The KMMA Media Podcast Network
Back from another unplanned hiatus… this week, I bring you a review and author interview.
What you are about to hear is an interview that I did with Chris Jarvis as part of our It’s A Queer Thang podcast when we interviewed George M Johnson, author of All Boys Aren’t Blue, which is an amazing memoir and has the delightful distinction of being one of the most challenged and banned books in the US.
In this episode, Matt concludes his discussion of Ludwig Lavatar’s 16th-century book on Protestant Demonology, Of Ghostes and Spirites Walking by Night. In this part, we learn that ghosts are actually demons, that Medieval and late Roman sorcerers got up to some freaky stuff, and that Bulgaria was once ruled by a werewolf. We also find that Lavatar has a rather upsetting yet mundane explanation as to why God allows evil spirits to torment people.
Back from an unplanned hiatus… this week it’s Bob The Drag King’s 2025 speculative fiction novel Harriet Tubman Live In Concert!
As always, I discuss the book’s atmosphere, writing style, plot, characters, and more. Plus, a popcorn fact and our new segment “Back To The Blurb” where I revisit and then opine about the book’s promo blurb. Enjoy!
In this, the first of two episodes, Matt discusses the first part of Of Ghostes and Spirites, Walking by Night, a book in which a 16th-century theologian tried to explain why, in a world that he believed to be ruled by a Christian God, people saw ghosts. This book provides fascinating insights into Renaissance folklore, beliefs about the afterlife, and theology. And there’s a lot of smack talk.
In this episode, Matt takes a field trip to California State University, Fresno to talk about the spooky stories associated with the campus, including haunted music rehearsal spaces, a demon stalking the dormitories, and the spirit of a respected journalism professor. Along the way, he is nearly run down by scooters and encounters horses walking through campus. He also tries to persuade a ghost to open a door for him, which goes about as well as you would expect.
In this episode, Matt discusses sleep paralysis, one of the most common and controversial topics in discussions of ghost folklore. Matt will talk about the folklore surrounding sleep paralysis, the origins of the modern study of the phenomenon, and how a folklorist appears to have spurred the medical community to take the matter seriously.
The Pinedale neighborhood of Fresno, California was once the location of a facility used to stage Japanese-Americans on their way to the WWII-era internment camps. In this episode, Matt talks about how history can be stored but also warped in ghost stories and how some aspects of our past hold lessons for the present. Also, there’s an old Spanish lady who throws sand in people’s eyes.
Sharon A Hill returns to discuss the ghosts at Penn State and the rise of ghost hunters associated with this prestigious university. (Her previous episode was ep 85: The Stone Tape Theory.) Enjoy!
We have all heard it – some locations are haunted because they were “built on an Indian burial ground.” What is the truth to such claims? What does it really mean when someone invokes this type of claim? In this episode, Matt does a deep dive into the question of Native American cemeteries and the hauntings said to happen there.
In this episode, we interview Drew Harbaugh with PFLAG Fresno and Trans-E-Motion and then with Ray Quenga with Rainbow Of Light. We discuss the LGBTQ+ makeup of the United States, attacks on the transgender community, red cards, immigration, a brave NFL player protest, Cynthia Erivo, Target, and what’s on our current streaming list. Oh, and we can’t talk enough about…balls.
KMMA Media