Peculiar Book Club Podcast

Welcome to the Peculiar Movie Club, a bonus podcast linked to our main show the Peculiar Book Club through common themes in media.  This week, in honor of the book The Evening Hero by Marie Myung-Ok Lee, we are discussing the movie Minari. Join Davey Berris and his podcasting partner Darren Cross, for a deep dive into this family and immigrant tale.  We'll be looking into the themes of the Ame...

We don't do much fiction, but sometimes there is a story that begs to be read. This one is a medical humanities style tale; Marie Myung-OK Lee writes a sweeping, lyrical novel following a Korean immigrant pursuing the American dream who must confront the secrets of the past or risk watching the world he’s worked so hard to build come crumbling down. Dr. Yungman Kwak is in the twilight of his l...

Ed Yong PROBABLY needs no introduction--but just in case: he is a Pulitzer Prize–winning science writer on the staff of The Atlantic, where he also won the George Polk Award for science reporting, among other honors. His first book, I Contain Multitudes, was a New York Times bestseller. We are SO grateful to have him with us! In An Immense World, Ed Yong coaxes us beyond the confines of our own se...

The End of Everything (Astrophysically Speaking) The Universe had a beginning, and it will have an end. Modern cosmology — the study of the nature and evolution of the cosmos itself — has allowed physicists to explain the history of the Universe from the first tiny fraction of a second until today. But what’s next? We now have the tools to extend our knowledge into the distant future and speculate...

Welcome to the Peculiar Movie Club, a bonus podcast linked to our main show the Peculiar Book Club through common themes in media.  This week, in honor of the book Ordinary Equality by Kate Kelly, we are discussing the movie On the Basis of Sex. Join Davey Berris and his podcasting partner Darren Cross, for a deep dive into this legal drama, biography movie.  We'll be looking into the themes o...

THE BATTLE GOES ON! Ordinary Equality digs into the fascinating and little-known history of the women and queer people who have helped shape the U.S. Constitution for more than 200 years. Based on author Kate Kelly’s acclaimed podcast of the same name, Ordinary Equality recounts a story centuries in the making. From before the Constitution was even drafted to the modern day, she examines how and w...

Welcome to the Peculiar Movie Club, a bonus podcast linked to our main show the Peculiar Book Club through common themes in media.  This week, in honor of the book Heartbreak by Florence Williams, we are discussing the movie Eat Pray Love. Join Davey Berris and his podcasting partner Darren Cross, for a deep dive into this heartbreak (maybe midlife crisis) movie.  We'll be looking into t...

Is there a SCIENCE for SADNESS? When twenty-five-year marriage suddenly falls apart, journalist Florence Williams expects the loss to hurt. But when she starts feeling physically sick, losing weight and sleep, she sets out in pursuit of rational explanation. She travels to the frontiers of the science of “social pain” to learn why heartbreak hurts so much―and why so much of the conventional wisdom...

Your Backstage Pass Beyond the Veil! A full sensory experience... "The Secret Music of Lily Dale" is both book and album.   This is a rare peek inside the famed little town that talks to the dead— with both sights and sounds. An unprecedented project, Jill Tracy reveals a sonic exploration of Lily Dale, the private community of mediums and Spiritualists in upstate New York. These are her eleg...

Welcome to the Peculiar Movie Club, a bonus podcast linked to our main show the Peculiar Book Club through common themes in media.  This week, in honor of the book The Gilded Edge by Catherine Prendergast, we are discussing the movie Vicky Cristina Barcelona. Join Davey Berris and his podcasting partner Darren Cross, for a deep dive into this love triangle movie.  We'll be looking into t...

“The Gilded Edge is a compelling read from start to finish. Gripping, suspenseful, cinematic. This is narrative nonfiction at its best.”—Lindsey Fitzharris, bestselling author of The Butchering Art   No, it isn't fiction. But you will think it MUST be--sex, death, poetry, women's rights:  Nora May French and Carrie Sterling arrive at Carmel-by-the-Sea at the turn of the twentieth century...

What the Dog Knows tells the stories of cadaver dogs, drug and bomb detecting K9s, tracking and apprehension dogs—even dogs who can locate unmarked graves of Civil War soldiers and help find drowning victims more than two hundred feet below the surface of a lake. Working dogs sometimes seem magical, as they distinguish scent, cover territory, and accomplish tasks that no machine is yet capable of....

Welcome to the first episode of the Peculiar Movie Club, a bonus podcast linked to our main show the Peculiar Book Club through common themes in media.  This week, in honor of the book Bitten by Kris Newby, we are discussing the movie 28 Days Later. Join co-host Davey Berris, as he brings in his former movie podcasting partner Darren Cross, for a deep dive into this haunting movie.  We'l...

The Secret History of Lyme Disease and Biological Weapons: A riveting thriller reminiscent of The Hot Zone, this true story dives into the mystery surrounding one of the most controversial and misdiagnosed conditions of our time—Lyme disease—and of Willy Burgdorfer, the man who discovered the microbe behind it, revealing his secret role in developing bug-borne biological weapons, and raising terri...

Join host Dr. Brandy Schillace for a conversation inspired by philosophy, literature, and private life, exploring the paradoxes of the bedroom with Damon Young, author of On Getting Off! In true book-club style, you will meet the author and participate in the discussion–so come with questions! Join us, too, for the PopCult Quizzer with host Davey Berris, where science fact meets science fiction. &...

Join host Dr. Brandy Schillace for a journey through the decisions we make every day and a less stressful way forward with Timothy Caulfield author of Relax, Dammit! In true book-club style, you will meet the author and participate in the discussion–so come with questions! Join us, too, for the PopCult Quizzer with host Davey Berris, where science fact meets science fiction.   Episode was rec...

Join host Dr. Brandy Schillace for the science and business of turning waste into wealth and health with Lina Zeldovich, author of The Other Dark Matter! In true book-club style, you will meet the author and participate in the discussion–so come with questions! Join us, too, for the PopCult Quizzer with host Davey Berris, where science fact meets science fiction.   Episode was recorded live o...

Join host Dr. Brandy Schillace for a glimpse into an activist’s journey and continued fight for disability justice with Alice Wong, author of Year of the Tiger! In true book-club style, you will meet the author and participate in the discussion–so come with questions! Join us, too, for the PopCult Quizzer with host Davey Berris, where science fact meets science fiction.   Episode was recorded...

Join host Dr. Brandy Schillace for a spirited tour through the supernatural history of America with Marc Hartzman author of Chasing Ghosts! In true book-club style, you will meet the author and participate in the discussion–so come with questions! Join us, too, for the PopCult Quizzer with host Davey Berris, where science fact meets science fiction.   Episode was recorded live on October 27th...

Join host Dr. Brandy Schillace for a rollicking, myth-busting history of sex with Rachel Feltman, author of Been There, Done That! In true book-club style, you will meet the author and participate in the discussion–so come with questions! Join us, too, for the PopCult Quizzer with host Davey Berris, where science fact meets science fiction.   Episode was recorded live on October 13th, 2022. T...

Join host Dr. Brandy Schillace for two books, the history of felines and how the dead live on through memorials with Paul Koudounaris, author of A Cat's Tale plus Memento Mori! In true book-club style, you will meet the author and participate in the discussion–so come with questions! Join us, too, for the PopCult Quizzer with host Davey Berris, where science fact meets science fiction.   Epis...

Join host Dr. Brandy Schillace for a natural history of the heart with Bill Schutt, author of Pump! In true book-club style, you will meet the author and participate in the discussion–so come with questions! Join us, too, for the PopCult Quizzer with host Davey Berris, where science fact meets science fiction.   Episode was recorded live on September 22nd, 2022. To join future broadcasts chec...

Join host Dr. Brandy Schillace for an exploration of the people who have made death their life's work with Hayley Campbell, author of All the Living and the Dead! In true book-club style, you will meet the author and participate in the discussion–so come with questions! Join us, too, for the PopCult Quizzer with host Davey Berris, where science fact meets science fiction.   Episode was record...

Join host Dr. Brandy Schillace in changing the conversation on autism with Eric Garcia, author of We're Not Broken! In true book-club style, you will meet the author and participate in the discussion–so come with questions! Join us, too, for the PopCult Quizzer with host Davey Berris, where science fact meets science fiction.   Episode was recorded live on August 25th, 2022. To join future br...

Join co-host Davey Berris for an American tale of Lipstick and its place throughout our history with Ilise S. Carter, author of The Red Menace! In true book-club style, you will meet the author and participate in the discussion–so come with questions! Join us, too, for the PopCult Quizzer, where science fact meets science fiction.   Episode was recorded live on August 11th, 2022. To join futu...