Martha Wells is back, and we are taking a deep spoilery dive into Platform Decay. I want to be clear here: if you haven’t read Platform Decay, we are about to spoil the dickens out of it. Yes, Charles Dickens is in Platform Decay, you heard it here first. We’re going to discuss infrastructure fury, trains in Japan, Honor Princess Detective, and more – and when I say we are spoiling, we are spoiling. In … Continue reading 721. Exploring Platform Decay with Martha Wells →

We’re sampling Tropetails cocktail mixes, discussing what we’re reading and playing, and what books we’re looking forward to in the coming months. We were not paid to promote them, but we did receive free samples and they are delicious. You can get 10% off of Tropetails drink mixes with code SBTBTROPES! And! The transcript is already in! Enjoy!

Nalini Singh is back to talk about Archangel’s Eternity, which I have been calling “Archangel’s Finale.” We’ve got questions from readers and listeners, and some behind the scenes details about how Nalini organizes the massive worlds she’s built in her series. Plus she teases some major surprises for the next Psy-Changeling book, and what she’s working on right now. You can find the video of this episode on our YouTube channel if you’d like to … Continue reading 717. Archangel’s Finale with Nalini Singh →

Programming note: this week’s episode is dropping on 30 April 2026. Smart Bitches Trashy Books, LLC, is withdrawing our labor on May 1, 2026, alongside other companies, school districts, and activists as part of the May Day Nationwide Day of Collective Action. For more information, visit MayDayStrong.org. Ilana Masad and Stevie K. Seibert Desjarlais are the editors of a new and excellent anthology called Here for All The Reasons: Why We Watch the Bachelor. The … Continue reading 716. Here for All the Reasons: Bachelor Critique With Ilana Masad and Stevie K. Seibert Desjarlais →

Thanks for Geoffroy in the podcast Patreon (merci, Geoffrey!) my guest this week is Claire Trottier, owner of Joie de Livres, a romance and speculative fiction bookshop in Montreal, Canada. Hi Neighbors! We’re going to talk about: Opening a romance and speculative fiction book store Wealth disparity! Seeing the world premiere of episode 1 of Heated Rivalry at the Image+National queer film festival in Montreal The effect of Heated Rivalry on Joie de Livres Then … Continue reading 715. Books, Wine & Nachos at Joie de Livres: A Conversation with Claire Trottier →

When you subscribed to this podcast, I bet you thought, “When is Sarah going to interview an expert on theoretical physics ?” Today is your day! My guest is Dr. Chanda Prescod-Weinstein author of the book The Edge of Space-Time: Particles, Poetry, and the Cosmic Dream Boogie. And if you’re thinking, I was really bad at physics – don’t worry, so was I. I found this book to be both incredibly engaging and just the … Continue reading 714. The Edge of Space-Time with Dr. Chanda Prescod-Weinstein →

My guest this week is podcast community favorite Alisha Rai! We start off catching up on our history of podcasting together, our life changes, and the challenges of making children wear coats. Then it’s enemies to lovers time! Her new book, Enemies to Lovers is out now, and we both brought the good trowels. We dig into the trope to examine how it works, what the essential elements are, and what can easily go wrong. … Continue reading 713. Enemies to Lovers with Alisha Rai →

You’ve been hearing me talk about this book for awhile, and I am so excited to share with you my conversation with Fortesa Latifi, author of Like, Follow, Subscribe: The Cost of a Childhood Online. Her research into family vloggers and influencers is superb and I’m still thinking about some of the revelations in this book. We discuss the origins of influencing and family vlogging, the benefits and the harms that arise from becoming popular, … Continue reading 712. Like, Follow, Subscribe: The Cost of A Childhood Online with Fortesa Latifi →