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The Chills at Will Podcast is a celebration of the visceral beauty of literature. This beauty will be examined through close reads of phrases and lines and passages from fiction and nonfiction that thrills the reader, so much so that he wants to read again and again to replicate that thrill. Each episode will focus on a different theme, such as "The Power of Flashback," "Understatement," "Cats in the Cradle," and "Chills at Will: Origin Story."
Episodes
19 minutes ago
19 minutes ago
Notes and Links to Joe McGinniss’ Work
Joe McGinniss Jr. is the author of DAMAGED PEOPLE, CAROUSEL COURT and THE DELIVERY MAN.
Buy Damaged People: A Memoir of Fathers and Sons
Review of Damaged People in Kirkus Reviews
People Magazine Article about Damaged People
At about 1:30, Joe talks about wonderful feedback he’s gotten from readers of his memoir
At about 2:40, Pete and Joe reflect on his father’s work and ideas in relation to the “public intellectual”
At about 4:45, Joe expands on the hard work and determination that led to him being so revered, even by Robert F. Kennedy
At about 8:10, Joe gives purchasing information for Damaged People
At about 9:30, Joe gives seeds and background for his memoir, including a catalyst in a 2016 New Yorker article
At about 10:45, The two discuss the book’s epigraphs and Joe remarks on writing about such personal experiences and close friends and family
At about 13:50, Joe responds to Pete’s questions about the book’s Prologue setting
At about 16:50, Joe expands on the analogy of his father put forth by his brother of their father as a “puppy pissing on the rug”
At about 21:40, Pete references Lorenzo Carcaterra’s A Safe Place and connections to Joe’s book
At about 23:00, Joe expands upon cycles involving sons and fathers and reflects on the line from the book that “progress is being made”
At about 28:00, Joe responds to Pete’s questions about a telling photo opp for a magazine article on Heroes by his father
At about 30:50, Pete and Joe give background on Joe, Sr.’s breakthrough with The Selling of the President, and Joe discusses connections between the events of the book and today’s politics
At about 33:00, the two discuss Joe’s father’s triumphs and the parts he was lacking as a father, in connection to his own father’s treatment of him; Joe emphasizes that his son knew he “was loved” by his grandfather
At about 36:20, Pete lays out some of the book’s flashforward scene to beautiful memories of his growing son and wonderful wife, and then the two talk Rex Chapman and basketball inspiration
At about 40:10, Joe talks about his first book’s tour, and how he built great memories, and he talks about the juxtaposed
At about 41:40, The two discuss the “idyllic” life lived by Joe’s father (and Joe for a while), and Joe shares some amazing anecdotes from those days
At about 44:40, Joe relates the story of his dog Lucy being stolen by a 19-year-old Kiefer Sutherland (!)
At about 45:30, Joe expands on his father’s experience researching Fatal Vision
At about 49:50, Joe gives background on the importance of the saying, “Everything’s blowin’ away” in connection to his father’s energy and ambition and anxiety
At about 52:45, Joe responds to Pete’s questions about his father’s treatment of Jeffrey McDonald in Fatal Vision
At about 53:30, Pete reflects on changes in Joe’s relationship with his son as he grows up
At about 54:30, Joe recounts the story that Janet Malcolm wrote regarding the MacDonald case and how Joe, Sr. was sued
At about 59:20, Joe traces the late 80s and 90s for his father, and his bold decision to turn down an O.J. Simpson trial book and write instead about Italian soccer
At about 1:05:30, Joe shares his perspective on apology letters and confession letters written by his father to him and his siblings
At about 1:08:00, Joe reflects on the times in which he knew he had been too overbearing and strict with his son in his basketball career
At about 1:11:50, Joe reflects on ideas of life and father-son relationships as “process[es]” in connection to his father’s death and “gaps” left behind
At about 1:15:10, Joe responds to Pete’s question about how he now sees sons after these years of writing and reflection
At about 1:17:30, Joe charts his dad’s reactions to hip-hop
You can now subscribe to the podcast on Apple Podcasts, and leave a five-star review. You can also ask for the podcast by name using Alexa, and find the pod on Stitcher, Spotify, and on Amazon Music. Follow Pete on IG, where he is @chillsatwillpodcast, or on Twitter, where he is @chillsatwillpo1. You can watch other episodes on YouTube-watch and subscribe to The Chills at Will Podcast Channel. Please subscribe to both the YouTube Channel and the podcast while you’re checking out this episode.
Pete is very excited to have one or two podcast episodes per month featured on the website of Chicago Review of Books. The audio will be posted, along with a written interview culled from the audio. His conversation with Hannah Pittard, a recent guest, is up at Chicago Review.
Sign up now for The Chills at Will Podcast Patreon: it can be found at patreon.com/chillsatwillpodcastpeterriehl
Check out the page that describes the benefits of a Patreon membership, including cool swag and bonus episodes. Thanks in advance for supporting Pete’s one-man show, DIY podcast and extensive reading, research, editing, and promoting to keep this independent podcast pumping out high-quality content!
This month’s Patreon bonus episode features an exploration of flawed characters, protagonists who are too real in their actions, and horror and noir as being where so much good and realistic writing takes place.
Pete has added a $1 a month tier for “Well-Wishers” and Cheerleaders of the Show.
This is a passion project, a DIY operation, and Pete would love for your help in promoting what he’s convinced is a unique and spirited look at an often-ignored art form.
The intro song for The Chills at Will Podcast is “Wind Down” (Instrumental Version), and the other song played on this episode was “Hoops” (Instrumental)” by Matt Weidauer, and both songs are used through ArchesAudio.com.
Please tune in for Episode 315 with Cole Cuchna, the host and the creator of Dissect, a serialized music podcast that examines a single album per season, one song per episode. Dissect was named "Best podcast of 2017" by Quartz, and the following year was named "Best podcast of 2018" by the New York Times. It has done deep dives on albums by Kendrick Lamar, Beyonce, Childish Gambino, Tyler the Creator, MF Doom, Radiohead, Frank Ocean, and more.
The episode airs on December 30.
Please go to ceasefiretoday.org, and/or https://act.uscpr.org/a/letaidin to call your congresspeople and demand an end to the forced famine and destruction of Gaza and the Gazan people.
Tuesday Dec 09, 2025
Tuesday Dec 09, 2025
Notes and Links to Jackie Domenus’ Work
Jackie Domenus (she/they) is a queer writer from South Jersey and the author of NO OFFENSE: A MEMOIR IN ESSAYS (2025), published with ELJ Editions. A 2021 Tin House Winter Workshop graduate, Jackie’s essays have appeared in The HuffPost, The Offing Mag, The Normal School, Variant Lit, Entropy, Watershed Review, Wig-Wag, Philadelphia Stories, and HerStry, among other publications Their poetry has appeared in Hooligan Mag and Giving Room Mag. Her short story “Mirror Image” published in So To Speak, as well as her essay “Two Truths and a Lie” published in Identity Theory, were both nominated for a Pushcart Prize.
Jackie has formerly served as a publishing assistant at Guernica Magazine, an associate editor for Glassworks Magazine, and a contest coordinator for Philadelphia Stories. They work as the Program Director for Fellowships at Mid Atlantic Arts.
Buy No Offense: A Memoir in Essays
Review of No Offense in The Rumpus: “Misperceptions, Assumptions, and Slurs: Jackie Domenus’s No Offense”
At about 3:45, Jackie talks about ideas of representation and reading as a kid-they highlight The Perks of Being a Wallflower
At about 6:50, shout out to Shel Silverstein’s feet (and writing)!
At about 7:15, Jackie responds to Pete’s questions about their early writing journey
At about 9:45, Jackie reflects on writing as “cathartic” and "therapeutic," in certain conditions, and in some conditions, not so
At about 12:20, Zoe Bossier, Kiese Laymon, Melissa Febos, and K.B. Brookins are shouted out as writers who thrill and challenge Jackie
At about 14:05, Pete asks Jackie about their book’s Foreword and the process in ultimately deciding to include early writing that had them in different and perhaps more privileged places
At about 18:10, Pete and Jackie
At about 20:40, Jackie talks about interesting and fun feedback from readers
At about 24:30, Jackie responds to Pete asking about early on in the book defining “microaggression”
At about 26:15, Pete lays out the book’s exposition in discussing the first essay of the book, and Jackie expands upon the essay’s themes and connecting POVs
At about 30:20, Jackie emphasizes their belief that any memoir, particularly queer and trans memoir, does not need to be linear
At about 31:15, the two discuss the book’s essay meditations on the uses of terms for men and women connected to dogs
At about 33:15, Jackie responds to Pete’s question about the anecdote in the essay where their dad broke down over the loss of the family dog
At about 35:35, Jackie and Pete discuss Mary Poppins and heroes and queer people and their representations in media in Jackie’s formative years
At about 39:00, The two discuss ignorance and ideas of “othering” as reflected in a resonant anecdote in the book about a trip to the OB/GYN
At about 42:45, Pete uses an example from a Simpsons’ episode in asking Jackie about the balance between educating and becoming a crutch for people looking for validation
At about 46:50, Jackie expands upon the line from the book that their “coming out was not really a ‘coming out’ ”
At about 49:10, Jackie reflects on the material from the book’s essay dealing with interpretations of queerness in Jennifer’s Body, Girl, Interrupted, and Black Swan
At about 53:15, Jackie discusses an essay that identifies three “first loves” and traces their outward sexuality
At about 56:20, Pete compliments Jackie’s use of second person, highlighting a beautiful imagined scene on Page 84, and Jackie talks about their mindset and aim for the essay
At about 1:00:35, “Burden of Proof” and a student of Jackie’s, Isaac’s, moving experiences are discussed
At about 1:04:50, Fear and the Trump era are discussed as rendered in the book, as well as Jackie’s continuing "realization"
You can now subscribe to the podcast on Apple Podcasts, and leave me a five-star review. You can also ask for the podcast by name using Alexa, and find the pod on Stitcher, Spotify, and on Amazon Music. Follow Pete on IG, where he is @chillsatwillpodcast, or on Twitter, where he is @chillsatwillpo1. You can watch other episodes on YouTube-watch and subscribe to The Chills at Will Podcast Channel. Please subscribe to both the YouTube Channel and the podcast while you’re checking out this episode.
Pete is very excited to have one or two podcast episodes per month featured on the website of Chicago Review of Books. The audio will be posted, along with a written interview culled from the audio. His conversation with Hannah Pittard, a recent guest, is up at Chicago Review.
Sign up now for The Chills at Will Podcast Patreon: it can be found at patreon.com/chillsatwillpodcastpeterriehl
Check out the page that describes the benefits of a Patreon membership, including cool swag and bonus episodes. Thanks in advance for supporting Pete’s one-man show, DIY podcast and extensive reading, research, editing, and promoting to keep this independent podcast pumping out high-quality content!
This month’s Patreon bonus episode features an exploration of flawed characters, protagonists who are too real in their actions, and horror and noir as being where so much good and realistic writing takes place.
Pete has added a $1 a month tier for “Well-Wishers” and Cheerleaders of the Show.
This is a passion project, a DIY operation, and Pete would love for your help in promoting what he’s convinced is a unique and spirited look at an often-ignored art form.
The intro song for The Chills at Will Podcast is “Wind Down” (Instrumental Version), and the other song played on this episode was “Hoops” (Instrumental)” by Matt Weidauer, and both songs are used through ArchesAudio.com.
Please tune in for Episode 314 with Mariah Rigg. She is a Samoan-Haole who was born and raised on the island of O‘ahu. She is the author of the short story collection EXTINCTION CAPITAL OF THE WORLD (Ecco/HarperCollins, 2025), which was listed a best book of 2025 by Esquire, Electric Lit, and Debutiful, and received praise from Vulture, Oprah Daily, Chicago Review of Books, Literary Hub, Autostraddle, Ms. Magazine, and more.
The episode airs on December 16.
Please go to ceasefiretoday.org, and/or https://act.uscpr.org/a/letaidin to call your congresspeople and demand an end to the forced famine and destruction of Gaza and the Gazan people.
Wednesday Nov 26, 2025
Wednesday Nov 26, 2025
Notes and Links to Amber Sparks’ Work
Amber Sparks is the author of the short story collections And I Do Not Forgive You and The Unfinished World. Her writing has appeared in The Paris Review, Granta, Slate, and elsewhere. She lives in Washington, D.C., with her husband, daughter, and cats. Happy People Don’t Live Here was published in October 2025.
Buy Happy People Don't Live Here
Kirkus Reviews of Happy People Don't Live Here
At about 1:20, Amber describes the “weird” time about a month after the book’s publication, an in-between time
At about 2:25, Amber talks about the feedback she has received since the book was published, including surprising thoughts shared about the child narrator and the “other” narrator, Alice
At about 5:25, Amber talks about her influences growing up, including fantasy and writers like Dean Koontz
At about 7:40, Amber talks about her inclination to write a book featuring multiple genres, with the result being Happy People Don’t Live Here
At about 9:20, Amber responds to Pete asking about plot and allegory and their balance
At about 11:35, Amber shouts out Kelly Link, Rion Amicar-Scott, Stephen Graham-Jones, and Matt Bell as a few of many contemporary writers she loves
At about 14:35, Amber and Pete discuss the book’s resonant epigraphs, and Amber talks about her interest in ghosts
At about 18:00, Pete shouts out the classic story “Someone Has Been Disarranging these Roses”
At about 19:15, Amber explains her chapters and the rationale in making the book “episodic”
At about 20:50, The book’s beginning and connections to real-life events is discussed
At about 24:35, The two discuss one of the book’s main character, Fern
At about 27:10, Pete compliments the book’s setting, and Amber provides background for the place
At about 30:00, the two discuss the book’s inciting incident, a body discovered by Fern, and Amber expands on the ways she went about populating the book
At about 35:40, some key characters are discussed, including a possible love interest for Alice
At about 36:40, Amber responds to Pete’s question about Alice’s ex-husband as a sort of flat character-she calls him a “cipher”
At about 40:10, Amber reflects on Alice’s ways of avoiding the past and running from this past, and Amber shouts out William H. Macy in Magnolia
At about 43:50, the two discuss the “banal” ghost
At about 47:00, parent-child relationships are discussed
At about 51:20, Pete asks Amber about writing in second-person, as she does for part of her book-shout out to Lorrie Moore!
At about 55:40, Amber talks about exciting new projects
You can now subscribe to the podcast on Apple Podcasts, and leave me a five-star review. You can also ask for the podcast by name using Alexa, and find the pod on Stitcher, Spotify, and on Amazon Music. Follow Pete on IG, where he is @chillsatwillpodcast, or on Twitter, where he is @chillsatwillpo1. You can watch other episodes on YouTube-watch and subscribe to The Chills at Will Podcast Channel. Please subscribe to both the YouTube Channel and the podcast while you’re checking out this episode.
Pete is very excited to have one or two podcast episodes per month featured on the website of Chicago Review of Books. The audio will be posted, along with a written interview culled from the audio. His conversation with Hannah Pittard, a recent guest, is up at Chicago Review.
Sign up now for The Chills at Will Podcast Patreon: it can be found at patreon.com/chillsatwillpodcastpeterriehl
Check out the page that describes the benefits of a Patreon membership, including cool swag and bonus episodes. Thanks in advance for supporting Pete’s one-man show, DIY podcast and extensive reading, research, editing, and promoting to keep this independent podcast pumping out high-quality content!
This month’s Patreon bonus episode features an exploration of flawed characters, protagonists who are too real in their actions, and horror and noir as being where so much good and realistic writing takes place.
Pete has added a $1 a month tier for “Well-Wishers” and Cheerleaders of the Show.
This is a passion project, a DIY operation, and Pete would love for your help in promoting what he’s convinced is a unique and spirited look at an often-ignored art form.
The intro song for The Chills at Will Podcast is “Wind Down” (Instrumental Version), and the other song played on this episode was “Hoops” (Instrumental)” by Matt Weidauer, and both songs are used through ArchesAudio.com.
Please tune in for Episode 313 with Jackie Domenus, a queer writer from South Jersey and the author of NO OFFENSE: A MEMOIR IN ESSAYS (2025), published with ELJ Editions. A 2021 Tin House Winter Workshop graduate, Jackie’s essays have appeared in The HuffPost, The Offing Mag, The Normal School, Pidgeonholes, Foglifter Journal, Variant Lit, Entropy, and many more. Their poetry has appeared in Hooligan Mag and Giving Room Mag. Her short story “Mirror Image” published in So To Speak, as well as her essay “Two Truths and a Lie” published in Identity Theory, were both nominated for a Pushcart Prize.
The episode airs on December 2.
Please go to ceasefiretoday.org, and/or https://act.uscpr.org/a/letaidin to call your congresspeople and demand an end to the forced famine and destruction of Gaza and the Gazan people.
Tuesday Nov 25, 2025
Tuesday Nov 25, 2025
Notes and Links to Kurt Baumeister’s Work
Kurt Baumeister’s writing has appeared in Salon, Guernica, Electric Literature, Rain Taxi, The Brooklyn Rail, The Rumpus, Vol. 1 Brooklyn, The Nervous Breakdown, The Weeklings, and other outlets. An acquisitions editor with 7.13 Books, Baumeister holds an MFA in creative writing from Emerson College, and is a member of The National Book Critics Circle and The Authors Guild. Twilight of the Gods is his second novel.
Chicago Review of Books Interview Re: Twilight of the Gods
At about 2:45, Kurt talks about the book’s original publication date falling around the 2024 elections
At about 6:15, Kurt reflects on the vagaries of publishing, and interesting and complimentary feedback from readers on the book
At about 11:30, Pete shares a wonderful quote about Kurt’s writing, and Kurt discusses Martin Amis and other influences on his writing
At about 15:45, The two discuss the book’s “Dramatis Personae” to start the book and some tongue-in-cheek descriptions of some Norse gods
At about 17:30, Kurt responds to Pete’s questions about Loki’s historical and mythical evolutions
At about 20:30, Kurt reflects on metafiction and gives background on why he names a main character in the book “Kurt”
At about 23:50, Kurt talks about media representations of Loki in connection to his own
At about 25:30, Kurt describes why he makes Loki as he is
At about 28:20, Kurt gives background on the Norns, of which Sunshine/Sabrina from the book is a member
At about 29:30, Pete compliments the ways the book traces human history, particularly with regard to Hitler’s rise
At about 34:15, Kurt responds to Pete’s question about mixing fiction and fact
At about 37:00, Kurt talks about history repeating itself and connecting disparate eras
At about 39:55, Kurt responds to Pete’s question about the subtleties and the nuances of the book, i.e, plot focus v. allegory focus
At about 42:00, Kurt discusses his mindset in writing the ending(s) of the book
At about 45:00, An intriguing question posed in the book about fate is probed
At about 45:50, Pete cites the book’s ending as highly successful, and Kurt shouts out a shared beloved movie, Training Day, with regard to slowly-creeping evil
At about 47:50, a “reverence and pity” for artists is discussed, as mentioned in the book
You can now subscribe to the podcast on Apple Podcasts, and leave me a five-star review. You can also ask for the podcast by name using Alexa, and find the pod on Stitcher, Spotify, and on Amazon Music. Follow Pete on IG, where he is @chillsatwillpodcast, or on Twitter, where he is @chillsatwillpo1. You can watch other episodes on YouTube-watch and subscribe to The Chills at Will Podcast Channel. Please subscribe to both the YouTube Channel and the podcast while you’re checking out this episode.
Pete is very excited to have one or two podcast episodes per month featured on the website of Chicago Review of Books. The audio will be posted, along with a written interview culled from the audio. His conversation with Hannah Pittard, a recent guest, is up at Chicago Review.
Sign up now for The Chills at Will Podcast Patreon: it can be found at patreon.com/chillsatwillpodcastpeterriehl
Check out the page that describes the benefits of a Patreon membership, including cool swag and bonus episodes. Thanks in advance for supporting Pete’s one-man show, DIY podcast and extensive reading, research, editing, and promoting to keep this independent podcast pumping out high-quality content!
This month’s Patreon bonus episode features an exploration of flawed characters, protagonists who are too real in their actions, and horror and noir as being where so much good and realistic writing takes place.
Pete has added a $1 a month tier for “Well-Wishers” and Cheerleaders of the Show.
This is a passion project, a DIY operation, and Pete would love for your help in promoting what he’s convinced is a unique and spirited look at an often-ignored art form.
The intro song for The Chills at Will Podcast is “Wind Down” (Instrumental Version), and the other song played on this episode was “Hoops” (Instrumental)” by Matt Weidauer, and both songs are used through ArchesAudio.com.
Please tune in for Episode 312 with Amber Sparks, the author of the short story collections And I Do Not Forgive You and The Unfinished World. Her writing has appeared in The Paris Review, Granta, Slate, and elsewhere. Her book, Happy People Don’t Live Here, was published in October 2025.
The episode drops on November 25, today.
Please go to ceasefiretoday.org, and/or https://act.uscpr.org/a/letaidin to call your congresspeople and demand an end to the forced famine and destruction of Gaza and the Gazan people.
Tuesday Nov 25, 2025
Tuesday Nov 25, 2025
Notes and Links to Stephanie Elizondo Griest’s Work
*Content Warning: Please be aware that the book discusses sexual assault
Stephanie Elizondo Griest is a globetrotting author from the Texas/Mexico borderlands. Her six books include Around the Bloc: My Life in Moscow, Beijing, and Havana; Mexican Enough; All the Agents and Saints; and Art Above Everything: One Woman’s Global Exploration of the Joys and Torments of a Creative Life. She has also written for the New York Times, Washington Post, VQR, The Believer, BBC, Orion, Lit Hub, and Oxford American. Her work has been supported by the Lannan Foundation, Henry Luce Foundation, Princeton University, and the Institute for Arts and Humanities, and she has won a Margolis Award, an International Latino Book Award, a PEN Southwest Book Award, and two Lowell Thomas Travel Journalism prizes. Currently Professor of Creative Nonfiction at the University of North Carolina-Chapel Hill, Elizondo Griest has performed in capacities ranging from a Moth storyteller to a literary ambassador for the U.S. State Department. Wanderlust has led her to 50 countries and 49 states. Her hardest journey was to Planet Cancer in 2017, but she’s officially in remission now. She recently endowed Testimonios Fronterizos, a research grant for student journalists from the borderlands enrolled at her alma mater, the University of Texas at Austin’s School of Journalism.
Review of Art Above Everything in Southern Review
At about 3:40 Stephanie expands on her creative background and family connections to music and language
At about 10:15, Stephanie talks about formative and transformative texts, including work by and her relationship with her “spiritual madrina,” Sandra Cisneros
At about 11:30, Stephanie discusses similarities and differences in some Mexican Spanish and Tejano Spanish
At about 13:30, Stephanie provides seeds for her book
At about 16:50, The two discuss a dearth of publicity and respect for female travel writers, and generally females writing about art
At about 18:15, Stephanie talks about the formative artist residency in 2014 in India, at Nrityagram
At about 20:30, Stephanie responds to Pete’s question about Sheryl Oring’s inspiration for Stephanie’s creative life
At about 24:45, the two discuss “Art as Reconciliation” and Stephanie’s experiences in Rwanda with therapeutic theater and hard and painful and moving conversations and reconciliations
At about 29:05, Pete and Stephanie discuss post-dictatorship and art done in response to the House of the People in Romania
At about 34:20, Stephanie and Pete discuss similarities between female artists around the world, as seen in Stephanie’s research and travels, regardless of economic status and country of origin; Stephanie cites “callings” at young ages
At about 38:30, Wendy Whelan and her absolute “devotion” to art is discussed, as well as the ways in which domineering males have often abused and defamed artistic women
At about 44:00, Bjork and Iceland’s masterful director Vilborg Davíðsdóttir and “Art as Revenge” are discussed
At about 48:55, Stephanie talks about the process of writing so personally
At about 50:45, “Art as Medicine” and Stephanie’s journey with cancer and ideas of humor and sustenance are discussed, along with Stephanie being “revived” by sharing stories on a mini book tour
At about 54:20, Havana Habibi and its resonance are discussed
At about 56:40, Sandra Cisneros as a “spiritual madrina” to Stephanie and so many others is discussed
At about 1:00:40, Stephanie expands on the “force” that is Mama Mihirangi and her connection to Maori and female liberation
At about 1:04:10, Ayana Evans and her performance and her subverting expectations of Black women are discussed, including the Loophole of Retreat
At about 1:09:00, The two discuss “Art as Immoratality” and ideas of legacy and passing on creativity and art as so meaningful
At about 1:11:20, Stephanie reflects on the book’s 10 year span and its meanings
You can now subscribe to the podcast on Apple Podcasts, and leave me a five-star review. You can also ask for the podcast by name using Alexa, and find the pod on Stitcher, Spotify, and on Amazon Music. Follow Pete on IG, where he is @chillsatwillpodcast, or on Twitter, where he is @chillsatwillpo1. You can watch other episodes on YouTube-watch and subscribe to The Chills at Will Podcast Channel. Please subscribe to both the YouTube Channel and the podcast while you’re checking out this episode.
Pete is very excited to have one or two podcast episodes per month featured on the website of Chicago Review of Books. The audio will be posted, along with a written interview culled from the audio. His conversation with Hannah Pittard, a recent guest, is up at Chicago Review.
Sign up now for The Chills at Will Podcast Patreon: it can be found at patreon.com/chillsatwillpodcastpeterriehl
Check out the page that describes the benefits of a Patreon membership, including cool swag and bonus episodes. Thanks in advance for supporting Pete’s one-man show, DIY podcast and extensive reading, research, editing, and promoting to keep this independent podcast pumping out high-quality content!
This month’s Patreon bonus episode features an exploration of flawed characters, protagonists who are too real in their actions, and horror and noir as being where so much good and realistic writing takes place.
Pete has added a $1 a month tier for “Well-Wishers” and Cheerleaders of the Show.
This is a passion project, a DIY operation, and Pete would love for your help in promoting what he’s convinced is a unique and spirited look at an often-ignored art form.
The intro song for The Chills at Will Podcast is “Wind Down” (Instrumental Version), and the other song played on this episode was “Hoops” (Instrumental)” by Matt Weidauer, and both songs are used through ArchesAudio.com.
Please tune in for Episode 311 with Kurt Baumeister, whose writing has appeared in Salon, Electric Literature, The Brooklyn Rail, The Rumpus, and other outlets. An acquisitions editor with 7.13 Books, Baumeister is a member of The National Book Critics Circle and The Authors Guild, and 2025’s Twilight of the Gods is his second novel.
Please go to ceasefiretoday.org, and/or https://act.uscpr.org/a/letaidin to call your congresspeople and demand an end to the forced famine and destruction of Gaza and the Gazan people.
Tuesday Nov 18, 2025
Tuesday Nov 18, 2025
Notes and Links to Kaila Yu’s Work
Kaila Yu is a singer, songwriter, former model, and freelance journalist for Rolling Stone, CNN, Glamour, and more.
She was formerly the lead singer for the all-Asian-American, female rock band Nylon Pink. Yu is also one of the founders of the jewelry/fashion line "Hello Drama" which is affiliated with the Nylon Pink band and style.
Buy Fetishized: A Reckoning With Yellow Fever, Feminism, and Beauty
Review of Fetishized for The New York Times
At about 1:10, Kaila responds to Pete’s questions about feedback she has gotten on the book, and how she sees the book now, post-publication
At about 3:15, Pete asks Kaila to share background information on her reading and language life
At about 4:45, Kaila talks about how writing as a profession developed and shouts out Minor Feelings by Cathy Park Hong and Melissa Febos and Roxane Gay’s greatness
At about 7:05, Kaila talks about the catalysts for her writing her book, largely around the beginning of the Covid pandemic
At about 10:20, Kaila talks about distinctions, or lack thereof, between “fetish” and preference
At about 11:45, Kaila and Pete discuss the book’s opening and hurtful and harmful comments towards Kaila, some in recent years
At about 13:20, Kaila reflects on “mainstreamed objectification” and an observation from the book that “objectification was better than invisibility”
At about 16:35, the two discuss halting attempts at Asian representation in the 90s and early 2000s
At about 18:10, Kaila discusses the evolution of Asian and Asian-American stars and their ability to “make their own lane”
At about 19:05, Kaila talks about ideas of personal “diminish[ment]” growing up in comparison to media portrayals
At about 20:30, Kaila responds to Pete’s questions about the effects of Memoirs of a Geisha and perpetuation of harmful tropes
At about 22:30, more examples of problematic representation of Asian women in pop culture and in Kaila’s schooling are discussed
At about 23:00, Kaila talks about the evolution of “ABGs”
At about 25:30, Kaila talks about the “groundbreaking” Joy Luck Club and also ways that it could have been better in minimizing stereotypes
At about 26:30, Kaila gives background on the start of her pinup model, as well as how rife the industry is with sexualization and sexual crimes
At about 27:45, Kaila gives background on a contemporary San Diego “modeling gig” agency that led to sexual crimes, showing how her experience was sadly not unique
At about 30:05, Kaila responds to Pete’s question about online and in-person hateful and misogynistic comments and how she and bandmates
At about 31:50, Kaila talks about she didn’t connect at the time, but does now, about how she dealt with traumas
At about 33:00, Shoutout to Allen Carr and his anti-smoking books
At about 33:45, Pete asks Kaila about the pitfalls of fame, and her ceaseless battle to remove a defamatory video
At about 35:35, Kaila talks about ideas of a "separation" and the impetus for her name change
At about 36:40, The two discuss ideas of interchangeability and the history of blepharoplasty
At about 38:50, Afong Moy and other exoticism and inhumane conditions for Asian women are discussed, and how this led to a sexualization of these women
At about 41:15, Kaila and Pete discuss some acting and entertainment highlights and struggles; included is some reminiscing about MySpace!
At about 43:50, Kaila responds to Pete’s questions about the end of her music career and performing in multiple ways
At about 45:15, Kaila talks about recent iterations of KPop and patriarchal and feminism in more current music
At about 46:55, Kaila reflects on positive feedback and the legacy involving Nylon Pink
At about 47:10, Kaila talks Guns n Roses and “classic” songs and concerts
At about 49:15, Kaila forecasts what she will be writing about in the future
You can now subscribe to the podcast on Apple Podcasts, and leave me a five-star review. You can also ask for the podcast by name using Alexa, and find the pod on Stitcher, Spotify, and on Amazon Music. Follow Pete on IG, where he is @chillsatwillpodcast, or on Twitter, where he is @chillsatwillpo1. You can watch other episodes on YouTube-watch and subscribe to The Chills at Will Podcast Channel. Please subscribe to both the YouTube Channel and the podcast while you’re checking out this episode.
Pete is very excited to have one or two podcast episodes per month featured on the website of Chicago Review of Books. The audio will be posted, along with a written interview culled from the audio. His conversation with Hannah Pittard, a recent guest, is up at Chicago Review.
Sign up now for The Chills at Will Podcast Patreon: it can be found at patreon.com/chillsatwillpodcastpeterriehl
Check out the page that describes the benefits of a Patreon membership, including cool swag and bonus episodes. Thanks in advance for supporting Pete’s one-man show, DIY podcast and extensive reading, research, editing, and promoting to keep this independent podcast pumping out high-quality content!
This month’s Patreon bonus episode features an exploration of flawed characters, protagonists who are too real in their actions, and horror and noir as being where so much good and realistic writing takes place.
Pete has added a $1 a month tier for “Well-Wishers” and Cheerleaders of the Show.
This is a passion project, a DIY operation, and Pete would love for your help in promoting what he’s convinced is a unique and spirited look at an often-ignored art form.
The intro song for The Chills at Will Podcast is “Wind Down” (Instrumental Version), and the other song played on this episode was “Hoops” (Instrumental)” by Matt Weidauer, and both songs are used through ArchesAudio.com.
Please tune in for Episode 310 with Stephanie Elizondo Griest, a globetrotting author from the Texas/Mexico borderlands. Her six books include Around the Bloc: My Life in Moscow, Beijing, and Havana; Mexican Enough; All the Agents and Saints; and Art Above Everything: One Woman’s Global Exploration of the Joys and Torments of a Creative Life. The latter will be the main conversation piece.
This episode airs on November 20.
Please go to ceasefiretoday.org, and/or https://act.uscpr.org/a/letaidin to call your congresspeople and demand an end to the forced famine and destruction of Gaza and the Gazan people.
Tuesday Nov 11, 2025
Tuesday Nov 11, 2025
Notes and Links to Jeff Pearlman’s Work
Jeff Pearlman is the New York Times bestselling author of ten books. His subjects include the ’80s Los Angeles Lakers (Showtime), the 1986 New York Mets (The Bad Guys Won), the ’90s Dallas Cowboys (Boys Will Be Boys), and NFL legends Walter Payton (Sweetness) and Brett Favre (Gunslinger). HBO adapted Showtime into the dramatic series Winning Time, produced and directed by Adam McKay. A former Sports Illustrated senior writer and ESPN.com columnist, Pearlman is the host of the Two Writers Slinging Yang podcast and blogs regularly at jeffpearlman.com.
Buy Only God Can Judge Me: The Many Lives of Tupac Shakur
NPR Coverage of Only God Can Judge Me: The Many Lives of Tupac Shakur
At about 3:15, Jeff talks about writing against hagiography and how he doesn’t “bring bias” into his writing, whether about Tupac or sports
At about 5:25, Pete compliments the structure of the book, as it examines each of the places that shaped Tupac’s life
At about 5:55, Rapid-fire questions! *Best Tupac collab? Best movie role?
At about 8:45, A beautiful shout-out to friend Curtis Dorsey and Jeff’s dad, Stan
At about 10:20, Jeff shouts out some favorite lines from Tupac’s songs
At about 10:50, Pete and Jeff discuss Tupac’s “layering songs” and wondrous laugh
At about 12:55, Jeff responds to Pete’s question about Jeff’s “in”/entry point for writing about someone who has been written about so much
At about 15:45, Jeff expands on writing his biography of Tupac as a type of "layering" and the importance of specificity
At about 17:00, Jeff talks about how interviewing 652 people for his Tupac book is actually something that “[he] is supposed to do”
At about 19:55, Jeff reflects a bit on book promotion and book release
At about 21:25, Jeff shouts out Dusty Baker as “maybe the coolest human being who’s ever walked the planet”
At about 22:20, Pete asks Jeff about Set Shakur’s quote that Tupac died “alone”; Jeff reflects on the “isolation” of fame
At about 24:00, Jeff talks about Suge Knight and his indifference and his intriguing story
At about 25:45, Jeff talks about Tupac’s connection or lack thereof to the Mob Piru gang
At about 26:45, Pete gives an incomplete and rambling answer to the best Tupac song
At about 28:10, Davonn Hodge and his mother reuniting due to great work by Jeff Pearlman and Michelle Soulli is discussed, as Jeff gives the background on the reunification
At about 30:20, Jeff gives background on Afeni Shakur’s hometown, Lumberton, NC, and he gives a shoutout to Howard Bryant’s book on Ricky Henderson
At about 31:30, Jeff recounts a story about going to Lumberton to use the microfiche, but wound up seeing Tupac’s grave
At about 32:10, Jeff gives background on Afeni Shakur’s amazing life and highlights her accomplishments and travails
At about 33:30, Jeff and Pete discuss “Dear Mama” as aspirational and the sadness of Afeni’s substance abuse and how Tupac dealt with this horrible disappointment and “trauma”
At about 35:15, Jeff talks in awe of Afeni’s defending herself in the “Panther 21” trial
At about 36:20, Jeff discusses Tupac’s name origins
At about 37:45, Jeff responds to Pete’s question about Tupac’s dad Billy Garland and male role models
At about 39:40, The two discuss horrible athletic performances in movies and Tupac’s unfortunate basketball shooting motion
At about 41:00, Jeff gives some background on Tupac’s birth name
At about 41:40, Jeff talks about the impression that New York made on Tupac, musically and personally
At about 43:00, The two discuss Tupac’s time in Baltimore and at the Baltimore School for the Arts, and Tupac as an actor and singer; Jeff calls Baltimore his “favorite Tupac era”
At about 45:10, The two talk about Tupac’s Baltimore time and struggles and how “shapeshifter” didn’t quite fit him
At about 47:10, Jeff traces the Shakurs’ move to Marin City and connections to Geronimo Pratt and his family
At about 48:15, Jeff shares a profound statement from Set Shakur about moving vs. “relocating”
At about 48:50, Jeff talks about Marin City and recreating the Marin City of when Tupac lived there
At about 50:50, Jeff expands on similarities between Tupac’s time in the creative worlds of performing arts high schools in Baltimore and Marin City/ and his mother’s downward spiral
At about 51:55, The two discuss the significance of Marin City’s Festival on the Green 1992 and further reporting on the tragedy as a “turning point”
At about 55:50, Jeff responds to Pete’s observation about Tupac’s first albums not being highly-received and focuses on the changes that led to his second album being disappointing for Tupac
At about 57:20, Jeff traces an almost parallel life for Tupac as a revolutionary leader in Atlanta
At about 58:45, Jeff talks about the awkward time with Tupac working to become a community leader
At about 1:00:20, Jeff responds to Pete’s question about the reactions from people who were wowed by Tupac's raps in person
At about 1:03:00, Jeff shares what he learned in his interviews about Tupac the actor
At about 1:06:00, Jeff shares his thoughts on the alleged second sexual assault by Tupac
At about 1:08:15, Pete and Jeff discuss the “fan[ning] of the hip hop media/media and Tupac’s
At about 1:09:35, Pete compliments the skillful ways in which the last hours and days (the “banal”) were rendered in the way
At about 1:11:10, Pete asks Jeff about how much Death Row changed Tupac/brought out tendencies in him
At about 1:12:55, Jeff shares information from the book on two or three parallel universes where Tupac almost avoided being in Las Vegas
At about 1:13:55, Jeff reflects on Tupac as a 54 year old
You can now subscribe to the podcast on Apple Podcasts, and leave me a five-star review. You can also ask for the podcast by name using Alexa, and find the pod on Stitcher, Spotify, and on Amazon Music. Follow Pete on IG, where he is @chillsatwillpodcast, or on Twitter, where he is @chillsatwillpo1. You can watch other episodes on YouTube-watch and subscribe to The Chills at Will Podcast Channel. Please subscribe to both the YouTube Channel and the podcast while you’re checking out this episode.
Pete is very excited to have one or two podcast episodes per month featured on the website of Chicago Review of Books. The audio will be posted, along with a written interview culled from the audio. His conversation with Hannah Pittard, a recent guest, is up at Chicago Review.
Sign up now for The Chills at Will Podcast Patreon: it can be found at patreon.com/chillsatwillpodcastpeterriehl
Check out the page that describes the benefits of a Patreon membership, including cool swag and bonus episodes. Thanks in advance for supporting Pete’s one-man show, DIY podcast and extensive reading, research, editing, and promoting to keep this independent podcast pumping out high-quality content!
This month’s Patreon bonus episode features an exploration of flawed characters, protagonists who are too real in their actions, and horror and noir as being where so much good and realistic writing takes place.
Pete has added a $1 a month tier for “Well-Wishers” and Cheerleaders of the Show.
This is a passion project, a DIY operation, and Pete would love for your help in promoting what he’s convinced is a unique and spirited look at an often-ignored art form.
The intro song for The Chills at Will Podcast is “Wind Down” (Instrumental Version), and the other song played on this episode was “Hoops” (Instrumental)” by Matt Weidauer, and both songs are used through ArchesAudio.com.
Please tune in for Episode 309 with Amber Sparks, the author of the short story collections And I Do Not Forgive You and The Unfinished World. Her writing has appeared in The Paris Review, Granta, Slate, and elsewhere. Her book Happy People Don’t Live Here was published in October 2025.
The episode drops on November 18.
Please go to ceasefiretoday.org, and/or https://act.uscpr.org/a/letaidin to call your congresspeople and demand an end to the forced famine and destruction of Gaza and the Gazan people.
Wednesday Nov 05, 2025
Wednesday Nov 05, 2025
Notes and Links to Nicole Cuffy’s Work
Nicole Cuffy is the author of Dances, longlisted for the Carol Shields Prize for Fiction and the PEN/Hemingway Award for Debut Novel. Cuffy has an MFA from The New School and is a lecturer at the University of Maryland and Georgetown University. Her work can be found in the New England Review; The Masters Review, Volume VI (curated by Roxane Gay); Chautauqua; and Blue Mesa Review. Her chapbook, Atlas of the Body, won the Chautauqua Janus Prize and was a finalist for the Black River Chapbook Competition. She lives in Washington, D.C.
Los Angeles Times Review of O Sinners!
At about 2:20, Nicole talks about O Sinners and the feedback she has gotten on the book since publication
At about 3:45, The two discuss the three POVs/genres of the book and Nicole’s early inspirations, including Toni Morrison and Shirley Jackson
At about 5:25, Nicole responds to Pete’s inquiry about the wonderful “specificity” of Toni Morrison, and Pete brings up the interesting ways that Myriam Gurba sees allegory and specificity
At about 6:40, Nicole talks about Karen Russell and Victor Lavalle and other contemporary favorite writers
At about 8:00, Pete lays out the book’s exposition and asks Nicole about the significance of a groove in the wall at the narrator Faruq’s house
At about 10:05, the two discuss Faruq’s complicated feelings towards his aunties and his deceased father
At about 12:45, Nicole describes the reporting gig that serves as a catalyst for much of the book’s action
At about 14:15, Nicole discusses the significance of an AirPod that says a lot about the way Faruq sees death and his father’s death
At about 15:45, Nicole gives some background on the Nameless’ beliefs
At about 17:05, Pete gives some background on the book’s structure
At about 18:05, Nicole outlines the dynamic between the group of soldiers introduced in the “Before” sections of the book
At about 19:30, Nicole talks about Faruq’s father’s “power[lessness]” in experiencing racism and cites a telling quote from James Baldwin about fathers and sons and racism
At about 23:05, Nicole responds to Pete’s question about the makeup of the cult, the Nameless, and she expands also on the type of person who might be a cult leader
At about 25:00, Nicole talks about envisioning the “rage” that Odo, the leader, would harbor coming home after Vietnam in the first US segregated army and continuing to experience systemic racism
At about 27:45, Nicole traces the rise of Odo in the 70s, 80s, and 90s, while reflecting on what would make him popular
At about 29:00, Nicole reflects on the “charisma” and other qualities that drew people to Odo
At about 31:00, Nicole talks about the Nameless’ move to Texas and the chain of events that led to confrontations
At about 32:30, Nicole talks about being “inspired” by the structure and storyline of “Wild, Wild Country”
At about 34:00, Nicole responds to Pete’s questions about the racism shown by Will Roy and his followers in Texas in response to the Nameless’ move
At about 35:35, the two talk about small discrepancies in the cult’s history and narrative
At about 37:00, Nicole talks about the multiple “reads” of the book’s wolf
At about 40:10, Nicole reflects on the Nameless’ views of death and life and the 18 Utterances doctrines
At about 41:30, Nicole traces the origins of the book in her knowledge of and research into the Vietnam War
At about 47:00, Nicole responds to Pete’s question about the “best” Vietnam War movies
At about 49:00, Nicole reflects on the cult’s theology and its search for transcendence and beauty
At about 50:20, Nicole talks about the similarities of cults’ beliefs and the human conditions connections to cults
At about 53:00, Pete and Nicole talk casting for a future big screen/small screen adaptation (fingers crossed!)
You can now subscribe to the podcast on Apple Podcasts, and leave me a five-star review. You can also ask for the podcast by name using Alexa, and find the pod on Stitcher, Spotify, and on Amazon Music. Follow Pete on IG, where he is @chillsatwillpodcast, or on Twitter, where he is @chillsatwillpo1. You can watch other episodes on YouTube-watch and subscribe to The Chills at Will Podcast Channel. Please subscribe to both the YouTube Channel and the podcast while you’re checking out this episode.
Pete is very excited to have one or two podcast episodes per month featured on the website of Chicago Review of Books. The audio will be posted, along with a written interview culled from the audio. His conversation with Hannah Pittard, a recent guest, is up at Chicago Review.
Sign up now for The Chills at Will Podcast Patreon: it can be found at patreon.com/chillsatwillpodcastpeterriehl
Check out the page that describes the benefits of a Patreon membership, including cool swag and bonus episodes. Thanks in advance for supporting Pete’s one-man show, DIY podcast and extensive reading, research, editing, and promoting to keep this independent podcast pumping out high-quality content!
This month’s Patreon bonus episode features an exploration of flawed characters, protagonists who are too real in their actions, and horror and noir as being where so much good and realistic writing takes place.
Pete has added a $1 a month tier for “Well-Wishers” and Cheerleaders of the Show.
This is a passion project, a DIY operation, and Pete would love for your help in promoting what he’s convinced is a unique and spirited look at an often-ignored art form.
The intro song for The Chills at Will Podcast is “Wind Down” (Instrumental Version), and the other song played on this episode was “Hoops” (Instrumental)” by Matt Weidauer, and both songs are used through ArchesAudio.com.
Please tune in for Episode 308 with Jeff Pearlman, the New York Times bestselling author of ten books. His subjects include the ’80s Los Angeles Lakers (Showtime), the 1986 New York Mets (The Bad Guys Won), the ’90s Dallas Cowboys (Boys Will Be Boys), and NFL legends Walter Payton (Sweetness) and Brett Favre (Gunslinger). HBO adapted Showtime into the dramatic series Winning Time, produced and directed by Adam McKay. A former Sports Illustrated senior writer and ESPN.com columnist, Pearlman is the host of the Two Writers Slinging Yang podcast. His latest is Only God Can Judge Me: The Many Lives of Tupac Shakur.
The episode drops on November 11.
Please go to ceasefiretoday.org, and/or https://act.uscpr.org/a/letaidin to call your congresspeople and demand an end to the forced famine and destruction of Gaza and the Gazan people.
Monday Oct 27, 2025
Monday Oct 27, 2025
Notes and Links to Shea Serrano’s Work
Shea Serrano is an American author, journalist, humorist, and former teacher. He is best known for his work with the sports and pop culture websites, The Ringer and Grantland, as well as his books, including The Rap Year Book, Basketball and Movies, all of which were The New York Times best-sellers.
Expensive Basketball Review and Interview for San Antonio Express
At about 2:00, Shea notes his accomplishments involving having multiple bestsellers as a Mexican-American writer
At about 3:30, Pete remarks on the intensive research process that Shea undertook for this book and notes a possible “typo”
At about 5:15, Shea responds to Pete’s question about which writers inspired him as a kid, and Shea transitions into talking about writing as an untapped career
At about 6:30, Shea gives background on how Chuck Klosterman’s work amazed him and inspired him to become a writer, as well as how Bill Simmons’ work proved aspirational for Shea
At about 8:45, Shea responds to Pete’s question about what texts his middle-school students enjoyed, and he details some interesting lessons and points and connections he would teach, and Pete is surprised to learn that Shea taught science
At about 10:40, Shea makes an interesting point about why he decided to teach science
At about 11:35, Shea highlights his journey in knowing and working with Bill Simmons
At about 13:35, Shea expands on the definition of the book’s title, Expensive Basketball
At about 16:00, Shea details the chapter in the book about Tim Duncan
At about 18:20, Shea talks about his chapter on Kobe Bryant and being “overcome with emotion” during Kobe’s last game
At about 22:10, more about “Timmy” and all that could have been with the 2010s Oklahoma Thunder
At about 23:20, Shea expands on “the coolest basketball player in the world” in Allen Iverson
At about 26:05, Pete wonders about Sue Bird’s staying power, and Shea expands upon being drawn to the WNBA through the dynamic 2018 Playoffs
At about 28:25, Pete and Shea discuss different types of trash talk and trash talk preferences
At about 30:00, Shea waxes poetic about the “before” and “after” for Ajá Wilson
At about 34:45, the two discuss why and why not for Vince Carter’s dunk on Frederic Weis as the greatest dunk ever
At about 36:05, Shea names his best dunk of all-time
At about 36:40, Pete highlights a great dunk from Michael Jordan
At about 37:30, the two stan Reggie Miller-both as a broadcaster and a player
At about 40:00, Steph Curry’s “beautiful” shot is discussed, as well as his possible sunset as a beautiful player
At about 41:30, Shea traces the incredible ending of the 2024 Olympics Basketball gold medal game and Curry’s
At about 43:35, Shea discusses the pain and pleasure of the book’s “Grail and Ghost Stories”
At about 44:35, Pete highlights the “Miscellaneous” chapter in the book, and Pete and Shea lament the horrors of Robert Horry’s dagger
At about 46:55, Pete complains about Jason Williams, despite his
At about 47:45, Shea responds to Pete’s questions about how to properly write about Shaq and his dominance, highlighting the ways in which even the greats talked about their awe of Shaq
At about 51:25, The two discuss connections between the 1993 Charlotte Hornets and Steve Urkel, as well as the chapter about this team and its resonance
At about 54:00, The two reflect on the singlemindness of the greatest of the great
At about 55:10, Pete hits Shea with some rapid-fire questions, and Shea responds with the “0.4 Seconds Game,” Derek Fisher hate, a controversial take on Drake’s “Forever,” “off-the-wall bars,” the best concerts he’s ever been to, and “Remember[ing] Some Guys”
You can now subscribe to the podcast on Apple Podcasts, and leave me a five-star review. You can also ask for the podcast by name using Alexa, and find the pod on Stitcher, Spotify, and on Amazon Music. Follow Pete on IG, where he is @chillsatwillpodcast, or on Twitter, where he is @chillsatwillpo1. You can watch other episodes on YouTube-watch and subscribe to The Chills at Will Podcast Channel. Please subscribe to both the YouTube Channel and the podcast while you’re checking out this episode.
Pete is very excited to have one or two podcast episodes per month featured on the website of Chicago Review of Books. The audio will be posted, along with a written interview culled from the audio. His conversation with Hannah Pittard, a recent guest, is up at Chicago Review.
Sign up now for The Chills at Will Podcast Patreon: it can be found at patreon.com/chillsatwillpodcastpeterriehl
Check out the page that describes the benefits of a Patreon membership, including cool swag and bonus episodes. Thanks in advance for supporting Pete’s one-man show, DIY podcast and extensive reading, research, editing, and promoting to keep this independent podcast pumping out high-quality content!
This month’s Patreon bonus episode features an exploration of flawed characters, protagonists who are too real in their actions, and horror and noir as being where so much good and realistic writing takes place.
Pete has added a $1 a month tier for “Well-Wishers” and Cheerleaders of the Show.
This is a passion project, a DIY operation, and Pete would love for your help in promoting what he’s convinced is a unique and spirited look at an often-ignored art form.
The intro song for The Chills at Will Podcast is “Wind Down” (Instrumental Version), and the other song played on this episode was “Hoops” (Instrumental)” by Matt Weidauer, and both songs are used through ArchesAudio.com.
Please tune in for Episode 307 with Nicole Cuffy, the author of Dances, longlisted for the PEN/Hemingway Award for Debut Novel. Her chapbook, Atlas of the Body, won the Chautauqua Janus Prize and was a finalist for the Black River Chapbook Competition. Her 2025 critically-acclaimed novel is O Sinners!
The episode is out today, October 28.
Please go to ceasefiretoday.org, and/or https://act.uscpr.org/a/letaidin to call your congresspeople and demand an end to the forced famine and destruction of Gaza and the Gazan people.
Tuesday Oct 21, 2025
Tuesday Oct 21, 2025
Notes and Links to Myriam Gurba’s Work
Myriam Gurba is a writer and activist. Her first book, the short story collection Dahlia Season, won the Edmund White Award for Debut Fiction. O, the Oprah Magazine ranked her true-crime memoir Mean as one of the “Best LGBTQ Books of All Time.” Her recent essay collection Creep: Accusations and Confessions was a finalist for a National Book Critics Circle award for Criticism, and won the Lambda Literary Award for Bisexual Nonfiction. She has written for the New York Times, Los Angeles Times, Harper’s Bazaar, Vox, and Paris Review. Her next book, Poppy State: A Labyrinth of Plants and a Story of Beginnings, published by Timber Press, is out today, October 21.
Buy Poppy State: A Labyrinth of Plants and a Story of Beginnings
Los Angeles Daily News Review of Poppy State: A Labyrinth of Plants and a Story of Beginnings
At about 1:50, Myriam discusses her mindset as the book is to be published, and she shares early feedback and reviews
At about 4:05, Myriam talks about being inspired a bit by Borges’ short story collection, Labyrinths, and more so from mythologies for Mesoamerica and the Minotaur
At about 5:20, Myriam defines an important term
At about 6:30, Myriam talks about writing from the perspective of a child and connections to The Secret Garden
At about 8:30, “halycon” talk!
At about 9:20, Myriam talks about the book’s epigraph/opening saying, which comes from Myriam’s grandfather Ricardo Serrano Ríos, as well as an early message/challenge to the reader
At about 12:30, Myriam responds to Pete’s questions about the differences between carefree childhoods and an encroaching world of homes and development, and nature being pushed aside
At about 14:55, Myriam provides background on the book’s main locale, Santa Maria, and its changes in her lifetime
At about 15:45, The two talk about “claiming” of land and “renaming” and its connection to colonization
At about 18:20, Myriam discusses "indigeneity imposed from outside” in relation to a profound quote Pete notes from the book
At about 20:20, Myriam talks about Western terms and ideas that make it difficult to describe and document Chumash and other indigenous contemporary life and geographical boundaries
At about 22:15, Myriam shares the story from the book about Deborah Miranda and a young child’s shocked realization
At about 24:15, Pete notes some great puns, and Myriam expands on multiple meanings of “hoja” and connections between literacy and botany and the
At about 26:05, Myriam talks about her use of The Santa Maria Times and its archive in building a history of the “settler town through the perspective of settlers”
At about 28:00, Myriam highlights Santa Maria-born Ida Mae Bochmann as an example of a certain time of progressive and colonizing woman
At about 30:20, Myriam reflect on the “communal garden” that was pre-European California
At about 32:00, Pete and Myriam discuss the importance of paper and indigenous practices and priorities
At about 35:10, Myriam responds to Pete’s questions about how she balances the macro- and the micro-, the allegorical and literal
At about 36:45, BARS
At about 39:30, “allegorical memoir” and “botanical criticism” are two possible genres that Myriam imagines for her "kaleidoscopic" book; she also talks about her love of writing and solving puzzles
At about 42:00, Corn talk! Myriam shares some frightening stories about encounters with Midwestern cornfields
At about 45:50, The two discuss a resonant homecoming scene
At about 47:10, Myriam reflects on how local travel and local appreciation inform her argument about “[our] homes hav[ing] multitudes”
At about 48:45, The two discuss the humungous industry that is agriculture, and Myriam talks about focusing in on Santa Barbara County’s strawberry industry
At about 51:30, Myriam talks about the history of Japanese-American farmers dispossessed by the internment camps of World War II
At about 53:45, Myriam makes salient points about catharsis, emphasizing its conditionality-she cites “conditional catharsis”-and chats about susto and “cleansing”
At about 58:50, Myriam talks about “the ethos of the local” and recommends Octavia’s Bookshelf and The Theodore Payne Society , and she also shares book tour events
You can now subscribe to the podcast on Apple Podcasts, and leave me a five-star review. You can also ask for the podcast by name using Alexa, and find the pod on Stitcher, Spotify, and on Amazon Music. Follow Pete on IG, where he is @chillsatwillpodcast, or on Twitter, where he is @chillsatwillpo1. You can watch other episodes on YouTube-watch and subscribe to The Chills at Will Podcast Channel. Please subscribe to both the YouTube Channel and the podcast while you’re checking out this episode.
Pete is very excited to have one or two podcast episodes per month featured on the website of Chicago Review of Books. The audio will be posted, along with a written interview culled from the audio. His conversation with Hannah Pittard, a recent guest, is up at Chicago Review.
Sign up now for The Chills at Will Podcast Patreon: it can be found at patreon.com/chillsatwillpodcastpeterriehl
Check out the page that describes the benefits of a Patreon membership, including cool swag and bonus episodes. Thanks in advance for supporting Pete’s one-man show, DIY podcast and extensive reading, research, editing, and promoting to keep this independent podcast pumping out high-quality content!
This month’s Patreon bonus episode features an exploration of flawed characters, protagonists who are too real in their actions, and horror and noir as being where so much good and realistic writing takes place.
Pete has added a $1 a month tier for “Well-Wishers” and Cheerleaders of the Show.
This is a passion project, a DIY operation, and Pete would love for your help in promoting what he’s convinced is a unique and spirited look at an often-ignored art form.
The intro song for The Chills at Will Podcast is “Wind Down” (Instrumental Version), and the other song played on this episode was “Hoops” (Instrumental)” by Matt Weidauer, and both songs are used through ArchesAudio.com.
Please tune in for Episode 306 with Shea Serrano, an American author, journalist, humorist, and former teacher. He is best known for his work with the sports and pop culture websites, The Ringer and Grantland, as well as his books, including The Rap Year Book, Basketball and Movies, all of which charted on The New York Times best-sellers list.
The episode drops on Pub Day, October 28, the date the episode airs.
Please go to ceasefiretoday.org, and/or https://act.uscpr.org/a/letaidin to call your congresspeople and demand an end to the forced famine and destruction of Gaza and the Gazan people.
Monday Oct 20, 2025
Monday Oct 20, 2025
Notes and Links to Erin Somers’ Work
Erin Somers is a writer, reporter, and book critic based in the Hudson Valley. Her fiction, essays, and criticism have appeared in The New York Times Magazine, The New Yorker, The Paris Review, Esquire, GQ, The Nation, The New Republic, Best American Short Stories, and elsewhere. Her first novel, Stay Up With Hugo Best (2019), was a Vogue Magazine Best Book of the Year.
Her second novel, The Ten Year Affair, was named a most anticipated book by The New York Times, The Washington Post, Vulture, Bustle, LitHub, W Magazine, The Millions, Orion, and Our Culture, and a best book of the month by Apple Books and People Magazine. It is published by Simon & Schuster as of today, October 21.
Erin on NPR All Things Considered
New York Times Review of The Ten Year Affair
At about 1:25, Erin talks about her mindset as Pub Day approaches on October 21
At about 3:20, Pete asks Erin about her relationship with reading and the written word
At about 8:00, Erin discusses pivotal text and writers that cemented her love for reading and writing, including some GGMarquez classics read in a beautiful "ceremony" with her father
At about 9:50, Erin gives background on her foray into screenwriting and how her father encouraged her writing
At about 11:15, Erin highlights “funny” writers like George Saunders, Lorrie Moore, and Sam Lipsyte as “approachable” in style and subject matter
At about 12:40, Erin responds to Pete’s question about “exercising different parts of the brain” in writing fiction and nonfiction
At about 13:15, Erin shouts out places to buy her book and outlines her book tour
At about 15:25, Erin discusses the book’s seeds and the title’s provenance, and references how the book started out as a successful short story
At about 17:30, The two discuss the book’s opening and the two main characters’ early alliance
At about 23:25, Erin describes how she worked to draw Elliott, Cora’s husband, as against archetype
At about 25:00, Erin responds to Pete’s question about posing four main characters-two couples-so close to each other
At about 26:50,
At about 27:50, Pete and Erin stumble through some possible casting moves for a possible future movies
At about 28:50, The two discuss the differing roles of the men and pregnant women, and the two fanboy/girl over Rachel Yoder’s Nightbitch
At about 30:20, Pete wonders about Sam parrying the advances of Cora
At about 31:30, Pete skirts plot spoilers in discussing the book’s parallel plotline and compliments the fact that the st
At about 33:00, Erin discusses how the contrast between “banal reality” and the parallel world allowed her to have “fun” and “experiment with techniques”
At about 34:00, Erin responds to Pete’s question about standing in judgment of Cora’s behaviors, and Erin brings up interesting points about professional and class mobility and dissatisfaction
At about 36:25, Elliott and Cora’s relationship is analyzed, with particular attention to Cora’s anxieties and Elliott’s loss that continues his depression
At about 39:00, Pete asks Erin how she was able to “delicately” write about the Covid era
At about 41:35, Erin analyzes a telling quote by Jules, Sam’s wife, with regard to ideas of unhappiness, and the two discuss the physical proximity of the couples
At about 43:00, Erin gives insight on an interesting dialogue full of lies at a joint 40th birthday party
At about 44:10, Erin responds to Pete’s question about the families of Sam and Cora as “collateral damage”
At about 46:40, Erin responds to Pete’s question about aging, with regard to Cora’s anxieties
At about 48:30, The two discuss a meaningful dream sequence and ideas of freedom post-parenthood
At about 51:10, Pete highlights some funny and resonant lines in the book, including a podcast about rope
You can now subscribe to the podcast on Apple Podcasts, and leave me a five-star review. You can also ask for the podcast by name using Alexa, and find the pod on Stitcher, Spotify, and on Amazon Music. Follow Pete on IG, where he is @chillsatwillpodcast, or on Twitter, where he is @chillsatwillpo1. You can watch other episodes on YouTube-watch and subscribe to The Chills at Will Podcast Channel. Please subscribe to both the YouTube Channel and the podcast while you’re checking out this episode.
Pete is very excited to have one or two podcast episodes per month featured on the website of Chicago Review of Books. The audio will be posted, along with a written interview culled from the audio. His conversation with Hannah Pittard, a recent guest, is up at Chicago Review.
Sign up now for The Chills at Will Podcast Patreon: it can be found at patreon.com/chillsatwillpodcastpeterriehl
Check out the page that describes the benefits of a Patreon membership, including cool swag and bonus episodes. Thanks in advance for supporting Pete’s one-man show, DIY podcast and extensive reading, research, editing, and promoting to keep this independent podcast pumping out high-quality content!
This month’s Patreon bonus episode features an exploration of flawed characters, protagonists who are too real in their actions, and horror and noir as being where so much good and realistic writing takes place.
Pete has added a $1 a month tier for “Well-Wishers” and Cheerleaders of the Show.
This is a passion project, a DIY operation, and Pete would love for your help in promoting what he’s convinced is a unique and spirited look at an often-ignored art form.
The intro song for The Chills at Will Podcast is “Wind Down” (Instrumental Version), and the other song played on this episode was “Hoops” (Instrumental)” by Matt Weidauer, and both songs are used through ArchesAudio.com.
Please tune in for Episode 305 with THE Myriam Gurba, a writer and activist. O, the Oprah Magazine ranked her true-crime memoir Mean as one of the “Best LGBTQ Books of All Time.” Her recent essay collection Creep: Accusations and Confessions was a finalist for a National Book Critics Circle award for Criticism, and won the Lambda Literary Award for Bisexual Nonfiction.
This episode airs today, October 21, Pub Day for her newest book, Poppy State: A Labyrinth of Plants and a Story of Beginnings.
Please go to ceasefiretoday.org, and/or https://act.uscpr.org/a/letaidin to call your congresspeople and demand an end to the forced famine and destruction of Gaza and the Gazan people.
Tuesday Oct 14, 2025
Tuesday Oct 14, 2025
Notes and Links to Anthony Gedell’s Work
ANTHONY GEDELL writes from New Jersey publishing in Hobart, Poverty House, Variant, Revolution John, Punk Noir Magazine, and Bull. His debut novel, Love Lies in the Throes of Rhetoric, was released in October 2024.
Buy Love Lies in the Throes of Rhetoric
Anthony’s Writing for Hobart Pulp
Video Review for Love Lies in the Throes of Rhetoric
At about 1:40, Pete and Anthony talk about inspirations for the podcast
At about 3:00, Anthony talks about how teaching informs his writing, and vice versa, with observations on
At about 5:20, Anthony talks about being a concerted listener and always being cognizant of “getting into the room” of wonderful writers and writing conversations
At about Anthony talks about the ways in which he and the book’s significance have evolved in the year since publication
At about 8:40, Anthony talks about ideas of “writing from comfortability" and
At about 9:40, Anthony responds to Pete’s question about what texts have resonated with his students, which includes a major shout out for Eli Cranor
At about 13:00, Anthony highlights Of Mice and Men as one example of “high intensity emotion” that moves/interests readers
At about 14:50, Anthony cites Marlon James saying that “the new American novel is the crime novel” and talks about the “writer as journalist” in discussing ideas of writing dystopian in a dystopian world and “writing towards genre”
At about 20:10, Pete and Anthony discuss ideas of the continuity of writers and writing over the centuries
At about 25:00, Anthony expands on ideas of nihilism in contemporary society
At about 31:00, Pete reads the Ecclesiastes, Ch 9, Verse 4, the introduction for Love Lies in the Throes of Rhetoric
At about 32:20, Anthony responds to Pete’s questions about the book’s opening and significance for the rest of the book
At about 35:00, Anthony talks about lessons and questions brought out in Biblical passages
At about 36:00, Pete responds to Anthony’s questions about how Anthony’s novel is evocative of Catholic/catholic themes
At about 39:30, Anthony shares moving connections in real-life and in the novel and ideas of misery and tragedy and compassion
At about 43:40, the two discuss the “snare” trope and how Eudora has been seen in two ways by a lot of readers, and Anthony shouts out Light Years by James Salter-its beautiful sentences and the possibility of Nedra in Salter’s book as a “snare character”
At about 48:50, The two connect meaningful scenes and quotes from the novel to memorable Scripture
At about 49:50, Anthony responds to Pete’s musings about the interesting “too young to feel this old” after Pete rambles about a writing project that “got away”
At about 52:40, Anthony references Conrad in talking about nihilism and hopelessness, particularly with regard to Trasc and Eudora, the book’s protagonists
At about 55:25, Pete compliments Anthony’s use of “snappy dialogue” and asks Anthony about ideas of impotence, especially as seen with Trasc and Eudora
At about 1:00:15, Anthony details particular scenes and reflects on some meanings that come from the portraits of masculinity
At about 1:04:30, Trasc and his sensitive nature is discussed, and Anthony talks about
At about 1:06:30, Anthony talks cryptically and profoundly on the writing process for his novel and quotes a memorable line from Salter’s Light Years
At about 1:09:30, Pete and Anthony stan Who’s Afraid of Virginia Wolff? and talk about the play’s “dialectical violence”
At about 1:12:00, Anthony reflects on his writing style and the place from which he writes and how boredom and “soccer dad” literature enervates
At about 1:14:50, a quote from the novel leads to the two dissecting David Foster Wallace’s work and its significance, and some texts that are thought to be overly celebrated
At about 1:18:00, Anthony reflects on dystopia, worldbuilding, and “collective human behaviors” and how the physical atmosphere he creates can shadow feelings and characters’ characteristics
At about 1:23:00, Anthony emphasizes the intentionality of the writing in the novel, while at the same time allowing for the speculation that comes with the uncertain world and readers’ experiences
At about 1:24:40, the two reflect on Biblical connections to revelation and Revelation and dystopia and apocalypse
At about 1:26:40, Anthony responds to Pete’s question about “The Court” and connection the Greek Chorus
You can now subscribe to the podcast on Apple Podcasts, and leave me a five-star review. You can also ask for the podcast by name using Alexa, and find the pod on Stitcher, Spotify, and on Amazon Music. Follow Pete on IG, where he is @chillsatwillpodcast, or on Twitter, where he is @chillsatwillpo1. You can watch other episodes on YouTube-watch and subscribe to The Chills at Will Podcast Channel. Please subscribe to both the YouTube Channel and the podcast while you’re checking out this episode.
Pete is very excited to have one or two podcast episodes per month featured on the website of Chicago Review of Books. The audio will be posted, along with a written interview culled from the audio. His conversation with Hannah Pittard, a recent guest, is up at Chicago Review.
Sign up now for The Chills at Will Podcast Patreon: it can be found at patreon.com/chillsatwillpodcastpeterriehl
Check out the page that describes the benefits of a Patreon membership, including cool swag and bonus episodes. Thanks in advance for supporting Pete’s one-man show, DIY podcast and extensive reading, research, editing, and promoting to keep this independent podcast pumping out high-quality content!
This month’s Patreon bonus episode features an exploration of flawed characters, protagonists who are too real in their actions, and horror and noir as being where so much good and realistic writing takes place.
Pete has added a $1 a month tier for “Well-Wishers” and Cheerleaders of the Show.
This is a passion project, a DIY operation, and Pete would love for your help in promoting what he’s convinced is a unique and spirited look at an often-ignored art form.
The intro song for The Chills at Will Podcast is “Wind Down” (Instrumental Version), and the other song played on this episode was “Hoops” (Instrumental)” by Matt Weidauer, and both songs are used through ArchesAudio.com.
Please tune in for Episode 304 with Erin Somers, a writer, reporter, and book critic based in the Hudson Valley. Her fiction, essays, and criticism have appeared in The New York Times Magazine, Esquire, Best American Short Stories, and elsewhere.
Her second novel, The Ten Year Affair, was named a most anticipated book by The New York Times, The Washington Post, Vulture, Bustle, LitHub, W Magazine, Orion, and Our Culture, and it will be published by Simon & Schuster on October 21, the date the episode airs.
Please go to ceasefiretoday.org, and/or https://act.uscpr.org/a/letaidin to call your congresspeople and demand an end to the forced famine and destruction of Gaza and the Gazan people.
Wednesday Oct 08, 2025
Wednesday Oct 08, 2025
Notes and Links to Ellen Birkett Morris’ Work
Ellen Birkett Morris is the author of Beware the Tall Grass, winner of the Donald L. Jordan Award for Literary Excellence, judged by Lan Samantha Chang, published by CSU Press. She is also the author of Lost Girls: Short Stories, winner of the Pencraft Award and finalist for the Clara Johnson, IAN and Best Book awards. Her fiction has appeared in Shenandoah, Antioch Review, Saturday Evening Post, and South Carolina Review, among other journals. She is a winner of the Bevel Summers Prize for short fiction. Morris is a recipient of an Al Smith Fellowship for her fiction from the Kentucky Arts Council.
Morris is also the author of Abide and Surrender, poetry chapbooks. Her poetry has appeared in The Clackamas Literary Review, Juked, Gastronomica, and Inscape, among other journals, and in eight anthologies. Morris won top prize in the 2008 Binnacle Ultra-Short Edition and was a finalist for the 2019 and 2020 Rita Dove Poetry Prize. Her poem “Abide” was featured on NPR’s A Way with Words. Her essays have appeared in The New York Times, Newsweek, AARP’s The Ethel, Oh Reader magazine, and on National Public Radio.
Morris holds an MFA in creative writing from Queens University-Charlotte. She attended the Kentucky Women Writers Conference on fellowship and teaches creative writing at The Virginia Piper Center at ASU in Tempe, Arizona and The Carnegie Center for Literacy and Learning in Lexington, Kentucky. Morris has spoken and taught at the 2018 Antioch Writers Workshop, 2019 Kentucky Women Writers Conference, 2022 Writer’s Block Festival and 2022 Louisville Book Festival.
Review of Beware the Tall Grass from Heavy Feather Review
At about 3:40, Ellen responds to Pete’s question about receiving the Donald L. Jordan Award for Beware the Tall Grass
At about 5:30, Ellen talks about the different resonance the book has a year plus after its publication; she highlights feedback from people with interesting comments about the continuing resonance of the Vietnam War
At about 7:10, Ellen provides a summary of the novel
At about 8:20, Ellen relays seeds for the book, particularly based on a NPR segment from 2014
At about 10:30, Ellen responds to Pete’s questions about any cynicism in exploring the stories of past lives’ remembrance, and she expands on how she dealt with the spiritual/reincarnation
At about 12:45, Pete and Ellen stan over Andrew Porter’s (Episode 294 guest) The Imagined Life
At about 13:25, Ellen speaks beautifully of her mother as an “advocate”
At about 14:50, Ellen talks about how she put into practice the saying about “put your characters into trouble,” particularly with regard to Eve, one of two protagonists, and her mother
At about 16:05, The two discuss the exposition for main character and one of two narrators, Thomas, and how the loss of his horse affects him
At about 18:00, Ellen describes the agony in writing a particularly brutal and sad scene from the book
At about 19:00, The two discuss Eve’s friend, Amy, and ideas of peace and tranquility
At about 20:00, Ellen reflects on the “hasty decision” pointed out by Pete, made by both Thomas in the novel and in real-life, for those who signed up for the army
At about 21:30, Ellen talks about Dan in the novel and his family history that makes him act more logical even when the surreal comes out
At about 23:00, The two discuss Thomas’ decision to enlist for Vietnam, and how it was perhaps subtly influenced by his father’s past service
At about 24:00, We Were Soldiers Once and Young and Ellen’s uncle and soldiers' logs are cited as inspirations for Ellen’s writing
At about 26:00, Pete lays out some of Charlie’s
At about 27:00, Ellen reflects on Carrie’s faith in Thomas’ coming back safe from Vietnam
At about 27:40, The two reflect on connections in the novel to Tim O’Brien’s The Things They Carried
At about 28:50, The two discuss two crises that bring much stress to Eve
At about 29:50, Ellen talks about a caustic and “sinister” fellow soldier of Thomas’ and giving him some “roundness”
At about 31:30, Ellen talks about the emotional difficulty in writing a death in the novel
At about 34:40, Ellen cites her poet background as she discusses the book’s titular metaphor and its multiple uses, and she describes the background of the book’s cover
At about 37:45, The two discuss family histories and shared traits over the generations in discussing Charlie’s channeling of past traumas
At about 39:00,
At about 41:00, Pete asks Ellen about regression theory and therapists who deal with those thought to be experiencing past lives
At about 43:20, Ellen responds to Pete’s question about how home and Carrie and his child on the way inspire Thomas; Ellen tells an anecdote about almost changing POVs in the novel
At about 44:30, Ellen talks about balancing the personal and the geopolitical in drawing up the Vietnam War scenes
At about 46:40, The two discuss the idea of the story that repeats itself throughout the generations, and Ellen describes a moving and profound trip to Ireland that shows the “continuity of history”
You can now subscribe to the podcast on Apple Podcasts, and leave me a five-star review. You can also ask for the podcast by name using Alexa, and find the pod on Stitcher, Spotify, and on Amazon Music. Follow Pete on IG, where he is @chillsatwillpodcast, or on Twitter, where he is @chillsatwillpo1. You can watch other episodes on YouTube-watch and subscribe to The Chills at Will Podcast Channel. Please subscribe to both the YouTube Channel and the podcast while you’re checking out this episode.
Pete is very excited to have one or two podcast episodes per month featured on the website of Chicago Review of Books. The audio will be posted, along with a written interview culled from the audio. His conversation with Hannah Pittard, a recent guest, is up at Chicago Review.
Sign up now for The Chills at Will Podcast Patreon: it can be found at patreon.com/chillsatwillpodcastpeterriehl
Check out the page that describes the benefits of a Patreon membership, including cool swag and bonus episodes. Thanks in advance for supporting Pete’s one-man show, DIY podcast and extensive reading, research, editing, and promoting to keep this independent podcast pumping out high-quality content!
This month’s Patreon bonus episode features an exploration of flawed characters, protagonists who are too real in their actions, and horror and noir as being where so much good and realistic writing takes place.
Pete has added a $1 a month tier for “Well-Wishers” and Cheerleaders of the Show.
This is a passion project, a DIY operation, and Pete would love for your help in promoting what he’s convinced is a unique and spirited look at an often-ignored art form.
The intro song for The Chills at Will Podcast is “Wind Down” (Instrumental Version), and the other song played on this episode was “Hoops” (Instrumental)” by Matt Weidauer, and both songs are used through ArchesAudio.com.
Please tune in for Episode 303 with Amber Sparks, the author of the short story collections And I Do Not Forgive You and The Unfinished World. Her writing has appeared in The Paris Review, Granta, Slate, and elsewhere.
This episode airs on October 14, Pub Day for her novel Happy People Don’t Live Here.
Please go to ceasefiretoday.org, and/or https://act.uscpr.org/a/letaidin to call your congresspeople and demand an end to the forced famine and destruction of Gaza and the Gazan people.
Tuesday Oct 07, 2025
Tuesday Oct 07, 2025
Notes and Links to Nishant Batsha’s Work
Nishant Batsha is the author of the novel A Bomb Placed Close to the Heart (ecco/HarperCollins). Set between California and New York at the dawn of World War I, A Bomb Placed Close to the Heart is an expansive and poignant story of love, radical ambition, and intellectual rebirth—all drawn from a lost American history.
His first novel, Mother Ocean Father Nation (ecco/HarperCollins) was a finalist for 2023 Lambda Literary Award, longlisted for a 2023 Mark Twain American Voice in Literature Award, and named one of the best books of 2022 by NPR. It also won Honorable Mention in the prose category of the 2024 Association for Asian American Studies (AAAS) Book Awards.
He is currently at work on a third novel. This project has received monetary support from The de Groot Foundation and the New York State Council on the Arts.
Nishant holds a PhD in history from Columbia University where he was a Paul & Daisy Soros Fellow. He also works as a ghostwriter for public officials, CEOs, and leaders across various industries. Material he has ghostwritten has appeared in the New York Times and Politico, among other publications. He lives in Buffalo, NY with his wife and two children.
Buy A Bomb Placed Close to the Heart
BookPage Review for A Bomb Placed Close to the Heart
Interview for Los Angeles Review of Books
At about 1:15, Nishant gives purchasing info for his novel
At about 1:45, Nishant talks about his childhood connections to language and literature
At about 4:15, Nishant recounts how he began to embrace history and becoming a historian
At about 7:20, Nishant responds to Pete’s comments about connections between his main character Cora and him and other writers with regard to “the intoxication” of writing finding audience
At about 9:20, Nishant talks about history and literature and “seeking out sameness”
At about 10:30, Nishant talks about being “so taken” by Marilyn Robinson’s Gilead
At about 11:40, Nishant shouts out as writers who have thrilled and inspired him, including Sebald and Han Kang
At about 14:30, Nishant reflects on Conrad’s Heart of Darkness
At about 16:50, Pete asks Nishant about seeds for the book
At about 19:00, Nishant lays out much of the work of M.N. Roy and Evelyn Trent, inspirations for the book’s protagonists, Indra and Cora
At about 22:05, Nishant talks about research for his book
At about 24:25, Pete lays out some of the book’s exposition
At about 25:30, Nishant responds to Pete’s question about what draws Indra and Cora together
At about 28:10, Nishant reflects on the “in-betweeness” of Cora and how she connects to Indra
At about 32:25, Nishant gives background on the Ghadar Party, which is so important in the novel
At about 35:15, Nishant responds to Pete’s question about how Indra saw “action” and resistance
At about 38:40, Nishant outlines how he sees the novel as a sort of “parlor drama”
At about 39:45, Nishant explains the significance of Indra receiving being called “cosmopolitan” as a compliment
At about 42:30, The two discuss the etymology of the term “cosmopolitan”
At about 44:40, Pete and Nishant reflect on ideas of consumerism and creativity, and Nishant gives background on the real-life Rachel Crothers
At about 46:25, The two discuss the contradictions of Dawson in the novel, based on David Starr Jordan and his views on anti-imperialism and eugenics
At about 49:40, the two reflect on the “strange and weird ideas” of the late 19th and early 20th centuries-a “heady time” and connections to the US military in the Philippines
At about 50:45, Scullion (based on John Osborne Varian) and his views of political and cultural change are discussed, in how the beliefs affect Indra
At about 54:00, Nishant discusses ideas of class and caste in connection with Indra
At about 58:15, Nishant traces the real-life connection between M.N. Roy and Bal Gangadhar Tilak
At about 1:00:20, Nishant reflects on lies as a throughline of the novel, and the “danger” of the lie
At about 1:01:20, Pete notes the universal and singular beauty of the book
At about 1:02:00, Pete shares one of many examples of the beautiful sentences in the novel, and Nishant talks about his philosophy of writing-sentence length, etc.
At about 1:05:00, Nishant talks about the history and significance of the novel’s title
You can now subscribe to the podcast on Apple Podcasts, and leave me a five-star review. You can also ask for the podcast by name using Alexa, and find the pod on Stitcher, Spotify, and on Amazon Music. Follow Pete on IG, where he is @chillsatwillpodcast, or on Twitter, where he is @chillsatwillpo1. You can watch other episodes on YouTube-watch and subscribe to The Chills at Will Podcast Channel. Please subscribe to both the YouTube Channel and the podcast while you’re checking out this episode.
Pete is very excited to have one or two podcast episodes per month featured on the website of Chicago Review of Books. The audio will be posted, along with a written interview culled from the audio. His conversation with Hannah Pittard, a recent guest, is up at Chicago Review.
Sign up now for The Chills at Will Podcast Patreon: it can be found at patreon.com/chillsatwillpodcastpeterriehl
Check out the page that describes the benefits of a Patreon membership, including cool swag and bonus episodes. Thanks in advance for supporting Pete’s one-man show, DIY podcast and extensive reading, research, editing, and promoting to keep this independent podcast pumping out high-quality content!
This month’s Patreon bonus episode features an exploration of flawed characters, protagonists who are too real in their actions, and horror and noir as being where so much good and realistic writing takes place.
Pete has added a $1 a month tier for “Well-Wishers” and Cheerleaders of the Show.
This is a passion project, a DIY operation, and Pete would love for your help in promoting what he’s convinced is a unique and spirited look at an often-ignored art form.
The intro song for The Chills at Will Podcast is “Wind Down” (Instrumental Version), and the other song played on this episode was “Hoops” (Instrumental)” by Matt Weidauer, and both songs are used through ArchesAudio.com.
Please tune in for Episode 302 with Ellen Birkett Morris, a second-time guest and the author of Beware the Tall Grass, winner of the Donald L. Jordan Award for Literary Excellence, judged by Lan Samantha Chang, published by CSU Press. She is also the author of Lost Girls: Short Stories, winner of the Pencraft Award and finalist for the Clara Johnson, IAN and Best Book awards. Her essays have appeared in The New York Times, Newsweek, AARP’s The Ethel, Oh Reader magazine, and on National Public Radio.
This episode airs on October 7.
Please go to ceasefiretoday.org, and/or https://act.uscpr.org/a/letaidin to call your congresspeople and demand an end to the forced famine and destruction of Gaza and the Gazan people.
Tuesday Sep 30, 2025
Tuesday Sep 30, 2025
Notes and Links to Nathan Thrall’s Work
Nathan Thrall is an American writer living in Jerusalem. In 2024, he received the Pulitzer Prize for General Nonfiction for A Day in the Life of Abed Salama. An international bestseller, it was translated into more than thirty languages, selected as a New York Times Book Review Editors’ Choice, and named a best book of the year by over twenty publications, including The New Yorker, The Economist, and Time. He is also the author of The Only Language They Understand. His reporting, essays, and criticism have appeared in the London Review of Books, The Guardian, The New York Times Magazine, and The New York Review of Books. He spent a decade at the International Crisis Group, where he was director of the Arab-Israeli Project, and has taught at Bard College.
Buy A Day in the Life of Abed Salama: Anatomy of a Jerusalem Tragedy
2021 The New York Review of Books Article: “A Day in the Life of Abed Salama”
At about 1:15, Nathan recounts the experience of winning the Pulitzer Prize, and notes the wonderful ways in which the book’s protagonists and others close to him have celebrated the achievement
At about 3:20, Nathan provides purchasing info and book details
At about 4:15, Nathan responds to Pete’s question about the added significance of the book being published on October 3, 2023, four days before a pivotal event
At about 6:30, Nathan reflects on how “nothing [much] has changed” regarding the organizations (the “gatekeepers”) who cancelled events with him and Abed Salama, with perhaps more of these organizations digging in on standing with Israel
At about 9:30, Nathan notes that “organized political money” is all on one side in the “corrupt political system”
At about 12:35, Pete wonders about the “tail wagging the dog” regarding the voting public and the politicians, and Nathan expands upon the reasoning and details for this “gap”
At about 14:35, Pete asks Nathan about seeds for the book, and about how the book speaks to the idea that the Israeli/Palestinian conflict did not start on October 7, 2023
At about 15:35, Nathan explains the apartheid and “walled ghetto” at the center of the book, and talks about how this ghetto is a microcosm for Israeli policy
At about 18:30, Nathan responds to Pete’s questions about and admiration for his objective hand in writing the book
At about 20:45, Pete sets the book’s exposition
At about 21:45, Nathan notes the “striking” fact of talking to parents with their “unwarranted” guilt since the bus accident, in response to Pete wondering about Nathan’s broaching such a horrible topic with survivors
At about 24:05, The two reflect on the innocence of youth as Nathan recounts the details of parents and family looking for their children and relatives after the bus accident
At about 27:30, Nathan explains how just the telling of the basics of Abed’s story, including his odyssey just to find his son in the hospital, was to “tell of apartheid”
At about 29:00, Pete compliments the ways in which Nathan’s tracing Abed’s childhood and youth and Nathan expounds on how the personal stories have the reader see “the world through [the character’s eyes]”
At about 31:45, Nathan shares a recent experience that shows how life is micromanaged for Palestinians in Israel, revolving around a bridge crossing for Abed, his wife Haifa, and Nathan
At about 34:45, Pete asks Nathan to explain the colored-permit system involving Palestinian ID cards and how the intifadas changed the processes, including for Abed
At about 39:50, Pete and Nathan talk about different Palestinian cultural and political factions, as described in the book
At about 40:30, Nathan explains “bypass roads” and the ways in which they represent Israeli control of Palestinians' lives; in so doing, he points out inaccuracies in the ways that democracy and Israel have often been linked
At about 47:35, Nathan expands on “fabric of life roads” and “sterile roads”-brutally racist as an official name-and “gerrymandering”-mapping-done by Dany Tirza, featured pretty prominently in the book
At about 50:05, Nathan talks about schooling for Palestinians and how Israeli control is rendered in the book-he describes the "forensic analysis” of the bus accident and homes in on the forced walling-in of Palestinians
At about 53:00, Nathan further explains land use and land possession as strategies
At about 54:35, Pete remarks on the banal of the Israeli Occupation and asks Nathan’s thoughts on the “reverberations” of Israel’s seemingly-small and detailed actions/policy of moving the Palestinians out
At about 58:00, Nathan responds to Pete’s questions about how an average Jewish Israeli lives his/her life with “informational apartheid”
At about 1:01:05, Nathan states the common narrative about Israel’s history and the continued bloodshed for average Israelis
At about 1:04:15, Nathan recounts an anecdote about a publishing company that has asked him multiple questions about early Israeli history
At about 1:06:05, Nathan reflects on the task of sitting with parents and relatives during the emotionally-wrenching times and listening to their stories
You can now subscribe to the podcast on Apple Podcasts, and leave me a five-star review. You can also ask for the podcast by name using Alexa, and find the pod on Stitcher, Spotify, and on Amazon Music. Follow Pete on IG, where he is @chillsatwillpodcast, or on Twitter, where he is @chillsatwillpo1. You can watch other episodes on YouTube-watch and subscribe to The Chills at Will Podcast Channel. Please subscribe to both the YouTube Channel and the podcast while you’re checking out this episode.
Pete is very excited to have one or two podcast episodes per month featured on the website of Chicago Review of Books. The audio will be posted, along with a written interview culled from the audio. His conversation with Hannah Pittard, a recent guest, is up at Chicago Review.
Sign up now for The Chills at Will Podcast Patreon: it can be found at patreon.com/chillsatwillpodcastpeterriehl
Check out the page that describes the benefits of a Patreon membership, including cool swag and bonus episodes. Thanks in advance for supporting Pete’s one-man show, DIY podcast and extensive reading, research, editing, and promoting to keep this independent podcast pumping out high-quality content!
This month’s Patreon bonus episode features an exploration of flawed characters, protagonists who are too real in their actions, and horror and noir as being where so much good and realistic writing takes place.
Pete has added a $1 a month tier for “Well-Wishers” and Cheerleaders of the Show.
This is a passion project, a DIY operation, and Pete would love for your help in promoting what he’s convinced is a unique and spirited look at an often-ignored art form.
The intro song for The Chills at Will Podcast is “Wind Down” (Instrumental Version), and the other song played on this episode was “Hoops” (Instrumental)” by Matt Weidauer, and both songs are used through ArchesAudio.com.
Please tune in for Episode 301 with Nishant Batsha, the author of the novel A Bomb Placed Close to the Heart, his 2025 novel set between California and New York at the dawn of World War I. His first novel, Mother Ocean Father Nation was a finalist for 2023 Lambda Literary Award, longlisted for a 2023 Mark Twain American Voice in Literature Award, and named one of the best books of 2022 by NPR.
This episode airs on October 7.
Please go to ceasefiretoday.org, and/or https://act.uscpr.org/a/letaidin to call your congresspeople and demand an end to the forced famine and destruction of Gaza and the Gazan people.