From Book to Radio Show, “Death on The Installment Plan” Has Something for Everyone

Graphic by Lily Hartenstein

By Stephanie Weber

On Sundays from 7pm to 9pm, sophomore Jacob Madkour (he/him) provides a unique soundtrack to our mundane and dreary evening on “Death on The Installment Plan.” We met up outside the studio in the Ansin Building to talk about the creation and structure of the show, bonding over a mutual appreciation for SoundCloud, how we embarrass ourselves dancing to our favorite music, and the paradox of not having a favorite director despite going to a film-oriented college. 

The name “Death on The Installment Plan” comes from a book with the same title, written by  Louis-Ferdinand Céline in the mid 1930s. The book stays unread on Madkour’s bookshelf at home, with no intention to be read in the future. As a Writing, Publishing, and Literature major, Madkour reads often and weaves this hobby into his show. Unscripted, Madkour reads from favorite works by published authors as well as original work to fill the two hour window. At the time of this publication, he’s currently reading “Against Nature” by Joris-Karl Huysmans and some works by Yukio Mishima, a gay Japanese author from the 1950s. Unlike other radio shows, Madkour pairs spoken word about books and films with music, creating a synesthetic experience by connecting multiple mediums together. 

This is Madkour’s first semester at Emerson, transferring in from another local institution. He has been featured on his girlfriend’s radio show at Northeastern University and he’s always liked music, so being a DJ for WECB.fm felt like a clear next step. “Death on The Installment Plan” is a space where they can nerd out on the things he likes to talk about, creating a time and space to dive deep into niche and layered subjects and playing favorite music. Fight the “Sunday scaries” and check out “Death on The Installment Plan,” Sundays from 7pm to 9pm on WECB.fm.