Writer Bijan Stephen joins us to discuss David R. Bunch's short story collection Moderan. In Moderan, people replace their "soft parts" with metal and devote their lives to making war. We talk about Bunch's satire of the international order, his wildly innovative use of language, and his commitment to depicting a utopian hellscape.

Read Bijan's article on Moderan here: https://dirt.fyi/article/2022/06/the-future-is-moderan

Check out Chris Lee's fantastic travelogue: https://chrisleefrancis.com/books/eastwards-and-far/

And, as always, we would love to have you over on Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/user?u=84429384

Poet and writer Alina Stefanescu joins us to discuss her own pantheon of "tortured poets" in the wake of a pop star's adoption of the phrase.

Check out Alina's writing here: https://www.alinastefanescuwriter.com/

To hear the full episode, become a patron: https://www.patreon.com/user?u=84429384

After mentioning the book in our Mary Olivier episode, writer and librarian Nancy Pearl returns to discuss Ruth Adam's I'm Not Complaining, one of her favorite Virago Modern Classics. In this clip, Nancy talks about the novel's unique angle on the Great Depression.

To hear the complete conversation, become a patron: https://www.patreon.com/user?u=84429384