Octavia doesn’t let anyone near her dolls. Sure seems like the dolls want to get near to her, though.
Thanks, Octavia, for sharing your story with us here at Spooked! Octavia Sexton is an Appalachian storyteller and teaching artist in Kentucky. Learn more about Octavia at her website.
Produced by Anne Ford, original score by Doug Stuart, artwork by Teo Duc ... Show More
Jan 16
The Night Whistler - Classic
Cheryl and her kids move into a new home, and notice a mysterious presence. First they pretend it doesn’t exist. Then, they try to befriend it. And finally, they run from it.Thanks Cheryl for sharing your story with us! Cheryl’s memoir is Hot Dog Wars, Family Skeletons, and a Gho ... Show More
29m 7s
Nov 2023
Why Do We Play With Dolls? with Freyja Hartzell
Dolls play a huge part in our childhoods. Whether it was your best friend, or it gave you the creeps, your doll probably had some role in making you who you are today. This week, Getting Curious is getting all dolled up! Freyja Hartzell joins Jonathan to talk about disability rep ... Show More
54m 10s
Apr 2022
'Booth' looks at the family life of President Lincoln's notorious assassin
Author Karen Joy Fowler thinks John Wilkes Booth craved attention – and that gotten his fair share of it. So her new novel, Booth, instead focuses on his family. Their history might surprise you, given how John turned out. His grandfather was a part of the Underground Railroad. F ... Show More
8m 47s
Nov 2021
'Chouette' is part owl part human baby. Fine. But how to raise her?
Claire Oshetsky's new novel Chouette is... pretty strange, but also kind of wonderful? Oshetsky says the story is a parable about motherhood, in which a woman gives birth to an owl baby. The mother finds this strange not because the baby is an owl, but because she only had interc ... Show More
9m 26s
Jan 2022
Tap dancing Twizzlers, cockroach warriors, and fairy tales! Oh my!
Two collections of short stories, both alike in playfulness in our fair podcast. The first is with Gwen Kirby whose debut collection of short stories is called, hilariously, Shit Cassandra Saw. It ranges from radioactive cockroaches to tapdancing Twizzlers. Kirby told NPR's Mary ... Show More
16m 51s
Mar 2023
Octavia E. Butler: Visionary black sci-fi writer
In 1995, Octavia E Butler became the first author to receive a MacArthur “genius” award for science fiction writing. From a young age she dreamed of writing books, but faced many challenges, including poverty, sexism and racism in the publishing industry. She died aged 58 in 2006 ... Show More
8m 58s
Jul 2023
The Barbie Tapes: A Toy is Born
When Barbie arrives on the toy scene in 1959, her celebrity is instantaneous, and not just because of her controversial appearance. Worldwide, Barbie is still the best-selling doll of all time. But Barbie has always been more than just a doll - she's a cultural touchstone. From p ... Show More
30m 58s