Cracked Spines Podcast

Books! Fandom! Goofs!

Two queer English majors use their degrees to commit crimes against literature. Cyrus and Sarah read a wide swath of genres both literary and profane, discussing themes, motifs, and which characters should bone. Mostly tongue-in-cheek, we nonetheless find ourselves straying into actual literary discussions at least once per episode.

Recommended episodes

The Autopsy by Michael Shea: F. Murray Abraham? Don't mind if we do! This week, we're talking body horror, we're talking cosmic horror, and we're talking sad old men — which is to say we're discussing The Autopsy, a short story by Michael Shea and an episode of the Netflix show Cabinet of Curiosities. As with all things involving body horror, Cyrus is a depraved little pervert and Sarah rises to the challenge to match their energy.

The Hands of the Emperor by Victoria Goddard: Sarah is wildly enthusiastic about the prospect of exploring the complex functioning of a massive government for 900 pages. Cyrus was super busy this week but is extremely game to talk about intimate friendships. Like, weirdly intimate friendships. Like let's get to the central question of this text: should these old men kiss with tongue. Our answer may surprise you!

How to Sell a Haunted House by Grady Hendrix: MIME STOPS FOR NO MAN. In this episode, we quickly devolve into discussing the entire Hendrixverse and its delicious all you can eat buffet of sloppy nightmare women. Why is Grady Hendrix so good at writing female characters? And most importantly, why must the puppets always be creepy? We demand positive clown/puppet/doll representation in horror ("we" meaning, very firmly, Sarah).

Find more on Patreon

If you want more Cracked Spines podcast, you can check out a selection of bonus content on our Patreon. Get a cool mug, a sweet sticker, and listen to our bonus episodes on everything from The Untamed to Bloodborne.