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Peculiar Book Club Podcast episodes
- We'll give you something to Chew On with Bill Schutt and Bite: A Natural History of Teeth
If you follow the Peculiar Book Club Facebook group, you’ll know Bill Schutt is EXACTLY our kind of weird. He’s a vertebrate zoologist and author of six nonfiction and fiction books, including Pump, Cannibalism, and Dark Banquet! Recently retired from his post as professor of biology, Bill’s now a research associate at the American Museum of Natural History. He knows ever so much about bats (our favorite night wings) and in this latest book, an “incisive” history of teeth (from hagfish to humans), he delivers a mouthful. Come on, you KNOW there will be puns in a book about teeth. Did you know crocodiles regrow theirs? Sharks, too. (And we can hope he’ll throw in some facts about the Promachoteuthis Sulcus Squid, which looks like some combo of starfish and opera singer.) Join us for a fascinating lesson in denticulation! And sink your tusks into a good book.
Episode was recorded live December 12, 2024.
Website: https://brandyschillace.com/peculiar/
Newsletter: http://eepurl.com/ixJJ2Y
Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/PeculiarBookClub/membership
Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@PeculiarBookClub/streams
Twitter: @peculiarBC
1 hr 3 min - We'll dance around the issues with Black Swan (Peculiar Movie Club)
Welcome to the Peculiar Movie Club, a bonus podcast linked to our main show the Peculiar Book Club through common themes in media. This week, in honor of the book Hurts So Good, we are doing the 2010 psychological thriller Black Swan.
Join Davey Berris and Darren Cross as they take a deep dive into the world of ballet and pain. We'll discuss the themes of perfectionism, the effects on mental health from that competitive environment, and what was the most painful moment.
Website: https://brandyschillace.com/peculiar/
Newsletter: http://eepurl.com/ixJJ2Y
Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/PeculiarBookClub/membership
Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@PeculiarBookClub/streams
Twitter: @peculiarBC
Facebook: facebook.com/groups/peculiarbooksclub
Instagram: @thepeculiarbookclub
1 hr 3 min - We're bringing the Pain with Leigh Cowart (and Rachel Feltman) and Hurt So Good
Can pain… be pleasure? I was never one to experience a runner’s high, or to enjoy ‘feeling the burn’ after a workout. But are there ways—or times—when pain provides something extra, or even extraordinary? Leigh Cowart sets out to ask and to answer this very question. Sure, we might first think of masochism as something to do with sex—but it gets out of the bedroom plenty. Cowart talks about Black Plague flagellants, ballerinas dancing on broken bones, ice bathers, and competitive eaters choking down hot peppers while they cry. Why do people engage in masochism? What are the benefits and the costs? And what does masochism have to say about the human experience? Cowart gives us a fascinating, at times hilarious, exposition on something they (a science writer) chooses to experiment with as well. We follow Leigh on surprising journeys into the pain/pleasure matrix as they unravel how our minds and bodies find meaning and relief in pain. Call it a quirk in the programming. Call it sexy. Call it natural. Pain for pleasure certainly provides food for thought—and some awesome cocktail ideas, too, for that matter. And that’s not all! Also joining us will be alum Rachel Feltman, as part of our Author’s Hosting Authors events! You won’t want to miss these two as they talk about the intimate details of our pain/pleasure sensory system.
Episode was recorded live November 14, 2024.
Website: https://brandyschillace.com/peculiar/
Newsletter: http://eepurl.com/ixJJ2Y
Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/PeculiarBookClub/membership
Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@PeculiarBookClub/streams
Twitter: @peculiarBC
1 hr 8 min - We're on the case with An Inspector Calls (Peculiar Movie Club)
Welcome to the Peculiar Movie Club, a bonus podcast linked to our main show the Peculiar Book Club through common themes in media. This week, in honor of The Framed Women of Ardemore House, we are doing the 2015 BBC One made-for-tv adaptation of An Inspector Calls.
Join Davey Berris and Darren Cross as they take a deep dive into this British Thriller. We'll discuss the themes of Capitalism vs. Socialism, the ominous warning of the story, and all the twists and turns along the way.
Website: https://brandyschillace.com/peculiar/
Newsletter: http://eepurl.com/ixJJ2Y
Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/PeculiarBookClub/membership
Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@PeculiarBookClub/streams
Twitter: @peculiarBC
Facebook: facebook.com/groups/peculiarbooksclub
Instagram: @thepeculiarbookclub
57 min - You're going to need a drink to watch Grabbers (Peculiar Movie Club)
Welcome to the Peculiar Movie Club, a bonus podcast linked to our main show the Peculiar Book Club through common themes in media. This week, for some Halloween fun, we are discussing the Irish Horror Comedy film Grabbers.
Join Davey Berris as he takes a deep dive into this fun monster movie. There aren't many deep themes in this movie but we will talk about did it hit the comedy and horror marks, the fun bits in the movie, and connections to some legendary horror/action movies.
Website: https://brandyschillace.com/peculiar/
Newsletter: http://eepurl.com/ixJJ2Y
Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/PeculiarBookClub/membership
Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@PeculiarBookClub/streams
Twitter: @peculiarBC
Facebook: facebook.com/groups/peculiarbooksclub
Instagram: @thepeculiarbookclub
40 min - You are all Suspects with Brandy Schillace and The Framed Women of Ardemore House
An abandoned English manor. A peculiar missing portrait. A cozy, deviously clever muder mystery, perfect for fans of Richard Osman and Anthony Horwitz.
Jo Jones has always had a little trouble fitting in. As a neurodivergent, hyperlexic book editor and divorced New Yorker transplanted into the English countryside, Jo doesn’t know what stands out more: her Americanisms or her autism. After losing her job, her mother, and her marriage all in one year, she couldn’t be happier to take possession of a possibly haunted (and clearly unwanted) family estate in North Yorkshire. But when the body of the moody town groundskeeper turns up on her rug with three bullets in his back, Jo finds herself in potential danger—and she’s also a potential suspect. At the same time, a peculiar family portrait vanishes from a secret room in the manor, bearing a strange connection to both the dead body and Jo’s mysterious family history. With the aid of a Welsh antiques dealer, the morose local detective, and the Irish innkeeper’s wife, Jo embarks on a mission to clear herself of blame and find the missing painting, unearthing a slew of secrets about the town—and herself—along the way. And she’ll have to do it all before the killer strikes again…Episode was recorded live October 24, 2024.
Website: https://brandyschillace.com/peculiar/
Newsletter: http://eepurl.com/ixJJ2Y
Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/PeculiarBookClub/membership
Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@PeculiarBookClub/streams
Twitter: @peculiarBC
1 hr 11 min - You're going to be Obsessed with Maria Dong and Liar, Dreamer, Thief
Katrina Kim may be broke, the black sheep of her family, and slightly unhinged, but she isn’t a stalker. Her obsession with her co-worker, Kurt, is just one of many coping mechanisms—like her constant shape and number rituals, or the way scenes from her favorite children’s book bleed into her vision whenever she feels anxious or stressed. But when Katrina finds a cryptic message from Kurt that implies he’s aware of her surveillance, her tenuous hold on a normal life crumbles. Driven by compulsion, she enacts the most powerful ritual she has to reclaim control—a midnight visit to the Cayatoga Bridge—and arrives just in time to witness Kurt’s suicide. Before he jumps, he slams her with a devastating accusation: his death is all her fault. Horrified, Katrina combs through the clues she’s collected about Kurt over the last three years, but each revelation uncovers a menacing truth: for every moment she was watching him, he was watching her. And the past she thought she’d left behind? It’s been following her more closely than she ever could have imagined. Don’t miss this gripping thriller of a novel that explores the tenuous nature of our mental health—and might just cause us to question our own seeming realities. Live chat with author Maria Dong on Oct 10th—the perfect book for starting off the spooky season!
Episode was recorded live October 10, 2024.
Website: https://brandyschillace.com/peculiar/
Newsletter: http://eepurl.com/ixJJ2Y
Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/PeculiarBookClub/membership
Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@PeculiarBookClub/streams
Twitter: @peculiarBC
1 hr 3 min - You're wondering what we have to say about Professor Marston and the Wonder Women (Peculiar Movie Club)
Welcome to the Peculiar Movie Club, a bonus podcast linked to our main show the Peculiar Book Club through common themes in media. This week, in honor of the book Tremors in the Blood, we are discussing a movie about the invention of the lie detector with Professor Marston and the Wonder Women
.Join Davey Berris and Darren Cross as we take a deep dive into this sexy origin story of the lie detector and Wonder Woman. We'll discuss themes such as Dominance and Submission, Polyamorous relationships, and was Luke Evans just to handsome to play this role.
Website: https://brandyschillace.com/peculiar/
Newsletter: http://eepurl.com/ixJJ2Y
Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/PeculiarBookClub/membership
Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@PeculiarBookClub/streams
Twitter: @peculiarBC
Facebook: facebook.com/groups/peculiarbooksclub
Instagram: @thepeculiarbookclub
1 hr 11 min - One thing will lead to another with Lucy Santos and Chain Reactions
Tracing uranium’s past, and how it intersects with our understanding of other radioactive elements, this book aims to disentangle our attitudes and to unpick the atomic mindset. Chain Reactions looks at the fascinating, often-forgotten, stories that can be found throughout the history of the element. Ranging from glassworks to penny stocks; medicines to weapons; something to be feared to a powerful source of energy. This global history explores the scientific history of the element, but also shines a light on its cultural and social impact.
By understanding our nuclear past, we can move beyond the ideological opposition to technologies and encourage a more nuanced dialogue about whether it is feasible – and desirable – to have a genuinely nuclear-powered future.Lucy Jane Santos’s upcoming book Chain Reactions: A Hopeful History of Uranium will no doubt be a “glowing” success! Lucy looks beyond the familiar narratives to explore an alternative history of uranium in a lively, accessible way. Her previous work includes Half Lives: The Unlikely History of Radium.Episode was recorded live September 26, 2024.
Website: https://brandyschillace.com/peculiar/
Newsletter: http://eepurl.com/ixJJ2Y
Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/PeculiarBookClub/membership
Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@PeculiarBookClub/streams
Twitter: @peculiarBC
1 hr 6 min - Amit Katwala (Tremors in the Blood) and Patti McCracken (Angel Makers) plus Deborah Blum
You asked and we delivered! Pulitzer-prize winning science journalist Deborah Blum—author of The Poisoner’s Handbook—returns to PBC! This time, she comes to us as HOST! Two additional authors will be joining us, picked by Deborah herself: Amit Katwala as author of TREMORS IN THE BLOOD and Patti McCracken for ANGEL MAKERS. Where did lie detectors come from? Are they really accurate? The history isn’t just fascinating, it’s evocative—and bears an interesting connection to artificial intelligence. Everyone wants a machine that tells the truth. But chillingly, it turns out that machines can lie, too. Our next thrilling true-crime narrative takes us to a small town in Hungary. McCracken follows a trail of white powder—the colorless, odorless, deadly poison arsenic. Distributed by a wily midwife to women who needed a ‘cure’ for abusive spouses, the little vials emptied and the grave yards started filling up. What caused a group of housewives to become a murder ring? Who were these “angel-makers” and how did their crimes (at least 160 dead) go so long undiscovered?
Episode was recorded live September 12, 2024.
Website: https://brandyschillace.com/peculiar/
Newsletter: http://eepurl.com/ixJJ2Y
Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/PeculiarBookClub/membership
Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@PeculiarBookClub/streams
Twitter: @peculiarBC
1 hr 5 min
About Peculiar Book Club Podcast
From the publisher's feed
Weird Science, Bizarre History, & Strange Medicine: we host authors of PECULIAR nonfiction! Want to know why animals evolved to suck blood? Or the secrets of sword-swallowers? Curious about Vagina…
Obscura? Or the astrophysics of a dying universe? We've 3 shows to tempt you: the PBC podcast (from Mary Roach to Ed Yong), Peculiar at the Movies with Davey Berris (where factoids meet celluloid); and Peculiar in Mystery (thrillers + true crime!) Join host Brandy Schillace, as seen on THE UNBELIEVABLE with Dan Aykroyd, for oddities, oddballs, and the unexpected! If you're weird, you're family!