Everybody loves our old friend Ray Bradbury! This time we’re taking a spin with his first short story collection Dark Carnival, a smattering of spooky tales that wound up scattered across a number of other collections throughout Bradbury’s career.

Stories discussed in this episode include:

The Small Assassin

The Dead Man

Skeleton

The Scythe

The Emissary

The Homecoming

Uncle Einar

The Lake

The Jar

Our theme music was composed by Nick Lerangis.

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A buzzy title that came to life thanks to BookTok but came to our attention because of a good-old bookstore shelf display, this week’s book (and the kickoff to Spooktober 2025) is what it says on the cover: it’s about monsters and also computers. If you didn’t associate either of these things with “found family,” then it’s also here to challenge some of your preconceived notions.

This episode is sponsored by Squarespace. Go to squarespace.com/overdue for 10% of your first purchase of a website or domain.

Our theme music was composed by Nick Lerangis.

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Rudyard Kipling's classic story collection The Jungle Book doesn't have a jazz orangutan named Louie, but it does have the bare necessities of imperialist fiction. The stories about Mowgli and other trailblazing animals all contain a whiff of "But what about the rigid hierarchy of nature?" And when every animal is personified...well...those simple bare necessities begin to reveal themselves.

Our theme music was composed by Nick Lerangis.

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The Club has encountered (gasp) competition! How will they manage to beat their new rivals, the Baby-sitters Agency? Also, Stacey's ready to spill her truth: her parents need to chill out. She's successfully managing her diabetes AND making friends AND crushing it as a baby-sitter, but their plan to see a new doctor in New York could ruin everything.

These episodes posted first for our Patreon supporters! If you want to hear the rest of them ahead of time (and a bunch of other stuff besides), visit Patreon.com/overduepod.

Here's the full Sit Me Baby One More Time reading list:

• Kristy's Great Idea
• Claudia and the Phantom Phone Calls
• The Truth about Stacey
• Mary Anne Saves the Day
• Dawn and the Impossible Three
• Hello, Mallory
• Jessi's Secret Language
• Welcome to the BSC, Abby

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Some of us read a book. Some of us research the author and the historical context. Some of us sit in front of our microphones and record a podcast. Some of us edit it together and upload it to the website. Some of us write the description that goes up with it. Boy I hope this bit works!

Our theme music was composed by Nick Lerangis.

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Perhaps Elizabeth Gaskell’s best-known work, Cranford chronicles the lives of some Victorian era LMMs (Ladies of Modest Means). Their customs and relevance may be waning as Industrialization advances, but that doesn’t mean they won’t find ways to entertain us with their wit, their foibles, and their heart.

This episode is sponsored by Squarespace. Go to squarespace.com/overdue for 10% of your first purchase of a website or domain.

Our theme music was composed by Nick Lerangis.

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For anyone who’s ever loved a movie or TV show where people in silly outfits pretend to be giant city-crushing lizards and/or robots, this week’s book plays around in a pretty entertaining space. If the references to the mid-to-late-2020 stretch of the COVID pandemic and the 2020 US presidential election date it a little, and if every single named character talks exactly the same, it’s still got neat ideas and a part where the evil billionaire antagonist is implied to have his face eaten off by a parasite from another dimension.

This episode is sponsored by BetterHelp. Give online therapy a try at betterhelp.com/overdue and get on your way to being your best self.

Our theme music was composed by Nick Lerangis.

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The name O. Henry is synonymous with more than just a candy bar. It's become shorthand for a brief, punchy tale that ends with a magical little twist. And this collection, his second published, contains such classic examples as the "Gift of the Magi" and "The Cop and the Anthem." Can you guess the ironic twist ending of this podcast?

This episode is sponsored by Squarespace. Go to squarespace.com/overdue for 10% of your first purchase of a website or domain.

Our theme music was composed by Nick Lerangis.

Follow @overduepod on Instagram and Bluesky

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See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.