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© 2025 Zombie Book Club
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Welcome to Zombie Book Club! We're a Podcast that's also a book club! We talk about Zombie / Apocalyptic horror novels, TV and movies.
119 Episodes
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The plan for this episode was simple: fire zombies, protest frogs, and a life update. What we got was a quiet living room, two handheld mics, and the kind of day that makes everything else feel small. Our old boy Nero, a once-feral, endlessly loving dog who shaped our routines and taught us patience, took a sharp turn. We walked into the ER carrying an 80lb dog like a duffle bag and left with a simple truth: sometimes love is mercy, and mercy means letting go. If this resonates, tell us abou...
Can a film adaptation ever capture the quiet ache of its source? In this crossover with Wicked Words Book Club, we dissect Isaac Marion’s Warm Bodies and its sleek, sanitized movie version, tracing the emotional, ideological, and tonal shifts that split page and screen. We celebrate the bits that land, like visual metaphors of zombified liminality and clever sight gags, and lament the simplifications that undercut weight: interchangeable bonies, narrative shortcuts, and a romance that skips i...
Join us for a smart, irreverent dive into Aquarium of the Dead with marine biologist and festival fanatic Jacob Quijas. We map undead tropes onto real marine science—waves, buoyancy, detritivores, keystone species—and even speculate: can the ocean digest zombies faster than we expect and would their bones become coral? Then we dive in to the movie: shark mix-ups, roaring octopi, and what Aquarium of the Dead gets hilariously wrong about marine life and systems. Along the way, Jacob’s wisdom a...
When a zombie named 'R' rescues a living girl instead of devouring her, everything shifts. Told through R’s reflective, darkly witty inner monologue, Warm Bodies challenges our assumptions of life, death, and what it means to feel. As R consumes Perry’s brain and begins to access memories, he forges a strange intimacy with Perry’s consciousness—raising the question: whose identity is really influencing R’s journey? In this crossover episode, we join Sara and Greg from Wicked Words Bookclub Po...
This episode digs into how the Trump Administration has rolled back decades of clean energy progress—through sweeping executive orders, budget cuts, and cancelled programs—and how those moves are hitting communities of color, the poor, and Indigenous Nations the hardest. Leah shares her own loss of work in environmental justice, and we break down what that means in real terms: higher energy bills, fewer clean-energy jobs, loss of protections, and more pollution in the places that already bear...
Jason Strutz joins us on Zombie Book Club Ep 113 to talk about Returned, his medieval horror graphic novel where the undead aren’t just monsters — they’re souls trapped in bodies that have turned violent, forced to watch as loved ones try to bring them back. When warrior Vale dies and becomes one such undead, her partner Hal and their son Ragno must navigate the horror, the betrayal, and the slim chance of redemption. We dive into how Jason’s own life — from caring for a parent with frontotem...
In this episode, we bring you face-to-face with acclaimed author Alice B. Sullivan, as we crack open The Collapse: Book 0 in her Aftermath series. Alice takes us behind the scenes of how a character backstory written in just three whirlwind weeks during the pandemic became a full-blown prequel, introducing young Sadie and her fearless Yorkshire Terrier, Trooper. Prepare to reframe your assumptions about apocalypse pets—Alice argues small dogs are more than liabilities, they’re surprising surv...
Join us as we dive into “The Dead‑Weight Resistance” with returning guest Jo Salazar, author of The Dead Weight and its thrilling sequel. We explore Quinn’s journey in post-apocalyptic St. Louis—her fight for healthcare, her emotional trauma, and the chance to redefine herself when no one knows her past. Jo shares how stepping away from social work into full-time writing has changed her life, and what drew her to themes of identity and moral complexity in the zombie genre. This episode is pac...
The tension was palpable as we welcomed comic creators Laurie Calcaterra and Brandon Starocci to the Summerween Slamdown - a bare-knuckle brawl between frenemies that would determine the fate of Laurie's zombie crown and Brandon's prized mustache. What began as online beef culminated in this explosive showdown, judged by none other than 2024 Zombie-ween king and horror author Sylvester Barzey. Contact & Social Links for Guests & Related Authors Elevator Pitch R. Cuthbertson: @rcut...
In this provocative and poignant episode, we sit down with author KQ Watson to explore her short story Wheelchair Seating for the Apocalypse. Far from your average survival tale, this narrative focuses on a wheelchair user who chooses to opt out of enduring a zombie-infested world—prompting a powerful and compassionate exploration of autonomy, dignity, and the underrepresented voices in apocalyptic fiction. We dive into the ethics of medical aid in dying, ableist tropes in horror, and what it...
In this special “get to know us” episode, Dan and Leah pull back the curtain on the Zombie Book Club. From meeting on ICQ in the internet’s dark ages to building a zombie-obsessed home in Vermont, they share their origin story, their love for all things undead, and why they use the apocalypse as a lens to talk about capitalism, climate collapse, and representation. You’ll hear about Dan’s zombie novel-in-progress, Leah’s creepy-cool zombie crowns, and the barking dogs that would absolutely bl...
When Rod becomes the only sentient zombie in a world overrun with mindless undead, he adopts a squirrel sidekick (Grim), starts naming zombies, and invents a lifestyle fueled by mealworms. Things shift dramatically when he meets Bethany—a gritty survivor who doesn’t immediately try to destroy him. Together, they explore what it even means to be alive: grief, identity, free will, and the deep loneliness of being neither fully dead nor truly living. Join us this week as we chat with author Ka...
Death is broken—and in Path of the Pale Rider’s horrifying new issue #7, Laurie Calcaterra pushes the apocalypse boundary even further. From prophetic themes to theatrical horror, this is storytelling at its most disturbing and relevant. Join us for an immersive chat with Laurie—creator, visionary, and hot sauce witch—as she breaks down the creative grind behind Issue 7 and teases collectible surprises like Sad Pancake figurines, “Reaper’s Regret” hot sauce, and scratch‑and‑sniff covers. Whet...
Brave the wasteland pantry with us as twelve zombie‑fiction creatives—competing under our B.I.T.E. rubric—turn shelf‑stable staples like peanut butter pretzels, Belgian beer, macaroni, donuts, and yes, human flesh into horrifyingly inventive three‑course feasts. From “cheese‑dusted long pork with peach hummus” to “scrotum balls in blood sauce,” this tongue‑in‑cheek culinary horror explores how desperation, and sheer imagination collide when civilization—and good taste—falls apart. Warning: yo...
Courtney Konstantin, author of the Sundown series and Babysitter of the Apocalypse, joins Dan and Leah to unpack the human drama behind her zombie narratives. From flawed heroes and makeshift families to cult leaders exploiting the end of the world, Courtney shares how she builds rich characters and real-world villains that outshine the undead. Expect candid chatter about taking care of toddlers when the world’s ending, the unconventional charm of crowbars, and whether Vicky—an emotionally sc...
In 2025, The Fourth of July hits different. In this episode, we host a funeral for America—mourning the death of democratic norms, health care access, and legal protections, while challenging the myths we’ve been fed about exceptionalism. With recent Supreme Court rulings dismantling nationwide injunctions, millions losing healthcare, and fundamental freedoms under attack, we confront the uncomfortable fact that the America we were promised may never have existed—and that the one we have migh...
In this spoiler‑free showdown, we pit the animals‑gone‑zombie campiness of Zoombies 2 against the thought‑provoking, visually audacious 28 Years Later. We break down ten key categories—cinematography, effects, innovation, cultural impact—and ask the really tough questions... From heartfelt shout‑outs to our ZomBesties, Ollie and Megan, to surprising production notes—like “big swinging dicks”—we keep it irreverent yet insightful. Think olive vs. grape: not what you expected, but worth sa...
Join us for an unforgettable celebration of George A. Romero’s zombie legacy. In this episode, we take you behind the scenes of Living Dead Weekend—from Leah's gruesome “Dr. Logan” crown to organizing a packed Zombie Book Club author crawl with 263 entries. We talk survival strategies, meet filmmakers, FX masters, and authors, and uncover the urgent community fight against Walmart’s takeover of this beloved horror landmark. Amid flood warnings and tornado alerts, we delve into real conversati...
A hundred episodes in, and the zombie apocalypse still hasn't happened—though sometimes it feels like we're getting close. What began as two people talking about zombies in a basement has evolved into something much more meaningful: a community of creators, readers, and enthusiasts who've found their people through a shared love of the undead. For our centennial celebration, we turned the microphone over to you—our ZomBestie community. From unexpected celebrity congratulations (hello, Chandl...
In this episode of Zombie Book Club, Dan and Leah delve into George A. Romero's 1985 masterpiece, Day of the Dead. Set in an underground bunker, the film explores the psychological unraveling of a group of scientists and soldiers amidst a zombie apocalypse. Central to the narrative is Dr. Sarah Bowman, who navigates a world rife with misogyny and military aggression, and Bub, a zombie exhibiting signs of intelligence and emotion, challenging the very definition of humanity. The discussion als...
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