Morbidly Curious Book Club Podcast

Welcome to a special BONUS episode, where I chat with an author about their nonfiction book that is morbidly curious book club adjacent, but it hasn't been a pick. Thus, a bonus episode!

Join the book club here: https://www.morbidlycuriousbookclub.com/

Hallie's website here: https://hallierubenhold.com/

About Story of a Murder: On February 1, 1910, the vivacious, diamond-adorned music hall performer Belle Elmore suddenly vanished from her home, causing alarm among her friends, the entertainers of the Music Hall Ladies’ Guild. Their demands for an investigation would lead to the unearthing of a gr...

Welcome to an archive episode!

Check out our new website: morbidlycuriousbookclub.com

Early and ad-free for Patreon members: https://www.patreon.com/cw/TheMorbidlyCuriousBookClub

In 2024, I launched this podcast to delve deeper into our book club's nonfiction selections by engaging directly with the authors, the experts behind these compelling works. However, the book club has been around since 2021...so there are some 'archive' picks that we need to discuss!

In September of 2023, we read what would become a staple for the book club: "WHAT THE DEAD KNOW, Learning About Life as...

Welcome to a special BONUS episode, where I chat with an author about their nonfiction book that is morbidly curious book club adjacent, but it hasn't been a pick. Thus, a bonus episode!

Join the book club here: https://www.morbidlycuriousbookclub.com/

*Please note! I truly had to Frankenstein this episode... we had so many technical difficulties, unfortunately, it's a shorter episode with some questions missed, but I did the best I could to get you guys a cohesive piece!

Welcome to a special BONUS episode, where I chat with an author about...

Welcome to an archive episode!

Check out our new website: morbidlycuriousbookclub.com

Early and ad-free for Patreon members: https://www.patreon.com/cw/TheMorbidlyCuriousBookClub

In 2024, I launched this podcast to delve deeper into our book club's nonfiction selections by engaging directly with the authors, the experts behind these compelling works. However, the book club has been around since 2021...so there are some 'archive' picks that we need to discuss!

In September of 2023, we read what would become a staple for the book club: "WHAT THE DEAD KNOW, Learning About Life as...

Resources mentioned below.

Welcome to a special BONUS episode, where I chat with an author about their nonfiction book that is morbidly curious book club adjacent, but it hasn't been a pick. Thus, a bonus episode!

Join the book club here: https://www.morbidlycuriousbookclub.com/

Shoutout to Legacy Lit for my copy of Amy Littlefield's Killers of Roe: My Investigation into the Mysterious Death of Abortion Rights.

About the book: They are going to kill people, investigative reporter for The Nation Amy Littlefield knew, when the Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade...

Welcome to Season 3 Episode 4!

Join the Book Club, Subscribe to our book box, support our small business here: https://www.morbidlycuriousbookclub.com/

This episode is available ad-free for our Patreon members, and releases slightly early! Become a Patreon Pal today, and check out other episodes, along with bonus bits not included for the general public... https://patreon.com/TheMorbidlyCuriousBookClub?

In April, the Morbidly Curious Book Club read "Madame Restell: The Life, Death, and Resurrection of Old New York's Most Fabulous, Fearless, and Infamous Abortionist" by Jennifer Wright!

About the book: An...

But not at the same time...unless you're into that; Godspeed.

Welcome to a special BONUS episode, where I chat with an author about their nonfiction book that is morbidly curious book club adjacent, but it hasn't been a pick. Thus, a bonus episode!

Join the book club here: https://www.morbidlycuriousbookclub.com/

About The Secret History of Bigfoot: From the shrouded forests of the Pacific Northwest to off-the-wall cryptozoological conventions, one man searches high and low for the answer to the question: real or not, why do we want to believe? Bigfoot...

Welcome to a special BONUS episode, where I chat with an author about their nonfiction book that is morbidly curious book club adjacent, but it hasn't been a pick. Thus, a bonus episode!

Join the book club here: https://www.morbidlycuriousbookclub.com/

OneTaste hoped orgasm would change the world. Emerging in the midst of the late-aughts for-profit wellness boom, the company was unwavering in its faith in orgasmic meditation, or OM, a fifteen-minute practice featuring a woman being clitorally stimulated by a clothed, usually male partner. Nicole Daedone, the group’s magnetic and cunning founder, en...

Welcome to Season 3 Episode 3! Our March book for the Morbidly Curious Book Club is WHACK JOB: A History of Axe Murder by Rachel McCarthy James!

Join the Book Club, Subscribe to our book box, support our small business here: https://www.morbidlycuriousbookclub.com/

This episode is available ad-free for our Patreon members, and releases slightly early! Become a Patreon Pal today, and check out other episodes, along with bonus bits not included for the general public... https://patreon.com/TheMorbidlyCuriousBookClub?utm_medium=unknown&utm_source=join_link&utm_campaign=creatorshare_creator&utm_content=copyLink

Welcome to a special BONUS episode, where I chat with an author about their nonfiction book that is morbidly curious book club adjacent, but it hasn't been a pick. Thus, a bonus episode!

Join the book club here: https://www.morbidlycuriousbookclub.com/

From viral social media sensation Dr. Zachary Rubin, an in-depth look at both common and surprising allergies, spotlighting patient stories, the history and science behind allergies, common myths, treatment options, and more. Millions of people suffer from various allergic diseases. They're some of the most common but widely misunderstood afflictions today, and Dr...

Welcome to a special BONUS episode, where I chat with an author about their nonfiction book that is morbidly curious book club adjacent, but it hasn't been a pick. Thus, a bonus episode! Early + ad-free for the Patreon members.

Join the book club here: https://www.morbidlycuriousbookclub.com/

About the book: On December 22, 1984, in a graffiti-covered New York City subway car, passengers looked on in horror as a white loner named Bernhard Goetz shot four Black teens, Darrell Cabey, Barry Allen, Troy Canty, and James Ramseur, at point-blank range. He then disappeared into a dark t...

Welcome to a special BONUS episode, where I chat with an author about their nonfiction book that is morbidly curious book club adjacent, but it hasn't been a pick. Thus, a bonus episode!

Join the book club here: https://www.morbidlycuriousbookclub.com/

The Trial of Lizzie Borden tells the true story of one of the most sensational murder trials in American history. When Andrew and Abby Borden were brutally hacked to death in Fall River, Massachusetts, in August 1892, the arrest of the couple’s younger daughter Lizzie turned the case into international news and her tri...

Welcome to Season 3 Episode 2!

Join the Book Club, Subscribe to our book box, support our small business here: https://www.morbidlycuriousbookclub.com/

Early and ad-free for Patreon members! https://www.patreon.com/cw/TheMorbidlyCuriousBookClub

With a bite, the creature transforms its prey into another raving monster. It's a scenario that underlies our darkest tales of supernatural horror, but its power derives from a very real virus, a deadly scourge known to humankind from our earliest days. In this lively and engrossing investigation, journalist Bill Wasik and veterinarian Monica Murphy chart four thousand years...

Welcome to Season 3 Episode 1!

Join the Morbidly Curious Book Club Today: https://www.morbidlycuriousbookclub.com/

Early and ad-free for Patreon members! https://www.patreon.com/cw/TheMorbidlyCuriousBookClub

We are kicking off 2026 and season 3 with the book club’s favorite topic: cults. And trust me when I say, we are in good hands with our January 2026 pick… 

Today, tarot cards, astrology and crystals are everywhere — on Instagram and TikTok, and sold at upscale boutiques and pricey wellness retreats. Journalist Leah Sottile turns her investigative eye toward the recent surge of New Age influen...

Welcome to an archive episode!

Check out our new website: morbidlycuriousbookclub.com

Early and ad-free for Patreon members: https://www.patreon.com/cw/TheMorbidlyCuriousBookClub

In 2024, I launched this podcast to delve deeper into our book club's nonfiction selections by engaging directly with the authors, the experts behind these compelling works. However, the book club has been around since 2021...so there are some 'archive' picks that we need to discuss!

In January of 2022, we read CULTISH: The Language of Fanaticism by Amanda Montell a,nd it has become a staple in the...

Check out our NEW website! morbidlycuriousbookclub.com

Here is our 2026 lineup:

January "Blazing Eye Sees All: Love Has Won, False Prophets, and the Fever Dream of the American New Age" by Leah Sottile

February "Rabid: A Cultural History of the World's Most Diabolical Virus" by Bill Wasik & Monica Murphy

March "Whack Job: A History of Axe Murder" by Rachel McCarthy James

April "Madame Restell: The Life, Death, and Resurrection of Old New York's Most Fabulous, Fearless, and Infamous Abortionist" by Jennifer Wright

May "The Forever Witness: How DNA and...

Season 2 finale!

Join the Morbidly Curious Book Club Today: https://www.morbidlycuriousbookclub.com/

Early and ad-free for Patreon members! https://www.patreon.com/cw/TheMorbidlyCuriousBookClub

Our December 2025 pick was “THE UNCLAIMED: Abandonment and Hope in the City of Angels" by Pamela Prickett and Stefan Timmermans!

For centuries, people who died destitute or alone were buried in potters’ fields—a Dickensian end that even the most hard-pressed families tried to avoid. Today, more and more relatives are abandoning their dead, leaving it to local governments to dispose of the bodies. Up to 150,000 Americ...

Join the Morbidly Curious Book Club Today: https://www.morbidlycuriousbookclub.com/

Welcome to a special BONUS episode, where I chat with an author about their nonfiction book that is morbidly curious book club adjacent, but it hasn't been a pick. Thus, a bonus episode!

Here is my conversation with Ashley Cullins on her book, "YOUR FAVORITE SCARY MOVIE: How the Scream Films Rewrote the Rules of Horror."

Releasing on the 29th anniversary of Scream hitting theaters!

About the book: The ultimate story of the Scream movie franchise, featuring interviews from more...

Join the Morbidly Curious Book Club Today: https://www.morbidlycuriousbookclub.com/

Welcome to a special BONUS episode, where I chat with an author about their nonfiction book that is morbidly curious book club adjacent, but it hasn't been a pick. Thus, a bonus episode!

Here is my conversation with Ilise S. Carter on her book, "WHEN WE SPOKE TO THE DEAD: How Ghosts Gave American Women Their Voice."

About the book: Ghosts spoke. Women listened. Everything changed. It began with whispers in a dimly lit room. In the 1840s, the Fox Sisters—and th...

Join the Morbidly Curious Book Club Today: https://www.morbidlycuriousbookclub.com/

Early and ad-free for Patreon members! https://www.patreon.com/cw/TheMorbidlyCuriousBookClub

Our November 2025 pick was “NINE PINTS: A Journey Through the Money, Medicine, and Mysteries of Blood" by Rose George!

An eye-opening exploration of blood, the lifegiving substance with the power of taboo, the value of diamonds and the promise of breakthrough science. Blood carries life, yet the sight of it makes people faint. It is a waste product and a commodity pricier than oil. It can save lives and transmit de...

Join the Morbidly Curious Book Club Today: https://www.morbidlycuriousbookclub.com/

Early and ad-free for Patreon members! https://www.patreon.com/cw/TheMorbidlyCuriousBookClub

Our October 2025 pick was “Ghostland: An American History in Haunted Places" by Colin Dickey, our 2nd repeat author!

"From the author of The Unidentified, an intellectual feast for fans of offbeat history that takes readers on a road trip through some of the country’s most infamously haunted places—and deep into the dark side of our history. Colin Dickey is on the trail of America’s ghosts. Crammed into old hous...

Join the Morbidly Curious Book Club Today: https://www.morbidlycuriousbookclub.com/

Early + Ad-free for Patreon members: https://www.patreon.com/c/TheMorbidlyCuriousBookClub

"Not everyone has a strong impulse toward morbid curiosity. Why, then, are some of us powerfully drawn to content that portrays evil, violence, and suffering? Is and interest in the darker side of life a sign of a moral bankruptcy? In my experience, this isn't an accurate assessment. I've met with and studied morbidly curious people all over the world, form haunted attractions to horror conventions to university classrooms. Anecdotally and empirically, morbidly...

Join the Morbidly Curious Book Club Today: https://www.morbidlycuriousbookclub.com/

Our September 2025 pick was “In the Mouth of the Wolf: A Murder, a Cover-Up, and the True Cost of Silencing the Press" by Katherine Corcoran.

Early and ad-free for Patreon members! Join the Patreon today to get exclusive goodies, including the Morbidly Curious Fiction Edition book club: https://patreon.com/TheMorbidlyCuriousBookClub?utm_medium=unknown&utm_source=join_link&utm_campaign=creatorshare_creator&utm_content=copyLink

“Regina dove in, focusing on the marginalized people who made the news at the time only in posi...

Join the Morbidly Curious Book Club Today: https://www.morbidlycuriousbookclub.com/

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"Over time, devices migrated inside the body -- masticators gave way to dentures, glasses to contact lenses, toupees to hair transplants. Replacements became more integrated, more complex, more expensive. False teeth and prosthetic limbs can now be screwed into bones, artificial lenses surgically implanted. Of late, the buzz is for regeneration: bits and pieces grown from one's own cells. Stem cells and gene editing have landed us on the brink of a medical...

Join the Morbidly Curious Book Club Today: https://www.morbidlycuriousbookclub.com/

Our August 2025 pick was “BRIEFLY PERFECTLY HUMAN: Making an Authentic Life by Getting Real About the End" by death doula Alua Arthur.

Early and ad-free for Patreon members! Join the Patreon today to get exclusive goodies, including the Morbidly Curious Fiction Edition book club: https://patreon.com/TheMorbidlyCuriousBookClub?utm_medium=unknown&utm_source=join_link&utm_campaign=creatorshare_creator&utm_content=copyLink

Reminder: the May episode with Mary Roach is coming in September, and my July episode with Lindsay Fitzharris is coming so...

Join the Morbidly Curious Book Club Today: https://www.morbidlycuriousbookclub.com/

Our June 2025 pick was “TRAIL OF THE LOST: The Relentless Search to Bring Home the Missing Hikers of the Pacific Crest Trail" by Andrea Lankford.

Early and ad-free for Patreon members! Join the Patreon today to get exclusive goodies, including the Morbidly Curious Fiction Edition book club: https://patreon.com/TheMorbidlyCuriousBookClub?utm_medium=unknown&utm_source=join_link&utm_campaign=creatorshare_creator&utm_content=copyLink

Reminder: the May episode with Mary Roach is coming later this year!

"From an award-winning fo...

Join the Morbidly Curious Book Club Today: https://www.morbidlycuriousbookclub.com/

Welcome to another archives episode! Where I speak to a previously selected book club pick author.

In 2024, I launched this podcast to delve deeper into our book club's nonfiction selections by engaging directly with the authors, the experts behind these compelling works.

Over the years, our club has explored some exceptional books, and today, I got the chance to speak with Sarah Edmondson about her book, "SCARRED: The True Story of How I Escaped NXIVM, the Cult that Bound My Life," a...

Join the Morbidly Curious Book Club Today: https://www.morbidlycuriousbookclub.com/

"There is a common, nebulous understanding among Americans that MLM is off and exploitative. But a shrug goes along with it, too, as one does with Scientology, or other factions of this country's colorful fringe. It is one of our many freak sideshows, falling somewhere between a cult, a crime, and a joke. Something to gawk at, pity, or ignore."

Order "Little Bosses Everywhere" here: https://bookshop.org/lists/morbidly-curious-non-fiction-recommendations

Welcome to a special BONUS episode, where I chat with an author...

Part 2/2 of my conversation with Rick Emerson on his book, Unmask Alice. Listen to part 1 before this one!

Join the Morbidly Curious Book Club Today: https://www.morbidlycuriousbookclub.com/

Welcome to another archives episode! Where I speak to a previously selected book club pick author.

In 2024, I launched this podcast to delve deeper into our book club's nonfiction selections by engaging directly with the authors—the experts behind these compelling works.

Over the years, our club has explored some exceptional books, and today, I am finally releasing my 2 part episode covering "Un...

Join the Morbidly Curious Book Club Today: https://www.morbidlycuriousbookclub.com/

Welcome to another archives episode! Where I speak to a previously selected book club pick author.

In 2024, I launched this podcast to delve deeper into our book club's nonfiction selections by engaging directly with the authors—the experts behind these compelling works.

Over the years, our club has explored some exceptional books, and today, I am finally releasing my 2 part episode covering "UNMASK ALICE: LSD, the Satanic Panic, and the Imposter Behind the World's Most Notorious Diaries" by Rick Emerson. This is on...

Join the Morbidly Curious Book Club Today: https://www.morbidlycuriousbookclub.com/

Welcome to the Morbidly Curious Book Club’s Podcast! In this episode, we are discussing our April 2025 book pick, “WACO RISING: David Koresh, the FBI, and the Birth of America's Modern Militias” by Kevin Cook.

Shout out to member Jillian for helping me with the outro to this one...

Early and ad-free for Patreon members! Get reading vlogs, an exclusive fiction book club, and more: https://www.patreon.com/c/TheMorbidlyCuriousBookClub

Join us for the live show discussion of Waco Rising...

Join the Morbidly Curious Book Club Today: https://www.morbidlycuriousbookclub.com/

Welcome to the Morbidly Curious Book Club’s Podcast! In this episode, we are discussing our March 2025 book pick, “GORY DETAILS: Adventures from the Dark Side of Science” by Erika Engelhaupt.

Early and ad-free for Patreon members! Get reading vlogs, an exclusive fiction book club, and more: https://www.patreon.com/c/TheMorbidlyCuriousBookClub

Join us for the live show discussion of Gory Details on the Morbidly Curious Book Club's Facebook, Instagram, and YouTube page 3/30 at 7pm EST!

Check out the Archiv...

Join the Morbidly Curious Book Club Today: https://www.morbidlycuriousbookclub.com/

Welcome to the Archives bonus episodes!

In 2024, I launched this podcast to delve deeper into our book club's nonfiction selections by engaging directly with the authors—the experts behind these compelling works.

Over the years, our club has explored some exceptional books, and today, I got the chance to speak with Bruce Goldfarb on his book, "18 TINY DEATHS: The Untold Story of the Woman Who Invented Modern Forensics" that the book club read in March 2022!

This episode is being released on...

Join the Morbidly Curious Book Club Today: https://www.morbidlycuriousbookclub.com/

Welcome to the Morbidly Curious Book Club’s Podcast! In this episode, we are discussing our February 2025 book pick, “TREMORS IN THE BLOOD: Murder, Obsession, and the Birth of the Lie Detector” by Amit Katwala.

Early and ad-free for Patreon members! Get reading vlogs, an exclusive fiction book club, and more: https://www.patreon.com/c/TheMorbidlyCuriousBookClub

Join us for the live show discussion of Tremors in the Blood on the Morbidly Curious Book Club's Facebook, Instagram, and YouTube page 2/23 at 7pm EST!<...

WELCOME TO SEASON 2!

Join the Morbidly Curious Book Club Today: https://www.morbidlycuriousbookclub.com/

Our January 2025 pick was “ALL THAT IS WICKED: A Gilded-Age Story of Murder and the Race to Decode the Criminal Mind" by the wonderful Kate Winkler Dawson.

Early and ad-free for Patreon members! If you'd like to join you can here: https://www.patreon.com/posts/s2e1-all-that-is-120547097?utm_medium=clipboard_copy&utm_source=copyLink&utm_campaign=postshare_creator&utm_content=join_link

Kate's latest release: https://www.penguinrandomhouse.com/books/727618/the-sinners-all-bow-by-kate-winkler-dawson/

About the bo...

Welcome friends to SEASON 2!

With 2024 now [almost] behind us, it's time to prepare for our 2025 reading year and companion podcast!

Here is our 2025 lineup:

January "All That Is Wicked: A Gilded-Age Story of Murder and the Race to Decode the Criminal Mind" by Kate Wrinkler Dawson

February "Tremors in the Blood: Murder, Obsession, and the Birth of the Lie Detector" by Amit Katwala

March "Gory Details: Adventures from the Dark Side of Science" by Erika Engelhaupt

April "Waco Rising: David Koresh, the FBI, and the Birth of America...

Join the Morbidly Curious Book Club Today: https://www.morbidlycuriousbookclub.com/

Welcome to the Morbidly Curious Book Club’s Podcast! In this episode, we are discussing our November 2024 book pick, “BOYS ENTER THE HOUSE: The Victims of John Wayne Gacy and the Lives They Left Behind” by David Nelson.

As investigators brought out the bagged remains of several dozen young men from a small Chicago ranch home and paraded them in front of a crowd of TV reporters and spectators, attention quickly turned to the owner of the house. John Gacy was an upstanding citizen, active...

Join the Morbidly Curious Book Club Today: https://www.morbidlycuriousbookclub.com/

Welcome to the Morbidly Curious Book Club’s Podcast! In this episode, we are discussing our October 2024 book pick, “GOODBYE HELLO: Processing Grief and Understanding Death Through the Paranormal” by Adam Berry!

From paranormal investigator and host of Kindred Spirits Adam Berry comes Goodbye Hello, which blends supernatural and psychological research to explore the paranormal and afterlife to try and help answer big questions about the end.

Death affects us all—not just at the end of our lives, but every day. And yet...

Join the Morbidly Curious Book Club Today: https://www.morbidlycuriousbookclub.com/

Welcome to the Morbidly Curious Book Club’s Podcast! In this episode, we are discussing our September 2024 book pick, “CANNIBALISM: A Perfectly Natural History” by Bill Schutt.

For centuries scientists have written off cannibalism as a bizarre phenomenon with little biological significance. Its presence in nature was dismissed as a desperate response to starvation or other life-threatening circumstances, and few spent time studying it. A taboo subject in our culture, the behavior was portrayed mostly through horror movies or tabloids sensationalizing the crimes of real-l...

Join the Morbidly Curious Book Club Today: https://www.morbidlycuriousbookclub.com/

“It might come as a surprise to know that, for millennia, people all over the world have actively cultivated a relationship with death, as an important part of both living and dying well. Shamans and priests acted as psychopomps—literally, soul guides—to help people move through the death process. People consulted ‘books of the dead,’ guides to preparing for a good death and after-life experience. And Those who learned to know death, rather than to fear and fight it, become our teachers about life. our ancestors...