Bell Cow Podcasts

Hosts Rob Jung and Michael David MacBride are rounding up the best voices from the Bell Cow Cattle-log and the wider literary world—publishers, authors, and more. This is where we shine a light on the people you need to hear from and the process behind their work. Get ready for short, punchy chats, exclusive author readings, and deep dives into their background and craft. 

Click here to get more information and see all the episodes of: Bell Cow Author Round-Up!

We’re ringing the bell loud and clear, guiding you straight to your next good book, maybe even one written in your own backyard. Join the herd, or least give the round-up a listen: subscribe, like, follow!

The Bell Cow StoryLab Podcast is our panel-focused show built for readers who love story and writers who love craft. Drawing from the Bell Cow Cattle-log and the wider literary world, StoryLab goes beyond the one-on-one Author Round-up to explore big, juicy questions: setting, villains, dialogue, genre-bending, research, ethics, and the invisible work that turns drafts into books.

Jump the fence, and get all the information and see the full list of episodes of: StoryLab!

Expect lively roundtables, practical takeaways, and occasional “very special episodes” with guests who help writers stay sharp and stay protected. Join the herd and step into the lab. Subscribe, like, follow.

What started as a possible StoryLab episode pretty quickly wandered into its own pasture. At first, this felt like another strong panel conversation for the StoryLab thread, but the more we talked, the more other kinds of guests started occurring to us, not just authors talking craft, but authors in conversation with experts from a wide range of fields and backgrounds. That opened the door to something a little different. Field Notes is our space for those conversations, beginning with scams and fraud but definitely not ending there. As for how often it will appear, we are still feeling that out. We first imagined it as a quarterly feature, and then immediately came up with more than four ideas, so every other month may be more likely. Also, while we are fond of the title Field Notes and enjoy the pun, we reserve the right to rename it if something even better comes along. If inspiration strikes, send it our way. We love suggestions, feedback, and smart ideas from the herd.

Hosts Rob Jung and Michael David MacBride bring readers and writers together for Fresh Off the Stack, our release-focused podcast spotlighting brand-new books and the people who wrote them. This is where we talk with authors right as their books hit the world: what the book is about, where it came from, what excited them, what challenged them, and what readers should know before they dive in. Drawing from the Bell Cow Cattle-Log, our podcast guests, Minnesota Mystery Night authors, and the wider literary world, Fresh Off the Stack gives new books a warm welcome and a little extra noise on their way into readers’ hands.

Expect smart conversation, launch-day energy, behind-the-book stories, and a chance to meet authors right at the moment their latest work arrives. Pull up a chair, meet a new book, and join the herd. Subscribe, like, follow.

Hosts Rob Jung and Michael David MacBride invite readers to join the herd for the Bell Cow Book Club Podcast, our live, show for people who love books and want to talk back to them. This is where we crack open a title together, bring our reactions, questions, and theories, and see what happens when the conversation is recorded live with no edits, no safety net, and no second take. We’ll be choosing books from the Bell Cow Cattle-Log, from authors who’ve joined us on our podcasts, and from writers featured at Minnesota Mystery Night, which means the next book on the pile might just be yours.

Expect lively conversation, reader questions, off-the-cuff reactions, and the occasional moment where we surprise ourselves. Read along, send us your thoughts ahead of time, join us live if you can, or just listen in from the sidelines. Subscribe, like, follow.

Mystery Conversations is our encore series featuring live recordings from Minnesota Mystery Night, the long-running monthly event where mystery and thriller writers take the stage with smart, engaging interviewers for lively conversation in front of an audience. These episodes give those one-night-only events a second life, preserving the energy of the room, the craft talk, the publishing stories, and the behind-the-scenes moments that make live literary conversations so much fun.

If Author Round-Up is our one-on-one spotlight and StoryLab is our craft-and-panel pasture, Mystery Conversations is where Bell Cow helps keep a beloved live tradition echoing a little longer. These episodes also connect to Masters of Mystery Radio Hour, the broadcast home for Minnesota Mystery Night. Pull up a chair, join the herd, and eavesdrop on some very good mystery talk.