The Left Page

We found something else.Thank you.For more, keep an eye out on:https://www.patreon.com/leftpage Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Hello everyone!!The time has come!! Now that both of us have read the Witcher Saga books, it's time to finally return to this universe and talk about them!However, it being a rather involved story and universe, alongside comprising 5 books, we decided to make two episodes but discussing the whole Saga.In this first part we dive into some of the relationships of Ciri, Geralt and Yennefer, how the story's form has changed since the short story collections, we spend time talking about the villains, and some of the dynamics of power and mob violence depicted. And there's still lots more to come!Enjoy!If you can and are interested in early episodes and the Here Be Extras, check our Patreon!https://www.patreon.com/leftpage Also! If you're not there already, feel free to join our Discord, as we have been more talkative than usual, and plan to do so more and more!https://discord.gg/J2wgG3yrPNIntro Credits: Ultralounge, Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com)Outro Credits: Leve Palestina, Spartacus Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Hello everyone.The time has come to face our enemy once more. Yuval Noah Harari wrote another book, so we dive into how it is, indeed, a torment of pain and horror.We try to fathom how Harari misunderstands History, historical practice, information, institutions, religion, power, science fiction, AI etc etc. There is very little accurate in this book, and yet, it seems to be rather successful in its nonsense.As we interweave some of the MANY ways this book misrepresents reality, we try to get into what Harari understands and believes, and how he's still terrible in it.We suffer, but for your enjoyment! Have fun!Check out Justin's stuff! Including his new show!http://librarypunk.gay/The Preacher and the SlaveIf you can and are interested in early episodes and the Here Be Extras, check our Patreon!https://www.patreon.com/leftpage Also! If you're not there already, feel free to join our Discord, as we have been more talkative than usual, and plan to do so more and more!https://discord.gg/J2wgG3yrPNIntro Credits: Ultralounge, Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com)Outro Credits: Leve Palestina, Spartacus Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Hello everyone!!We have a special episode with a great guest! In order to talk about the magnificent show The Wire (2002-2008) we bring along Oli Mould, professor of Human Geography at Royal Holloway, University of London!In this episode we dive into this destructive institution that is the police, alongside a few others. All while understanding how the show interweaves its characters, environment and narrative that is always aware of the sociological, the psychological and the personal.There is nothing quite like The Wire, and we have to talk about how it is still relevant for understanding the militarization of the US and its police, and plenty plenty more.Enjoy!Check out the article we mentioned by Oli!https://tacity.co.uk/2024/12/16/american-tv-and-post-9-11-political-imaginaries-24-the-west-wing-and-the-wire/And Oli's TikTok & BlueSky!https://www.tiktok.com/@olimouldt=ZG-8wVtptq6hGb&r=1https://bsky.app/profile/olimould.bsky.socialIf you can and are interested in early episodes and the Here Be Extras, check our Patreon!https://www.patreon.com/leftpage Also! If you're not there already, feel free to join our Discord, as we have been more talkative than usual, and plan to do so more and more!https://discord.gg/J2wgG3yrPNIntro Music: Home, by Karl Casey @ White Bat AudioOutro Music: Leve Palestina, Spartacus Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Welcome one and all to the Left Page & Here Be Media Podcast! Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Hello everyone!!The time has come. We finish our first long-term game series! Dragon Age has come to an end as we understand it. Let's talk about The Veilguard, with good friend Holly!It is a sad time, as we go over some of the many failings of The Veilguard, its faults in production, writing, execution... And yet, all boiling down to a rather generic game (and failing even at that), that is quite unrecognizable from the Dragon Age series, even in its lowest points before.So come along for the ride, as we close the book and lay out our memorial service for this once rather unique, and damn right phenomenal, videogame series.Enjoy!If you can and are interested in early episodes and the Here Be Extras, check our Patreon!https://www.patreon.com/leftpage Also! If you're not there already, feel free to join our Discord, as we have been more talkative than usual, and plan to do so more and more!https://discord.gg/J2wgG3yrPNIntro Music: Home, by Karl Casey @ White Bat AudioOutro Music: Leve Palestina, Spartacus Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Hello everyone!!For our late Left Page this month, we dive into an odd choice, but a fruitful one! Emperor Marcus Aurelius' Meditations, from 161 A.D.!In what we find to be one of the original inspirations for self-help books, we... certainly suffer through this one! Talking about how an Emperor can isolate himself from his society and keep himself above it, becoming "a perfect and invincible soul".And we tackle it in turn, with our own experiences, charging against his feeble attempts at "human nature", what he understands existance and history to be, and worst and scariest of all, the horror of men.Enjoy!And check out the Existential Comics Frank mentioned on Epictetus!https://existentialcomics.com/comic/264If you can and are interested in early episodes and the Here Be Extras, check our Patreon!https://www.patreon.com/leftpage Also! If you're not there already, feel free to join our Discord, as we have been more talkative than usual, and plan to do so more and more!https://discord.gg/J2wgG3yrPNIntro Credits: Ultralounge, Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com)Outro Credits: Leve Palestina, Spartacus Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Hello everyone!!It's been a little while, but we're back with another Concept episode! This time trying to thing about what makes an RPG!In this new series we intend to understand a few of the several messy questions that surround this genre, including trying to define what is an RPG. In this first episode we tackle that initial question, with Leon putting forth a framework that might be the most useful way to understand not just the genre, but how games and their connection to us, can be broached.Enjoy!If you can and are interested in early episodes and the Here Be Extras, check our Patreon!https://www.patreon.com/leftpage Also! If you're not there already, feel free to join our Discord, as we have been more talkative than usual, and plan to do so more and more!https://discord.gg/J2wgG3yrPNIntro Music: Home, by Karl Casey @ White Bat AudioOutro Music: Leve Palestina, Spartacus Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

We found something.Video Referenced:https://youtu.be/AnySV4SZdqgThank you.For more, keep an eye out on:https://www.patreon.com/leftpage Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Hello everyone!!In another collab with our good friend Jay, we finally decided to talk about Opera, in particular, Don Giovani!!Come along with us as we dissect this odd portrayal of the "Don Juan" image, his terrible deeds and punishment, and continually this articulation of sound, story and music that opera can create. While never forgetting several matters of class within opera, the notions of performance and lots more!Enjoy!And check out Jay's stuff elsewhere!Library PunkAnd if able, please support Library Punk's Fundraiser!If you can and are interested in early episodes and the Here Be Extras, check our Patreon!https://www.patreon.com/leftpage Also! If you're not there already, feel free to join our Discord, as we have been more talkative than usual, and plan to do so more and more!https://discord.gg/J2wgG3yrPNIntro Music: Home, by Karl Casey @ White Bat AudioOutro Music: Leve Palestina, Spartacus Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Hello everyone!!Kicking off March, we're talking about religion, and the Catholic Church! With the Oscar-winning Conclave!As we finally dive deeper into how we engage with spirituality, organised religion, and the dreadful dynamics of power of the Catholic Church, we find an interesting film! Even if it does get beholden by its own liberal politics.A more personal episode than usual, perhaps, but no less engaging and rigorous!Enjoy!If you can and are interested in early episodes and the Here Be Extras, check our Patreon!https://www.patreon.com/leftpage Also! If you're not there already, feel free to join our Discord, as we have been more talkative than usual, and plan to do so more and more!https://discord.gg/J2wgG3yrPNIntro Music: Home, by Karl Casey @ White Bat AudioOutro Music: Leve Palestina, Spartacus Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Hello everyone!!As our episode celebration of 6 years of The Left Page we go back to the 19th century with our very first Jules Verne: 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea!For this very fun episode we not only reminisce a bit about the show and we feel about it after all this time, but also think over these elements that were at the dawn of science fiction as we know it! Elaborate scientific explanations, a tough narrative, a compelling mystery, and the ocean as wondrous and unknowable as space! It's got it all!So join us for this celebration and excellent episode in its own right, as we plumb this genre dear to us, and how it came to be, bit by bit!Enjoy!If you can and are interested in early episodes and the Here Be Extras, check our Patreon!https://www.patreon.com/leftpage Also! If you're not there already, feel free to join our Discord, as we have been more talkative than usual, and plan to do so more and more!https://discord.gg/J2wgG3yrPNIntro Credits: Ultralounge, Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com)Outro Credits: Leve Palestina, Spartacus Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Hello everyone!As we make our way through February we bring yet another collab with our friend André, and on another very liberal piece of media, the League of Legends based show: Arcane!There was potential (some) to this show, as we elaborate on it, and yet, a rushed production, a terrible political perspective, and more, turn this into yet another, although worse, liberal and alienating show - reminds us of the previous time we had André on, for X-Men '97, what a shame!And yet, although we are frustrated, we managed to make the most of it, with a better weighter episode than we expected, and no less fierce criticism, as it demanded of us.Enjoy!Check out André's stuff, in Portuguese (if able) and English!https://revistazelota.com/https://spectrummagazine.org/author/andre-kanasiro/If you can and are interested in early episodes and the Here Be Extras, check our Patreon!https://www.patreon.com/leftpage Also! If you're not there already, feel free to join our Discord, as we have been more talkative than usual, and plan to do so more and more!https://discord.gg/J2wgG3yrPNIntro Credits: Home, by Karl Casey @ White Bat AudioOutro Credits: Alternative Silence, Le Trio Jourban; Poetry & Voice, Mahmoud Darwish Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Hello everyone!!We start February in style, with Emma's return as she's got a new book out! The excellent The Quick and the Dead! Alchemy, romance, power, religion, and more!As such we talk a bit about how these elements constitute historical representation, how to depict them and queerness in the Elizabethan era, and dive into matters of religion, State power, and belief!Check it out and read the book!https://bedfordsquarepublishers.co.uk/book/the-quick-and-the-dead/If you can and are interested in early episodes and the Here Be Extras, check our Patreon!https://www.patreon.com/leftpage Also! If you're not there already, feel free to join our Discord, as we have been more talkative than usual, and plan to do so more and more!https://discord.gg/J2wgG3yrPNIntro Music: Ultralounge, Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com)Outro Music: Leve Palestina, Spartacus Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Hello everyone!!Kicking off 2025 with the Left Page we bring a very special series of books, the First Law trilogy, by Joe Abercrombie!A series dear to Leon and, now to the pod itself. We dive into how these books actually achieve goals of engaging the psychological, the social and the political, while also making compelling literature, imagine that!As such, we explore the building of this world, and how it depicts History, war, power, and even its own sense of mythology. A very strong recommendation from us, and a wonderful time for sure.Enjoy!If you can and are interested in early episodes and the Here Be Extras, check our Patreon!https://www.patreon.com/leftpage Also! If you're not there already, feel free to join our Discord, as we have been more talkative than usual, and plan to do so more and more!https://discord.gg/J2wgG3yrPNIntro Music: Ultralounge, Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com)Outro Music: Leve Palestina, Spartacus Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Hello everyone!!For our first HBM of 2025 we offer something quite strange, at first glance something all about military propaganda and nothing quite our podcast range, Ace Combat 7!But, as we are joined by our friend Sid of, among other things, The Bad Game Hall of Fame, we dive deeper!And yeah... there's a lot of propaganda, but still, attempts at telling a story and even being anti-war, but we shall see.Happy new year and here's to plenty of HBM in 2025! Enjoy!Check out Sid's stuff!https://linktr.ee/beamsplashxIf you can and are interested in early episodes and the Here Be Extras, check our Patreon!https://www.patreon.com/leftpage Also! If you're not there already, feel free to join our Discord, as we have been more talkative than usual, and plan to do so more and more!https://discord.gg/J2wgG3yrPNIntro Music: Home, by Karl Casey @ White Bat AudioOutro Music: Leve Palestina, Spartacus Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Hello everyone!We are rounding out 2024 and Dunecember with a very special episode on a... "special" film? David Lynch's Dune from 1984 is not good. But it is worth talking about, and with a friend! As Audrey joins us to brave these strange strange sands.Plenty on the erasure of community and the fremen themselves, the roles of social identity, and some of the not good choices and narrative paths this version of Dune took.And all for our very first approach of David Lynch in the podcast!Enjoy!Check out Audrey's podcast where there'll hopefully be more soon!https://open.spotify.com/show/6utj3P2gXmaziT0T5QvTj0?si=0d33a371a86e4428And the book mentioned early on about the production of this film, A Masterpiece in Disarray (David Lynch's Dune – An Oral History), by Max Evryhttps://www.1984publishing.com/bookstore/a-masterpiece-in-disarray-david-lynchs-dune-an-oral-historyIf you can and are interested in early episodes and the Here Be Extras, check our Patreon!https://www.patreon.com/leftpage Also! If you're not there already, feel free to join our Discord, as we have been more talkative than usual, and plan to do so more and more!https://discord.gg/J2wgG3yrPNIntro Music: Home, by Karl Casey @ White Bat AudioOutro Music: Leve Palestina, Spartacus Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Greetings and Salutations everyone,We decided to do a second HBM episode this month instead of a HBE, we know a part of our audience likes it when we talk about Bioware so we hope this is a fun holiday present for you guys! We are going to be honest, this is a very text based analysis, and might not be the easiest to follow along with for those who have not played the game. We do think there is something there for everyone since we talk about how you can approach RPGs and choices in video games in general. We also talk about notions of representation that are universally accessible.Hope you enjoy!Frank & LeonIf you can and are interested in early episodes and the Here Be Extras, check our Patreon!https://www.patreon.com/leftpage Also! If you're not there already, feel free to join our Discord, as we have been more talkative than usual, and plan to do so more and more!https://discord.gg/J2wgG3yrPNIntro Music: Home, by Karl Casey @ White Bat AudioOutro Music: Leve Palestina, Spartacus Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Hello everyone!!Welcome to Dunecember!! Lots of Dune to cap off 2024!For starters, we tackle the one, the original, the 1965 book by Frank Herbert! It's been a long-time coming, and we hope it was worth the wait.So join us as we talk religious manipulation, "untapped human potential", warrior cultures, being a weird little guy, and lots more in the last Left Page episode of the year.Enjoy!And please support our Patreon if you can and are interested in early episodes and the Here Be Extras!https://www.patreon.com/leftpage Intro: "Ultralounge" Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com)Outro: "Leve Palestina" Spartacus Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Hello everyone!!Here is us finally talking about the Elden Ring DLC (or just a standalone game according to the GOTY-awards, Geoff should be struck down for his hubris and so on) we hope you all enjoy it!Due to technical difficulties Ash's precis was added post-recording. Our sincere apologies if it sounds odd, it was the best we could do.Find the Crypt dwellers near a cemetery or at the following links:https://www.patreon.com/c/horrorvanguard/https://bsky.app/profile/thelitcritguy.bsky.socialhttps://bsky.app/profile/darrowvania.bsky.socialAnd please support our Patreon if you can and are interested in early episodes and the Here Be Extras!https://www.patreon.com/leftpage Also! If you're not there already, feel free to join our Discord, as we have been more talkative than usual, and plan to do so more and more!https://discord.gg/J2wgG3yrPNIntro Music: Home, by Karl Casey @ White Bat AudioOutro Music: Leve Palestina, Spartacus Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Hello everyone!!The end of the year and the holidays approach rapidly, but not yet! Rejecting that, we remain in the lands of horror, as we talk about Brian Evenson's Good Night, Sleep Tight, with our friend Nate!We dive into some of the themes in this collection of short stories, their representation of childhood and anxieties of parenthood, sleep and more. And while elaborating on elements we enjoyed and... didn't, unfortunately! Still, we have an excellent time chatting about it, and we hope you like it too!Enjoy!Do check out Nate's previous writing on Evenson and his fiction!https://www.full-stop.net/2013/07/19/blog/nathan-weatherford/unknowable-quantities/And please support our Patreon if you can and are interested in early episodes and now live Here Be Extras!https://www.patreon.com/leftpage Intro: "Ultralounge" Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com)Outro: "Leve Palestina" Spartacus Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Hello everyone!!For this month's spooky HBM we go back to Interview with a Vampire! Season 2! And in good company too, with Jay, of LibraryPunk and Tender Subject fame!It's vampire talk again, as we go back into interviewing immortal beings and finding out just how interesting their drama really is. Is it? We wonder that as we dive into this continued adaptation, its successes and limits, and just how effective, or not, their queer representation really is effective or that engaging!Enjoy!And, of course, check out Jay's work elsewhere!LibraryPunkTender SubjectAnd please support our Patreon if you can and are interested in early episodes and the Here Be Extras!https://www.patreon.com/leftpage Also! If you're not there already, feel free to join our Discord, as we have been more talkative than usual, and plan to do so more and more!https://discord.gg/J2wgG3yrPNIntro Music: Home, by Karl Casey @ White Bat AudioOutro Music: Leve Palestina, Spartacus Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Hello everyone!!It's October and you know what that means! We drag the ghost, from their crypts (or ship) and have a good Halloween book chat!As Jon joined us for China Mieville's 2nd book of the Bas-Lag Trilogy: the Scar!It's a great time talking about the power and potential of class consciousness, the strange dynamics of cities, pirates, liberation, and the terrible risks of mishandling quantum and nuclear physics.It's Mieville, it's a fun book, and a phenomenal chat! Enjoy!Also buy Jon's Book!https://repeaterbooks.com/product/capitalism-a-horror-story-gothic-marxism-and-the-dark-side-of-the-radical-imagination/And, naturally, check out and support the Horror Vanguard!https://horrorvanguard.comhttps://www.patreon.com/horrorvanguard/postsAnd please support our Patreon if you can and are interested in early episodes and now live Here Be Extras!https://www.patreon.com/leftpage Intro: "Ultralounge" Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com)Outro: "Leve Palestina" Spartacus Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Hello everyone!!For this chaotic month's HBM we're diving into one of Frank's favourite genres, right back into detective fiction! This time talking about the very weird and very interesting Paradise Killer!Join us as we discuss the complexities of building a world from scratch, of making a sociologically compelling story, and creating a decent and engaging medium to solve a mystery. All while dealing with the colonial violence and oppression exacted by an even more powerful ruling class!What kind of detective are we, when we're the supreme elite?All this and more on this episode! Enjoy!And please support our Patreon if you can and are interested in early episodes and the Here Be Extras!https://www.patreon.com/leftpage Also! If you're not there already, feel free to join our Discord, as we have been more talkative than usual, and plan to do so more and more!https://discord.gg/J2wgG3yrPNIntro Music: Home, by Karl Casey @ White Bat AudioOutro Music: Leve Palestina, Spartacus Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Hello everyone!!We kick off September with a very interesting concept episode, as we talk about Tropes, and clichés and archetypes!A very good time as we consider not just the creation of art, especially literature, but also its very superficial and weak discourse that is mostly upheld by these building blocks of tropes.We also go over a general engagement with art and the willingness to confront plenty of both good and bad, and even some of our personally most enjoyed and hated tropes!Enjoy!And please support our Patreon if you can and are interested in early episodes and now live Here Be Extras!https://www.patreon.com/leftpage Intro: "Ultralounge" Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com)Outro: "Leve Palestina" Spartacus Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Hello everyone!!This is a big one! We are finally talking about Baldur's Gate 3!In our longest Left Page and Here Be Media episode to date we dive into many of the complexities involving Dungeons & Dragons, tabletop RPGs, the fantasy problems of "races" and this incredibly interesting and fun game of wish-fulfillment, adventure, and more!We still have many critiques though, and go into ways this is a remarkable game, but could have been even more engaging and entertaining too.We are also, of course, joined by Holly! Making this equal parts a serious, critical, and very very fun episode! Enjoy!!As part of our question of "races" in D&D, check out the following video too:Bioessentialism in Gaming, https://youtu.be/u2PhrI4yZXYAnd please support our Patreon if you can and are interested in early episodes and two current Here Be Extras!https://www.patreon.com/leftpage Also! If you're not there already, feel free to join our Discord, as we have been more talkative than usual, and plan to do so more and more!https://discord.gg/J2wgG3yrPNIntro Music: Home, by Karl Casey @ White Bat AudioOutro Music: Leve Palestina, Spartacus Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Hello everyone!!It has been one year since, but we return to the responsible dystopia of The Expanse! Following books 4 to 6, Cibola Burn, Nemesis Games & Babylon's Ashes!This time we dive further into the possible horrors mankind can accomplish all on its own, the difficult nature of resistance and rebellion, the looming unknowns orders of magnitude above humanity, and how this book series continues to be incredible in its commitment to the psychological the economical and the sociological!Enjoy!And if you missed it, check out the first part!Episode 70 - The Expanse 1-3: Where Subtle Utopia Meets Responsible DystopiaAnd please support our Patreon if you can and are interested in early episodes and now live Here Be Extras!https://www.patreon.com/leftpage Intro: "Ultralounge" Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com)Outro: "Leve Palestina" Spartacus Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Comrades!Lend us your ears! As one of the best to ever pod it joins us to talk about his book!Are you tired of being alone in the dark clutches of Capital-C-Capitalism?! Then take our hand our downtrodden compatriot, and join us on a voyage of radical informational archeology, and imagination."If you've been feeling isolated or afraid, take up this book and find that the only thing hiding in the shadows is our hope for a better world that could yet be."— Ashley DarrowPlease, enjoy!Leon & FrankBuy it! We are no longer asking:https://repeaterbooks.com/product/capitalism-a-horror-story-gothic-marxism-and-the-dark-side-of-the-radical-imagination/ Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Hello everyone!!As a special treat this July, we have another Here Be Media episode! It's an X-Men deep dive, even as we talk about the latest show, and we're joined by a good friend and academic, André Kanasiro!We talk about the many parallels that are usually established when one talks about the X-Men, the pervading liberalism of it all, and the terrible terrible notions of "evolution" at play here too! We even touch upon the early 2000s films and even some recent comics, it's an X-Men full platter!Enjoy!You can find Andre on Instagram, BlueSky, And Twitter at: @andrekanasiroMentioned:https://revistazelota.com/ and @revistazelota in all social media.https://spectrummagazine.org/ and @spectrummag on Twitter, and @adventistforum on Instagram.And please support our Patreon if you can and are interested in early episodes and the upcoming Here Be Extras!https://www.patreon.com/leftpage Intro Music: Home, by Karl Casey @ White Bat AudioOutro Music: Leve Palestina, Spartacus Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Hello everyone!!For our first episode of July we have a very special collab! We are joined by Cassidy and Charkie of the Bad Game Hall of Fame to talk about bad videogames!Havin been interested in the subject for a while, we bring in the experts to dive into and games, and their merits!What makes a videogame bad? Why are they still interesting? How can we talk about and make content on them? How do we engage with their history?These are only some of the questions we go into in this episode, all while thinking about the media criticism we make and how we engage with this gripping artistic medium for us: videogames.Do absolutely check out Bad Game Hall of Fame in all their forms!https://www.badgamehalloffame.com/https://www.twitch.tv/badgamehalloffamehttps://www.youtube.com/@badgamehalloffamehttps://www.patreon.com/badgamehalloffameAnd please support our Patreon if you can and are interested in early episodes and the upcoming Here Be Extras!https://www.patreon.com/leftpage Intro Music: Home, by Karl Casey @ White Bat AudioOutro Music: Downtime, Miracle of Sound Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Hello everyone!!For our Here Be Media episode of the month, we dive into some aspects of this horrible and conservative force we call: Canon!To start off this new Concept series we go into some media products and franchises, their issues as "IPs", fandom and their relationship to Canon, and finally, we talk about this terrible beast we see as the Literary Canon!Join us as we start laying the groundwork to show and elaborate on how this must necessarily be brought down.Enjoy!And please support our Patreon if you can and are interested in early episodes and the upcoming Here Be Extras!https://www.patreon.com/leftpage Intro Music: Home, by Karl Casey @ White Bat AudioOutro Music: Leve Palestina, Spartacus Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Hello everyone!!For this month's Left Page we turn back to China Miéville, in a weird and fascinating book about detective stories, borders, and violence, it is The City and the City!In this episode we dive into the place of these cities, both fictionally and the real-world cultures they interact with and are a part of; we consider the detective narrative and how it interacts with this story, and the inherent violence to sustaining and upholding borders!Enjoy!And please support our Patreon if you can and are interested in early episodes and the upcoming Here Be Extras!https://www.patreon.com/leftpage Intro: "Ultralounge" Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com)Outro: "Leve Palestina" Spartacus Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Hello everyone!!For this month's Left Page we talked about the very weird, very interesting, and very hybrid Gogmagog, by Jeff Noon and Steve Beard! And we are joined by friend and podcaster Eden, of Heavy Blog is Heavy, Death // Sentence and AnarchySF fame!It's a thorough conversation over the weirdness present in the book, the alegory with England and the broader aspect of Hybridity in the many intersections, exchanges and differences Gogmagog presents us.Join us as we dive into some very strange, yet damn good fantasy! Have fun!And do check out Eden's various projects and works!Heavy Blog is HeavyDeath // SentenceAnarchySFAnd please support our Patreon if you're interested and want access to early content and the bonus Reading Corners!! Big things are coming! https://www.patreon.com/leftpage Intro: "Ultralounge" Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com)Outro: "Leve Palestina" Spartacus Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Hello everyone!!For our second HBM we'll dive into an animated sci-fi series that's weird, strange and very very interesting, we talk about Scavenger's Reign! And we won't do so alone, as we invited our great friend Nate along!Join us as we discuss the challenges of being marooned in an alien moon, the inherent horror of capitalism in space, and how we must be open to engage with the environment and the world around us, and even then, we can't escape ourselves, our traumas, and our hopes.Enjoy!And please support our Patreon if you're interested and want access to early content and the bonus Reading Corners!! Big things are coming! https://www.patreon.com/leftpageIntro Music: Home, by Karl Casey @ White Bat AudioOutro Music: Leve Palestina, Spartacus Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Hello everyone!!For our first May episode we have a mega collab with Horror Vanguard, on Starship Troopers (1997), directed by Paul Verhoeven!As we interweave Heinlein's book with the film we ultimately dive into how fascism works and should be fought at every turn, in every way.Enjoy!Do check out Jon's book on Bloch and Utopia: https://www.amazon.com/Primer-Utopian-Philosophy-Jonathan-Greenaway/dp/1803413271/ref=sr_1_1?sr=8-1Also check out one of our references and excellent approach to the film, Heinlein and more: https://youtu.be/y5bHLrGBUKoAnd, naturally, check out and support the Horror Vanguard!https://horrorvanguard.comhttps://www.patreon.com/horrorvanguard/postsAnd please support our Patreon if you're interested and want access to early content and the bonus Reading Corners!! Big things are coming! https://www.patreon.com/leftpageIntro Music: Home, by Karl Casey @ White Bat AudioOutro Music: Leve Palestina, Spartacus Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Hello everyone!!For our Left Page episode of the month we are talking about a very interesting book, and documentary series! It's John Berger's "Ways of Seeing", and to dive deep we are joined by our friend, podcaster and art historian, Nadjah of Imaginarium Podcast!We think about colonialism, the idea of "value" when atributed to art, the connection with the viewer of an art piece and how all these questions are connected to the idea of the "canon" in art, and, more importantly, capitalism and imperialism.Overall, a necessary and wide chat on art and how we see it, enjoy!!Do check out and support Nadjah's work and her podcast:IMAGINARIUM: An Alternate History of Art!Also do check out the image and video Leon mentions at the end! (It's in Dutch, but with English Subtitles!) https://youtu.be/rIjNJHAsHCwAnd please support our Patreon if you're interested and want access to early content and the bonus Reading Corners!! Big things are coming! https://www.patreon.com/leftpage Intro: "Ultralounge" Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com)Outro: "Leve Palestina" Spartacus Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Hello everyone!!As a special treat for Pesach, we dive into the incredible animated film The Prince of Egypt!Approaching Faith and Liberation, we consider not just the question of religious & historical narratives and their complex relations, but also of their representation in media. Further still, we talk about violence and how to comprehend "violence" in the name of Liberation.In a conversation that is equal parts personal, religious, historical and, as always, political, we talk not only of an important film to us, but when Faith is allied with Liberation, and the fruits that can come of it.Enjoy!And please support our Patreon if you're interested and want access to early content and the bonus Reading Corners!! Big things are coming! https://www.patreon.com/leftpageIntro Music: Home, by Karl Casey @ White Bat AudioOutro Music: Leve Palestina, Spartacus Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Hello everyone!Our first episode of April is a different one, if something we've been meaning to do for a while, more than talking about a game, it's a studio, so join us as we talk about Bethesda and their games!Jumping off from our mention of Bethesda games and their connection to mods last month, and Leon's previous writing on Skyrim, we decided to dive properly into their games and their "style".We talk of narrative and engagement with the world, alongside what are some ways their big franchises of Fallout and Elder Scrolls succeed and fail to create interesting political and social narratives.All while trying to understand what makes these games sometimes good, and sometimes fun, especially as we think of this idea of the "pulp" and how it helps to describe Bethesda and Fallout.Have fun!And please support our Patreon if you're interested and want access to early content and the bonus Reading Corners!! Big things are coming! https://www.patreon.com/leftpageIntro Music: Home, by Karl Casey @ White Bat AudioOutro Music: Leve Palestina, Spartacus Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Hello everyone!To round out this month's episodes, we dive back into sci-fi, and more utopian fiction! With a recommendation from listener, and patron, Nate: Monica Byrne's The Actual Star!It's a complex discusson on Utopian writing, its challenges, and how sometimes things don't quite work out as we'd like. So join us in this conversation on Utopia and Religion, historical and sociological approaches, and more!And if you, listener, have other suggestions and recommendations, by all means, let us know!!Enjoy!Do check out our other episodes mentioned in this one, on Kim Stanley Robinson's "2312" and Marge Piercy's "Woman on the Edge of Time"!And please support our Patreon if you're interested and want access to early content and the bonus Reading Corners!! Big things are coming! https://www.patreon.com/leftpage Intro: "Ultralounge" Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com)Outro: "Leve Palestina" Spartacus Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Hello everyone!!As we're rounding out March, we offer a different kind of conceptual HBM episode! We take a look at videogame mods, what they are, what they can be, and what's so damn interesting about them!Join us as we talk about the difficulties involved in modding, the relationship to game companies, and how mods, at their best, can express an immense passion and creativity, in an anarchic and decentralised way.Have fun!And please support our Patreon if you're interested and want access to early content and the bonus Reading Corners!! Big things are coming! https://www.patreon.com/leftpage Intro Music: Home, by Karl Casey @ White Bat AudioOutro Music: Leve Palestina, Spartacus Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Hello everyone!!As a logical continuation of Leon's writings on Rockstar and GTA, we both revisited a game (not a franchise, mind you), which enrages and frustrates us both Max Payne 3.In a game where you relentlessly shoot poor brown and black people and play the "American Hero" cop, we dive into what this game does with this setup and what it doesn't believe in. For as Leon put it before, there is little it believes but pure raw Hatred. Obviously, we have to talk about it, from the terrible representation and use of Brazil, to the awfulness and pointlessness of this game more broadly.Join us as we start a serious dive into "bad games" and how they can be objectively terrible, enjoy!Check out Something Rotten podcast: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/something-rotten/id1523064458And please support our Patreon if you're interested and want access to early content and the bonus Reading Corners!! Big things are coming! https://www.patreon.com/leftpage Intro Music: Home, by Karl Casey @ White Bat AudioOutro Music: Tenha Fé, Os Originais do Samba Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Hello everyone!!For this final February episode, we, talk about when Cyberpunk... goes awry, to put it mildly, it's time to see the issues of Cyberpunk 2077 and Cyberpunk Edgerunners!We dive into what happens when one tries to recreate just the aesthetics of a genre, and the effects of cutting out the politics. And so we turn to this hollowness at the heart of a "cyberpunk" that has left out all that was remotely punk about it. It is what Walter Benjamin calls politics rendered aesthetic, it is what fascism does. So join us with the limitations of these products and how they could have been so much more interesting, and think through some of that too!Have fun!Check out AGAB's episode on Cyberpunk as well!https://soundcloud.com/agabpod/37-cyberpunk-2077And please support our Patreon if you're interested and want access to early content and the bonus Reading Corners!! Big things are coming! https://www.patreon.com/leftpage Intro Music: Home, by Karl Casey @ White Bat AudioOutro Music: Leve Palestina, Spartacus Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Hello everyone!!We continue well into February, as we bring in the incomparable Labor Kyle to talk about... one of the best games of all time. It's time to talk about Disco Elysium!!Join us as we dive into the real genesis and formation of revolutionary character that can happen in Harry DuBois, and then, with no less gravitas, about the intersection of this game with Walter Benjamin's "Thesis on the Concept of History". How Harry himself can be History amidst the Ruins strewn about that we can, in-game, interact with and ponder over, as we, maybe, act as a detective.It's a special game, with a special episode to boot! Enjoy!And check out these fantastic videos we mentioned:https://youtu.be/cdW7Cp0iV0A?si=iv15kCERH02Ciydihttps://youtu.be/lkNrfTUO1NM?si=vBMzRJSjzWW0x1ZRAnd check out Kyle's stuff and his podcast All Gamers Are Bastards!https://twitter.com/laborkylepatreon.com/agabpodAnd please support our Patreon if you're interested and want access to early content and the bonus Reading Corners!! Big things are coming! https://www.patreon.com/leftpage Intro Music: Home, by Karl Casey @ White Bat AudioOutro Music: Leve Palestina, Spartacus Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Hello everyone!! Happy 5 year anniversary of the Left Page!! This is a huge achievement and one I still can't believe is here, and yet, it has been a wonderful journey so far, and we're not thinking about stopping anytime soon! To celebrate such a date, Leon and I spoke about a book foundational to my entire research, the 1516 book by Thomas More: Utopia. We delve into some of its history, the tradition of utopian literature, problems and interesting aspects of the very first literary utopia and plenty more. Thank you so much for listening everyone and for being here for these 5 years, whether you're a new or old listener, thank you, from the bottom of our hearts!And to our Patrons, thank you for making this project all the more valued and significant! here's to 5 more years!! Enjoy!! And please support our Patreon if you're interested and want access to early content and the bonus Reading Corners!! Big things are coming! https://www.patreon.com/leftpage Intro: "Ultralounge" Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com)Outro: "Leve Palestina" Spartacus Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Hello everyone!!For our last January episode we dive into an excellent recent trilogy of games, Hitman: World of Assassination, and think about how good these games are, as they embrace strong silliness.Alongside advancing Frank's ideas and arguments for the silly, we look into the protagonist of Agent 47 and how his hypercompetence is both related to, and changed, by the silly aspects of the game. It's both a very fun show, and one that explores an interesting combination of the serious and the silly to the benefit of the two, and to the game itself.Have fun!Please support our Patreon if you're interested and want access to early content and the bonus Reading Corners! https://www.patreon.com/leftpage Intro Music: Home, by Karl Casey @ White Bat AudioOutro Music: Leve Palestina, Spartacus Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Hello everyone!! Kicking off 2024 for the Left Page we have a very special episode with dramaturgist and debut novelist Emma Hinds, as we talk about her, as of this episode's release, published book The Knowing! Via this gothic, queer, historical, and violent story, Emma joins us as we dive into some of the ways both the book, and ourselves, try to engage with Art: how to create it, understand it, and critique it. Further still, we think about the many ways Art connects with us personally, and how, a lot of the times, learning about ourselves and where we stand lets us enjoy and go deeper into stories and books. It is an excellent time on The Knowing, and various themes it made us think about! Enjoy! And do check out Emma's book, available for purchase now!Emma's own blogEmma on TwitterAvaliable links for purchase: Waterstones & Queer Lit BooksellersAnd please support our Patreon if you're interested and want access to early content and the bonus Reading Corners!! Big things are coming! https://www.patreon.com/leftpage Intro: "Ultralounge" Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com)Outro: "Leve Palestina" Spartacus Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Hello everyone!! To kick off 2024 we consider some of our different plans for the pods, our big ideas and the things we have in store! And, of course, we chat a bit about upcoming media we're interested in, some which interests us and some which uhhh concerns/frustrates us. It's a new year with a whole lot more to read, watch, play, and talk about! Have fun, and hapy new year! Please support our Patreon if you're interested and want access to early content and the bonus Reading Corners! https://www.patreon.com/leftpage Intro Music: Home, by Karl Casey @ White Bat AudioOutro Music: Leve Palestina, Spartacus Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Hello everyone!! To finally wrap up 2023, we stop for a moment and think back on both the things we saw/watched/played and even recorded this year, to review how it went.And overall, we're pretty happy with what we've done and are planning to do next year!! Thank you so much for a great year, especially, especially our Patrons, and here's to another fun and full of great conversations 2024! Thank you and see you soon! Please support our Patreon if you're interested and want access to early content and the bonus Reading Corners! https://www.patreon.com/leftpage Intro Music: The Planets, op. 32: Jupiter, the Bringer of Jollity, Gustav Holt, 1916 Outro Music: Leve Palestina, Spartacus Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Hello everyone!For our final 2023 Left Page episode, we are joined by Jay, of LibraryPunk and Tender Subject fame to talk about the "original dark academia text" Donna Tartt's The Secret History!It's a wonderful send off of 2023 as we dive into what "dark academia" is and can be, the bad writing of novels, the characterization of terrible characters, and how rich people are always terrible!Enjoy!Jay's Good Dark Academia recs:- If We Were Villains, M. L. Rio, 2017- Vita Nostra, Marina & Sergey Dyachenko, 2018Check out Jay's work elsewhere!LibraryPunkTender SubjectAnd please support our Patreon if you're interested and want access to early content and the bonus Reading Corners! https://www.patreon.com/leftpage Intro Music: Gymnopédie Nº1, Erik Satie, 1888Outro Music: Leve Palestina, Spartacus, 2016 Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Hello everyone!As we round out the year, we have some very fun shows to share, and here we are with one of our favourite games this year: Armored Core VI!Nevermind the From Software bias, we do find plenty to talk about in regards to the destructive nature of the mech-economy, how characterization functions in this wonderfully fun game, and how inescapable the capitalist realist mech-economy might really be. Dark and fun throughout, enjoy our last videogame episode of 2023!Have fun!And if you'd like to check out some of the lore stuff from Armored Core and the likes, we recommend:VaatiVidya's Series PlaythroughAesirAesthetics Series AnalysisSinclair Lore's Armored Core Videos Please support our Patreon if you're interested and want access to early content and the bonus Reading Corners! https://www.patreon.com/leftpage Intro Music: The Planets, op. 32: Jupiter, the Bringer of Jollity, Gustav Holt, 1916Outro Music: Leve Palestina, Spartacus Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Hello everyone!!As we wrap up November we talk about a game we encourage you NOT to play! And yet, there's still plenty interesting, and plenty important, to talk about regardless. So join us as we talk about another game in Bioware's roster, it's Dragon Age II!A somewhat timely discussion, given the many layoffs in Bioware and just how the politics in this game can be so quintessentially liberal, and awful. All in all, we get on the relevant point of how to stand and the need to stand, aside from centrist bulshitting nonsense. So come along as we dissect some of the frustrating and plain awful aspects of this game.Enjoy!Please support our Patreon if you're interested and want access to early content and the bonus Reading Corners! https://www.patreon.com/leftpage Intro Music: The Planets, op. 32: Jupiter, the Bringer of Jollity, Gustav Holt, 1916Outro Music: Leve Palestina, Spartacus Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.