About Us

At last, by your ears,
we complete the ritual.

Skull & Scones is a small group of independent creators currently working on a few narrative-focused comedy and drama podcasts. Our debut production, Cthulhu-Con, premieres October 14th! We're also in pre-production on a few other shows we think you'll love, and we can't wait to share more.

Skull & Scones is:

Kimberly Embers Rhoten (they/them)

Kimberly is a lawyer, gamer, and municipal-policy junkie. A deep lover of Halloween and all things horror, they thrive on the strange and unusual… and a steady diet of gummy candy and Diet Coke. When not podcasting, Kimberly can be found buried in dust-covered tomes (they smell better than iPads), binge-watching horror classics, or gleefully explaining why local government is scarier (and more fascinating) than any haunted house.

Jake Burley (they/them)

Jake is a philosopher by training and a writer for fun. When asked for an insightful quote, Jake supplied the following: “They say you can be anything as long as you follow your dreams. But whenever I follow my dreams, they just want to get high and talk about crypto… So, I make podcasts instead.” Seriously? Worst philosopher ever...

Stephen Tansey (he/him)

Stephen is a software engineer by trade, but is currently enjoying a hiatus to focus on personal pursuits, such as game development and Skull and Scones. He enjoys the outdoors and long walks. Stephen is particularly well-versed in video games, but dabbles in many of the other nerd disciplines. Stephen is a proud uncle of two perfect nephews and one mediocre nephew. (Remember to come back and change this if/when my sister has a third kid).

Kevin Rizza (he/him)

Kevin is a software engineer and a former music teacher. He likes to talk to people and be the center of attention, which is weird because mostly he is an introvert and just wants to be alone. Kevin used to teach marching band and drum corps and even was on staff with a DCI international champion one summer, but he hasn't done that in a while. Kevin also wants it to be known that he has more nieces and nephews (three) than Stephen and is therefore winning.

Kristen Rizza (she/her)

Kristen crunched enough numbers as a data scientist that she eventually discovered the perfect formula: two dogs (one angel, one tiny agent of chaos) plus an alarming number of spooky hobbies equals happiness. When she's not behind a camera capturing everything from landscapes to canine mayhem, she's leaning fully into her 'nerd by association' status which has since evolved into full spooky fandom indoctrination. Basically, if it's eerie, nerdy, or photogenic, Kristen's probably into it.

Alie Turley (she/her)

Alie is a scientist by day, guild leader for the MMO Final Fantasy XIV by night with an obsession of anything mildly spooky or cow shaped. When she's not podcasting, playing games, or working she enjoys painting and getting hyperfocused on a craft. Bonus points if that craft involves a skeleton.

Mike Turley (he/him)

Mike is a software engineer, out-of-practice musician, tinkerer, gamer™ and stay-at-home dog dad. He has a lot of fun making things, and lately, making things sound good. He learned REAPER and wouldn't shut up about it until everyone switched to it from Audacity. When not making podcasts, he's either listening to too many of them, playing a Zelda game, or 3D-printing some nonsense. Some day, he hopes to get back into music and perhaps make a video game. Mike is obligated to inform you that he and Alie have five (5) nieces and nephews and therefore Stephen and Kevin are losers.