Just In Case We Die

Send us Fan MailOn Sunday, May 3, 2026, The Davis Theatre in Chicago had a single screening of Knife: The Attempted Murder of Salman Rushdie, a new film by Academy-Award-winning director Alex Gibney, as part of the annual Doc10 Festival. This film is a documentary partially stitched together from footage filmed by novelist Rachel Eliza Griffiths as her husband, Salman Rushdie, recovered from the 2022 attempt on his life by a 24-year-old religious extremist. Tickets for this screening were not inexpensive, but the admission price included signed copies of the memoir that this film is based on and an invitation to attend a post-screening Q & A with journalist Bethany McLean, Alex Gibney, Rachel Eliza Griffiths, and . . . wait for it . . . Salman Rushdie himself. That’s right, attendance at this screening allowed the cast at Just In Case We Die the rare chance to be in the same room with a novelist that everyone involved admires greatly.Yes, you read that right. Aaron, Rodney, and Rebecca were IN THE SAME ROOM WITH SALMAN RUSHDIE!

Send us Fan MailOnce upon a time, Aaron recommended a novel he had recently completed to Rebecca, citing it as his favorite novel of 2021. Already familiar with the work of the author, Rebecca jumped right in, despite Aaron’s misgivings about the science-fiction content of this spectacular book. Rebecca loved Cloud Cuckoo Land so much that she brought it to the table as an entry on her veto list when she joined the cast in 2024. In February of 2026, this novel became up for discussion when a German epic poem (Hyperion by Friedrich Hölderlin, #569 on the original list) got vetoed for being, well, a German epic poem.Here we are . . . April of 2026. Aaron and Rebecca are hungry to know what Rodney thought of one of their favorite novels. There’s no way he can hate this novel, right?

Send us Fan MailLast year, for the bonus material in April, Just In Case We Die celebrated National Library Week with a lively discussion about some of the unique things libraries are doing all around the world. The year before that, the cast celebrated International Children’s Book Day by reminiscing about some of their favorite books and authors from when they were kids. What do they have in store for April 2026?No idea. April is also National Poetry Month and there is no one in the cast with anything interesting (or pleasant) to say about poetry, so it’s time for a deep dive into some literature news items that are making headlines. Hated writers making super-considerate gestures, secret identities revealed, biographies from surprising sources, and the knowledge that a favorite writer of everyone in the cast will soon be within two hours of their homes. It’s also about time that all these books on the veto lists got replaced.For having nothing to talk about, it sure was easy to fill an hour . . .

Send us Fan MailBack in January, the random number generator gave us #1, 167. This number corresponded to a Cuban novel by Guillermo Cabrera Infante entitled Three Trapped Tigers. None of the cast had heard of it.Research ensued, and the following information was discovered:A paperback in English was going to cost $73.85.The cheapest editions were either in Chinese ($17.85) or on Kindle in Spanish ($9.99) and no one but Rebecca can read Spanish.There is an audiobook version of Three Trapped Tigers on Audible but that doesn’t do anyone any good but Rodney.The book is well-known for its punning, wordplay, and excessive use of Cuban street slang and has often been jokingly referred to as “the Cuban Ulysses.”All of these things combined led to Rodney vetoing a novel for the very first time. His replacement? A Brief History of the Dead by Kevin Brockmeier. This novel and its vision of a unique afterlife– a purgatory fueled by the memories of the living– is one of the first books that Rodney and Aaron can remember discussing back when their friendship first formed. Both of them are very excited for Rebecca to read this novel for the very first time.

Send us Fan MailIt occurred to the crew here at Just In Case We Die that a vast majority of the broadcast space is devoted to male authors. It would seem that the editors of the original list didn’t have as many women writers that they found to be “essential.” In three full years of episode dropping, with the minor exception of three short stories, there have only been six discussions featuring novels written by female authors--and one of them was written by a woman who had to pretend she was a man!March is Women’s History Month, so it was decided to center this month’s bonus episode around feminine writers. There’s plenty to discuss: genres that have secretly been hiding excellent female authors amongst their ranks, the favorite female scribes of all three members of the cast, and stereotypes about female writers that need to go away. It’s Just In Case We Die’s first ever episode dedicated to women!

Send us Fan MailWatchmen is, without question, the most unique book to be up for discussion on Just In Case We Die. Of all the tomes to ever appear on the curated list, Watchmen is the only comic book. Originally released as twelve individual issues, the final collected volume premiered at the end of 1987 and has subsequently become one of the most consistently-reprinted graphic novels of all time. It also managed to win the Hugo award and find a spot on Time Magazine‘s list of 100 Best Novels as one of the most influential English-language books since 1923. Not bad for a comic book, eh?Well, not every comic book is superhero nonsense intended for children. Knowing this, Rodney hand-selected this influential work for discussion this month. What exactly is Watchmen? What makes this influential work literary enough to stand amongst the likes of Dickens, Faulkner, and Haruki Murakami? Did Rebecca like this book? Have Aaron and Rodney gotten her to climb aboard the comic book train?

Send us Fan MailIt is February 2026. This means that this is the first episode of the fourth season. It also means that Rebecca has a pre-arranged prior commitment and cannot join the cast for their bonus discussion.While the cat’s away . . .This seemed like a perfect opportunity to bring Rodney’s friend Joe Tavano, former sci-fi podcaster and self-avowed expert on all things J. R. R. Tolkien, in for a discussion about two books that Rodney and Aaron knew that Rebecca would vehemently veto. Those books are The Hobbit and all three volumes of The Lord of the Rings (#s 538 and 714, respectively), novels that are very near and dear to the hearts of all three participants in this month’s discussion.They discuss J. R. R. Tolkien. They discuss his rivalry with contemporary C. S. Lewis. They discuss the myriad differences between science-fiction and fantasy. They discuss their personal experiences with the discovery of this tremendous work of art. They talk shit about a very famous modern fantasy novelist. They also geek out. Big time.

Send us Fan MailThe final episode of the third season features one of the world’s most successful writers. The author of novels, short story collections, works of nonfiction, children’s books, and comics, Margaret Atwood has been topping bestseller lists and wowing prize jury judges for more than six decades. Few Canadian writers have enjoyed the success that she has made seem easy.This discussion is an interesting one. Aaron is already a fan of Margaret Atwood. Neither Rodney or Rebecca have read her before. All three enjoyed this novel, but all of them walked away from it with differing opinions on its meaning, impact, and importance. Is this a feminist novel? Is Margaret Atwood even a feminist at all?

Send us Fan MailIf there is one thing that everyone here at Just In Case We Die can agree on, it’s this: Haruki Murakami is one of the greatest contemporary storytellers. Japan’s best-selling novelist, Haruki Murakami has made an international name for himself with thought-provoking, meaningful narratives that explore loneliness and the nature of love within the warm, surreal embrace of magical realism. He is the author of fifteen novels, five story collections, and five works of varied non-fiction– and that’s just a catalog of the work that has been translated into English!This month, in the penultimate episode of the current season, Just In Case We Die celebrates this beloved writer’s 77th birthday with a lively discussion, paying tribute to his body of work, cultural impact, and vivid imagination.

Send us Fan MailThis month’s book up for discussion involves one of the strangest novels to ever be featured on Just In Case We Die. It’s a crass, vulgar, and irreverent  commentary on American media wrapped up in a misguided and confounding allegory written by an Australian author who somehow managed to beat Booker Prize-stalwart Margaret Atwood for Britain’s most distinguished literary prize.Confusion aside, this is a really good novel that made the cast laugh, think, and shake their baffled heads. How did this novel manage to woo the judge panel of the Booker Prize in an almost-unanimous majority? Especially if the judges already knew about DBC Pierre ‘s past. You are simply not going to believe what Aaron’s research uncovered!

Send us Fan MailRemember last December when the crew at Just In Case We Die celebrated the holidays and National Read A New Book Month by combining both into one gift-giving effort? Well, they decided to do that same thing again (even if two of them still haven’t finished the books they were given last year).Classic titles, obscure titles, novels by authors who have been mentioned repeatedly on the show, and one cast member tricked into reading a wholly new genre. Six new books up for discussion.Happy holidays!

Send us Fan MailAndré Brink’s A Dry White Season is a great example of the sort of novel Aaron, Rodney, and Rebecca are describing when they classify a book as “essential.”First published in 1979, this thought-provoking story recounts the journey of a white Afrikaaner as he transforms from a passive observer into an active challenger of injustice. Emphasizing the necessity of taking action against oppression, this novel explores the complicity of white privilege, moral awakening, and the personal costs associated with resistance.Framed as a deceptively simple legal thriller, this is not a novel they will soon be forgetting.

Send us Fan MailAll three cast members of Just In Case We Die are acknowledging that their accumulation of books has gotten out of control. The to-be-read piles get increasingly more problematic. This is not a problem that appears to be remedying itself in the near future.Consider:1) Next month, each cast member will be given two books by their co-hosts.2) Every month for the next year, they’ll be reading one book from the list for discussion.3) Each of them will, more than likely, receive many books for Christmas.4) Aaron has committed himself to reading every Salman Rushdie novel that has been published (and has, somehow convinced the others to pick authors of their own)This list isn’t even counting the books that will catch their eye in reviews and bookstore displays!Something clearly has to be done.For November’s bonus, each of our literature lovers are picking three books from their ever-growing piles and making a commitment to read it. From post-modern masterworks to revolutionary science-fiction, from memoirs to recent award winners, from pulling the trigger on a dauntingly-long series to a recommendation from one of their own, these lists run the gamut and are sure to be surprising.

Send us Fan MailIt's Aaron's turn to handpick a book from the list, and he selected Italo Calvino's 1979 post-modern masterpiece. This novel is one that he has admired for more than a quarter century. In fact, he's been trying to foist it on Rebecca seemingly ad nauseum since 2001.The real reason he picked it, though, is because he wants Rodney to gain a greater appreciation of post-modernism, and there are college courses that consider If On A Winter's Night A Traveler a core text for academic study. Rebecca and Aaron have placed a friendly wager on whether he likes it or not. Who will be the lucky winner?

Send us Fan MailWhen it turned out that maybe Aaron and Rodney might be able to convince Rebecca that not all science-fiction was a waste of her time, Aaron recommended Andy Weir’s Project Hail Mary. It was a gamble, to be sure, because this is a Science Fiction novel (note the capital S and F). Space exploration? Alien race first contact? Scientific calamity that might bring on the apocalypse? Check, check, and check.Guess what? It took two years and a well-crafted trailer for the upcoming film adaptation, but Rebecca has finally read it. This month, we’re going to talk about whether or not she liked it, what separates a book like Project Hail Mary from other sci-fi tomes, and try to come up with other recommendations that she would appreciate.Salman Rushdie is in there somewhere, too, but you’ll have to listen to the episode to find out why!

Send us Fan MailPär Lagerkvist, the recipient of the 1951 Nobel Prize for Literature, was not a writer that had ever been in the to-be-read piles of any of this podcast’s participants. All three of them, though, were affected by this novel’s message. This short 1950 novel takes a character briefly mentioned in the Holy Bible, expounds on his story, and prompts a discussion that starts with one opinion and ends with a change in perspective. How can such a slight little volume have such a profound effect on people who don’t consider themselves religious?Be warned: religion is a hot-button topic in this episode. You may not agree with our points of view.

Send us Fan MailAll three members of the cast are in different locations this month, so our bonus discussion might seem a little lackluster.There are, though, three excellent reasons to give this one a listen:You will learn all kinds of new things you didn’t know about books that have been banned or challenged.Aaron really screwed up (BIG TIME!) when we compiled the list for this podcast and takes some time to remedy the situation.You might win our first ever trivia contest, which might allow you, dear listener, to win an actual book from us.You read that right. We’re going to give a free  book away. All you have to do is answer a trivia question and email our show!Can you be the lucky winner?

Send us Fan MailIt would stand to reason that a writer that has led an interesting life could write an interesting novel.Unless you’re E. M. Forster.If you’re him, you would lead an interesting life and then write a real clunker about despicable people doing deplorable things. You might posit that you’ve written a work filled to the brim with themes that your prose would never adequately explore.None of which will matter when you eventually write A Passage To India.Yeah, we didn’t care for this “essential novel.” 

Send us Fan MailWhat happens when we die? Do we exist in an ethereal plane that cannot be perceived by human conscience? Are we forced to spend eternity as the background characters in another person's dreams? Do we have to exist eternally seeing ourselves from the perspectives of those who knew us when we were alive? Will we get to meet Mary Shelley?All of these possibilities-- and quite a few more-- are posited in neuroscientist David Eagleman's delightful (and short) book of stories. Rodney discovered this book as part of another discussion club and was moved enough by it to share it with Aaron and Rebecca. The three of them are now going to share it with you.

Send us Fan MailIn 1967, Russian author Aleksandr Solzhenitsyn edited his new novel down from 96 chapters to 87 chapters in the hopes that a censored version would be more palatable to Soviet publishers. It was not.In 1968, he was able to successfully get the novel published in Europe. It was, however, the shortened 87-chapter version.In 1978, the full unedited version was finally published in Russia. A full English translation would not land in America until 2009.In 2025, seeing that In The First Circle was a lengthy Russian novel about military prisons in WWII, the cast of Just In Case We Die almost vetoed it. All three of them are now grateful that they did not. This novel– long considered to be Solzhenitsyn’s masterpiece–is really something special.

Send us Fan MailIn Champaign, Illinois– the city that serves as the home base for this podcast– there is a man named Mike Trippiedi. He is an award-winning filmmaker, an accomplished stage actor and director, and the author of three novels. He also happens to be someone that Aaron has known for most of his life.Mike’s new novel is called Abraham Lincoln’s Traveling Medicine Show. It’s a very entertaining revision of the assassination of our nation’s 16th President, as well as the ensuing aftermath. Aaron really enjoyed this novel and wanted to give Mike an opportunity to talk about the process of writing it. Along the way, they chat about being an independent filmmaker, revisionist history, Jack London, A Confederacy of Dunces, and that one horror writer that Rebecca is tired of us bringing up in every episode!

Send us Fan MailIt's June! This means that we discuss a book hand-selected from the list by Rebecca.The last time she did this, she selected The Book of Illusions, a novel she had never read that was written by a novelist she admires. She took a wholly different approach this time: couple the desire to read a writer she had never experienced before with the realization that we almost never read books by women. The end result was Play It As It Lays by Joan Didion. Considered one of the classic "Los Angeles novels", the nihilistic content of this book certainly left us with much to discuss.

Send us Fan MailIt’s summertime!That means beautiful weather, afternoons at the pool, and maybe some time to relax and catch up on our ever-growing TBR piles. It also means, however, that things are going to get chaotic around here– prepping for trips to Alaska, summer camp with the kids, schoolwork, jobs. Before the three of us get bogged down in real life, we decided to throw ourselves a backyard patio BBQ . . . and invite some of our favorite writers.Each of us invited three writers to the shindig– one living, one dead, and one we’ve never discussed on our show before. That means our hypothetical backyard will be hosting nine writers from different eras and genres! What results is a fun and lively discussion in which we speculate on what all of these authors would bring to a conversation. Will a fight break out? Will Rodney’s selections surprise anyone? Will Kurt Vonnegut be sad that Aaron didn’t invite him to attend?

Send us Fan MailThe first movie released in the DVD format was the 1996 disaster film Twister.Bullfrogs never sleep.The nation of China is credited with the invention of ice cream.Africa is the only continent with land in all four hemispheres.Queen guitarist Brian May holds a PhD in astrophysics.Aaron, Rodney, and Rebecca are going to remember these five random bits of trivia before they ever remember anything about The Expedition of Humphry Clinker.

Send us Fan MailRemember last year when we decided to celebrate National Short Story Month by discussing six short stories hand-selected by the cast? Well, we had so much fun last year that we decided to do it again!This year, Rodney actually chooses a short story instead of a novella, Rebecca reveals an interesting way to select material for our show, and Aaron must endure insulting words about one of his favorite writers. Also– and probably most importantly– Aaron and Rodney are once again vindicated when Rebecca is impressed by one of their favorite science-fiction authors.

Send us Fan MailSo what happened was this . . . At the end of the episode on “Les Miserables” by Victor Hugo, the random number generator gave us #355. The book corresponding to this number was “Emma” by Jane Austen. Rebecca ixnayed that itshay quicker than quick, but she then had to use the random number generator to pick a tome from her veto list. The redraw gave us A Heartbreaking Work of Staggering Genius, Dave Eggers’ powerful 2000 memoir about caring for his younger brother after the death of his parents.This book is hard to categorize. The Pulitzer Prize committee felt it was, in fact, a memoir when they shortlisted it for the prize. The author himself acknowledges throughout the book that some of it is fictionalized and not at all depicted the way that events actually happened. Aren’t memoirs by their very nature technically post-modern works?Is it a comedy? Is it a drama? Is it totally fabricated? Regardless of which genre you choose, however, it cannot be denied that the book is aptly named.

Send us Fan MailDid you know that there is a library in Oslo doing quite possibly the coolest literary event that we have ever read about? Too bad none of us will be alive to experience it!It's National Library Week, and the cast here at Just In Case We Die are celebrating with some reminiscing about our favorite memories of the library. They talk about Aaron's mother and what she is doing for the library in a small town with a population of 500 people. We discuss some fun facts about libraries, librarians, and the library systems in foreign countries. Make sure you visit your local library!

Send us Fan MailA nameless narrator commits a murder. As a result, he must traverse an absurdist landscape of two-dimensional buildings, bumbling police officers, and philosophical meanderings about bicycles. What percentage of one man can become a bicycle before he ceases to be more man than bicycle? Born in 1911, Irish novelist and playwright Brian O'Nolan made a name for himself in the metafiction movement of the 1940s under the pseudonym of Flann O'Brien. The Third Policeman, a novel that never found a publisher until after the author's death in 1966, is truly one of the strangest novels that any one of us has ever read. It also happens to be one of the more thought-provoking. 

Send us Fan MailOn Saturday, February 22, 2025, Rodney and Aaron spent a rather brisk winter day wandering around the town of Rockford for an annual event called The Independent Bookstore Crawl. It's like a bar crawl with books. There was also comics, though. And vinyl. There was lunch at a local burger joint. We bought battered paperbacks of Robert Heinlein, fantasy novels written by a Rockford native, and a lot of coffee. They met a very interesting woman who seemed to live and breathe charity for her community. They talked with strangers about their favorite writers from Peoria. They saw a painting of a woman performing lewd acts on a rocket ship, an impressive collection of old-school typewriters, and a taxidermied crocodile. It was quite a day y'all!

Send us Fan MailVictor Hugo's epic novel of the French revolution is inarguably a classic. Originally published in 1862, it has endured and rightfully been considered one of the greatest novels of all time. It's long, though-- clocking in at 1,662 pages in one version we found-- and tangential, which causes a good amount of trouble for Aaron. Rodney and Rebecca are quick to defend Les Miserables, however, and will go to any lengths to prove him wrong, even if Rebecca has to break his brain.Can Aaron get through this episode without bursting into song? Probably not.

Send us Fan MailThis week’s episode is a milestone for us, as it is the first episode of our third season. Our very first episode premiered in February of 2023. Here we are– two full years later– with a larger cast, more monthly content, and a decent-sized dent in our list of 1,316 novels. Fun fact: we are actually only 1.6% of the way through the curated list. At our current rate of one novel per month, we should be finished with the list in just over 107 years. Only 105 years left to go!Our bonus episode this month features a holiday that takes place in February. Naturally, we’re talking about Valentine’s Day. To celebrate, we present another round table discussion. This time, we’ll be discussing love and romance within the literary world. We discuss why some writers just can’t seem to get it right. We don’t stop with books and literature, though: Rodney finally gets to mention Dune, Aaron finds an excuse to discuss Star Trek and Superman, and Rebecca waxes poetic on her favorite sitcom!

Send us Fan MailT. C. Boyle has written nineteen novels. He is the celebrated author of more than 150 short stories. He has won the PEN/Faulkner Award and been shortlisted for the National Book Award. He is Aaron's favorite living novelist, and has been since 1998.In "Drop City", Boyle does what he does best-- biting satire, sympathetic villains, remarkable sense of place-- in a saga about a 1970s hippie commune picking up their California roots and heading north to Alaska. Will Rodney and Rebecca enjoy this book as much as Aaron does? 

Send us Fan MailSome of the greatest movies ever made started out as novels. A vast majority of contemporary stage plays started their life as a book. Written prose have proven to be a wellspring of inspiration for television shows. Les Miserables, Victor Hugo's 1862 epic masterpiece and our selection for discussion in February, by itself has been fodder for comic books, stage plays, television miniseries, feature films, and animated cartoons.This month, our bonus discussion centers around adaptations. We discuss some of our favorites. We discuss how an adaptation, good or bad, can change a reader's impressions of the source materials. From Walt Disney cartoons to Elmore Leonard to the current phenomenon of Wicked, January's bonus material is lively and sure to prompt further discussion.

Send us Fan MailThe Sorrow of Belgium by Hugo Klaus? No one here has ever heard of it. No one here has ever even heard of the author. This book was approached with a high degree of trepidation.As it would turn out, this novel was one of the more thought-provoking works to ever be explored on this podcast. By turns amusing and disturbing, Hugo Klaus’s meandering and emotional examination of a childhood spent in Nazi-occupied Belgium is just as confounding as it is enjoyable– all fodder for an in-depth discussion.This extra-long episode includes the discussion, an examination of recent news about Cormac McCarthy, a look back at the listener statistics from the previous year, and a fantastic finale when Rodney hand-picks our novel for February!

Send us Fan MailIt's Christmas time!But it's also National Read A New Book Month!Which do we celebrate? It seems strange to make a big deal out of reading new books since the majority of novels the random number generator assigns are new to at least one member of the cast. "New books" are, basically, what they do here every month. Rodney was inspired to combine Christmas and National Read A New Book Month into one very unique gift exchange. Each member of the cast came to the table with two book recommendations. It had to be a writer or book not on the curated list, a specialized gift based on what they have learned from each other over the last year of broadcast. To wit: Rodney buys a new book for Aaron, one for Rebecca. Rebecca buys a new book for Rodney, one for Aaron. Aaron . . . well . . . you get the idea. As it turns out, the challenge was harder than expected.

Send us Fan MailThe book for November provides a great opportunity for listeners to engage with the cast. They are urging someone out there to read this book and then email them to explain why they believe that this book should be on a list of books that are essential novels to read before we die. Remembering Babylon, the Booker Prize-winning novel by Australian "master" David Malouf, is, ultimately, nothing more than a book that the cast of Just In Case We Die read because they had to. Be warned if you are a fan of this novel because it gets skewered herein.

Send us Fan MailThe bonus material this month has its genesis in the book discussion from last month. You may recall that Rodney and Rebecca were less than pleased with the ending of The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time, citing it as abrupt and implausible. Does the ending ruin an otherwise great book?This month, the discussion centers around the art of the ending. Are there really great books ruined by a terrible final chapter? Are some endings too abrupt? What writers, for the cast of Just In Case We Die, too often resort to laziness when it comes to the denouement? What is the greatest ending of all time and why is it The Usual Suspects?

Send us Fan MailThis novel-- Mark Haddon's emotional depiction of a teenager with Asperger's Syndrome-- meant a lot to Aaron when he first read it back in 2007. He selected it for his choice off of the list because he thought that Rebecca would have a personal attachment to it and he wanted Rodney to appreciate a post-modern novel that wasn't as complicated as The Recognitions. The end result of this experiment to cater to everyone's tastes? One of the best books they've read so far sullied by a flat and lifeless ending.Can a bad ending ruin a great novel? 

Send us Fan MailIt’s October!All three cast members of Just In Case We Die are in agreement that autumn is the best time of the year. It’s not just because of the cool temperatures or the pumpkin spice. It’s not just because of the beautiful changes in scenery as the leaves and foliage change color before winter. Fall is also their favorite season of the year because that’s the best time to break out the dusty books of scary stories!This month, the bonus discussion centers around horror, some personal favorite creators in the genre, and an exploration into ways you can get your scary story fix without subjecting yourself to blood and guts. From old school classics to contemporary masters, the podcast offers more than enough suggestions to get through the Halloween season!

Send us Fan MailThe temptation to accurately depict the general consensus on this (apparently) "essential" "novel" by leaving this space wordless and blank is almost overwhelming. That would be poor form, though. This is a website and it must have content. Novels should have content, too, though.We're talking to you, Colette!

Send us Fan MailFor the bonus material this month, the crew at Just In Case We Die takes a deep dive into the life and works of beloved children's author Roald Dahl. Listeners may know him as the mastermind behind such classic works as Charlie and the Chocolate Factory and James and the Giant Peach. Would they also realize that he also penned a good amount of racy work for adults? Do listeners know that he was also a decorated fighter pilot, one of the forefathers of the pro-vaccination movement, and the inventor of medical equipment that everyone should be thankful they never needed? Are they aware that his work was embroiled in a recent censorship controversy that centers around something called "a sensitivity reader"? 

Send us Fan MailIn 1898, William Heinemann published H. G. Wells’ The War of the Worlds in novel form for the very first time. In the 126 years that have passed since, this novel has never been out of print. It has been adapted into movies, television shows, radio productions, comic books, and musicals. It has also been the base inspiration for multitudes of other well-known science-fiction projects. Is The War of the Worlds the most famous science-fiction novel of all time? Does this novel actually fit into the genre? Why is H. G. Wells a wizard?This month, Aaron, Rodney, and Rebecca– once again– discuss one of the hallmark novels of early science-fiction. 

Send us Fan MailThe final day of August has been declared as We Love Memoirs Day. The gang here at Just In Case We Die has no idea how that holiday should be celebrated, but it did give them a good topic for this month’s bonus episode.This month, the discussion centers around memoirs. What is a memoir? What makes for a good one? Are there specific memoirs that might be recommended? What happens when Oprah Winfrey discovers that your memoir is actually a bunch of crap that you made up for fame? Salman Rushdie, Augusten Burroughs, Michael J. Fox, the offspring of Kurt Vonnegut, and more!

Send us Fan MailRodney: Meh.Rebecca: Blech.Aaron: OHMIGERD! OHMIGERD!Yeah. That pretty well sums up the direction this week’s discussion goes.In 1997, Peter Carey, perhaps Australia’s most important contemporary novelist, presented a pastiche of Charles Dickens with this enigmatic examination of inspiration. The cast of Just In Case We Die has never been more divided.

Send us Fan MailThis month, the crew here at Just In Case We Die took an opportunity to discuss a genre that doesn’t normally come up on a podcast that discusses fine works of literature: “trashy” summer beach reads. You know, the books that only take you a couple of days to read and are utterly forgettable? The books you might not admit to loving in conversation with your college literature professor friends?This month’s discussion is a lively one, with time devoted to childhood favorites, the differences between two of the bestselling names in horror, and the best adventure series that poorly cast Tom Cruise in the movie adaptation. There’s also some time devoted to those guilty pleasure writers that we don’t like . . . some of those will surprise you!

Send us Fan MailThis month’s selection was hand-picked from the curated list by Rebecca. She selected this novel because she is an ardent admirer of this author’s work and this work was one that she had not personally read. Her selection– The Book of Illusions by Paul Auster– proved to be an excellent choice. Not only did everyone involved here at Just In Case We Die really enjoy this book, but it is the first selection in our uploading history to have garnered feedback from our audience before the discussion episode dropped.What makes this novel so special?

Send us Fan MailAaron can hear just well enough to record if all three cast members are within a few feet of each other, so, at long last, Just In Case We Die presents the bonus material for June. This month, the discussion celebrates Pride Month with an exploration of some personal favorite writers in the LGBTQIA+ community. There are horror writers, journalists, science-fiction writers, Booker Prize winners, and a beloved American novelist close to the hearts of all three cast members.

Send us Fan MailThe Martian Chronicles, Ray Bradbury’s 1950 collection of loosely-connected stories that chronicle the human colonization of Mars has long been a favorite of Aaron. Aaron is, in fact, a devoted acolyte of all of Ray Bradbury’s work and thinks it unfathomable that at least one work by this stalwart of the golden age of science-fiction isn’t included on the original list.In this episode, the cast of Just In Case We Die reflect on the exclusion of a great American author, discuss the eloquence of sci-fi, and celebrate one of their own (Rebecca, natch) opening the gateway into the world of speculative fiction.

Send us Fan MailMay is National Short Story Month and the cast of Just In Case We Die decided to celebrate by devoting an entire discussion to the craft and art of short stories. Aaron, Rodney, and Rebecca each selected two short stories for the others to read. In retrospect, this conceit may not have been the best option for listeners who have no context for the stories being discussed, but the discussion does go into great depth about the individual writers and their works. Perhaps you end this discussion with some suggestions for your own excursions into the world of short stories.

Send us Fan MailIt would appear that there are two bonus episodes this month! April 27th is Independent Bookstore Day. In collaboration with a favorite independent bookstore (The Lit in Champaign, Illinois), Just In Case We Die is pleased to present a special episode to help celebrate. Aaron and Rebecca made an in-store appearance and had conversations with patrons of the store.  Rodney wasn't present, but Aaron's children were. They recommend a hamburger joint because, well, because they're twelve.