Let's Talk About Text with Scott Okamoto, Blake Chastain & Friends

This got posted to YouTube last week but not in this feed! My (Blake's) bad!

Chaz & Chrissy, the hosts of the podcast James Dobson's Bastard Kids (neé the Excommunication Station) join the show! We go long, in more ways than one, on regional food talk and books.

Check out James Dobson's Bastard Kids wherever you listen to podcasts: https://open.spotify.com/show/5WYfTqA...

00:00 Introduction and Welcome

This week, Scott & Blake are joined by Azeem Khan & Nazia Islam, both of whom are librarians--and that's just the start of how cool they are. Azeem vouches for Chicago's culinary scene on Devon Ave and helps Blake earn a W in the fake-regional-food-beef-that-maybe-won't-always-be-so-fake. (Look, Blake is writing this and lives in the Chicago area and it's under siege by the federal government b/c Trump has been big mad for a decade that this city rejected him after he launched his political career here from his eyesore of a skyscraper that people flip off with regularity. Give me this.)

Book picks (purchase them at bookshop.org to support us!):

Scott: The Mother Tongue by Bill Bryson

Nazia: James Baldwin in Turkey by Sedat Pekay and James Baldwin's Turkish Decade: Erotics of Exicle by Magdalena J. Zaborowska

Azeem: Piranesi by Susannah Clarke; The Home Recording Handbook by Martin Newell; Weathercraft by Jim Woodring

Blake: Things Become Other Things: A Walking Memoir by Craig Mod

Check out Nazia's podcast, Embracing Mystery!

Check out Azeem's music at Bandcamp: Whalesound

In this episode, we're joined by David Morris and Mick Silva from the podcast, Publishing Disrupted!

(These show notes will be updated with book links later.)

00:00 Welcome Back!

00:53 Discussing Regional Cuisines

01:23 Introducing Our Guests

02:06 Insights on the Publishing Industry

09:51 The State of Reading Today

13:29 Amazon Book Categories

20:41 Books We're Reading

32:18 The Mystery of a Bestselling Book

32:54 Evangelicalism and Capitalism

33:32 Hope and Skepticism

33:53 Comedic Takes on Religion

34:27 Current Reading List

35:31 Exploring American Religious History

38:09 The Roots of American Individualism

45:35 Midwestern Identity and Tradition

48:59 Photography and Media Critique

54:28 The Impact of Big Tech

01:01:43 The Importance of Reading

01:03:08 Publishing Industry Insights

In this episode, Scott & Blake chat (no guests joined the table today) about K-Pop, sandworms, and of course, books.

Books discussed:

All books can be purchased from our bookshop page here.

And of course you can find our books here.

Have a question, comment, or want to come on the show? Send us a message at [email protected]

In this episode, Scott & Blake sit down with Ashley Newell and Emily Autenrieth. In the first section, Ashley shares about her love of the romance genre and the books she’s been reading. Afterwards Emily shares about her experiences as owner of A Seat at the Table Books in Elk Grove, CA, including what it means for bookstores to be part of communities and how she runs book events. Also, Blake mixes up Jefferson Airplane and Fleetwood Mac and embarrasses himself.

You can support A Seat at the Table books via their bookshop.org page if you’re not in the area!

Books discussed:

Left of Forever by Sarah Dewitt (Ashley)

Triple Sec by TJ Alexander (Ashley)

The Priory of the Orange Tree by Samantha Shannon (Emily)

Among the Burning Flowers by Samantha Shannon (Emily)

Lessons in Magic and Disaster by Charlie Jane Anders (Emily)

Unbound: A Woman’s Guide to Power by Kasia Urbaniak (Emily)

Inventing the Renaissance: The Myth of a Golden Age by Ada Palmer

Somebody to Love? A Rock-and-Roll Memoir by Grace Slick

This episode is just Scott & Blake. They talk about Blake's travels, jazz, and books. It's laid back. Come hang out.

In this episode, Blake is out and Scott Okamoto is joined by Marla Taviano to discuss books, reading, baseball, and more!

Scott's book: The Women of Brewster Place by Gloria Naylor

Marla's book: Novelist as a Vocation by Haruki Murakami

Find all previous picks - and support our show - by buying from our bookshop.org page!

00:00 Introduction to Let's Talk About Text

We're back from a short break and a day late due to some travel snafus!

In this episode, Scott & Blake talk to Dave Lester and Zach Malm from the excellent podcast, Veterans of Culture Wars!

We talk about Hemingway, tiki culture, memoirs, and the greatest five-part trilogy in the sci-fi canon.

As always you can find the links to the books discussed on our bookshop.org page here.

Follow Zach and Dave on Bluesky.

Buy Scott & Blake's books!

In this episode, guests Priska & Avalon join Blake & Scott to talk about the death & dying & grief genre of memoirs and romantasy. The conversation was so lively that we didn’t even get around to talking about 4 books!

You can find the books discussed here on our bookshop page: https://bookshop.org/lists/episode-7-picks

Check out Priska & Scott’s podcast, Horny Chapel: https://dauntless.fm/podcast/the-horny-chapel

On this episode, Scott & Blake are joined by their better halves - our spouses! This is the first time Geri (Scott's spouse), and Emily (Blake's spouse) have ever been on a podcast, and we had a lot of fun.

Books discussed - which can be found on our bookshop.org page here:

For our closing question, we asked if gifting books to one another has ever factored into our relationships.

Thanks for listening! Video versions to YouTube are a little delayed. Let us know what you think of the show by dropping us a line at [email protected] and by rating & reviewing the show.