If Giles were evil, he’d be a shadow daddy.

Yes, Giles, the librarian from Buffy the Vampire Slayer. Definitely a shadow daddy in an alternate universe.

Oh, anyway. Hi everyone! Your favorite ladies for hot literary takes are back!

Thank you all for bearing with us so far in this crazy year. We really appreciate you.

Meanwhile, you can check out our transcripts, follow us, and support us wherever you scroll: https://linktr.ee/inksinkpodcast

Note: This episode contains some cursing. Annie may or may not have some tricks up her sleeve.

Now, back to the more important point. Give us your favorite shadow daddies! Message us on Facebook or Instagram. Or email us at [email protected]. We’ll read the best ones on the show.

News links

• Listen to the Graphic Audio version of Fourth Wing here: https://www.graphicaudio.net/the-empyrean-1-fourth-wing-1-of-2.html
• The Poynter Report is a good source for what’s going on in news news. Here’s their breakdown of the Bezos/Washington Post drama: https://mailchi.mp/poynter/is-bezoss-new-mission-for-the-post-already-bombing?e=e5489eccb5
• A podcaster translates an ancient Roman history book and puts it on the bestseller list: https://www.theguardian.com/books/2025/feb/24/book-sex-scandals-roman-emperors-bestseller-charts-the-lives-of-the-caesars-tom-holland
• See more of The Rest is History, a podcast from historian Tom Holland, in their Suetonius series: https://podcasts.apple.com/ca/podcast/emperors-of-rome-sex-secrets-of-the-caesars-part-1/id1537788786?i=1000685187106
• And check out Natalie Haynes Stands Up for the Classics and her episode on Suetonius for some funny history, too: https://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/m000czlf
• Insensitive dialogue in a highly anticipated book ends with a cancellation: https://www.nytimes.com/2025/03/05/books/sophie-lark-sparrow-vine-bloom-books-cancelled.html
• For more on ARCs and why they matter, check out our episode on an ARC we got from our forever fave, Chuck Tingle: https://theinksink.substack.com/i/135909146/loving-chuck-tingle-is-our-favorite-thing-to-do
• And for more from our perennially relevant episode on problematic authors, you can check out the transcript here: https://theinksink.substack.com/p/return-of-the-problematic-authors
• Now, time to celebrate historically marginalized peoples killin it in publishing! Specifically: Clarion celebrates funding its trans writers workshop: https://www.clarionwest.org/2025/01/27/announcing-a-scholarship-for-trans-writers/

You can also look at all the books we talked about on our bookshop page:

• Dungeon Crawler Carl (Matt Dinniman): This series is so good, Kali’s husband bought it all because he couldn’t wait for her to come home and give him the copies she already had. https://bookshop.org/a/55633/9780593820247
• Shadow and Bone (Leigh Bardugo): Read the book that inspired the Shadow Daddy GIFs. https://bookshop.org/a/55633/9781250027436
• The Lives of the Caesars (Suetonius and Tom Holland): Gossip rags WISH they were as cool as this. https://bookshop.org/a/55633/9780143107705
• The Last Sun (K. D. Edwards): A fallen prince finds himself in an Uncharted-style treasure hunting story. https://bookshop.org/a/55633/9781633884236
• Bury Your Gays (Chuck Tingle): A Hollywood writer faces red tape, surveillance, and horrors while his aro-ace bestie is too fabulous for this world. https://bookshop.org/a/55633/9781250874665

Disclaimer: If you buy a book from one of our links, we may get a commission. But more importantly, Bookshop.Org gives back to independent bookstores with every purchase. Check them out now!

00:00 Intro

06:47 What is a “Shadow Daddy”?

13:38 News: WaPo and the White House are making it weird out here

26:26 Somehow, Suetonius has returned

31:41 Sophie Lark gets cancelled

38:15 Celebrating trans authors with Clarion

39:35 Kali is reading “The Last Sun” by K.D. Edwards

41:43 Annie is reading “Bury Your Gays” by Chuck Tingle

45:32 Kali Coda: You can always walk away

TW: murder, exploitation, kidnapping, violence againstchildren

True crime is extremely popular today. Where did this wave come from?

If that’s not your cup of tea, we’ll leave you with somelinks to organizations that are helping victims:

• RAINN: https://rainn.org/
• NOND: https://notournativedaughters.org/

Heads up, we do some cursing in this episode. People are f****** obsessed with some of this s***.

Have feedback for us? Reach us wherever you scroll: https://linktr.ee/inksinkpodcast

Here are some of our sources:

• “True crime podcasting: Journalism, justice or entertainment?” by Kelli S. Boling (https://intellectdiscover.com/content/journals/10.1386/rjao_00003_1)
• “Barbara Newhall Follett: The Child Novelist Who Later Vanished Into Thin Air” by Jake Rossen (https://www.mentalfloss.com/posts/barbara-newhall-follett-author-mystery)
• “True Crime Podcasting as Participatory Journalism: A Digital Ethnography of Collaborative Case Solving” by Sarah Witmer and David O. Dowling (https://www.mdpi.com/2673-5172/5/4/104)
• “Mortality, moral regulation, and (im)moral entrepreneurship in My Favorite Murder” by Richard Green and Bethan Michael-Fox (https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/10304312.2023.2215971)
• “Death and mourning in technologically mediated culture” by Margaret Gibson (https://doi.org/10.5172/hesr.2007.16.5.415)
• The Curious Case of Natalia Grace on HBO Max (https://www.max.com/shows/curious-case-of-natalia-grace/d8da0110-568f-4ab2-94fd-fd72c705c44f)
• I’ll be Gone in the Dark on HBO Max (https://www.max.com/shows/ill-be-gone-in-the-dark/a823014d-fa0b-4bbe-ab98-14ea00e551bb)
• 11 Minutes on Paramount+ (https://www.paramountplus.com/shows/11-minutes/?searchReferral=desktop-web&source=google-organic&ftag=PPM-23-10bfh8c)
• “News Media Can’t Shake ‘Missing White Woman Syndrome,’ Critics Say” by Katie Robertson (https://www.nytimes.com/2021/09/22/business/media/gabby-petito-missing-white-woman-syndrome.html)

00:00 – Trigger warning

00:18 – Intro

01:35 – The Top Tens

04:27 – Where Does It Come From?

10:54 – Why Do People Love It?

29:19 – Racism in True Crime

32:55 – Capitalism Rears its Head

36:34 – Our Recommendations

42:44 – Kali Coda

43:23 – Thanks for Listening

Supervillains past and present show us why reallife is stranger than fiction.

Follow, support, and message us wherever you scroll! https://linktr.ee/inksinkpodcast

Warning: We have some bad words in this episode. Sometimes random s*** just happens.

Hear some of our favorite “stranger than fiction” stories today (a spiritual successor to our first Stranger Than Fiction episode: https://youtu.be/9K4XteCYGR4.)

Our sources for this episode:

• “‘Uh-oh’: psychic’s prediction of ‘sense of loss’ for Trump unnerves Fox News host” from The Guardian: https://www.theguardian.com/media/2024/jan/03/donald-trump-psychic-jesse-watters-fox-news
• (This is somehow 100% real) “Montana Man Pleads Guilty to Federal Wildlife Trafficking Charges as Part of Yearslong Effort to Create Giant Hybrid Sheep for Captive Hunting” from the U.S. Department of Justice Office of Public Affairs: https://www.justice.gov/opa/pr/montana-man-pleads-guilty-federal-wildlife-trafficking-charges-part-yearslong-effort-create
• “Nefarious Intentions and Persecuted Victims: On the Rise of Conspiracy Theories” from LitHub: https://lithub.com/nefarious-intentions-and-persecuted-victims-on-the-rise-of-conspiracy-theories/
• “Here Lies the Skull of Pliny the Elder, Maybe” from New York Times: https://www.nytimes.com/2020/02/14/science/pliny-archaeology-skull-vesuvius.html
• “‘Everybody Is a Bit on Edge’: Sailors Trade Tips onSteering Clear of Orcas” from the New York Times: https://www.nytimes.com/2023/11/15/world/europe/orcas-attacks-boats.html
• “Hundreds of 19th Century Americans Tried to Conquer Foreign Lands. This Man Was the Most Successful” from History.com: https://www.history.com/news/manifest-destiny-william-walker-filibuster-nicaragua-mexico-invasion
• “Journalist questioned by police because car crash reports were so ‘in depth’” from the Press Gazette: https://pressgazette.co.uk/news/police-question-journalist-in-depth-crash-reports/

Have feedback? Email us at [email protected]!

Chapters:

00:00 Intro
00:51 Stranger Than Fiction?
02:36 Fox News’ Tarot Reader Has Unexpected Message
06:13 Supervillains Are Into Sheep Now
10:51 Shakespeare’s Secrets Revealed!
14:30 Did an Ancient Greek Eagle Kill a Man With a Turtle Bomb?
20:17 The Orcas Fear the Death Metal
25:40 Manifest Destiny + Drunk Louisianans = Central American Conquerers?
30:06 British Reporter Too Good at Job, Police Suspicious
32:19 Thanks for listening!

Comic books finally hit phones – now to scroll through Gotham.

See and support wherever you scroll: https://linktr.ee/inksinkpodcast

Warning: We curse. Dick Grayson is DC’s pinup boy and we’re not mad.

News:

• New comics format: ⁠https://www.publishersweekly.com/pw/by-topic/industry-news/comics/article/96545-dc-launches-vertical-scroll-webtoon-series-dc-go.html⁠
• Comics raise prices: https://screenrant.com/comics-expensive-price-economy-indie-publishers/
• B&N expands: https://www.morningbrew.com/daily/stories/barnes-and-noble-open-60-new-locations-this-year
• Do YOU like AI poetry? https://view.e.bookriot.com/?qs=a677d0d3b0be70c8f4462ba6f5262de712c5ffe6945a32f415b3648729e6fbb181d0699668adcd0281cc5b272f6659fe310502a54918dc7222243e862e975b2dcfaec1247d162c5df73be5a920343fcc442872aa04b3712c
• Kali's rec: “The Applicant”: https://lithub.com/i-asked-chatgpt-to-write-its-own-versions-of-iconic-poems-and-they-are-not-great/
• Cozy fiction + cats? https://www.nytimes.com/2024/11/07/books/healing-fiction-japan-korea-before-the-coffee-gets-cold.html
• Support local lit orgs: https://bookriot.com/how-to-fight-book-bans-and-censorship-in-2024/
• Baltimore: County Board minutes and agendas: https://www.bcpl.info/about-us/board-trustees. Local news on books: https://www.thebaltimorebanner.com/topic/culture/books/
• Book trailer with a movie it inspired: https://www.shelf-awareness.com/issue.html?issue=4865&share=true#m65933

Celebrating minorities: "Authors saw their median income surge 73%." (https://janefriedman.com/romance-authors-thrive-in-the-self-publishing-era/)

Kali is reading fanfic: https://archiveofourown.org/works/53155222/chapters/134498068

Chapters:
00:00 Intro
03:51 New Comics Format
10:35 Pricier Comics
18:18 B&N Is OK
23:29 Robot Poetry?
29:06 Healing Fantasy
32:01 Help Books
34:10 Movie Inspo
37:59 Celebrations
41:35 Kali is Reading...
45:10 Coda

Oh we’re *cool podcasters now*.

Your favorite book news is now coming with soundproofing and professional equipment!

Warning: We now swear in HD.

We haven’t been as consistent with the Ink Sink as we’d like to be, and we want to thank all of you for sticking with us!

Follow, shop, support: https://linktr.ee/inksinkpodcast

Kali has been watching Agatha All Along and reconnecting with the fun parts of a living fandom. Annie, meanwhile, can’t get over how quiet it is and how good they sound in their new studio! Shout out to the Baltimore County Public Library for having pro studios available for patrons. Support your public libraries, friends!

Some of our sources for today’s show:

Thank you so much for listening! We hope to be coming into your ears much more often now that we have a dedicated studio space. We really appreciate everyone sticking with us.

00:00 Intro

This library accepted cat pictures instead of charging late fees. We didn’t tell you about it when it was first happening, but we’re making up for that now.

While we record new episodes, we bring you some highlights from the cutting-room floor.

Warning: We’re up in our feelings about anti-library s*** this episode. Listen with caution if you don’t like cursing.

Send us pictures of your pets (and support us!) wherever you follow: https://linktr.ee/inksinkpodcast

Our sources for this episode:

Want to stand up to Amazon and support independent bookstores and also support our podcast? Check us out on Bookshop.org! https://bookshop.org/shop/theinksink

Disclaimer: We receive a commission if you buy a book from one of our book lists. But more importantly, Bookshop.Org donates a portion of its revenue to independent bookstores with over $33 million raised so far!

00:00 Welcome Back!

Supervillains, past and present, show us exactly why real

Follow, support, and message us wherever you scroll! https://linktr.ee/inksinkpodcast

Warning: We have some bad words in this episode. Sometimes random s*** just happens.

Welcome back to the Ink Sink! We’re taking a stroll

Our sources for this episode:

Have feedback? Email us at [email protected]!

Chapters:

00:00 Intro
00:51 Stranger Than Fiction?
02:36 Fox News’ Tarot Reader Has Unexpected Message
06:13 Supervillains Are Into Sheep Now
10:51 Shakespeare’s Secrets Revealed!
14:30 Did an Ancient Greek Eagle Kill a Man With a Turtle Bomb?
20:17 The Orcas Fear the Death Metal
25:40 Manifest Destiny + Drunk Louisianans = Central American Conquerers?
30:06 British Reporter Too Good at Job, Police Suspicious
32:19 Thanks for listening!

Hugo Awards’ scandal continues + What are the BookTok-ers angry about today?

(Please note that this episode was recorded before the

Book buddies! Media maniacs! Fiction fiends! Anyone who wants to know just a little bit more about their favorite stories – and what’s next – welcome!

Follow, support, and yell at us wherever you’d like! All

Note: there is some cursing in this episode. Sometimes the chosen one has to nope out of an adventure with some strong language. And we support that.

Listener Feedback: Luna tackles Hugo

We spoke about the controversy around the Hugo Awards a few months ago. The back and forth hasn’t stopped, but our friend Luna took a deep dive and helped us out. So the Hugo Awards organizers seem to have pre-emptively excluded creators that they thought would not go over well at an awards ceremony in China… and forgotten that the rest of the world might have a problem with that? Whew, what a cluster.

If you found a better rabbit hole on a story we covered and want to tell us more, please do! Email us at [email protected] or reach out on our Facebook or Instagram, our DMs are open!

Also, how are you feeling about the Hugo Awards now? Let us know!

Diving into the news today:

Celebrating marginalized peoples in publishing means we are all in on celebrating Ada Limon’s amazing achievement in being named one of Time’s Women of the Year for 2024. But also one of her poems is going to space!

Read with us!

* Disclaimer: if you make a purchase from one of our

It's National Poetry Month! In honor of Kali's favorite month, we are sharing one of her favorite episodes: Poems Make You Cry

We have an annotated transcript for this one up on our Substack, here: https://open.substack.com/pub/theinksink/p/poetry-words-and-rhythms-to-make

Scroll, shop, and chat with us wherever you'd like: https://linktr.ee/inksinkpodcast

Spotify’s audiobook service is here! But what does it mean

Warning: We swear in this episode. Leigh Bardugo’s protagonist has to put up with some bulls***.

You can support us and see our transcripts on our LinkTree: https://linktr.ee/inksinkpodcast

Our sources for this episode:

Read the books we talked about in this episode: Disclaimer: If you purchase a book through one of our Bookshop links, we receive a commission. But more importantly, Bookshop also supports independent bookstores with every book sold. They’ve raised over $30 million so far!

Chapters:

00:00 Intro