This is an unfiltered check-in where the laptops stay closed and we just talk like the two zombie-obsessed humans we are, and discuss an internet video of a man de-veigning a snickers bar to make Jesus happy.

We have two big community updates: a new Kickstarter for the Path of the Pale Rider trade paperback (issues 5–8), and our next book club pick, Intercepts by T.J. Payne; a novel that hooked us so hard we couldn't stop reading until it was finished.

Then we swing into a full teardown of Zombie Nightmare, calling out what doesn't hold up; racist framing, misogyny, and assault played for plot; before widening into camper life, remote work on the road, and the small joys keeping us upright through a heavy news cycle. We close on the stuff a lot of people are sitting with right now: politics, protest, direct action, and how loaded words like "terrorism" get weaponized. Lick the Snick, everyone!

Relevant Links:

Path of the Pale Rider Kickstarter Trade Paperback 5-8: https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/pathofthepalerider/path-of-the-pale-rider-trade-paperback-5-8

Intercepts by T.J. Payne — publisher page: https://www.penguinrandomhouse.com/books/833286/intercepts-by-t-j-payne/

T.J. Payne's author site: https://tjpayneauthor.wixsite.com/tjpayne

Zombie Nightmare (1986/87) — Wikipedia: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Zombie_Nightmare

MST3k Zombie Nightmare (1994) — Fandom https://mst3k.fandom.com/wiki/Zombie_Nightmare_(film)

Support the show

Zombie Book Club Links

• Join us on on Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/cw/ZombieBookClub
• Join the Brain Muncher’s Zombie Collective: https://discord.gg/rn3nPDa4CB
• ZBC Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/zombiebookclubpodcast/
• ZBC Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/groups/710957975263518/
• Zombie Book Club Voicemail: (614) 699-0006‬
• Zombie Book Club Email: ZombieBookClubPodcast@gmail.com

Feed by Mira Grant promised us zombies and delivered a political thriller, and our book club had FEELINGS about that. Dan and Leah bring a full courtroom vibe to Newsflesh Book 1: praising its ambitious post-apocalyptic world where society survives by way of constant biosecurity surveillance, Romero-rules-as-cultural-canon, and bloggers covering a presidential campaign instead of mainstream journalists. The double meaning of "the feed" opens up rich questions about media trust, who gets to claim objectivity, and what we owe each other when the truth is literally life or death.

But the jury is hung. Between 608 pages of procedural detail, repeated exposition, and a zombie threat that feels more bureaucratically managed than terrifying, Feed didn't fully land for everyone at the table. We dig into representation (disability, body diversity, race, queerness), why a beloved and foundational book can still frustrate readers, and what feels urgently resonant right now: the way "safety" becomes a justification for checkpoints, surveillance, and the normalization of controlled movement.

Links & Contact Info

Mira Grant (pen name of Seanan McGuire)

• Website: miragrant.com | seananmcguire.com
• Bluesky: @seananmcguire.bsky.social

Alice B. Sullivan (zombie author whose love of Newsflesh helped inspire her own fiction)

• Website: alicebsullivan.com
• Instagram: @zombieauthor_alicebsullivan

Support the show

Zombie Book Club Links

• Join us on on Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/cw/ZombieBookClub
• Join the Brain Muncher’s Zombie Collective: https://discord.gg/rn3nPDa4CB
• ZBC Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/zombiebookclubpodcast/
• ZBC Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/groups/710957975263518/
• Zombie Book Club Voicemail: (614) 699-0006‬
• Zombie Book Club Email: ZombieBookClubPodcast@gmail.com

Dan and Leah survived an eleven-hour drive, a basement "murder bathroom" straight out of Barbarian, and the humbling reality of vending books at a zombie movie convention. Welcome to Living Dead Weekend 2026 at the legendary Monroeville Mall. They break down what indie authors actually face at genre cons: the economics of competing with $5 DVD stacks, the split-second power of cover design, and why one patron-saint reader buying from every table can change the whole vibe of a weekend.

The highlights hit hard though; meeting John A. Russo to talk ghouls vs. zombies, coming face-to-face with the iconic Hare Krishna zombie from Dawn of the Dead, and soaking in a fandom that refuses to die. They confess their biggest regret (missing Tina Romero), share lessons to carry into future cons, and lay out what's coming next.

Links & Contact Info

Living Dead Weekend / Monroeville Mall

• Official site: thelivingdeadweekend.com — https://www.thelivingdeadweekend.com/
  Living Dead Weekend
  
  
• A note for listeners: this may have been the final Living Dead Weekend at Monroeville Mall, which is reportedly set for demolition after being acquired by Walmart. Here's a write-up: https://www.publicsource.org/monroeville-mall-last-living-dead-weekend/
  PublicSource
  
  

Support the show

Zombie Book Club Links

• Join us on on Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/cw/ZombieBookClub
• Join the Brain Muncher’s Zombie Collective: https://discord.gg/rn3nPDa4CB
• ZBC Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/zombiebookclubpodcast/
• ZBC Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/groups/710957975263518/
• Zombie Book Club Voicemail: (614) 699-0006‬
• Zombie Book Club Email: ZombieBookClubPodcast@gmail.com