Thomas Pynchon's novels are as wonderful as they are difficult. Our show, done in seasons, addresses one book at a time in a panel-discussion format. While we aren't experts, we do try very hard to understand and analyze as much as we can. We also occasionally have guests, songs, and you never know.…
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After a daringly audacious and narrow escape from the Land Down Under (see PIPCast and the Dastardly Didgeridoo), the team heads back to the relative safety of northern latitudes to finish our discussion of chapter 9 of Thomas Pynchon's first novel, V.
Recently returned from a far-off cultural expedition (see PIPCast and The Tasty Treats of Timbuktu), we settle in to finish our discussion of part 2 of chapter 9 of Thomas Pynchon's first novel, V. We continue into part 3 just a bit as well. Shownotes below: Regarding Germany's apology to the nation of Namibia for the […]
Returning from a summons into other-dimensional realms (see PIPcast and the Lugubrious Lawsuit), we begin a look at part 2 of chapter 9 in Thomas Pynchon’s first novel, V. Check out this site for a decent write-up of the D’Annunzio/Fiume story: https://www.historytoday.com/miscellanies/fiume-escapade
Back from a recent brouhaha at Brew-Ha-Ha Brewreies out in Boise (see PIPCast and the Hoppy Hilarity), our hopped-up crew talks though the first section of chapter 9 in Thomas Pynchon’s first novel, V. Shownotes with links below. This is a map of Africa after it was divided up in the 1884 Conference of Berlin. If […]
Back from their fantastic adventures abroad (as told in The Pynchon In Public Podcast Meet the Huldufòlk), our intrepid team covers the chapter 8 of Thomas Pynchon's first novel, V. Follow the links below for additional information, reading and/or rabbit holes.
In which we look at the final three sections of chapter seven in Thomas Pynchon’s first novel, V. Bo begins with a New York Times article by Ruth Bader Ginsburg. You can read it here. Aug mentions an interest piece on Pynchon in the Boston Review. Bo mentions another piece about Pynchon. Lastly, Aug mentions […]
In which we take a look at sections 6 through 8 of chapter 7 of Thomas Pynchon’s first novel V.
In which we have a look at sections two through five of chapter 7 of Thomas Pynchon’s first novel, V. Bo mentions that Vheissu reminds him of The Vhorr, a novel by Brian Catling. Alan mentions the movie Lost Horizon (1937). Bo points out the Pynchon is the first person credited with using “shrink” to […]
In which we start looking at chapter 7 of Thomas Pynchon’s first novel, V. We discuss the opening and the first two of the numbered sections.
In which we take a look as chapter 6 of Thomas Pynchon’s debut novel, V. Paola and Alan talk about the Feast of San Gennaro, which you can read more about here.
In which we sit around talking in proper nouns about chapter five (v) of Thomas Pynchon’s V. We’ll be back in two weeks with a discussion on chapter six. We’ve talked before about the Baader-Meinhof Complex. If you’d like to know more, you can read about it here. Radiohead has a song called “Fog” on their album […]
In which we examine the infamous nose job section, chapter 4 of Thomas Pynchon’s V. Alan mentions Pynchon’s essay “Is it okay to be a Luddite?” You can read that essay here. He also mentions the Dutch astronomer Tycho Brahe. He’s a very interesting fellow.
In which we have a look at part four through eight of chapter three of Thomas Pynchon’s debut novel, V.
In which we have a look at the Dreaded Chapter Three of Thomas Pynchon’s V, through the end of the third section.
In which we take a moment to celebrate having made 100 episodes of this little podcast that started out on a whim. Thank you, listeners, for tuning in. We appreciate you all a great deal. Happy Pynchon in Public/Private Day! Stay safe out there. Yes, it would appear that we skipped episode ninety-nine. However, we started […]
In which we discuss the second chapter of Thomas Pynchon’s first novel, V. For the next episode, we will look at the first five sections of chapter three.
In which we get together and talk about COVID-19, politics, subjunctive space, and Oprah Winfrey. Alan mentions an article at Slate about Oprah. You can find it here.
In which we finish discussing chapter one of Thomas Pynchon’s novel, V. Shownotes: If you’ve wondered what a ’53 MG looked like, here’s one: Aug mentions the character Swiss Toni, from the Fast Show. Here’s a clip of some of his best moments. Liam mentioned Joanna Freer’s book, Thomas Pynchon and American Counter Culture: Powells; WorldCat eBook; […]
In which we get together just for the togetherness we all need in these times.
In which we kick off Season 6, covering Thomas Pynchon’s first novel, V. We planned to get through the first chapter, but only got through the first two sections of it.
In which we get together to talk about Thomas Pynchon’s novel, V, but end up just chatting about COVID-19 and related concerns.
In which Bo sits down with with Michael from Drunk Pynchon for a chat in which many alcohol-related tales are told. And to celebrate having finished Bleeding Edge, Michael knocks a drink off his list with Bo – Hpnotiq. Spoiler alert: It’s better than vodka mixed with vegetable soup.
05.23: Bleeding Edge In which we finished our discussion of Thomas Pynchon’s Bleeding Edge with this capstone episode looking back at the entire book. And stayed tuned through the end, where we announce which book we’ll tackle next season!
05.22: Bleeding Edge In which we wrap up the book with a look at the final two chapters, 40 and 41. In the event that, unlike Liam, you’re okay with bagpipes and want to hear Candle in the Wind, you can find that here. And here’s an example of the great Scottish poet, Ewan McTaegle. […]
05.21: Bleeding Edge In which we examine chapters 38 and 39 of Bleeding Edge, and go deep into some Mayan mythology just for fun. Aug mentions the Fantod Pack, a tarot deck by Edward Gorey. Here’s a write-up about it. You can also order it from his website.
05.20: Bleeding Edge In which we set out to look at chapters 37 and 38 of Bleeding Edge, but only get to chapter 37. And a note here that there was some internet trouble on the day we recorded. Surely it was Them.
05.19: Bleeding Edge In which we have a look at chapters 35 and 36 of Thomas Pynchon’s Bleeding Edge. Notes Just an NB here that’s Michelle little one joins us on this episode. There’s maybe a little more background noise than usual, though how can you tell? Bo mentions seeing Tom Clancy on CNN during the […]
In which we discuss chapters 33 and 34 of Thomas Pynchon's Bleeding Edge.
05.17: Bleeding Edge In which we discuss chapters 31 and 32 of Thomas Pynchon’s Bleeding Edge. Shownotes: Paloa mentions a video when talking about the Global Consciousness Project. You can find it on YouTube.
05.16: Bleeding Edge In which we mean to look at chapters 30 and 31, but only get through chapter 30. But that’s okay; we have a nice discussion about irony, Pynchon, and David Foster Wallace. Shownotes: Alan mentions the book The Power Broker, which you can find it at Amazon.
05.15: Bleeding Edge In which we examine chapters 28 and 29 of Thomas Pynchon’s Bleeding Edge.
05.14: Bleeding Edge In which we take a little break and interview a…rather odd fellow. If you want to catch Young Southpaw live, here are some upcoming appearances: April 8th – Drexler’s – New York, NY April 11th – Comix Comedy Club, Mohegan Sun – Uncasville, CT April 20th – Broadway Comedy Club – New […]
05.13: Bleeding Edge In which we look at chapters 26 and 27 of Thomas Pynchon’s Bleeding Edge.
05.12: Bleeding Edge In which we talk about 9/11 conspiracy theories and have a look at chapter 25.
05:11: Bleeding Edge In which we discuss chapters 23 and 24 of Thomas Pynchon’s Inherent Vice.We’ll be back in two weeks with a look at chapters 25 and 26. Shownotes: Alan talks about a book called IBM and the Nazis. Turns out the title is IBM and the Holocaust. You can find it here. Paola brings up the novel The Tattooist of Auschwitz. You […]
05.10: Bleeding Edge In which we have a look at chapters 21 and 22 of Thomas Pynchon’s Bleeding Edge.
05.09: Bleeding Edge In which we continue out exploration of Thomas Pynchon’s Bleeding Edge with a look at chapter 20. For the next episode, we’ll look at chapters 21 and 22. Here’s the article on vanity sizing that Michelle mentioned in Time Magazine. Bo mentions the Tropes vs. Women in Video Games series done by Anita […]
05.08: Bleeding Edge In which we look at chapters 18 and 19 of Thomas Pynchon’s Bleeding Edge. For the next episode, we’ll look at chapter 20. Liam mentions the documentary A Journey into the Mind of P (2012) which you can find here at YouTube. You can find the book Pynchon Character Names, by Patrick Hurley, on Amazon […]
05.07: Bleeding Edge In which we set out to cover chapters 16 through 18 of Thomas Pynchon’s Bleeding Edge, but only in fact get to chapters 16 and 17. We’ll look at chapters 18 and 19 in the next episode. Here is a little external information linking the Parable of the Coal to Gravity’s Rainbow’s Brigadier […]
05.06: Bleeding Edge In which we talk though chapters 14 and 15 of Thomas Pynchon’s Bleeding Edge. There is some discussion of the third ballet position. Here’s an image of it. Aug refers to a story on vinalon in Reuters. You can have a read here. And it turns out that Red Herring magazine is […]
05.05: Bleeding Edge In this episode – doubly unprecedented! – we discuss chapters eleven through thirteen of Thomas Pynchon’s Bleeding Edge. For the next episode, we’ll look at chapters fourteen and fifteen.
05.04: Bleeding Edge In which we continue our discussion on Thomas Pynchon’s Bleeding Edge with a look at chapters nine and ten. We then do a short review session of the novel to this point. For the next episode, we’ll look at chapters eleven through thirteen.
05.03: Bleeding Edge In which we continue our look at Thomas Pynchon’s Bleeding Edge with a discussion on chapters six through eight. For the next episode, we’ll look at chapters nine and ten. Alan mentions a Hulu show titled The Looming Tower. You can check it out on IMDB here. He also mentions a movie called Voyage of […]
05.02: Bleeding Edge In which we continue our look at Thomas Pynchon’s Bleeding Edge with a discussion of chapters three, four and five. For the next episode, we’ll look at chapters six through eight. There’s a mention of the Horst Wessel song, the theme of the Nazi Party. If you’d like to listen to it, you […]
05.01: Bleeding Edge We kick off Season Five with an introduction to Thomas Pynchon’s most recent novel, Bleeding Edge. We then have a look at the first two chapters. Enjoy! For the next episode, we’ll look at chapters three through five. NB: This season’s outro music was composed by Bo and Aug. Paola mentions a […]
04.42: Gravity’s Rainbow In which we finally finish our examination of Gravity’s Rainbow. Thank you for joining us throughout this long season. We’ll be back with Season Five as soon as we’ve had a bit of a rest. The negative review Chris quotes from by Dan Schneider: http://www.cosmoetica.com/B1277-DES888.htm “A Suspension Forever at the Hinge of […]
04.40: Gravity’s Rainbow In which we wrap up the final section of Gravity’s Rainbow with a look back at The Counterforce. Chris said Slothrop was referred to as an “early Virgo.” Aug said that the phrase was “double Virgo.” In fact, both phrases are used. However, it’s unclear if “early Virgo” is referring to Slothrop […]
04.39: Gravity’s Rainbow In which we finally, after two years of work, get to the end of Gravity’s Rainbow, with a look at the last half of the last chapter. Chris reads from an article called “Coloring Gravity’s Rainbow” by N. Katherine Hayles and Mary B. Eiser. While the journal Pynchon Notes is no longer around, the […]
04.38: Gravity’s Rainbow In which we have a go at the first half of the last chapter of Gravity’s Rainbow. Bo mentions some early picture of Adolf Hitler wearing lederhosen. Here’s an example of why that maybe didn’t convey the authority he wanted it to. Chris brings up the SHAEF symbol. And lastly, you can […]
04.37: Gravity’s Rainbow In which we continue our discussion of The Counterforce section of Gravity’s Rainbow with a look at chapters nine through eleven. And stay tuned at the end of this episode for a special outro song created by a Pynchon fan! Chris references “rainbow gravity” theory, which you can read about here. Michael […]
04.36: Gravity’s Rainbow In which we continue our discussion of The Counterforce section of Gravity’s Rainbow with a look at chapters seven and eight. At one point, Bo mentions an idea that no one in the book sings songs all on his or her own. This turns out not to true when, later in the […]
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