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 E24: Siddhartha by Herman Hesse – Resistance Reads

This week Matt and Michael dive into Siddhartha by Hermann Hesse, the Nobel Prize-winning author's short but famously dense 1922 novel following a Brahmin's son through asceticism, wealth, fatherhood, and, eventually, enlightenment. We get into why Siddhartha's arrogance and restless seeking might be his defining trait rather than his wisdom, how the book's ending draws directly on the Heart Sutra, and why "the seeker as identity" can become its own kind of trap, one that keeps you from ever actually arriving anywhere. We also talk personal history: what draws someone to Buddhism in the first place, what a decade of meditation practice actually feels like, and why asceticism and self-destructive habits might be doing the same psychological job. Also featuring our new co-host, Solana the puppy (see her on YouTube if you're listening in audio).

1. Resistance Reads Podcast E24: Siddhartha by Herman Hesse 54:10
2. Resistance Reads Podcast E23 Their Eyes Were Watching God 01:25:45
3. Special Episode: Resistance Reels Episode 1 Andor Season 1 01:23:04
4. Resistance Reads Podcast E22 The House on the Cerulean Sea 01:17:20
5. Resistance Reads Podcast E21 Lord of Light 01:44:56
6. Resistance Reads Podcast E20 Lovecraft Country 01:35:05
7. Resistance Reads Podcast E19 Paradise Lost 01:20:50
8. Resistance Reads E18 A Gentleman in Moscow 01:34:29
9. Resistance Reads Podcast E17 Let the Right One In 01:09:04
10. Resistance Reads Podcast E16 Mother Night by Kurt Vonnegut 01:15:15