What's It About Podcast

Nick, Steve, and Lucas are joined by debutant Matt Trumpets for the classic bank heist film directed by Spike Lee

Nick and Dakota are joined by Star Wars enthusiast Lucas Myers, making his debut, for a discussion on Darth Plagueis (written by James Luceno). We can't recommend this one enough, and there's no potential conflict of interest of it just being out of the goodness of our hearts. This time, we definitely do not know the author. Or George Lucas. Just throwing that out there.This was, and it isn't even close, the best produced audiobook we have ever heard. There's theme music, tones, sound effects, accents, effects... did we say effects? It's WONDERFUL.Also, apparently WOOKIEpedia is a really good source of information, and you can see more about the author, for instance, here: https://starwars.fandom.com/wiki/James_Luceno

Nick is joined by mystery-comedy author AJ Devlin and video professional Steve Amey to watch 1974 crime drama The Yakuza. Directed by Sydney Pollack based on a story by the late, great Leonard Schrader, who happens to have been AJ's screenplay professor!Beware, there be spoilers. Watch the film though, definitely worth it.

Nick and Sarah are joined by Bruce Cinnamon to deep dive his debut novel, The Melting Queen, 2019 from NeWest Press.For more on Bruce, head over to https://www.brucecinnamon.com/Winner of The Lieutenant Governor of Alberta Arts Awards honour both emerging and distinguished artists. Shortlisted for the Sixth Annual Rakuten Kobo Emerging Writer Prize - Literary Fiction Category (winner should be announced some time in June 2020). Only Pretty Damned by Niall Howell is also on the short list... be sure to check out our episode on OPD and our interview with Niall.Every year since 1904, when the ice breaks up on the North Saskatchewan River, Edmonton has crowned a Melting Queen—a woman who presides over the Melting Day spring carnival and who must keep the city’s spirits up over the following winter. But this year, something has changed: a genderfluid ex-frat brother called River Runson is named as Melting Queen. As River's reign upends the city's century-old traditions, Edmonton tears itself in two, with progressive and reactionary factions fighting a war for Edmonton's soul. Ultimately, River must uncover the hidden history of Melting Day, forcing Edmonton to confront the dark underbelly of its traditions and leading the city into a new chapter in its history.

Nick is re-joined from down under by longtime friend and panelist of the show Steve Amey.Nick and Steve go toe to toe with British Columbian mystery comedy novelist A.J. Devlin.In Rolling Thunder (May 2020):Former pro wrestler "Hammerhead" Jed Ounstead, now a fully-fledged private investigator, is riding high after his first successful case. In this second episode, Jed leaves the wrestling realm to enter a new arena: women's flat-track roller derby. When old acquaintance Stormy Daze seeks his help finding her team's missing coach, Jed discovers that the turnbuckle-and-metal-chair mayhem of the wrestling ring pales in comparison to roller derby's four-wheeled ferocity.The first Hammerhead Jed edition, Cobra Clutch, is the 2019 Arthur Ellis award winning best first crime novel. The annual Arthur Ellis Awards by Crime Writers of Canada recognizes the best in mystery, crime, and suspense fiction and crime nonfiction by Canadian authors.For all things A.J. and how to get your mitts on his books, check out www.ajdevlin.com

Nick Alexander is joined from England by Lauren Thomas, aka running coach and running lifestyle blogger GirlRunningLate. You can find her at GirlRunningLate.comWe discuss Christopher McDougall's gonzo cult classic, Born to Run but make a solemn promise to return to his other work to find out more about Sherman the long distance running donkey.The myth of the Tarahumara, barefoot running, human evolution, and more, inside.

In the latest edition of What's It About, we have ourselves an all-Cascadia lineup. Dakota talks poetry, Nick talks birding, and special guest Daniel Cowper is happy to talk about both his collection of poems (Grotesque Tenderness, 2019) and all the birds therein.Find Daniel on Twitter @DanielCowper and buy his collection of poems at Amazon, Indigo Books, or frankly, wherever you like!

Nick is joined from the US of A by Matthew Iden, the prolific author best known for his Marty Singer detective series, of which the 7th edition is coming soon. We take a detour from the detectives of hard boiled variety, however, all the way to the South Pole. Yeah. We are talking his standalone thriller slash arguably horror novel, The Winter Over (2017).Influences? The Silence of the Lambs, Alien, Gravity, the Mars trilogy, and all the Antarctic history he could get his hands on.We dig into the behind the scenes of writing. How does Kindle Unlimited work for the author, and how does one go about picking a voice actor for your audiobook?Speaking of voice actors, should they, you know, act, or should they just read the words?Look for Matthew at the D.C. Virtual Noir at the Bar this Friday and find all of his books at www.matthew-iden.com

Amy Stuart drops in from Toronto, virtually of course, to present her taut trilogy of thrillers, the Still Series. The series begins with Still Mine and is followed by Still Water. The third and final installment, Still Here, is coming to a shelf near you this summer. Are you still with me?Avoiding spoilers, we dish on Still Mine and get to know Amy herself.Amy is the founder of Writerscape, which helps hopeful writers with thought-provoking prompts and finding time to be creative. In this chaotic time, I think we all need all the help we can get!Find out everything about Amy at her website, AmyStuart.ca, or, you know, just listen to the episode.

Nick and Dakota are joined by Niall Howell, the author himself of Only Pretty Damned. We serve as many questions at him as we can on noir, his characters, and his writing habits, and Niall deftly returns every inquiry and more. You won't want to miss this, or his brilliant debut novel.

Join Nick, Dakota, and Sarah as we head to the circus in Only Pretty Damned by Niall Howell. In following a murderous clown, we discuss research in fiction, taking pride in one's work, and the shadier side of an unreliable narrator.

Nick, Dakota, and Sean break into one of the most highly critically-acclaimed novels of the past year, Ben Lerner’s The Topeka School. Join us as the panelists debate genre, white male rage, and even debate itself in the return of the podcast.

Nick, Dakota, and Steve dive into the Gothic horror classic, The Haunting of Hill House by Shirley Jackson. Perhaps unusually, the panel is unanimous in their appreciation for the selected work. Tune in, and let us know what you thought!

Join host Nick Alexander alongside Drew MacQuarrie, Patrick Greene and resident antipodean Steve Amey for a deep dive into The Beach, Alex Garland’s Gen X homage to William Golding. This is Garland’s first and most successful novel which takes us to a shuttered secret society torn apart by the fear of discovery and the inescapability of death (and food poisoning)! We hope you enjoy both the book and the lively discussion.

Join Nick, Dakota, Sean, and newcomer Drew as they break down a week in the life of six-time Stanley Cup-winning goaltender, Ken Dryden, in his 1983 memoir, The Game. We tackle imposter syndrome, fame, sneaking beer onto innumerable bus rides, humility, and the importance of playing outside - kids these days!

Join us this week on the third installment of What’s It About? podcast as we discuss Left by Theanna Bischoff (2018). Nick, Dakota, and Sean try desperately to avoid spoilers while untangling a complex social web centered around Natasha Bell's sudden disappearance. We cover the ripples of trauma, differing family structures, and a particularly scathing email.

On this episode of What’s It About? we cover Philip K. Dick’s 1968 novel, Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep? Join us as we explore the world that is the basis for the film Blade Runner. Try to keep up as we question reality, what it means to be human (it all depends on what your definition of is is), goat murder, and the very serious importance of routine coffee intake.

Nick Alexander is joined by Dakota Clement and Sean Keenan for a not overly serious discussion of White Fang (mostly) and Call of the Wild (some), two companion novels by Jack London that take place in the Klondike gold rush time (1890s, 1900s) in Yukon Territory and Alaska. We talk about oyster piracy (really), the wild, domesticated animals, dog fighting, and much more! Tune in and please rate/review/subscribe.