Infinite Gestation

The podcast goes back to literature as Grant and Sam discuss the giant of science fiction epics: Dune by Frank Herbert. We know this one is much anticipated and the panel doesn’t hold back with the book, the controversial David Lynch film adaptation, or the 2000 miniseries. If you have yet to read the novel, it is highly recommended that you do so before listening to this episode, because - A. Spoilers and B. You will probably find yourself completely lost. Follow @Infin8Gestation on Twitter • Visit InfiniteGestation.com Show Notes & Links Dune Frank Herbert Dune (1984 film) - David Lynch Dune (2000 miniseries) - John Harrison Children of Dune (2003 miniseries) - Greg Yaitanes Dune (the whole canon!) David Lynch Oregon Dunes National Recreation Area The End of History and the Last Man by Francis Fukuyama Mahdi The Lord of the Rings by J.R.R. Tolkien The Foundation series by Isaac Asimov

"Isolationism is deeply stupid." So says Sam in this special episode in which he talks to Grant about three books: Present at the Creation by Dean Acheson, Running the World by David Rothkopf, and How Everything Became War and the Military Became Everything by Rosa Brooks. He uses these books as a starter course in foreign policy from the end of World War II to the present day – including where we should go from here, because if we are to be informed citizens we have to know these things. We promise next episode will be back to literature. PS: Sam has since read Doomed to Succeed by Dennis Ross and highly recommends it. He would also like us to add A Problem From Hell by Samantha Power & George F. Kennan by John Lewis Gaddis to his list, if you're so inclined. PPS The quote "You may not be interested in war, but war is interested in you." is attributed Leon Trotsky. Follow @Infin8Gestation on Twitter • Visit InfiniteGestation.com Show Notes & Links Present at the Creation by Dean Acheson Running the World by David Rothkopf How Everything Became War and the Military Became Everything by Rosa Brooks  Doomed to Succeed by Dennis Ross A Problem From Hell by Samantha Power George F. Kennan by John Lewis Gaddis Diplomacy by Henry Kissinger The Trial of Henry Kissinger by Christopher Hitchens American Dad! "Ollie North" episode Iran-Contra Affair National Security Council National Security Act of 1947 North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) Carl von Clausewitz Deep State Radio Podcast

On this episode of Infinite Gestation, Pat and Sam are joined by frequent guest and now permanent panelist Matt Bird (which means I no longer have to type his last name) to discuss White Noise by Don DeLillo. Published in 1985, it has quickly become a classic postmodern novel. The panel discusses the major themes of the work including modern media, the family, consumerism, and the fear of death. Quick! Death is coming! Better learn to deal with it. Follow @Infin8Gestation on Twitter • Visit InfiniteGestation.com - check out the new site! Show Notes & Links Don DeLillo White Noise Post Modernism / Postmodern The Proposal (2009 film) - Anne Fletcher Freytag's Pyramid (dramatic structure) Sir Richard J. Evans Seth Rich Philip K. Dick Substance D A Scanner Darkly Calvin and Hobbes Bill Watterson Dave Eggers David Foster Wallace

Smuggled stories from North Korea - On this episode, recorded when the panel was giddy over the French election results, Pat and Sam delve into the recently published short stories of Bandi. The pseudonym of an unknown North Korean author (which means firefly), Bandi wrote the stories at great personal risk. They were smuggled out of the country by others and have now been published in English as "The Accusation". The panel discusses their favorites of the stories, the work's damning portrayal of the North Korean government, and the steps taken to protect the identity of this dissident writer, offering us the first fiction from someone still living in the country. Follow @Infin8Gestation on Twitter • Visit InfiniteGestation.com Show Notes & Links Bandi The Accusation One Day in the Life of Ivan Denisovich by Aleksandr Solzhenitsyn Patty Hearst Arduous March (North Korean famine) North Korea at Night Third Reich Trilogy by Richard J. Evans The Third Reich of Dreams: The Nightmares of a Nation, 1933-39 by Charlotte Beradt The Train Was on Time by Heinrich Böll Love/Hate H.P. Lovecraft – Halloween Special | Episode 016 The Magic Mountain by Thomas Mann

Infinite Gestation goes contemporary in this episode featuring John Darnielle's debut novel, Wolf in White Van, nominated for the National Book Award in 2014. Though many know Darnielle as singer-songwriter and member of The Mountain Goats, he is making a well received foray into fiction. His first novel is in no way a vanity project and despite some flaws, stands as a fine specimen of a freshman novel. His sophomore effort Universal Harvester was released in February of this year. Follow @Infin8Gestation on Twitter • Visit InfiniteGestation.com Show Notes & Links Wolf in White Van John Darnielle The Mountain Goats A Visit from the Goon Squad by Jennifer Egan A Visit from the Goon Squad by Jennifer Egan (podcast episode) Universal Harvester Weeds (TV Series) We Shall All Be Healed (2004 album) Game Systems Inc. Middle Earth Play-By-Mail (PBM) Briefcase/Suitcase in Pulp Fiction MacGuffin Larry Norman Paul McCartney Death Hoax (Paul is Dead) Backmasking Marabou Stork Nightmares by Irving Welsh The Ice Storm by Rick Moody The Garden of the Forking Paths by  Louise Borges Luca and the Fire of Life by Salman Rushdie

Pat reads Jazz, Sam reads Beloved, they discuss both! Departing from the usual format, this episode features both novels by Toni Morrison in a discussion exploring the work of one of American literature's greatest icons. Highlights include some comparisons to the film Beloved starring Oprah Winfrey and Danny Glover as well as Sam's definition of magical realism. Follow @Infin8Gestation on Twitter • Visit InfiniteGestation.com Show Notes & Links Toni Morrison Jazz Beloved Beloved (film) Kunderafest – The Festival of Insignificance by Milan Kundera | Episode 002 40 acres and a mule Dred Scott Decision (Dred Scott v. Sandford) Paul B is actually Paul D (apologies from Sam) Die Blechtrommel – The Tin Drum by Günter Grass | Episode 008 The Tin Drum by Günter Grass Salman Rushdie One Hundred Years of Solitude Gabriel Garcia Márquez Terry Pratchett The Exorcist Woody Allen Sunset Boulevard

Pat and Sam are joined by guest Matt Bird in an episode returning to Margaret Atwood's The Handmaid's Tale. With the success of the series on Hulu, and certain recent political developments, Atwood's frightening vision of the future has attained a new place in the public consciousness. In this episode the panel compares the novel to the television series and discusses the odd choice of music, the wisdom of softening Gilead's racist ideology, and the casting of talented actors who are younger than their book counterparts. Check out the earlier "Atwood's Dystopia" episode from November 2015 in which only the novel is discussed for further commentary on Margaret Atwood's new classic. Follow @Infin8Gestation on Twitter • Visit InfiniteGestation.com Show Notes & Links The Handmaid's Tale Margaret Atwood The Handmaid's Tale on Hulu Audiobook Claire Danes performs The Handmaid's Tale Atwood’s Dystopia – The Handmaid’s Tale by Margaret Atwood | Episode 017 Monster (2003 film) - Patty Jenkins Breakfast Club (1985 film) - John Huges Frog in boiling water Tammy Fay Baker (or Tammy Faye Messner) Phyllis Schlafly 11.22.63 By Stephen King – Novel + Miniseries | Episode 032 The Man in The High Castle by Philip K. Dick – Novel + Series | Episode 022

In an era whereby journalism (and facts in general) have become increasingly important, Scoop reminds us that though the methods, means and technology of news collection and distribution have changed drastically, the story essentially remains the same. This biting satire exposes the timeless woes of sensationalist journalism via a collection of rag tag foreign correspondents living it up in (the fictional East African state of) Ishmaelia. Amid games of ping pong, plenty of drinking and pursuing the occasional newsworthy happening, the journalists essentially await a war that may or may not ever occur. Hilarity ensues. Lovers of Monty Python, this book is for you. Oh yeah, and Evelyn Waugh is a man. Follow @Infin8Gestation on Twitter • Visit InfiniteGestation.com Show Notes & Links Scoop Evelyn Waugh Fleet Street Brideshead Revisited by Evelyn Waugh Second Italo-Abyssinian War Our Man in Havana by Graham Greene - Episode "British comedy is based on the question Wouldn’t it be funny IF? whereas American comedy is based on the question Isn’t it funny THAT?" Salman Rushdie. You can watch the interview from which this quote originates here.  Lucky Jim by Kingsley Amis My Man Jeeves by P.G. Wodehouse John Oliver's Bit on newspapers Heart of Darkness by Joseph Conrad Apocalypse Now (1979 film) - Francis Ford Coppola March by Geraldine Brooks

Infinite Gestation welcomes special guest Matt Bird for a discussion on Southern Gothic Literature, and more specifically, three short stories by Flannery O'Connor. "Good Country People", "Everything that Rises Must Converge" and "A Good Man is Hard to Find" all exhibit the craft of a master short story writer at work, while further confirming that the author left us far too soon. These stories take a dark look at the post-bellum American South, with all its complexities. Questions emerge regarding the strange nature of evil, institutional racism, and religion's place within one's world view. The presence of O'Connor's influence can be felt in many places, though it can be seen most recently throughout the work of the Coen Brothers (many of their story-telling sensibilities stand firmly in her shadow). With two novels and two collections of short stories, the body of Flannery O'Connor's work can be consumed in a relatively short time. We highly recommend that you do so, and sooner rather than later. Follow @Infin8Gestation on Twitter • Visit InfiniteGestation.com Show Notes & Links Flannery O'Connor Southern Gothic Literature "Good Country People" "Everything that Rises Must Converge" "A Good Man is Hard to Find" "A Rose for Emily" William Faulkner "The Life You Save May Be Your Own" by Flannery O'Connor Iowa Writing Program Harry Whittington Apologizes for Getting Shot in the Face by Dick Cheney "White Privilege: Unpacking the Invisible Knapsack" By Peggy McIntosh (not sure where Patrick got "Mavis Essay" but here's what we were talking about) Coen Brothers No Country for Old Men (2007 film) - Joel & Ethan Coen Blood Simple (1984 film) - Joel & Ethan Coen Fargo (1996 film) - Joel & Ethan Coen O Brother, Where Art Thou? (2000 Film) - Joel & Ethan Coen Instagram post Pervious Episode - To Kill to Kill a Mockingbird (Harper Lee) "Geraldo Moment"

The long-awaited Shakespeare episode has finally arrived! In this episode the panel delves into the question and the many theories of: who was Shakespeare? Questions as to Shakespeare's true identity are not new. Over the decades, scholars and enthusiasts alike have presented a wide range of theories to satisfy those who remain unconvinced that William Shakespeare was not simply a man from Stratford-upon-Avon. The Shakespeare authorship question runs the spectrum from informed academic scholarship down to wild conspiracy theories (not unlike those surrounding the case of Jack the Ripper) and in many cases, best filed alongside pop culture urban legends such as posthumous sightings of Elvis Presley and the Paul McCartney Death Hoax. A core group of five alternative candidates (Edward De Vere, 17th Earl of Oxford - Christopher Marlowe - Francis Bacon - William Stanley, 6th Earl of Derby & Roger Manners, 5th Earl of Rutland) has emerged as the most popular, for various reasons. Follow @Infin8Gestation on Twitter • Visit InfiniteGestation.com Show Notes & Links William Shakespeare Shakespeare Authorship Question Contested Will: Who Wrote Shakespeare? by James Shapiro Players: The Mysterious Identity of William Shakespeare by Bertram Fields Henry VIII (play) Romeo & Juliet (you know, just in case) Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart Bloody Mary (Mary I) Queen Elizabeth I Jack the Ripper Edmond Malone & The Ireland Shakespeare Forgeries Hitler Diaries Hoax Nabokov Was Not a Pedophile – Separating Characters from Their Authors | Episode 009 Richard II (play) Hollow Crown (TV series) Robert Devereux, 2nd Earl of Essex How ‘Sherlock of the Library’ Cracked the Case of Shakespeare’s Identity - The Guardian Christopher Marlowe Credited as One of Shakespeare's Co-writers - The Guardian Shakespeare: The Biography by Peter Ackroyd Edward De Vere, 17th Earl of Oxford Christopher Marlowe Francis Bacon William Stanley, 6th Earl of Derby Roger Manners, 5th Earl of Rutland Anonymous (2011 film) - Roland Emmerich Tupac Shakur

It Can't Happen Here by Sinclair Lewis made a sudden and dramatic climb on bestseller lists in late fall 2016. Parts of the novel bear some uncanny similarities to the 2016 election –– Donald Trump in particular can be seen vividly in character of Buzz Windrip, demagogue and presidential candidate. Published in 1935 during the rise of fascism in Europe, Lewis' novel imagines how the United States of America might become seduced by a man promising great things while quickly transitioning the country into a fascist dictatorship. Though not without its flaws, the book is well worth a read –– especially in light of current events offering it more weight than it had at its initial publication. Many of the parallels are striking. Stay vigilant. This episode is part of our Dystopian Novel Series. Follow @Infin8Gestation on Twitter • Visit InfiniteGestation.com Show Notes & Links It Can't Happen Here Sinclair Lewis Fascism: /ˈfæʃɪzəm/ is a form of radical authoritarian nationalism that came to prominence in early 20th-century Europe. The first fascist movements emerged in Italy during World War I, before spreading to other European countries. Opposed to liberalism, Marxism and anarchism, fascism is usually placed on the far-right within the traditional left–right spectrum. Dystopia 1984 by George Orwell Brave New World by Aldous Huxley Handmaid's Tale by Margaret Atwood (Check out our podcast episode) Red Dawn (1984 film) - John Milius War with Russia: An Urgent Warning from Senior Military Command by Richard Shirreff Nazi Party Marching in Madison Square Garden Dystopian Novel Series Part I – We by Yevgeny Zamyatin | Episode 034 Dystopian Novel Series Part II – Paris in the Twentieth Century by Jules Verne | Episode 035

Orwell and Hemingway in Spain - the long awaited episode on the Spanish Civil War is finally here! Herein the panel covers Homage to Catalonia by George Orwell and For Whom the Bell Tolls by Ernest Hemingway, complete with some mustache styling tips and a brief lesson in Spanish swear words. Though centered on the same conflict (albeit in separate regions of the country) the two works differ wildly in style, tone and detail. Hemingway's novel is essentially fiction, making use of the conflict for his  setting and backdrop while Orwell reports on the war, laboring to understand and explain the roots of the struggle within the quagmire of surrounding politics. Sam's brief primer on the Spanish Civil War promises to make the subject more accessible than ever before – and hopefully encourage more personal research into an event that seems to reside unjustly in the shadow of World War II. Follow @Infin8Gestation on Twitter • Visit InfiniteGestation.com Show Notes & Links George Orwell Homage to Catalonia Ernest Hemingway For Whom the Bell Tolls Beatnik vs. Revolutionary – On the Road by Jack Kerouac + Motorcycle Diaries by Che Guevara | Episode 026 Spanish Civil War Francisco Franco The Battle for Spain: The Spanish Civil War 1936-1939 by Antony Beevor Fascism: Fascism /ˈfæʃɪzəm/ is a form of radical authoritarian nationalism that came to prominence in early 20th-century Europe. The first fascist movements emerged in Italy during World War I, before spreading to other European countries. Opposed to liberalism, Marxism and anarchism, fascism is usually placed on the far-right within the traditional left–right spectrum. The Pope and Mussolini: The Secret History of Pius XI and the Rise of Fascism in Europe by David Kertzer Basque Nationalists Paths of Glory (1957 film) - Stanley Kubrick For Whom the Bell Tolls (1943 film) - Sam Wood The Red Badge of Courage by Steven Crane Orwell in Spain by George Orwell (Christopher Hitchens intro.)

The official "Nonfiction Round Table Year End Review What's Coming Up Episode".  Featuring a look at the inner workings of the podcast and a look back on the panelists' favorite episodes from 2016. Sam Zurcher shares some thoughts on his recent reading of The New Tsar - The Rise and Reign of Vladimir Putin by Steven Lee Myers (along with a healthy dose of foreign policy), and Grant Karazsia schools us on Born a Crime by Trevor Noah & The Pope and Mussolini: The Secret History of Pius XI and the Rise of Fascism in Europe by David Kertzer. Also: Archer references, various instances of humor and a taste of 2017's upcoming episodes (books for your reading list). Stay vigilant. Follow @Infin8Gestation on Twitter • Visit InfiniteGestation.com Show Notes & Links Star Trek vs. Star Wars | Episode 037 Passengers (2016 film) -  Morten Tyldum (starring Jennifer Lawrence & Chris Pratt) Kubrick vs. Clarke – 2001: A Space Odyssey – Novel to Film Comparison | Episode 028 Beatnik vs. Revolutionary – On the Road by Jack Kerouac + Motorcycle Diaries by Che Guevara | Episode 026 If on a Winter’s Night a Traveler … Three Guys Discuss a Novel – Italo Calvino | Episode 031 The New Tsar - The Rise and Reign of Vladimir Putin by Steven Lee Myers "How can you trust somebody who looks like they’ve been cloned from a dead shark?" - Dylan Moran on Vladimir Putin - What It Is (2009) Dystopian Series episodes Hitch-22: A Memoir by Christopher Hitchens Alexander Hamilton by Ron Chernow The Pope and Mussolini: The Secret History of Pius XI and the Rise of Fascism in Europe by David Kertzer Born a Crime by Trevor Noah Trevor Noah interviews Tomi Lahren Leisure Suit Larry 2017 Upcoming Episode Reading List (Current Gestation) Who was Shakespeare? (Will in the World: How Shakespeare Became Shakespeare by Stephen Greenblatt / Players: The Mysterious Identity of William Shakespeare by Bertram Fields) It Can't Happen Here by Sinclair Lewis  Jazz by Toni Morrison  White Noise by Don DeLillo The House on Mango Street by Sandra Cisneros  Wolf in the White Van by John Darnielle Swing Time by Zadie Smith

In a tribute episode to Edward Albee (who passed away this September 2016), Infinite Gestation discusses Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf? (1962) – perhaps the author's best known work. The 1966 film adaptation of the award winning play deviates only slightly from the source material, offering an ideal way to experience the piece, outside of reading the play (or attending a live performance, which certainly comes recommended). Originally thought too young for the role of middle-aged Martha, Elizabeth Taylor turns in a stellar performance, serving to remind us that she was much more than a diva movie star – the woman could act. Disclaimer: The story of George and Martha's crumbling marriage is loaded with so many themes and metaphors ripe for interpretation that using it for any sort of drinking game would probably kill you. We had trouble fitting all of this into a single episode, which is probably a testament to the fine quality of Albee's work. Follow @Infin8Gestation on Twitter • Visit InfiniteGestation.com Show Notes & Links Edward Albee Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf (1962 play) Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf (1966 film) - Mike Nichols Rabindranath Tagore (1913 Nobel Prize Winner) Black Books Virginia Woolf (English Author) Richard Burton Elizabeth Taylor Sandy Dennis George Segal Whatever Happened to Baby Jane? (1962 film) - Robert Aldrich Beatnik vs. Revolutionary – On the Road by Jack Kerouac + Motorcycle Diaries by Che Guevara | Episode 026 Imelda Staunton & Conleth Hill to star in a 2017 production of the play at the Harold Pinter Theatre in London

This year's annual Halloween Special is a double-parked megasode featuring all things "The Shining"! The panel's trifecta discussion includes the novel by Stephen King as well as the classic Stanley Kubrick film, before finishing strong with the more recent documentary "Room 237" and the dubious conspiracy theories that it contains. Words of wisdom, Lloyd. Words of wisdom. Happy Halloween! Follow @Infin8Gestation on Twitter • Visit InfiniteGestation.com Show Notes & Links Stephen King The Shining (1977 novel) The Shining (1980 film) - Stanley Kubrick Staney Kubrick Room 237 (2012 film) - Rodney Ascher  Stephen King Tours of Maine (hosted by Stu Tinker) Doctor Strangelove (1964 film) - Stanley Kubrick Paths of Glory (1957 film) - Stanley Kubrick Paul is dead (Beatles urban legend) Dark Side of the Rainbow (synching Pink Floyd's "Dark Side of the Moon" with "The Wizard of Oz") Pink Floyd's "The Wall" + Walt Disney's Alice in Wonderland = ?

In a memorial tribute to Nobel Laureate Elie Wiesel, who passed away this past July, the panel tackles his 1988 novel Twilight. Elie Wiesel spent his life being an exemplary spokesman for those who lived through the Holocaust; both those who died and those who had to try and live their life after witnessing such horrors. He's primarily known for his memoir Night, required reading in most schools, but his fiction is an integral part of the Wiesel canon. Delving into the functions of memory, madness, and the role of religion & philosophy in life, Twilight is the story of a Holocaust survivor's visit to the mountain psychiatric clinic in New York, where the patients believe themselves to be contemporary versions of Biblical figures, from Adam to God, to try and understand the meaning of his own survival, if any, and discover the truth of his friend and mentor Pedro, the man who rescued him before disappearing inside Stalin's Soviet Russia. The meaning of life, truth & falsehoods, madmen, religion, Kabbalah, post-war politics, and life after the Holocaust - Twilight is a novel of many themes, provoking many questions for the panel's discussion. Follow @Infin8Gestation on Twitter • Visit InfiniteGestation.com Show Notes & Links Twilight by Elie Wiesel Elie Wiesel Night by Elie Wiesel Outofprintclothing.com - Books + T-Shirts (& more) = AWESOME. Night - Oprah Book Club Selection 2006  Chernowitz by Fran Arrick Christopher Isherwood  The Tin Drum by Günter Grass - Check out our previous podcast episode here The Magic Mountain by Thomas Mann "Ward No. 6" by Anton Chekhov "Hotel California" by The Eagles Hermann Hesse - Check out our Siddhartha episode Man's Search for Meaning by Viktor Frank Eva Kor CANDLES Holocaust Museum and Education Center Life is Beautiful (1997 film) - Roberto Benigni Isaac Bashevis Singer (The Diary of a Young Girl) The Diary of Anne Frank by Anne Frank Fresh Air Remembers Elie Wiesel Shoah (1985 film documentary) - Claude Lanzmann   https://www.instagram.com/p/BJ85AoCgVGQ/?taken-by=infinitegestation  

Read a banned book today! Once again breaking traditional episode format, Infinite Gestation celebrates Banned Books Week with three short segments on Gustave Flaubert's Madame Bovary, John Steinbeck's Grapes of Wrath and Joseph Heller's Catch 22 respectively, followed by a general discussion entailing the questionable wisdom behind literary censorship. All three selections from this episode are readily available from your favorite bookstore. For purposes of correction, it should be noted that John Steinbeck was in his early thirties (not early to mid twenties) when his parents passed away. Patrick apologizes for the error. Follow @Infin8Gestation on Twitter • Visit InfiniteGestation.com Show Notes & Links Shout out to BannedBooksWeek.org Madame Bovary by Gustave Flaubert Grapes of Wrath by John Steinbeck Catch 22 by Joseph Heller The Secret Agent by Joseph Conrad Les Liaisons Dangereuses (Dangerous Liaisons) by Pierre Choderlos de Laclos Marquis De Sade Le Rouge et le Noir (The Red and the Black) by Stendhal Victor Hugo Anna Karenina by Leo Tolstoy The Lady with the Dog by Anton Chekov The Dust Bowl (2012 film) - Ken Burns Louis C.K. Grapes of Wrath bit You Can't Go Home Again by Thomas Wolfe "The Ghost of Tom Joad" - Rage Against the Machine Memphis Belle (1990 film) -  Michael Caton-Jones The Last Temptation of Christ by  Nikos Kazantzakis The Passion of the Christ (2004 film) - Mel Gibson

The Star Wars movies are back and Star Trek is celebrating 50 years! In commemoration, the panel has broken form for a discussion of these two Science Fiction franchises, including the theory that both occupy the same universe. Eschewing debates about "the biggest space ship" and "can the Enterprise take a hit from the Death Star" this episode concentrates on storytelling, themes and the reason both universes are so beloved. Whether dealing with the nature of humanity, the realities of sexual relations, or the strange politics the criticisms remain unsparing. In short, the debate receives the same treatment as any topic. Follow @Infin8Gestation on Twitter • Visit InfiniteGestation.com Show Notes & Links Star Wars (film franchise) George Lucas Star Trek (television and film franchise) Gene Roddenberry Shadows of the Empire by Steve Perry (No, not that Steve Perry) John Milius THX 1138 (1971 film) - George Lucas Electronic Labyrinth: THX 1138 4EB (Lucas' 1967 student film) CRM 114 (Stanley Kubrick films) American Zoetrope Black Thursday Fog City Mavericks (2007 documentary film) - Gary Leva Star Trek Discovery (upcoming television series) The Rain People (1969 film) - Francis Ford Coppola The Kessel Run - Phil Plait article Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan (1982 film) - Nicholas Meyer "The White Man's Burden" by Rudyard Kipling Deep Space Nine (DS9) Joseph Campbell The Hero with a Thousand Faces by Joseph Campbell Hero's Journey The Closing of the Western Mind: The Rise of Faith and the Fall of Reason by Charles Freeman Joseph Campbell and the Power of Myth (1988 PBS Documentary) - Bill Moyers

In this anniversary year of the death of Miguel de Cervantes, Infinite Gestation discusses the possible reasons for the timelessness of The Ingenious Gentleman Don Quixote of La Mancha. Though four hundred years has passed since its publication, Don Quixote remains quite modern, continuing to remind us that however re-tooled, camouflaged or rediscovered, there are seldom new ideas in literature. Widely considered the first modern novel, Cervantes' masterpiece serves to remind us of fiction's endless possibilities, while holding the distinction of presenting many of them to us for the first time. Though we could certainly go on and on about this, truth be told, Don Quixote has no trouble selling itself. Give the book a read to find out why. Follow @Infin8Gestation on Twitter • Visit InfiniteGestation.com Show Notes & Links Don Quixote [The Ingenious Gentleman Don Quixote of La Mancha] Miguel de Cervantes Edith Grossman Samuel Putnam "Orlando Furioso" by Ludovico Ariosto Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid (1969 film) - George Roy Hill Waiting for Godot (1953 play) by Samuel Beckett Rosencrantz and Guildenstern Are Dead (1966 play) by Tom Stoppard Bouvard et Pécuchet by Gustave Flaubert Charlie Kaufman Clerks (1994 film) - Kevin Smith The Three Musketeers by Alexandre Dumas George Guidall

Special guest Matt Bird joins the panel as Infinite Gestation continues its Dystopian Novel Series with Paris in the Twentieth Century - the "lost novel" by Jules Verne. Though completed in 1863, the work remained unpublished until 1994, subsequent to its rediscovery in a safe belonging to the author's heirs. Though predating everything within the cannon of dystopian literature (thereby technically hailing as the genre's first entry), the work's belated publication negates any claim to such a title while essentially robbing it of one hundred thirty plus years of influence, prestige, homage and pastiche. Episode highlights include ongoing arguments for the importance of the humanities within all levels of academia, the sordid politics of standardized testing and the strong assertion that the English Major is more than just 4+ years of drinking beer and smoking weed. Todays episode was brought to you by a profound appreciation for public libraries. Follow @Infin8Gestation on Twitter • Visit InfiniteGestation.com Matt Bird, besides steadily fourth-wheeling on Infinite Gestation, is a librarian, former movie projectionist, and occasional college lecturer. His course subjects have included classical mythology, the history of the book, library history, and teaching the university-level student.  In this episode, Matt shares his experience of teaching high school English, which he firmly believes was a better time than any sales job he ever possessed. You will not find him outside playing Pokemon-Go, though he believes if that's your thing--fantastic. Just drink plenty of water and avoid dehydration so EMTs don't have to play their own version to find you. Show Notes & Links Check out Dystopian Novel Series Part I Paris in the Twentieth Century Jules Verne Philip K. Dick Michael Strogoff by Jules Verne STEM ISTEP  Victor Hugo Alexandre Dumas Twenty Thousand Leagues Under the Sea by Jules Verne The Shadow of the Wind by Carlos Ruiz Zafón Support your local library!

Beginning with praise, transitioning to criticism and ultimately reaching a state of forgiveness, the panel embarks upon its ongoing Dystopian Novel Series with the granddaddy of the dystopian novel, We by Yevgeny Zamyatin. (Coincidentally recorded on the podcast's one year anniversary). Completed in 1921 and published in 1924 (with an English translation), Zamyatin's forging of the genre predates pretty much anything you might mistakenly argue came first. Harbor's Metropolis or the the Fritz Lang film adaptation? Sorry. London's The Iron Heel? Nope. Huxley's A Brave New World? Come on, man! Trust us, we looked this shit up. Today's episode was brought to you by the Numbers PF-237, GK-42 and SZ-119 as well as the word "insidious" and several pronunciations of the word "integral". Follow @Infin8Gestation on Twitter • Visit InfiniteGestation.com Show Notes & Links We (novel) Yevgeny Zamyatin The Iron Heel by Jack London Metropolis by Thea von Harbou Metropolis (1927 film) - Fritz Lang Voyager Golden Record "The Lottery" By Shirley Jackson 1984 by George Orwell Brave New World by Aldous Huxley The Handmaid's Tale by Margaret Atwood [previous episode] Crime and Punishment by Fyodor Dostoevsky Kurt Gödel

Infinite Gestation gets A Visit from the Goon Squad on this episode covering Jennifer Egan's 2010 Pulitzer Prize winning novel of the same name. The book stands more as a study on the emotional effects of time and memory (and life) on a group of loosely associated characters and less as a straight forward narrative in the traditional sense. With a realistic portrayal straying from cliched tropes of the record industry (including that of a Brady Bunch episode), the novel certainly completes its goals masterfully, leaving little wonder regarding the wisdom of its Pulitzer win. Follow @Infin8Gestation on Twitter • Visit InfiniteGestation.com Show Notes & Links Jennifer Egan jenniferegan.com A Visit from the Goon Squad The Martian Chronicles by Ray Bradbury Pastures of Heaven by John Steinbeck Olive Kitteridge by Elizabeth Strout Steely Dan Daniel Johnston Dead Kennedys PCU (1994 film) - Hart Bochner Empire Records (1995 film) - Allan Moyle Peep Show - Hat Game - Indie Bands High Fidelity by Nick Hornby Vinyl (HBO Series) The Brief Wondrous Life of Oscar Wao by Junot Díaz

Patrick and Grant take on Stephen King's 11/22/63 as well as the Hulu miniseries of the same name. Best described as literary fiction with elements of science fiction and the supernatural (as only Stephen King can render them) 11/22/63 serves more as a love letter to a bygone era of post war America with all the prosperity associated with the Eisenhower era and less an investigation into the mechanics and milieu of the assassination of President John F. Kennedy (a la Dan Delillo's Libra). Hulu's miniseries (with such personnel as James Franco, J.J. Abrams & King himself) serves as a wonderful companion piece to the novel, accentuating and enhancing its finer qualities while omitting (and at times better explaining) lesser characteristics. In both mediums, the absence of an argument for conspiracy  is a disappointment, except to Sam, but he's not in this episode so who cares? Follow @Infin8Gestation on Twitter • Visit InfiniteGestation.com Show Notes & Links 11.22.63 Stephen King 11.22.63 (Television Series) Riffraff! – The Magnificent Ambersons by Booth Tarkington | Episode 029 (George Amberson) The Help by Kathryn Stockett People of the Book by Geraldine Brooks It by Stephen King Libra by Don DeLillo One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest by Ken Kesey One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest (1975 film) - Miloš Forman The Electric Kool-Aid Acid Test by Tom Wolfe The Last Investigation by Gaeton Fonzi The Man in The High Castle by Philip K. Dick – Novel + Series | Episode 022 The Shining (1980 film) - Staley Kubrick Tom Hanks on NPR's Fresh Air

Italo Calvino's If on a winter's night a traveler is in a class of its own. This postmodern exploration of the novel contains substantial sections written in the second person (yes, SECOND person), so that the reader themself becomes a character in a quest to find (initially) the remainder of the novel begun in the first chapter. A literary adventure thus ensues, carrying on throughout the subsequent first chapters of ten different novels, stringing said reader along a series of plot lines, deceptive (and duplicitous) characters, novels within novels (within THE novel), multiple points of view and so on. Short of complicating things further, check out the episode and then read the book. We pinky promise you won't be sorry. Follow @Infin8Gestation on Twitter • Visit InfiniteGestation.com Show Notes & Links If on a winter's night a traveler Italo Calvino At the Existentialist Café: Freedom, Being, and Apricot Cocktails (with Jean-Paul Sartre, Simone de Beauvoir, Albert Camus, Martin Heidegger, Maurice Merleau-Ponty and Others) by Sarah Bakewell Italo Svevo Jorge Luis Borges "The Garden of Forking Paths" "A Japanese AI program just wrote a short novel, and it almost won a literary prize" Monty Python's The Meaning of Life (1983 film) - Terry Jones Annie Hall  (1978 film) - Woody Allen The Illuminatus! Trilogy by Robert Shea and Robert Anton Wilson  The Master of Go by Yasunari Kawabata Billy Meier "Flight" by John Steinbeck Gore Vidal Joseph Conrad Three Days of the Condor (1975 film) - Sydney Pollack Italo Calvino - BBC Interview 1985 Charlie Kaufman

John Steinbeck's fifth novel, In Dubious Battle, marks a radical shift in the author's work while serving as an interesting precursor to The Grapes of Wrath. Essentially concerned with the labor struggles of exploited fruit pickers, the novel illustrates the emergence of Steinbeck's social consciousness and further exemplifies some of the core themes he would later become remembered for. Special thanks to Patrick for the selection! Follow @Infin8Gestation on Twitter • Visit InfiniteGestation.com Show Notes & Links In Dubious Battle John Steinbeck The Grapes of Wrath Eugene Debbs Pascal "Pat" Covici Journal of a Novel: The East of Eden Letters Working Days: The Journals of the Grapes of Wrath Atlas Shrugged by Ayn Rand (Sam's book reference) Heart of Darkness by Joseph Conrad Yoknapatawpha County (the unpronounceable county)

In celebration of Indiana's Bicentennial, Infinite Gestation discusses The Magnificent Ambersons, the Pulitzer Prize winning novel by Booth Tarkington. Georgie Minafer (third generation Amberson), with his desire to become a yachtsman,  personifies the height of smug aristocracy by his refusal to embark upon a career or make a life for himself. The arrogant assumption that he might live upon his family's wealth and status indefinitely is sorely mistaken, for it is the end of a gilded age for the Amberson family. Once the epitome of wealth and the toast of the Midland City (a thinly veiled Indianapolis), the realized potential of the automobile and industrialization of the city causes massive growth that edges out much the old guard in favor of families of "new money".  The Ambersons are among those left behind, though Major (the patriarch) manages to conceal the state of such affairs until after his death, forcing his heirs to start from scratch and make their way in a city that no longer remembers the Amberson name. Follow @Infin8Gestation on Twitter • Visit InfiniteGestation.com Show Notes & Links The Magnificent Ambersons by Booth Tarkington Sidecar & F. Scott Fitzgerald Woodruff Place, Indianapolis (inspired Amberson neighborhood) Crime and Punishment by Fyodor Dostoyevski The Brady Bunch (TV Show - 1969-1974) Negging Say Anything... (1989 film) - Cameron Crowe Packard The Magnificent Ambersons (1942 film) - Orson Welles Pinky & The Brain (animated TV series)

Making no apologies for worshipping at the "Altar of Kubrick", Infinite Gestation compares Arthur C. Clarke's novel to the 1968 film. While Kubrick's masterpiece to this day remains the benchmark for the realistic portrayal of science fiction on film, the medium itself leaves some narrative gaps that are not immediately apparent. Through written concurrently and under the best circumstances, the screenplay and novel (in some respects) travel in very different orbits. Follow @Infin8Gestation on Twitter • Visit InfiniteGestation.com Show Notes & Links 2001: A Space Odyssey (1968 film) - Stanley Kubrick 2001: A Space Odyssey (novel) by Arthur C. Clarke Arthur C. Clarke Stanley Kubrick Francis Ford Coppola Mario Puzo "Drawing Hands" (lithograph) by M.C. Escher Led Zeppelin - Presence (1976 album cover) Prime Directive (Star Trek) Contact (1997 American film) - Robert Zemekis Tycho Brahe Tycho (musician) Annie Hall 2010 (1984 film) - Peter Hyams Stargate Sequence (video) Childhood's End by Arthur C Clarke Jules Verne H. G. Wells Scott Kelly

Our Man in Havana may have been compromised during the making of this episode. Partially inspired by his time in MI6 and set in late 1950's (pre-revolution) Cuba, Graham Greene's classic novel follows the daily maneuverings of vacuum salesman/secret agent Wormold, shortly after his unwitting recruitment in the men's room of the Wonder Bar. He initially invents his sources (taking names from a country club roster) as well as the information they provide to satisfy his superiors in London. But when he sends them sketches of vacuum cleaner parts suggested to be military installations in the mountains, he is pulled into a dangerous web of very real intrigue. Part spy novel, part comedic satire, this Graham Greene classic easily fits in the company of "The Big Lebowski" and "The Long Goodbye" and comes highly recommended for your Sunday read. Follow @Infin8Gestation on Twitter • Visit InfiniteGestation.com Show Notes & Links Episode photo - detailed from the cover of Our Man in Havana by Graham Greene ©1958 Viking Press New York.   In Like Flint (1967 film) starring James Coburn The Man from U.N.C.L.E. MI6 Ian Flemming The Big Lebowski (1998 film) The Long Goodbye (1973 film) [not The Long Goodnight] Inherent Vice (2014 film) book cipher (book code) Kurt Vonnegut Nikolai Gogol E. M. Forster Evelyn Waugh Kingsley Amis The Third Man (1949 film)

In a recent blog post, George R.R. Martin has perhaps confirmed our worst fears: The Winds of Winter will not be published in time for the airing of Game of Thrones Season Six on HBO. But does it really matter? The two formats have already parted ways in terms of story and with the show poised to saunter out ahead of the books this spring, it simply begs the question: which is canon, the novels or the HBO series? Limited Gestation “Minisodes” bring you Infinite Gestation, generously portioned into a single serving. Much like the coffee creamer, concord grape jelly and sugar packets supplied by your local 24 hour diner, you can now enjoy a quick taste of Infinite Gestation without having to wait around for the check. Special Announcement: Beginning in February, the Infinite Gestation Podcast will be switching gears to bring you new episodes every two weeks. This will allow the panel more time to read, research, craft, record, edit and post quality episodes that you will love. We are also experimenting with video (more on this when it comes to fruition). A blog is in the works, featuring collaborative and individual posts from Samuel Zurcher, Patrick Feild & Grant Karazsia. Follow us on Facebook & Twitter for details. Follow @Infin8Gestation on Twitter • Visit InfiniteGestation.com Show Notes & Links George R.R. Martin's blog post Douglas Adams Deadwood

Infinite Gestation breaks form to discuss Jack Kerouac's On the Road alongside Che Guevara's Motorcycle Diaries in a single episode. Motorcycle Diaries serves more as a memoir than a serious attempt at fiction, yet shares many notable commonalities with Kerouac's classic novel On the Road. Set on two very different continents, both narratives chronicle travels taken roughly around the same years by two (college educated) young men in their mid twenties. Kerouac had the benefit of many drafts with the goal of publication in mind, while Guevara holds his own with a well written travel journal that seems to have been revisited for editing and polishing long before it was published posthumously in 2004. Both are anti-establishment works insisting that there is "something rotten in Denmark" – though Guevara and Kerouac ultimately reached very different ends in the wake of a youthful idealistic wanderlust that consumed and informed their formidable years. Unfortunately, no cigars were burned in the recording of this episode. Follow @Infin8Gestation on Twitter • Visit InfiniteGestation.com Show Notes & Links Episode Trailer Sometimes A Great Notion (1971 film) - Paul Newman Jack Kerouac On the Road Che Guevara Motorcycle Diaries Motorcycle Diaries (2004 film) - Walter Salles Kerouac on Firing Line with William F. Buckley Marco Polo Desolation Angels by Jack Kerouac Che (2008 film) - Steven Soderbergh Fidel Castro  

The Last Station is essentially concerned with the sunset chapter of Leo Tolstoy's life (with far less drinking than witnessed in "Last Call" – a film about Fitzgerald's final years). Decades after writing his masterworks, Tolstoy struggles with the prospect of leaving the copyright of his work to the Tolstoyan Movement at the insistence of its leader, Vladimir Chertkov, though to the absolute dismay of his wife, Sofya Tolstoy. Meanwhile, Valentin Fedorovich Bulgakov writes in his diary. The film features a stellar cast including Christopher Plummer, Helen Mirren, Paul Giamatti and James McAvoy. The narrative takes some liberties in assuming the viewer has a working knowledge of Tolstoy (possibly even garnered from reading the film's source material, The Last Station by Jay Parini) making it a bit inaccessible to the casual viewer. Bulgakov's romantic subplot is a cinematic addition and not historically accurate. While beautifully shot and superbly acted, the film leaves something to be desired. It is somewhat disappointing this currently serves as the "Tolstoy Biopic." Follow @Infin8Gestation on Twitter • Visit InfiniteGestation.com Show Notes & Links The Last Station by Jay Parini Mark Twain (1835-1910) Tolstoyan Movement Mahatma Gandhi  Leo Tolstoy (Christopher Plummer) Vladimir Chertkov (Paul Giamatti) Valentin Fyodorovich Bulgakov (James McAvoy) Sofya Tolstoy (Helen Mirren) Masterpiece Theater

"Temperature" is the recent "lost & found" short story by F. Scott Fitzgerald which appears in the summer 2015 issue of Strand Magazine. The piece showcases the author's notable capabilities in the short story form, though it doesn't quite reveal itself to be something like a recovered masterpiece. The work dates from 1939 and contains some elements and themes that seem lifted directly from the last years of Fitzgerald's life (without too much embellishment). For more on this, check out our "Fitzgerald at the Movies - Last Call" episode. Follow @Infin8Gestation on Twitter • Visit InfiniteGestation.com Show Notes & Links "Temperature" by F. Scott Fitzgerald F. Scott Fitzgerald Strand Magazine Andrew Gulli (Strand Editor) Fitzgerald at the Movies – Last Call (2002 Film) | Episode 015 The Deer Park by Norman Mailer "Hills Like White Elephants" by Ernest Hemingway "The Snows of Kilimanjaro" by Ernest Hemingway "The Curious Case of Benjamin Button" by F. Scott Fitzgerald The Curious Case of Benjamin Button (2008 film) - David Fincher Apocalypse Now (1979 Film) - Francis Ford Coppola Heart of Darkness by Joseph Conrad Further reading (Fitzgerald): The Great Gatsby Tender is the Night The Beautiful and Damned Love of the Last Tycoon This Side of Paradise "Diamond as big as the Ritz" "May Day" "Bernice Bobs Her Hair"  "The Curious Case of Benjamin Button" "Babylon Revisited" Pat Hobby stories

By listener request, Infinite Gestation covers Siddhartha by Hermann Hesse. More of a parable on spirituality than an actual novel, the book concerns a philosophical quest toward enlightenment, rendered in simple, straight-forward prose that may have lost some of its power through translation from the author's native German. The panel offers further reading recommendations for those that despise, enjoy or love this book. Some works by Timothy Leary come highly recommended. Also, Sam makes fun of Ayn Rand. Follow @Infin8Gestation on Twitter • Visit InfiniteGestation.com Show Notes & Links Hermann Hesse Siddhartha The 4400 (TV Series) Tibetan Book of the Dead The Psychedelic Experience: A Manual Based on The Tibetan Book of the Dead by Timothy Leary, Ralph Metzner & Richard Alpert Bhagavad Gita 21:54 Ayn Rand Asceticism Joseph Campbell All About H. Hatterr by G. V. Desani  Kahlil Gibran Gautama Buddha or Siddhartha Gautama

The recent "ethically questionable" publication of Haruki Murakami's reading list during his teenage years, as revealed by library records leaked to the press poses the question of the importance of knowing an author's influences. Follow @Infin8Gestation on Twitter • Visit InfiniteGestation.com Limited Gestation "Minisodes" bring you Infinite Gestation, generously portioned into a single serving. Much like the coffee creamer, concord grape jelly and sugar packets supplied by your local 24 hour diner, you can now enjoy a quick taste of Infinite Gestation without having to wait around for the check. Show Notes & Links Guardian Article - Librarians in uproar after borrowing record of Haruki Murakami is leaked Check out our Murakami Episode Georges Perec

Complete with its very own public service announcement, Infinite Gestation dedicates an episode to The Man in the High Castle, covering the 1962 novel by Philip K. Dick, in addition to the series currently streaming on Amazon. Among the first of a multitude of works by various authors to cover an alternate history in which the United States has lost World War II, Dick's atmospheric novel comes in at 253 pages (a fabulous Sunday read) – compared to the ten episode series. During this episode, major and minor departures in characters, story and plot find healthy debate throughout obsessive encyclopedic references, the ripe suggestion that Amazon "Peter Jacksoned the shit" out of the novel and more spoilers than you can shake a stick at, all topped off with some "final" final thoughts. Follow @Infin8Gestation on Twitter • Visit InfiniteGestation.com Show Notes & Links Philip K. Dick The Man in the High Castle Blade Runner Minority Report (television series) Ridley Scott The Rise and Fall of the Third Reich by William L. Shirer I Ching Joseph Goebbels Reinhard Heydrich Heinrich Himmler Martin Bormann Rufus Sewell Wannsee Conference Erwin Rommel Assassination attempt on Franklin D. Roosevelt Taxi Driver (1976 film) - Martin Scorsese Michael Rispoli looks like Dan Lauria

Based on Patrick's recommendation, Infinite Gestation covers Group Portrait with Lady by Heinrich Böll, with a (mostly) civil discussion. The work showcases Böll at the height of his craft (the novel was cited when he was awarded the Nobel Prize in 1972) and may even lead one to conclude that Böll is indeed post war Germany's "literary therapist." Many times deemed experimental, the plot consists of the life of Leni Pfeiffer (the woman) written with journalistic flair by a fictional author using interviews with her family, friends and acquaintances to build the narrative alongside his own observations. Despite the setting (Germany, just prior to World War I and on into the 1970's) there is no shortage of humor in the novel, including posters of human anatomy used as apartment decor and a nun who divines the health of school girls by examining their feces. In the end, the novel comes highly recommended. Spoiler warning: Grant reveals the end of The Train Was On Time. Follow @Infin8Gestation on Twitter • Visit InfiniteGestation.com Show Notes & Links Heinrich Böll Group Portrait with Lady Third Reich Trilogy by Richard J. Evans Full Frontal (2002 film) - Steven Soderbergh Die Blechtrommel – The Tin Drum by Günter Grass | Episode 008 - Infinite Gestation The Tommyknockers by Stephen King (1987) Heinrich Böll (further reading) Billiards at Half-Past Nine The Train Was on Time The Bread of Those Early Years The Lost Honor of Katharina Blum

Things get a bit dicey amongst the panel during a discussion of The End of the Tour. The 2015 film stars Jason Segel and Jesse Eisenberg as David Foster Wallace and David Lipspy respectively and concerns the final days of the Infinite Jest book tour (1996), during which Lipspy (writing for Rolling Stone Magazine) records interviews with Wallace for a piece that never materialized. The tapes later served as a basis for Lipspy's 2010 book Although of Course You End Up Becoming Yourself, from which the film was adapted. It should be noted that Patrick arrived with some “baggage” for this episode. No one was harmed in the recording of this podcast, though some sensibilities may have been offended. Follow @Infin8Gestation on Twitter • Visit InfiniteGestation.com Show Notes & Links The End of the Tour (2015 film) - James Ponsoldt Infinite Jest by David Foster Wallace Although of Course You End Up Becoming Yourself by David Lipsky Inherent Vice (2014 film) - Paul Thomas Anderson Alanis Morisette  The Sot Weed Factor by John Barth Capote (2005 film) - Bennett Miller Kurt Cobain: Montage of Heck (2015 film) - Brett Morgen Jonathan Franzen David Foster Wallace uncut German television interview (2003) David Foster Wallace - Charlie Rose Interview (1997) David Foster Wallace - "This is Water" - commencement speech (2005)

November is National Novel Writing Month. While the goal of completing a rough draft of a novel in a thirty day period is certainly a noble one, the entire scope of such a task should come with some caveats – which Infinite Gestation is more than happy to provide. Follow @Infin8Gestation on Twitter • Visit InfiniteGestation.com Show Notes & Links NaNoWriMo.org Kurt Vonnegut Martin Amis Fahrenheit 451 by Ray Bradbury  Philip K. Dick Isaac Asimov Outliers: The Story of Success by Malcolm Gladwell Zeitgeist: the defining spirit or mood of a particular period of history as shown by the ideas and beliefs of the time. Douglas Adams [su_youtube url="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zvAz9jU0ByU"][/su_youtube]

Resting somewhere between the format of film and the printed word, audiobooks offer a method of literature consumption that though similar to the physical act of reading, is in many ways quite different. Each format has its pros and cons: sacrifices of convenience, pace of the narrative, the ability to multitask, different levels of immersion and so on. The purists will argue tirelessly in favor of the virtues of reading the printed word while the busy-bodies champion the audiobook as a preferable alternative to the daily radio show during their respective commutes. Infinite Gestation dares to discover who is right. **Spoiler Warning - Specific plot points of The Handmaid's Tale by Margaret Atwood are discussed.** Follow @Infin8Gestation on Twitter • Visit InfiniteGestation.com Show Notes & Links Ulysses by James Joyce 1Q84 by Haruki Murakami The Handmaid's Tale by Margaret Atwood Prior H. P. Lovecraft Episode Finnegans Wake by James Joyce Agora (2009 film) - Alejandro Amenábar Anna Karenina by Leo Tolstoy

The Handmaid's Tale is some serious business. Margret Atwood's classic dystopian novel remains notably fresh and relevant since its publication in 1985, and has become essential to the genre, among the company of George Orwell's 1984 and Aldous Huxley's Brave New World. Infinite Gestation consumed the novel via audio book (an experiment for a later episode) in preparation for this discussion. Follow @Infin8Gestation on Twitter • Visit InfiniteGestation.com Show Notes & Links The Handmaid's Tale by Margaret Atwood (audio book) 1984 by George Orwell Man in the High Castle by Philip K. Dick The Iron Heel by Jack London We by  Yevgeny Zamyatin Brave New World by Aldous Huxley A Clockwork Orange by Anthony Burgess First person narration (not second)

It's the Halloween Special! Matt Bird sits in with Infinite Gestation for a spooky discussion regarding three handpicked short stories (and an essay) by H. P. Lovecraft: "The Shadow Out of Time", "The Call of Cthulhu", "The Dunwich Horror" & "Supernatural Horror in Literature". These stories serve as an essential taste of the strange universe that is H. P. Lovecraft. Though many criticisms persist (including a few of our own), Lovecraft's influence on modern horror is inescapable. His work casts a long shadow across the genre, often hailing as the origin of conventions that we now think of as standard –– or at times, even cliché. Follow @Infin8Gestation on Twitter • Visit InfiniteGestation.com Matt Bird curated an exhibit in the fall of 2011 at IU-Bloomington’s Lilly Library titled “The Character of Ernest Hemingway.” The exhibit utilized Hemingway’s letters, photographs, typed manuscripts with edits, and artifacts of the Army’s investigation into EH’s activities during World War II to foster a discussion of Hemingway’s personal curation and control of his image. Matt holds an MLS, specializing in Rare Books and Manuscripts, from IU-Bloomington and is currently finishing an MA in Literature at Indiana State University. His reading interests, at the moment (fiction, non-fiction, etc), touch on graphic novels as literature (Alan Moore, Neil Gaiman, Brian K. Vaughan), book culture and printing/book-selling history (Umberto Eco, Arturo Perez-Reverte, Nicholas Basbanes), the Lost Generation and the fiction produced by them (Hemingway, Fitzgerald) and catching up on the O. Henry Prize Stories. Matt taught courses over the last two years at Indiana State University on the subjects of classical mythology, the history of the physical book and its use in fiction, and the history/evolution of libraries. Show Notes & Links H. P. Lovercraft "The Shadow Out of Time" "The Call of Cthulhu" "The Dunwich Horror" "Supernatural Horror in Literature" August Derleth Joss Whedon Necronomicon MacGuffin "A Study in Emerald" by Neil Gaiman "At the Mountains of Madness" by H. P. Lovecraft Frankenstein by Mary Shelley Looper (2012 film) - Rian Johnson 12 Monkeys (1995 film) - Terry Gilliam Weird Tales Magazine On the Origin of the Species by Charles Darwin Robert E. Howard Dead Authors Podcast 'Salem's Lot by Stephen King Dracula by Bram Stoker Danse Macabre by Stephen King The Monk by Matthew Gregory Lewis The Monk (2011 film) -  Dominik Moll Communion by Whitley Strieber "The Rime of the Ancient Mariner" by Samuel Taylor Coleridge  

Differing opinions, arguments and some notable complaints emerge (including the Showtime production budget and the limitations it may have placed on the film) during Infinite Gestation's discussion of Last Call, a made-for-cable biopic from 2002 concerning the final years of F. Scott Fitzgerald. This is not the "old sport" you know and love. Far from the Jazz Age, a weather-worn and alcoholic Fitzgerald (a fine performance by Jeremy Irons) resides on the fringes of Hollywood, writing The Last Tycoon between hallucinations of his (then institutionalized) wife Zelda and spats with his mistress, Hollywood gossip columnist Sheilah Graham. The author manages some progress on his novel with the assistance of his secretary Frances Kroll (whose 1985 memoir Against the Current: As I Remember F. Scott Fitzgerald serves as a basis for the film) before his sudden (though perhaps not unexpected) death at the age of 44. Follow @Infin8Gestation on Twitter • Visit InfiniteGestation.com Show Notes & Links Last Call (2002 film - also known as "Fitzgerald") written and directed by Henry Bromell The Last Tycoon The Great Gatsby (2013 film) Big Sur by Jack Kerouac Frances Kroll Ring Sheilah Graham Against the Current: As I Remember F. Scott Fitzgerald by Frances Kroll Ring This Side of Paradise The Beautiful and Damned The Great Gatsby Tender is the Night Wonderboys (2000 film) - Curtis Hanson The Great Gatsby (1974 film) - Jack Clayton Paul Hecht as Samuel Kroll (Frances' father) The Mission (1986 film) - Roland Joffé Beloved Infidel (1959 film) - Henry King (starring Gregory Peck as F. Scott Fitzgerald)

During part 2 of Infinite Gestation’s two part series entitled “Graphic Novels as Literature”, special guest Matt Bird delves into the Big Three (The Dark Night Returns by Frank Miller, Maus by Art Spiegelman & Watchmen by Alan Moore). Across the decades, comic books have evolved into a form to be reckoned with and deserve a closer look. In tandem, a selection of authors and illustrators have pushed the medium to its limits (and beyond), often presenting themes, social issues and the hard questions — without the legitimacy that prose fiction has enjoyed for many years. Perhaps now is the time to give graphic novels the chance to be called literature. The 1980's saw comic books come into their own with mature themes and subject matter aimed primarily at an adult audience. This ultimately led to a trend in graphic narrative whereby creators and readers began to favor quality writing alongside the talent of illustrators. This era brought about the publications of the Big Three (along with a selection of other works) that sought to utilize the medium to explore contemporary social issues. Follow @Infin8Gestation on Twitter • Visit InfiniteGestation.com Matt Bird curated an exhibit in the fall of 2011 at IU-Bloomington’s Lilly Library titled “The Character of Ernest Hemingway.” The exhibit utilized Hemingway’s letters, photographs, typed manuscripts with edits, and artifacts of the Army’s investigation into EH’s activities during World War II to foster a discussion of Hemingway’s personal curation and control of his image. Matt holds an MLS, specializing in Rare Books and Manuscripts, from IU-Bloomington and is currently finishing an MA in Literature at Indiana State University. His reading interests, at the moment (fiction, non-fiction, etc), touch on graphic novels as literature (Alan Moore, Neil Gaiman, Brian K. Vaughan), book culture and printing/book-selling history (Umberto Eco, Arturo Perez-Reverte, Nicholas Basbanes), the Lost Generation and the fiction produced by them (Hemingway, Fitzgerald) and catching up on the O. Henry Prize Stories. Matt taught courses over the last two years at Indiana State University on the subjects of classical mythology, the history of the physical book and its use in fiction, and the history/evolution of libraries. Show Notes & Links The Dark Knight Returns by Frank Miller Maus by Art Spiegelman Watchmen by Alan Moore The Sandman by Neil Gaiman Superman: Red Son by Mark Millar Aleister Crowley The Hero with a Thousand Faces by Joseph Campbell Arthur Conan Doyle Vertigo (DC Comics) "Ozymandias" (1818 poem) by Percy Bysshe Shelley "The Historical Text as Literary Artifact" (1978 essay) by Hayden White 300 (comic series) by Frank Miller Herodotus - The Battle of Thermopylae American Splendor by Harvey Pekar American Splendor (2003 film) - Shari Springer Berman & Robert Pulcini The first Green Lantern character was Alan Scott. Northstar Preacher (comics) V for Vendetta Alan Moore

During part 1 of Infinite Gestation's two part series entitled "Graphic Novels as Literature", special guest Matt Bird shares a brief history of comic books. Across the decades, comic books have evolved into a form to be reckoned with and deserve a closer look. In tandem, a selection of authors and illustrators have pushed the medium to its limits (and beyond), often presenting themes, social issues and the hard questions — without the legitimacy that prose fiction has enjoyed for many years. Perhaps now is the time to give graphic novels the chance to be called literature. Follow @Infin8Gestation on Twitter • Visit InfiniteGestation.com Matt Bird curated an exhibit in the fall of 2011 at IU-Bloomington’s Lilly Library titled “The Character of Ernest Hemingway.” The exhibit utilized Hemingway’s letters, photographs, typed manuscripts with edits, and artifacts of the Army’s investigation into EH’s activities during World War II to foster a discussion of Hemingway’s personal curation and control of his image. Matt holds an MLS, specializing in Rare Books and Manuscripts, from IU-Bloomington and is currently finishing an MA in Literature at Indiana State University. His reading interests, at the moment (fiction, non-fiction, etc), touch on graphic novels as literature (Alan Moore, Neil Gaiman, Brian K. Vaughan), book culture and printing/book-selling history (Umberto Eco, Arturo Perez-Reverte, Nicholas Basbanes), the Lost Generation and the fiction produced by them (Hemingway, Fitzgerald) and catching up on the O. Henry Prize Stories. Matt taught courses over the last two years at Indiana State University on the subjects of classical mythology, the history of the physical book and its use in fiction, and the history/evolution of libraries. Show Notes & Links DC Comics Marvel Comics Batman: The Dark Knight by David Finch The Dark Knight Returns by Frank Miller Vertigo (DC Comics) Hellblazer Preacher The Sandman Neil Gaiman Fables Watchmen Alan Moore Calvin and Hobbes by Bill Watterson Will Eisner Brian Michael Bendis Chasing Amy (1997 film) - Kevin Smith Bob Kane Joseph Pulitzer  William Randolph Hearst McCarthyism Satanic ritual abuse Seduction of the Innocent by Fredric Wertham Maus by Art Spiegelman Image Comics 300 (comic series) by Frank Miller

While its status as an American classic remains undisputed, The Catcher in the Rye has also earned a shadowy legacy by way of its connections to celebrity murders along with an attempted presidential assassination, all through no fault of its own. What is it about this novel that connected with several desperate loners on their separate and misguided journeys to infamy within a single decade? In the most salacious episode to date, Infinite Gestation investigates the Salinger classic, touching on story parallels shared with the 1976 film Taxi Driver, its cameo in The Shining and J.D. Salinger's legally mandated absence from Field of Dreams. *References to "Bonner" are actually intended to indicate Robert John Bardo. Patrick apologizes for the strange transposition of names and further promises to read Silas Marner (again) to serve as proper atonement ... or maybe he'll just spend the entire weekend picking up trash along the highway. Follow @Infin8Gestation on Twitter • Visit InfiniteGestation.com Show Notes & Links The Catcher in the Rye by J.D. Salinger Salinger (2013 film) - Shane Salerno Shoeless Joe by W.P. Kinsella (source material for Field of Dreams) Field of Dreams (1989 film) - Phil Alden Robinson Dachau concentration camp Time Must Have a Stop by Aldous Huxley A Clockwork Orange by Anthony Burgess A Clockwork Orange (1971 film) - Stanley Kubrick Mark David Chapman John Warnock Hinckley Jr. Robert John Bardo (not Bonner) Taxi Driver (1976 film) - Martin Scorsese Taxi Driver screenplay was written by Paul Schrader not Paul Shaffer The Catcher in the Rye - The Shining cameo Kubrick in the Rye

Infinite Gestation attempts to separate people from personalities in this episode discussing the place and significance of autobiographical elements within the work of a variety of authors. Questions arise regarding personal experience as an unnecessary qualification in fiction, the over-dependence of the modern age on crowd sourcing for a work's merit or validation and unfounded worries that this episode might contain a bad case of the Kirk. Follow @Infin8Gestation on Twitter • Visit InfiniteGestation.com Show Notes & Links Lolita by Vladimir Nabokov Adventures of Huckleberry Finn by Mark Twain The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald Midnight in Paris (2011 film) - Woody Allen Hemingway Novels: The Sun Also Rises The Old Man and the Sea For Whom the Bell Tolls The Lady with the Dog (short story) by Anton Chekhov Graham Greene Novels: The End of the Affair Our Man in Havana Animal Farm by George Orwell Don Quixote by Miguel De Cervantes War and Peace by Leo Tolstoy Moby Dick by Herman Melville The Mandarins by Simone de Beauvoir Nelson Algren The Scarlet Letter by Nathaniel Hawthrone The Revenant: A Novel of Revenge by Michael Punke Blues Brothers (1980 film) - John Landis Norwegian Wood by Haruki Murakami The Man in the High Castle by Philip K. Dick On the Road by Jack Kerouac Valis by Philip K. Dick

Based on Sam's recommendation, Infinite Gestation takes on The Tin Drum by the late and great Günter Grass. This first book of what later became known as "The Danzig Trilogy" is unquestionably a masterpiece, with a proud standing as the German author's debut novel. With its mystical elements and a storyline that twists its way from the turn of the century to just beyond the years following World War II, this novel brushes up against the Nazis and the horrors of the war without allowing these elements to consume the narrative. Follow @Infin8Gestation on Twitter • Visit InfiniteGestation.com Show Notes & Links Danzig Trilogy - Günter Grass The Tin Drum Cat and Mouse Dog Years To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee Polish Post Office (Danzig) Skat (card game) Glass Onion by The Beatles [su_youtube url="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=evxrVjW-aeg"][/su_youtube] The Great Dictator (1940 film) - Charlie Chaplin Lord of the Flies by William Golding One Hundred Years of Solitude by Gabriel Garcia Marquez

Now is the perfect time to start reading Murakami (if you haven't already). August 4th, 2015 marks the first US release of Murakami's first two works, Hear the Wind Sing and Pinball 1973. Join us for a discussion (fanboy celebration) of what makes Murakami great, including a list of works to check out, Murakami's fine use of music references and an unforgivable Wild Sheep Chase spoiler by Grant. Follow @Infin8Gestation on Twitter • Visit InfiniteGestation.com Show Notes & Links Murakami Novels Hear the Wind Sing / Pinball 1973 Norwegian Wood The Wind-Up Bird Chronicle  South of the Border, West of the Sun After Dark Sputnik Sweetheart 1Q84 Hardboiled Wonderland and the End of the World Wild Sheep Chase Dance Dance Dance Murakami Soundtracks (YouTube Playlists) Norwegian Wood 1Q84 General Long John Silver (1972) - Jefferson Airplane The Sun Also Rises by Ernest Hemingway This Side of Paradise by F. Scott Fitzgerald Mysteries of Pittsburg by Michael Chabon Ghost World (2001 film) The main character in The Sun Also Rises is Jake Barnes. Critique of Pure Reason by Immanuel Kant "Pinball Wizard" by The Who [su_youtube url="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pWDMSaMZdwA"]

Sam fields questions regarding one of his favorite novels, The Master and Margarita, a concurrent odyssey into 1930's Soviet Russia and the city of Jerusalem as witnessed in the gospels. The host of memorable characters includes Satan, Jesus Christ and Pontius Pilate. Mikhail Bulgakov's brilliant narrative, with its elements of black magic, a bipedal talking cat named Behemoth and a Soviet brand of paranoia characteristic of the time certainly proves that dark satire doesn't get much better than this. Happy Birthday, Sam! Follow @Infin8Gestation on Twitter • Visit InfiniteGestation.com Show Notes & Links Mikhail Bulgakov The Master and Margarita - Burgin/O'Connor Translation The Master and Margarita - Pevear/Volokhonsky Translation The White Guard A Country Doctor's Notebook Black Snow: A Theatrical Novel Heart of a Dog A Young Doctor's Notebook - TV Series Fyodor Dostoyevski Leo Tolstoy Nikolai Gogol Anton Chekhov Ivan Turgenev The Satanic Verses by Salman Rushdie Victor Pelevin Oman Ra The Hall of the Singing Caryatids

In a rather harrowing episode, Grant defends the work of Kurt Vonnegut (one of his favorite authors) against an onslaught of criticism from the remainder of the panel. In the face of some difficult questions regarding genre, complaints of commonly employed narrative conventions, and the suggestion that perhaps Slaughterhouse-Five has earned the Vonnegut canon more notoriety than it possibly deserves, Grant remains steadfast and unwavering. No one was injured (physically) during the recording of this podcast. *The various criticisms contained within do not necessarily reflect opinions held by the opposing panel members, so please save your best hate mail for a future episode. Follow @Infin8Gestation on Twitter • Visit InfiniteGestation.com Show Notes & Links Kurt Vonnegut Works The Sirens of Titan Player Piano Slaughterhouse-Five Cat's Cradle God Bless You, Mr. Rosewater Galápagos Mother Night Timequake Hocus-Pocus Breakfast of Champions Welcome to the Monkey House Bombing of Dresden Man in the High Castle by Philip K. Dick Paris in the Twentieth Century by Jules Verne

Can a film transcend the novel it was based upon? During a (by no means definitive) discussion of most-loved and patently despised novel to film adaptations, the panel braves some harsh words, endures scathing criticism and experiences several moments of probable enlightenment. Along the quest to discover if the book is always better than the movie: James Franco is disparaged, Stanley Kubrick receives praise, disagreements arise over the adaptation of East of Eden and details regarding Mario Puzo's use of Sonny Corleone's penis as a literary device in The Godfather sparks controversy. Follow @Infin8Gestation on Twitter • Visit InfiniteGestation.com Show Notes & Links Lolita by Vladimir Nabokov Lolita (1962 film) - Stanley Kubrick The Shining by Stephen King The Shining (1980 film) - Stanley Kubrick The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy by Douglas Adams The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy (2005 film) - Garth Jennings As I Lay Dying by William Faulkner As I Lay Dying (2013 film) - James Franco Blowout (1981 film) - Brian de Palma East of Eden by John Steinbeck East of Eden (1955 film) - Elia Kazan War and Peace by Leo Tolstoy War and Peace (1956 film) - King Vidor Anna Karenina by Leo Tolstoy Anna Karenina (2012 film) - Joe Wright Les Misérables by Victor Hugo Les Misérables (2012 film) - Tom Hooper Gone with the Wind by Margaret Mitchell Gone with the Wind (1939 film) - Victor Fleming The Godfather by Mario Puzo The Godfather (1972 film) - Francis Ford Coppola The Exorcist by William Peter Blatty The Exorcist (1973  film) - William Friedkin Jaws by Peter Benchley Jaws (1975 film) - Steven Spielberg No Country for Old Men by Cormac McCarthy No Country for Old Men (2007 film) - Coen Brothers To Have and Have Not by Ernest Hemingway To Have and Have Not (1944 film) - Howard Hawks 2001: A Space Odyssey by Arthur C. Clarke 2001: A Space Odyssey (1968 film) - Stanley Kubrick Psycho (1960 film) - Alfred Hitchcock Dr. Strangelove, Or: How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love the Bomb (1964 film) - Stanley Kubrick Barry Lyndon (1975 film) - Stanley Kubrick