In the week that the world changed, we’re talking about the last time things got this crazy. Katherine Arden is the author of The Warm Hands of Ghosts — a novel set in the trenches of the First World War and on the borderline between horror and fantasy. It’s a Faustian pact made in No-Man’s Land, where our memories are the price we pay for keeping ourselves alive. In this episode we talk a lot about history, about inflection points and moments of no-return. We talk about how systems of power can seem so complex that they lead only to ruin – but we also talk devils and fairies and angels and brave, brave nurses with scarred hands. It’s a joy of a conversation, about the most hideous time to be alive. Enjoy! Other books mentioned: The Bear and the Nightingale (2017), by Katherine Arden The Buffalo Hunter Hunter (2025), by Stephen Graham Jones Wasteland: The Great War and the Origin of Modern Horror (2018), by W. Scott Pool Jonathan Strange & Mr Norrell (2004), by Susanna Clarke The Master and the Margarita (1940), by Mikhail Bulgakov Lud in the Mist (1926), by Hope Mirrlees Ghosts Have Warm Hands: A Memoir of the Great War (1968), by Will R. Bird Between Two Fires (2012), by Christopher Buehlman Ghost Eaters (2022), by Clay McLeod Chapman Wake Up and Open Your Eyes (2025), by Clay McLeod Chapman Support Talking Scared on Patreon Check out the Talking Scared Merch line – at VoidMerch Come talk books on Bluesky @talkscaredpod.bsky.social on Instagram/Threads, or email direct to [email protected] Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

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“What did the council decide on item 42?” — answered with the speaker and the moment.