I’ve guest starred on a number of podcasts over the years, but here are original podcasts that I host or cohost. If you love books and deep conversations about them, you may just love what we do.

If you’re looking for writing specific podcasts and con panel recordings, check out the links over at the page Writing & Writing Advice.

Resistance Reads

Literature is a conversation about the human experience. One important facet of that experience is the relationship between power and resistance. In this podcast, Matt Wellstrom and Michael Kilman explore a variety of works of literature pursing questions about the nature of power and how people live with, or fight back against systems of power. So far we’ve covered books such as 1984, V for Vendetta, The Ministry for the Future, and Passing. Our discussions are grounded in social science, history, law, philosophy, and activism.

Episodes are initially livestreamed on YouTube and we love audience questions and thoughts. A few days after the livestream, episodes go up on all your favorite platforms. Come join us at the next livestream here! or listen to the replay of past episodes here.

Resistance Reads Podcast Episode 14: We by Yevgeny Zamyatin – Resistance Reads

This episode dives into We by Yevgeny Zamyatin, a pioneering dystopian novel that helped define the genre. We examine the author’s life, the political context of the book, and the inner conflict of D-503 as he grapples with individuality, love, and rebellion inside a tightly controlled society. Our discussion covers themes of authoritarianism, emotional suppression, regulated relationships, and the illusion of happiness without struggle. We also critique the novel’s writing style and narrative choices, asking how frustration, self-indulgence, and discomfort shape the reader’s understanding of power and control. The conversation expands into contemporary concerns, including cognitive dissonance, apathy, nihilism, state violence, fascism, masculinity, economic pressure, and family planning. By unpacking We, we explore how literature helps us confront political justifications for cruelty and better understand the social realities we are living through today.

1. Resistance Reads Podcast Episode 14: We by Yevgeny Zamyatin 01:20:30
2. Resistance Reads Podcast Episode 13: The Buffalo Hunter Hunter 01:30:20
3. Resistance Reads Podcast: Episode 12 Heavenly Tyrant 01:25:05
4. Resistance Reads Podcast Episode 11: Babel by R.F. Kuang 01:50:15
5. Resistance Reads Episode 10: Frankenstein by Mary Shelly (1818 edition) 01:49:56
6. Episode 9 Iron Widow by Xiran Jay Zhao 01:21:55
7. Episode 8 Black Empire by George S Schuyler 01:16:25
8. Episode 7 It Can't Happen Here by Sinclair Lewis 01:17:53
9. Episode 6 Zorro by Isabel Allende 01:19:35
10. Episode 5 The Grapes of Wrath by John Steinbeck 01:42:35