PODCAST · arts
The Drunken Odyssey with John King: A Podcast About the Writing Life
by John King
Join author John King for eclectic interviews with writers from a variety of genres, including fiction writing, poetry, memoirs, and journalism. From literature to genre writing to the movies, all writing is up for discussion. In particular, The Drunken Odyssey features discussion of all aspects of the writing process—not just the published manuscript, pristinely presented to the entire literate world, but also the scrawled notes and tortured drafts that lead writers there. In long-form interviews, writers discuss their process and the way that writing has influenced their lives. Besides this interview, each episode also features a short memoir essay from a writer about a beloved book, plus John King responds to listener's questions and observations about the writing (and the drinking) life.For more information, see our website at www.thedrunkenodyssey.com.
Episodes
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727: Schloctoberfest 2026 #2: A Discussion of Creature from the Black Lagoon & Godzilla (with jeff Shuster)
On this week's show, Jeff Shuster and I discuss two zeitgeist-defining 1954 horror films, Creature from the Black Lagoons and Godzilla.
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726: Schloctoberfest 2026 #1: A Discussion of The War of the Worlds / Robot Monster with Jeff Shuster
On this week's show, Jeff Shuster and I discuss two zeitgeist-defining 1953 science fiction films, The War of the Worldsand Robot Monster.
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725: Melissa Crowe
In this week's episode, John speaks with Melissa Crowe about her latest collection of poetry, Abider, now out with The University of Pittsburgh Press. For excellent tattoos in the Orlando area, check out The Tattooed Society.
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724: Kathy Fagan!
In this week's show, John speaks with Kathy Fagan about bathos, pop culture, and of course mortality. Her newest poetry volume, The Unbecoming, becomes on Tuesday September 22nd.
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723: A Kerouac Project of Orlando Book Club Discussion of Gregory Corso's The Happy Birthday of Death, with Alex Gurtis!
In this week's episode, John and Alex Gurtis dive deeper into Gregory Corso's poetry as part of The Kerouac Project of Orlando Book Club.
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722: Barbara Hamby!
This week, John interviews the poet Barbara Hamby about her new collection of odes, Burn, now out with The University of Pisttsburgh Press.
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721: A Secret DVD Commentary for Stephen King's Maximum Overdrive (with Chad Coup)!
In this week's episode, John King and Chad Coup discuss all of Stephen King's Maximum Overdrive, DVD Commentary style. This is a secret, so don't tell anyone.
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720: A Discussion of Sylvia Plath's Ariel with Rachael Tillman
In this week's episode, John King and Rachael McKee embark on a fourth installment of Sylvia Plathery to discuss the restored edition of Ariel and Other Poems.
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719: A Conversation about Tobe Hooper's Lifeforce (1985) with Shawn McKee!
A conversation many years in the making, John King and Shawn McKee reckon with the genre-bending oddity that is Tobe Hooper's Lifeforce (1985).
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718: Gilbert King, Plus Laura Lee Baher and Erik Deckers Event!
In this week's episode, John interviews the Pulitzer Prize-wining justice journalist and researcher Gilbert King, plus TDO proudly shares a dual book-launch event for Laura Lee Bahr and Erik Deckers.
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717: Bob Spitz!
In this week's episode, John interviews music journalist and biographer Bob Spitz about the massive sixty-year career of The Rolling Stones, how the music moves us, and the process of creating a good book with a tidal wave's amount of material to cover.
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716: The Kerouac Project of Orlando Book Club Discussion of William S. Burroughs's Naked Lunch (with Matt Peters)!
On this show, John and Matt Peters continue The Kerouac Project Book Club with a discussion of William S. Burrough's Naked Lunch.
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715: Henry Hughes!
In this week's episode, John speaks with the poet Henry Hughes about poetry, fishing, patience, creativity, Charles Bukowski, and other matters of literary interest.
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714: Lara Egger!
In this week's episode, John speaks with the poet Lara Egger about her new book, Flop Era. Other topics covered: the jostling of syntax, the long learning curve of becoming a writer, and how constraints point us towards problem-solving that allows authenticity to bleed through our work.
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713: Dave Housley!
In this week's episode, John speaks with fiction writer and editor Dave Housley about the joys of using writing prompts, the problem-solving of writing meaningfully improbable stories inspired by pop culture, and the limits of post-modern irony. His newest books is Aliens Attack!, now out with...
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712: A Discussion of Sylvia Plath's The Bell Jar, with Rachael Tillman!
In this week's show, Rachael Tillman and I discuss The Bell Jar, in part 3 of our series on Sylvia Plath. If you are keen, check out the previous installments: episodes 685 (The Colossus and Other Poems) and 693 (Emily Van Duyne's Loving Sylvia Plath).
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711: A Discussion of Aldous Huxley's Brave New World, with Sophia Ferrara!
Sophia Ferrara returns to the secret HQ of TDO to chat about the pleasure-filled dystopia of Aldous Huxley's Brave New World, while John freaks out about the novel's structure or lack thereof.
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710: A Discussion of William Harrison's Rollerball (with Sophia Ferrara)!
In #710, Sophia Ferrara returns to the secret HQ of TDO to chat about the dystopia of Rollerball, as imagined in the film and the short story, which was called "Roller Ball Murder." Jonathan E and his pal Moonpie turn out to be a threat to The Corporation while thriving in a technocratic...
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709: Philip Schultz!
In this week's show, John speaks with the poet Philip Schultz about his wonderful new poetry collection, Enormous Morning. We discuss the self-critical voices that Philip calls the shit-bird, how personas can empower us to become more of ourselves, and the ironies of finding gratitude in our...
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708: Felicia Day!
In this week's show, John speaks with the writer and actor, Felicia Day about her extraordinary page-turner of a graphic novel, The Lost Daughter of Sparta. We discuss how to regulate our bodies as writers, how rich the literature of ancient myth absolutely still is, and how to read for…
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707: Shawn Welcome!
In this week's show, the poet Shawn Welcome and I talk about how to love poetry, how to gather together our literary communities, and our beloved city of Orlando, Florida.
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706: Richard Blanco!
On this week's program, I catch up with the amazing Richard Blanco about his recent collected poems, Homeland of my Body, a book sandwiched with two sections of exciting new work.
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705: Mamie Pound!
On this week's program, I talk to Mamie Pound about how flash fiction works, poetry, and finding the authentic, messy, true emotion and understanding despite the editors in our brains.
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704: Elliot Ackerman
On this week's program, I talk to Elliot Ackerman about his new novel, Sheepdogs, a hell of a military caper story.
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703: A Discussion of Anaïs Nin's Delta of Venus, with Dianne Turgeon Richardson!
Happy Valentine's Day, world! Listen to Dianne Turgeon Richardson and I discuss the memorable, occasionally exhausting, and morally iffy smut of Anaïs Nin's Delta of Venus.
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702: A Discussion of Lucasta Miller's The Brontë Myth, with Sophia Ferrara.
After reading some of Charlotte Brontë's Tales of Angria (#682), John and Sophia go a-Brontë-ing again. They discuss Lucasta Miller's extraordinary survey of the Brontë cult and the durable, troubled legacy of their fiction.
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701: Greg Proops!
In this week's show, I speak with the comedian Greg Proops about comedy writing, comedy performance, improv, politics, film, and more.
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700: Chuck Klosterman!
On #700, John speaks with the underrated novelist and essay writer Chuck Klosterman about his wickedly funny and ever-insightful new book called Football. They also speak about post-modernism and humor and how audiences perplexingly invert their expectations about reality when reading fiction and...
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699: Aymann Ismail!
On this episode, Samantha Nickerson interviews the journalist and memoirist about his new book, Becoming Baba: Fatherhood, Faith, and Finding Meaning in America.
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698: Descartes a Kant!
On this episode, John interviews the rock band Descartes a Kant about the creation of exciting twenty-first century theatrical rock and roll. Listen to & buy DAK's music over at Band Camp.
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697: Todd James Pierce!
Here John speaks with his friend Todd James Pierce about his research process, his work on Disney artist Mary Blair, and Todd's wonderful new book, Making Mary Poppins, now out with Norton.
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696: The Kerouac Project of Orlando Book Club Discussion of William S. Burroughs's Interzone (with Matt Peters)!
On this show, John and Matt Peters continue The Kerouac Project Book Club with a discussion of William S. Burrough's third fiction manuscript, Interzone, the cliff before one arrives at Naked Lunch.
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695: Loose Lips December 2025!
The Drunken Odyssey commandeered the Loose Lips oratory series during the tidings of yule and whatnot on December 2, 2025. The readers included Fred Lambert, Rachael Tillman and her deadly horsemen Shawn McKee, Samantha Nickerson, and that rapscallion John King.
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694: Anne Waldman!
In this week's show, John interviews the poet Anne Waldman about her extraordinary new work, Mesopotopia.
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693: Emily Van Duyne
Emily Van Duyne discusses her remarkable tome of scholarship on Sylvia Plath, including a literary history of how Plath's legacy has been shaped. Emily also guides Rachael and John's attempts to de-Hughes-ify the available texts.
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692: November 22, 2025 (Fire x Fire x Fire with Dianne Turgeon Richardson and Tod Caviness!)
John concocted a daft poetry game for friends with a body of work substantial enough to withstand randomization of theme and topic 'til our drunken voices and ears escape beyond the hurly-burly of the everyday and enter the ethereal mindscape of friendship. Here is one's nights Fire x Fire x Fire...
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691: AJ Rodriguez!
On this week's show, John speaks with fiction writer A.J. Rodriguez, the June-July 2025 Kerouac Project of Orlando resident.
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690: Ivonne Lamazares!
On this week's show, John speaks with Ivonne Lamazares about her new novel, The Tilting House.
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689: Schloctoberfest 2025 #4: A Discussion of Night of the Living Dead, with Jeff Shuster
At the end of Schloctoberfest 2025, Jeff Shuster and I discuss the 1968 horror masterpiece Night of the Living Dead because how could we not? Our foray into 1960s black and white films is now ended.
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688: Schloctoberfest 2025 #3: A Discussion of Seconds, with Jeff Shuster
This time around, Jeff Shuster and John discuss John Frankenheimer's thriller Seconds from 1966.
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687: Schloctoberfest 2025 #2: A Discussion of The Sword of Doom, with Jeff Shuster!
On this week's show, Jeff Shuster and John King delve into an existentially strange antihero story that feels a bit crazy and not entirely complete.
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686: Schloctoberfest 2025 #1: A Discussion of Faster, Pussycat! Kill! Kill! with Jeff Shuster
In October, The Drunken Odyssey crams Literature aside to consider wild, dark fun cinema with our curator of Schlock, Jeff Shuster! This year, John and Jeff discuss 4 black-and-white films from the 1960s. First up is this chili pepper of a film that arose the year before the Summer of Love.
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685: A Discussion of Sylvia Plath's The Colossus and Other Poems (with Rachael Tillman)
Sylvia Plath is legendary for being a tragic poet mostly known for her novel, The Bell Jar. John and Rachael are fans of Plath's poetry and The Bell Jar, but hereby set out on a historical project to read Plath's work as the world would have known it first, and as she would have known it herself,...
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684: A Pop Poetry Conversation about Megan Fox's Pretty Boys are Poisonous
This conversation with Samantha Nickerson, Brian Salmans, and Rachael Tillman will give you some idea of the mischief you are missing out on, and the pain John is putting himself through.
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683: Eugenio Negro!
This week, John speaks with the fiction writer, cartoonist, and musician Eugenio Negro about his new novel, Despair Priorities, the long term project, and figuring out what will be deeply satisfying as a writer and reader.
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682: A Discussion of Charlotte Brontë's Tales of Angria, with Sophia Ferrara
Sophia Ferrara joins John down the rabbit hole of Charlotte Brontë's early private storytelling.
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681: The Kerouac Project of Orlando Book Club Discussion of William S. Burrough's Junky (with Matt Peters)!
In this week's show, John teams up once again with his friend Matt Peters to discuss the second book of William S. Burroughs's original quartet of novels. They also discuss the recent film adapation of the same.
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680: Katharine Coldiron!
On today's show, I speak with the essayist Katharine Coldiron about how the way we watch movies are sometimes our autobiographies, sometimes our philosophies, and sometimes our humanity.
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679: Keith Mackenzie!
On 679, John speaks with the novelist Keith MacKenzie about how to plan an unplannable thriller, and how body horror and comedy and existentialism are awfully close neighbors.
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678: Zach Zimmerman!
On 678, John speaks with recent Kerouac Project of Orlando resident Zach Zimmerman about memoir, memories, childhood, comedy, tragedy, the problems of authenticity, and other vital literary matters.
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ABOUT THIS SHOW
Join author John King for eclectic interviews with writers from a variety of genres, including fiction writing, poetry, memoirs, and journalism. From literature to genre writing to the movies, all writing is up for discussion. In particular, The Drunken Odyssey features discussion of all aspects of the writing process—not just the published manuscript, pristinely presented to the entire literate world, but also the scrawled notes and tortured drafts that lead writers there. In long-form interviews, writers discuss their process and the way that writing has influenced their lives. Besides this interview, each episode also features a short memoir essay from a writer about a beloved book, plus John King responds to listener's questions and observations about the writing (and the drinking) life.For more information, see our website at www.thedrunkenodyssey.com.
HOSTED BY
John King
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Frequently Asked Questions
How many episodes does The Drunken Odyssey with John King: A Podcast About the Writing Life have?
The Drunken Odyssey with John King: A Podcast About the Writing Life currently has 737 episodes available on PodParley. New episodes are automatically indexed when they're published to the podcast feed.
What is The Drunken Odyssey with John King: A Podcast About the Writing Life about?
Join author John King for eclectic interviews with writers from a variety of genres, including fiction writing, poetry, memoirs, and journalism. From literature to genre writing to the movies, all writing is up for discussion. In particular, The Drunken Odyssey features discussion of all aspects of...
How often does The Drunken Odyssey with John King: A Podcast About the Writing Life release new episodes?
The Drunken Odyssey with John King: A Podcast About the Writing Life releases new episodes frequently with a large back catalog of 737 episodes. Check the episode list for recent publication dates.
Where can I listen to The Drunken Odyssey with John King: A Podcast About the Writing Life?
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Who hosts The Drunken Odyssey with John King: A Podcast About the Writing Life?
The Drunken Odyssey with John King: A Podcast About the Writing Life is created and hosted by John King.
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