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Method and Madness

A podcast hosted by writer Brad Kelly (formerly of Art of Darkness). Main book episodes feature 2 parts: a fun, in-depth conversation with one of my most insightful friends, and a sprawling exploration of the book's many rabbit-holes (usually behind the paywall). Melee episodes are general conversations with authors and others about books, writing, and culture.

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27 episodes
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English

Episodes 27

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Yesterday · length unknown
MELEE - E Rathke on BROKEN KATANA
The prolific E Rathke joined me to talk the far-out world of his forthcoming BROKEN KATANA omnibus, why preoccupation with the culture war makes you a loser, Broken River zines, and much much more. Sign up to support the Broken Katana fundraiser Get a Year of Broken River Zines Check out E Rathke’s games
Friday · length unknown
Anything, But Not Every Thing | 10/2026 Tarot Reading
A tarot reading on self-possession, bringing your own carrots, and how to let a little meaning in. Shout out to Dolly. Contact me via your favorite social media or bradwkellyATgmail with TAROT in the subject to set up a personal reading for a reasonable fee.
October 9 · length unknown
Ep. 21.1 - MEDITATIONS IN GREEN by Stephen Wright w/David Leo Rice
Meditations in Green is the debut novel of the writer, and Vietnam veteran, Stephen Wright. Published in 1983 to praise in mainstream circles—the New York Times review called it “brilliant, and scarifying,” Meditations offers an idiosyncratic, hilarious, and horrifying perspective on that blunderous War in in southeast Asia. If, as Stephen Dedalus says, “History is a nightmare from which I am trying to awake,” Wright poses Vietnam as something like the “bad trip from which Spec.4 James Griffin is trying to come down.” In the book, we follow two lines of narrative. One is the 1980s in New York, Griffin is on the margins of society, trying to hold together his psyche as it is invaded by memories, a crazed war buddy, and #4 China White. In the other, we’re with James Griffin in the War as he analyzes aerial photographs for reconnaissance and bombing campaigns, ensconced within the 1069th Military Intelligence Group, a cast of characters only rivaled in imagination, tweaked verisimilitude, and absurdity, by books like Catch-22 and Gravity’s Rainbow. It’s a book that is funny, disturbing, brutal, and, in my opinion at least, one of the very best American novels on Vietnam war or any other. David Leo Rice joins me to pore over the negatives of this novel. We talk the ongoing reverberations of the Vietnam war, Stephen Wright’s mastery of exposition and psychedelia, David’s personal experience studying under Stephen Wright, the consciousness of the jungle, the chaos of total information, James Wood’s notion of hysterical realism w/r/t MiG, the comfort of paranoia, and much, much more. Subscribe to David’s substack, buy his books, and listen to his brilliant podcast WAKE ISLAND. He is one of the finest writers working today and I count myself fortunate to chat with him. Check out David’s Vietnam-era story I mentioned at the top of the episode: “The Ward Clerk”
October 7 · length unknown
MELEE - Mallory Smart on BOOK OF DAVID
Mallory Smart, writer and impresario of independent literature, joins me for a discussion about the Midwest, parking lot hangs, David Koresh, the history of Maudlin House, the current horror boom, and much more. Buy BOOK OF DAVID
September 28 · length unknown
“The Real Right Thing” by Henry James [audio recording]
First published in 1899, “The Real Right Thing” by Henry James is the shortest of his ghost stories, a subtle and cerebral unraveling of a spectral presence in the library of a great mind.
September 18 · length unknown
[PREVIEW] Ep. 19.2 - The MADNESS of HOUSE OF LEAVES
A wander down just a few of those strange doors underneath the HOUSE OF LEAVES: warps in space-time, exteriorizing the interior, THE SHINING and BACKROOMS, a portal in the desert, and a trillion-ton black pyramid.
September 17 · length unknown
Melee - Brad Michael Elmore on CAN’T GET NO
Writer and director Brad Michael Elmore joined me to talk about his films The Wolfman’s Hammer and Can’t Get No (watch both of these free on youtube), the will to just do things, his rollercoaster career in Hollywood, the need to create, and his serialized audiobook Nativity in Black.
September 12 · length unknown
Taking a Little Win | 9/2026 Tarot Reading
A tarot reading on self-possession, bringing your own carrots, and how to let a little meaning in. Shout out to Dolly. Contact me via your favorite social media or bradwkellyATgmail with TAROT in the subject to set up a personal reading for a reasonable fee.
September 3 · length unknown
Ep. 20.1 - Calvino´s IF ON A WINTER´S NIGHT A TRAVELER w/Getting Lit
Matthew Fresta and Matthew Sini from Getting Lit join me to talk Italo Calvino’s whirlwind love letter to writing, reading, and the source of stories. We discuss what Calvino’s delightful use of postmodern technique, why the tone of this book might be the secret to its potency, whether there is a Father of Stories, and much, much more. Getting Lit on Patreon, Substack, Spotify
August 26 · length unknown
“The Million Pound Bank Note” by Mark Twain [audio recording]
First published in 1893, “The Million Pound Bank Note” by Mark Twain is a classic of American storytelling. A farcical rags to riches tale.
August 18 · length unknown
Melee - J. Reuben Appelman on THE CHEATING SIDE
J. Reuben Appelman is a celebrated writer of true crime (THE KILL JAR, investigating a notorious serial homicide case in Detroit in the 1970s). His latest, THE CHEATING SIDE, is a classic work of hardboiled fiction firmly set in the modern era. From the blurb: When Idaho private investigator Jimmy Chinden’s murder investigation threatens a land deal worth millions, the politically protected Aryan mob comes gunning for his family―but the old money outlaws might be outgunned.
August 11 · length unknown
Melee - John Jay Stancliff on PIERCE
The great John Jay Stancliff joined me to talk about his latest novel, PIERCE, out August 11 from Farthest Heaven. His book is about fatherhood, men, work, and the deep struggle of virtue. BUY PIERCE Follow John on twitter.
August 10 · length unknown
With Worn-out Tools | 8/2026 Tarot Reading
A tarot reading on finding home again, growing versus building, and what it means to play the victim. Contact me via your favorite social media or bradwkellyATgmail with TAROT in the subject to set up a personal reading for a reasonable fee.
July 26 · length unknown
Ep. 19.1 - HOUSE OF LEAVES by Mark Z. Danielewski w/J David Osborne
The great J David Osborne joined me to go deep on the cult classic HOUSE OF LEAVES. We get into what works, what doesn’t, what might have back in 2000, what the house might mean, and why we might never see another book like it in the age of the internet. Follow JDO on twitter Buy JDO’s books Listen to Agitator on Apple, Spotify, or Patreon
July 10 · length unknown
“Paul’s Case” by Willa Cather [audio recording]
Well before she became a household name, Willa Cather contributed this piece to McClure’s Magazine, a photo negative of a bildungsroman, and a tragedy about the draw of glitz and glamour.
July 3 · length unknown
The Garden, The Race | 7/2026 Tarot Reading
A tarot reading on trusting your gut, savoring the solace, and willing yourself to find the edge. Contact me via your favorite social media or bradwkellyATgmail with TAROT in the subject to set up a personal reading for a reasonable fee.
June 29 · length unknown
Melee - Scott Laudati on RAINBOW ROAD
Scott Laudati is a renaissance man. A musician, painter, filmmaker, and a true poet. We talk about being on local television, his ceaseless travels across this beautiful country, throwing away the phone, and his powerful new collection of poetry RAINBOW ROAD. Buy Rainbow Road Scott’s great travel videos on youtube. Scott on twitter.
June 23 · length unknown
[PREVIEW] - The MADNESS of TREE OF SMOKE by Denis Johnson
On Elton Manzione and the Third Eye of Vietnam. For full access, sign up on substack of patreon
June 22 · length unknown
Ep. 18.1 - TREE OF SMOKE by Denis Johnson w/Kevin Kautzman
Good Morning and please listen to me: TREE OF SMOKE is a Great American Novel, about war, espionage, fathers, sacrifice, depravity, and much more. The book’s central metaphor stands everywhere and nowhere, like a dark wraith unfolding itself across the modern psyche. The great Kevin Kautzman, from Art of Darkness, joined me in the tunnels beneath this remarkable book.
June 15 · length unknown
MELEE - Kenan Meral on STIGMA OF THE LIVING FLESH
Author Kenan Meral joined me to talk about books within books, the terror of sublimity, the reality of deepfakery, and his excellent new novel STIGMA OF THE LIVING FLESH. Follow Kenan on twitter Buy STIGMA OF THE LIVING FLESH from New Ritual Press

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