Overdue

What if all we knew about alien culture was their garbage? Or is it their garbage? The Strugatsky brothers' most famous novel is about a world where stalkers crawl through hazardous Zones for precious artifacts. Also it's about hope, bureaucracy, and our relationship to the unknown. Our theme music was composed by  Nick Lerangis . See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California...

We just couldn't resist another trip to Panem! This origin story for the trilogy's primary villain, Coriolanus Snow, takes us all the way back to the 10th Annual Hunger Games. Things are a little less flashy, but no less deadly. Struggle along with us through the hunger, through the games, and through the limits of fiction told through the antagonist's eyes. Our theme music was composed by  N...

Join us and our possibly imaginary gigantic anthropomorphic rabbit for a discussion about a play that just HAPPENS to be about a man who is friends with a possibly imaginary gigantic anthropomorphic rabbit. Funny how that works out! Our theme music was composed by  Nick Lerangis . See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not...

We've all heard that a tree grows in Brooklyn. But what ELSE grows there? A love of reading? A bootstraps narrative? We get to the root of the mystery this week on Overdue. Our theme music was composed by  Nick Lerangis . See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info .

Eggs is a book that has eggs in it, but also adolescent pain and friendship. Eggs! Our theme music was composed by  Nick Lerangis . See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info .

Lauren Oliver's first novel is about a teenage girl forced to relive the last day of her life over and over again. What can she change? What should she change? And how will she change? Find out the answers to those questions and more (namely, how all time loop fiction is beholden to the 1993 film Groundhog Day ) in this week's episode. Our theme music was composed by  Nick Lerangis . See Priv...

Children of Blood and Bone takes familiar fantasy tropes and puts them in a new context, which makes them unexpectedly poignant and powerful.  Our theme music was composed by  Nick Lerangis . See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info .

Welcome to Genie Babies, a magic carpet ride of a podcast from the boys here at Overdue! On our newest show-within-a-show, we're reading Husain Haddawy's translation of Muhsin Mahdi's manuscript of The Thousand and One Nights (also known by its westernized title, The Arabian Nights).  Some Patreon supporters get these episodes monthly, but every two months we'll combine them for general consu...

Everything happens for a reason in James McBride's new novel. It's September of 1969 and a doddering Brooklyn deacon just shot the neighborhood's top drug dealer. The events set in motion touch every member of the community - from its 102-year-old founder to the fire ants in the boiler room - and help them build a future as the world changes around them. Our theme music was composed by  Nick...

Can our podcast truly capture the depth of a renowned Brazilian novelist's final work? This question mirrors one asked by the narrator of The Hour of the Star, whose attempts to portray a young woman's pitiable existence are hindered by his fears that he will never do her story justice. Also, Craig talks into a sock. Our theme music was composed by  Nick Lerangis . See Privacy Policy at https...

The Games may have ended, but we're still hungry! We travel back to Panem for the close of Collins' trilogy about Katniss, Peeta, and revolution. It's time to talk (a)political messages, rickety love triangles, the limits of a hero's POV. If you aren't caught up on our Hunger Games journey, go give  Episode 400 or Episode 410 a listen! Our theme music was composed by  Nick Lerangis . See...

Sometimes a book is about exactly what it says on the cover. Oyinkan Braithwaite's debut novel is plenty dark but surprisingly funny, exploring sibling dynamics heightened by the fact that there is serial killing involved. Our theme music was composed by  Nick Lerangis . See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-i...

Craig loves dinosaurs, so Andrew let him talk for an hour about Steve Brusatte's recent book for dino devotees. Time to talk T-Rexes, Sauropods, and graphic depictions of the end of the world with our live Patreon chat. Our theme music was composed by  Nick Lerangis . Special thanks to the Patreon supporters who joined us in the live chat. For more info on how to participate in bonus episode...

Special guest Margaret H. Willison joins us this week to talk about the consensual, gay, historically accurate romance novels of KJ Charles. Our theme music was composed by  Nick Lerangis . See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info .

How could a dream upend your life? Would you stop eating meat? Embark on a ruinous affair? Desert your family? Han Kang's The Vegetarian asks visceral questions about our capacity for violence and what'd be willing to give up to be rid of it. Our new theme music was composed by  Nick Lerangis . See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/...

Candide is a novella-length takedown of the idea that we are living in the best of all possible worlds, as ordained by God. These days it's hard to believe we need a whole book about this but it's pretty funny anyway? Our new theme music was composed by  Nick Lerangis . See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-in...

Noted symbologist Robert Langdon has to "solve" a "mystery" that "references" Dante's Inferno! Let's see if he can crack the clues before the whole world succumbs to a transhumanist disease (yes, that's a real sentence that makes real sense.) For context, this was originally released in late May for some of our Patreon supporters. *** As we say in the pre-show, we've donated to the Marshall Projec...

This week we read an (1) explicitly autobiographical (2) non-fiction (3) graphic novel, things we don't usually do! But we try to have a useful discussion anyway. This episode, like most of our shows, does not pass the Bechdel Test. Our new theme music was composed by  Nick Lerangis . See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do...

Welcome to the last official installment of HELLBOYS, a Divine Comedy podcast from the boys here at Overdue! On this episode, we wrap up our journey through Robert and Jean Hollander's translation of Dante's Divine Comedy. Some Patreon supporters get these episodes monthly, but every other month we release them for general consumption. This episode carries us to the end where we meet a Who's Who o...

Jhumpa Lahiri's second short story collection focuses on the experiences of second- and third-generation Bengali-Americans, people caught between the futures they're trying to build and the pasts they're trying to honor. Her direct, compelling writing style makes these slices of life particularly affecting, as do the characters and the misfortunes that befall them. Our new theme music was composed...

Orlando is an English nobleman in the 16th century who, by the end the Woolf's tongue-in-cheek biography of the character, is an English noblewoman in the 20th century. It's quite a journey for all involved! See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info .

My grandmother asked me to tell you about this podcast. It's about a book by Swedish author Fredrik Backman, and it's about a precocious young girl named Elsa and her quest to deliver her Granny's letters of apology. It's a fairy tale - of sorts. It's also a story about coming to grips with the world's complications, with the ways in which we are all more than we appear at first glance, and with g...

Llama Llama Red Pajama On a podcast with his mama! We read llama books to kids To make them close their small eyelids. See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info .

What's a boy to do when his dad is the bumbling Chief of Police? Solve crimes, of course! Join us as we solve The Mystery of How Donald J. Sobol Wrote Detective Fiction for Kids! Special thanks to the Patreon supporters who joined us in the live chat. For more info on how to participate in bonus episode recordings, head to  patreon.com/overduepod . See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/priv...

Fair warning: this book's a bit of a bummer! Agee's autobiographical A Death in the Family centers on the aftermath of the automobile accident that took his father's life in 1915. It's a poetic exploration of grief and trauma -- which may not be everyone's cup of tea these days! Ways we try to lighten the mood include: It's a Wonderful Life musings, Andrew's Heavenly Dogs, and a bunch of words tha...