The Losers' Club: A Stephen King Podcast

Dark Tower Detour is a chance for Gunslingers to study the minutiae of Roland Deschain’s epic quest. Hosted by Dan Pfleegor and Dan Caffrey, this exclusive series will cover a range of topics that interest those who remember the face of their father. No character is too small. No detail too obscure. And no theory too foreboding as we march closer to the Dark Tower at the center of all creation. In this episode, which was recorded in February 2022, your intrepid hosts Dan Pfleegor and Dan Caffrey will speak with Richard Chizmar about the newly released Gwendy's Final Task. Together, they discuss the Gwendy Peterson Trilogy's connections to The Tower, what it's like to team up with America's most prolific author Stephen King, and just who exactly is the mysterious Richard Farris. It should be noted that the first half of this interview is spoiler free. We'll share a warning before the second half delves deeper into spoiler territory and Tower lore. Happy trails, gunslinger.

And we're back on the Beam! In our latest book episode, which was previously only exclusive to the Barrens, the Losers sort through Stephen King and Richard Chizmar's 2022 novel Gwendy's Final Task. Together, they return to familiar locales like Castle Rock and Derry before leaving our atmosphere for adventures beyond their wildest imagination. Beware of spoilers for The Dark Tower series.

It's Labor Day Weekend and The Summer of The Stand comes to a close as the Losers finally review The End of the World As We Know It: New Tales of Stephen King's The Stand.

“It’s The End of the World As We Know It... and editors of the Anthology set in the world of The Stand feel just fine!" Host Randall Colburn welcomes Christopher Golden (Hellboy: The Crooked Man) and Brian Keene (The Rising) as they discuss the process of putting together an anthology, the rules they set up for every author, and what the King himself thought about the finished product. Also: secret projects, why they didn’t write stories for the book, and praise for Hellboy: The Crooked Man.

Ka is a wheel and the Losers are once again walking through Stephen King’s The Stand as part of their event series, The Summer of the Stand. The final Twinner book episode dedicated to the apocalyptic epic finds the gang revisiting Book III: "The Stand". Join Losers Jenn Adams, Rachel Reeves, Ashley Casseday, and Justin Gerber as they offer new perspectives on an old favorite. Then stay tuned for our coverage surrounding the new short story collection, The End of the World As We Know It: New Tales of Stephen King's The Stand.

Losers Randall Colburn, Michael Roffman, and Justin Gerber head to Hollywood King again to discuss the latest developments in King's Dominion, specifically new trailers for Welcome to Derry, The Long Walk, and The Running Man, in addition to headlines surrounding adaptations for The Girl Who Loved Tom Gordon and, yes, another iteration of The Stand.

Ka is a wheel and the Losers are once again walking through Stephen King’s The Stand as part of their event series, The Summer of the Stand. The second of three Twinner book episodes dedicated to the apocalyptic epic finds the gang revisiting Book II: "On the Border". Join Losers Jenn Adams, Dan Pfleegor, Rachel Reeves, and Julia Marchese as they offer new perspectives on an old favorite. Then stay tuned for the final episode to drop in August.

The Losers gather around the boob tube and review MGM+'s new Stephen King series The Institute.

The Losers return for another round of recommends in The Stacks, our monthly series about all the good shit we've been reading, watching, and listening to. Randall, Jenn, and the Dans chat about new releases from Paul Tremblay, Stephen Graham Jones, and Riley Sager, then throw the mic to Caff to unpack his journey through the works of Elmore Leonard. Check out everything we recommended in this episode below. Books: We Ride Upon Sticks by Quan Barry Hungerstone by Kat Dunn William Gibson's Alien 3 (novelization and screenplay) The Dog Stars by Peter Heller Everything by Elmore Leonard (but specifically Valdez Is Coming, Swag, and 52 Pickup) Oracle by Thomas Olde Heuvelt Stupid TV, Be More Funny: How the Golden Era of The Simpsons Changed Television – and America – Forever by Alan Siegel Vermis by Plastiboo Other recs: Love Island US (slop) Petey USA – The Yips (album) This Is Lorelei – Box For Buddy, Box For Star (album) Shifty: Living in Britain at the End of the Twentieth Century (docuseries) Stoker (film) Taskmaster: Series 19 (show)

Welcome to CrichtonCast, our Michael Crichton spinoff podcast exclusive to The Barrens. Today, we're unlocking last year's episode on Crichton's seventh novel, 1990's Jurassic Park, in light of the new Jurassic taking a bite out of the box office this week. Host Randall Colburn is joined by Losers Michael Roffman, Dan Caffrey, and Justin Gerber on Isla Nublar as they meditate on all the prehistoric monsters -- from our universal affinity for dinosaurs to objective science research to the film effect and more. Want to hear our thoughts on this book's sequel The Lost World? Head to The Barrens: patreon.com/thebarrens. We're dropping that episode later this month -- and it's gonna be another exploration filled with fun facts, great bits, and dino DNA.

Ka is a wheel and the Losers are once again walking through Stephen King’s The Stand as part of their event series, The Summer of the Stand. The first of three Twinner book episodes dedicated to the apocalyptic epic finds the gang revisiting Book I: "Captain Trips". Join Losers Jenn Adams, Randall Colburn, Ana Marie Cox, and Dan Pfleegor as they offer new perspectives on an old favorite. Then stay tuned for the next two episodes to drop in July and August, respectively.

In our latest book episode, formerly exclusive to the Barrens, the Losers rent some office space, grab some grub from the food trucks downstairs, and snipe through Stephen King's new novel Billy Summers. Together, they discuss the immortal currency of the written word, the timely themes of financial insecurity, and King's penchant for creating lovable characters out of recognizable archetypes. Note: This episode was recorded in August of 2021.

The Losers busk through Mike Flanagan's latest Stephen King joint: The Life of Chuck. Beware of spoilers.

Head to the Aladdin Theater with the Losers as they record a Ka-mmentary track on Stephen King's favorite adaptation of his: Stanley Kubrick's The Shining. Losers include Michael Roffman, McKenzie Gerber, Mel Kassel, and Randall Colburn. It should be noted this Ka-mmentary was recorded half a decade ago in December 2020. We're unlocking it today to celebrate 45 years of the Stanley Kubrick joint. So, keep that context in mind as you listen.

Losers Randall Colburn, Michael Roffman, and Dan Caffrey head to Hollywood King again to discuss the latest developments in King's Dominion, specifically new trailers for Welcome to Derry and The Long Walk, a depressing quote from Stephen King, Mike Flanagan's Carrie, Emilio Estevez's Maximum Overdrive sequel idea, and more.

In anticipation of our exclusive full book episode -- which arrives this week in The Barrens -- Losers Randall and Justin recorded a spoiler-free discussion. They also answer YOUR questions! Take a listen, grab the book this week, and head to patreon.com/thebarrens to hear our full, spoilerific book episode. Or, you can wait until December when we unlock it in the main feed. It's your choice.

George and Kathy Lutz moved into 112 Ocean Avenue in Amityville, New York, in December 1975, roughly one year after its previous residents were shot and killed in their sleep. They fled less than a month later, leaving behind their belongings and claiming to have been terrorized by demonic forces. This story served as the basis for Jay Anson’s 1977 book, which itself spawned nine follow-ups, more than 60 films, and countless parodies and homages. A half a century later, what’s it like to revisit the non-fiction (?) book that started it all? The Losers’ Club finds that out in the latest episode of their Danse Macabre series, in which they discuss the books and movies recommended by King in his 1981 horror treatise of the same name. Losers Jenn Adams, Randall Colburn, Ashley Casseday, and Ana Marie Cox unpack the disputations, lawsuits, and defenses that color the book’s history, as well as whether you can ever read a story as it was originally intended after its been fed through the pop cultural gristmill.

The Losers are back in The Stacks for another round for recommendations, digressions, and musings about the joys of the written word. Randall, Ashley, Sammie, and Julia begin by gabbing about some of May's new horror and genre releases and riffing on the latest news from the literary world, including Michael B. Jordan scooping up the rights to some BookTok favorites. Then we share our own recommendations, which span fiction and non, horror and sci-fi, and releases new and old. Two are about video games and one inspired 1987's Angel Heart. Pretty rad. Check out an abbreviated list of our recs below. Books: Dead Silence by S.A. Barnes Falling Angel by William Hjortsberg Girl on Girl: How Pop Culture Turned a Generation of Women Against Themselves by Sophie Gilbert The Lady from the Black Lagoon: Hollywood Monsters and the Lost Legacy of Milicent Patrick by Mallory O'Meara The Last House on Needless Street by Catriona Ward Mary: An Awakening of Terror by Nat Cassidy Noobs by CG Regan Polybius by Collin Armstrong Other recs: Andor (series) Book of Love: Book of Love (album) Dead Mail (movie) Peter and the Pulsars (band) Provoker: Mausoleum (album) Subtle Hints: Subtle Hints (album)

Here's a clip from our latest Patreon-exclusive episode that sees your Losers ranking all three Stephen King Hard Case Crime novels: The Colorado Kid, Joyland, and Later. Want to hear the full track? Become a member of The Barrens (Patreon) by visiting www.patreon.com/thebarrens. You'll unlock hundreds hours of exclusive content that includes even more episodes of The Stephen King Archives, our Dark Tower Detour series, dozens of Ka-mmentary tracks for your favorite King flicks, all of our Lobstrosities episodes clawing through those silly King sequels, in addition to spinoffs like The Soul's Midnight, Talkin' Hawkins, and CrichtonCast. Not to mention, dozens upon dozens of locked episodes and one-offs, including a 24-7 Discord community featuring Constant Listeners just like you!

Check it, there's a dead guy over there. He's talking to us. His mouth and his words don't match up entirely, but if you just listen, he's not hard to follow. Get used to it. They're everywhere. The dead. And they have a lot to say before they're gone forever. The Losers visit New York City and stop by The Manhattan Restaurant of the Mind to pick up Stephen King's third hardboiled crime novel, Later. Join Losers Randall Colburn, Michael Roffman, McKenzie Gerber, and Rachel Reeves as they discuss the new rules of the dead, the book's ties to King's Dominion, and whether or not the twist works or flops. Note: This episode was recorded in Spring of 2021.