Feed Notice

If you’re having issues with the feed, we apologize. Please bear with us. We hope to get the feed situation tweaked (along with a major overhaul of this site) over the weekend. And then the podcasts should flow again like agua.

The Bat Segundo Show #16

Author: Aimee Bender

Condition of Mr. Segundo: Still missing. A conspiracy theorist has been enlisted to account for his disappearance.

Subjects Discussed: Attention to precision, Flann O’Brien, strange logic, Monty Python, first-person voice, Steve Erickson and The Black Clock, Jeffrey Eugenides, multiple personality disorder, grading papers, publishing short stories with dirty titles in literary journals, Prince, George Carlin’s seven words, sexual perversion, Mary Gaitskill, storming the gates of GQ, quotation marks, the visual quality of words, SAT words, the thematic components of three parts, literary Darwinism, evolutionary biology, playing God, setting limits, genetically based aesthetics, imagination vs. “hysterical realism,” verisimilitude, Robert Coover, mathematics, permission, fonts, and the short story vs. the novel.

[SPECIAL NOTE: Because of one particular story in Willful Creatures, this podcast proved so unexpectedly raunchy that a swivel chair was actually damaged during the course of mixing this podcast. We fully understand the sentimental value that some people have for their swivel chairs. So, if you are playing this podcast in a work environment, you have been warned.]

 
icon for podpress  The Bat Segundo Show #16: Aimee Bender [00:45:41m]: Play Now | Play in Popup | Download

The Bat Segundo Show #15

Author: Octavia Butler

Condition of Mr. Segundo: Unknown. We can’t find him this week.

Subjects Discussed: Anne Rice, the advantages of writing vampire novels, research, the ambiguities of “persistently repulsive” material, Fledgling as ripping vampire yarn and multilayered quest story, setting vampire rules, naming character names, the influence of the state of Washington upon atmosphere, Butler’s editorial relationship with Seven Stories, Warner vs. Seven Stories, on being categorized as a science fiction author, auctorial labels, Butler’s three primary audiences, Dorothy Allison, the influence of criticism, fiction as prophecy, Bush and global warming, education, Margaret Atwood, why Butler dislikes Survivor, the Parable books, why this is the first book in seven years, on writing a “continuous first draft,” Butler’s working methods, typewriters, technology, Alfred Hitchcock, cell phones, how Butler’s computer is set up, T.C. Boyle, on being a baby boomer, being “comfortably asocial,” inner introverts, polyamory, sexuality, the science aspect of science fiction, and science fiction vs. fantasy.

 
icon for podpress  The Bat Segundo Show #15: Octavia Butler [00:41:11m]: Play Now | Play in Popup | Download

Search


Promos


30 second promo

Inquiries


Please direct all inquires concerning booking guests, advertising, messages to Mr. Segundo, and the like to Edward Champion. Please note that while we return all email (eventually), because of the unique and heavily researched nature of these interviews, it is impossible to interview everybody. Although we certainly do our best.

You can also send books, materials, fan mail, and other assorted materials to:

Edward Champion
The Bat Segundo Show
315 Flatbush Ave., #231
Brooklyn, NY 11217

A Recent Portrait of Mr. Segundo



The above portrait was taken sometime in 2006, when someone made the mistake of inviting Bat Segundo to a party. Since then, his public appearances have been very rare. But he does sometimes come out of his Motel 6 room.

Feed?


Link here and plug the URL into your feed-reader of choice or subscribe through iTunes

MySpace


Mr. Segundo has a MySpace page and does not quite understand it.

Facebook


Mr. Segundo also has a Facebook page and understands this only slightly better.

What People Are Saying

Yahoo! Picks

"a dazzling array of interviews"
-- Yahoo! Picks

"It was great to hear one of my favorite writers talk honestly about his work."
-- Metafilter

"This cat does EXTENSIVE research! I mean, he puts in the kind of research that like James Lipton would have his crew do on Inside the Actor's Studio."
-- Cool as Hell Theatre

"a great reader and a tough guy"
-- T.C. Boyle

"the world's best literary podcast" -- Largehearted Boy

"I was interviewed by a very bright and engaging fellow."
-- Jonathan Ames

"Wow, do I tell him things I wouldn't expect to say in an interview. He's that good. It's the closest I've come to being on Inside the Actors Studio."
-- Pamela Ribon

"You're very observant. You read it very closely."
-- Ursula Hegi

"Very seldom do I get to say all these things, because I'm not asked about them. And I appreciate your asking."
-- James Lipton

"He’s a funny smart guy and asked a lot of good questions."
-- Alison Bechdel

"Your questions are much too profound for me."
-- Katha Pollitt

"a patriot" -- Naomi Wolf

"one of the great literary interviewers of our time — listen for how often his subjects are struck by his discovery of an unknown-to-them pattern of imagery or tic of diction."
-- Professor Fury

"I'm absolutely laughing my ass off."
-- Gina Frangello

"manages to blend silly and insightful quite artfully"
-- Linda Richards

"NPR, eat your heart out"
-- Eliza Tucker

"always entertaining"
-- Mark Sarvas

"That should have been my first warning. When you first said, I’ll give you a softball question, like, there’s going to be a hardball? But what?"
-- Danica McKellar

"I know who you are! I know exactly what you do!"
-- a publicist who shall remain unnamed

"deft, funny and wildly unique"
-- George Kelly

"I giggled listening to the Bat Segundo podcast."
-- The Mongrel

"the literary world's best podcast"
-- Pinky's Paperhaus

"While I had listened to several of the Bat's 'casts over the last year, it is only when you consume one (sometimes two) a day over the course of a week, that you really begin to get the wow factor of all the Bat has time to do. I mean, the intros alone are sort of other-worldly."
-- Callie Miller

"Bat Segundo even kissed me!"
-- Matt Cheney

"Bat Segundo survives the soup!" -- Miss Snark

"I'm a Bat Segundo fan from the early days."
-- Bud Parr

"Better than radio, it's Internet radio."
-- Ron Hogan

"Bat Segundo is clearly a nutcase. I would advise anyone against paying him any credence."
-- Edward Champion

"a boiling cauldron of podcasts" -- Scott McKenzie

"what could quite possibly be the coolest radio show in the history of ever"
-- Shiva Spacetech

"I cannot believe she would question the importance of the Bat Segundo show!" -- Jean

"affably incessant" -- Brian Crane

"doesn't resort to wine-review vocabulary"
-- Guide to Midwestern Culture

"among the snarkiest characters in the literary blogosphere"
-- The Written Nerd

"really a Matt Segundo who is vamping it up with a vampire accent" -- boku

"an interweb sideshow of great distinction and absolutely spiffing podcasts"
-- The Bedside Crow

"essential listening"
-- The Bibliophile

"I have been listening nonstop to Bat Segundo"
-- Try Harder

"I love him for his pitch-perfect, insightful questions. He's really a good interviewer. His conversations are like those I wish I could have with the authors I meet, but I can never find the right words to say."
-- Brian

"a terrific literary podcast that boasts some absolutely stellar author interviews"
-- Corey Redekop

"Stay away from The Bat Segundo Show!"
-- Dave White

"rather groovy"
--
The Rambles of My Headspace

Torrents

Shows #1-20
Shows #21-40
Shows #41-60
Shows #61-80
Shows #81-100
Shows #101-120


What is the Bat Segundo Show?


A podcast hosted by Bat Segundo that involves in-depth interviews with the writers and literary folks of our time.

The show is updated (ideally) every week and sometimes every two weeks.

Why is Bat Segundo So Rude?


No one can really say. Mr. Segundo is a man who feels passionately about many of the issues of our time and has decided that constant complaining is a better strategy than confronting his issues head on.

Since Mr. Segundo has eschewed twelve-step programs and sundry forms of therapy, his only remedy is any alcohol or floozy that might be in close proximity.


Does This Bat Segundo Have Anything to Do with the "Bat Segundo" in David Mitchell's Ghostwritten?


Absolutely not. Mr. Segundo is honored that David Mitchell might be a fan. But Mr. Mitchell's depiction of Mr. Segundo was wholly inaccurate. For one thing, he would never take a call from a conspiracy theorist. And Mr. Segundo has never set foot in New York because he fears that he might be mugged.

Categories

Archives

Meta