Method and Madness

Episode 9.2In this episode, I go in depth on Ellroy’s stylistic forebears, play a little Glass Bead Game between AMERICAN TABLOID and a (not so) 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.

An audio recording of Richard Connell “The Most Dangerous Game.” Long considered one of the most popular short stories of all time, Connell’s thriller has influenced countless stories and at least one serial killer.

Episode 9.1The brilliant and magnanimous Jacob Everett, the mastermind behind Apocalypse Confidential, joins me to discuss AMERICAN TABLOID by James Ellroy—a masterful classic of paranoia, carnage, and the real deal behind the forces of history. We talk the potency of Ellroy’s style, crime fiction as high art, the resonance of the JFK assassination, Ellroy contra Quentin Tarantino, and figure out which more recent unsolved mystery is prime to spawn its own subgenre in the coming years.Follow Jacob on Twitter.Apocalypse Confidential is one the best literary mags out there. You should be reading it closely.x/com/bradkellySUBSCRIBE FOR EARLY ACCESS AND BONUS CONTENT

Cairo Smith is the founder and EIC of Futurist Letters, host of The Futurist Letters Show, filmmaker, and author of the forthcoming novel SCENEBUX, out September 6, 2025 from New Ritual Press.We talked about the New Wave, a certain LA literary party that made headlines, what happens when no one puts you in check, the Idaho Basque, some of the books that have been most influential on Cairo and his work, and much, much more.This will be on the free feed next week.Pre-order SCENEBUX at Cairo’s website.SUBSCRIBE FOR EARLY ACCESS AND PREMIUM CONTENTx/com/bradkelly

Following down just some of the many rabbit holes in John Fowles’ THE MAGUS. Hypnotism, Magic, Cruelty, and the so-called Real World. SUBSCRIBE for full access. x/com/bradkellySUBSCRIBE FOR EARLY ACCESS AND BONUS CONTENT

Menagerie #2An audio recording of Jack London’s “Love of Life” first published in McClure’s Magazine in 1905. All the classic Jack London themes are here: the Yukon, survival, the cold, and wolves.

Alexandru Constantin joins me to talk in depth on John Fowles’ classic 1965 novel THE MAGUS. A postmodern bildungsroman that’ll remind every former sensitive young man of himself in his cringier days—and a mind-bending trip through a beautiful labyrinth.https://substack.com/@deceneusDon’t miss Alex’s podcast, the Black Ibis Social Club: https://blackibissocialclub.substack.com/x/com/bradkellySUBSCRIBE FOR EARLY ACCESS AND BONUS CONTENT

The incredibly talented author Andrew Edwards joins me to talk about his upcoming novel CROWBAR, his absolute banger of a novel KING OF DOGS, the philosophy of survival, and much more.Support Andrew’s crowdfunding effort for CROWBAR:https://substack.com/@goldengoatguild/p-166445394X: x.com/goldengoatguildWebsite: https://www.goldengoatguild.net/SUBSCRIBE FOR EARLY ACCESS AND PREMIUM CONTENTx/com/bradkelly

Brian Patrick Eha is a widely-published essayist, journalist, and critic. In this expansive conversation we talk Gustave Flaubert as a precursor to Modernism, the method of free indirect discourse in Madame Bovary and the madness of The Temptation of St. Anthony, as well as a few under-appreciated books from Brian’s personal canon..https://x.com/brianehaEssays by Brian that we mention:https://www.city-journal.org/article/madame-bovary-author-gustave-flauberthttps://www.city-journal.org/article/alfred-hayess-fiction-retains-contemporary-relevancex/com/bradkelly

or not), and much, much more. Get access to the full episode (and much more) via the patreon or substack feed at madmethodpod.com/subscribe. x/com/bradkelly

Jack BC of the always entertaining and enlightening podcast Book Club from Hell, joins me to talk about the singular masterpiece of Australian letters, Gerald Murnane's strange and beautiful book THE PLAINS. A book that is somehow about itself, and everything else. We talk about the many questions Murnane raises on the nature of creativity, subjectivity, and the very form of the novel.https://bookclubfromhell.substack.com/bookclubfromhell.comJack’s Twitter: https://x.com/supersquat1Jack’s novel TOWER: https://www.amazon.com/Tower-Jack-BC/dp/0645928208x/com/bradkelly

Andrew Wittstadt (@andrewwittstadt) joins me to talk about his great podcast on poetry and literature, HEAVY BORED. We also get into the problem of authority in academia and why it’s necessary as well as Andrew’s personal canon and much more. https://www.patreon.com/HeavyBoredx.com/andrewwittstadtx.com/heavyboredpodhttps://www.instagram.com/heavybored/https://www.youtube.com/@heavyboredx/com/bradkelly

An audio recording of Edgar Allan Poe’s 1840 short story “The Man of the Crowd", in which Poe’s narrator finds that he can read a man’s entire history in his expression—but some things are left better unseen. SUBSCRIBE AT SUPPORT for access to bonus content.

How Don DeLillo renders visible the invisible, the forces of history, conspiracy theory as literature, and the Discordian weirdness of the JFK assassination. SUBSCRIBE AT SUPPORT for access to bonus content.

Jack BC of the great books podcast Bookclub from Hell joins me to discuss his exceptional work of corporate surrealism, TOWER and the origins of Bookclub from Hell, as well as the legacy of literary realism, the exquisite weirdness of JG Ballard, and much much more.Jack’s podcast: https://www.bookclubfromhell.com/,https://x.com/bookclubhell666Buy TOWER: https://www.amazon.com/Tower-Jack-BC/dp/0645928208Follow Jack: https://substack.com/@jackbcSUBSCRIBE for early access and premium content.Rare Candy on SubstackRare Candy on TwitterSUBSCRIBE AT SUPPORT for access to bonus content.