We welcome horror author T.J. Payne to talk about Intercepts, a sci-fi horror thriller where a secret government facility tortures prisoners into becoming "antennas" who can hijack the senses of anyone on Earth. At the center is supervisor Joe Gerhard, a man who tells himself the work is necessary right up until his own daughter, Riley, becomes a target. We dig into the banality of evil, workplace dehumanization, and how ordinary people talk themselves into extraordinary harm.

We also get into the real-world roots behind the horror (NSA-style intercepts, MKUltra, sensory deprivation research), T.J.'s wild path from Hollywood ghostwriting to indie-published success to landing in TV writers' rooms, and why he thinks "writer voice" is just the weird kid you tried to hide in middle school.

Guest Contact & Social Links — T.J. Payne

Website: https://tjpayneauthor.wixsite.com/tjpayne
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/tj.payne.author/
TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@tj.payne.author
Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/18547206.T_J_Payne
Intercepts (Penguin Random House): https://www.penguinrandomhouse.com/books/833286/intercepts-by-t-j-payne/

Related Topic Links (for show notes)

Hannah Arendt & "the banality of evil": https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Banality_of_evil
MKUltra overview: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Project_MKUltra
Sensory deprivation research: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sensory_deprivation
Under the Bridge (Hulu, TJ Payne writing credit): https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Under_the_Bridge_(TV_series)

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