Agitator

We have the homie Wren back to talk every Resident Evil CGI film: Degeneration, Damnation, Vendetta, Infinite Darkness, and Death Island. We're talking RE tropes, best fights, the benefits of these CG films over live-action, which ones we loved and which ones we hated, AND, we come up with a banger Resident Evil sequel plot of our own that nobody will be ballsy enough to make happen but if you do,...

On this episode, JDO talks to Jay Springett about Michael Marshall Smith's PKD-award-winning 1995 surreal cyberpunk novel Only Forward. This controversial book is notorious for making a hard left turn from hyperviolent mid-90s sci-fi into full-on dreamworld magical realism, and then making yet another hard turn into stark realism. It's an amazing book, a hilarious stream-of-consciousness packed wi...

David Simmons reading his story "Whole Time" at VOIDCON 2023. Shouts out to Jay Springett for the audio production. 

Today we have Robert Dean, incredible writer and longtime homie, to discuss Kensuke Sonomura's 2022 film Bad City as well as Bobby's essay collection Existential Thirst Trap .    Also discussed: faceless fame, writers whose advice is better than their books, Arnold Schwarzenegger, "what would Miike have done?," energy flow dance fighting, adventures in gay porn and speaking sex toy gigs, Brian Kee...

On this episode, special guest and author of the Ghosts of Baltimore duology David Simmons' comes on to talk with JDO about their book of the year: Whalefall by Daniel Kraus. We talk about research, smacking your children, and whether or not Kraus is based on covid (he's not). We also talk a lot about the book, which fucking rules.

On this episode: The current state of the film Mass State Lottery Endlessly tinkering with creative projects The origins of LowRes and Hans and what happened to their political podcast Impressions of our exclusive look at the Omega Fish Corp. script  + insight into how differently it translated to film How AI is good for independent artists Aftermath of the WGA strike and our honest opinions on th...

We're talking MD Geist and MD Geist II: Death Force with Wren Collier. Mostly, though, it's a music episode. We know you love those. So do we. We wish death upon irony and get real genuine in this conversation about keeping it cool, 80s action movie aesthetics, our HOT TAKES on AI art and writing, and - dawg, there's so much in here.

Best beat producer tags, Cyberpunk DLC, where we're each at with our next books (both late), Rhyd Wildermuth's Here Be Monsters and why Marxists rub Kelby wrong, the return of magic in a godless world, intersectionality and the dilemma of wokeism, Samurai Champloo, Pirates of the Carribean, The Bear , A Knight's Tale , boat life, modern day Conservative Christians, David trips about time, remember...

Talking DELIVER ME, transgressive fiction, the threshold of compromise, Miike, and more with author Elle Nash. Follow Elle:   IG : https://www.instagram.com/saderotica / X : https://twitter.com/saderotica Buy DELIVER ME: https://www.unnamedpress.com/books/book?title=Deliver+Me Subscribe to Elle's Patreon for exclusive blog posts, book club access, personal tarot readings, and because she's dope: h...

Today we have Matt Fresta of Coward Punch Records and Rango Tango Magazine on to talk about 1995's Blade Runner 2. This begins the tie-in series for Ghost in the Tome. JDO is fascinated by tie-in novels and authors who are tasked with expanding pre-existing IP. We talk: Reading books using print, ebook, and audio, making books in different color pages, The Righteous Mind, the Voight-Kampf test, wh...

Talking workplace injuries, mortality, ghosts in laser lights, teaching Lil Wayne in English class, Brian's new novel Bad Foundations , navigating places where you have outstanding warrants, rhythm vs readability, marketing, and much more. This episode is hilarious as expected, just the homies chopping it up. Buy Bad Foundations by Brian Allen Carr: https://www.clashbooks.com/new-products-2/brian-...

On this second episode of the Agitator Book Club, JDO had Glen from Rare Candy on to talk about Tim Powers' 600-page 1992 paranormal gambling noir story Last Call. This is like if James Ellroy wrote American Tabloid's secret history with Pixar-style magical realism. People play poker for their souls with Tarot cards, the ghost of Bugsy Siegel haunts a Twin Peaks style red room, and a reincarnation...

Today we have Alex Kazemi on to talk about his new book, New Millennium Boyz. Ten years in the making, NMB is a dark, funny look at turn-of-the-century young men and the emergence of hyper celebrity worship and the lust for internet fame. In this conversation, we learn about Alex's process for writing the book, the amount of research that went into every reference, and the book's reception by earl...

We're talking the Hulu Original, Chris Estrada-led cholo comedy THIS FOOL. This is a major writing craft episode, inspired by how incredibly written this show is. We talk sitcom frameworks, rejecting brilliance, working while writing, and more.

Evan Dean Shelton is a writer, publisher, podcaster, occult practitioner, and all-around chill motherfucker. We had him on to discuss VOIDCON--what is it, why's it happening, and who will be there? We also discuss making art for offensive purposes, edgelords, posers, and the desire to feel bad sometimes. Then, mostly on the Patreon half, we're discussing some essential listening in the realm of Ja...

Today on the show we have multimedia artist, author, and jacked rockstar Adam Lehrer chopping it up about Japanese noise and psychedelic rock. We talk bodybuilding, the distinction between noise and noise rock, the entry point of noise, meditation, Osaka as Bohemian Japan, and the mysteries and histories of all these avant-garde power groups. Track list to follow who we're talking about: Merzbow -...

Kelby binged the Twisted Metal TV series and has some thoughts on what works and what doesn't.

On today’s episode, we’re chopping it up bout the legacy of Osamu Tezuka—in real time, as we learn about the godfather ourselves—plus: giving the OGs their flowers, being honest bout who can be considered a GOAT, continued development of inspiration yielding better shit than what came before. Also: Barbie , skateboarding, Jackie Chan, what were the best years for film/music/books, and more.

Continuing our discussion on the Homunculus manga vs. film, we dive deep into shamanic soul retrieval, what even is a soul, being a person, manifest destiny, looking at our own and others' homunculi, and - regarding this work of art - we ask the important question: what would Miike do? For the full conversation and a lot more, go to patreon.com/agitator

Homunculus (manga) by Hideo Yamamoto (2003-2011) Homunculus (movie) dir. Takashi Shimizu (2021) There's a lot to unpack here, plus the usual writing and publishing and hustle tangents, so this'll be a two-parter. We go more into themes and first impressions here, next week will be a deep dive comparison between the manga series and the film. 

Today on the show, we're talking Hiroya Oku's 37-volume manga Gantz , which ran from 2000-2013. Joining us is our favorite expat drag queen in Japan, author and airwave artist Zach Langley Chi-Chi of I'm So Popular . We dive into this libidinal freestyle epic and also dig into revisiting the artist's vault, and what we can learn from our past selves. This is a prime example of the craft talk we ge...

On this first episode of the Ghost in the Tome book club, we talk Richard Morgan’s 2003 Philip K. Dick Award winning novel Altered Carbon. Kelby and JDO invited writers Jayson Young and Nick Spinnett to chat about the book. They brought the heat. This is peak radio. What is a soul if you can “re-sleeve” it into a new body whenever you want (if you can afford it)? Are we all just random data points...

This is episode 100, where we stop coming up with descriptions. Who reads this shit anyway? It's a podcast. Listen to it.

FAN SERVICE EPISODE! JDO gets a business call from a bill collector, the city mafia, dumb money bullshit, living close to the bone, decision to steal, Robin Hood of Water, the cost of living has got people feeling down,  The Idol,  why does everyone hate this show?, what’s the criteria for “earning trashiness”?, getting opinions from Twitter, caring about tabloids, engaging with the backstory of a...

The Way of the Househusband (2021) by Kousuke Oono On this episode we finally have our good friends from the Soapbox podcast on to chat about retired yakuza, the spirit world, and Thai occult magic. Alligator car crashes, Willacochee or won’t it, alligator facts, taste of reptile, green things, sound board fail, shows that feel like manga, cut off from Netflix, trying to be normal after experienci...