Send us a text This is part two of a collaboration with Book Club From Hell, another great Australian book podcast. Head over to their feed for part one where we discuss the classic Australian psychological thriller novel, Wake In Fright by Kenneth Cook (1961). And on this episode we will be discussing the almost lost forever film version from 1971…

Send us a text On this special episode of Back Matter, Psi from Rare Candy podcast and Cody LaDuke join Sini and Fresta to discuss George Lucas' Revenge of the Sith, and nerd out on all things Star Wars. This is a preview. To get the full episode, and more details about Sini's visit to the set of Attack of the Clones, subscribe to our Patreon: http…

Send us a text This week, Sini is joined by his friend Lucas out at a bar one Saturday night to discuss Camille Paglia's book on art history and visual culture, Glittering Images. Follow Lucas on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/lifetothose.shadows/ And over on paid feed, we have a special episode of Back Matter featuring Cody LaDuke and Psi fr…

Send us a text Returning guest Alex speaks with us about The Real Housewives of Salt Lake City: what makes it so narratively compelling and different to other shows in this franchise, as well as the character dynamics, novelistic elements, soap influences, and much more. We also talk about the unique charm of the strivers on this show. Meanwhile, o…

Send us a text Melbourne writer Tobe Ellen joins us to talk about his upcoming podcast, The Barrow, where he documents his process of co-writing a memoir with his mother. We talk about podcasting as a writer, memoir writing, the importance of implication in narrative, political correctness, sensitivity readers and much more. Follow The Barrow on In…

Send us a text This week, we're talking to New York playwright and novelist Matthew Gasda about his new novel, The Sleepers, one of the best treatments of millennial generational malaise. We talk about the Dimes Square New York scene, the internet and culture, ideology vs art, masculinity and femininity, defiantly staging theatre during the lockdow…

Send us a text This week we're joined by the "Ern Malley of the 21st Century," Jasper Ceylon, who has pranked multiple poetry journals by posing as vogueish identities while submitting terrible poems. Jasper successfully published poems that were intentionally bad to woke journals more interested in an author's pronouns, sexuality and racial charac…

Send us a text This episode, we talk to Jared Klickstein about his amazing memoir of drug addiction and homelessness, Crooked Smile. We also chat about the underground classic Australian film, Pure Shit (Bert Deling, 1978). Buy Crooked Smile here: https://www.amazon.com.au/dp/B0CWZ1GHLW?ref_=mr_referred_us_au_au Support the show…

Send us a text Reading isn't dead - our attention spans have just been hijacked by phones and social media. Inspired by an essay Fresta wrote on how to read last year, we discuss practical strategies to reclaim your reading habit and rediscover the joy of getting lost in a good book. Check out Fresta's essay on Rare Candy's substack with more detai…

Send us a text J David Osborne joins us once more, this time to talk about his new psychedelic cyberpunk epic novel, Gods Fare No Better. We talked about spirituality, cyberpunk, science fiction, and the impact of various media on JDO's work, as well as book marketing strategies, industry challenges, and the importance of creativity and playfulness…

Send us a text This week, we chat about an ancient classic, Medea by the Athenian tragedian Euripides. We also discuss Lars Von Trier's 1988 TV movie adaptation of the play, written by Carl Theodor Dreyer. Sini also published a well-received essay on men reading books on podcasts at Unherd, which you can read here: https://unherd.com/2025/04/the-li…

Send us a text This week, a triple crosspost collaboration with Agitator and Bistro Californium, where we discuss the remasters of the Legacy of Kain videogame series. We talk about the game's mechanics, story progression, incredible voice acting and sound design, character development, themes of free will, spiritualism, and the liminal space betwe…

Send us a text For full episode, go to https://www.patreon.com/c/GettingLit This week, we have compiled all four episodes of our Book of the New Sun series we did in 2023 into one massive 8.5 hour journey. Join Sini, J David Osborne and Kelby Losack as they unpack Gene Wolfe's masterwork of science fiction. Support the show…

Send us a text We're celebrating 100 episodes of the Getting Lit Podcast by talking about a few Jorge Luis Borges stories: The Library of Babel, Three Versions of Judas, The House of Asterion, and Borges And I. We talk about infinity, intellectualism, mythology. We also touched on the challenges of creating a public persona as a writer, a few movie…

Send us a text This week, it's a bit of a buffet! We chat about two Aleister Crowley short stories: The Drug, and The Stratagem. Before he was a famous occultist, Crowley wrote some fiction, so we thought we'd try it out. To get a much more extensive dive into Crowley, check out Art of Darkness' episode on his life: https://artofdarkpod.com/aleiste…

Send us a text On this episode, we chat with Masha about the Soviet science fiction novel Roadside Picnic, by Arkady and Boris Strugatsky. Russian nihilism and existentialism, Soviet censorship, the unique flavour of Soviet-era science fiction, how to say slurs in Russian and more! Follow Masha on X: https://x.com/3l3ktr4k0mpl3ks And Instagram: htt…

Send us a text This episode we talk about Julio Cortazar's short story, The Southern Thruway, about a traffic jam that turns into a community. We chat about the concept of the "fantastic" in literature, our experiences driving in Italy and Vietnam, and gave our expert opinion on the complexities of Russian politics and the portrayal of Putin. Suppo…

Send us a text Fresta and Sini talk about what they've been reading, watching, playing lately. Also talk about how some internet "personalities" get on podcasts with voice disguisers because "The Feds" are after them. This episode is paywalled. Go to https://www.patreon.com/c/GettingLit to get the full version. Support the show…

Send us a text Our discussion with the Rare Candy boys about Michael Hanson's Mind Webs continues. We talk radio, podcasting, audio dramas vs audiobooks vs what Mind Webs is doing. Listen to Mind Webs here: https://archive.org/details/MindWebs_201410 Normally, the Back Matter episode is paywalled, but we all feel so passionate about this stuff, we …

Send us a text Glen and Psi from Rare Candy podcast join us to talk about three stories from the science fiction writer, Thomas M Disch. The stories discussed include Descending, The Number You Have Reached, and The Squirrel Cage. Subscribe to Rare Candy's premium feed (we both do, it's great!): https://rarecandy.substack.com/ Follow Glen on X here…

Send us a text Josh from The Dionysian Dream substack talks all things Wicked. The original novel, Wicked (1995) by Gregory Maguire, the stage musical (2003) by Stephen Schwartz and Winnie Holzman, and the 2024 film version directed by Jon M Chu and starring Ariana Grande and Cynthia Erivo. Read Josh's great theatre criticism here: https://substack…

Send us a text This week, we read Sigmund Freud's 1930 essay Civilization And Its Discontents and paired it with Alfred Hitchcock's 1972 film, Frenzy. Support the showBy Getting Lit

Send us a text For the full two hour episode, subscribe to the Getting Lit Podcast's Patreon here: https://www.patreon.com/c/GettingLit This week, we're celebrating Christmas with a discussion about the overtly Christian horror movie, Terrifier 3, released this year. We're joined by former guests Jack Mason of The Perfume Nationalist podcast, and R…

Send us a text Yeerk joins the show once again to talk about the first book in Michael Moorcock's Corum series, The Knight of the Swords. We range across topics such as sword and sorcery, formula, the British New Wave science fiction, and much more. And for more talk about Moorcock, politics in fiction and social media, head on over to https://www.…

Send us a text We talk about J.M. Coetzee's brilliantly brutal novel of post-Apartheid South Africa, Disgrace. Support the showBy Getting Lit

Send us a text This episode we chat about Ryunosuke Akutagawa's 'In A Grove' (1922) and Akira Kurosawa's adaptation, Rashomon (1950). What even is truth, man? Also, catch Fresta on Rare Candy's 'Psi Ops' series talking about Rudolf Steiner: https://rarecandy.substack.com/p/psi-ops-vol-2-how-to-know-higher Support the show…

Send us a text The New Era begins with new co-host Matt Fresta. Fresta is the editor of Rango Tango Magazine and is now the "second mic." For this first episode, we chat about William S Burroughs, 'The Place of Dead Roads', a psychedelic, gunslinging Western with science fiction elements and Burroughs' trademark deconstructionist schtick. On the Pa…

Send us a text A return after a long hiatus! There was a family tragedy so I took some time off. But we are back to regular programming. I'm talking about how apparently it is bad to expect college students to read 100 pages per day, why straight men don't read novels, also doing a few recommends at the end! Recommends: Scavenger's Reign Crooked Sm…

Send us a text This episode, I go out in Deep Ellum, Texas with post-punk/goth icons Rosegarden Funeral Party and we talk about Bukowski with lead singer Leah Lane and drummer Dean Adams. Follow Leah and the band here: https://www.instagram.com/rosegardenfuneralparty/?hl=en If you're in Dallas on the weekend of the 6th of July, 2024, come to Obitua…

Send us a text A short episode on the use (or lack thereof) of the third person omniscient point of view in modern novels after recently revisiting Dickens. Support the showBy Getting Lit

Send us a text Part 3 in our series on John Crowley's Little, Big, covering book 3: Old Law Farm. Subscribe to Patreon for the bonus episode where we talk about Alice Munro and her relationship to Crowley's work: www.patreon.com/gettinglit Support the showBy Getting Lit

Send us a text Gldpny aka Erik joins me for part two of the two-part series on classic military science fiction. This episode is on Joe Haldeman's The Forever War, which is a "novel in response" to Heinlein's Starship Troopers, but also very much its own thing. And over on Patreon, we talk about online friendships, the power and downsides of "scene…

Send us a text Part 2 of our read-along of John Crowley's Little, Big. John joins me once again, and we have special guest star Yeerk (from the recent Mr Palomar episode) on the episode as well. Don't be a bitch and read this book about fairies with us! For extra content, including access to Getting Lit Podcast aftershow, Back Matter, head to http:…

Send us a text This is a cross post from Rare Candy's Gain of Fiction series featuring yours truly as well as former guest Eddy Rathke, hosted by Glen and Psi from RC. We look at Samuel R. Delany's classic and very wild science fiction experimental novel, Dhalgren. To access the full episode as well as Getting Lit Podcast's aftershow, Back Matter, …

Send us a text Gldpny aka Erik joins me once more for a two-part series on classic military science fiction. First up is Robert Heinlein's Starship Troopers. The next episode, released in a couple of weeks, will be on Joe Haldeman's The Forever War. And over on Patreon, we talk about the film Starship Troopers, whether it is a 'failed satire' as cl…

Send us a text Ryan Simón, editor-in-chief of American Vulgaria magazine, joins me once more to talk about three films by the occultist homosexual filmmaker, Kenneth Anger. We talk Fireworks (1947), Scorpio Rising (1963), and Invocation of My Demon Brother (1969). You should be able to find all of these on YouTube. And over on the aftershow, Back M…

Send us a text Talking about a recent online discussion about the Starship Troopers film and how people who are into the death of the author concept tend to invoke the author when expedient, as well as how the death of the author concept is used and abused these days. Subscribe to the Patreon for extra content: patreon.com/gettinglit Support the sh…

Send us a text Former guest John joins me for the first of a six-part, monthly slow read of John Crowley's Little, Big. This quirky, beautiful novel is sizeable. So over the next six months, we will be meeting and discussing each section of the book. Read along with us. Join our cute little book club dedicated to the greatest American fantasy novel…

Send us a text This episode, I'm joined by the wonderful Yeerk to chat about Italo Calvino's final novel, Mr Palomar. We talk about Yeerk's battles against people who believe in "misinformation" and "AI art", humanism, encountering the world as it is and describing it, Italo Calvino's work more generally, looking at art and literature texturally, a…

Send us a text Australian crime writer Iain Ryan joins me live from a bar in Brunswick East to talk about his new book of Gold Coast noir, The Strip, as well as his major inspiration, James Ellroy's L.A. Confidential. We talk about the crime novel genre, hardboiled style, the difficulties in reading Ellroy, Australian culture and literature and mor…

Send us a text On this episode, writer and podcaster J David Osborne returns to talk about several short stories by the late science fiction grandmaster, Ursula K Le Guin. We talk about cultural relativism, anthropology, how Ursula's father's work with a lost Indian influenced her, influences in general, whether we would have sex with our clones, w…

Send us a text Three-time guest of the pod and "Australia's Ottessa Moshfegh" Paul Dalla Rosa joins me at my house for bento takeout while we discuss Natsuo Kirino's crime novel, Out. In this book, a woman murders her husband and her workmates at a bento factory become implicated in disposing of the body. From there, an incredibly disturbing story …

Send us a text Recording on location from the smoke-wreathed vista at Siglo in Melbourne, I am joined by writer and researcher Nicolas Hausdorf to discuss German writer Ernst Jünger's post-apocalyptic novel, Eumeswil. We talk about the novel as a metaphor for Europe in the 70s, parapolitics, Jünger's politically awkward position, his aristocratic o…

Send us a text Hoodrat noir/cyberpunk writer, Agitator podcast host, and former guest on the show, Kelby Losack, joins me to talk about his collection God is Wearing Black. A lot of writing talk, Texas, writing places, class and the publishing industry, honesty and truth in writing and more in this wide ranging discussion on Kelby's short fiction. …

Send us a text Surrounded by vinyl records and cassette tapes, I joined editor of the Rango Tango zine, and former GLP guest Matthew Fresta (in his lounge room!) to talk about the very literary songwriting of British band, The Kinks. With some selections from their discography playing in the background, we talk about the way lead singer Ray Davies …

Send us a text Poet Stephen Zerance joins me to talk about Greek poet C.P. Cavafy and four greco-roman films (Sebastiane, Caligula, Alexander, and 300). We talk about homoeroticism in these kinds of films as well as in Cavafy's verse. Follow Stephen on Twitter/X: https://twitter.com/stephnz Substack: https://stephenzerance.substack.com/ Buy his poe…

Send us a text Jayson Young, writer and co-host of the Mangaroos podcast, joins me to talk about David Mitchell's novel about stories, life, death, perception, rebirth, and reincarnation: Cloud Atlas. We also talk about the 2012 film version by Tom Twyker and the Wachowskis. Jayson's substack: https://jaysonyoung.substack.com/ Listen to Mangaroos: …

Send us a text On this episode, Steff joins me to talk about R.F. Kuang's Yellowface, which we've decided is YA posing as literary fiction (probably the marketers fault). Follow Steff on Twitter/X: https://twitter.com/moonandmouth Follow Steff on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/moonandmouth/ Support the show…

Send us a text To round out the Sally Rooney trilogy, I am joined by Sydney-based writer, editor, producer Sheila Ngoc Pham to discuss Sal pal's latest novel, Beautiful World Where Are You? The theme for this episode is "generations" where we will be talking about Rooney as a "millennial" novelist, how she has or will mature, onlineness and the int…

Send us a text Writer E Rathke joins me for the second part of the Sally Rooney series, where we look at Sal's second novel, Normal People. We chat about the internet and writing, commercial fiction, chick lit, Trojan-horsing fucked up shit into normal looking genres, writing craft, and much more. Follow Eddy on Twitter: https://twitter.com/radical…