Broken Spine Social Club

Calm and calamity meet when my nature friend Alyssa Armbruster joins the podcast to discuss her favorite read, 1949’s ‘A Sand County Almanac’ by naturalist and conservationist, Aldo Leopold. Alyssa and I chat about how to define nature in a contemporary context, how to live seasonally, and the steps we can all take to live Leopold’s ‘Land Ethic’.  SHOP BOOKS OF THE POD: https://bookshop.org/lists/...

In this red, white, and blue mini-sode, I cover my top anxiety-relief tips and tricks as the most stressful day of the calendar year approaches: Election Day.  Morning to night, I share the practices, tools, and tips that help me bring calm into my life each day, in hopes this Election Day won’t be a panic-inducing, blue-light addled mess for you, dear listener!  Happy listening and don’t forget t...

Welcome to an extra special, totally terrifying, spooktacular episode of BROKEN SPINE SOCIAL CLUB: A GOTHIC LITERATURE DEEP DIVE. Today we take a look at all things ghastly, ghoulish, and Gothic as we dive deep into this infamous literary genre. From Gothic literary history to themes and tropes, book recommendations and more, you’re in for a blood-curdling Halloween listening experience.  SHOP BOO...

In 2022, newly minted reader Nicole Wiebe founded Denver Book Swap Society with one goal in mind: keep reading affordable and sustainable. In the 2 years since Denver Book Swap Society’s launch, the group has spawned endless chapters, events, friendships, and book clubs across multiple cities and states - and today, we sit to chat with Nicole on her reading journey, “affordable / sustainable” book...

If everyone you met forgot you as soon as you left their sight…how would you define yourself? V.E. Schwab’s 300-year-old protagonist Addie LaRue explores this very question when she sells her soul to the dark — and Human Design coach Courtney Carteret and I do as well, as we sit down to chat about the 2020 magic realism powerhouse along with a dive into Courtney’s background in human design.  SHE...

In 1928, an adventurous couple rafting the Colorado through the Grand Canyon go missing. In 2024, two girls who like beers, bikes, and The Clique books sit down to discuss what may or may not have happened, according to river historian Brad Dimock in his 2001 “Sunk Without a Sound: The Tragic Colorado River Honeymoon of Glen and Bessie Hyde". SHOP BOOKS OF THE POD: https://bookshop.org/lists/books...

Throw back to the best years of your life…or the most anxiety inducing, most self conscious, just generally worst years if you happen to be Lee Fiora of Curtis Sittenfeld’s “Prep”, a boarding-school classic exploring the world of the East Coast elite through the eyes of a Midwestern scholarship student. It’s the last of the Broken Spine Social Club back-to-school campus novel series, and we’re in...

Episode 15: Galatea 2.2 by Richard Powers  We’re back on campus with our second installment of the Broken Spine Social Club podcast Campus Novel series. Today, we discuss Richard Power’s 1995 ‘Galatea 2.2’, an eerily prescient psuedo-autobiographical novel about learning, human connection and of course, artificial intelligence. What is consciousness, how does Powers’s (maybe??) self-aware software...

It’s back to school season and in honor of little nerds who grow up to host book-related podcasts, we’re doing a 3-part deep-dive on the campus novel. First up is “Stoner” by John Williams, the genre-defining novel about quiet farm-boy-turned-English-lit-professor in this cult classic about love, literature, and the worth of a life lived in solitude.  INSTAGRAM: https://www.instagram.com/brokenspi...

Who knew a direct translation trench warfare WWI memoir could be so fascinating? Certainly anyone who knows anything about WWI, including my friend Salv. In this episode, we chat about the complicated Ernst Junger and his seminal WWI masterpiece “Storm of Steel”, including what the trenches were really like, what heroism is, and asking ourselves: how do we write about warfare?  INSTAGRAM: https://...

“Girl Dinner” gets a whole new meaning in Jean M. Auel’s 1980 “Clan of the Cave Bear”, where my lil’ sister Moselle and I serve up tasty morsels such as what makes a GOOD villain, Mary-Sue-isms, and a Neanderthal delicacy: ptarmigan stuffed with its own eggs. INSTAGRAM: https://www.instagram.com/brokenspinesc/ This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or ge...

EPISODE 12: Less Than Zero with My Cousin Friend, Jona My cousin-friend (and former pod co-host!) Jona and I dive into the wild world of Brett Easton Ellis to discuss his debut novel, Less Than Zero. A fascinating and disturbing look at the world of the 1980's LA elite, Less Than Zero is equal parts literary masterpiece and chaos-riddled teen drama -- which, obviously, we adore. And it wouldn't be...

Time travel, fantasy, and humor combine when my former boss (and friend) Cathal and I sit down to fish for a brand sponsorship from Mythology Whiskey. Oh yeah, we also discuss Terry Pratchett’s powerhouse fantasy-cop satire, “Night Watch”, the 29th installment of the beloved Discworld series. We chat moral v. legal justice, the role of parody in genre, and of course, Supermacs. INSTAGRAM: https://...

It’s me and me alone this week to give you my H1 Reading Review! On a mission for more Moshfegh, I review Lauren Groff’s “Matrix”, Rachel Yoder’s “Nightbitch”, and Mona Awad’s “All’s Well”, in addition to giving my listeners some QT with me. Let’s chat all things reading, writing, and more in my first (but not last!) solo episode!! INSTAGRAM: https://www.instagram.com/brokenspinesc/ This is a publ...

EPISODE 9: Childhood’s End with My Cousin Ben My cousin Ben and I chat about one of the greatest sci-fi classics of our time: Childhood’s End by Arthur C. Clarke. In addition to discussing what the end of days and The Wild Thornberrys have in common, Ben and I take a look at the beauty of sci-fi (and Clarke, specifically) to open up the box when it comes to big concept thinking, the connections be...

EPISODE 8: Harry Potter AND THE GOBLET OF FIRE with My Oldest friend Kelly, Pt 2 I’m back with my oldest pal Kelly to finish up our chat on Harry Potter and The Goblet of Fire. Last week, we tackled JK Rowling. This week, cancel culture, the cottage industry supporting Pottermania on their terms, and where exactly the Iron Curtain falls in the Wizarding World (because Hermione does not seem jazzed...

EPISODE 7 PT 1: Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire with My Oldest friend, Kelly What do crying at Sidney High School Prom 2010 and JK Rowling have in common? My oldest friend Kelly Whipple makes me feel better about both of them! Today is just one helping of a fun convo on all things Pottermania - from JK Rowling’s fall from grace to #justiceforsnape, we start what we can’t finish in Part 1 of Ep...

Believe it or not, naturalist and conservationist Jane Goodall gives me and my friend Caroline lots of reasons to hope...including but not limited to popsicle flavored Liquid IV, the eternal joy of reading, and the possibility of a Goodall-Attenborough kiss??? all this and more in this week’s episode on Jane Goodall and Douglas Abrams’s “The book of Hope”. Don't forget to subscribe, review, and ra...

Can a ghost story be funny? If you’re twentieth-century Irish writer Flann O’Brien, the answer might just be yes...as long as it’s mixed with a healthy dose of absurdism and existential angst. speaking of healthy dose...lots of sap incoming in this week’s episode where i sit down with my beloved husband to chat about Flann O’Brien’s “The Third Policeman.” Don’t forget to subscribe, review, and lea...

EPISODE FOUR: Children of Time with My Friend Ross  A planet of hyper-intelligent super-spiders…your worst nightmare, or humanity’s last hope? This is the question author Adrian Tchaikovsky asks and my friend Ross and I attempt to answer, along with trebuchet talk, RPG writing, and more in this week’s episode of Broken Spine Social Club!  Don’t forget to subscribe and rate us 5-stars!  INSTAGRAM:...

Two girls with very little dignity of their own sit down to chat about longing, remorse, love, and just how far you can push a good woman before she puts an end to your cocoa evenings. All this and more in this week’s episode, where I sit down with my writer friend Zaza to chat about the outstanding Kazuo Ishiguro’s “The Remains of the Day”. Don't forget to rate, subscribe, and share Broken Spine...

What’s your personal legend? Because if you avoided playdates to read about horses in your closet...you might just be on the path to becoming a jockey, like my friend Britt. Spiritual pathways, coming home again, and which “The Summer I Turned Pretty” brother is hotter - all this and more in this week’s episode as Britt and I chat about 'The Alchemist' by Paulo Coehlo. If you love BSSC, please mak...

Can fairy smut heal trauma? How many centuries does it take a man to become a supportive partner? SJM and Margot Robbie...friends or potential collaborators?  This week, my best friend Sarah and I chat all things ‘A Court of Silver Flames’, fifth book of the internet-breaking romantacy A Court of Thorns and Roses series!  Don't forget to subscribe and leave us a review, then follow @brokenspinesc...

Howdy, I'm Zoe. Reader, writer, friend. Welcome to Broken Spine Social Club. I spend a lot of time talking about what I like to read, and on Broken Spine Social Club, I sit down with the people in my life to chat about their favorite books. No book is off limits, and from high modernism to high fantasy, we cover it all, getting to the heart of what makes a story last beyond the final page.  My gue...