Mysterious Goings On with Alex Greenwood
J. Alexander Greenwood
Recent Episodes
Alex takes a look at this year’s Spotify Wrapped for Mysterious Goings On and talks through what the numbers say about a small, strange, independent show that refuses to behave like a big studio podcast.
He points out which episodes surprised him, where listeners are tuning in from, and even what kind of music and audiobooks the audience seems to love.
There’s curiosity, a little pride, and plenty of thanks to the folks who keep pressing play. If you’re a fan, or just podcast-curious, this one gives you a peek behind the curtain, and maybe a nudge to support the show or pick up one of Alex's books while you’re at it.
10 Years. Hundreds of Shows. Alex needs a coffee. Or ten: Become a paid subscriber!
Thank you for listening. How about checking out All the Fits That’s News?
I’m excited to share a limited-time offer: 50% off your first 12 months as a paid subscriber. It’s my way of making it easier for you to support the work I do here—essays, commentary, and cultural critiques delivered without gatekeepers, ads, or algorithms getting in the way.
If you’ve enjoyed the essays and want to see more of them, here are two simple ways you can help:
- Become a paid subscriber. Paid support keeps this work sustainable and helps me devote the time and energy it deserves. If you’ve subscribed before, please consider re-subscribing under the new system and take advantage of this 50% offer, which ENDS on Dec. 31, 2025.
- Spread the word. If a paid subscription isn’t right for you right now, you can still make a big difference by sharing posts with friends, on social media, or anywhere you think they’ll resonate.
👉 Join today and lock in half off your first year.
Your support—financial or otherwise—is what keeps this going. The best work is still ahead, and I’d love for you to be part of it. —Alex
CONNECT:
- All the Fits That's News on Substack (Free or Paid)
- Alex's Author Website
- Contact Alex about advertising/sponsorship here.
- Buy a Book!
- Going to Killing City...Alex's True Crime Podcast
Enjoy this episode? Please leave us a review on your podcast platform of choice, and don't forget to subscribe for more literary journeys! LEAVE A REVIEW ON APPLE PODCASTS
Announcer: Mary McKenna. Original theme music "Mysterious Goings On" by Jamie Green. Want your own cool score for your podcast or website? Contact Jamie at Greenhouse Consulting. Check out Jamie's interview on the show here.
This Mysterious Goings On Podcast episode was recorded and mixed at Green Shebeen Studios in beautiful Kansas City, Missouri. Copyright 2025, all rights reserved. No reproduction, excerpting, or other use without written permission.
What happens when a children’s book is written for adults who know better? Filmmaker and author Cevin Soling joins Alex to talk about his brilliantly twisted storybooks that hide sharp social commentary behind bright illustrations and dark comedy.
His Rumpelville Chronicles wrap heavy themes in playful visuals, inviting adults to laugh, cringe, and think at the same time. Soling’s been poking at cultural absurdities since childhood, and his books pull no punches:
• “The Jolly Elf” skewers bureaucracy through a murderous elf and a town more interested in TV rights than survival.
• “The Bomb That Followed Me Home” turns a walking bomb into a cuddly pet, highlighting how normalized violence has become.
Influenced by James Thurber and Tom Lehrer, Soling blends humor and critique with a light touch, creating stories that feel whimsical on the surface and subversive underneath.
Soling has written about outsiders, power, education, and cultural blind spots for years through books like “The Student Resistance Series,” “The People Who Fell,” and his satirical, surreal fiction that pokes holes in our neat little myths about society. So it tracks that when an esteemed anthropologist labeled a long-unseen tribe as “despicable,” Cevin didn’t buy it. He packed up, headed out, and tried to see the truth for himself.
Enjoy this fast, funny conversation about why absurdity makes the best mirror. DO NOT MISS IT.
Thank you for listening. How about checking out All the Fits That’s News?
I’m excited to share a limited-time offer: 50% off your first 12 months as a paid subscriber. It’s my way of making it easier for you to support the work I do here—essays, commentary, and cultural critiques delivered without gatekeepers, ads, or algorithms getting in the way.
If you’ve enjoyed the essays and want to see more of them, here are two simple ways you can help:
- Become a paid subscriber. Paid support keeps this work sustainable and helps me devote the time and energy it deserves. If you’ve subscribed before, please consider re-subscribing under the new system and take advantage of this 50% offer.
- Spread the word. If a paid subscription isn’t right for you right now, you can still make a big difference by sharing posts with friends, on social media, or anywhere you think they’ll resonate.
👉 Join today and lock in half off your first year.
Your support—financial or otherwise—is what keeps this going. The best work is still ahead, and I’d love for you to be part of it. —Alex
CONNECT:
- All the Fits That's News on Substack (Free or Paid)
- Alex's Author Website
- Contact Alex about advertising/sponsorship here.
- Buy a Book!
- Going to Killing City...Alex's True Crime Podcast
Enjoy this episode? Please leave us a review on your podcast platform of choice, and don't forget to subscribe for more literary journeys! LEAVE A REVIEW ON APPLE PODCASTS
Announcer: Mary McKenna. Original theme music "Mysterious Goings On" by Jamie Green. Want your own cool score for your podcast or website? Contact Jamie at Greenhouse Consulting. Check out Jamie's interview on the show here.
This Mysterious Goings On Podcast episode was recorded and mixed at Green Shebeen Studios in beautiful Kansas City, Missouri. Copyright 2025, all rights reserved. No reproduction, excerpting, or other use without written permission.
What keeps an artist going when fame never quite shows up? For songwriter, drummer, and now novelist Douglas Bales, the answer is simple: the people who actually listen.
In this episode, Douglas joins Mysterious Goings On to talk about his 40-year journey through the garage shows, the smoky clubs, the late-night drives, and the long odds that define a life in music.
We get into what it really feels like to be onstage in front of an audience that finally gets you, why validation matters more than fame, and how the highs of performance stay with you long after the amps cool down.
Douglas also unveils his new novel, Rock ’N’ Rolla Coaster, a gritty, funny, and painfully accurate look at band life from the inside. If you’ve ever plugged in, turned up, or dreamed of chasing the roar of the crowd, this one’s for you.
In this episode:
The rush of live performance and the emotional hangover that The rush of live performance and the emotional hangover that follows
- Why fame is the exception, not the rule
- How musicians measure success (hint: it’s not album sales)
- The truth behind the “rock star dream”
- What inspired Rock ’N’ Rolla Coaster
- How a lifetime of gigs shaped his fiction
- Alex mistakes Rutherford B. Hayes for James Garfield
If you love the music but also the story behind the music, Douglas Bales delivers both. Tune in, turn up, and ride the coaster.
Listen to Doug's first appearance on the show here.
Thank you for listening. How about checking out All the Fits That’s News?
I’m excited to share a limited-time offer: 50% off your first 12 months as a paid subscriber. It’s my way of making it easier for you to support the work I do here—essays, commentary, and cultural critiques delivered without gatekeepers, ads, or algorithms getting in the way.
If you’ve enjoyed the essays and want to see more of them, here are two simple ways you can help:
- Become a paid subscriber. Paid support keeps this work sustainable and helps me devote the time and energy it deserves. If you’ve subscribed before, please consider re-subscribing under the new system and take advantage of this 50% offer.
- Spread the word. If a paid subscription isn’t right for you right now, you can still make a big difference by sharing posts with friends, on social media, or anywhere you think they’ll resonate.
👉 Join today and lock in half off your first year.
Your support—financial or otherwise—is what keeps this going. The best work is still ahead, and I’d love for you to be part of it. —Alex
CONNECT:
- All the Fits That's News on Substack (Free or Paid)
- Alex's Author Website
- Contact Alex about advertising/sponsorship here.
- Buy a Book!
- Going to Killing City...Alex's True Crime Podcast
Enjoy this episode? Please leave us a review on your podcast platform of choice, and don't forget to subscribe for more literary journeys! LEAVE A REVIEW ON APPLE PODCASTS
Announcer: Mary McKenna. Original theme music "Mysterious Goings On" by Jamie Green. Want your own cool score for your podcast or website? Contact Jamie at Greenhouse Consulting. Check out Jamie's interview on the show here.
This Mysterious Goings On Podcast episode was recorded and mixed at Green Shebeen Studios in beautiful Kansas City, Missouri. Copyright 2025, all rights reserved. No reproduction, excerpting, or other use without written permission.
Author Dennis A. Feece returns to the show to talk about the latest chapter in his TB Stone series, THE PHANTOM GRASP ...which takes place in a world where identity, heritage, and personal history shape every twist.
We get into how his own background fuels the storytelling, why authenticity matters more than ever, and what it takes to balance the pull of the market with the story you actually need to tell.
Feece opens up about the evolution of his writing voice, the weight of personal truth in fiction, and the creative risks worth taking.
If you're interested in character-driven mysteries, the craft of writing, or how a writer weaves real life into narrative without losing the thread, this one’s worth your time!
Links to Dennis' previous appearance are here.
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LISTEN WHEREVER YOU GET YOUR PODCASTS.
Thank you for listening. How about checking out All the Fits That’s News?
I’m excited to share a limited-time offer: 50% off your first 12 months as a paid subscriber. It’s my way of making it easier for you to support the work I do here—essays, commentary, and cultural critiques delivered without gatekeepers, ads, or algorithms getting in the way.
👉 Join today and lock in half off your first year.
If you’ve enjoyed the essays and want to see more of them, here are two simple ways you can help:
- Become a paid subscriber. Paid support keeps this work sustainable and helps me devote the time and energy it deserves. If you’ve subscribed before, please consider re-subscribing under the new system and take advantage of this 50% offer.
- Spread the word. If a paid subscription isn’t right for you right now, you can still make a big difference by sharing posts with friends, on social media, or anywhere you think they’ll resonate.
Your support—financial or otherwise—is what keeps this going. The best work is still ahead, and I’d love for you to be part of it. —Alex
CONNECT:
- All the Fits That's News on Substack (Free or Paid)
- Alex's Author Website
- Contact Alex about advertising/sponsorship here.
- Buy a Book!
- Going to Killing City...Alex's True Crime Podcast
Enjoy this episode? Please leave us a review on your podcast platform of choice, and don't forget to subscribe for more literary journeys! LEAVE A REVIEW ON APPLE PODCASTS
Announcer: Mary McKenna. Original theme music "Mysterious Goings On" by Jamie Green. Want your own cool score for your podcast or website? Contact Jamie at Greenhouse Consulting. Check out Jamie's interview on the show here.
This Mysterious Goings On Podcast episode was recorded and mixed at Green Shebeen Studios in beautiful Kansas City, Missouri. Copyright 2025, all rights reserved. No reproduction, excerpting, or other use without written permission.
Alex shares a personal essay about a man who lived like he would never hit a red light. His life became a cautionary tale about avoidance, magical thinking, and the cost of confusing motion with progress.
If you have ever watched someone you love floor it toward the inevitable or felt the pull of that habit yourself, this one may land close to home.
Thank you for listening. How about checking out All the Fits That’s News?
I’m excited to share a limited-time offer: 50% off your first 12 months as a paid subscriber. It’s my way of making it easier for you to support the work I do here—essays, commentary, and cultural critiques delivered without gatekeepers, ads, or algorithms getting in the way.
👉 Join today and lock in half off your first year.
If you’ve enjoyed the essays and want to see more of them, here are two simple ways you can help:
- Become a paid subscriber. Paid support keeps this work sustainable and helps me devote the time and energy it deserves. If you’ve subscribed before, please consider re-subscribing under the new system and take advantage of this 50% offer.
- Spread the word. If a paid subscription isn’t right for you right now, you can still make a big difference by sharing posts with friends, on social media, or anywhere you think they’ll resonate.
Your support—financial or otherwise—is what keeps this going. The best work is still ahead, and I’d love for you to be part of it. —Alex
CONNECT:
- All the Fits That's News on Substack (Free or Paid)
- Alex's Author Website
- Contact Alex about advertising/sponsorship here.
- Buy a Book!
- Going to Killing City...Alex's True Crime Podcast
Enjoy this episode? Please leave us a review on your podcast platform of choice, and don't forget to subscribe for more literary journeys! LEAVE A REVIEW ON APPLE PODCASTS
Announcer: Mary McKenna. Original theme music "Mysterious Goings On" by Jamie Green. Want your own cool score for your podcast or website? Contact Jamie at Greenhouse Consulting. Check out Jamie's interview on the show here.
This Mysterious Goings On Podcast episode was recorded and mixed at Green Shebeen Studios in beautiful Kansas City, Missouri. Copyright 2025, all rights reserved. No reproduction, excerpting, or other use without written permission.