S2E5 The Hardy Boys: Footprints Under the Window by Franklin W. Dixon

S2E7: Zabiba and the King by Saddam Hussein

Mission accomplished! Book club coalition forces have secured Zabibah and the King, a romance novel / political allegory / nauseating sexual violence exploitation work written by Saddam Hussein in the twilight of his tenure as Iraq’s notorious dictator. This episode attempts to make sense of the book in the context of Saddam’s brutal reign, US disruption of the Middle East, and the necessary ingredients for a good romance. Plus: news and doings, dictator lit, Saddam’s blood Quran, a round of Name That Dictator, and other tangents. Send us Fan Mail [https://www.buzzsprout.com/2555803/fan_mail/new]

S2E6: Modelland by Tyra Banks

The gentlemen grab their graduation gowns after completing Tyra Banks' Modelland, an ambitious and horrifying vanity project from the supermodel, media mogul and America's Next Top Model host.  This episode explores Tyra's ill-fated attempt to create Harry Potter for models - or maybe Hunger Games for models, or maybe House of 1000 Corpses for models - it's not totally clear.   Send us Fan Mail [https://www.buzzsprout.com/2555803/fan_mail/new]

S2E5 The Hardy Boys: Footprints Under the Window by Franklin W. Dixon

Gather 'round, gumshoes. The boys are on the beat this week cracking the case of 1933's Footprints Under the Window, a remarkably racist entry in early Hardy Boys canon centered on anti-Chinese xenophobia. Beyond the text, our detectives dig into the sleazy world of the Stratemeyer Syndicate (also known for Nancy Drew) and their immense impact on American YA fiction and the book world at large. Comments? Complaints? Leave us a voicemail: https://www.speakpipe.com/pos_book_club Send us Fan Mail [https://www.buzzsprout.com/2555803/fan_mail/new]

S2E4: Chariots of the Gods by Erich von Däniken

The book club don their sun hats and carefully excavate a pseudoscience classic, Erich von Däniken's 1968 Chariots of the Gods.  Brushing off this dusty tome, they dig deep into a convicted fraudster with seventy million copies sold, alien eugenics and Nazi ghostwriters, and the origins of an enduring theory that every great ancient civilization was built by aliens. Leave us a voicemail: https://www.speakpipe.com/POS_book_club Send us Fan Mail [https://www.buzzsprout.com/2555803/fan_mail/new]

S2E3: Night of the Crabs by Guy N. Smith

The book club takes a breather from cults and controversy to investigate Guy N. Smith's 1976 splatterpunk horror classic Night of the Crabs - a tale of giant man-eating crabs that terrorize a Welsh seaside town. Send us Fan Mail [https://www.buzzsprout.com/2555803/fan_mail/new]