Best Neil McRobert Podcasts (2025)

1
Off Book #8 – Kyle McConaghy & Dead Mail 56:28

3d ago56:28

56:28

Back to the 80s this week for one of the most singular horror movies of the year – now streaming on Shudder. Dead Mail is an ode to the era, but there are no neon fonts or leg warmers (or Olivia Newton Johns) here. Instead we’re in the drear of the decade, for a story about a synth-obsessed man who keeps his business partner captive in his flock-wa…

1
AuthorCon V Panel: Podcasting 101 1:00:39

3d ago1:00:39

1:00:39

Here are links to the other creators/podcasts who were on this panel: Kit Power - The Ultimate Horror Anthology: https://ultimatehorroranthology.podbean.com Lucas Marino - The Suspense is Killing Me: https://www.lucasmarinowrites.com/podcast Rick Hipson - Dark Bites: https://www.youtube.com/@darkbites Viggy Parr Hampton - Horror Humor Hunger: https…

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234 – Katherine Arden & The Devil’s Train Timetable 1:19:54

6d ago1:19:54

1:19:54

In the week that the world changed, we’re talking about the last time things got this crazy. Katherine Arden is the author of The Warm Hands of Ghosts — a novel set in the trenches of the First World War and on the borderline between horror and fantasy. It’s a Faustian pact made in No-Man’s Land, where our memories are the price we pay for keeping …

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James Ashcroft (The Rule of Jenny Pen, Fresh Meat, Coming Home in the Dark) 1:19:54

10d ago1:19:54

1:19:54

Dusting your pants, benevolent tyrants, and family time at the graveyard! If you're seeing this, please leave us a review!By Steve Becker

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233 – Tariq Ashkanani & Bloodstained Hands Across the Ocean 1:15:20

13d ago1:15:20

1:15:20

This week we go from Edinburgh, Scotland to Nashville, Tennessee, in the company of crime author Tariq Ashkanani. Tariq’s The Midnight King is a tricky, quasi-metafictional murder mystery about cursed manuscripts, familial secrets and the most heinous murders. It’s also a love letter to the kind of occult-tinged American crime epics that both he an…

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232 – Punk Goes Horror, with William Sterling, Wendy Dalrymple & Brian McAauley 1:05:26

20d ago1:05:26

1:05:26

Time to throw ourselves around. We’re covering Punk Goes Horror. The anthology of stories inspired by punk and alternative rock songs came out just a few weeks back. It brings together a mosh-pit full of authors, both new and established, to transmute their favourite songs into nasty little stories. I invited the anthology editor, William Sterling,…

1
Let Us Palaver #2 — The Drawing of the Three Debrief 31:41

24d ago31:41

31:41

The second Let Us Palaver minisode – in which Nat Cassidy dig into the things we couldn't say about The Drawing of the Three, and give MAJOR SPOILERS about whole Dark Tower series. We're really start to wonder if Chris is punking us. Support Talking Scared on Patreon Check out the Talking Scared Merch line – at VoidMerch Come talk books on Bluesky …

1
Viidith22 (Voice Actor, Youtube Channel) 1:04:21

24d ago1:04:21

1:04:21

NoSleep, Creepypasta, drinking games, and the dangers of raising children... If you're seeing this, please leave us a review!By Steve Becker

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The Dark Tower Deep Dive #2 – The Drawing of the Three 2:15:10

27d ago2:15:10

2:15:10

The Ka-tet picks up exactly where we left off: on the beaches of Midworld, with Roland Deschain. (If none of that makes any sense to you, go listen to episode one of the Dark Tower Deep Dive immediately) Nat Cassidy, Chris Panatier and I gather for a long, philosophical, expletive-littered conversation about Book 2: The Drawing of the Three. We get…

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231 – Stephen Graham Jones & Rewilding the Vampire 1:16:11

1M ago1:16:11

1:16:11

It’s always great when Stephen Graham Jones comes to Talk Scared with us – but for once we aren’t talking about slashers! No, this time, we’re talking vampires! Or are we? Stephen’s new novel, The Buffalo Hunter Hunter, is his best yet. Or at least the one that I love the most. It’s an epic and brutal saga of American history and shame, told throug…

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John Langan (House of Windows, The Fisherman, Corpsemouth and Other Autobiographies) 1:19:56

1M ago1:19:56

1:19:56

Creativity, anxiety, making mistakes, and staying alive! If you're seeing this, please leave us a review!By Steve Becker

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230 – Alex Grecian & Weirdos in the West 1:09:40

1M ago1:09:40

1:09:40

Saddle up for a weird west week on Talking Scared. The start of a loose trilogy of sorts. This first instalment features Alex Grecian, talking about his fantastical vision of the Old West (and East) in 2023’s Red Rabbit and the brand-new follow-up, Rose of Jericho. We cover western inspirations, the melancholia of ghosts, Kansas legends and surpris…

1
229 – Agustina Bazterrica & The Wicked Nuns of Oz 1:11:56

2M ago1:11:56

1:11:56

No one is doing dystopia right now like Agustina Bazterrica. After Tender is the Flesh made us all consider vegetarianism, now she’s back for a long hard look at patriarchy, religion and populism in The Unworthy. It’s a quiet end of the world, set almost entirely in the confines of a strange convent, and the cult who will do anything to maintain th…

1
2 - The Wild, the Innocent and the E Street Shuffle (1973) 2:20:35

2M ago2:20:35

2:20:35

We Learned More From A Three Minute Record returns for our second episode proper, tackling Springsteen's sophomore album The Wild The Innocent and the E-Street Shuffle. Very special guest Andrew Matey brings in sight and passion, and Kit and James reflect on the joys of exploring a work you don’t know very well from an artist you admire. Learn whic…

1
10 - The River (1980) Part 2: With Neil McRobert 1:46:55

2M ago1:46:55

1:46:55

Wanna Ramrod With You All Night Long. The amazing Neil McRobert rejoins James and Kit to give disk 2 of this double album the love and attention it deserves.

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9 - The River (1980) Part 1: With Neil McRobert of the Talking Scared Podcast 1:57:12

2M ago1:57:12

1:57:12

Is a dream a lie if it don't come true? We're back on brand, back in Springsteen Country, and with very special guest Neil McRobert (author, journalist, reviewer, and host of the mighty Talking Scared podcast) in tow, it's finally time to dive into The River. Breaking this behemoth album into two shows, tonight we talk Disk One, as well as our hist…

1
1 - Greetings from Asbury Park, N.J. (1973) 1:42:45

2M ago1:42:45

1:42:45

In which James Murphy and Kit Power begin their deep dive into the studio albums of Columbia recording artist Bruce Springsteen. With a startling lack of originality, we start at the beginning, taking in 1973s Greetings From Asbury Park, NJ. There's a bit of initial amused bafflement that this is the origin story for one of popular music's biggest …

1
Off Book #7 – Scott Derrickson 1:27:40

2M ago1:27:40

1:27:40

The latest Off Book episode has me facing my demons. My guest is Scott Derrickson, one of the best horror movie makers to ever do it. He scared us with Sinister, moved us with The Black Phone, marvelled us with Doctor Strange, and ruined my life with The Exorcism of Emily Rose. He’s back with The Gorge, a mad genre mashup, starring Anya-Taylor Joy …

1
Jamie Flanagan (Midnight Mass, Doctor Sleep, Haunting of Bly Manor) 1:24:28

2M ago1:24:28

1:24:28

Alligator sheriffs, Moira Kelly and D.B. Sweeney, and self-actualization!By Steve Becker

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228 – Sophie White & An Island of Formless Dread 1:29:43

2M ago1:29:43

1:29:43

Ready to hear a conversation about some devastatingly dark things? Sophie White and I have got you covered! In this expansive chat, we talk about her calculatingly distressing novel, Where I End – in which an isolated island community plays host to the worst, cruellest kind of loneliness. And that books is a springboard for others things, psychosis…

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227 – Kirsty Logan & Queer as in F**K You 1:17:32

2M ago1:17:32

1:17:32

The title speaks volumes this week. It’s a mission statement. Kirsty Logan is the master of certain kind of edgy, on-the-margins fiction, Queer in every meaning of the word. She can be witchy and folkloric, or contemporary and cutting edge – and all of that range is showcased in her new collection, No & Other Love Stories. We talk about female desi…

1
Charlene Elsby (Hexis, Psychros, The Devil Thinks I'm Pretty) 1:16:08

2M ago1:16:08

1:16:08

Dostoevsky, interior monologues, and Fucking the Devil! If you're seeing this, please leave us a review!By Steve Becker

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226 – Virginia Feito & A Good Old-Fashioned Bad Girl 1:19:14

2M ago1:19:14

1:19:14

Time to misbehave. Virginia Feito’s new novel, Victorian Psycho, is all about good behaviour, positive standards and polite conduct…and what happens when you flout all that, by – I dunno – slaughtering a houseload of people. It’s a much buzzed about book that takes the psychopathy of American Psycho back to the straightlaced, be-corseted world of t…

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225 – Lucy Rose & The Cumbrian Chainsaw Massacre 1:18:28

3M ago1:18:28

1:18:28

Are you hungry? Depending on your…erm… tastes, the next hour of conversation will do strange things to your appetite. Our guest is Lucy Rose, whose debut novel, The Lamb renders muscle and fat and sorrow down into a rich stew of cannibalism and rural Gothic. We talk about how rooted this book is in the landscape, history and folklore of Northern En…

1
Let Us Palaver #1 – The Gunslinger Debrief 25:41

3M ago25:41

25:41

Here is the first Let Us Palaver minisode – in which Nat Cassidy and I kick Chris off the call, and get to grips with the inner workings of The Dark Tower, without spoiling anything for him, or any of you on your first trip through these books. If you still listen after this spoiler warning and the two I give in the first few minutes of the episode…

1
Lee Murray (Into the Mist, Into the Ashes, Hounds of the Underworld) 1:19:40

3M ago1:19:40

1:19:40

Night terrors, earthquakes, and a nice cuppa!By Steve Becker

1
The Ink Heist Podcast featuring Author Christa Carmen 1:23:53

3M ago1:23:53

1:23:53

Rich Duncan and Shane Keene in conversation with the author of THE DAUGHTERS OF BLOCK ISLAND and BENEATH THE POET'S HOUSE.

1
The Dark Tower Deep Dive #1 – The Gunslinger 2:13:08

3M ago2:13:08

2:13:08

“The man in black fled across the desert, and the podcaster followed…” Welcome to the start of what is sure to be an epic journey. Step by step, over more than a dozen episodes, Talking Scared will be following the beam all the way to the Dark Tower – that mad edifice at the heart of Stephen King’s opus. Maybe it’s the heart of every story ever tol…

1
Off Book #6 – Dutch Marich & Horror in the High Desert 1:10:20

3M ago1:10:20

1:10:20

The latest Off Book episode takes you out to the American desert and leaves you there, cold, alone and confused. We’re speaking with Dutch Marich, the surprisingly lovely mind behind the most terrifying found footage I’ve seen in years – The Horror in the High Desert series. These films are full of a particular kind of fear. Never obscure, but alwa…

1
224 – Susan Barker & The Denial of Death 1:08:38

3M ago1:08:38

1:08:38

Tyranny is the key this week on Talking Scared this week. How fitting. Susan Barker’s Old Soul is a globe-trotting, decade-spanning supernatural tour of autocracies, from behind the Iron Curtain to contemporary China. If that isn’t frightening enough, it also features an ageless woman who curses anyone she meets, a grand cosmic entity, and the exhi…

1
Neil McRobert (The Talking Scared Podcast, Good Boy) 1:19:47

3M ago1:19:47

1:19:47

Stephen King, the American Myth, and heartfelt horror. If you're seeing this, please leave us a review!By Steve Becker

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223 – Kate van der Borgh & A Different Class of Magic 1:20:32

3M ago1:20:32

1:20:32

It’s a collegial week on Talking Scared. ‘Cos I’m talking dark, occult academia with someone very local to me. Kate van der Borgh’s debut, And He Shall Appear is basically a sinister version of my own life. It’s about a young working class lad, like me, who goes to a prestigious university, like me… but there ours paths diverge, as he meets a fello…

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222 – Clay McLeod Chapman & Oh My God, What Have I Done? 1:21:30

3M ago1:21:30

1:21:30

Welcome back and Happy New Year. 2025 looms ahead. Frightening. Uncertain. Crazy!! Our first guest of the year has written the book that best captures this mad future we’re living in. Clay McLeod Chapman returns to Talking Scared, to talk about Wake Up And Open Your Eyes – his new novel of mass demonic possession, transmitted through poisonous medi…

1
L. Marie Wood (The Realm Trilogy, Crescendo, The Promise Keeper) 1:18:00

4M ago1:18:00

1:18:00

Undead, onryō, and vampires, oh my! If you're seeing this, please leave us a review!By Steve Becker

1
221 – The Best Scary Books of 2024 1:09:24

4M ago1:09:24

1:09:24

Send us a text How else to end 2024 than with an entirely subjective list of the best things I’ve read over the year? How many of you will guess the number one spot? I bet none of you will guess the number two? Let me know your thoughts – what you loved, and what you think I missed Enjoy! Support Talking Scared on Patreon Come talk books on Twitter…

1
220 – Grief and Monsters: The From a Buick 8 Deep Dive 2:03:21

4M ago2:03:21

2:03:21

Send us a text It’s that time of year again. When I celebrate the winter solstice by getting some horror authors to come and talk in deep, emotional detail about a scary book that we like. This time the Christmas Special Deep Dive kicks the tires and looks under the hood of Stephen King’s most underrated novel: From a Buick 8. My friends on this we…

1
Donyae Coles (Midnight Rooms, These Sunken Souls) 1:18:47

4M ago1:18:47

1:18:47

HBO, VHS tapes, and unfinished business - and Oliver! If you're seeing this, please leave us a review!By Steve Becker

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219 – State of the Horror Nation 2024, with Emily Hughes, Stephanie Gagnon & Anna Dupre 2:22:21

4M ago2:22:21

2:22:21

Send us a text … and we’re back! Just in time for this seasonal tradition. The State of the Horror Nation 2024 – our expert-led review of the best that the year had to offer in terms of horror writing and pen-and-ink nightmares. I’m joined, as ever by my stalwart co-host for this gig, Emily Hughes, author of Horror For Weenies (go check her mammoth…

1
[From the Vault] Catriona Ward & The All-Consuming Spoiler Warning 54:09

4M ago54:09

54:09

Send us a text This is the last way-back episode before the show returns with a scream next week. But this is an episode worth remembering – my first ever conversation with Catriona Ward, about her game-changing The Last House on Needless Street too! This was a big ask for a novice interviewer. How the hell do you talk about a book that hinges on s…

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Jessica McHugh (The Green Kangaroos, The Train Derails in Boston, Darla Decker series) 1:21:15

5M ago1:21:15

1:21:15

Laying eggs, zombie boys, and boobie trees! If you're seeing this, please leave us a review!By Steve Becker

1
[From the Vault] Zakiya Dalila Harris & The Fear of Not Being Black Enough 57:49

5M ago57:49

57:49

Send us a text A chance to revisit one of my favourite books and favourite ever conversations this week. Zakiya Dalila Harris’s The Other Black Girl came out in early 2021, and for once I was ahead of the curve! Right from the start, I adored this novel of workplace micro-aggression and satirical horror in the publishing industry – and I’m glad to …

1
[From the Vault] Laura Purcell & The Art of Darkness 49:38

5M ago49:38

49:38

Send us a text I’m feeling Gothic this week. Must be the weather. In lieu of a new episode, I searched the vault and found this cracker from January 2021, in which Laura Purcell — doyenne of the contemporary British Gothic — talked me through her Victorian spookshow of mesmerism and haunted silhouettes, The Shape of Darkness. We also get into the s…

1
Ivotres Littles (Horror Movies and Beyond) 1:30:29

5M ago1:30:29

1:30:29

Cruel kids, drive-ins, and ... Nickelodeon?? If you're seeing this, please leave us a review!By Steve Becker

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[From the Vault] Gemma Amor & The Start of a Horrific Friendship AKA The Mental Health in Horror Episode 1:52:50

5M ago1:52:50

1:52:50

Send us a text This From the Vault episode is not quite so dusty. Gemma and I recorded this in 2022, but it’s more pertinent than ever. One because Gemma’s great uncanny novella The Folly is being reissued this week, and two, because the world is a mad place right now, and we all need to take care of our minds. This conversation is all about that. …

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[From the Vault] T. Kingfisher & A Bit of Laughter in the Dark 55:21

5M ago55:21

55:21

Send us a text Still on a break – still releasing episodes “From the Vault.” But this week’s was carefully chosen. In a time of darkness and doom-laden days, laughter is the best thing I can lace your horror with. And thankfully T. Kingfisher exists in the world. The funniest horror writer I know. We spoke WAAAAY back in October 2020, in episode 9,…

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David Simmons (Ghosts of East Baltimore, Ghosts of West Baltimore) 1:23:37

5M ago1:23:37

1:23:37

Horror in the hood, Voltron snoring, and crestfallen coworkers... If you're seeing this, please leave us a review!By Steve Becker

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[From the Vault] – Michael Marshall Smith & Goodbye to a Bad Year 1:00:00

6M ago1:00:00

1:00:00

Send us a text I’m on a break – but couldn’t resist releasing something. Especially on today of all days, when lovers of democracy require audio sustenance whilst they wait in line to preserve America. For the first From the Vault episode, I’ve gone back to December of 2020, for an interview with Michael Marshall Smith. We talk about his 30 years o…

1
Off Book #5 – Halloween Special – Kaelyn Moore & Heart Starts Pounding 1:31:00

6M ago1:31:00

1:31:00

Send us a text Halloween has finally arrived. I’m marking it in grim, macabre style. For this Off Book Samhain Special, I’m joined by Kaelyn Moore, host and creator of Heart Starts Pounding – a podcast for the darkly curious, which offers up a new true-story of horror, hauntings and mystery every week. Kaelyn is a treasure trove of haunted anecdote…

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218 – Rachel Harrison & Vampirism is What You Make It 1:10:08

6M ago1:10:08

1:10:08

Send us a text Things are heating up as we approach Halloween. I’m joined by a good friend of Talking Scared – Rachel Harrison – to talk about the hot kind of immortality Her new novel, So Thirsty, does much more than that though. It weighs the weaponization of beauty culture, it asks how women can navigate a world in which youth seems to be everyt…

1
Trevor Henderson (Sirenhead, Odd Noises in Empty Room, Bad Things Coming) 1:14:53

6M ago1:14:53

1:14:53

Kids being devoured by a T-Rex, weird nightmare logic, and ambiguity! If you're seeing this, please leave us a review!By Steve Becker

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