The Whole Catalogue is Here!
All our episodes reside below. The good, the bad, the ugly, all of it.
Enjoy!
Red Vs. Blue: American War, ft. Josh Boerman
EP. 06
What if everything was bad...and then it got worse...and then it kept getting worse...and everything generally stayed bad forever?
That's what Omar El Akkad tackles in his work of climate fiction, "American War," and that's what the Shelfers are here to discuss. But wait! Joining us is noted apocalyptician and student of declining empire, Josh Boerman from The Worst of All Possible Worlds.
What will happen to the American South without left organizing? What is the trajectory of a society without hope? What, if anything, is the use of novels preaching dire climate warnings? What's the deal with the Mississippi Sea? All this and more!
Check out Josh's work at https://www.worstpossible.world/. Seriously, it's one of the best podcasts out there.
Music by Kevin MacLeod, cover art is from the cover of American War
The good McCarthy: Blood Meridian
EP. 06
Everybody's favorite dirt mage, Drew Mason, is back to talk with us about "Blood Meridian" by the recently late, forever great, Cormac McCarthy.
What does the Western (or in this case, anti-western) teach us about the foundations of the United States? What is the truth behind this nation's founding myths? Can we have an episode even darker than our discussion of "The Jungle?" All that and more within.
If you liked this episode, check out @dkpmason on Twitter. If you didn't like it, check him out anyway. He's a cool guy, we can vouch.
Music by Kevin MacLeod, the cover art is a picture of the greatest bean-eating pond swimmer to ever grace the literary world.
They made Tumblr into a book…and it’s good: Gideon the Ninth
EP. 06
Two for the stories reread in our dreams
Three for the prose we remember in memes
Four for the books that we both recommend
Five for the ones where we're glad for the end
Six for the classics debated to death
Seven for those that have wasted our breath
Eight for the novels inspiring our stuff
and Nine for the pod and for all of its scuff
(P.S. Sorry to Ms. Tamsyn Muir for the fact that I can't say your last name right. I liked your book.)
Music by Kevin MacLeod, episode art from the cover of "Gideon the Ninth."
Clinton’s worst crime: the president is missing
EP. 06
Bill Clinton wrote a novel, y'all...Yes, that Bill Clinton.
Join us as we slowly lose our minds trying to crawl through the nightmare that is "The President is Missing" by James Patterson and former U.S. President, Bill Clinton.
We'll be answering such questions as: "Can a former President still be deeply insecure?" (Yep.) and "Can liberalism save us?" (Nope.)
If you thought "Left Behind" had us worked up, you ain't seen nothing yet!!!
Music by Kevin MacLeod, cover photo from Whitehouse.gov.
From the military to Mercury: Slaughterhouse five
EP. 06
We've got another guest, folks. You know him, you love him, it's the legend himself...TRENT (a college buddy of Jacob's)
It's time to hop into Kurt Vonnegut's classic, semi-autobiographical work science fiction, "Slaughterhouse-Five."
What makes for a "just war," and is that even a thing? What's the deal with all these buff, homoerotic British officers? How much attention do you really need to pay to your climax to make it climactic? Find out now!
Music by Kevin MacLeod. Cover art is Kurt Vonnegut (including one of the many cigarettes that failed to kill him.)
Gaming in Spaaaaace: The Three Body Problem
EP. 06
We're back...and yes I mean *we.* After a three-week hiatus, Lenore has returned to the program. And we're talking Liu Cixin's hard sci-fi puzzle-box, "The Three Body Problem."
How did this distinctly Chinese work of fiction manage to capture the hearts of so many in the West? What do the Chinese Cultural Revolution and gravitational currents have in common? Can we use science fiction to prevent nuclear war? All these questions and more...answered!
As a side note: The Cultural Revolution of China is a complicated chapter in history that takes a lot more deciphering than we're capable of conducting in a couple sci-fi centric episodes, so we wanted to link this source from the Liberation School for those who may want to learn more. https://www.liberationschool.org/tag/cultural-revolution/
Music by Kevin MacLeod, art is the cover of the English edition of "The Three Body Problem."
The bloody heart of capitalism
EP. 06
Bad news: Lenore is out for this episode. The good news: we've got our first guest! You can (and should) follow him on Twitter @dkpmason.
Listen to Jacob and Mason chat about "The Jungle," the 1906 work of political fiction by Upton Sinclair.
What would the Biblical story of Job look like in early 1900s Chicago? What's changed, what's stayed the same, and what's sliding backward? Plus, some good tips for staying in shape (hint: don't leave the forests of Lithuania!)
The episode art is a picture of the old muckraker himself. Music by Kevin MacLeod.
Debt and dinosaurs: jurassic park
EP. 06
We had a weeklong hiatus but now we're back at it! It's time to talk bioengineering, it's time to talk irresponsible research, it's time to talk chaos theory, it's time to talk about Michael Crichton's 1990 sci-fi novel, Jurassic Park!
Music by Kevin MacLeod. As for the episode art...you already know who it is and where it's from.
It’s the end of the world as we know it: left behind
EP. 06
Dive with us into Tim LaHaye and Jerry B. Jenkins's 1995 apocalyptic evangelical thriller, Left Behind! This is a weird one, folks.
In this episode, we take a long look at the borderline-supervillain of life of Tim LaHaye, assess how the 1990s were primed for apocalypse hysteria, and really tear into the deliciously incompetent prose of Jerry B. Jenkins.
Cover from the 1995 release of Left Behind. Music by Kevin MacLeod.
History on ice: the mountains of madness
EP. 06
It's time to enter the weeeiiirddd world of H.P. Lovecraft.
In this episode, learn about the life of Lovecraft, the good, the bad, the ugly, the badder, and the uglier (seriously, he wasn't a very good guy.) We discuss the influence of Lovecraft on the horror genre, the looming sense of doom instilled in the capitalism of the 1930s, and what makes a story actually scary.
Episode art by Howard V. Brown's cover of "Astounding Stories." Music by Kevin MacLeod.
Greed, Ghosts, and Gonzo: a christmas carol
EP. 06
You're really uploading an episode on Charles Dickens' "A Christmas Carol?" In February? Are you crazy? Maybe!
Join us on the foggy streets of Dickens' London, a place where all sorts of wondrous folk fight to scratch out a living in the birthplace of industrial capitalism. How does light get introduced into such a bleak setting? Why does this story speak to us more than a century-and-a-half later? What can it teach us about our own world?
Let's dive in!
Cover image from the film, "The Muppet Christmas Carol." Music by @FreeToUseMusic.
God is Change: Parable of the sower
EP. 06
This is one of my all-time favorites: Octavia Butler's 1993 dystopian novel, "Parable of the Sower." Listeners, you're in for one heck of a ride.
What if dialectics were a religion? What will the US look like when the exploitation of the global south finally comes home? Plus, what to do when everybody else is acting calm in the middle of the apocalypse.
Art from John Jude Palencar's cover art for "Parable of the Sower." Music by Kevin MacLeod.
Brave new pod: brave new world
EP. 06
Hey! First episode!
In this rough first attempt, we hop right into Aldous Huxley's dystopian classic, "Brave New World."
How does propaganda really work? Why do we believe this book could trounce "1984" with one hand behind its back? What happens when you make Henry Ford into your actual God? All this and more in Brave New Pod
Credits to Greg Klamt for the episode art and Kevin MacLeod for the music.