Unusual Readings
Welcome to Unusual Readings. This is intended to highlight the various books that I read and become enthralled by. But I talk about whatever I want here. Not a regularly appearing podcast, just something I like to do sometimes on a lark or use as a vessel to dump occasional brainstorms.
Unusual Readings #12 - The Music Between (ft. Ellen Sollinger Walker)
The Unusual Readings podcast makes its unheralded return from a long hiatus. Today, I have a chat with my mom about her debut novel (The Music Between, hitting bookshelves in January 2027!) and her love of writing.
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Unusual Readings #11 - An Unqualified Disaster (Excerpts From "Final Cut")
I read & break down excerpts from Final Cut, Steven Bach's watershed 1985 book about the process of making Heaven's Gate, which was one of the most resounding flops in the history of the movie business.
There's alot of good film history stuff in here. Go get yourself a copy:
Final Cut : Art, Money, and Ego in the... book by Steven Bach
Unusual Readings #10 - A Referendum on the 2025 NFL Season (ft. Alan Jay & Jason Threlkeld)
Alan Jay, Jason and I reconvene after the 2025 NFL regular season, chat about the campaign, and reveal the results of our wins/losses picks contest that we did at the beginning of the year.
Unusual Readings #9 - Desiderata
An Unusual Readings tribute to my dad, who died in November of 2025.
(I also bitch about the combat sports landscape for the first 15 or so minutes.)
Unusual Readings #8 - A Smashing Talk (A "Smashing Machine" Chat ft. Jared Russell)
Dwayne Johnson guns for an Oscar by cosplaying as a mixed martial arts fighter, in the form of former UFC & PRIDE standout Mark Kerr. My pal Jared and I break it down.
Unusual Readings #7 - A Ham Wrapped in Denim (A Treatise on "Land of the Free" ft. Matt Dee)
A dear friend (& former podcast cohost) and I get together for a rollicking late-night discussion of Land of the Free, a silly and bad William Shatner movie that we stumbled across in the aisle at the video store. We saw it together a long time ago. And it never really left us.
We reconvened in late 2025 for a rewatch. And this memorable chat.
Get yourself a copy of this absurdist romp from our friends at PM Productions:
Land of the Free (DVD) for sale online | eBay
Unusual Readings #6 - Execute Again (A Reading From Klosterman's "Raised in Captivity")
A short story from Chuck Klosterman's 2019 collection, Raised in Captivity. It is the tale of a high school football coach with no experience who showed up to a backwater rural town and decided to have his team run the same play.
For an entire season.
Raised in Captivity: Fictional... book by Chuck Klosterman
Unusual Readings #5 - Part Two of A 2025 NFL Preview Extravaganza (ft. Alan Jay & Jason Threlkeld)
Part two of our gargantuan 2025 NFL preview.
Unusual Readings #4 - Part One of A 2025 NFL Preview Extravaganza (ft. Alan Jay & Jason Threlkeld)
A gargantuan NFL preview for the 2025 season that I did with a couple of friends. Part one.
Unusual Readings #3 - Excerpts From An MMA Book I Actually Like ("Hendo: The American Athlete")
I pivot away from a nefarious MMA book featuring an American flag ("Made in America") and into a much better MMA book also featuring an American flag ("Hendo: The American Athlete"). I do 3 readings. One is about the Akira Shoji fight, one is about the Yuki Kondo fight (lol), and the last one is about the Bisping fight.
Fundraiser for Jordan Breen Scholarship Fund by Neil Atkinson : Jordan Breen Scholarship Fund
Go get yourself a copy of Hendo. Written by Dan Henderson & David Kano
Hendo: The American Athlete book by Dan Henderson
Unusual Readings #2 - A Dramatic Reading of Matt Hughes's "Made in America"
"Made in America" by Matt Hughes (& Michael Malice). A book that I'll never forget reading, even though I sort of wish that I could. A loathsome artifact.
I read 3 excerpts from it.
RIP Jordan Breen.
Fundraiser for Jordan Breen Scholarship Fund by Neil Atkinson : Jordan Breen Scholarship Fund
Unusual Readings #1 - Jordan Breen Tribute (ft. Brandon from New Jersey)
This is 2 recordings smashed into one episode. Unusual Readings began on a lark as a way to pay tribute to the late Jordan Breen, who died in June of 2025. The first part of this is me just recording some BS on my phone in the car, and the second part is my chat with former Sherdog Radio Network mainstay and corner 3 specialist Brandon from New Jersey.
Fundraiser for Jordan Breen Scholarship Fund by Neil Atkinson : Jordan Breen Scholarship Fund
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