It's a new year and a new season for DRAGON'S DADDIES DEEP SPACE! William and Jacob are kicking off 2026 with a foray into literary fiction with a speculative twist, as they discuss Part One of What We Can Know by Ian McEwan. In the year 2119, human society has been utterly transformed by global warming, nuclear war, and the great Derangement. Narrator Thomas Metcalfe doggedly pursues one of mankind's great mysteries (at least in his own mind)–a long poem that was read aloud by its author in 2014 that was never read or heard again. It's literary, it's dense, it's kind of mind-blowing.
But first...William just doesn't know how to quit The Wandering Inn, Jacob gives quick hit book reviews of what he read over the break (The Blade Itself, Flesh, The God of the Woods and Demon in White), all while your hosts linger in the upside down shadow of Conformity Gate (it's not real, folks).
It's the season finale of DRAGONS DADDIES DEEP SPACE as William and Jacob discuss the conclusion of Sara Raasch's The Nightmare Before Kissmas. Things are getting steamier and spicier than a Mexican hot chocolate (you've been warned) in the Christmas Palace as Christmas Prince Coal Claus and Halloween Prince Hex Hallows are finally ready to confront their feelings, and confront each other's bodies repeatedly, in the lead up to Coal's forced Christmas Eve wedding to his BFF Iris, Princess of Easter. Will Coal and Hex be able to leap the hurdles of family, holiday court and Santa himself in order to find their very own happily ever after? It's a romcom—what do you think?
Stay tuned for your hosts Bests of 2025, or skip ahead to 44:00 for:
It's time to deck your halls and trim your trees as Christmas comes to DDDSPod. Naughty Nicholas "Coal" Claus, the heir apparent to the not-so-nice King of Christmas, is lovesick for the Prince of Halloween, betrothed to the Princess of Easter, and all three are locked in a love quadrangle (Coal's brother Kris (also bisexual) is obviously in love with the Princess of Easter). It's a messy situation, made even messier by meddling parents and the omnipresent holiday kingdom tabloids, as your hosts discuss the first half of The Nightmare Before Kissmas by Sara Raasch.
But first, Jacob reminds William to watch Spartacus: House of Ashur, William reveals a shocking false promise (he doesn't know how to quit The Wandering Inn), and both hosts share their reading plans for the holiday break.
NEXT WEEK:
The Nightmare Before Kissmas–the epic conclusion
William and Jacob are fresh back from Thanksgiving feasting, and they do believe they have been changed for the better by Wicked: For Good, though the ‘sequel’ doesn’t defy gravity quite like part 1. Then it’s time for the epic deconstructed/reconstructed Throne of Glass tandem read as they review Empire of Storms and Tower of Dawn by Sarah J. Maas (spoiler alert, they didn’t tandem read, William just read them in the wrong order). They both loved one and loathed the other, and they’re boldly going against the grain with their MalaFirebringer-hot takes.
NEXT WEEK:
The Nightmare Before Kissmas by Sara Raasch (the first half or so)
It's time for the epic conclusion of The Mercy of Gods by James S.A. Corey, as Dafyd and the other hostage humans of Anjiin make their play for the survival of the human race. Jacob and William loved this book (4.5 Stars!) and find a lot to discuss and giggle about along the way.
But first...your hosts can't get enough of Rosalia's LUX, wish for a better IT: Welcome to Derry, Jacob begins a journey through The First Law trilogy by Joe Abercrombie, and William shares an update on Erin Soltice and friends from The Wandering Inn by pirateaba.
Upcoming episodes:
In this week’s reading—The Mercy of Gods by James S.A. Corey Parts 3 and 4—the rules of the alien overlords’ game are becoming more clear to the abducted humans of Anjiin. There are also monkey aliens, hexapods with a World Song, and a horny swarm of nanobots.
But first…your hosts have been busy watching a lot of TV and movies. Jacob shares spoiler-free thoughts on the first two episodes of Pluribus on Apple TV (5 stars, run don’t walk!!!), and both William and Jacob have been allured by the truly bonkers All’s Fair on Hulu (5 very different stars, also run don’t walk!!!!).
NEXT WEEK:
The Mercy of Gods by James S.A. Corey finale: Parts 5 & 6
William and Jacob are back after celebrating All Hallows together in the City of Angels. They dish on William's Halloween extravaganza, and flying CGI demon babies in IT: Welcome to Derry, while Jacob reads a non-scifi or fantasy book (Rejection by Tony Tulathimutte).
Then they're *finally* back in deep space, kicking off their three-episode discussion of The Mercy of Gods by James S.A. Corey, the first in a new space opera series by the author of The Expanse. While it kicks off to a slow and bureaucratic start, things pick up quickly when your hosts encounter their absolute favorite scifi staples: wild alien creatures.
UPCOMING EPISODES:
Your hosts have seen through The Eyes of the Dragon and...they might be kinda mad they read this one? After an intriguing start, Stephen King's foray into fantasy commits an egregious crime: it's cringe.
Before they get there, William and Jacob bemoan the dearth of quality spooky content this Halloween season, and look forward to their upcoming reunion at the Q4 DDDSpod hosts summit (William's Halloween Party).
NEXT WEEK: No episode
November 7: The Mercy of Gods by James S.A. Corey (150 pagesish)
And just like that...your hosts are back in a fantasy world, discussing Stephen King's first break from horror into fairy tale with The Eyes of the Dragon. In the first half of this 1987 novel, Jacob has his lavender goggles on finding a queer reading that might not be there, and William is loving the journey but doesn't know where it's going.
Before they get there, William stuns Jacob with a shocking Wandering Inn progress update, and Jacob is drunk. He also watched Wayward on Netflix.
Next week: The conclusion of The Eyes of the Dragon.
William and Jacob are finally ready to divulge The Secret of Secrets as they share their thoughts on the second half of Dan Brown's latest Robert Langdon thriller. Was it good? Did they love it? The answer to that might surprise you (it probably won't), but there are lots of laughs along the way.
Before they get there Jacob pushes back against the internet's knee-jerk reaction to Taylor Swift's The Life of a Showgirl (a no-skip album), and William gets ready for Halloween with spooky movie programming.
UPCOMING EPISODES:
Your hosts continue to test the limits of what can and can’t be the primary focus of this fantasy and science fiction podcast over the next two weeks as they discuss The Secret of Secrets, Dan Brown’s first Robert Langdon novel in eight years. That’s right, they’re running all over Prague with Robert Langdon (always both names) as he cracks head-scratching codes and uncovers the hidden mysteries of human consciousness in a thriller that may not be “scifi” but is definitely fiction that contains elements that can be described as science.
Before they get there, they catch up on Jacob’s idyllic weekend in the Catskills, dish on William’s ungrateful pool party guests, and plot their return to fantasy and science fiction novels later in October.
NEXT WEEK:
The Secret of Secrets by Dan Brown: Chapter 72-End
Your hosts have been to hell and back with Alice Law and Peter Murdoch and are ready to give their final thoughts on Katabasis by R.F. Kuang. Did they love it? Yes. Did they understand it all? Probably not!
But first….Jacob updates William on his progress through the continually mid TV series Alien Earth. Then William admits that Jacob was right about 28 Years Later, and provides a shocking pronunciation of Puss In Boots 2.
NEXT WEEK:
The Secret of Secrets by Dan Brown, Chapters 1-71
Jacob and William are back in hell, journeying with their dysfunctional duo Alice and Peter through the middle portion of R.F. Kuang's consistently-surprising Katabasis. But first Jacob shares a new Netflix anime rec (Frieren), and William questions what's going on with Pierce Brown's Hazard Bedlam scavenger hunt. Please note this episode also contains multiple Taylor Swift references.
NEXT WEEK: Katabasis by R.F. Kuang Chapter 21-End
Jacob and William are back from their one-week hiatus, refreshed and ready to revert to dividing books into multiple-week journeys. That's right, your hosts will be breaking each book into manageable weekly reading chunks again starting with Katabasis, the new dark academia fantasy novel by R.F. Kuang.
But first, Jacob shares an update from bookworld, freshly returned from an author event with Dan Brown to celebrate the release of his new book The Secret of Secrets (soon to be discussed on a podcast near you). And then it's down into the depths of hell—which looks a hell of a lot like a college campus—with the antiheroes of Katabasis. Your hosts are loving it, check out the episode schedule below if you want to read along!
UPCOMING EPISODES:
It's William's birthday on this week's DRAGONS DADDIES DEEP SPACE! Our Leo-Virgo cusp king unboxes the gifts Jacob sent him, and shares that he voluntarily watched the Warcraft movie (29% on Rotten Tomatoes).
Then it's time to discuss The Tainted Cup by Robert Jackson Bennet. Your hosts endeavor to spoil as little as possible while speaking for 40 minutes because–SPOILER ALERT for this DDDSpod ep–they LOVED this book, give it a resounding 5 stars, and want you to experience it for yourself.
NEXT WEEK (9/4) DDDS pod will be on a brief hiatus, before returning on the following Thursday (11th of September) with their first episode covering roughly half of Katabasis by R.F. Kuang.
A fly appears, a fly is killed, and another fly emerges.
Meanwhile... Jacob shares an important, and potentially live-saving public service announcement, which William one ups by sharing that he viewed a movie trailer. Next, your hosts share a programming update (spoiler alert: Infinite Silver is canonically unreadable). Then chests are bursting with extra terrestrials, eyes are bulging out of kitties, consciousnesses are transferring into hybrids, starships are crashing into buildings, and plots are getting riddled with holes as your hosts dive into the new FX on Hulu show ALIEN: EARTH. While they’re not sure how they feel about it–and aren’t getting that unique ALIEN feeling from it–they find plenty to chit and chat about.
NEXT WEEK’S EPISODE: The Tainted Cup by Robert Jackson Bennett
Leaping lizards! William and Jacob are joined by Ryan Keely, co-host of D&D real-play podcast I Seduce the Dragon, to discuss Weetzie Bat by Francesca Lia Block. This slim, punk-rock, found-family, manic-pixie L.A. fairytale is new to your hosts, but not to Ryan, who highlights her enduring love for the novel and Los Angeles, while reckoning with the cringe and elements of cultural appropriation.
UPCOMING EPISODES:
Jacob and William are back in the Classics Corner, discussing the "lost classic" The Last Unicorn by Peter S. Beagle, as well as the 1982 film adaptation. They loved it–they might not get it!
But first, William shares an update on his progress through The Wandering Inn, and Jacob finds religion again. You won't want to miss the end of the episode, as Jacob sets the microphone on fire with his cover of the main theme from the hit film.
Jacob and William are bringing you their shortest episode ever, in honor of their shortest book yet: Binti by Nnedi Okorafor, a slim science-fiction novella that carries big themes in its tiny little package. But first, William confesses a very William-coded mistake he made from his fantasy coma sickbed, and outlines his pitch to Make Jurassic Park Great Again. Then, Jacob gives a spoiler-free update on his journey through The Name of All Things, book two of Jenn Lyons' A Chorus of Dragons, and tours his dad's library.
UPCOMING EPISODES IN AUGUST:
It's an exciting week on DDDSpod as Jacob and William unveil their new monthly episode series: Classics Corner (a working title, alternate crowd-sourced series names welcomed). This week, they're entering the Vault and discussing Foundation by Isaac Asimov. Before they get to Trantor and Terminus, however, William dives into Love Death + Robots, and Jacob discusses his latest video game adventures before taking a trip down memory lane with his saucy 8th grade English teacher who had the class play a "game" where they bent over and spelled words with their butts. You won't want to miss it.
UPCOMING EPISODES: