Blooms & Barnacles

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A blog and podcast that discuss James Joyce's Ulysses from a non-academic point of view. Less snooty, more movie references.

Kelly Bryan


    • Jun 2, 2025 LATEST EPISODE
    • every other week NEW EPISODES
    • 53m AVG DURATION
    • 182 EPISODES

    Ivy Insights

    The Blooms & Barnacles podcast, hosted by Kelly Bryan and Dermot O'Connor, is a must-listen for anyone reading or new to James Joyce's Ulysses. This podcast provides insightful commentary on the novel while also diving into Irish culture and history, making it an essential companion for navigating the rich literary landscape of Ulysses.

    One of the best aspects of this podcast is the way Kelly and Dermot balance thought-provoking analysis with a casual and accessible tone. They manage to make the complex themes and references in Ulysses both engaging and understandable without being overly intellectual. Their dedication to exploring Joyce's masterpiece is evident in their careful attention to detail and their commitment to providing valuable insights into not only the text but also Joyce's life and the many references throughout the book.

    Furthermore, the podcast goes beyond simply analyzing Ulysses; it delves into Irish history, culture, and character, offering listeners a deeper understanding of the novel's context. The inclusion of Irish guests adds another layer of authenticity and perspective to the discussions, making it even more fascinating for those interested in Irish literature and culture.

    However, there are no major drawbacks to this podcast. Some listeners might prefer a more formal and academic approach to analyzing Ulysses, but Blooms & Barnacles succeeds precisely because it avoids overanalyzing or trying too hard to impress. It strikes a perfect balance between depth of analysis and accessibility for readers who may find Joyce's work daunting.

    In conclusion, The Blooms & Barnacles podcast is an absolute delight for fans of James Joyce's Ulysses. Kelly Bryan and Dermot O'Connor have created an exceptional resource that not only enhances one's understanding of the novel but also brings joy and enthusiasm to its exploration. Their ability to provide valuable insights while maintaining an engaging tone makes this podcast invaluable for anyone embarking on their own journey through Joyce's modernist masterpiece.



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    Latest episodes from Blooms & Barnacles

    Bonus #29 - The Dark Gaunt House on Usher's Island [TEASER]

    Play Episode Listen Later Jun 2, 2025 16:31


    We discuss the history of the house at 15 Usher's Island where "The Dead" was set.Listen to the full episode at patreon.com/barnaclecast

    On this side idolatry.

    Play Episode Listen Later May 21, 2025 73:33


    You naughtn't to look, missus, so you naughtn't when a lady's ashowing of her elemental.Topics in this episode include Old Ben's critique of Shakespeare, bardolatry, Shakespeare as a symbol of English supremacy, how Plato is like Charybdis, formless spiritual essences, seeing ourselves as others see us, the paintings of Gustave Moreau, and so much theosophy.On the Blog:Decoding Dedalus: Horseness is the whatness of allhorse. Blooms & Barnacles Social Media:Facebook | Twitter | InstagramSubscribe to Blooms & Barnacles:Apple Podcasts | Spotify | YouTube 

    Folly. Persist.

    Play Episode Listen Later May 7, 2025 58:47


    Satan comes forward a sinkapace.Topics in this episode include Goethe's Wilhelm Meister, Goethe's thoughts on Hamlet translated through Thomas Lyster, Elizabethan dances, Sir Toby Belch, Monsieur de la Palice and a hilarious French pun, John Milton, Paradise Lost, Stephen's six brave medicals, Marie Corelli's The Sorrows of Satan, Cranly, Medical Dick and Medical Davy, betrayal, W.B.'s shining seven, the significance of the number seven, Malacoda's trumpet, Dante, extended Wicklow imagery, Satanic imagery in the works of Joyce, Stephen's Luciferian impulses, Diablous in Musica, and Stephen's ultimate rejection of Satan despite his declaration of “Non serviam.”Support us on Patreon to access episodes early, bonus content, and a video version of our podcast.On the Blog:Decoding Dedalus: Folly. Persist.Blooms & Barnacles Social Media:Facebook | Twitter | InstagramSubscribe to Blooms & Barnacles:Apple Podcasts | Spotify | YouTube

    Bonus Ep. 28 - Two Stories About Women [TEASER]

    Play Episode Listen Later Apr 30, 2025 16:20


    Kelly and Dermot discuss the stories of Elizabeth Aldworth, the lady mason, and author P.L. TraversListen to the full episode at patreon.com/barnaclecast

    Who Were the Real Men in the Library from "Scylla and Charybdis"?

    Play Episode Listen Later Apr 24, 2025 47:51


    Eglinton knows Best.Topics in this episode include the real-life versions of John Eglinton and Richard Best, Best's contribution to the study of Irish mythology, how Best supported James Joyce's abandoned music career, what his portrayal in Ulysses gets right and wrong, how the real Best felt about his fictional counterpart in Ulysses, gay-coding and homophobia in the fictional portrayal of Best, Oscar Wilde, the ancient Greeks, Joyce's misguided attempt to re-connect with Best in 1909, William Kirkpatrick Magee (aka John Eglinton) and his contribution to Irish literature, Eglinton as an outsider, stories of Joyce and Gogarty terrorizing Eglinton, a rude limerick, the time Eglinton rejected Joyce's Portrait, and Eglinton's reaction to being portrayed in Ulysses.Support us on Patreon to access episodes early, bonus content, and a video version of our podcast. On the Blog:Who Were the Real Men in the Library from "Scylla and Charybdis"?Blooms & Barnacles Social Media:Facebook | Twitter | InstagramSubscribe to Blooms & Barnacles:Apple Podcasts | Spotify | YouTube

    Scylla and Charybdis

    Play Episode Listen Later Apr 9, 2025 58:05


    Here be monsters.We crack into Ulysses' ninth episode: "Scylla and Charybdis." Topics in this episode include: a great philosopher's thoughts on Shakespeare, Dermot, another great philosopher's, thoughts on Shakespeare, Odysseus' encounter with Scylla and Charybdis, the geography and currents of the Strait of Messina that likely inspired the story of Scylla and Charybdis, the triumphant return of Stephen Dedalus, Aristotle and Plato, George Æ Russell the engulfer of souls, why the brain is man's cruelest weapon, intellectual dialectic contrasted with empty rhetoric, the National Library of Ireland and why it's great, "The Holy Office", well-timed lunch, Stephen Dedalus' three forms of literature, Henrik Ibsen and the primacy of drama in Stephen's literary schema, and how to navigate between two sea monsters.Support us on Patreon to access episodes early, bonus content, and a video version of our podcast.Blooms & Barnacles Social Media:Facebook | Twitter | InstagramSubscribe to Blooms & Barnacles:Apple Podcasts | Spotify | YouTube 

    Bonus Ep. 27 - The Picture of Dorian Gray [TEASER]

    Play Episode Listen Later Mar 31, 2025 10:06


    We discuss Oscar Wilde's novel, The Picture of Dorian Gray. To listen to the full episode, visit patreon.com/barnaclecast 

    Bonus Ep. 26 - The Third Man [TEASER]

    Play Episode Listen Later Feb 28, 2025 15:08


    We discuss the 1949 film, The Third Man because James Joyce is briefly mentioned in it. Also, it's a really good movie.Listen to or watch the full episode at patreon.com/barnaclecast

    Blind Stripling

    Play Episode Listen Later Feb 19, 2025 86:15


    A wild Blazes Boylan appears.Topics in this episode include the incredible story of Reverend Thomas Connellan, the Bible Wars, Soupers, the Bird's Nest orphanage, apostasy and conversion, a typographical error heroically corrected, the blind stripling, whether or not the blind stripling actually wants help from Leopold Bloom, Bloom's savior complex, Bloom's empathy, the history of blind piano tuners, whether or not blind people's other senses are stronger than those of sighted people, whether or not wine loses its flavor based on appearance, parallels between the blind stripling and Stephen Dedalus, how Joyce's eye trouble influenced the development of the blind stripling, how Joyce used the blind stripling to work out his personal stuggles on the page, the dreams of blind people, the General Slocum disaster, Sir Frederick Falkiner, the Mirus Bazaar, Handel's Messiah, and escaping Blazes Boylan.Support us on Patreon to access episodes early, bonus content, and a video version of our podcast.Blooms & Barnacles Social Media:Facebook | Twitter | InstagramSubscribe to Blooms & Barnacles:Apple Podcasts | Spotify | YouTube

    Throwaway

    Play Episode Listen Later Feb 5, 2025 85:43


    I need to see a man about a horse.Topics in this episode include a return to nutarianism, Tom Rochford's surprisingly heroic back story, the Ascot Gold Cup, racehorses with weird names, Jack B. Yeats' Olympic career, the life cycle of a pernicious rumor, Tom Rochford's invention, Don Giovanni's ending (spoiler alert), peristalsis nearing its inevitable conclusion, Prescott's Dye Works, gambling culture in Edwardian Dublin, the class consciousness of gambling culture, whether it's better to win or lose a wager, the alienation of the gambler, Bloom's immunity to society's “narcotics”, the symbolism of horses, a fear of horses, the racialisation of orientalism, the performance of masculinity, the masculinity of Blazes Boylan contrasted with the masculinity of Leopold Bloom, and why you should bet on the dark horse.Support us on Patreon to access episodes early, bonus content, and a video version of our podcast.Blooms & Barnacles Social Media:Facebook | Twitter | InstagramSubscribe to Blooms & Barnacles:Apple Podcasts | Spotify | YouTube

    Bonus Ep. 25 - The Tarot of Mme Marion Bloom w/ Penelope Wade [TEASER]

    Play Episode Listen Later Jan 30, 2025 16:15


    Artist Penelope Wade joins the podcast to discuss her project, "The Tarot of Mme Marion Bloom." Wade uses collages of found objects to create densely symbolic images based on the themes and characters in Ulysses. She has arranged her collages into a one-of-a-kind tarot deck. We discuss tarot, Ulysses, Molly Bloom. Kelly even gets a tarot reading!Listen to or watch the full episode at patreon.com/barnaclecastYou can see Penelope's art at her website.

    Ancient Free and Accepted Order

    Play Episode Listen Later Jan 15, 2025 58:58


    Are you on the level?Topics in this episode include discussion of whether or not Leopold Bloom is a freemason, how well Nosey Flynn knows the business of the other Dubliners, why Bloom never thinks about being a freemason, whether or not Tom Kernan is in the craft, whether or not you can leave the freemasons, freemason symbols and lore, whether Bloom has connections to the upper echelons of Dublin society, the Hungarian lottery tickets scandal, what James Joyce knew about freemasons, times when Bloom deploys freemason symbols, the Catholic Church's campaign against the freemasons, how that campaign was also antisemitic, and why Æ was talking about octopuses.Support us on Patreon to access episodes early, bonus content, and a video version of our podcast.On the Blog:Was Leopold Bloom a Freemason?Blooms & Barnacles Social Media:Facebook | Twitter | InstagramSubscribe to Blooms & Barnacles:Apple Podcasts | Spotify | YouTube

    James Joyce Community Groups (w/ Zoe Patterson)

    Play Episode Listen Later Dec 25, 2024 59:06


    Zoe Patterson of Trinity College Dublin joins Blooms & Barnacles to talk about about her research into James Joyce community groups.Support us on Patreon to access episodes early, bonus content, and a video version of our podcast.Blooms & Barnacles Social Media:Facebook | Twitter | InstagramSubscribe to Blooms & Barnacles:Apple Podcasts | Spotify | YouTube

    Bonus Ep. 24 - Jack the Ripper w/ Senan Molony [TEASER]

    Play Episode Listen Later Dec 12, 2024 13:02


    Journalist Senan Molony joins the podcast to talk about how the Jack the Ripper murders influenced Ulysses.Listen to the full episode at pattern.com/barnaclecast

    Seed Cake

    Play Episode Listen Later Dec 12, 2024 50:02


    Should you bring oysters to your naughty liaison on Howth?Topics in this episode include your thoughts on Bloom's glass of burgundy, whether or not oysters are an aphrodisiac, where you used to be able to find the best oysters in Ireland, whether or not it's ok to eat oysters in months that don't have an R, which European monarch ate the scruff off their own head, more wine minutiae - this time what color glass is best for storing beverages, the fishes royal, Miss Dubedat, a kish of brogues, parallax, the rhododendrons on Howth, seed cake, Molly and Leopold as a couple, and whether or not goddesses have buttholes.Support us on Patreon to access episodes early, bonus content, and a video version of our podcast.Blooms & Barnacles Social Media:Facebook | Twitter | InstagramSubscribe to Blooms & Barnacles:Apple Podcasts | Spotify | YouTube

    Is Blazes Boylan the worst man in Dublin?

    Play Episode Listen Later Dec 4, 2024 54:40


    Well, was he?Topics in this episode include a thorough dissection of Hugh E. “Blazes” Boylan, why Boylan jingles and jaunts, Boylan's snappy wardrobe, clocks on socks, whether or not Boylan smells rich, Boylan's business ventures, Boylan's father the horse trader, the Myler Keogh controversy, the unreliable narrators in Barney Kiernan's pub, the sex crimes of Blazes Boylan, the sex crimes of Leopold Bloom, Miss Dunne, real life inspirations for Blazes Boylan, and the vanquishing of Molly Bloom's suitors.Support us on Patreon to access episodes early, bonus content, and a video version of our podcast.On the Blog:Is Blazes Boylan really the worst man in Dublin?Blooms & Barnacles Social Media:Facebook | Twitter | InstagramSubscribe to Blooms & Barnacles:Apple Podcasts | Spotify | YouTube

    Bonus Ep. 23 - Molly Bloom v. Misogyny w/ Katherine Ebury [TEASER]

    Play Episode Listen Later Nov 15, 2024 17:15


    Dr. Katherine Ebury (she/they) of the University of Sheffield joins the podcast to talk about how to approach older scholarship that contains misogynist interpretations of Molly Bloom. Should we dismiss them entirely, or is it ok to just fish out the good bits? What direction is Joyce studies taking with regards to interpretations of Molly? We also discuss the ongoing issue of sexual harassment in Joyce studies.Listen to the full episode and see a video version at patreon.com/barnaclecast

    Gorgon-Zola

    Play Episode Listen Later Nov 13, 2024 65:02


    Fermentation is hot.Topics in this episode include Davy Byrne's moral pub, Nosey Flynn, Noah and the curse of Ham, Plumtree's Potted Meat, cannibalism, missionaries who get eaten by cannibals, long pig, Reverend MacTrigger, lapses in Leopold Bloom's empathy, the Jesuits' mission of conversion, colonialism, Yom Kippur, food as an expression of religion, mity cheese, why Bloom chooses cheese, sunyata, why it's extremely anachronistic for Bloom to seek cheese, a brief history of indigenous Irish cheese, why no one ate cheese in Dublin in 1904, the 20th century revival of Irish cheese, burgundy, and sexy, sexy fermentation.Support us on Patreon to access episodes early, bonus content, and a video version of our podcast.On the Blog:Leopold Bloom's GorgonzolaBlooms & Barnacles Social Media:Facebook | Twitter | InstagramSubscribe to Blooms & Barnacles:Apple Podcasts | Spotify | YouTube

    Rawhead and Bloody Bones

    Play Episode Listen Later Oct 30, 2024 59:48


    Let's hope for something galoptious when all's said and done.Topics in this episode include the lestrygonian feast in the Burton, masculinity and meat eating, societal paralysis, Bloom's plan to feed the masses, Bloom's memories of working in the cattle market, the importance of cattle to the Irish economy, the horror that is dicky meat, the violence of the cattle trade, the carnivore diet, Bloom's performative masculinity, Bloom's political moderateness, class horror, Padraic Pearse and the Easter Rising, Æ's political decline, and the problem of pacifism.Support us on Patreon to access episodes early, bonus content, and a video version of our podcast.On the Blog:Rawhead and Bloody Bones in the BurtonBlooms & Barnacles Social Media:Facebook | Twitter | InstagramSubscribe to Blooms & Barnacles:Apple Podcasts | Spotify | YouTube

    Bloodhued Poplin, Lustrous Blood

    Play Episode Listen Later Oct 16, 2024 63:13


    Think unsexy thought. Think unsexy thoughts. Think unsexy thoughts.Topics included corrections, Yeates and Son, parallax, eclipses, Dunsink Time, Thomas Moore, peristalsis, Bob Doran, Take off that white hat!, Huguenots, the princess of the Lestrygonians, Leopold Bloom's failed attempt to think unsexy thoughts, Bloom as sideways Odysseus, Bloom failing to destroy Molly's suitor, and a quick escape.Support us on Patreon to access episodes early, bonus content, and a video version of our podcast. Blooms & Barnacles Social Media:Facebook | Twitter | InstagramSubscribe to Blooms & Barnacles:Apple Podcasts | Spotify | YouTube

    Bonus Episode #22 - James Joyce Community Groups w/ Zoe Patterson [TEASER]

    Play Episode Listen Later Oct 13, 2024 10:42


    Zoe Patterson of Trinity College Dublin joins Blooms & Barnacles to talk about about her research into James Joyce community groups. To listen to the full episode, check out patreon.com/barnaclecast

    Ep. 142 - Weggebobbles, Fruit, and Scotch Octopuses

    Play Episode Listen Later Oct 2, 2024 62:01


    "If you do the eyes of that cow will pursue you through all eternity."Topics in this episode include two-headed octopuses, the Freemasons, the real Lizzie Twigg, Dublin's oldest vegetarian restaurants, Æ, vegetarianism in the early twentieth century, Pythagorus, nutarians and fruitarians, Leopold Bloom's brief foray into vegetarianism, nutsteak, mashed yeast, the elitism of vegetarians, James Joyce's vendetta against vegetarians, whether or not a vegetarian diet inspires poetry, the transformative power of food, taking the soup, and metempsychosis.Support us on Patreon to access episodes early, bonus content, and a video version of our podcast.On the Blog:Weggebobbles and Fruit: Vegetarianism in UlyssesBlooms & Barnacles Social Media:Facebook | Twitter | InstagramSubscribe to Blooms & Barnacles:Apple Podcasts | Spotify | YouTube

    Dubliners #8 - Grace [TEASER]

    Play Episode Listen Later Sep 27, 2024 11:35


    We discuss the Dubliners short story, "Grace", in the final episode of our Dubliners series.Listen to the full episode at patreon.com/barnaclecast

    The Fascination of a Name

    Play Episode Listen Later Sep 18, 2024 60:01


    “Simon Dedalus said when they put him in parliament that Parnell would come back from the grave and lead him out of the house of commons by the arm.”Topics in this episode include James Stephens and his organizational blunder, Michaelmas traditions, architecture and peristalsis, the legacy of Dr George Salmon and his big spooky house, reevaluating historical figures like Dr Salmon, John Howard Parnell and his many siblings, the difficulty of being a “brother's brother,” the Irish connection to peach cultivation in the American South, Charles Stewart Parnell becomes a problematic fave, obtaining a cushy sinecure as Dublin city marshal, Charley Boulger, the Dublin Bread Company, John Howard Parnell's anemic political career, Fanny Parnell, Emily Dickinson, Anna Parnell, historical misogyny, the Kennedys, David Sheehy M.P., the time Dermot met Conor Cruise O'Brien, the Chiltern hundreds, ghost Parnell, and eating oranges in the Phoenix Park to own the Orangemen. Support us on Patreon to access episodes early, bonus content, and a video version of our podcast. On the Blog:​​Decoding Bloom: John Howard ParnellBlooms & Barnacles Social Media:Facebook | Twitter | InstagramSubscribe to Blooms & Barnacles:Apple Podcasts | Spotify | YouTube 

    Up the Boers!

    Play Episode Listen Later Sep 6, 2024 58:47


    Was Leopold Bloom ever totally radical?Topics in this episode include Bloom's memory of a protest, Bloom's view of the police, the significance of soup imagery, the origins of the Boer War, Irish Nationalist opposition to the Boer War, Joseph Chamberlain, Christiaan de Wet, the irony of Irish Nationalist support for the Boer cause, a French depiction of the protests in Dublin, the class politics of political protest, Sean O'Casey's daring showdown with a mounter police officer, profiting from the colonization of Africa, poetry as propaganda, a Parnell conspiracy theory, Bloom's failed attempts to seem more patriotic than he is, the wrong Gough in the park, Bloom's own profiteering, and the fate of Percy Apjohn.Support us on Patreon to access episodes early, bonus content, and a video version of our podcast. On the Blog:Up the Boers!Decoding Dedalus: Hamlet, ou le Absentminded BeggarBlooms & Barnacles Social Media:Facebook | Twitter | InstagramSubscribe to Blooms & Barnacles:Apple Podcasts | Spotify | YouTube 

    Dubliners #7 - Ivy Day in the Committee Room [TEASER]

    Play Episode Listen Later Aug 28, 2024 15:50


    We discuss the Dubliners story, “Ivy Day in the Committee Room"To listen to the full episode, please visit patreon.com/barnaclecast

    Ep. 139 - The Meeting of the Waters

    Play Episode Listen Later Aug 21, 2024 64:34


    The constables have been let out to graze.Topics in this episode include: 1904 popular culture, James Carlyle and the Irish Times, foxhunting, horsey people, Leopold Bloom's disdain for high class women, The Irish Field, a personal ad from the 1870's, Mrs Miriam Dandrade, the Purefoys, Fletcherism, the Chew-Chew Method, fad diets of yore, munching parties, hardy annuals, whether or not consumption makes you randy, phthisis, searching for Mrs Moisel, Mrs Thornton, Bloom mocks the police, The Pirates of Penzance, Thomas Moore, Avoca, and “The Meeting of the Waters.”Support us on Patreon to access episodes early, bonus content, and a video version of our podcast.Blooms & Barnacles Social Media:Facebook | Twitter | InstagramSubscribe to Blooms & Barnacles:Apple Podcasts | Spotify | YouTube

    Lizzie Twigg (w/ Elizabeth Foley O'Connor)

    Play Episode Listen Later Aug 7, 2024 55:24


    “Everybody who met her liked her - because she was warm and outgoing. Here I am saying good things about Lizzie. Poor Liz - nobody remembers her now.” - Padraic Colum, 1969This episode features an interview with scholar Elizabeth Foley O'Connor about Irish poet Lizzie Twigg, her legacy as a poet, her brief mention in Ulysses, how she fell under James Joyce's critical eye, and why she deserved better. We also discuss tarot artist Pamela Colman Smith, the subject of Foley O'Connor's book Pamela Colman Smith: Artist, Feminist & Mystic.Support us on Patreon to access episodes early, bonus content, and a video version of our podcast.On the Blog:The Women of Ulysses: Lizzie TwiggBlooms & Barnacles Social Media:Facebook | Twitter | InstagramSubscribe to Blooms & Barnacles:Apple Podcasts | Spotify | YouTube

    Cashel Boyle O'Connor Fitzmaurice Tisdall Farrell

    Play Episode Listen Later Jul 24, 2024 56:18


    “Dubliners were proud of Endymion. They were proud that they tolerated Endymion, but also that he tolerated them. Most people watched him and remembered him with affection, and only a few were aware of the darker side to some of his mutterings.” - John SimpsonSupport us on Patreon to access episodes early, bonus content, and a video version of our podcast.On the Blog:Who was the real Cashel Boyle O'Connor Fitzmaurice Tisdall Farrell?Blooms & Barnacles Social Media:Facebook | Twitter | InstagramSubscribe to Blooms & Barnacles:Apple Podcasts | Spotify | YouTube

    Dubliners #6 - A Painful Case & A Mother [TEASER]

    Play Episode Listen Later Jul 22, 2024 10:28


    We discuss Dubliners stories “A Painful Case” and “A Mother” Listen to the full episode at patreon.com/barnaclecast

    U.p: up

    Play Episode Listen Later Jul 10, 2024 82:36


    Inside the madness of BreenTopics in this episode include deep Ulysses lore, nostalgia traps, Molly's suitors, the Glencree dinner, Old Professor Goodwin, Mr. and Mrs. Breen, U.p: up, the Ace of Spades, Breen's postcard as an empty threat, an old forgotten expression, word play, hidden meanings, codes, peeing up and cloacal obsessions, Larry David, body shaming and erectile dysfunction, the Nolan and the wildest theory about U.p: up, accusations of apostasy, a controversy of Presbyterians, Michael Cusack and U.p: up, who sent the U.p: up postcard, Ulysses Pseudangelos and the lure of false messengers, Sailor Murphy, to roc and the black spot in “Ithaca.”Support us on Patreon to access episodes early, bonus content, and a video version of our podcast.On the Blog:U.P: UpBlooms & Barnacles Social Media:Facebook | Twitter | InstagramSubscribe to Blooms & Barnacles:Apple Podcasts | Spotify | YouTube

    HEL'SY

    Play Episode Listen Later Jun 5, 2024 45:41


    Rashers Tierney would have gotten those Hely's Sandwichmen into shape. Plus, his name is thematically apt.Topics in this episode include memories of life in 1960's Dublin, Leopold Bloom's philosophy of advertising, whether or not a nun invented barbed wire, the intersection of religion, advertising and potted meat, the rite of Melchisedek, open-faced club sand wedge, the Hely's sandwichmen, Wisdom Hely, Bloom's employment history, Bloom's grief, whether or not Wisdom Hely is good at advertising, whether Bloom's ideas actually have any merit, Victorian advertising, cannibals, Szombathely and all the secret codes hidden therein.Support us on Patreon to access episodes early, bonus content, and a video version of our podcast.On the Blog:Kino's & Hely's: Two Ads in LestrygoniansBlooms & Barnacles Social Media:Facebook | Twitter | InstagramSubscribe to Blooms & Barnacles:Apple Podcasts | Spotify | YouTube

    Dubliners #5 - Counterparts & Clay [TEASER]

    Play Episode Listen Later Jun 3, 2024 10:37


    We discuss Dubliners stories “Counterparts” and “Clay”Listen to the full episode at patreon.com/barnaclecast

    Strumpet City [Patreon Bonus]

    Play Episode Listen Later May 22, 2024 104:30


    We discuss James Plunkett's 1969 novel, Strumpet City and the 1980 mini-series of the same name.

    strumpet
    Parallax

    Play Episode Listen Later May 9, 2024 59:51


    If both clocks were correct, one would be redundant.Topics in this episode include the Ballast Office, the timeball, stellar parallax, ships' navigators and chronometers, the whereabouts of the timeball, the political controversy of Greenwich Mean Time, Dunsink time, Sir Robert Ball and The Story of the Heavens, what the heck parallax actually means, how James Joyce uses the term parallax in Ulysses, being your own solar eclipse, how to make friends and influence astronomers at the Dunsink Observatory, Robert Anton Wilson, Clyde Tombaugh, the epiphanies to be found in common street furniture, Bishop Berkeley's thoughts on stereoscopic vision, Dedalus and Bloom as a binary star system, the hypostasis of urination, and crossing the streams.Support us on Patreon to access episodes early, bonus content, and a video version of our podcast.On the Blog:ParallaxBlooms & Barnacles Social Media:Facebook | Twitter | InstagramSubscribe to Blooms & Barnacles:Apple Podcasts | Spotify | YouTube

    Dubliners #4 - The Boarding House & A Little Cloud [TEASER]

    Play Episode Listen Later Apr 28, 2024 10:32


    We share our thoughts on Dubliners short stories "The Boarding House" and "A Little Cloud"Listen to the full episode at patreon.com/barnaclecast 

    Kino's 11/- Trousers

    Play Episode Listen Later Apr 24, 2024 49:01


    What is the parallax of Aldebaran?Topics in this episode include gulls, Simon Dedalus, Little Chandler, Leopold Bloom's poetic impulse, Leopold Bloom's philosophy of advertising, the secret ingredient in Epps' Cocoa, the supremacy of Kino's 11/- Trousers over Plumtree's Potted Meat, Victorian advertising styles, Howard Bridgewater's theory of advertising, Dr. Hy Frank's remedy for the clap, numerology, Chris Callinan, the true meaning of K. 11, the parallax of Aldebaran, Lenehan being just the worst, the number 11 and George Mesias' suits.Support us on Patreon to access episodes early, bonus content, and a video version of our podcast.On the Blog:Kino's & Hely's: Two Ads in LestrygoniansBlooms & Barnacles Social Media:Facebook | Twitter | InstagramSubscribe to Blooms & Barnacles:Apple Podcasts | Spotify | YouTube

    Elijah is Coming!

    Play Episode Listen Later Apr 10, 2024 59:01


    Sunday! Sunday! Sunday! Elijah is Coming!!!Topics in this episode include epiphanies in Dubliners, the transformative power of peristalsis, Leopold Bloom and the Prophet Elijah, the peculiar tale of John Alexander Dowie, God's bloodlust, the also peculiar history of the Salvation Army, what religion and advertising have in common, phosphorescence, polygamy, monster trucks, Bloom as a redeemer for Ireland, and the surprising origin of the city of Zion, Illinois.Support us on Patreon to access episodes early, bonus content, and a video version of our podcast.On the Blog:Elijah is coming! Is Coming!! IS COMING!!!Blooms & Barnacles Social Media:Facebook | Twitter | InstagramSubscribe to Blooms & Barnacles:Apple Podcasts | Spotify | YouTube

    The Lestrygonians

    Play Episode Listen Later Mar 27, 2024 42:19


    Who's for dinner?Topics in this episode include revisiting Ulysses-themed tarot, Odysseus' encounter with the Lestrygonians, being in Leopold Bloom's head once more, the Homeric parallels found in Ulysses' eighth episode, the dangers of being too hangry, translating The Odyssey into French, anthropomorphic geography, trophomorphism, the intersection of food and sexuality, bloody imagery, and why James Joyce connected fermentation to women.Support us on Patreon to access episodes early, bonus content, and a video version of our podcast.On the Blog:Ulysses & The Odyssey - The Lestrygonians — Blooms & BarnaclesBlooms & Barnacles Social Media:Facebook | Twitter | InstagramSubscribe to Blooms & Barnacles:Apple Podcasts | Spotify | YouTube

    Dubliner #3 - “After the Race” & “Two Gallants"

    Play Episode Listen Later Mar 23, 2024 11:06


    Listen to the full episode now at patreon.com/barnaclecast

    race dubliners two gallants
    THOSE SLIGHTLY RAMBUNCTIOUS FEMALES

    Play Episode Listen Later Mar 13, 2024 73:36


    Nelson supposes his toeses are roses, but Nelson supposes erroneously.Topics in this episode include Barcelona, revisiting James Joyce's Guinness ad, the history of Nelson's pillar, Horatio Nelson, the final resting place of Nelson's head, possible replacements for Nelson atop the former pillar, failed attempts to raise the wind, A Pisgah Sight of Palestine or The Parable of the Plums, Mt. Pisgah, the 17th century origin of the title of Stephen's parable, the Eucharist, the parable of the wise and foolish virgins, Fumbally's Lane and the Liberties, bitterness and deflation, bathos, Antisthenes and cynicism, Penelope's beauty in comparison to Helen's, paralysis, Moses, sean bhean bhocht, Parnell's monument, plumtrees, plumstones, plums in general, Nelson as a poor reciprocator of oral sex, Stephen's misogyny, hypostasis, and PEN IS CHAMP.Blooms & Barnacles Social Media:Facebook | Twitter | InstagramSubscribe to Blooms & Barnacles:Apple Podcasts | Spotify | YouTube

    Dubliners #2 - Araby & Eveline [TEASER]

    Play Episode Listen Later Feb 21, 2024 10:45


    We share our thoughts on Dubliners short stories "Araby" and "Eveline"Listen to the full episode at patreon.com/barnaclecast

    DEAR DIRTY DUBLIN

    Play Episode Listen Later Feb 14, 2024 65:38


    What if we held hands in the Akasic Record?Topics in this episode include too much information about the Freemasons, entering the Promised Land, Daniel O'Connell's mass meeting at Mullaghmast, political radicalism, the Akasic Record, Stephen's magic powers, rebutting John F. Taylor, Parnell's parliamentary finesse, argumentum ad pasiones, leaning into your own bias, the origin of the phrase "Dear Dirty Dublin," duplicitous newsies, disappointment for J.J. O'Molloy, Odysseus rebuffed by Aeolus, and Stephen girds his loins for creative outburst.On the Blog:The Language of the Outlaw: John F. Taylor's Speech in "Aeolus"Blooms & Barnacles Social Media:Facebook | Twitter | InstagramSubscribe to Blooms & Barnacles:Apple Podcasts | Spotify | YouTube

    FROM THE FATHERS

    Play Episode Listen Later Feb 1, 2024 42:44


    Featuring a surprise historical cameo!Topics in this episode include our final example of Aristotelian rhetoric, the only passage of Ulysses recorded by James Joyce, the battle of wits between Mr. Justice Fitzgibbon and John F. Taylor, misperceptions about Taylor's oratory, the Gaelic Revival, Dreamy Jimmy, ferial tone, a Moses for Ireland, MacHugh can't catch a break, the analogy of the Irish and the biblical Israelites, The Shade of Parnell, Irish Orientalism, antisemitism in the Irish Nationalist movement of the early 20th century, The Language of the Outlaw and Roger Casement, Joyce's punch-up of Taylor's speech, and reading Ulysses backwards.Support us on Patreon to access episodes early, bonus content, and a video version of our podcast.On the Blog:The Language of the Outlaw: John F. Taylor's Speech in "Aeolus"Blooms & Barnacles Social Media:Facebook | Twitter | InstagramSubscribe to Blooms & Barnacles:Apple Podcasts | Spotify | YouTube 

    Dubliners #1 - The Sisters & An Encounter [TEASER]

    Play Episode Listen Later Jan 28, 2024 9:21


    We share our thoughts on the Dubliners short stories "The Sisters" and "An Encounter"Hear and watch the full episode at patreon.com/barnaclecast

    A MAN OF HIGH MORALE

    Play Episode Listen Later Jan 17, 2024 63:58


    “Speaking about me. What did he say? What did he say? What did he say about me? Don't ask.”Topics in this episode include a rumor about Stephen, Professor Magennis, Æ the mastermystic, drama within Dublin's occult circles, how Æ helped James Joyce get published, the opal hush poets, Joycean tarot cards, D.P. Moran and The Leader, the horror of a truly clever nickname, mocking bad poetry, the Opal Hush cocktail, Pamela Colman Smith, Helena Blavatsky's old bag of tricks, theosophy, an American professor's visit to Dublin, Joyce's debut in the Dublin literary scene, microcosm and macrocosm, Mr Justice Fitzgibbon, more Tim Healy and Joyce's ability to hold a lifelong grudge.Support us on Patreon to access episodes early, bonus content, and a video version of our podcast.On the Blog:Decoding Dedalus: The Opal Hush Poets — Blooms & BarnaclesBlooms & Barnacles Social Media:Facebook | Twitter | InstagramSubscribe to Blooms & Barnacles:Apple Podcasts | Spotify | YouTube 

    Ep. 126 - ITALIA, MAGISTRA ARTIUM

    Play Episode Listen Later Jan 4, 2024 56:08


    Sufficient for the day is the newspaper thereof.Topics in this episode include Grattan and Flood, Seymour Bushe and the Childs murder case, Hamlet references, Michelangelo's Moses and where to find it, Lenehan's cigarette scheme, J.J. O'Molloy's love of forensic rhetoric, the shortcomings of memoria, court cases appearing in the works of Joyce, Samuel Childs and Thomas Childs, James Joyce's youthful interest in the law, a surprise appearance by Alexander Keyes, a Joyce family connection to the Childs murder, James Joyce's lifelong grudge against Tim Healy, Charles Stewart Parnell, lex talionis, the law of evidence, and just how eloquent Seymour Bushe really was.Support us on Patreon to access episodes early, bonus content, and a video version of our podcast.On the Blog:A POLISHED PERIODBlooms & Barnacles Social Media:Facebook | Twitter | InstagramSubscribe to Blooms & Barnacles:Apple Podcasts | Spotify | YouTube

    Bonus Ep. 12 - At Swim-Two-Birds (w/ Paul Fagan) [TEASER]

    Play Episode Listen Later Dec 26, 2023 10:07


    We welcome Paul Fagan (founder of the International Flann O'Brien Society) to Blooms & Barnacles to discuss a work heavily influenced by James Joyce - Flann O'Brien's 1939 novel, At Swim-Two-Birds.To hear the full episode, subscribe at patreon.com/barnaclecast

    Why aren't there any black characters in Ulysses? (w/ Ryan Kerr)

    Play Episode Listen Later Dec 20, 2023 57:32


    Ryan Kerr joins the Blooms & Barnacles podcast to discuss the racial politics of Ulysses. Topics include the minstrel show performer Eugene Stratton, the absence of black characters in Ulysses, and the depiction of anti-black racism within the novel.Support us on Patreon to access episodes early, bonus content, and a video version of our podcast.Check out Ryan's article here:Kerr, R. (2022). James Joyce, Eugene Stratton, and Spectrality: The Absent Presence of Racial Politics in Ulysses. James Joyce Quarterly, 59(2), 231. https://www.academia.edu/92573371/James_Joyce_Eugene_Stratton_and_Spectrality_The_Absent_Presence_of_Racial_Politics_in_UlyssesBlooms & Barnacles Social Media:Facebook | Twitter | InstagramSubscribe to Blooms & Barnacles:Apple Podcasts | Spotify | YouTube

    RHYMES AND REASONS

    Play Episode Listen Later Dec 6, 2023 55:46


    Clamn dever.Topics in this episode include Dublin journalism minutiae, pallindromes, Lenehan's spoonerisms, the sad history behind the real-life inspiration for Professor MacHugh, the return of Stephen Dedalus' extremely erudite daydreams, Stephen punches up Douglas Hyde's poem, poetic meter and foot, rhyme and rhythm, the nightmare of history, Joyce's love of Dante, Dante's Divine Comedy, Francesca and Paolo's eternal damnation, a secret wind motif, Kelly and Dermot attempt to speak Italian, interlinguistic puns, and the oriflamme.Support us on Patreon to access episodes early, bonus content, and a video version of our podcast.On the Blog:Decoding Dedalus: RHYMES AND REASONSBlooms & Barnacles Social Media:Facebook | Twitter | InstagramSubscribe to Blooms & Barnacles:Apple Podcasts | Spotify | YouTube

    Ep. 123 - THE GREAT GALLAHER

    Play Episode Listen Later Nov 22, 2023 59:38


    What opera is like a railway line?Topics in this episode include MacHugh's love of Greek, kyrie eleison, Lenehan's riddle and limerick, the legendary Ignatius Gallaher, the real-life Gallaher, the Phoenix Park murders and the Invincibles, what Crawford gets wrong about the Invincibles, Gumley and Skin-the-Goat, Gallaher's great scoop in the New York World, the Bransome's coffee map, the nightmare of history, and James Joyce's views on political violence.Support us on Patreon to access episodes early, bonus content, and a video version of our podcast.On the Blog:The Invincible Ignatius GallaherBlooms & Barnacles Social Media:Facebook | Twitter | InstagramSubscribe to Blooms & Barnacles:Apple Podcasts | Spotify | YouTube

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