Zombie television

Dead Men Talking: Podcasting the Dead

It seems like everywhere you turn, zombies are popping up. The Internet is no different and Wicked Radio Network, an online community of bloggers and podcasters, is home to one of the web’s best zombie podcasts.

Dead Men Talking is the brainchild of Frank Branches, Rick Titus and Matt LeRoy and covers the gamut of zombie fandom.

Titus and Branches were already friends when the project started and it was Branches who reached out to LeRoy.

“Frank and I both liked the ‘Dead Man Walking’ persona Matt was playing out on Twitter, his sense of humor and his knack for socializing with like-minded zombie lovers,” Titus said. “Frank eventually got Matt involved on his other podcast, Vamp Cast.”

Vamp Cast, Wicked Radio’s vampire podcast, was where the seeds were planted. Those seeds grew into a full-out zombie podcast.

“When an opportunity to start a new podcast came up, the three of us seamlessly rolled into action,” Titus said.

LeRoy said those tuning into the show should be prepared for anything zombie-related.

“We do many things on DMT; from stories in the news about zombies, movie reviews, comic book reviews and discussions on zombie theory. But what I’m most proud of are the interviews that we do,” he said. “We’ve interviewed authors of zombie novels, authors of zombie comic books, creators of zombie theory websites and creators of social media fan sites for shows like The Walking Dead.”

The trio has even scored an interview with IronE Singleton, who played T-Dog on the AMC show. LeRoy said the group works hard to make sure the interviews are interesting to listeners.

“The interviews are all different,” he said. “We try to have fun with our guests and not just ask the same old cookie cutter questions.”

Titus said it is important to note that while The Walking Dead is discussed, Dead Men Talking isn’t devoted only to the show and its comic book inspiration.

“I think another one of our strengths is that we make an concerted effort to not make every single episode a Walking Dead gush-fest; while we love the comic and the show, there are lots of other good zombie conversations to be had and we want to deliver those stories to our listeners too,” he said.

Another interesting aspect of the show is Titus’s delivery. On the show he doesn’t just talk about zombies, he becomes one.

“During a Dead Men Talking podcast I pretend to be a zombie while I sit at my computer, drink beer, and devise new ways to make fun of my co-host, Frank Branches,” he said.

But it isn’t all just fun and games. Titus said before each podcast, he works to find an interesting zombie topic to discuss and afterward the three hosts chat about the next episode, coordinating interview questions or planning discussion points about the latest Walking Dead issue.

“Week to week we have great content,” LeRoy said. “We love zombies as much as our fans do.”

And fans can do more than just listen. Taking advantage of the technology of the Internet, Dead Men Talking allows its fans to talk back via a live chat on the podcast website.

“We tape live on our Justin.tv station and welcome the interaction in the chat room on Monday nights as well as emails and Twitter from listeners who catch our archived shows,” Titus added.

The show is recorded and broadcast live every Monday at 7 p.m. EST. You can listen and interact with them at http://www.justin.tv/rpgrinders. Fans can also find archived shows on iTunes, Stitcher Radio and TalkShoe. There is also a direct link to the shows at http://www.wickedradionetwork.com.

The show also maintains a Twitter feed at @DeadMenCast.

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