DTR: Down To Read

For this immediately post-election, deeply felt, and fully unhinged episode, Ali and Jackie are brining you some news you can(not) use! This week, A+J were all about:Folk of the Air Series by Holly BlackAssassin’s Blade by Sarah J MaasWonderbook by Jeff VandermeerTwo Can Play by Ali HazelwoodFable for the End of the World by Ava ReidGild by Raven KennedyIce Planet Barbarians by Ruby DixonTHRUM by Meg SmithermanJackie was less than thrilled to admit to listening to The Daily, so if you have recommendations, let us know!More so than ever, authors and books need your support. Learn more about Banned Books from the American Library Association:https://www.ala.org/bbookshttps://bannedbooksweek.org/ **Banned Books Week a yearly event supported is a coalition of organizations dedicated to free expression.Send books to incarcerated folks https://prisonbookprogram.org/Follow DTRPod on Instagram: @dtrpodEmail us, but don’t be mean [email protected]

This week we're talking about folk horror and, much like the woods, it gets dark and deep (also lovely, in a weird way). Join Jackie and Ali for a survey of the genre, recommended watching, and a 2024 look back at The Blair Witch Project. Does she hold up? Find out and let us know what you think!

The air is cold, the days are shorter, and the aisles of Target are filled with Christmas decorations. That means it's MID-OCTOBER aka the heart of Spooky Season! Join Ali and Jackie as they delver into the increasingly popular sub-genre of eco-horror (think: The Birds, The Thing, Annihilation). They define the genre, analyze what makes it work and explore why we humans find a creepy deer or a weird pond so damn haunting. Plus: Sexy Manon Blackbeak fan artI A naked plea for ice cream! All this and more on Down To Read!! 

There's a whole lot coming up in the world of SFF books. From new releases to next installments, Ali + Jackie are offering up their top picks for what's most exciting in the coming months. A boy band member's gothic Broadway comeback? Hot stand alone novels about mortals who want to kiss non-mortals? You better believe they all make the list (and then some). 

This week is all about beginnings and restarts...and Game of Thrones, duh. Jackie and Ali take a peek back at that weird space between childhood and adolescence when reading speculative fiction (or anything) takes a back seat to being cool/hot/grown-up.  Did you speculative fiction as a kid? Did someone tell you to stop? How did you get back in and why was it via Game of Thrones?All of these questions and more, answered forever on this week's DTR.-------SHOW NOTES!The Lord of the Rings vs Game of Thrones: https://www.salon.com/2013/06/10/realpolitik_in_a_fictional_world_game_of_thrones_murky_morality_tale_partner/Follow DTRPod on Instagram: @/dtrpodEmail us, but don’t be mean [email protected] humbly beseech you to follow, rate, and review us on your podcast app of choice!

Ali and Jackie are joined by writer + journalist Alicia Lutes (Variety, THR) to try and answer the all important question: WTF even is a showrunner. And why do they matter so much for fantasy and sci-fi TV shows? Jump on board for our PREMIERE episode, we promise good conversation, great vibes, and two women who are *always* DTR.****Thank you for letting us yell at you Alicia Lutes!Follow Alicia @/alicialutes on Instagram and sign up for her newsletter substack.com/@alicialutes Follow DTRPod on Instagram: @/dtrpodEmail us, but don’t be mean [email protected] humbly beseech you to follow, rate, and review us on your podcast app of choice!