#80 Max Thrax

Incredible episode. Nicholas Rall is an incredibly talented writer. He is the author the fantastic novella AFX8CCD out now on Expat Press. I talk to him about his book & the creative process, Pittsburgh, Final Fantasy, John Steinbeck, cats and more. Thank you so much, Nick, and thank you, listener! Nicholas on "X": https://x.com/viiviidsmiile Nicholas on Insta: https://www.instagram.com/viividsmiile/ Nicholas's book, AFX8CCD: https://expatpress.com/product/afx8ccd-nicholas-rall/

Sean Moeller is a legendary figure in the world of American music, and is now an author as well. Sean ran the iconic music website, Daytrotter, which featured live-to-tape sessions of some of music's greatest acts. Now, the Quad Cities-based Sean has written Plain Clothes Hamburglar, a collection of fascinating writing, out now on the press Rejection Letters. Sean and I talk music, talk writing, talk the midwest, and more - Sean also reads a selection from his book. You won't want to miss this very exciting episode. Thank you, Sean; and thank you, listener! Sean on Insta: https://www.instagram.com/moellernights/ Sean on X: https://x.com/moellernights Sean's new book: https://asterismbooks.com/product/plain-clothes-hamburlgar

Bill, aka Will, is the founder and CEO of Farthest Heaven. He's also one of Tales From The Mall's greatest friends. Brendan was the Best Man at his wedding. And he joins the show for a FREE chat about everything under the sun, including Joyce Carol Oates, Real Genius, fish research, gaming, R. Kelly, and so much more. I love you Bill. Enjoy. Bill on Twitter: https://x.com/20gaShotgun Bill on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/20gashotgun/ Farthest Heaven website: https://farthestheaven.com/ Farthest Heaven on Twitter: https://x.com/FarthestHeaven Farthest Heaven on Insta: https://www.instagram.com/farthestheaven/

Scout Gillett is a multi-talented musician/singer/songwriter/director. She's been putting out tremendous music from her home base of Brooklyn, NY but is presently making some big moves: she's made the leap from label artist to totally independent, and she's leaping across our continent from Brooklyn to Los Angeles. Her latest single, "Closer", presages her forthcoming EP "Imagination, MO"... a single for which she directed the music video herself. She has an incredible story, growing up in Independence, MO, and moving to New York with the encouragement of the great Sharon Van Etten, and overcoming some very intense & difficult times to keep making music and growing as an artist. I am grateful to Scout for opening up about all this on the show. Thank you, Scout, & thank you, listener! Enjoy. Scout's video for her latest single, "Closer": https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rxF577zT2dQ Scout on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/scoutgillett/ Scout on Twitter: https://x.com/carolekink Scout's TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@scoutgillettmusic Scout's Linktree: https://linktr.ee/Scoutgillett

Brittany Menjivar is the author of the hit new book Parasocialite. She is also a columnist for the LA Review of Books, and the cofounder of Car Crash Collective, an LA-based reading series. She is also a wonderful guest, as we discuss the great malls of our lives, how she came to found her reading series and meeting Richard Hell. Great episode. Brittany on Twitter: https://x.com/_brittpop_ Brittany on Insta: https://www.instagram.com/brittmenjivar/ Brittany's book (buy it): https://www.dreamboybook.club/store/parasocialite

Andrew Wittstadt is a new friend of mine, and a recent alum of TFTM After Hours. He's also one hell of a smart dude, a writer, a thinker, and a podcaster. He's the host of the Heavy Bored podcast which I recommend you check out. He and I have a really wide-ranging talk about writing, movies, love, art, life... what don't we talk about? Enjoy. And thank you, Andrew! Andrew on Twitter: https://x.com/AndrewWittstadt Heavy Bored on Twitter: https://twitter.com/HeavyBoredPod Heavy Bored on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/heavybored/ Heavy Bored Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/HeavyBored/posts

Listen for a special Tax Day announcement. Subscribe to Tales From The Mall for only $5/month here: https://patreon.com/talesfromthemall?utm_medium=unknown&utm_source=join_link&utm_campaign=creatorshare_creator&utm_content=copyLink

Orson Welles is an iconic figure. In many ways he's a 20th century American folk hero. Non-cinephiles know him from appearances in TV commercials and Dean Martin comedy roasts & as the one-hit wonder behind Citizen Kane. But the length, depth, & power of Orson Welles' directing career is much greater than many people realize, and he even made some crime melodramas... or film noir. The greatest living poet Tom Will, & the greatest living person Hermes Thurston join me to discuss three of Orson's great post-war crime films: 1946's The Stranger, 1947's The Lady From Shanghai, & 1958's Touch of Evil. Enjoy. Find Tom Will on Twitter & purchase his wonderful books: https://many.bio/thomaswill Hermes Thurston on Twitter: https://twitter.com/HSThurston Purchase Whatever Happened To Orson Welles? by Joseph McBride: https://www.amazon.com/What-Ever-Happened-Orson-Welles/dp/0813124107

Spencer Desmond is an incredible individual; a force of nature. He's a writer, artist, producer, musician & beautiful person. We talk about his film making pursuits, weightlifting, sobriety, New England, John Carpenter, Pauly Shore, & more. Many thanks to Spencer! Many thanks to you, the listener! Spencer on Twitter: https://twitter.com/rooster_puncher Spencer on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/deathcursecomics/

Happy St. Patrick's Day from Tales From The Mall! Today's very special episode features my great friend Patrick Kehoe: first and foremost a father & husband, but also an Irish-Canadian, a '90s dot com entrepreneur, an OG theorycel, a writer, a boxing expert and much more. Patrick and I talk about family, boxing, French theory, the 90s dot com boom, & more. Many thanks to Patrick & many thanks to you, listener. Happy St. Patrick's Day! Patrick on Twitter: https://twitter.com/PatrickMKehoe1