The Functional Nerds Podcast

The Functional Nerds Podcast episodes:

• 04.23.2024

  Episode 622-With Tim Akers

  This week, Patrick and Tracy welcome Tim Akers, author of The Eccentrics. About The Eccentrics: Led by the eighth incarnation of Nikola Tesla, the Society of Eccentric Geniuses protects the Mundane world from the horrors of the Gestalt, a timeline of...

  
• 04.09.2024

  Episode 621-With Charlie Huston

  This week, Patrick and Tracy welcome Charlie Huston, author of CATCHPENNY. About CATCHPENNY: Sidney Catchpenny has had a bad run. Laid low by a years-long bout of debilitating depression, he’s all but squandered his reputation as one of the most uniquely...

  
• 04.02.2024

  Episode 620-With Madeleine Roux

  This week, Patrick and Tracy welcome Madeleine Roux, author of What If…Loki Was Worthy?. About What If…Loki Was Worthy?: Thor—Son of Odin, God of Thunder, Wielder of Mjolnir—is dead. And Loki is responsible. It was meant to be only a joke—tampering with...

  
• 03.26.2024

  Episode 619-With Chris Radcliff

  This week, Patrick and Tracy welcome Chris Radcliff, who backed the Uncanny Magazine Year 10: A Decade of Delightful Defiance Kickstarter at the THIRD NERD level! About Chris Radcliff: Software engineer, space nerd, citizen scientist, geek dad, weird kid, and Uncanny Magazine...

  
• 03.19.2024

  Episode 618-Just Us and Brandon Sanderson’s Audible Announcement

  This week, Patrick and Tracy are chatting about a Publisher’s Weekly article on Brandon Sanderson’s Audible announcement. This leads us down the path of talking royalty splits, agents and the publishing ecosystem, as well as the difference between a guild...

  
• 03.12.2024

  Episode 617-With James Goodhand

  This week, Patrick and Tracy welcome James Goodhand, author of The Day Tripper. About The Day Tripper: The right guy, the right place, the wrong time. It’s 1995, and Alex Dean has it all: a spot at Cambridge University next year, the...

  
• 03.05.2024

  Episode 616-Moses Ose Utomi

  This week, Patrick and Tracy welcome Moses Ose Utomi, author of The Truth of the Aleke. About The Truth of the Aleke: The Aleke is cruel. The Aleke is clever. The Aleke is coming. 500 years after the events of The Lies...

  
• 02.27.2024

  Episode 615-With James Enge

  This week, Patrick and Tracy welcome James Enge, author of EVIL HONEY, a new Morlock Ambrosius short story. About Old Moon Quarterly: Issue 3, Winter 2023: Old Moon Quarterly is a small, independent online magazine devoted to publishing weird sword-and-sorcery fiction...

  
• 02.20.2024

  Episode 614-With T.R. Napper

  This week, Patrick and Tracy welcome T.R. Napper, author of Aliens: Bishop. About Aliens: Bishop: The USCSS Patna has been found. Although the synthetic Bishop asked to be shut down forever, his creator has other plans. Michael Bishop seeks the Xenomorph knowledge...

  
• 02.13.2024

  Episode 613-With Amanda Jayatissa

  This week, Patrick and Tracy welcome Amanda Jayatissa, author of ISLAND WITCH. About ISLAND WITCH: Set in 19th century Sri Lanka and inspired by local folklore, the daughter of a traditional demon-priest—relentlessly bullied by peers and accused of witchcraft herself—tries to...

  
• 02.06.2024

  Episode 612-With Ray Nayler

  This week, Patrick and Tracy welcome Ray Nayler, author of The Tusks of Extinction. About The Tusks of Extinction: Moscow has resurrected the mammoth. But someone must teach them how to be mammoths, or they are doomed to die out again. Dr....

  
• 01.30.2024

  Episode 611-With Wole Talabi

  This week, Patrick and Tracy welcome Wole Talabi, author of Convergence Problems. About Convergence Problems: From the Hugo, Nebula, Locus and Nommo award nominated author of Shigidi and The Brass Head Of Obalufon comes a stunning new collection of stories that...

  
• 01.16.2024

  Episode 610-With Shannon Lawrence

  This week, Patrick and Tracy welcome Shannon Lawrence, author of Myth Stalker: Wendigo Nights. About Myth Stalker: Wendigo Nights: When Selina Moonstone, a Myth Stalker, gets a late night call from her mentor about a Wendigo problem, she arms up and...

  
• 01.09.2024

  Episode 609-With J.T. Evans

  This week, Patrick and Tracy ring in the new year by chatting with J.T. Evans, author of HIVE DREAMS. About HIVE DREAMS: Aell the bladesinger is a former gladiatorial slave. Stiles the lockwhisperer is a streetwise cat burglar. Trying their best to get...

  
• 12.26.2023

  Episode 608-With GennaRose Nethercott

  This week, Patrick and Tracy welcome GennaRose Nethercott, author of Fifty Beasts to Break Your Heart (and other stories). About Fifty Beasts to Break Your Heart (and other stories): The stories in Fifty Beasts to Break Your Heart are about the...

  
• 12.19.2023

  Episode 607-With Mur Lafferty

  This week, Patrick and Tracy welcome Mur Lafferty, author of CHAOS TERMINAL. About CHAOS TERMINAL: Mallory Viridian would rather not be an amateur detective, thank you very much. But no matter what she does, people persist in dying around her—and only...

  
• 12.12.2023

  Episode 606-Just Us and the Holiday Gift List

  This week, Patrick and Tracy are sharing a list of holiday gifts the nerd – functional or otherwise – in your life might enjoy! And some they might not… The Great Holiday Gift List (2023 Edition): * Tracy: Otamatone (Evil Santa gift) *...

  
• 12.05.2023

  Episode 605-With Michael Sims

  This week, Patrick and Tracy welcome Michael Sims, editor of The Penguin Book of Murder Mysteries. About The Penguin Book of Murder Mysteries: For The Penguin Book of Murder Mysteries, writer and anthologist Michael Sims did not summon the usual suspects....

  
• 11.28.2023

  Episode 604-With Alex Bledsoe

  This week, Patrick and Tracy welcome Alex Bledsoe, author of Give the People What They Want and Other Stories of Sharp Wit, Cunning Women, and Wild Magic. About Give the People What They Want and Other Stories of Sharp Wit, Cunning...

  
• 11.21.2023

  Episode 603-With Kevin Hearne

  This week, Patrick and Tracy welcome Kevin Hearne, author of A CURSE OF KRAKENS. About A CURSE OF KRAKENS: Seeker and Sower Pen Yas ben Min’s cousin was one of the legendary heroes of the wars against the giants until her untimely...

  
• 11.07.2023

  Episode 602-With Stephen Aryan

  This week, Patrick and Tracy welcome Stephen Aryan, author of THE JUDAS BLOSSOM. About THE JUDAS BLOSSOM: 1260, Persia: Due to the efforts of the great Genghis Khan, the Mongol Empire covers a vast portion of the known world. In the shadow...

  
• 10.31.2023

  Episode 601-With Alice Bell

  This week, Patrick and Tracy welcome Alice Bell, author of GRAVE EXPECTATIONS. About GRAVE EXPECTATIONS: Almost-authentic medium Claire and her best friend, Sophie, agree to take on a seemingly simple job at a crumbling old manor in the English countryside: performing...

  
• 10.24.2023

  Episode 600-With Max Bennett

  This week, Patrick and Tracy welcome Max Bennett, author of A Brief History of Intelligence: Evolution, AI, and the Five Breakthroughs That Made Our Brains. About A Brief History of Intelligence: Evolution, AI, and the Five Breakthroughs That Made Our Brains:...

  
• 10.17.2023

  Episode 599-Just Us and Elastic Principles

  This week, Patrick and Tracy are talking about many things, including but not limited to: the rise of AI, students believing AI helps them, protecting creators, elastic principles, the excuses we make to support the bad thing that makes our...

  
• 10.10.2023

  Episode 598-With Dan Moren

  This week, Patrick and Tracy welcome Dan Moren, author of ALL SOULS LOST. About ALL SOULS LOST: After two years trying to run away from his past, Mike Lucifer’s back in his office less than ten minutes when a persistent young...

  
• 09.26.2023

  Episode 597-Just Us and The Connective Tissue Between TV, Movies and Books

  On a very special Just Us episode, we’re talking about all sorts of things, including Catholic guilt, Santiago’s breakfast burritos, television, Star Wars, video games, Ahsoka, teenagers and wet towels, the care and maintenance of still gestating microhumans, old school...

  
• 09.19.2023

  Episode 596-With Howard Andrew Jones

  This week, Patrick and Tracy welcome Howard Andrew Jones, author of Lord of a Shattered Land. About Lord of a Shattered Land: The Dervan Empire has at last triumphed over Volanus, putting the great city to the torch, its treasures looted,...

  
• 09.05.2023

  Episode 595-With Jacqueline Carey

  This week, Patrick and Tracy welcome Jacqueline Carey, author of CASSIEL’S SERVANT. About CASSIEL’S SERVANT: Cassiel’s Servant is a retelling of cult favorite Kushiel’s Dart from the point of view of Joscelin, Cassiline warrior-priest and protector of Phèdre nó Delaunay. He’s...

  
• 08.29.2023

  Episode 594-With James L. Sutter

  This week, Patrick and Tracy welcome James L. Sutter, author of DARKHEARTS. About DARKHEARTS: When David quit his band, he missed his shot at fame, trapped in an ordinary high school life while his ex–best friend, Chance, became the hottest teen...

  
• 08.22.2023

  Episode 593-With Isabel Cañas

  This week, Patrick and Tracy welcome Isabel Cañas, author of Vampires of El Norte. About Vampires of El Norte: As the daughter of a rancher in 1840s Mexico, Nena knows a thing or two about monsters—her home has long been threatened...

  
• 08.08.2023

  Episode 592-With John Wiswell

  This week, Patrick and Tracy welcome John Wiswell, author of BAD DOORS and the upcoming, SOMEONE YOU CAN BUILD A NEST IN (DAW, 2024). About BAD DOORS: Kosmo is a simple English teacher with no interest in evil magic doors. However...

  
• 07.25.2023

  Episode 591-With Temi Oh

  This week, Patrick and Tracy welcome Temi Oh, author of MORE PERFECT. About MORE PERFECT: When Moremi connects her brain to the Panopticon, a network which allows you to see inside the minds and dreams of others, she believes that it...

  
• 07.18.2023

  Episode 590-With Genevieve Gornichec

  This week, Patrick and Tracy welcome Genevieve Gornichec, author of THE WEAVER AND THE WITCH QUEEN. About THE WEAVER AND THE WITCH QUEEN: Oddny and Gunnhild meet as children in tenth century Norway, and they could not be more different: Oddny...

  
• 07.11.2023

  Episode 589-With L.R. Lam

  This week, Patrick and Tracy welcome L.R. Lam, author of DRAGONFALL. About DRAGONFALL: Long ago, humans betrayed dragons, stealing their magic and banishing them to a dying world. Centuries later, their descendants worship dragons as gods. But the “gods” remember, and...

  
• 06.27.2023

  Episode 588-With Rebecca Fraimow

  This week, Patrick and Tracy welcome Rebecca Fraimow, author of THE IRON CHILDREN. About THE IRON CHILDREN: Asher has been training her entire life to become a Sor-Commander. One day, she’ll give her soul to the gilded, mechanical body of the...

  
• 06.20.2023

  Episode 587-With Fonda Lee

  This week, Patrick and Tracy welcome Fonda Lee, author of UNTETHERED SKY. About UNTETHERED SKY: Ester’s family was torn apart when a manticore killed her mother and baby brother, leaving her with nothing but her father’s painful silence and a single,...

  
• 06.13.2023

  Episode 586-With K.B. Wagers

  This week, Patrick and Tracy welcome K.B. Wagers, author of THE GHOSTS OF TRAPPIST. About THE GHOSTS OF TRAPPIST: NeoG—the Near-Earth Orbital Guard, a diverse military force that patrols and protects the solar system, inspired by the real-life mission of the...

  
• 05.30.2023

  Episode 585-With Emma Mieko Candon

  This week, Patrick and Tracy welcome Emma Mieko Candon, author of THE ARCHIVE UNDYING. About THE ARCHIVE UNDYING: When the robotic god of Khuon Mo went mad, it destroyed everything it touched. It killed its priests, its city, and all its...

  
• 05.23.2023

  Episode 584-With Nathan Ballingrud

  This week, Patrick and Tracy welcome Nathan Ballingrud, author of THE STRANGE. About THE STRANGE: Since Anabelle’s mother left for Earth to care for her own ailing mother, her days in New Galveston have been spent at school and her nights...

  
• 05.16.2023

  Episode 583-Just Us and the Clip Show

  This week, it’s a very special Just Us clip episode from Patrick and Tracy! What’s a Just Us episode? Well, I’m glad you asked. As you know Bob, we have a Patreon over at patreon.com/functionalnerds. And one of the reward tiers...

  
• 05.09.2023

  Episode 582-With Beth Cato

  This week, Patrick and Tracy welcome Beth Cato, author of A Thousand Recipes for Revenge. About A Thousand Recipes for Revenge: Adamantine “Ada” Garland has an empathic connection to food and wine, a magical perception of aromas, flavors, and ingredients. Invaluable...

  
• 05.02.2023

  Episode 581-With Gail Carriger

  This week, Patrick and Tracy welcome Gail Carriger, author of DIVINITY 36. About DIVINITY 36: Phex is a barista on a forgotten moon. Which is fine – he likes being ignored and he’s good at making drinks. Until one day an...

  
• 04.25.2023

  Episode 580-With Kat Howard

  This week, Patrick and Tracy welcome Kat Howard, author of A SLEIGHT OF SHADOWS. About A SLEIGHT OF SHADOWS: After taking down the source of the corruption of the Unseen World, Sydney is left with almost no magical ability. Feeling estranged...

  
• 04.11.2023

  Episode 579-With Daniel M. Ford

  This week, Patrick and Tracy welcome Daniel M. Ford, author of THE WARDEN. About THE WARDEN: There was a plan. She had the money, the connections, even the brains. It was simple: become one of the only female necromancers, earn as many...

  
• 04.04.2023

  Episode 578-With Emily Tesh

  This week, Patrick and Tracy welcome Emily Tesh, author of SOME DESPERATE GLORY. About SOME DESPERATE GLORY: Since she was born, Kyr has trained for the day she can avenge the murder of planet Earth. Raised in the bowels of Gaea...

  
• 03.28.2023

  Episode 577-With Life Beyond Us’s Julie Novakova and Susan Forest

  This week, Patrick and Tracy welcome Julie Novakova and Susan Forest, two of the driving forces behind Life Beyond Us: An Original Anthology of SF Stories and Science Essays. About Life Beyond Us: An Original Anthology of SF Stories and Science...

  
• 03.21.2023

  Episode 576-With S.B. Divya

  This week, Patrick and Tracy welcome S.B. Divya, author of MERU. About MERU: For five centuries, human life has been restricted to Earth, while posthuman descendants called alloys freely explore the galaxy. But when the Earthlike planet of Meru is discovered,...

  
• 03.14.2023

  Episode 575-With Station 151’s Steve Scearce and Bear Weiter

  This week, Patrick and Tracy welcome Steve Scearce and Bear Weiter from the Station 151 Podcast. About Station 151: Located on Alexander Island, Antarctica, Station 151 is the southernmost continent’s first and only astronomical radio observatory. Built by the Telders Corporation...

  
• 03.07.2023

  Episode 574-Moses Ose Utomi

  This week, Patrick and Tracy welcome Moses Ose Utomi, author of THE LIES OF THE AJUNGO. About THE LIES OF THE AJUNGO: They say there is no water in the City of Lies. They say there are no heroes in the...

  
• 02.28.2023

  Episode 573-With Aliette de Bodard

  This week, Patrick and Tracy welcome Aliette de Bodard, author of The Red Scholar’s Wake. About The Red Scholar’s Wake: Xích Si: bot maker, data analyst, mother, scavenger. But those days are over now-her ship has just been captured by the...