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A podcast hosted by writer Brad Kelly (formerly of Art of Darkness). Main book episodes feature 2 parts: a fun, in-depth conversation with one of my most insightful friends, and a sprawling exploration of the book's many rabbit-holes (usually behind the paywall). Melee episodes are general conversations with authors and others about books, writing, and culture.
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[PREVIEW} Down into the labyrinth of THE STRONGHOLD: the curious history of NYRB Classics, theories of literary time, the significance of the barbarian, the dream of Great Tartaria, and much more. Subscribe for full access to this episode, the growing Madness archive, and early access to all guest episodes..
The legendary Ken Layne joins me to talk about how he found the desert, what’s going on with UFOs, our Eldritch Republic, the role of the folklorist, and much, much more.Follow Ken.
The ever-insightful Jack BC joined me to discuss a paradoxical little masterpiece: THE STRONGHOLD by Dino Buzzati. To some, better known as THE TARTARIAN STEPPE. It’s a homage to Kafka, a beautiful bit of existentialism, and a torturous confrontation with the nature of time in the lives we live.Check out Jack on his great podcast BOOKCLUB FROM HELL.
Iain Ryan is the author of 8 books. His latest, THE CASINO, is a pulse-pounding crime story about police corruption in Queensland in the 1980s. He joined me to talk about the writing of this book, his overall Gold Coast Quartet--of which this book is just one part, the uneasy appeal of the 1980s, and much, much more.Buy THE CASINOFollow Iain
Matt Cardin is the author or editor of 12 books and ranks among the very finest of contemporary writers of Weird fiction and cosmic horror, as well as one of the most consistently interesting contributors to substack. His most recent book, WRITING AT THE WELLSPRING, is a spiritual guide for creative work and a manual for cultivating your relationship with your own daemon muse.
Author and podcaster Frank Kidd joined me to discuss his page-turning Western/frontier novel MEDICINE WOMAN (winner of Ian Barr’s Indie of the Year 2025), what makes a genre, why the Western still matters, and what makes America Weird.Buy MEDICINE WOMAN.Follow Frank on twitter.
![[PREVIEW] Ep. 13.2 - The MADNESS of Cormac McCarthy’s THE CROSSING](https://s3.castbox.fm/f8/e8/07/3b063c5bf73b962c16f17ed571ad630f26_scaled_v1_400.jpg "[PREVIEW] Ep. 13.2 - The MADNESS of Cormac McCarthy’s THE CROSSING")
A preview of the MADNESS presentation on Cormac McCarthy’s THE CROSSING. Here talking about the very, very strange relationship between man, wolf, and the other world. For access to the full thing, subscribe via substack or patreon. latest book: CROWBAR
UTTER GOODNESS is UTTERly GOOD. The writer Audrey Lee joined me to talk about her exciting new collection of short stories, out now via Farthest Heaven, comprehending America, STONER, and the state of confessional writing.Buy UTTER GOODNESS
The incredible writer Andrew Edwards joined me to talk about Cormac McCarthy’s oft-overlooked masterpiece THE CROSSING. We get technical on McCarthy’s high style, Crossings of all sorts, the spiritual bond of brothers, and what it means to say that the world is but a tale.Buy Andrew’s latest book: CROWBAR
![[PREVIEW] THE EARTHEN DARK by Brad Kelly](https://s3.castbox.fm/aa/48/66/59674abbecf38ff409104895c7513a1260_scaled_v1_400.jpg "[PREVIEW] THE EARTHEN DARK by Brad Kelly")
The first 3 chapters of my new book THE EARTHEN DARK for your listening pleasure. Get a copy of the book: bradkellyesque.com.SPECIAL DEAL: In 2026, if you sign up for a yearly paid subscription to Method and Madness (via substack or patreon), and provide a US postal address, you’ll get a special signed copy of THE EARTHEN DARK, along with two hand-edited manuscript pages of early drafts, and a one-card tarot reading (with card). You’ll also get all the other benefits: early access to all episodes and exclusive access to one-of-a-kind MADNESS presentations.
A peek behind the paywall. In this episode, I go in depth on Ellroy’s stylistic forebears, play a little Glass Bead Game between AMERICAN TABLOID and very different book, give the quick and very dirty history of CONFIDENTIAL MAGAZINE, and go full-on true crime telling the ‘real’ story of Chuck Rogers.
![[PREVIEW] Ep. 12.2 - The MADNESS of PKD’s THREE STIGMATA](https://s3.castbox.fm/7c/27/e0/ebfe4d3966a6fe86d5e4958148182050ce_scaled_v1_400.jpg "[PREVIEW] Ep. 12.2 - The MADNESS of PKD’s THREE STIGMATA")
In this clip from the full episode, I dive into the career of Hugh Everett III, a brilliant physicist who developed the groundbreaking Many Worlds Interpretation—and ushered in the algorithmic age with classified work for shadowy government entities.
Anthony Metivier is known as the magnetic memory master. Using time-tested techniques he has not only taught himself to memorize large quantities of complicated information, but he’s gained a reputation for being among the very best teachers of memory practice. Now, he’s written his second novel in the Decline series, a bold detective saga that puts these memory methods in praxis and takes the reader on a wild ride: serial killers, exotic drugs, and conspiracy, and the gradual fall of civilization.Find everything Anthony Metivier is up to here.
![“The Minister’s Black Veil” by Nathaniel Hawthorne [audio recording]](https://s3.castbox.fm/fc/29/02/0e2a50562ac43c9de46f9d7766b7cefed4_scaled_v1_400.jpg "“The Minister’s Black Veil” by Nathaniel Hawthorne [audio recording]")
Nathaniel Hawthorne's classic 1836 story, first appearing in The Token and Atlantic Souvenir, later re-published in TWICE-TOLD TALES.
Andrew Edwards, the author of what just might be the best novel of 2025, joins me to talk conspiracy, LSD, the interior journey of writing, the 1980s, literary gnosticism, the quantification of everything, and, of course, his certified banger CROWBAR. Buy Crowbar
Jacob Austin, mastermind behind the fantastic Gnostic Pulp substack joined me to talk about the work of Thomas Pynchon, what the heck was going on with PKD, the nature of UFOs, and much, much more.LinktreeSome Gnostic Pulp pieces we touched on:Further Adventures in Pynchonian RealityYear of the LichenMoby-Dick is about UFOs
Writer, critic, and host of the podcast Strange Exiles, Bram E. Gieben joins me to talk about Philip K. Dick’s most unsettling work: THE THREE STIGMATA OF PALMER ELDRITCH: suspicion about reality, the commodification of the mind, PKD’s conception of God, whether sci-fi is still the trash stratum, and much more.Subscribe to Bram’s substack for his ongoing series CRISIS masculinity, the latest episodes of Strange Exiles, his upcoming book on PKD, and everything else he’s up to.Bram’s linktree.
The multi-talented Scott Laudati joined me to tell the crazy story of being courted by Hollywood for his great novel PLAY THE DEVIL, finding the spirit of America, and what it means to put in a hard day’s work.Scott’s twitterTo Kingdom Come (full tour movie)Buy PLAY THE DEVILScott’s linktree
![[PREVIEW] Ep. 11.2 - The MADNESS of Thomas Pynchon’s SHADOW TICKET](https://s3.castbox.fm/17/49/03/2859f931eec5f74dee571cbfc269005fd5_scaled_v1_400.jpg "[PREVIEW] Ep. 11.2 - The MADNESS of Thomas Pynchon’s SHADOW TICKET")
Freud’s influence on the history of Egon Praediger’s favorite drug.Subscribe or sign up for a trial and check out the full episode:We get into the strange fates of several real figures referenced in the book, and the stories of one Pynchonian figure who may have proved ESP in the SHADOW TICKET era (J.B. Rhine) and another (Moritz Schlick) whose work made such things unmentionable in intellectual society.
Writer David Leo Rice joined me to talk about his wildly imaginative and startlingly resonant new book THE SQUIMBOP CONDITION—along the way we discuss the deep meaning of the A-Bomb, the status of the American Dream, and how David came to be so freaking productive.Buy David’s latest book THE SQUIMBOP CONDITION out now from 11:11 Press.David’s substackDavid’s twitter
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i got the book after listening to this podcast. great book!