The Getting Lit Podcast

This week, Fresta is solo hosting again, and is joined by M A C ⭐️ to talk about his short story “John the Rock”, published on Rare Candy.

They also discuss Denis Johnson’s short story collection, Jesus’ Son, music, drugs and degeneracy and much more.

Music: Heroin by Heavy Body

Follow Mac on Substack: https://substack.com/@bigmacmccarthy

Follow Mac on X: https://x.com/polished_steel

Listen to Mac’s music here: https://heavybody.bandcamp.com/

This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit newmythologies.substack.com/subscribe

This week, Sini goes to the pub with writer and literary critic Isaac Beach to talk about a range of things. Everything from the state of literature, the Ausnaissance on Substack, Australian literary criticism, who he could beat in a fight, as well as his piece on the recent Miles Franklin Award winner, Fierceland by Omar Musa.

Check out Isaac’s writing here.

This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit newmythologies.substack.com/subscribe

Fresta is joined by returning guest Ryan Simón (EIC of American Vulgaria and Ristuko) to discuss comedian Louis C.K.’s debut novel, Ingram, a picaresque of surprising literary quality. This episode, like the rambling narrative of Louis’ novel, covers many topics, from trans karaoke to Kmart and Southern Gothic. A great conversation!

Check out American Vulgaria here: https://americanvulgaria.substack.com/

This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit newmythologies.substack.com/subscribe

Felix McNamara joins us to discuss his epic poem, Atrocities, which is assembled from the discursive rubble of the 21st century to build something new. We talk about a lot of different topics orbiting and intersecting the poem, including Fukuyama’s End of History, liberal aesthetics or lack thereof, the limits of nostalgia, Tucker Carlson, Steve Bannon and Norm McDonald as mythic figures. We also discuss some highlights from our recent reading night in Melbourne.

Buy Atrocities here:

https://www.hyperideanpress.com/shop/p/atrocities-by-felix-mcnamara

or here:

https://www.amazon.com.au/Atrocities-Felix-McNamara/dp/1918783020/ref=mp_s_a_1_1?dib=eyJ2IjoiMSJ9.ysCbUoi5mPPuTIkTl_mtArE0K14oGKbEVsuL0Jin9jw.3TLgN54aO4aWSOe9YQH_KdFILVNOlwMYH_z7gRnxKZE&dib_tag=se&qid=1787974685&refinements=p_27%3AFelix+McNamara&s=books&sr=1-1&text=Felix+McNamara

or here:

https://verdur.in/store/atrocities-by-felix-mcnamara/

This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit newmythologies.substack.com/subscribe

This week, we’re talking about D.H. Lawrence’s The Fox, a brilliant, taut novella about two women in post-war England trying to make a go of it on a farm, who are menaced by a fox and a soldier returned from combat.

This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit newmythologies.substack.com/subscribe

This week, we’re joined by Lewis Woolston, author of the short story collections The Last Free Man, Remembering the Dead, and the topic of our discussion in this episode—The Everlasting.

We chat about short story writing, the process, forming a collection, place and literature, religion, and the marginal versus the mainstream in current literary culture. A great discussion with one of Australia’s best.

Purchase The Everlasting here: https://tinyurl.com/3h2b4uus

This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit newmythologies.substack.com/subscribe

This week, we discuss the recently departed Australian author, David Malouf. Specifically, his book Remembering Babylon, a strange novel that starts out with a castaway British boy being raised by Aboriginal Australians, and unfurls into something much more mysterious and enigmatic. We talk about historical fiction, how Australian racial history has been Americanised, as well as how colonial history in Australia is often framed (spoiler alert: too often, it is boring!).

As mentioned in this episode, Fresta is selling some records on ebay if you want to take a look:

https://www.ebay.com.au/usr/bukhgalter?mkcid=16&mkevt=1&mkrid=705-154756-20017-0&ssspo=sYVxtJU5TYu&sssrc=4675625&ssuid=sYVxtJU5TYu&stype=1&widget_ver=artemis&media=COPY

Also referenced in this episode, Jack Norman’s (THINGOL on Substack) new short story, which also touches on similar themes to Malouf’s work: https://theboroughpoetry.com/2026/06/21/moonlight-upon-our-given-fates/

Paid subscribers now have two options. You can support us either on Substack (here) or on Patreon (here)

This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit newmythologies.substack.com/subscribe

This week, we’re joined by Substack essayist, thinker, and fellow Australian Russell Walter who is also host of The Chudstack Review podcast. We talk about his essay on why LARPing (live action role playing) is important and Good Actually, as well as the idea of “quixotic hero”, an archetype that we need in these troubled times.

Read Russell’s LARPing essay here.

This is a free episode. But Getting Lit listeners now have several options to support the show. You can subscribe on Substack here or Patreon here.

This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit newmythologies.substack.com/subscribe

Last year, Sini uploaded an episode to the paid feed of his personal Substack podcast, New Mythologies, discussing the oft-mentioned "literary man." Joining him? Glen from Rare Candy, as well as writers J David Osborne and Kelby Losack.

This week, we are resharing it for free with Getting Lit listeners.

Matt, Glen, JDO and Kelby have an exhaustive discussion about the “where are all the literary men?” thinkpieces, male reading habits, what to do if you’re a male writer, why “right wing art” is often a bad alternative, and much more.

Time to put this narrative to bed and start reading and writing, my friends!

This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit newmythologies.substack.com/subscribe

To celebrate Easter, we have unlocked our paid episode on Eugene Vodolazkin's Laurus. To access the full archive of episodes and special Back Matter aftershows, got to patreon.com/GettingLit.

This week, we're joined by Brisbane musician and composer, Stevan, to talk about Eugene Vodolazkin's novel Laurus. A strange, luminous novel that follows a 15th-century Russian healer whose life unfolds as a kind of spiritual journey through time, grief, and redemption. This was a fantastic, wide-ranging discussion on everything from music to holy fools, to our concept of time, as well as icons in Eastern Orthodoxy, and much more.

Follow Stevan on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/c.t.e.b.a.h/

Check out Stevan's label here: https://aktuelan-label.bandcamp.com/album/172?utm_source=ig&utm_medium=social&utm_content=link_in_bio

Music: "fugue (shedding)" by sone

This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit newmythologies.substack.com/subscribe