterious…

1
We'll Discover the Possibility of LIFE with Jaime Green! 1:05:49

3M ago1:05:49

1:05:49

Featuring:JAIME GREEN, The Possibility of Life: Science, Imagination, and Our Quest for Kinship in the CosmosOne of the most powerful questions humans ask about the cosmos is: Are we alone? While the science behind this inquiry is fascinating, it doesn’t exist in a vacuum. It is a reflection of our values, our fears, and most importantly, our endur…

1
We'll have you believing in Lydia Kang and Pseudoscience 32:48

3M ago32:48

32:48

From the authors of Quackery, a visual and narrative history of popular ideas, phenomena, and widely held beliefs disproven by science. From the easily disproved to the wildly speculative, to straight-up hucksterism, Pseudoscience is a romp through much more than bad science—it’s a light-hearted look into why we insist on believing in things such a…

1
Our minds and bodies will be linked with Pamela Ryckan and Candace Pert 1:07:24

4M ago1:07:24

1:07:24

I loved this book so much that I wrote the Wall Street Journal review for it! It’s an absolutely madcap and unexpected take on history I thought I knew… But I hadn’t yet encountered Candace Pert. This amazing scientist stood at the dawn of three revolutions: the opioid crisis, the AIDS crisis, and the mind-body movement. A troubled genius, beleague…

1
We've got the optics on The Invisible Man (Peculiar Movie Club) 1:09:12

4M ago1:09:12

1:09:12

Welcome to the Peculiar Movie Club, a bonus podcast linked to our main show the Peculiar Book Club through common themes in media. This week, in honor of the book Invisibility, we are doing the 2020 reboot of The Invisible Man. Join Davey Berris and Darren Cross as they take a deep dive into this inventive horror/thriller. We'll discuss the themes …

1
You might struggle to see us with Gregory Gbur and Invisibility 1:03:16

4M ago1:03:16

1:03:16

It’s like that Monty Python Sketch… There are good reasons to know how not to be seen, and Gregory Gbur is ready to tell us all about the SCIENCE. Come now, you say, it isn’t really possible to be made invisible! Or is it? You’ll be surprised! In this book, science writer and optical physicist Gregory J. Gbur traces the science of invisibility from…

1
We've got some real bite with Interview with the Vampire (Peculiar Movie Club) 55:35

4M ago55:35

55:35

Welcome to the Peculiar Movie Club, a bonus podcast linked to our main show the Peculiar Book Club through common themes in media. This week, in honor of the book Bite, we are doing the 1994 horror/romance film Interview with the Vampire Join Davey Berris and Darren Cross as they take a deep dive into this 90's classic. We'll discuss the themes of …

1
01: What Happened in the Mountains 15:39

4M ago15:39

15:39

More great books at LoyalBooks.comBy Jules Verne

1
02: I Reach Morganton 16:31

5M ago16:31

16:31

More great books at LoyalBooks.comBy Jules Verne

1
03: The Great Eyrie 23:08

5M ago23:08

23:08

More great books at LoyalBooks.comBy Jules Verne

1
04: A Meeting of the Automobile Club 17:05

5M ago17:05

17:05

More great books at LoyalBooks.comBy Jules Verne

1
05: Along the Shores of New England 17:10

5M ago17:10

17:10

More great books at LoyalBooks.comBy Jules Verne

1
06: The First Letter 11:15

5M ago11:15

11:15

More great books at LoyalBooks.comBy Jules Verne

1
07: A Third Machine 17:35

5M ago17:35

17:35

More great books at LoyalBooks.comBy Jules Verne

1
08: At Any Cost 19:31

5M ago19:31

19:31

More great books at LoyalBooks.comBy Jules Verne

1
09: The Second Letter 2:19

5M ago2:19

2:19

More great books at LoyalBooks.comBy Jules Verne

1
10: Outside the Law 14:29

5M ago14:29

14:29

More great books at LoyalBooks.comBy Jules Verne

1
11: The Campaign 18:30

5M ago18:30

18:30

More great books at LoyalBooks.comBy Jules Verne

1
12: Black Rock Creek 17:59

5M ago17:59

17:59

More great books at LoyalBooks.comBy Jules Verne

1
13: On Board the Terror 17:58

5M ago17:58

17:58

More great books at LoyalBooks.comBy Jules Verne

1
14: Niagara 23:53

5M ago23:53

23:53

More great books at LoyalBooks.comBy Jules Verne

1
15: The Eagle’s Nest 18:08

5M ago18:08

18:08

More great books at LoyalBooks.comBy Jules Verne

1
16: Robur the Conqueror 11:26

5M ago11:26

11:26

More great books at LoyalBooks.comBy Jules Verne

1
17: In the Name of the Law 25:25

5M ago25:25

25:25

More great books at LoyalBooks.comBy Jules Verne

1
We'll give you something to Chew On with Bill Schutt and Bite: A Natural History of Teeth 1:02:45

5M ago1:02:45

1:02:45

If you follow the Peculiar Book Club Facebook group, you’ll know Bill Schutt is EXACTLY our kind of weird. He’s a vertebrate zoologist and author of six nonfiction and fiction books, including Pump, Cannibalism, and Dark Banquet! Recently retired from his post as professor of biology, Bill’s now a research associate at the American Museum of Natura…

1
18: The Old Housekeeper’s Last Comment 6:14

5M ago6:14

6:14

More great books at LoyalBooks.comBy Jules Verne

1
We'll dance around the issues with Black Swan (Peculiar Movie Club) 1:02:34

5M ago1:02:34

1:02:34

Welcome to the Peculiar Movie Club, a bonus podcast linked to our main show the Peculiar Book Club through common themes in media. This week, in honor of the book Hurts So Good, we are doing the 2010 psychological thriller Black Swan. Join Davey Berris and Darren Cross as they take a deep dive into the world of ballet and pain. We'll discuss the th…

1
We're bringing the Pain with Leigh Cowart (and Rachel Feltman) and Hurt So Good 1:07:02

6M ago1:07:02

1:07:02

Can pain… be pleasure? I was never one to experience a runner’s high, or to enjoy ‘feeling the burn’ after a workout. But are there ways—or times—when pain provides something extra, or even extraordinary? Leigh Cowart sets out to ask and to answer this very question. Sure, we might first think of masochism as something to do with sex—but it gets ou…

1
We're on the case with An Inspector Calls (Peculiar Movie Club) 56:34

7M ago56:34

56:34

Welcome to the Peculiar Movie Club, a bonus podcast linked to our main show the Peculiar Book Club through common themes in media. This week, in honor of The Framed Women of Ardemore House, we are doing the 2015 BBC One made-for-tv adaptation of An Inspector Calls. Join Davey Berris and Darren Cross as they take a deep dive into this British Thrill…

1
You're going to need a drink to watch Grabbers (Peculiar Movie Club) 39:02

7M ago39:02

39:02

Welcome to the Peculiar Movie Club, a bonus podcast linked to our main show the Peculiar Book Club through common themes in media. This week, for some Halloween fun, we are discussing the Irish Horror Comedy film Grabbers. Join Davey Berris as he takes a deep dive into this fun monster movie. There aren't many deep themes in this movie but we will …

1
You are all Suspects with Brandy Schillace and The Framed Women of Ardemore House 1:10:34

7M ago1:10:34

1:10:34

An abandoned English manor. A peculiar missing portrait. A cozy, deviously clever muder mystery, perfect for fans of Richard Osman and Anthony Horwitz.Jo Jones has always had a little trouble fitting in. As a neurodivergent, hyperlexic book editor and divorced New Yorker transplanted into the English countryside, Jo doesn’t know what stands out mor…

1
You're going to be Obsessed with Maria Dong and Liar, Dreamer, Thief 1:02:09

7M ago1:02:09

1:02:09

Katrina Kim may be broke, the black sheep of her family, and slightly unhinged, but she isn’t a stalker. Her obsession with her co-worker, Kurt, is just one of many coping mechanisms—like her constant shape and number rituals, or the way scenes from her favorite children’s book bleed into her vision whenever she feels anxious or stressed. But when …

1
You're wondering what we have to say about Professor Marston and the Wonder Women (Peculiar Movie Club) 1:10:03

8M ago1:10:03

1:10:03

Welcome to the Peculiar Movie Club, a bonus podcast linked to our main show the Peculiar Book Club through common themes in media. This week, in honor of the book Tremors in the Blood, we are discussing a movie about the invention of the lie detector with Professor Marston and the Wonder Women . Join Davey Berris and Darren Cross as we take a deep …

1
One thing will lead to another with Lucy Santos and Chain Reactions 1:05:47

8M ago1:05:47

1:05:47

Tracing uranium’s past, and how it intersects with our understanding of other radioactive elements, this book aims to disentangle our attitudes and to unpick the atomic mindset. Chain Reactions looks at the fascinating, often-forgotten, stories that can be found throughout the history of the element. Ranging from glassworks to penny stocks; medicin…

1
Amit Katwala (Tremors in the Blood) and Patti McCracken (Angel Makers) plus Deborah Blum 1:04:10

8M ago1:04:10

1:04:10

You asked and we delivered! Pulitzer-prize winning science journalist Deborah Blum—author of The Poisoner’s Handbook—returns to PBC! This time, she comes to us as HOST! Two additional authors will be joining us, picked by Deborah herself: Amit Katwala as author of TREMORS IN THE BLOOD and Patti McCracken for ANGEL MAKERS. Where did lie detectors co…

1
We've got trouble, right here on the Peculiar Book Club, with The Music Man (Peculiar Movie Club) 55:27

8M ago55:27

55:27

Welcome to the Peculiar Movie Club, a bonus podcast linked to our main show the Peculiar Book Club through common themes in media. This week, in honor of the book A Gentleman and a Thief, we are discussing our own gentleman conman with The Music Man. Join Davey Berris and Darren Cross as we take a deep dive into this classic Hollywood (and Broadway…

1
We'll confess our crimes with Dean Jobb and A Gentleman Thief 1:00:03

9M ago1:00:03

1:00:03

Suave and movie-star handsome, Arthur Barry charmed New York celebrities as he planned and executed some of the most brazen and lucrative heists of the 1920s. Think Cary Grant’s character was clever and slick in the Hitchcock classic To Catch a Thief ? This gentleman thief was smarter, smoother. It sounds like fiction. But it isn’t. Barry was real-…

Podcasts Worth a Listen

Peculiar Book Club Podcasts

Podcasts Worth a Listen

Quick Reference Guide