Welcome back to the Rocket Talk podcast!

Deadspin superstar Drew Magary joins Justin to talk about his new novel, The Hike. Jumping into the conversation is Drew Magary superfan, Jared Shurin of Pornokitsch. The trio discuss the intersection of sports and literature, the television show Chopped, Donald Trump, and a smattering of other things.

Drew Magary is a correspondent for GQ and a columnist for Deadspin. He is the author of the memoir Someone Could Get Hurt and the novels The Postmortal and The Hike—available now from Viking, you can read a review here. His writing has appeared in Maxim, New York magazine, The Atlantic, Bon Appétit, The Huffington Post, the Awl, Gawker, Penthouse, Playboy, Rolling Stone, and on Comedy Central, NPR, NBC, ESPN, and more. Find him on Twitter @drewmagary.

Rocket Talk Episode 81 (42:28)

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Also! If you have an idea for an episode of Rocket Talk or would like to come on as a guest, reach out to Justin Landon at [email protected]. Obviously, we can’t accommodate everyone, but we’re always looking for new ideas and fresh perspectives. You can find all of the episodes of Rocket Talk on Tor.com here.

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Welcome back to the Rocket Talk podcast!

Justin invites podcasting guru Alasdair Stuart, of PseudoPod fame to the show. They talk about fiction podcasting, surviving as an upcoming writer, the importance of networking, and other fun stuff.

Alasdair Stuart is co-owner of the Escape Artists fiction content network, which includes PseudoPod, PodCastle, EscapePod, and Mothership Zeta. He’s also a freelance journalist and broadcaster and host of the Parsec award winning podcast, Pseudopod. His work has appeared in the Guardian, How It Works, the Fortean Times, Sci Fi Now, Neo, and here on Tor.com! You can follow him on Twitter @AlasdairStuart.

Rocket Talk Episode 80  (44:42)

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Also! If you have an idea for an episode of Rocket Talk or would like to come on as a guest, reach out to Justin Landon at [email protected]. Obviously, we can’t accommodate everyone, but we’re always looking for new ideas and fresh perspectives. You can find all of the episodes of Rocket Talk on Tor.com here.

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Welcome back to the Rocket Talk podcast! Emo Kylo Ren pays Justin a visit this week, in the form of the woman behind it all—Alexanda Petri! Together they discuss Star Wars, Jeopardy, internet culture, politics, and Petri’s book, A Field Guide to Awkward Silences.

Alexandra Petri is a Washington Post columnist and blogger, an International Pun Champion, a playwright, and a Jeopardy! loser, and she’s been on your TV a couple of times. She is also a congressman’s kid, if that interests you. When she remembers, she does stand-up comedy too. You can follow her on Twitter @petridishes, or keep up with her alter ego @KyloR3n.

Rocket Talk Episode 79  (40:57)

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Also! If you have an idea for an episode of Rocket Talk or would like to come on as a guest, reach out to Justin Landon at [email protected]. Obviously, we can’t accommodate everyone, but we’re always looking for new ideas and fresh perspectives. You can find all of the episodes of Rocket Talk on Tor.com here.

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Welcome back to the Rocket Talk podcast! We’ve got an exciting episode this week as we’re joined by Lauren Montgomery and Joaquim dos Santos—the co-showrunners of the new Netflix show Voltron Legendary Defender! Together we discusses the new show, what attracted them to work on it, and some of the choices they made in remaking an 80s’ icon.

Season 1 is available now on Netflix!

Lauren Montgomery is a director, storyboard artist, and producer. She directed the Wonder Woman animated film, did storyboards for Book 3 of Avatar: The Last Airbender, and was a supervising producer and storyboard artist for The Legend of Korra, She is now an executive producer and co-showrunner on Netflix’s Voltron Legendary Defender.

Joaquim dos Santos has directed episodes of Justice League Unlimited, Avatar: The Last Airbender, and The Legend of Korra. He also directed the mini-series G.I. Joe: Resolute and two short films for DC: The Spectre and Jonah Hex. He is now an executive producer and co-showrunner on the animated series Voltron  Legendary Defender.

Rocket Talk Episode 78  (24:59)

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Listen to Episode 78: Lauren Montgomery and Joaquim dos Santos

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Also! If you have an idea for an episode of Rocket Talk or would like to come on as a guest, reach out to Justin Landon at [email protected]. Obviously, we can’t accommodate everyone, but we’re always looking for new ideas and fresh perspectives. You can find all of the episodes of Rocket Talk on Tor.com here.

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Welcome back to the Rocket Talk podcast! We’ve got some tremendous shows coming in the weeks ahead. So stay tuned!

This week’s show features Rocket Talk regular, Amal El-Mohtar. She joins Justin Landon to talk about Hamilton, the musical cultural sensation. The pair discuss what makes the musical so great, how it’s impacting the discussion, and whether or not it qualifies as “genre”.

Amal El-Mohtar is a Canadian author and blogger. She’s won several awards for her poetry and was nominated for the Nebula Award in 2011 for her short story “The Green Book”, won the 2015 Locus Award for “The Truth About Owls”, and was nominated again for the Nebula in 2016 for “Madeleine.” Her non-fiction work can be found at Tor.com, NPR, and Lightspeed Magazine.

Rocket Talk Episode 77  (1:02:52)

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Also! If you have an idea for an episode of Rocket Talk or would like to come on as a guest, reach out to Justin Landon at [email protected]. Obviously, we can’t accommodate everyone, but we’re always looking for new ideas and fresh perspectives. You can find all of the episodes of Rocket Talk on Tor.com here.

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Welcome back to the Rocket Talk podcast! We apologize for a few weeks delay, but two recordings had to be discarded due to bad audio. Nevertheless, we return in fine fashion!

This episode brings fantasy writing standout Myke Cole back to the show and welcomes BuzzFeed Books Editor, Isaac Fitzgerald for the first time. Isaac gives us the straight dope on BuzzFeed’s mission and breaks down their approach to content. Myke and Isaac then start a conversation about the intersection of genre fiction and general fiction in the modern cultural environment. Finally, Myke convinces you to buy his book.

As a security contractor, government civilian, and military officer, Myke Cole’s career has run the gamut from counterterrorism to cyber warfare to federal law enforcement. He’s done three tours in Iraq and was recalled to serve during the Deepwater Horizon oil spill. His first series, the Shadow Ops Trilogy, is complete. Gemini Cell and Javelin Rain are the start of a new series set in the same universe—you can read an excerpt from Javelin Rain here on Tor.com.

Isaac Fitzgerald is the editor at BuzzFeed Books and co-founder of Pen & Ink. He uses Twitter.

Rocket Talk Episode 76  (47:30)

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Also! If you have an idea for an episode of Rocket Talk or would like to come on as a guest, reach out to Justin Landon at [email protected]. Obviously, we can’t accommodate everyone, but we’re always looking for new ideas and fresh perspectives. You can find all of the episodes of Rocket Talk on Tor.com here.

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Welcome back to the Rocket Talk podcast!

This episode brings ESPN baseball writer Keith Law to the show. Keith is a dedicated fiction reader, who is slowly working his way through all of the Hugo Award-winning novels. The pair discuss his work in baseball, his general love of fiction, what science fiction is all about, and other things here and there.

Keith Law is a senior baseball writer with ESPN and ESPN, Scouts Inc. He was previously a writer at Baseball Prospectus and a front office executive with the Toronto Blue Jays. He reviews board games for Paste Magazine and maintains a personal blog where he discusses food, books, and games.

Rocket Talk Episode 75 (54:45)

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Listen to Episode 75: ESPN’s Keith Law

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Also! If you have an idea for an episode of Rocket Talk or would like to come on as a guest, reach out to Justin Landon at [email protected]. Obviously, we can’t accommodate everyone, but we’re always looking for new ideas and fresh perspectives. You can find all of the episodes of Rocket Talk on Tor.com here.

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Welcome back to the Rocket Talk podcast!

Charlie Jane Anders visits the show this week, talking about her new novel All the Birds in the Sky. The conversation covers her ideas about the intersection of literary and genre fiction, her fascination with time, and whether or not she’ll listen to Hamilton before seeing it live. The two also discuss Anders’ long running Writers With Drinks series in San Francisco, among other things.

Charlie Jane Anders is an author and blogger, with hundreds of bylines. Her non-fiction has appeared in Salon, The Wall Street Journal, Publishers Weekly, San Francisco Bay Guardian, Mother Jones, the San Francisco Chronicle, and io9, where she works as Editor in Chief. Her newest novel, All the Birds in the Sky, is available from Tor Books—you can read the first four chapters, starting here with chapter one. Her 2011 novelette “Six Months, Three Days” won the 2012 Hugo and was nominated for the Nebula and Theodore Sturgeon Awards.

Rocket Talk Episode 74 (37:36)

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Also! If you have an idea for an episode of Rocket Talk or would like to come on as a guest, reach out to Justin Landon at justin.landon@gmail.com. Obviously, we can’t accommodate everyone, but we’re always looking for new ideas and fresh perspectives. You can find all of the episodes of Rocket Talk on Tor.com here.

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Welcome back to the Rocket Talk podcast!

This week, Justin is joined by V.E. Schwab and Miriam Weinberg, the author and editor team behind  A Darker Shade of Magic and its forthcoming sequel A Gathering of Shadows. They talk about their editorial relationship, Schwab’s path to publication, and the thoughts that went into creating the sensation that the series has become.

V.E. Schwab is the author of YA novels The Near Witch, The Archived, and The Unbound. Schwab’s first adult novel, Vicious, debuted to critical praise and reader accolades. Her latest series, beginning with A Darker Shade of Magic, takes us on a journey through parallel Londons—its sequel, A Gathering of Shadows, publishes February 23rd in the US from Tor Books and in the UK from Titan. You can read an excerpt here on Tor.com.

Miriam Weinberg is an editor at Tor Books. She has worked with several editors, including Hugo-award winning editors Liz Gorinsky and Patrick Nielsen Hayden, and is now busily working to build her own list.

Rocket Talk Episode 73 (53:30)

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Listen to Episode 73: V.E. Schwab and Miriam Weinberg

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Also! If you have an idea for an episode of Rocket Talk or would like to come on as a guest, reach out to Justin Landon at [email protected]. Obviously, we can’t accommodate everyone, but we’re always looking for new ideas and fresh perspectives. You can find all of the episodes of Rocket Talk on Tor.com here.

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Welcome back to the Rocket Talk podcast!

This week, Robert Jackson Bennett invites Justin to his favorite restaurant. They share a sumptuous meal together, with wine and fine conversation. Their waiter, Giuseppe, comes by the table from time to time. The conversation itself covers Robert’s intentions with his new novel, City of Blades, his use of third person present, and Donald Trump.

Note: This episode is totally weird. The music is from Bensound, available here.

Robert Jackson Bennett is the author of American Elsewhere, The Troupe, The Company Man, and Mr. Shivers. His books have been awarded the Edgar Award, the Shirley Jackson, and the Philip K. Dick Citation of Excellence. His latest series, starting with City of Stairs and continuing with City of Blades, is an atmospheric and intrigue-filled with dead gods, buried histories, and a one-armed lady generals.

Rocket Talk Episode 72 (33:10)

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Also! If you have an idea for an episode of Rocket Talk or would like to come on as a guest, reach out to Justin Landon at [email protected]. Obviously, we can’t accommodate everyone, but we’re always looking for new ideas and fresh perspectives. You can find all of the episodes of Rocket Talk on Tor.com here.

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Welcome back to the Rocket Talk podcast!

Mur Lafferty pays Rocket Talk a visit this week to talk about her new magazine, Mothership Zeta. The pair discuss the editorial direction of the magazine, Lafferty’s forthcoming new novel Six Wakes, and what it’s like to be an editor in the field today.

Note: This episode was recorded before episode 70 and thus lacks our new “review” segment.

Mur Lafferty is the author of several novels including The Shambling Guide to New York City and Ghost Train to New Orleans. She was the editor of Escape Pod until 2012. Her own podcast, I Should Be Writing, has won awards and led to her induction into the Podcasting Hall of Fame, and she won the John W. Campbell Award for Best New Writer in 2013.

Rocket Talk Episode 71 (40:41)

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Also! If you have an idea for an episode of Rocket Talk or would like to come on as a guest, reach out to Justin Landon at [email protected]. Obviously, we can’t accommodate everyone, but we’re always looking for new ideas and fresh perspectives. You can find all of the episodes of Rocket Talk on Tor.com here.

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