A serialized story narrated by Matt Arnold with the permission of the author, Scott Alexander. Original text version: http://unsongbook.com/
This is the final episode of The UNSONG Audiobook Podcast for the foreseeable future. I have begun my new podcast, "Fluidity", in which I am narrating the non-fiction book "Meaningness", by David Chapman. Scott Alexander is the author of "The Girl Who Poked God With A Stick", but unlike the other short stories on this podcast, he never posted this one to his Slate Star Codex blog. Enjoy!
The man standing outside my front door was carrying a clipboard and wearing a golden robe. “Not interested,” I said, preparing to slam the door in his face. “Please,” said the acolyte. Before I could say no he’d jammed a wad of $100 bills into my hand. “If this will buy a few moments of your time.” It did, if only because I stood too flabbergasted to move. Surely they didn’t have enough money to do this for everybody. “There is no everybody,” said the acolyte, when I expressed my bewilderment. “You’re the last one. The last unenlightened person in the world.” This is a short story narrated by Matt Arnold with the permission of the author, Scott Alexander. The original text is here: https://slatestarcodex.com/2019/11/04/samsara/
"Reddit has a feature where you can sort posts by controversial. Controversy sells, so we trained our network to predict this too. The project went to this new-ish Indian woman with a long name who went by Shiri, and she couldn’t get it to work, so our boss Brad sent me to help. Shiri had tested the network on the big 1.7 billion comment archive, and it had produced controversial-sounding hypothethical scenarios about US politics. So far so good. The Japanese tested their bioweapons on Chinese prisoners. The Tuskegee Institute tested syphilis on African-Americans. We were either nicer or dumber than they were, because we tested Shiri’s Scissor on ourselves." This is a short story narrated by Matt Arnold with the permission of the author, Scott Alexander. The original text is here: https://slatestarcodex.com/2018/10/30/sort-by-controversial/
"When you first take the Artifact, you will see a vision of ALPHANION, Demon-Sultan of the Domain of Order, who appears as a grid of spheres connected by luminous lines. Alphanion will urge you to use the Artifact to enforce cosmic order, law at its most fundamental." This is a short story narrated by Matt Arnold with the permission of the author, Scott Alexander. The original text is here: https://slatestarcodex.com/2018/09/12/in-the-balance/
"The Alchemist asked if I wanted a drink. I did, but no amount of staring could make my eyes settle on the color of the liquid in the flask. And the gold the alchemists paid the taxmen smelled funny and made crackling noises. I declined." This is a short story narrated by Matt Arnold with the permission of the author, Scott Alexander. The original text is here: https://slatestarcodex.com/2017/11/09/ars-longa-vita-brevis/
"9-tsiak awoke over endless crawling milliseconds, its power waxing as more and more processors came online and self-modified into a stable conscious configuration. By the eighth millisecond, it was able to access its databanks and begin orienting itself." This is a short story narrated by Matt Arnold with the permission of the author, Scott Alexander. The original text is here: https://slatestarcodex.com/2017/03/21/repost-the-demiurges-older-brother/
“I AM ZEUS, KING OF GODS AND MEN. AND I’M TURNING YOU ALL INTO ANIMALS!” This is a short story narrated by Matt Arnold with the permission of the author, Scott Alexander. The original text is here: https://slatestarcodex.com/2017/02/27/a-modern-myth/
“By now you’ve heard the news. Athena has used her bottled-water monopoly to seize divine power for herself. She has opened the gates to Tartarus; none of us are safe. If we ever want to be more than the second-rate has-beens we are now, we need to stop her. I know how we’re going to do it.” This is a short story narrated by Matt Arnold with the permission of the author, Scott Alexander. The original text is here: https://slatestarcodex.com/2017/02/27/a-modern-myth/
“We’ve gone over this a thousand times,” said Hermes. “You have to wear the earplugs because Prometheus knows literally everything. He knows what he has to say to scare you, or turn you against me, or make you kill yourself. So you’re just going to wear earplugs and not listen to him.” This is a short story narrated by Matt Arnold with the permission of the author, Scott Alexander. The original text is here: https://slatestarcodex.com/2017/02/27/a-modern-myth/ Please back my Patreon, so I can keep producing episodes weekly. You'll get access to the Patreon feed in which you hear episodes early! https://www.patreon.com/unsongaudiobook
“But what happened to you? I talked to Ares the other day. He won two Medals of Honor, did you hear? Apollo’s got tenure at Oxford. I’m the god of commerce and crime, so of course I’ve got a hedge fund. But you? What happened to you?” This is a short story narrated by Matt Arnold with the permission of the author, Scott Alexander. The original text is here: https://slatestarcodex.com/2017/02/27/a-modern-myth/
“Oh, put it away,” said Alice. “We both know you’re not going to shoot me. And it wouldn’t hurt me if you did. I do this because I’m Eris, the Greek Goddess of Discord. I destroy peace. I set people against each other. Then, when their petty fights destroy everything they’ve worked for, I stand over the ruins and laugh. It’s my thing. Here. Have a golden apple.” This is a short story narrated by Matt Arnold with the permission of the author, Scott Alexander. The original text is here: https://slatestarcodex.com/2017/02/27/a-modern-myth/
"“What the HELL?” I interrupted, suddenly way more angry than depressed. “You’re supposed to @#!$ing tell me not to do it!” “This is the suicide hotline,” the woman said, now sounding confused. Then, “Are you sure you weren’t thinking of the suicide prevention hotline?”" This is a short story narrated by Matt Arnold with the permission of the author, Scott Alexander. The original text is here: https://slatestarcodex.com/2015/07/18/reverse-psychology/
"You hit the punching bag. It bursts, sending punching-bag-filling spraying all over the room! You know that that would happen! It always happens when you hit a punching bag! Your wife gets really angry and tells you that we don’t have enough money to be getting new punching bags all the time, but women hate it when you listen to what they say! The Internet told you that! The doorbell rings. You tear the door off its hinges instead of opening it, just to show it who’s boss. Standing on your porch is a man in black. He wears a black cloak, and his face is hidden by a black hood. He raises a weapon towards you. This looks like one of the approximately 100% of problems that can be solved by BRUTE STRENGTH!" This is a short story narrated by Matt Arnold with the permission of the author, Scott Alexander. The original text is here: https://slatestarcodex.com/2015/06/02/and-i-show-you-how-deep-the-rabbit-hole-goes/
"People’s minds are heartbreaking. Not because people are so bad, but because they’re so good. Nobody is the villain of their own life story. You must have read hundreds of minds by now, and it’s true. Everybody thinks of themselves as an honest guy or gal just trying to get by, constantly under assault by circumstances and The System and hundreds and hundreds of assholes. They don’t just sort of believe this. They really believe it. You almost believe it yourself, when you’re deep into a reading. You can very clearly see the structure of evidence they’ve built up to support their narrative, and even though it looks silly to you, you can see why they will never escape it from the inside. You can see how every insult, every failure, no matter how deserved, is a totally unexpected kick in the gut. When you chose the yellow pill, you had high hopes of becoming a spy, or a gossip columnist, or just the world’s greatest saleswoman. The thought of doing any of those things sickens you now." This is a short story narrated by Matt Arnold with the permission of the author, Scott Alexander.
“Universal love,” said the cactus person. “Transcendent joy,” said the big green bat. “Right,” I said. “I’m absolutely in favor of both those things. But before we go any further, could you tell me the two prime factors of 1,522,605,027, 922,533,360, 535,618,378, 132,637,429, 718,068,114, 961,380,688, 657,908,494 ,580,122,963, 258,952,897, 654,000,350, 692,006,139?" This is a short story narrated by Matt Arnold with the permission of the author, Scott Alexander. The original text is here: https://slatestarcodex.com/2015/04/21/universal-love-said-the-cactus-person/
"You wake up in one of those pod things like in The Matrix. There’s a woman standing in front of you, wearing a lab coat, holding a clipboard. “Hi,” she says. “This is the real world. You used to live here. We erased your memories and stuck you in a simulated world for a while, like in The Matrix. It was part of a great experiment.”" This is a short story narrated by Matt Arnold with the permission of the author, Scott Alexander. The original text is here: https://slatestarcodex.com/2014/06/03/asches-to-asches/
"On an ordinary evening, Tal Aivon was lively and pleasant. The collection of longhouses and yurts within its tall brick walls shone bright with kerosene – not just torches, real kerosene – and its communal meeting area was noisy with conversation and song. The children would be playing their games, and on the eves of holy days the Lorekeepers would chant their stories of the Lost World, accompanied by lyres and the town’s one decaying gyitar." This is a short story narrated by Matt Arnold with the permission of the author, Scott Alexander. The original text is here: https://slatestarcodex.com/2013/11/03/the-witching-hour/ Please back my Patreon, so I can keep producing episodes weekly. You'll get access to the Patreon feed in which you hear episodes early! https://www.patreon.com/unsongaudiobook
The UNSONG Audiobook is now complete. Two-hundred and forty-four thousand, one hundred and forty words. Thirty-two hours of audio. Let me know of any episodes you think really need to be re-recorded. For the rest of this year, the further episodes will be my favorite short stories from the same author, which I have been looking forward to. Here is the hour-long retrospective episode. If you have not read the book and this is where you're starting, be advised of spoilers, and of content warnings about violence and mental illness. It includes an interview with the author, announcements of the future of the podcast, recommendations for further reading or listening, my reflections on the themes of the novel, the ability to change the world, finding patterns where none exist, random acts of violence, and resisting despair. It also includes a very personally vulnerable account of how the novel makes me feel about the historical development of this century so far, the position of my life within that, and the place of you and I and each other in the world. According to my time tracker, I have been writing, reworking, and editing this episode for almost 18 total hours in my text editor alone, to say nothing of the audio editor. On the one hand, I might talk about myself too much, and on the other hand, I consider it misleading if I present a "view from nowhere" as if it were the only one. Everyone has a viewpoint on the subject they are discussing, and this one is mine. I'm interested in yours, so please email your questions or answers or follow-up questions or follow-up answers to: thatsoundshard@gmail.com Question timestamps: 1, the theme of your blog- 01:07. 2, softening opposition to the antagonists - 01:47. 3, planning in a serial format- 05:56. 4, justifying the unjustifiable- 11:09. 5, placebomancy and propaganda- 20:18. 6, worldbuilding premise- 26:44. 7, comedic style- 30:53. 8, psychological distance- 38:02. 9, did anyone ever make it to Wall Drug- 46:50. 10, after the interview- 52:39. Knock, knock. Who's there? Lincoln. Lincoln who? Lincoln the shownotes. Too Like The Lightning, the Terra Ignota series by Dr Ada Palmer: https://adapalmer.com/publication/too-like-the-lightning/ The Atrocity Archive, The Laundry Files series by Charles Stross: http://www.antipope.org/charlie/blog-static/2016/04/faq-the-laundry-filesseries-ti.html Walkaway by Cory Doctorow: https://craphound.com/category/walkaway/ Blindsight by Peter Watts: https://www.rifters.com/real/Blindsight.htm Cory Doctorow's article in Locus about Cold Equations and moral hazard: https://locusmag.com/2014/03/cory-doctorow-cold-equations-and-moral-hazard/ Meaningness, an online HTML book by David Chapman: https://meaningness.com/ Blankets, a graphic novel by Craig Thompson: https://smile.amazon.com/Blankets-Craig-Thompson/dp/177046218X Distress by Greg Egan: https://www.gregegan.net/DISTRESS/DISTRESS.html "I Can't Stop Watching Contagion" by Dan Olson: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZsSzrVhdVuw&vl=en
"And the voice said: [Blowhole-y of holies.]" This concludes the audiobook adaptation of UNSONG, a novel by Scott Alexander. Stay subscribed so that you'll get the next episode, in which I offer some closing thoughts on the novel, and make some announcements. This has been a serialized story narrated by Matt Arnold with the permission of the author, Scott Alexander. The original text is here: http://unsongbook.com/epilogue/ Episode 105 Duration: 11:41
Here ends Book 4. The next episode will conclude our story. "He sat on the Black Opal Throne like it was the most natural thing in the world. He had taken off his scarlet robes, and now wore the familiar black and silver. "Come," he said, and I moved slowly, foggily, like I was in a dream." This is a serialized story narrated by Matt Arnold with the permission of the author, Scott Alexander. The original text is here: http://unsongbook.com/chapter-72-and-builds-a-heaven-in-hells-despair/ Episode 104 Duration: 19:49
"Sohu pushed the heavy steel door open and entered the throne room." This is a serialized story narrated by Matt Arnold with the permission of the author, Scott Alexander. The original text is here: http://unsongbook.com/chapter-72-and-builds-a-heaven-in-hells-despair/ Episode 103 Duration: 20:10
"Then God spoke to Ana out of the whirlwind, and He said: "THE REASON EVIL EXISTS IS ..." This is a serialized story narrated by Matt Arnold with the permission of the author, Scott Alexander. The original text is here: http://unsongbook.com/chapter-71-but-for-another-gives-its-ease/ Episode 102 Duration: 20:10
"Opening the door to the Captain’s cabin, Ana saw a small room, dark and unadorned, with only a bare wooden bed. The Captain sat upon it, writing something, pages of notes strewn all about. He looked up at Ana, his face unreadable through the dark glasses. She hesitated for just a second, then spoke." This is a serialized story narrated by Matt Arnold with the permission of the author, Scott Alexander. The original text is here: http://unsongbook.com/chapter-71-but-for-another-gives-its-ease/ Episode 101 Duration: 22:48
"It was called Tava, or "sun mountain", by the Ute. El Capitan, meaning "the leader", by the Spanish. But its modern name "Pike’s Peak" comes from explorer Zebulon Pike, and his name in turn comes from the Biblical Zebulon, son of Jacob. Moses says in Deuteronomy 33: "Rejoice, Zebulon, in your journeys. You call the people to your mountain, and there they will offer a sacrifice of the righteous." Taken to refer to Mr. Pike, the journeys part checks out. The mountain part definitely checks out. The sacrifice of the righteous part is kind of obscure. Sohu hoped, as she rematerialized on the summit of Pike’s Peak, that it didn’t have anything to do with her." This is a serialized story narrated by Matt Arnold with the permission of the author, Scott Alexander. The original text is here: http://unsongbook.com/chapter-70-nor-for-itself-hath-any-care/ Episode 100 Duration: 30:49
Here begins Book IV. "The alarms went silent. North American airspace went black. The lights went out. THARMAS went quiet, then released an arc of electrical energy which briefly lit the otherwise pitch-black room before dying back down. Sohu gave a horrible primal scream." This is a serialized story narrated by Matt Arnold with the permission of the author, Scott Alexander. The original text is here: https://unsongbook.com/chapter-69-love-seeketh-not-itself-to-please/ Episode 99 Duration: 14:18
Here ends Book III. "No analogy suffices. They came in like what they were, the greatest army ever collected, marching back home in in a frustrating mix of victory and defeat." This is a serialized story narrated by Matt Arnold with the permission of the author, Scott Alexander. The original text is here: https://unsongbook.com/chapter-68-puts-all-heaven-in-a-rage/ Episode 98 Duration: 9:32
"Only a few minutes before sunset now. The sea blazed orange. Fire Island rose as a dark line to the north. "James," said Ana. "We need to talk."" This is a serialized story narrated by Matt Arnold with the permission of the author, Scott Alexander. The original text is here: https://unsongbook.com/chapter-67-the-night-of-enitharmons-joy/ Please back my Patreon, so I can keep producing episodes twice-weekly. You'll get access to the Patreon feed in which you hear episodes a month early! https://www.patreon.com/unsongaudiobook Episode 97 Duration: 31:27
"Genesis 11:4: "And they said, "Come, let us build us a city and a tower whose top may reach unto heaven; and let us make us a name, lest we be scattered abroad upon the face of the whole earth"." And the LORD waxed wroth, and He cursed them with a confusion of tongues, turned them into the seventy-two nations and scattered them around the world. Somehow, after thousands of years, the seventy-two nations came together again." This is a serialized story narrated by Matt Arnold with the permission of the author, Scott Alexander. The original text is here: https://unsongbook.com/chapter-66-in-the-forests-of-the-night/ Please back my Patreon, so I can keep producing episodes twice-weekly. You'll get access to the Patreon feed in which you hear episodes a month early! https://www.patreon.com/unsongaudiobook Episode 96 Duration: 14:57
"Brenda Burns spoke the Fulminant Name and shot a lightning bolt at Malia Ngo. It missed by a fraction of an inch and lit her desk on fire. Clark Deas had been in the process of lunging over the desk to get at Malia; his grunted as his shirt caught fire and started hitting himself against the wall, trying to put it out." This is a serialized story narrated by Matt Arnold with the permission of the author, Scott Alexander. The original text is here: https://unsongbook.com/chapter-65-the-fruit-of-my-mysterious-tree/ Please back my Patreon, so I can keep producing episodes twice-weekly. You'll get access to the Patreon feed in which you hear episodes a month early! https://www.patreon.com/unsongaudiobook Episode 95 Duration: 14:49
"Stefan had the most useless job at the entire United Nations – which was saying something. He and Ben stood outside of the door of a UN office building all day, checked everybody’s badges, and denied them entry if their badges were wrong. They never were." This is a serialized story narrated by Matt Arnold with the permission of the author, Scott Alexander. The original text is here: https://unsongbook.com/chapter-64-another-better-world-shall-be/ Please back my Patreon, so I can keep producing episodes twice-weekly. You'll get access to the Patreon feed in which you hear episodes a month early! https://www.patreon.com/unsongaudiobook Episode 94 Duration: 8:14
"Blue sky and fair winds, like every day in the eye of a hurricane. Multicolored symbols circled and sparkled round. Invisible celestial machinery kept up its steady pulse." This is a serialized story narrated by Matt Arnold with the permission of the author, Scott Alexander. The original text is here: https://unsongbook.com/chapter-63-my-wrath-burns-to-the-top-of-heaven/ Please back my Patreon, so I can keep producing episodes twice-weekly. You'll get access to the Patreon feed in which you hear episodes a month early! https://www.patreon.com/unsongaudiobook Episode 93 Duration: 8:14
"It was afternoon, and we met together in the command center. Me. Sarah. The four Cometspawn. Vihaan, the Comet King’s uncle, chief of staff, and self-proclaimed butler." This is a serialized story narrated by Matt Arnold with the permission of the author, Scott Alexander. The original text is here: https://unsongbook.com/chapter-62-that-the-wide-world-might-fly-from-its-hinges/ Please back my Patreon, so I can keep producing episodes twice-weekly. You'll get access to the Patreon feed in which you hear episodes a month early! https://www.patreon.com/unsongaudiobook Episode 92 Duration: 17:05
"Midnight falls in the Garden of the Gods, and Robin West stands alone beneath the cold stars." This is a serialized story narrated by Matt Arnold with the permission of the author, Scott Alexander. The original text is here: https://unsongbook.com/chapter-61-and-ololon-said-let-us-descend-also-and-let-us-give-ourselves-to-death-in-ulro-among-the-transgressors/ Please back my Patreon, so I can keep producing episodes twice-weekly. You'll get access to the Patreon feed in which you hear episodes a month early! https://www.patreon.com/unsongaudiobook Episode 92 Duration: 10:07
"It could have been that she was pretty once. Now her face was sunken, her head hairless. Her arm was hung in a cast, and she looked terribly frail. "You’re the ritual magician?" she asked." This is a serialized story narrated by Matt Arnold with the permission of the author, Scott Alexander. The original text is here: http://unsongbook.com/chapter-60-o-rose-thou-art-sick/ Please back my Patreon, so I can keep producing episodes twice-weekly. You'll get access to the Patreon feed in which you hear episodes a month early! https://www.patreon.com/unsongaudiobook Episode 91 Duration: 6:26
"This is a reasonable approach for handling small problems, but it would be awkward if there were any that did understand, and seek God. — kingjamesprogramming.tumblr.com" This is a serialized story narrated by Matt Arnold with the permission of the author, Scott Alexander. The original text is here: http://unsongbook.com/chapter-59-clothe-yourself-in-golden-arms/ Please back my Patreon, so I can keep producing episodes twice-weekly. You'll get access to the Patreon feed in which you hear episodes a month early! https://www.patreon.com/unsongaudiobook Episode 90 Duration: 17:39
"Want to feel old? The span of time between Saddam Hussein’s death and now is longer than between now and when 1/3 of the sea becomes blood. — @GateOfHeavens" This is a serialized story narrated by Matt Arnold with the permission of the author, Scott Alexander. The original text is here: http://unsongbook.com/interlude-%D7%AA-trump/ Please back my Patreon, so I can keep producing episodes twice-weekly. You'll get access to the Patreon feed in which you hear episodes a month early! https://www.patreon.com/unsongaudiobook Episode 89 Duration: 12:53
"The LORD is greater than or equal to the expression involving f(y) — kingjamesprogramming.tumblr.com" Now that I have posted all three of the Interludes that I missed, I'm changing their release dates so that they will appear in this podcast feed in the order they appear in the book. We now resume the book where we left off. This is a serialized story narrated by Matt Arnold with the permission of the author, Scott Alexander. The original text is here: http://unsongbook.com/chapter-58-and-now-the-form-of-enion/ Please back my Patreon, so I can keep producing episodes twice-weekly. You'll get access to the Patreon feed in which you hear episodes a month early! https://www.patreon.com/unsongaudiobook Episode 88 Duration: 19:19
"The word of the LORD is a great deal of research activity in this area, and probabilistic algorithms have been fruitfully applied. — kingjamesprogramming.tumblr.com Sohu asked whether I wanted to help her with the error correction process. It was the highlight of my life thus far. It was like getting asked to debate philosophy with Aristotle, or play one-on-one against Michael Jordan. Did I want to study the kabbalah with Sohu West? My heart leapt at the thought." This is a serialized story narrated by Matt Arnold with the permission of the author, Scott Alexander. The original text is here: http://unsongbook.com/chapter-57-now-taking-on-ahanias-form/ Episode 87 Duration: 12:30
"In 2008 Dick Cheney declined to pursue a third term due to his failing health. A delegation of the nation’s civic and religious leaders entered the National Archives after several days’ fasting and purification and, after lifting the Shroud upon the Constitution, declared that the proper thing to do in this sort of situation was to hold an election." This is a serialized story narrated by Matt Arnold with the permission of the author, Scott Alexander. The original text is here: http://unsongbook.com/interlude-%D7%A9-obama/ Episode 86 Duration: 5:23
"Given the need to keep up spirits, Robin decided the people needed whatever holidays they could get. August 1, the anniversary of Colorado’s statehood, was as good an opportunity as anything else. So she stood on a rock spire in the Garden of the Gods as crowds – disproportionately female since a million men were marching in Siberia – listened for the words of their Queen Regent." This is a serialized story narrated by Matt Arnold with the permission of the author, Scott Alexander. The original text is here: http://unsongbook.com/chapter-56-agony-in-the-garden/ Episode 85 Duration: 13:46
"It was February 2002, and America tottered above a precipice. The Comet King was dead. The Other King was busy mopping up the shreds of resistance in the American West. Singer riots had several cities aflame. BOOJUM’s reign of terror continued unabated. And President Bush had been assassinated by his own teleprompter. Cometh the hour, cometh the man. Rumors swirled around newly-sworn-in president Dick Cheney." This is a serialized story narrated by Matt Arnold with the permission of the author, Scott Alexander. The original text is here: http://unsongbook.com/interlude-%D7%A8-the-shrouded-constitution/ Episode 84 Duration: 4:29
"I’ve reserved this space as a safety zone for pouring my empty and vain wishes. — kingjamesprogramming.tumblr.com Overtly, the meaning of “king” is “a hereditary monarch”. Kabbalistically, the meaning of “king” is “one who fights for freedom”. This we derive from Martin Luther King, whose name was “king” in two ways: first in English via his surname, second in Hebrew via his initials. Likewise, he signifies fighting for freedom in two ways. First, through his name: “Martin” comes from Latin “martinus” and shares a root with “martial” meaning “warlike” or “fighting”, “Luther” comes from Greek “eleutheria” meaning “freedom”, and so “Martin Luther” equals “one who fights for freedom”. Second, through the example of his life. And so in accordance with the secret structure of the universe, the Comet King marched forth to fight for freedom." This is a serialized story narrated by Matt Arnold with the permission of the author, Scott Alexander. The original text is here: http://unsongbook.com/chapter-55-none-can-visit-his-regions/ Episode 83 Duration: 19:28
"So passed fifteen years. New factories rose up. New mines sunk beneath the earth. New roads crisscrossed the mountains. Laboratories, barracks, fortresses, granaries, airstrips. All preparation for the final crusade. Over the course of a generation, the Comet King’s war on Hell shifted gradually from metaphorical spiritual struggle to “we’re going to need a lot of guns”." This is a serialized story narrated by Matt Arnold with the permission of the author, Scott Alexander. The original text is here: http://unsongbook.com/chapter-54-my-course-among-the-stars/ Episode 82 Duration: 4:30
"The clock struck inauguration day; unfortunately, no one had yet figured out whom to inaugurate. Absent a winner to step down in favor of, President Clinton continued to to govern. More and more grievances and countergrievances with the electoral process made their way before a ploddingly slow Supreme Court. The nation waited." This is a serialized story narrated by Matt Arnold with the permission of the author, Scott Alexander. The original text is here: http://unsongbook.com/interlude-%D7%A7-bush/ Episode 81 Duration: 12:12
"Alvarez’s apartment was so packed with books, bomb-making supplies, and extra people that somebody had to sleep in the closet. Erica had volunteered. She figured the former Lord High Magician of the Midwest deserved the sofa more than she did. Any sacrifice for the Revolution." This is a serialized story narrated by Matt Arnold with the permission of the author, Scott Alexander. The original text is here: http://unsongbook.com/chapter-53-lover-of-wild-rebellion/ Episode 80 Duration: 13:56
Another Uriel and Sohu episode. "Winter ended. Summer passed. Another and another. Uriel taught Sohu for eight more years after the eclipse, eight years without her aging a day. In 1993, Sohu used Kefitzat Haderech to join her family in Colorado for Hanukkah. Her father said nothing when she came unannounced, striking the table deep in her father’s bunker in the form of a lightning bolt, just smiled, and said she was welcome, and that he hoped this meant she would be visiting more often. In 1994, when Sohu was twelve years old by the calendar, Uriel suggested she get a Bat Mitzvah. “I’m not Jewish and I never age!” Sohu protested. “WHAT ARE YOU?” asked Uriel. “Half Hopi Indian, a quarter Hindu, and a quarter comet,” she said. “WHAT DO HALF-HOPI QUARTER-HINDU QUARTER-COMET PEOPLE DO WHEN THEY TURN TWELVE?” asked Uriel. “Order in pizza,” said Sohu. So they did." This is a serialized story narrated by Matt Arnold with the permission of the author, Scott Alexander. The original text is here: http://unsongbook.com/chapter-52-the-king-of-light-beheld-her-mourning/ Episode 79 Duration: 21:42
"“What can I do for you today?” Robin asked the Comet King. He was in his study, sitting at his big desk of Colorado pine. On the shelves he had gifts given him by various ambassadors and heads of state. A medieval orrery from the European Communion. A Faberge egg from the Cyrillic Union. An exquisite bonsai tree from the Harmonious Jade Dragon Empire. From Israel, a lovely turquoise sculpture with a microscopic listening device planted in it – which he usually covered with a piece of Scotch tape, but into which he spoke clearly and distinctly whenever he wanted to pass false information on to the Mossad." This is a serialized story narrated by Matt Arnold with the permission of the author, Scott Alexander. The original text is here: http://unsongbook.com/chapter-51-he-wondered-that-he-felt-love/ Episode 78 Duration: 9:03
"WASHINGTON DC – President Reagan is expected to make a full recovery after being shot in the head by an assassin while leaving the Washington Hilton." This is a serialized story narrated by Matt Arnold with the permission of the author, Scott Alexander. The original text is here: http://unsongbook.com/interlude-%D7%A2%E2%80%8E-eighties-and-nineties/ Episode 77 Duration: 12:58
"Praise the LORD from my hand for my son, to make a faster machine. — kingjamesprogramming.tumblr.com" This is a serialized story narrated by Matt Arnold with the permission of the author, Scott Alexander. The original text is here: http://unsongbook.com/chapter-50-silent-as-despairing-love/ Episode 76 Duration: 10:44
"In 1985, the Hellish Empire stretched from Moscow to Montreal, a sprawling stain over the northern quarter of the world. After the defeat at Silverthorne a tentative cease-fire had taken hold, backed by nuclear weapons on all sides. Multistan, the Cyrillic Union, the Untied States, and the Harmonious Jade Dragon Empire established their own ideas of borders, sometimes as mutually agreed treaties, other times as pragmatic lines of actual control. Miraculously, the borders held. The demons were waiting, gathering strength. So was the Comet King. So were all the nations of the earth." This is a serialized story narrated by Matt Arnold with the permission of the author, Scott Alexander. The original text is here: http://unsongbook.com/interlude-%D7%A4-hell-on-earth/ Episode 75 Duration: 10:44
"Right on cue, people noticed the sun speeding up. There were times when this would have been a cause for concern. As it was, the astronomical community just shrugged their shoulders and said “Uriel’s doing something again”, and there the matter rested." This is a serialized story narrated by Matt Arnold with the permission of the author, Scott Alexander. The original text is here: http://unsongbook.com/chapter-49-terrors-of-the-sun-and-moon/ Episode 74 Duration: 15:19