The Losers' Club: A Stephen King Podcast

Play ball! The Losers hit the green with Stephen King and Stewart O'Nan as they revisit their two baseball books: 2004's Faithful and 2012's novella "A Face in the Crowd". For more baseball coverage, head to The Barrens (patreon.com/thebarrens) for Faithful, Too, which sees Justin Gerber journaling this year's season of the Chicago Cubs.

“If it bleeds, it leads.” In the second of two episodes dedicated to Stephen King's 2020 novellas collection If It Bleeds, Losers Randall Colburn, Michael Roffman, Dan Caffrey, and Jenn Adams discuss the titular and final novella, "If It Bleeds". Together, they parse through King’s true crime era and what the future of Holly Gibney might bring, be it on the page or in another season of HBO’s The Outsider. Note: This episode was recorded in 2020 and is being dusted off for our proper chronological re-read.

“When an old man dies, a library burns.” Join Losers Randall Colburn, Michael Roffman, Dan Caffrey, and Jenn Adams as they take a call from the grave, busk on the streets of Boston, and abscond to a rustic cabin upstate. In the first of two episodes dedicated to Stephen King's 2020 novellas collection, they review three out of the four stories: “Mr. Harrigan’s Phone”, “The Life of Chuck”, and “Rat”. Be sure to continue their coverage with Pt. 2 that sees them visiting Finders Keepers to reunite with Holly, Jerome, and the rest of the gang. Note: This episode was recorded in 2020 and is being dusted off for our proper chronological re-read.

If you're anything like us, peace is wandering the stacks of a dusty, cramped bookstore, looking for the next title to lose yourself in. The Stacks, The Losers' Club's new monthly series, aims to evoke that feeling by discussing the month's new genre releases while also sharing recommendations for the books, movies, shows, podcasts, and music they're consuming. Fear not, for this is a spoiler-free zone. Just know that a wish list hates to see us coming. In its inaugural episode, Losers Randall Colburn, Jenn Adams, Dan Caffrey, and Sammie Kuykendall dish on the latest news in publishing, including James Patterson's collab with Mr. Beast and the new Hunger Games prequel about Haymitch Abernathy. After discussing new April releases from Natalia Theodoridou, Nat Cassidy, Ronald Malfi, and more, they share their own recommendations, all of which you can see below. Books: Maeve Fly by CJ Leede Dead Eleven by Jimmy Juliano Hell House by Richard Matheson Mostly Hypothetical Mountains by Josh Tillman Horror Movie

You are cordially invited to another unforgettable night of The Kingies! With the '10s now behind them, the Losers must choose the best and worst of Stephen King's output throughout his most recent decade.

A scoop of Firestarter, a dash of IT, and just a soupçon of Carrie and The Shining — Stephen King’s novel The Institute is like a bowl brimming with the author’s greatest hits. But does it go down smooth? That’s what the Losers’ Club asks in their episode about the 2019 tome, which takes readers inside the eponymous Institute where a mysterious gaggle of doctors, scientists, and thugs subject psychically-touched children to terrible tests, many of which border on pure torture. Join the gang as they dissect what the story has to say about friendship, U.S. foreign policy, and the youth of today. Questions abound! Can King write modern kids as well as he can those of the ‘50s and ‘60s? How does the paranoia of early books like Firestarter and The Stand factor in here? Does adding “-ster” to someone’s name make for a good nickname? They also comb through the book’s reviews and King’s pre-release interviews to puzzle over the relentless comparisons to the crisis at the Southern border. Weird stuff.

Losers Randall Colburn, Michael Roffman, and Justin Gerber head to Hollywood King again to discuss the latest developments in King's Dominion, specifically Netflix's Cujo (yes, that's a real thing), Mike Flanagan's The Life of Chuck, Edgar Wright's The Running Man, the 2025 Oscars, the work of Spike Jonze, and god knows what else came to mind.

This month's book episode is The Institute. In anticipation, we're unlocking this spirited ranking episode from 2023 in which the Losers talk about their favorite Bad Boys in King's Dominion. Instead of listing and ranking, however, we’re gonna let the Boys do what they do best and duke it out with each other until only one remains. As per tradition, the Losers use a March-Madness style Bracket to narrow down the competitors to a grand champion. For more of these kind of bracket episodes, join The Barrens: patreon.com/thebarrens.

The Losers return to Castle Rock, Maine to dine at a hot new enchilada spot, only to learn about the craziest diet of all time. You see, there's this guy in town who keeps losing weight. And no, his name isn't Billy Halleck. Join the gang as they flip through 2018's quite slim novella Elevation.

The Losers' Club review Osgood Perkins' highly anticipated Stephen King adaptation The Monkey. For even further discussion on the film, become a member of The Barrens at patreon.com/thebarrens.  

Well, here's a strange detour. Remember Tom Holland's 1995 miniseries adaptation of The Langoliers? We do, too. And we covered it in 2019. In 2021, however, Greek filmmaker Aristotelis Maragkos retooled said miniseries into a 62-minute paper film that Bloody Disgusting's Meagan Navarro calls "a condensed, experimental, and ingenious reworking of the source material." Now, the Losers chime in four years later.

The Losers get smutty in the latest list episode after they gush about their favorite Stephen King crushes from within the pages. Things take some wild turns in this episode, so get ready!

Five years later, the Losers re-review HBO's The Outsider.

The Losers head to Flint City, Oklahoma to record a full-fledged book episode on Stephen King's 2018 novel The Outsider. Together, they weigh in on the balance between true crime and the supernatural, whether Holly Gibney adds or detracts from said balance, and the post-MeToo era's influence on the story.

Losers Randall Colburn, Michael Roffman, and Justin Gerber head to Hollywood King again to discuss the latest developments in King's Dominion, specifically a potential third Talisman novel; the latest updates surrounding Welcome to Derry, The Monkey, The Institute, and The Running Man; the forthcoming book King Noir; and much, much more.Follow us on Facebook | Twitter | Instagram | Patreon

Eight years, nine seasons! The Losers look ahead at 2025. Together, they share their own highlights of Season 8 and go over the Club's reading and viewing lists for the year. Consider this a big old teaser trailer.

Stephen King and Entertainment Weekly go back a long ways. The pair's relationship began with a handful of grouchy letters to the editor in which King excoriated the magazine's film critics. Kin's barbed words, however, only motivated the outlet to recruit the author — after he reviewed a Harry Potter book for them, the editors asked him if he'd want to like his own monthly column. In July of 2003, the Pop of King, a full page of King's pop cultural musings, debuted.In June 2023, The Losers' Club was initially going to discuss the column in one fell swoop in their Patreon-exclusive Archives series. However, after reading through the first year and change, they discovered there's too much brilliance, too many bad takes, and too much pure bile to not spread this out a bit. In this episode, Randall Colburn, Jenn Adams, and Dan Caffrey travel back to 2003 and 2004, using King's comically acerbic reviews, recommendations, and takedowns to discuss how that era of culture resonates two decades on. Topics include hor

The Losers gather at the Dixie Boy Truck Stop to finally review Stephen King's lone directorial effort Maximum Overdrive.

Randall, Jenn, Pfleegor, and Justo rock around the Kingmas tree in a holiday-themed episode that doubles as a gift guide for Constant Readers. They discuss King swag both real and imagined, as well as the best King books to buy for the King lover (or skeptic) in your life. 

The Losers head to the Aladdin Theater to celebrate 30 years of Frank Darabont's The Shawshank Redemption. Losers include Justin Gerber, Michael Roffman, and Jenn Adams. Together, they discuss why it's such a ubiquitous favorite, where it ranks in the pantheon of prison movies, which of them would survive it all, and, naturally, how the film connects to 90210. This was originally recorded in January of 2023.Follow us on Facebook | Twitter | Instagram | Patreon