Ep 11: Pages 570-617 & an Interview with emily danforth
Join Lark and Alex for the final, extra-long episode of Plain Bad Podcasters. We discuss the chapters "Elaine Brookhants, Socialite and Philanthropist, Dies at Age 81" through "The Red Carpet After" and for our final Deep Dive, a long conversation with the author herself, emily danforth! We talk about our experience making the podcast and wrap up with some book and podcast recommendations. If you don't want to listen to the whole thing, here are the major markers:
Interview with emily danforth starts at 57 minutes 45 seconds
Book and podcast recommendations start at 2 hours 50 minutes 50 seconds
Those recommendations are:
Alex
Books
Gideon the Ninth by Tamsyn Muir
The Art Spy: The Extraordinary Untold Tale of WWII Resistance Hero Rose Valland by Michelle Young
You Weren't Meant to Be Human by Andrew Joseph White
Model Home by Rivers Solomon
Anything by Stephen Graham Jones, but especially The Only Good Indians and The Buffalo Hunter Hunter
Bury Your Gays by Chuck Tingle
Anything by N. K. Jemesin
Anything by Kate Alice Marshall
Podcasts
The Locked Tomb Podcast
Worst Bestsellers
If Books Could Kill
I Don’t Even Own a Television
Bad Gays
Old Gods of Appalachia
Lark
The Magnus Archives podcast
emily danforth
mentioned the book The Secret History by Donna Tartt
15 Apr 2026
Ep 10: Pages 503-569 & Female-Driven Queer Horror Movies
Join us as Lark and Alex discuss the chapters "Updates from the Set of The Happenings at Brookhants as Told Online" through "Providence" and then take a Deep Dive into two female-driven queer horror movies. This episode's bibliography is:
"Paul's Case" by Willa Cather
The Claudine Novels by Collette
"Both Ways" by Carmen Maria Machado
Six Reasons to Stop What You're Doing and Watch "Lyle" | Autostraddle
15 Mar 2026
Ep 9: Pages 458-502 & Symbolism in PBH
Join us as Lark and Alex discuss the chapters "Finally, Someone Tends to Those Fucking Plants" through "Apple Bruise" and then take a Deep Dive into the yellow jackets and other symbolic elements. This episode's bibliography is:
How to Read Literature Like A Professor by Thomas C. Foster
The Annotated Lolita by Vladimir Nabokov with notes by Alfred Appel, Jr.
15 Feb 2026
The Brookhants Song
A stand-alone recording of the Brookhants song. Ostensibly as a bonus, but mostly because we're stupid proud of it.
15 Feb 2026
Ep 8: Pages 407-456 & the Brookhants song!
Join us as Lark and Alex discuss the chapters "Road Apples" through "A Tower Tour, A Carpet Picnic, A Sound in the Night" and record the Brookhants song on ukulele and accordion!
15 Jan 2026
Ep 7: Pages 345-404 & the Newberry Library
Join us as Lark and Alex discuss the chapters "What to Make of This Arrangement?" through "An Undesirable Morbidness" and visit Chicago's Newberry Library to see two of Mary MacLane's hand-written manuscripts. You can find supplemental posts on our Tumblr page: plainbadpodcasters.tumblr.com. Find more of Richie Smith's music on Bandcamp.
15 Dec 2025
Ep 6: Pages 283-338 & Side Talk with Girls
Join us as Lark and Alex discuss the chapters "Side Talk #1: Bo Dhillon Makes His Case" and "Side Talk #2: Harold Brookhants Makes His Case" and do a Deep Dive into the book Side Talks with Girls. You can find supplemental posts on our Tumblr page: plainbadpodcasters.tumblr.com. Find more of Richie Smith's music on Bandcamp. This episode's bibliography is Side Talks with Girls by Isabel Mallon writing as Rush Ashmore.
15 Nov 2025
Ep 5: Pages 227-277 & Shirley Jackson w/Esa
Join us as Lark, Alex, and special guest Esa discuss the chapters "Fin de Siècle Meet Cute" through "Libbie Brookhants Takes a Bath" and do a Deep Dive into the work of Shirley Jackson and her influence on Plain Bad Heroines. You can see a photo of Harper Harper's motorcycle and other supplemental posts on our Tumblr page: plainbadpodcasters.tumblr.com. Find more of Richie Smith's music on Bandcamp. This episode's bibliography is The Haunting of Hill House and We Have Always Lived in the Castle, both by Shirley Jackson.
15 Oct 2025
Ep 4: Pages 181-226 & Horror Influences
Join us as Lark and Alex discuss the chapters "The (Unofficial) Chemistry Read" through "The (Real) Chemistry Read" and do a Deep Dive into two major influences on this book: the novel Picnic at Hanging Rock and the movie The Blair Witch Project. You can see a photo of the titular Hanging Rock and other supplemental posts on our Tumblr page: plainbadpodcasters.tumblr.com. Find more of Richie Smith's music on Bandcamp. This episode's bibliography is Picnic at Hanging Rock by Joan Lindsay.
15 Sept 2025
Ep 3: Pages 135-180 & Cursed Movie Productions
Join us as Lark and Alex discuss the chapters "Playing Dress-Up Dinner" through "Gray Dawn, Bleak Mo[u]rning" and do a Deep Dive into two other supposedly-cursed movie productions. You can find the names of the authors Alex forgot and other supplemental posts on our Tumblr page: plainbadpodcasters.tumblr.com. Find more of Richie Smith's music on Bandcamp. This episode's bibliography is Hollywood Hex by Mikita Brotman.
15 Aug 2025
Ep 2: Pages 71-134 & Truman Capote
Join us as Lark and Alex discuss the chapters "How to Import a Martian Into Your Contacts" through "Across Town, a Scuttle" and do a Deep Dive into the life of Truman Capote and his influence on Plain Bad Heroines. You can see Truman Capote's scandalous author photo and other supplemental posts on our Tumblr page: plainbadpodcasters.tumblr.com. Find more of Richie Smith's music on Bandcamp. This episode's bibliography is Capote: A Biography by Gerald Clarke.
15 Jul 2025
Ep 1: Pages 1-70 & Mary MacLane
Welcome to the first episode of Plain Bad Podcasters, our podcast about emily m. danforth's exquisite 2020 novel, Plain Bad Heroines. In this episode, we summarize the chapters "An Excerpt from The Story of Mary MacLane" through "Tinseltown" and dive deep into the life and work of Mary MacLane. You can find our recreation of the Mary MacLane highball and other supplemental posts on our Tumblr page: plainbadpodcasters.tumblr.com. Find more of Richie Smith's music on Bandcamp. This episode's bibliography is The Story of Mary MacLane and Other Writings by Mary MacLane, edited by Penelope Rosemont.
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