S05E32 – Monsters of the Deep with Dr. Darren Naish

Guest: Dr. Darren NaishHosts: Blake Smith & Dr. Karen Stollznow 📝 Episode Summary Darren joins Blake and Karen to discuss his new article in Geology Today, which grew out of his work on the Monsters of the Deep museum exhibition. The exhibition originally opened at the National Maritime Museum in Falmouth, Cornwall in 2020, traveled to two additional venues, and […]

S05E11 Ghostly Encounters with Richard Estep

Blake and Karen visit again with Colorado author of paranormal and true crime, Richard Estep. Richard’s Books discussed in this episode: Ghostly Encounters The Horrors of Fox Hollow Farm Mothman: Sightings and Investigations of the Iconic Flying Cryptid Help is on the Way (pre-order for Feb 2026 Richard’s memoir of being a paramedic) Monsters: Myths, Legends and Real Encounters(pre-order March […]

S05E02 – Autocannibalism Is Not The Answer

This week Blake Smith and Karen Stollznow are joined by clinical psychologist Dr. Brian A. Sharpless, author of Monsters on the Couch, to discuss cannibalism—what it is, why humans have done it, and how the taboo shows up in archaeology, medicine, psychology, and horror cinema. They cover definitions (endocannibalism vs. survival cannibalism), prion diseases such as Kuru, criminal and paraphilic […]

S04E31 – Catching Up May 2025

Blake and Karen take a minute to catch their breath and talk about where things are in their lives and what’s up next in MonsterTalk news. Links: Bitch: The Journey of a Word Adhesive Capsulitis  Idiopathic Illnesses Mechanical Turk Speaking Machine Replica of Speaking Machine (YouTube) Wolfgang von Kempelen Deep Mind Deep Blue Marvin Minsky John McCarthy

S03E21 – Connecticut Cryptids

A lighthearted discussion of the cryptids of Connecticut with the author and illustrator of Connecticut Cryptids: A Field Guide to the Weird & Wonderful Creatures of the Nutmeg State, Patrick Scalisi and Valerie Ruby-Omen. Patrick’s Amazon Author’s Page (affiliate link) Valerie’s facebook page

291 – Montauk & Stranger Things (Explicit)

aka The Philadelphia Experiment pt 3 We take a deep dive into the absolute whackadoodle world of “The Montauk Project” and delve into its connections to the Netflix streaming series Stranger Things.  (Karen & I are joined by Matt Baxter) The first book in the Montauk series is The Montauk Project: Experiments in Time. (affiliate link) Brief interview with Preston […]

#249 – Comic Books & Monsters

This episode is a wide-ranging discussion of comic books and monsters with professor Richard Harrison of Mt. Royal University in Alberta, Canada. Superhero Life Lessons  – MRU article about comics curriculum A Contract with God by Will Eisner (Amz Link) Comics and Sequential Art: Principles and Practices from the Legendary Cartoonist by Will Eisner The Ten-Cent Plague: The Great Comic-Book […]