Turek Books Podcast

Filmmaker and actor David Hull (Crazy Ex) joins host Joshua Turek to discuss books about eels, wolves, the dust bowl, politics gone wrong and ketamine therapy.Recorded Dec 6, 2025Books Talked About Include:Slumberland, Sell Out, Tuff, White Boy Shuffle by Paul BeattyJames, Erasure, American Fiction, God’s Country by Percival EverettGrapes of Wrath, East of Eden by SteinbeckNotes From Underground - DostoevskyBook of Eels Patrick SphensonFrost Lines by Neil SheaThe CigaretteAmerican Dreamer by Henry WallaceA Kim Jong Il ProductionThe Wicker ManThe Day of the Locust

Astrologer and Filmmaker Liz Vazquez joins host Joshua Turek to discuss books documenting our pressing issues and outer space and how they're all related. originally recorded January 26, 2026Books talked about includeTrickster makes the world by Lewis HydeShiver by Junji ItoWho I am and What I want by David ShimleyThe Problem with WorkCarceral CapitalismNechro Politics Achille MbembeA People’s History of the United States by Howard ZinnThe History of Forgetting by Norman KleinBecoming Human by Zakiyah Iman JacksonBlack shirts and reds by Michael ParentiInventing RealityAmerican Fascists by Chris HedgesLoaded by Roxanne Dunbar OrtizCosmos and Psyche by Richard TarnesAmerican Cosmic - Diana Walsh PasulkaThe Administration of Fear by Paul VerilioThe Information BombShambhala

Author Lauren Lavin, of the upcoming essay collection "The Third Beat", joins host Joshua Turek to talk about books her friends and contemporaries have written, comics, zines, and the mutuality of creative relationships and how they've fostered her own journey as a writer.books talked about include:until it feels right - emily costagirl on girlHouse Next Door - Anne Rivers SiddonsComet Bus #57 by Aaron Comet BusI wish that there was something I could quitpopgun war - Ferrel DalrimpleGirl in the World - Caroline CashIt’s too late to say I’m sorry by Joey ComeauThe Girl Who Couldn’t Come - Joey ComeauStill Alive by LJ PempertonService by John TottenhamDouble Black Diamond by Miles Klee and Mads GobboLulu in Hollywood - Louise Brooks

Host Joshua Turek is joined by guest Brian Recker, author of the new book "Hell Bent" (How the Fear of Hell Holds Christians Back from a Spirituality of Love). They discuss the books Brian read while researching his own, which details redefining his own spirituality and Christian beliefs. Discussing masculinity and softening the world, the two detail their own unique paths toward similar conclusions.to sign up for Josh’s next Zoom weekend poetry workshop on Jan 18&19 check joshuaturek.comBooks Talked About Include:Debt by David GraeberHell Bent by Brian ReckerAdam’s Return by Richard RohrDietrich Bonhoeffer: A Spoke in the Wheel by Renate WindA Peoples History of the United States by Howard Zinnthe will to change bell hooks

Political commentator Lily Eagla joins host Joshua Turek to discuss mutual aid, retraining the offline world back into your brain, and books that radicalized her.Sign up for Joshua's weekend Zoom Poetry workshop now for the Dec6&7 gathering!booksmutual aid by dean spadeAutobiography of Benvenuto CelliniThe Year of Living BiblicallyOur American Israel100 years was on palestine by rashid kalidithe autobiography of malcolm x

Guest Larry Charles and host Joshua Turek talk SF and LA noir, science fiction grounded on Earth, Larry's new memoir Comedy Samurai . They talk personal growth, the transformative power of literature and how reading can serve as both a source of pleasure and a means of preserving sacred knowledge.for Josh's poetry books, they're on sale until the end of the year, signed copies available domestically at joshuaturek.comBooks Talked About Include:Jesus’ Son by Denis JohnsonCity of Night by John Reshycrime writers: edward bunker, jim thompson, david goodis, raymond chandler, dashiell hammetThe Woman Chase by Charles WIlifordThe Ripley Books by Patricia HighsmithIn a Lonely Place by Dorothy Hughes The Motel Life by Willy VlautenThe Stochastic Man by Robert SilverbergService by John TottenhamAblutions by Patrick DewittDays of the Locust by Nathaniel West 

Guest Yasha Levine and Host Joshua Turek discuss everything from technofeudalism to pistachios.San Francisco! For tickets Nov 1 to see Yasha's new documentary at Roxie Theater with live Q&A hosted by Joshua Turek hereFor Josh's poetry books and his weekend Zoom workshop on Nov 8 & 9 visit his siteBooks Talked About IncludeSociety of the Spectacle - Guy DebordSurveillance Valley - Yasha LevineThe Image - Daniel BoorstijnNeil Postman - Amusing ourselves to deathRaven RockDead Cities - Mike DavisModeran - David BunchShadow of the torture - Gene WolfThe Dying Earth Series - Jack Vance sci fiCadillac DesertThe American GenocideThe End of th Myth

On a pit stop in Santa Cruz with family between dates on my comedy tour (Get your tickets to my San Diego show Friday and L.A., SF, Eureka, next week then Seattle and Portland) before heading up the west coast. I get into a little of what I'm reading, my favorite bookstores so far on this trip, and why I took this podcast off of Spotify (hint they're evil). Come to my shows if I'm in your city!All my shows7/11 San Diego7/16 L.A.7/18&19 SF7/20 Eureka7/25 Seattle8/15 Portland8/21-23 Boise8/27 Tulsa8/28 Kansas City8/29 New Orleans9/6 TucsonBooks Talked About:The Bell Jar - Sylvia PlathMeet Me in the BathroomPerfect Victims - Mohammed El KurdOur American Israel - Amy KaplanOne Day Everyone Will Have Always Been Against This - Omar El AkkadBlue Desert - Charles Bowden