SLICES: An interview with scifi author Chris Grall

In this episode of SLICES, we’re talking about twenty-two-year-old French basketball superstar Victor Wembanyama. And a decision he made that has absolutely nothing to do with scoring baskets. Wembanyama recently told reporters he would never accept a sponsorship deal promoting a sports gambling company. His exact words were: “Absolutely not. I will never do that.” Let’s get into it. — Slices is created by Scott Sigler and A B Kovacs — Produced by Steve Riekeberg — Production Assistance by Allie Press — Copyright 2026 by Empty Set Entertainment  Rules! We don’t need no stinkin rules!  Perhaps it would have been better to stick to the guidelines, you know? Just like snagging 99% off of your brand new three-year domain using GoDaddy Promo Code CJCFOSSIG3 . Let’s go! Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Manchester City Football Club is embroiled in a billion-dollar scandal.  A BILLION dollars in alleged financial manipulation, and now the British government is involved.  We’re talking about the big-money business drama that is the serious violations and financial mismanagement by Man City, and what the English Premier League (and possibly the UK government) is doing about it.  Scott & A aren’t British, or soccer experts, or even financial wizards. But they’ve got thoughts about this whole debacle. — Slices is created by Scott Sigler and A B Kovacs — Produced by Steve Riekeberg — Production Assistance by Allie Press — Copyright 2026 by Empty Set Entertainment  Rules! We don’t need no stinkin rules!  Perhaps it would have been better to stick to the guidelines, you know? Just like snagging 99% off of your brand new three-year domain using GoDaddy Promo Code CJCFOSSIG3 . Let’s go! Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

How common is CTE among NFL players overall? We have never had a good answer. A new study published this week in The BMJ gives us the best attempt yet. Ninety-three percent of the former NFL players whose brains were examined in a major new study had CTE. That means at least one in four players. At least.  Scott & A discuss.   — Slices is created by Scott Sigler and A B Kovacs — Produced by Steve Riekeberg — Production Assistance by Allie Press — Copyright 2026 by Empty Set Entertainment  One in four is a whole lot.   It’s pretty hard to think about how much damage can be left so many years later. I hope we continue to learn more about how to keep folks safe and maybe even blog about it using GoDaddy Promo Code CJCFOSSIG3 to save a whopping 99% off the first year of a three-year new domain registration. It’s a great deal. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

“Book Birthday” is a term authors use for the day their book is released. A rarified celebration took place on September 22, 2026, when Scott had two hardcover releases on the same day. This episode is a massive party for this double-ended birthday, recorded live during the Scott Sigler Slices livestream. BIG BAD BOOK OF KAIJU A hardcover anthology containing twenty-five original tales of city-smashing titans, and the desperate coalitions of humanity clinging to survival in the wreckage. Scott’s story, “Kaiju Poo-Poo,” is a dark (dark brown?) tale of post-apocalyptic giant monsters and the constipation that may exterminate all of humanity. **“They’ll tell you a colonoscopy is no big deal…”** BEASTS BEYOND THE RIVER Released in hardcover, eBook, and audiobook—narrated by Ray Porter—this horror story, set amid the brutality of the French & Indian War, unleashes malevolent forces onto the frontier of Colonial America. **Beware the Bear!** — Slices is created by Scott Sigler and A B Kovacs — Produced by Steve Riekeberg — Production Assistance by Allie Press — Copyright 2026 by Empty Set Entertainment  Double-ended birthdays for all!  Two for the price of one? Sure thing, with the GoDaddy Promo Code CJCFOSSIG3, which wipes 99% off the cost of a new domain registration. Get your new dot-com and save a bearskin or two. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Chris Grall, author of TRIGGER GUARD, A WRITER’S GUIDE TO FIREARMS, just released his first fiction novel. He joins us to discuss his scifi-thriller  SCHRÖDINGER’S GLASS. — Slices is created by Scott Sigler and A B Kovacs — Produced by Steve Riekeberg — Production Assistance by Allie Press — Copyright 2026 by Empty Set Entertainment  Put this in your glass and drink it! Our piquant GoDaddy Promo Code CJCFOSSIG3 drains 99% off the first year of a new 3-year domain registration. Dot-coms included! Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

We wheeled and dealed and got permission to share the first 35 minutes of Beasts Beyond the River, Scott’s intense new horror novel, read by none other than Ray Porter (narrator of PROJECT HAIL MARY, EARTHCORE, MOUNT FITZROY, THE BOBBIVERSE, JOE LEDGER, and more). SYNOPSIS: Amidst the brutality of the French and Indian War, an officer in the legendary Rogers’ Rangers is thrust into a nightmare that will challenge both his leadership and his lifelong quest to leave his father’s heritage behind. Lieutenant Geoffrey Rapelje is tasked with guiding a ranger detachment to his birthplace to preserve a fragile treaty between the British and his father’s people. What Geoffrey finds is not the idyllic village of his youth, but a land—and a tribe—ravaged by a vicious, unknown force. He and his rangers embark on a harrowing journey across a North American wilderness beset by violence, betrayal, and inexplicable terrors. To defeat a genocidal enemy, Geoffrey must embrace a dark truth he has long denied. — Slices is created by Scott Sigler and A B Kovacs — Produced by Steve Riekeberg — Production Assistance by Allie Press — Copyright 2026 by Empty Set Entertainment  Even the frontier has a boundary… they just crossed it.  That’s the tagline for the novel, but you can cross the boundary of high prices for a new domain registration by using the GoDaddy Promo Code CJCFOSSIG3. It slashes 99% off year one of a new, three-year domain. Dot-coms included! Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Today, we’re talking about the game people play on top of the game. What fantasy football is. Why people love it. Why it makes otherwise rational human beings completely insane. And why it can make watching the NFL even more fun. — Slices is created by Scott Sigler and A B Kovacs — Produced by Steve Riekeberg — Production Assistance by Allie Press — Copyright 2026 by Empty Set Entertainment  Is a five on any other player still just a number?  I get why some folks might get their knickers in a twist after Jayden was promised his number would not get reassigned. I can also grok why DJ deserves to wear it. I always sync with GoDaddy Promo Code CJCFOSSIG3 when I need to, so I save 99% off a new three-year domain. Check it out and remember to get it in writing, yo! Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

We’ve introduced the team. The coach. The General Manager.  Now we gotta talk grit. And destiny. But not “the C word,” even for a second.  Sports fans, let’s finish this discussion about the Detroit Football Lions.  — Slices is created by Scott Sigler and A B Kovacs — Produced by Steve Riekeberg — Production Assistance by Allie Press — Copyright 2026 by Empty Set Entertainment  I’d eat a slice of Amon-Ra St. Brown cake! It wouldn’t even need to be standing on its head! The Sun God is good in any capacity, just like our GoDaddy Promo Code CJCFOSSIG3, which gets you a three-year domain where the 1st year is ninety-nine percent off! Let’s go! One Pride! Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

We’ve spent three episodes getting the sports girlies ready for football season. We learned the game. We learned about the NFL. We’re about to learn fantasy football. But for this episode and the next?   We’re talking about our team. The Detroit Lions.  — Slices is created by Scott Sigler and A B Kovacs — Produced by Steve Riekeberg — Production Assistance by Allie Press — Copyright 2026 by Empty Set Entertainment  How do I get me one of those coney dogs? I didn’t understand why they were called coney dogs if they’re a Detroit specialty and Coney Island is in New York. But it just doesn’t matter when something is as good as GoDaddy Promo Code CJCFOSSIG3, so I get year one of a three-year domain for ninety-nine percent off! That is as delicious as the coney dog. Go Lions! Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

The NFL is basically the greatest reality show in sports. Thirty-two teams. Two conferences. Eight divisions. Seventeen games each. And eventually, one Super Bowl champion. Today, we’re giving you enough NFL knowledge to understand why certain games matter more than others. Why teams can go from terrible to great surprisingly fast. What’s different about the NFL in 2026? And the big stories we’re watching this season.   — Slices is created by Scott Sigler and A B Kovacs — Produced by Steve Riekeberg — Production Assistance by Allie Press — Copyright 2026 by Empty Set Entertainment  Why isn’t my favorite player starting today?  I don’t know what anyone thinks they know my team better than I do! I know I’m a chick in San Diego who hasn’t played football, but if I did, I’d tell you about it using GoDaddy Promo Code CJCFOSSIG3 so I could save ninety-nine percent off of a new three-year domain. Play hard and leave it all on the field. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices