A scoop of Firestarter, a dash of IT, and just a soupçon of Carrie and The Shining — Stephen King’s novel The Institute is like a bowl brimming with the author’s greatest hits. But does it go down smooth? That’s what the Losers’ Club asks in their episode about the 2019 tome, which takes readers inside the eponymous Institute where a mysterious gaggle of doctors, scientists, and thugs subject psychically-touched children to terrible tests, many of which border on pure torture.

Join the gang as they dissect what the story has to say about friendship, U.S. foreign policy, and the youth of today. Questions abound! Can King write modern kids as well as he can those of the ‘50s and ‘60s? How does the paranoia of early books like Firestarter and The Stand factor in here? Does adding “-ster” to someone’s name make for a good nickname? They also comb through the book’s reviews and King’s pre-release interviews to puzzle over the relentless comparisons to the crisis at the Southern border. Weird stuff. Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See https://pcm.adswizz.com

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Losers Randall Colburn, Michael Roffman, and Justin Gerber head to Hollywood King again to discuss the latest developments in King's Dominion, specifically Netflix's Cujo (yes, that's a real thing), Mike Flanagan's The Life of Chuck, Edgar Wright's The Running Man, the 2025 Oscars, the work of Spike Jonze, and god knows what else came to mind. Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See https://pcm.adswizz.com

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This month's book episode is The Institute. In anticipation, we're unlocking this spirited ranking episode from 2023 in which the Losers talk about their favorite Bad Boys in King's Dominion. Instead of listing and ranking, however, we’re gonna let the Boys do what they do best and duke it out with each other until only one remains. As per tradition, the Losers use a March-Madness style Bracket to narrow down the competitors to a grand champion. For more of these kind of bracket episodes, join The Barrens: patreon.com/thebarrens. Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See https://pcm.adswizz.com

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The Losers return to Castle Rock, Maine to dine at a hot new enchilada spot, only to learn about the craziest diet of all time. You see, there's this guy in town who keeps losing weight. And no, his name isn't Billy Halleck. Join the gang as they flip through 2018's quite slim novella Elevation. Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See https://pcm.adswizz.com

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The Losers' Club review Osgood Perkins' highly anticipated Stephen King adaptation The Monkey. For even further discussion on the film, become a member of The Barrens at patreon.com/thebarrens.  

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Well, here's a strange detour. Remember Tom Holland's 1995 miniseries adaptation of The Langoliers? We do, too. And we covered it in 2019. In 2021, however, Greek filmmaker Aristotelis Maragkos retooled said miniseries into a 62-minute paper film that Bloody Disgusting's Meagan Navarro calls "a condensed, experimental, and ingenious reworking of the source material." Now, the Losers chime in four years later.

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The Losers get smutty in the latest list episode after they gush about their favorite Stephen King crushes from within the pages. Things take some wild turns in this episode, so get ready!

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Five years later, the Losers re-review HBO's The Outsider.

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The Losers head to Flint City, Oklahoma to record a full-fledged book episode on Stephen King's 2018 novel The Outsider. Together, they weigh in on the balance between true crime and the supernatural, whether Holly Gibney adds or detracts from said balance, and the post-MeToo era's influence on the story.

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Losers Randall Colburn, Michael Roffman, and Justin Gerber head to Hollywood King again to discuss the latest developments in King's Dominion, specifically a potential third Talisman novel; the latest updates surrounding Welcome to Derry, The Monkey, The Institute, and The Running Man; the forthcoming book King Noir; and much, much more.

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