The Coode Street Podcast
Episodes
Episode 720: Alexandra Pierce, Ian Mond, and The Totally Temporary Book Club
22 Mar 2026
Contributed by Lukas
With Gary away at the International Conference on the Fantastic in the Arts in Florida, and celebrating his 80th birthday (!!!!!), Jonathan sat down t...
Episode 719: Ishiguro, Dinniman, and genre expectations in story
08 Mar 2026
Contributed by Lukas
As usual, Jonathan and Gary raise a number of thorny questions about reading SF and fantasy, and resolve none of them. Beginning with Jonathan’s acc...
Episode 718: Michael Swanwick and The Universe Box
22 Feb 2026
Contributed by Lukas
Today Jonathan and Gary are joined by Nebula, World Fantasy, and five-time Hugo Award winner Michael Swanwick to discuss the origins of some of his ...
Episode 717: Activism, reviewing, books to look forward to, and a little about the weather
08 Feb 2026
Contributed by Lukas
As always, the Coode Street Motel Six bestrides continents, so after briefly comparing notes on the weather in Perth and Chicago, Gary and Jonathan g...
Episode 716: Dystopias, cozy fiction and other dilemmas
26 Jan 2026
Contributed by Lukas
There are snowstorms blowing where Gary is and Jonathan can see rain falling outside in Perth's midsummer, but the Motel Six has been safely relocated...
Episode 715: The one we recorded in between recording the other ones
11 Jan 2026
Contributed by Lukas
Jonathan and Gary kick off 2026 with no guests, but with the sort of wide-ranging ramble that some listeners seem to enjoy, and that others probably g...
Episode 714: The Year in Books with James Bradley, Ian Mond, and Alex Pierce
28 Dec 2025
Contributed by Lukas
For our year-end discussion of 2025 books, we’re joined by Locus reviewers Ian Mond and Alex Pierce, and distinguished critic and novelist James Bra...
Episode 713: The Coode Street Advent Calendar 2025 - Day 25 - E. J. Swift
23 Dec 2025
Contributed by Lukas
E.J. Swift's sixth novel, When There Are Wolves Again, is one of the standout science fiction novels of 2025. For the final instalment of the Coode St...
Episode 712: The Coode Street Advent Calendar 2025 - Day 24 - Ursula Vernon
23 Dec 2025
Contributed by Lukas
It's December 24, the final day of Advent, and Coode Street has just two more episodes to go before our holiday break. Today, Gary and Jonathan chat w...
Episode 711: The Coode Street Advent Calendar 2025 - Day 23 - Tochi Onyebuchi
22 Dec 2025
Contributed by Lukas
World Fantasy and Ignyte winner Tochi Onyebuchi joins Gary for a brief but wide-ranging discussion that touches upon his genre-hopping 2025 novel Harm...
Episode 710: The Coode Street Advent Calendar 2025 - Day 22 - James S.A. Corey
21 Dec 2025
Contributed by Lukas
Today Jonathan and Gary spend some time talking to Daniel Abraham and Ty Franck, who write together as "James S.A. Corey", about what they've been rea...
Episode 709: The Coode Street Advent Calendar 2025 - Day 21 - Francis Spufford
20 Dec 2025
Contributed by Lukas
As both the Advent Calendar and the year move slowly towards a close, Gary and Jonathan chat with Francis Spufford, author of Golden Hill, Light Perpe...
Episode 708: The Coode Street Advent Calendar 2025 - Day 20 - Becky Chambers
19 Dec 2025
Contributed by Lukas
For Day 20 of the Coode Street Advent Calendar, Gary and Jonathan talk to Hugo Award winning author of the Wayfarer series, Becky Chambers, about what...
Episode 707: The Coode Street Advent Calendar 2025 - Day 19 - Natalia Theodoridou
18 Dec 2025
Contributed by Lukas
Gary talks with World Fantasy and Nebula Award winning writer Natalia Theodoridou, whose Bluebeard-inspired Sour Cherry was one of this year’s ou...
Episode 706: The Coode Street Advent Calendar 2025 - Day 18 - Ray Nayler
17 Dec 2025
Contributed by Lukas
With December and the Advent Calendar heading towards their conclusion, Gary and Jonathan chat with recently minted Hugo Award winner Ray Nayler about...
Episode 705: The Coode Street Advent Calendar 2025 - Day 17 - Alastair Reynolds
17 Dec 2025
Contributed by Lukas
It's Day 17 of our Advent Calendar and today Gary and Jonathan chat with Alastair Reynolds about the 25th Anniversary of Revelation Space, his new sho...
Episode 704: The Coode Street Advent Calendar 2025 - Day 16 - Kim Stanley Robinson
15 Dec 2025
Contributed by Lukas
It's been a minute since we last spoke to Kim Stanley Robinson on the podcast, back in 2020 when The Ministry for the Future was new in the world. So ...
Episode 703: The Coode Street Advent Calendar 2025 - Day 15 - Michael Swanwick
14 Dec 2025
Contributed by Lukas
For the 15th day of our Advent Calendar Gary chats with Nebula and five-time Hugo Award winner Michael Swanwick about what he's been reading, how he c...
Episode 702: The Coode Street Advent Calendar 2025 - Day 14 - Wole Talabi
13 Dec 2025
Contributed by Lukas
For the 14th day of Advent, Jonathan is joined by Hugo, Nebula and World Fantasy Award nominated writer, Wole Talabi, to discuss the books he's been ...
Episode 701: The Coode Street Advent Calendar 2025 - Day 13 - Theodora Goss
12 Dec 2025
Contributed by Lukas
For Day 13 of the Advent Calendar, Gary chats with Theodora Goss all the way from Budapest. They talk about re-reading Patricia McKillip, other favori...
Episode 700: The Coode Street Advent Calendar 2025 - Day 12 - Nnedi Okorafor
11 Dec 2025
Contributed by Lukas
For this episode, Gary chats with the very busy and very talented Nnedi Okorafor, who has had quite a year with the publication of major new novel De...
Episode 699: The Coode Street Advent Calendar 2025 - Day 11 - James Bradley
10 Dec 2025
Contributed by Lukas
For Day 11 of our Advent Calendar, Jonathan calls up long-time friend of the podcast, acclaimed writer James Bradley, to discuss what he's been readin...
Episode 698: The Coode Street Advent Calendar 2025 - Day 10 - Emily Tesh
09 Dec 2025
Contributed by Lukas
As we approach the halfway mark of our Advent Calendar, Jonathan calls Emily Tesh, Hugo Award winning author of Some Desperate Glory and co-host of re...
Episode 697: The Coode Street Advent Calendar 2025 - Day 9 - Paul McAuley
09 Dec 2025
Contributed by Lukas
For Day 9 of the 2025 Advent Calendar, Jonathan and Gary called Paul McAuley to discuss the books he's been reading and would recommend, holiday tradi...
Episode 696: The Coode Street Advent Calendar 2025 - Day 8 - Isabel J. Kim
08 Dec 2025
Contributed by Lukas
With our provider struggling a little following the various Cloudflare issues of late, Gary and Jonathan call up Nebula and BSFA Award winner Isabel J...
Episode 695: The Coode Street Advent Calendar 2025 - Day 7 - Aliya Whitely
07 Dec 2025
Contributed by Lukas
Today Jonathan sits down with British SF Award winner and Arthur C. Clarke Award, BFA, and Tiptree Award nominee Aliya Whiteley to talk about what she...
Episode 694: The Coode Street Advent Calendar 2025 - Day 6 - Nancy Kress
06 Dec 2025
Contributed by Lukas
Day 6 of the 2025 Coode Street Advent Calendar sees Gary and Jonathan taking a moment to catch up Hugo and Nebula Award winner Nancy Kress about what ...
Episode 693: The Coode Street Advent Calendar 2025 - Day 5 - Adrian Tchaikovsky
04 Dec 2025
Contributed by Lukas
As we move towards the end of the first week of our 2025 Advent Calendar, Gary and Jonathan take a moment to sit down with Adrian Tchaikovsky to talk ...
Episode 692: The Coode Street Advent Calendar 2025 - Day 4 - Martha Wells
03 Dec 2025
Contributed by Lukas
The end of the year is fast approaching, we're behind on episodes and we're keen to end the year on a high note. So this year we're going back to some...
Episode 691: The Coode Street Advent Calendar 2025 - Day 3 - China Mieville
02 Dec 2025
Contributed by Lukas
The end of the year is fast approaching, we're behind on episodes and we're keen to end the year on a high note. So this year we're going back to some...
Episode 690: Kij Johnson on Gaming, Storytelling and the Nature of Farce
02 Dec 2025
Contributed by Lukas
In amongst the hurly burly of the end of the year and putting together the Coode Street Advent Calendar, Gary and Jonathan found time to sit down wit...
Episode 689: The Coode Street Advent Calendar - Arkady Martine
02 Dec 2025
Contributed by Lukas
The end of the year is fast approaching, we're behind on episodes and we're keen to end the year on a high note. So this year we're going back to some...
Episode 688: The Coode Street Advent Calendar - Nina Allan
01 Dec 2025
Contributed by Lukas
The end of the year is fast approaching, we're behind on episodes and we're keen to end the year on a high note. So this year we're going back to some...
Episode 687: Jetlagged and tired, we ramble
14 Nov 2025
Contributed by Lukas
The World Fantasy Convention was held in Brighton, England two weeks ago. Gary and Jonathan both attended, so we shouldn't be surprised that they were...
Episode 686: Kemi Ashing-Giwa and The King Must Die
18 Oct 2025
Contributed by Lukas
Our guest this week is the remarkable Kemi Ashing-Giwa, whose new novel The King Must Die is out in November. We talk about science fantasy—or wheth...
Episode 686: Ken Liu, Technothrillers and AI Dreaming
05 Oct 2025
Contributed by Lukas
This week we have a lively conversation with the remarkable Ken Liu, whose new thriller All That We See or Seem introduces a new protagonist, the gift...
Episode 685: Chelsea Quinn Yarbro and the Anthropic AI case
07 Sep 2025
Contributed by Lukas
In a rare shorter episode, we chat about the late and much missed Chelsea Quinn Yarbro, with whom Jonathan and Gary had strangely similar encounters s...
Episode 684: On stories, awards, and reading
24 Aug 2025
Contributed by Lukas
With Gary recently returned from Worldcon in Seattle, we chat a bit about the Hugos (mostly avoiding second-guessing the results), which leads to some...
Episode 683: China Mieville and 25 Years of Bas Lag
12 Aug 2025
Contributed by Lukas
Twenty five years ago China Mieville's second novel, Perdido Street Station, introduced the world to the fantastical city of Bas Lag. It went on to wi...
Episode 682: Charlie Jane Anders and Annalee Newitz
29 Jul 2025
Contributed by Lukas
In this week’s episode, we’re joined by two of our most exciting writers, each of whom has a new book out in August. Charlie Jane Anders’ Lesson...
Episode 681: Silvia Moreno-Garcia and The Bewitching
06 Jul 2025
Contributed by Lukas
We're almost embarrassed to admit it, but it’s been ten years since we last chatted with Silvia Moreno-Garcia, shortly after her first novel Signal ...
Episode 680: Talking science fiction
16 Jun 2025
Contributed by Lukas
Even though we know that some past episodes have probably spent too much time talking about awards, our latest chat begins with some thoughts on—wel...
Episode 679: Guy Gavriel Kay and Written on the Dark
02 Jun 2025
Contributed by Lukas
This week we are joined by an old friend of the podcast, the distinguished Canadian novelist Guy Gavriel Kay, whose wonderful new novel Written on the...
Episode 678: Nearly 15 years of rambling...
21 May 2025
Contributed by Lukas
This week it’s just Jonathan and Gary again, in what some listeners might view as an either a classic ramble or a series of rabbit holes from which ...
Episode 677: Silvia Park and Luminous
21 May 2025
Contributed by Lukas
This week Jonathan and Gary are joined by Silvia Park to discuss her exciting debut novel, Luminous, which started life as a children's novel and conn...
Episode 676: Jacob Weisman and 30 Years of Tachyon
08 May 2025
Contributed by Lukas
In celebration of the thirtieth anniversary of Tachyon Publications, we invited publisher Jacob Weisman to join us in a fascinating exploration of the...
Episode 675: Joe Abercrombie and The Devils
01 May 2025
Contributed by Lukas
This week Gary and Jonathan are joined by long time friend of the podcast, Joe Abercrombie. We last spoke to Joe during the pandemic when he was wor...
REPEAT: Episode 646: Peter S. Beagle and a Life Filled With Story
21 Apr 2025
Contributed by Lukas
With Peter Beagle's 86th birthday upon us, we thought we'd re-share a discussion we had with him last year about writing and story. We wish Peter a...
Episode 674: Joe Monti and the State of Play
20 Apr 2025
Contributed by Lukas
As we try to return to some sort of regular schedule, we’re delighted to welcome back Joe Monti, vice president and editorial director of Saga Press...
Episode 673: Much Ado About March
31 Mar 2025
Contributed by Lukas
With apologies for an unplanned hiatus, during which Gary traveled to Florida to attend the International Conference on the Fantastic, we’re back wi...
Episode 672: We've probably forgotten something important
02 Mar 2025
Contributed by Lukas
This week’s episode features a few news items, but as usual you have to listen closely to find them among our usual free-association digressions. Aw...
Episode 671: Books We're Looking Forward to in 2025
02 Feb 2025
Contributed by Lukas
Each year, we sit down and look at the year ahead and, inevitably, end up discussing the books we are looking forward to. This year we invited long ti...
Episode 670: Why is some work overlooked
19 Jan 2025
Contributed by Lukas
For those who might have been hoping our 2025 podcasts might get a little more focused and coherent, our apologies. Following up on several discussion...
Episode 666: In which we discuss what to do with books
10 Jan 2025
Contributed by Lukas
This week’s episode is mostly about books—how do you get them, where do you put them, and how to get rid of them when you need to. You’d think t...
Episode 669: On the importance of books and the beginning of a new year
10 Jan 2025
Contributed by Lukas
For our first episode of 2025, we touch upon novels we've been reading for the new year, including Charles Stross’s 13th Laundry novel/collection A...
Episode 669: On the importance of books and the beginning of a new year
06 Jan 2025
Contributed by Lukas
For our first episode of 2025, we touch upon novels we've been reading for the new year, including Charles Stross’s 13th Laundry novel/collection A ...
Episode 666: In which we discuss what to do with books
24 Dec 2024
Contributed by Lukas
This week’s episode is mostly about books—how do you get them, where do you put them, and how to get rid of them when you need to. You’d think t...
Episode 668: The Year in Books with James Bradley and Ian Mond
23 Dec 2024
Contributed by Lukas
For our year-end review of 2024 books, we’re joined once again by fellow Locus reviewer Ian Mond and distinguished critic and novelist James Bradley...
Episode 667: Jo Walton and the most iconic books of the 21st century
08 Dec 2024
Contributed by Lukas
At the end of October Reactor published their list of The Most Iconic Speculative Fiction Books of the 21st Century, which attempted to list the best/...
Episode 665: Joe Monti and the State of Things
10 Nov 2024
Contributed by Lukas
Long time friend of the podcast Joe Monti, who was recently promoted to Vice President, Associate Publisher, and Editorial Director at Saga Press, and...
Episode 664: Julie Phillips and talking about Ursula K. Le Guin
27 Oct 2024
Contributed by Lukas
In celebration of the 50th anniversary of the publication of Ursula K. Le Guin’s classic The Dispossessed, we sit down for a chat with award-win...
Episode 663: How science fiction responds
13 Oct 2024
Contributed by Lukas
For our first October episode, we try out another new opening, touch upon the recent catastrophic weather in Florida and the hazards of attempting nea...
Episode 662: Rambling to the end of the year
29 Sep 2024
Contributed by Lukas
As we gear up for the inevitable year-in-review discussions, and the annual semi-hiatus between the fall and spring convention sessions (at least in t...
Episode 661: Emily Tesh and Some Desperate Glory
15 Sep 2024
Contributed by Lukas
In this episode we are delighted to welcome the extremely talented Emily Tesh, who managed the rare achievement of winning a World Fantasy Award for h...
Episode 660: Nalo Hopkinson and Blackheart Man
07 Sep 2024
Contributed by Lukas
With the Glasgow World Science Fiction Convention behind us, and with Gary back in Chicago and Jonathan back in Perth, our faithful podcasters pick up...
Episode 659: Joe Haldeman and The Forever War (Live in Glasgow)
13 Aug 2024
Contributed by Lukas
The Forever War, the debut novel from US writer Joe Haldeman, was first published by St Martins Press in 1974. It was shortlisted for the Locus Award...
Episode 658: A resumption of normal service
21 Jul 2024
Contributed by Lukas
With the Glasgow WorldCon just around the corner, Gary and Jonathan turn their attention to plans for the event. In addition to panel appearances, the...
Episode 657: Being Alvaro and Michael
14 Jul 2024
Contributed by Lukas
We're delighted to welcome a distinguished pair of guests, the legendary Michael Swanwick and writer and critic Alvaro Zinos-Amaro, whose book-length ...
Episode 656: Stop us if you've heard this one before
29 Jun 2024
Contributed by Lukas
For any listeners who have missed our longstanding tradition of almost unfettered rambling, we turn our attention this week to the questions of how an...
Episode 655: Kaaron Warren and the Underhistory of things
22 Jun 2024
Contributed by Lukas
Multiple Aurealis, Ditmar, and Shirley Jackson award winner Kaaron Warren joins us for this week’s episode, along with old friend of Coode Street an...
Episode 654: Paolo Bacigalupi and the Road to Navola
14 Jun 2024
Contributed by Lukas
The distinguished Hugo, Nebula, World Fantasy, and Locus Award winner Paolo Bacigalupi joins us this week to talk about his forthcoming historical fan...
Episode 653: Lev Grossman and The Bright Sword
08 Jun 2024
Contributed by Lukas
We’re delighted to welcome to Coode Street Lev Grossman, bestselling author of The Magicians trilogy, to discuss his major new Arthurian novel The B...
Episode 652: Ellen Klages and the Ham in Jeopardy
03 Jun 2024
Contributed by Lukas
For this special short episode, Jonathan and Gary are joined by an old friend, Nebula and World Fantasy winner Ellen Klages, who recently gained an en...
Episode 651: Vajra Chandrasekera and The Saint of Bright Doors
25 May 2024
Contributed by Lukas
This episode is a wide-ranging discussion with two important guests: the brilliant Vajra Chandrasekera, whose amazing first novel The Saint of Bright ...
Episode 650: Tobi Ogundiran and the Guardian of the Gods
18 May 2024
Contributed by Lukas
Gary and Jonathan are joined by Tobi Ogundiran, whose novella In the Shadow of the Fall is the first of the “Guardian of the Gods,” and whose firs...
Episode 649: Nghi Vo and The Brides of High Hill
05 May 2024
Contributed by Lukas
This week, we’re joined by the wonderful Nghi Vo, whose The Brides of High Hill is out this week. It’s the fifth of her ongoing “Singing Hills”...
Episode 648: Genre, marketing, and more
27 Apr 2024
Contributed by Lukas
This week Jonathan and Gary start out with something resembling a topic: the proliferation of subgenres, movements, and marketing categories in SF and...
Episode 647: Oh no, not us again...
21 Apr 2024
Contributed by Lukas
Once again with no guest to give us focus, Jonathan and Gary return to rambling mode, spurred on by the observation that voting for the 2024 Hugo Awar...
Episode 646: Peter S. Beagle and a Life Filled With Story
14 Apr 2024
Contributed by Lukas
This week we are joined by the legendary author of The Last Unicorn, Peter S. Beagle, who discusses his new novel I'm Afraid You've Got Dragons (pu...
Episode 645: Jack Dann and Fifty Years of Wandering Stars
07 Apr 2024
Contributed by Lukas
On the fiftieth anniversary of his groundbreaking anthology Wandering Stars: An Anthology of Jewish Science Fiction and Fantasy, we’re joined by th...
Episode 644: Cozy books and a prickly writer
23 Mar 2024
Contributed by Lukas
This time out, Jonathan and Gary consider the meaning of "cozy" (or "cosy") SF and fantasy, and whether cozy horror is even a thing. We trace the term...
Episode 643: All Time Top 5s
04 Mar 2024
Contributed by Lukas
Somewhat hesitantly, Jonathan and Gary return to the mics, sans guests, and somehow get into a discussion of various SFF listicles—partly because of...
Episode 642: Premee Mohamed and The Butcher of the Forest
17 Feb 2024
Contributed by Lukas
This week Nebula and World Fantasy award winner, Premee Mohamed, joins Gary and Jonathan from somewhere in the wilds of Canada to discuss writing, rea...
Episode 641: Kelly Link and the love of books
28 Jan 2024
Contributed by Lukas
For our second episode of 2024, we’re joined by the inimitable Kelly Link, whose forthcoming first novel The Book of Love is already receiving stel...
Eating the Fantastic: Episode 217: Gary K. Wolfe and Jonathan Strahan
27 Jan 2024
Contributed by Lukas
All round good guy Scott Edelman was at the recent World Fantasy Convention, and took Gary and Jonathan out for lunch and a chat. That chat became the...
Episode 640: A new year begins. Shenanigans ensue?
21 Jan 2024
Contributed by Lukas
And just liked that, our end of year hiatus is over and the Coode Street Podcast is back! Gary and Jonathan return from their annual break and kick of...
Episode 639: A Very Coode Street Gift Guide Roundtable 2023
17 Dec 2023
Contributed by Lukas
For the 2023 instalment of the Very Coode Street Gift Guide, we invited some old friends to share their recommendations of books read in 2023: Alix ...
Episode 638: Books that were off our radar
11 Dec 2023
Contributed by Lukas
The end of the year may be fast approaching, but this episode isn’t quite our usual year-in-review discussion (which will come up later), or our boo...
Episode 637: A Quick One, While We Wait
26 Nov 2023
Contributed by Lukas
With plans for are promised chat with Elizabeth Hand and Alix E. Harrow on temporary hold, Jonathan and Gary share some pleasant memories of the World...
Episode 636: Jeffrey Ford, Kij Johnson and the Art of Narrative
11 Nov 2023
Contributed by Lukas
The 2023 World Fantasy Convention was held in Kansas City, Missouri over the weekend of October 26-29 2023. The convention was incredibly kind and ge...
Episode 635: On the nature of purpose in science fiction
01 Oct 2023
Contributed by Lukas
Responding in part to some issues raised by Niall Harrison in The Los Angeles Review of Books, Jonathan and Gary discuss the value and purpose of year...
Episode 634: Jack Dann and the Fiction Writer’s Guide to Alternate History
10 Sep 2023
Contributed by Lukas
For this episode, Jonathan and Gary are joined by the distinguished novelist, editor, and scholar Jack Dann, whose new The Fiction Writer’s Guide t...
Episode 633: A classic ramble
03 Sep 2023
Contributed by Lukas
In a return to classic rambling form, Jonathan and Gary begin thinking about the waning months of the year, and the inevitable recommended reading dis...
Episode 632: Wole Talabi and Shagidi and the Brass Head of Obalufon
13 Aug 2023
Contributed by Lukas
This week Hugo and Nebula nominee Wole Talabi joins Jonathan and Gary for a wide-ranging discussion celebrating the publication of his wonderful first...
Episode 631: Awards, debut novels, and science fiction at the moment
23 Jul 2023
Contributed by Lukas
After Gary enjoyed a weekend at Readercon, we’re back with another one-on-one ramble that covers topics from the proliferation of SF awards (and wha...
Episode 630: Kij Johnson and the Nature of Story
09 Jul 2023
Contributed by Lukas
After an unplanned hiatus, we’re back with the wonderful Kij Johnson, who will be a guest of honour at this year’s World Fantasy Convention in Ka...
Episode 629: Ursula Vernon and A Story with Good Bones
03 Jun 2023
Contributed by Lukas
In this episode, Jonathan and Gary have a long overdue extended discussion with the wonderful Ursula Vernon (aka T. Kingfisher), whose excellent horro...
Episode 628: Sarah Pinsker and Lost Places
20 May 2023
Contributed by Lukas
Returning after a brief hiatus, Coode Street welcomes the wonderful multiple award-winning Sarah Pinsker, whose new collection Lost Places has just be...
Episode 627:Kelly Link for the love of a good book
23 Apr 2023
Contributed by Lukas
This week, Jonathan and Gary talk with Kelly Link, whose new collection White Cat, Black Dog is already showing up on bestseller lists. It's her firs...
Episode 626: Awards season, British criticism and more
10 Apr 2023
Contributed by Lukas
It’s awards season again (or maybe still), so Jonathan and Gary take a moment to remind everyone of the deadlines for nominating candidates for Hugo...