[Contains explicit content] Join the crew of mega-fans of Kristen Ashley, the best-selling romance novelist whose Rock Chick series turns Denver into a raucous, freewheeling celebration of romance and sisterhood.

Novelist Daniel José Older grew up devouring the sci-fi horror classics of HP Lovecraft. But as a mixed-race kid, Older was torn between fandom for Lovecraft's stories, and resentment over the way people of color and immigrants were so often portrayed. In this episode, Older introduces us to his Brooklyn neighborhood - the setting for Half-Resurrection Blues, and a community of paranormal fans who are reinventing the genre.

Surfing big waves is both bliss and conflict for New Yorker correspondent William Finnegan. His Pulitzer Prize-winning memoir, Barbarian Days, describes a decades-long tension between a grounded, responsible life on land, and an open, fanatical life riding waves. Travel with us to the cliffs of Oahu, where Finnegan's passion for waves began, and where his sea-land dilemma continues.