Rodney and I dropped our first episode of Just In Case We Die on February 7, 2023. This means that by the time you read this entry, we will have maintained a consistent release schedule (as well as a consistent core of listeners) for one full year. The episode we’re dropping today is the beginning of our second season.
In the last twelve months, we’ve read and discussed eleven different novels, spanning multiple genres and eras. We’ve gathered enough of a following that we were able to justify recording two episodes a month (that eleventh novel I mentioned — for those keeping count– was featured in bonus content and not part of the curated list from which we derive our content). We’ve done features on our favorite banned books and put an episode-length spotlight on two of our favorite novelists. We have engaged with listeners worldwide and made a few new friends in the process.
Rodney and I both really enjoyed the energy that was created in the studio when we included a guest as part of our discussion. It occurred to us several months ago that we could improve the quality of our show if we added a third person full time, especially in those moments (such as our discussion of William Gaddis’ The Recognitions) when one of us was far more enthusiastic about the novel than the other. Rebecca’s wit, intelligence, and established rapport with us made her an obvious choice. I had to get over my own fear that including my girlfriend would be perceived as nepotism, but that didn’t take long. Rebecca was already a behind-the-scenes member of the Just In Case We Die family, helping Rodney and I make decisions about the podcast and participating in full discussions of the selected novels in the time we spent together offline. Plus, she’s better at technology than I am.
Our bonus episode for February 2024, the first episode of our second year of upload, is an opportunity for listeners to get to know a little bit more about Rebecca. We take some time to let her talk about her interests in reading and some of her favorite writers. She has also created a list of six “veto novels” and this episode is her chance to name them and explain why they are important to her. We hope that you enjoy listening to her as much as Rodney and I enjoy her participation. In our minds, she can only serve to make a podcast that we are already proud of even better.
We absolutely have to start our second year off by thanking you, the listening audience, for your support in our inaugural twelve months. Recording a podcast is a lot more fun when you know that someone is listening, and we are grateful that there are people out there who actually care about our opinions and insights. It is our hope that we can continue to grow that fan-base over the course of the next year.
To hear our bonus episode for February, just push “Play” on the media player below.
Just In Case We Die 