UNSONG Audiobook Version

"In retrospect, there had been omens and portents." A serialized story narrated by Matt Arnold with the permission of the author, Scott Alexander. Here is the website on which he is publishing the text: http://unsongbook.com/prologue-2/ Episode 1 Length 6:38

"The apocalypse began in a cubicle." A serialized story narrated by Matt Arnold with the permission of the author, Scott Alexander. Here is the website on which he is publishing the text: http://unsongbook.com/chapter-1-dark-satanic-mills/ Episode 2 Duration 20:31

"Richard Nixon was confused and upset. It wasn’t that he hadn't expected problems. He’d only been on the job six weeks, but he knew a president had to be ready for anything. But "anything" was supposed to mean economic downturns, or crime waves, or The Russians. Instead Apollo 8 had crashed into some kind of weird space glass, the sky was cracking open, the clouds were forming ominous patterns, and Tuesdays had stopped happening." A serialized story narrated by Matt Arnold with the permission of the author, Scott Alexander. Here is the website on which he is publishing the text: http://unsongbook.com/interlude-%D7%90-the-cracks-in-the-sky/ Episode 3 Duration 8:05

"Right down the road from Berryessa Station there’s a big house with a hidden basement. The people who live there – usually six to eight of us, rarely the same from one month to the next – are the sort of artsy college students and aimless twenty-somethings who think that houses should have names. We call it Ithaca." A serialized story narrated by Matt Arnold with the permission of the author, Scott Alexander. Here is the website on which he is publishing the text: http://unsongbook.com/chapter-2-arise-to-spiritual-strife/ Chapter 4 Duration 21:02

""The Code Of The World", by Aaron Smith-Teller, Published in the March 2017 issue of the Stevensite Standard The Talmud says that God created the Torah nine hundred seventy-four generations before He created the world. Generations of who, I don’t know. The Talmud is kind of crazy." A serialized story narrated by Matt Arnold with the permission of the author, Scott Alexander. Here is the website on which he is publishing the text: http://unsongbook.com/interlude-%D7%91-the-code-of-the-world/ Episode 5 Duration 11:51

"Ever since the sky cracked there has been a hurricane off the coast of Louisiana that never moves or decays. In its eye stands the Archangel Uriel." A serialized story narrated by Matt Arnold with the permission of the author, Scott Alexander. Here is the website on which he is publishing the text: http://unsongbook.com/chapter-3-on-a-cloud-i-saw-a-child/ Episode 6 Duration 15:25

"Even before Erica finished formally adjourning the meeting, I wove my way through the crowd of garrulous people and up the stairs into my bedroom. I grabbed my laptop from the desk, then knocked on Ana’s door. She was there waiting for me." A serialized story narrated by Matt Arnold with the permission of the author, Scott Alexander. Here is the website on which he is publishing the text: http://unsongbook.com/chapter-4-tools-were-made-and-born-were-hands/ Episode 7 Duration 9:00

"I remember the first time I met Ana Thurmond." A serialized story narrated by Matt Arnold with the permission of the author, Scott Alexander. Here is the website on which he is publishing the text: http://unsongbook.com/chapter-5-never-seek-to-tell-thy-love/ Chapter 5 is 10 times as long as most chapters. Its 5 sections will be recorded as individual episodes. Episode 8 Duration 11:14

"I remember my first morning there, the morning it all came together. The girls finally dragged me out of bed and insisted on making me breakfast." A serialized story narrated by Matt Arnold with the permission of the author, Scott Alexander. Here is the website on which he is publishing the text: http://unsongbook.com/chapter-5-never-seek-to-tell-thy-love/ Chapter 5 is 10 times as long as most chapters. Its 5 sections will be recorded as individual episodes, of which this is the second. Episode 9 Duration 15:48

"I remember the day I first saw Ana in her element." Here is a personal note to explain the unannounced hiatus which this podcast experienced over the last two months. Thank you to those who asked after me. There's a happy reason and a sad reason. Let's get the sad out of the way. I no longer have access to the laptop which I was using to record this. It had several more episodes recorded on it, which I had not yet published, and which must now be re-recorded. That audio was the rest of Chapter Five, which is complex and surprisingly exerting to narrate for multiple reasons. The good reason is that over the last two months, I switched from my 9-to-5 employment routine, and have been focusing my effort on some other passion projects that bring in money. I look forward to telling you about them when the websites launch. Until then, suffice it to say: I hope you like games. I also run an annual convention, Penguicon, a combination of a science fiction/fantasy literature convention with an open-source software conference. Penguicon consumes most of my time in April every year. I had the pleasure to meet up with the author of UNSONG there. We got more than 1550 attendees. It was exhilarating. Another piece of good news is that a fan of the podcast recently sold me a new laptop for really cheap. It appears to have decent USB ports which will not corrupt the sound quality as much as my regular laptop would do. You can expect the podcast to resume its regular schedule. I would appreciate any tips you may wish to provide. As with all things related to UNSONG, this tip jar is provided with the explicit permission of the author. It's fast and convenient to send money through Square's Cash service. Here's my own Cashtag page: http://cash.me/$MattArnold While you have my thanks, of course tips are not necessary. And as always, here is a link to the author's site containing the original material narrated in this episode. Until next time. http://unsongbook.com/chapter-5-never-seek-to-tell-thy-love/ Episode 10

"I remember the day I asked Ana on a date." A serialized story narrated by Matt Arnold with the permission of the author, Scott Alexander. Here is the website on which he is publishing the text: http://unsongbook.com/chapter-5-never-seek-to-tell-thy-love/ Chapter 5 is 10 times as long as most chapters. Its 5 sections will be recorded as individual episodes, of which this is the fourth. Episode 11 Duration 5:17 Tip jar: https://cash.me/$MattArnold

"And I remember the day Ana and I got married." A serialized story narrated by Matt Arnold with the permission of the author, Scott Alexander. Here is the website on which he is publishing the text: http://unsongbook.com/chapter-5-never-seek-to-tell-thy-love/ Chapter 5 is 10 times as long as most chapters. Its 5 sections were recorded as individual episodes, of which this is the fifth. Episode 12 Duration 9:46 Tip jar: https://cash.me/$MattArnold

"Those who speak the Names of God aloud are called cantors and singers. Like everything, these terms have both overt and kabbalistic meanings." A serialized story narrated by Matt Arnold with the permission of the author, Scott Alexander. Here is the website on which he is publishing the text: http://unsongbook.com/interlude-%D7%92-cantors-and-singers/ Episode 13 Duration 8:36

"The computer whirred and chattered: the speaker producing Names faster than the ear could follow. I stared at the screen. I already knew I wouldn’t sleep tonight." A serialized story narrated by Matt Arnold with the permission of the author, Scott Alexander. Here is the website on which he is publishing the text: http://unsongbook.com/chapter-6-till-we-have-built-jerusalem/ Episode 14 Duration 21:54 Tip jar: https://cash.me/$MattArnold

"My watch read 5 AM. Bill Dodd lived an hour’s walk away, close to the weird morass of swamps and mud flats that passed for the San Francisco Bay in this area. He woke up around six and left at seven for some tutoring job up in the North Bay. I figured by the time I got to his home, it would be just about morning and I could catch him while he was getting ready." A serialized story narrated by Matt Arnold with the permission of the author, Scott Alexander. Here is the website on which he is publishing the text: http://unsongbook.com/chapter-7-the-perishing-vegetable-memory/ Episode 15 Duration 22:58 Tip jar: https://cash.me/$MattArnold

"Love is the law, but it is poorly enforced. — Reverend Raymond Stevens, "Singers In The Hands Of An Angry God"" A serialized story narrated by Matt Arnold with the permission of the author, Scott Alexander. Here is the website on which he is publishing the text: http://unsongbook.com/chapter-8-laughing-to-scorn-thy-laws-and-terrors/ Episode 16 Duration 31:45 Tip jar: https://cash.me/$MattArnold

"WE SAY THAT MAN WAS MADE IN THE IMAGE OF GOD," said Uriel. "BUT GOD IS INEFFABLE AND WITHOUT PHYSICAL FORM. RESOLVE THE PARADOX." "I'm hungry," said Sohu." A serialized story narrated by Matt Arnold with the permission of the author, Scott Alexander. Here is the website on which he is publishing the text: http://unsongbook.com/chapter-9-with-art-celestial/ Episode 17 Duration 16:16 Tip jar: https://cash.me/$MattArnold

"Campus library hadn’t changed much since I got expelled. I checked out three big books without even so much as a "You don’t look like an Ana Thurmond," let alone UNSONG goons hauling me off somewhere. Thank goodness for automatic card reader machines." A serialized story narrated by Matt Arnold with the permission of the author, Scott Alexander. Here is the website on which he is publishing the text: http://unsongbook.com/chapter-10-bring-the-swift-arrows-of-light/ Episode 18 Duration 09:09 Tip jar: https://cash.me/$MattArnold

"The shortest effective Name of God is the Tetragrammaton. This was the Name recorded in the Bible, the one the High Priests of Israel would speak in the Temple of Solomon. The rabbis said it was so holy that God would smite any impure person who said it. Some of them went on wild flights of raptures about the holiness of this Name, said it was the Shem haMephorash, the holiest Name of all. In these more enlightened times, we know better. We call it the Mortal Name, and it just so happens to be a Name whose power is to kill the speaker." A serialized story narrated by Matt Arnold with the permission of the author, Scott Alexander. Here is the website on which he is publishing the text: http://unsongbook.com/interlude-%D7%93-n-grammata/ Episode 19 Duration 10:10 Tip jar: https://cash.me/$MattArnold

"Time and chance, according to the Book of Ecclesiastes, happeneth to us all. Ana had planned to sleep in, but it so happeneth that she woke up hungry and found herself out of milk. She threw on an old t-shirt – one she had gotten at a theodicy conference a few years ago, with the motto WHO WATCHES THE WATCHMAKER? on the front – grabbed a shopping bag, and headed out to the 7-11 on the corner." Sorry for the delay between episodes. As a freelancer, my financial situation is quite feast-and-famine, and I needed to recover from famine. I did not quite get a feast, so there may be another famine in the near future. Thanks for your patience. If you'd like to help make episodes appear more often, please use my tip jar at: https://cash.me/$MattArnold A serialized story narrated by Matt Arnold with the permission of the author, Scott Alexander. Here is the website on which he is publishing the text: http://unsongbook.com/chapter-11-drive-the-just-man-into-barren-climes/ Episode 20 Duration: 13:44

"LSD became illegal in California in 1966, two years before the real world got so hallucinatory that it became redundant." If you'd like to help make episodes appear more often, please use my tip jar at: https://cash.me/$MattArnold A serialized story narrated by Matt Arnold with the permission of the author, Scott Alexander. Here is the website on which he is publishing the text: https://unsongbook.com/interlude-%D7%94-the-right-hand-of-god/ Episode 21 Duration: 03:29

"Sitting in bed with her computer on her lap, Erica Lowry watched the sun rise and writing the news." If you'd like to help make episodes appear more often, please use my tip jar at: https://cash.me/$MattArnold A serialized story narrated by Matt Arnold with the permission of the author, Scott Alexander. Here is the website on which he is publishing the text: https://unsongbook.com/chapter-12-borne-on-angels-wings/ Episode 22 Duration: 16:44

"You’ve probably heard the old children’s song. "There’s a hole in my bucket, dear Liza, dear Liza."" Returning from a long hiatus due to having received donations. Thank you! This audiobook is about to have a Patreon, in order to continue to have more episodes that are not a year apart. After Patreon reviews it, the link will appear in the show notes for the next episode. In the meantime, the discussion about the Patreon is taking place in the Reddit thread: https://www.reddit.com/r/unsong/comments/9meqfd/unsong_audiobook/ This is a serialized story narrated by Matt Arnold with the permission of the author, Scott Alexander. Here is the website on which he is publishing the text: http://unsongbook.com/interlude-%D7%95-theres-a-hole-in-my-bucket/ Episode 23 Duration: 13:48

""Good morning," said Sohu as she stepped out of her cottage. Technically it was already afternoon. She hadn’t slept late, but she’d stayed inside, studying, dreading to open the door. Uriel had no concept of small talk, and precious little concept of scheduling." This is a serialized story narrated by Matt Arnold with the permission of the author, Scott Alexander. Here is the website on which he is publishing the text: http://unsongbook.com/chapter-13-the-image-of-eternal-death/ Episode 24 Duration: 25:47

"Something was horribly wrong. Gradually it came back to me. I’d tried to fight UNSONG and failed miserably." This is a serialized story narrated by Matt Arnold with the permission of the author, Scott Alexander. Here is the website on which he is publishing the text: http://unsongbook.com/chapter-14-cruelty-has-a-human-heart/ Episode 25 Duration: 20:52

"There wasn’t anything that looked like a secret detention facility, although she supposed that was what made it a secret detention facility. But it was already dark, and she didn’t fancy looking. She also didn’t fancy waiting until morning; she wasn’t really an expert in infiltrating secret facilities, but night seemed like potentially the best time, even if you could turn invisible." 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-15-o-where-shall-i-hide-my-face/ Episode 27 Duration: 11:01

"Runes of glowing fire troubled Sohu’s dreams, and she woke up the next morning to find them inscribed upon her skin in big dark welts. She ran out of her cottage, almost fell off the edge of the cloud." This is a serialized story narrated by Matt Arnold with the permission of the author, Scott Alexander. Please back my Patreon, so I can keep producing episodes weekly: https://www.patreon.com/unsongaudiobook The original text is here: http://unsongbook.com/chapter-16-if-perchance-with-iron-power-he-might-avert-his-own-despair/ Episode 28 Duration: 21:04

"They say that March comes in like a lion and goes out like a lamb. March 1969 had been more like one of those Biblical angels with four lion heads and four lamb heads and a couple dragon heads for good measure, all spinning within a gigantic flaming wheel, and if you met its gaze for too long then you died." Here ends Book 1. This is a serialized story narrated by Matt Arnold with the permission of the author, Scott Alexander. Please back my Patreon, so I can keep producing episodes weekly: https://www.patreon.com/unsongaudiobook The original text is here: http://unsongbook.com/interlude-%D7%96-man-on-the-sphere/ Episode 29 Duration: 22:34

Here begins Book 2. Please back my Patreon, so I can keep producing episodes weekly: https://www.patreon.com/unsongaudiobook The original text of this Book's introductory verse is here: http://unsongbook.com/book-2-exodus/ The original text for Chapter 17 is here: http://unsongbook.com/chapter-18-no-earthly-parents-i-confess/ The URL says "18", and the chapter title says "17", for kabbalistic reasons. Episode 30 Duration: 8:04

""Why are we celebrating Passover?" asked Bill. "Are any of us even Jewish?" "My father was Jewish," I answered. "Doesn't count," said Bill." Please back my Patreon, so I can keep producing episodes weekly: https://www.patreon.com/unsongaudiobook 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-17-that-the-children-of-jerusalem-may-be-saved-from-slavery/ Chapter 18 is another one of those chapters that is 10 times as long as most other chapters. Its 6 sections will be recorded two at a time, as 3 individual episodes, of which this is the first. Episode 31 Duration: 14:37

""Mr. Alvarez," asked Brian Young, "why are we celebrating Passover? I don't think any of us are Jews." "In a sense," said Dylan, "we are all Jews. The Jews of..." "In a sense," said Clark Deas, "every time Dylan says 'in a sense' I mentally replace it with 'not at all'."" Please back my Patreon, so I can keep producing episodes weekly: https://www.patreon.com/unsongaudiobook 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-17-that-the-children-of-jerusalem-may-be-saved-from-slavery/ Chapter 18 is another one of those chapters that is 10 times as long as most other chapters. Its 6 sections will be recorded two at a time, as 3 individual episodes, of which this is the second. Episode 32 Duration: 8:36

"In a dimly-lit chamber two thousand feet underground, quiet as death, seven people sat at a table. Seven seder plates. Seven cups of wine. The Comet King spoke first, barely above a whisper. "Why are we doing this?"" Please back my Patreon, so I can keep producing episodes weekly: https://www.patreon.com/unsongaudiobook 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-17-that-the-children-of-jerusalem-may-be-saved-from-slavery/ Chapter 18 is another one of those chapters that is 10 times as long as most other chapters. Its 6 sections will be recorded two at a time, as 3 individual episodes, of which this is the third. Episode 32 Duration: 17:31

"For a moment I was totally disoriented by the scene before me. Then vast, dark shapes began to take form. Shelves. Shelves full of books, all the way up, from the immacuately polished marble floor to a ceiling that was too high to see clearly." Please back my Patreon, so I can keep producing episodes weekly: https://www.patreon.com/unsongaudiobook 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-19-the-form-of-the-angelic-land/ Episode 33 Duration: 35:26

"Beyond the nimbus and stratus, in the furthest reaches of the heavens, the parliament of the angels convened in the eye of a great cyclone. The walls of the storm curved in toward the center, so that they formed tier upon tier of seating for the angelic hosts. At the very bottom and in the very center was a whirlwind that concealed the archangel Metatron, the expression of God in the created world. Seated around him were thrones for the nine other archangels. Above them in concentric circles based on rank sat various cherubim, seraphim, ophanim, dominions, powers, principalities, weird lamb-dragon hybrids with hundreds of faces, glowing starlike beings rapt in meditation, geometric shapes covered with lidless golden eyes, and others even harder to describe." 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-20-when-the-stars-threw-down-their-spears/ The three sections of this chapter are recorded as 3 individual episodes, of which this is the first. Episode 34 Duration: 17:27 Please back my Patreon, so I can keep producing episodes weekly: https://www.patreon.com/unsongaudiobook

""The future is ziggurats," Samyazaz was telling Ut-Naparash as they walked up the Great Stair. "In a hundred years, nobody’s going to remember pyramids. Pyramids are a flash in the pan. Ziggurats are for the ages."" The original text is here: http://unsongbook.com/chapter-20-when-the-stars-threw-down-their-spears/ The three sections of this chapter are recorded as 3 individual episodes, of which this is the second. Episode 35 Duration: 18:53 Please back my Patreon, so I can keep producing episodes weekly: https://www.patreon.com/unsongaudiobook

"And then there were two. The sky had once been full of clouds. Big clouds, little clouds, dark clouds, bright clouds. Clouds sculpted into great gleaming palaces of alabaster, clouds carved into fortresses red with the light of sunset. Clouds linked by rainbow bridges, clouds walled with icy ramparts, clouds lit by pillars of lightning, great frigates of cloud that sailed the jet stream packed with legions of angels going off to war." 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-20-when-the-stars-threw-down-their-spears/ The three sections of this chapter are recorded as 3 individual episodes, of which this is the third. Episode 36 Duration: 23:36 Please back my Patreon, so I can keep producing episodes weekly: https://www.patreon.com/unsongaudiobook

"The resemblances between San Francisco and the Biblical Jerusalem are uncanny. The highest point in Jerusalem was King Solomon’s Temple Mount; the highest point in San Francisco is the suspiciously-named Mount Davidson. To the north of the Temple was the Golden Gate, leading to the city of Tiberias; to the north of Mount Davidson is the Golden Gate Bridge, leading to the city of Tiburon." 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-21-thou-also-dwellest-in-eternity/ Episode 37 Duration: 21:40 Please back my Patreon, so I can keep producing episodes weekly: https://www.patreon.com/unsongaudiobook

"It’s hard for me to imagine what it must have been like to be alive in ’69, to see the demons spill forth from the ground and the angels descend from the clouds. But – okay, personal disclosure time. When I was little, six or seven, I thought Nazis were a kind of fictional monster." 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%97-war-and-peace/ Episode 38 Duration: 25:34

"With a look of mad determination, the big man marched to the center of the crowded bar. "I’ll say it,” he said. “The Other King is a bad man."" 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-22-whose-ears-have-heard-the-holy-word/ Episode 39 Duration: 18:0

"Even though she could no longer hear it with her ears, it still rang in the back of her mind. A note, a single impossibly pure note that seemed to overpower everything else." 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-23-now-descendeth-out-of-heaven-a-city/ Episode 40 Duration 13:50 Please back my Patreon, so I can keep producing episodes weekly: https://www.patreon.com/unsongaudiobook

"Ladies. Gentlemen. Mr. Secretary General. We are a proud people. Like so many of the other fledgling countries represented here today, our national identity was forged in a struggle against imperialist aggression, and it was our pride that told us to continue fighting when all other counsel urged surrender. It is with that same pride that I stand before you today as the newest member of the United Nations, honored to at last be recognized as part of the world community." 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%98-the-general-assembly/ Episode 41 Duration: 9:31

"A ray of early morning sun beat on my face. Clouds flew by me like trucks rushing down a highway, and the heavens seemed to sing. It’s weird. You spend your entire adult life searching for Names of God and hanging out with angels, and the closest you come to a spiritual experience is paddling a flying kayak thousands of feet above San Bernardino County." 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-24-why-dost-thou-come-to-angels-eyes/ Episode 42 Duration: 12:36 Please back my Patreon, so I can keep producing episodes weekly: https://www.patreon.com/unsongaudiobook

"Coming from the edge of my consciousness, a faint voice: [Thou shalt not krill] The organizing soul within me – the kabbalists would have called it the neshamah – awoke, even as my body dozed on the hotel bed. [Thou shalt not commit idolphintry] I answered, but I knew deep down it was a second-rate attempt." 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-25-lie-down-before-my-feet-o-dragon/ Episode 43 Duration: 10:04 Please back my Patreon, so I can keep producing episodes weekly: https://www.patreon.com/unsongaudiobook

Content warning from the narrator. In section 2 of this episode, I will sometimes omit direct quotations which would need to be voiced. In other places, I will insert descriptions of what characters said, as a substitute for actually performing the characters. As some of you know if you have read the book, this chapter has a content warning. When I began recording the UNSONG audiobook, I did not realize what I was in for, because the author had not yet released the chapter I am about to read to you. Section 2 graphically depicts the torments of hell.  I believe most, or all, of you would not wish to listen to those experiences in your headphones. Regardless, I decline to enact them in a performance. This episode does not contain plot points. I recommend you do not listen to it, but am recording it for completeness. The original text is here: http://unsongbook.com/interlude-%D7%99-the-broadcast/ Episode 44 Duration: 35:28

""TELL ME ABOUT THE WORD WATER". Sohu sat on her cloud, snacking on manna with ketchup on top. He had been doing this increasingly often over the past few weeks, asking her to tell him about a word, never satisfied with the amount of meaning she was able to wring from it." 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-26-for-not-one-sparrow-can-suffer-and-the-whole-universe-not-suffer-also/ Episode 45 Duration: 18:06

"Imagine there’s no Heaven. It’s easy if you try. So easy that millions of people throughout history did it entirely by accident. They went to church, they read their Bibles, they knelt prostrate in prayer, and then they went home and lived a life of sin regardless." 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%9B-the-outer-gate/ Episode 46 Duration: 17:35 Please back my Patreon, so I can keep producing episodes weekly: https://www.patreon.com/unsongaudiobook

"Belowdecks was the crew quarters. Ana didn’t expect her own room and didn’t get it. Her berth had four beds: one for her, three others for James, Lin, and Tomas. Her bed was technically Amoxiel’s, but the angel didn’t sleep. As far as they could tell, he just sort of sat on the deck all night, staring wistfully at the 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-27-the-starry-floor-the-watery-shore/ Episode 47 Duration: 32:53 Please back my Patreon, so I can keep producing episodes weekly: https://www.patreon.com/unsongaudiobook

"Over the centuries she had fallen in love with the place. A narrow plain, sunny three hundred days a year, blooming with poppies, watered by little rivers snaking out of arroyos in the nearby mountains. She had built her altar on one of the hills. The Aztecs knew her domain, and they called it Temictitlanoc, “place of the dream goddess”. Sometimes lost war bands would wander to its sunny hills, lie down beside the crashing waves, and see strange visions." 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-28-hid-as-in-an-ark/ Episode 49 Duration: 11:50 Please back my Patreon, so I can keep producing episodes weekly: https://www.patreon.com/unsongaudiobook

"Flanked by two guards, Mayor Ed Koch walked into the room. It seemed out of place in the middle of New York City. Poorly lit, musty, packed with books of diffent ages and provenances. The furniture was all wooden, and either antique or made by someone with a dim view of aesthetic innovations after about 1800." 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%9C-new-york-city/ Episode 50 Duration: 25:20 Please back my Patreon, so I can go back to producing episodes weekly. The Patreon is currently bringing in enough to post 3 episodes per month. https://www.patreon.com/unsongaudiobook

"Sitting in his car, Father Ellis contemplated the Exodus." 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-29-he-who-respects-the-infants-faith/ Episode 51 Duration: 34:30 Please back my Patreon, so I can go back to producing episodes weekly. The Patreon is currently bringing in enough to post 3 episodes per month. https://www.patreon.com/unsongaudiobook

"We were somewhere around Barstow on the edge of the desert when the Wall Drug signs began to appear." 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-30-over-the-dark-deserts/ Episode 52 Duration: 20:57

One of my Patreon backers pointed out that a couple of weeks ago, I accidentally skipped chapter 30 and posted chapter 31 early. That's why last week I deleted 31 and posted 30, so they'd be in the correct order. I'm re-posting 31 now, and 32 tomorrow to catch up. "Together, we can build a better America, colonize it, and use the old one for raw materials and target practice. — Steven Kaas January 30, 1981 Camp David, Maryland The song goes: Who can retell The things that befell Us so long ago? But in every age A hero or sage Came to our aid" 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-31-the-foundation-of-empire/ Episode 53 Duration: 23:02 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

"Sohu stretched, splayed out further. “Knock knock,” she said. “OH. THIS AGAIN.” “Knock knock.” “WHO’S….THERE?” “So.” “SO WHO?” “Sohu’s at the door, better let her in.” “HA! HA! HA!” Uriel’s laughter boomed, shook the clouds, shook the ocean, drowned out the everpresent thunder of the surrounding storm. It was a fiery golden laugh, like pyrotechnics, like solar flares. “I AM ONLY LAUGHING TO BE POLITE,” he finally said. “I DON’T ACTUALLY GET IT.”" 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-32-the-human-form-divine/ Episode 54 Duration: 14:51 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

"Bizarre surrealist painter Salvador Dali once said: “I do not do drugs. I am drugs.” He was being silly. He wasn’t drugs. He was Salvador Dali. The men rowing out on little boats heavy with building supplies for Not A Metaphor? They were drugs." 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-33-the-doors-of-perception/ Episode 55 Duration: 24:54 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

"He said, Go and utterly destroy them; namely, the Hittites, and the Girgashites, and the Amorites, and the Perizzites, and the Hivites, and the Jebusites, which were not defiled with women; for they are not very good for implementing high-performance floating-point calculations or calculations that intensively manipulate bit vectors. — kingjamesprogramming.tumblr.com October 31, 1991 Madrid It was the second day of the Madrid Conference on the Israeli-Palestinian peace process. In the interests of fitting in the conference room, Uriel had shrunk to a mere ten feet tall." 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-34-why-wilt-thou-rend-thyself-apart-jerusalem/ Episode 56 Duration: 26:27

"Somehow the Comet King had become an adult. He had skipped puberty, telling Father Ellis that it sounded like too much trouble. One day he was a child; the next, his voice dropped, white hair grew on his chest, and he declared he would be having children. All the children. His logic was simple. His heavenly descent gave him special powers. Intelligence, wisdom, physical strength, spiritual mastery. He, in turn, would pass these on to his children. The more children, the more supernaturally-gifted warriors, administrators, engineers, and scholars they would have for the dark times ahead. An army of Cometspawn, growing to adulthood faster than any mortal, each one pushing forward the day when they could march across the Bering Straits and drive the demons back below the Earth. He requested that the women of Colorado step forth to help him in the project." 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-35-the-voices-of-children-in-his-tents/ Episode 57 Duration: 11:56 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

"Fill the god-shaped hole in your soul with molten metal, then shatter your soul, leaving only a metal god — Gap Of Gods" 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-36-my-fathers-business/ Episode 58 Duration: 24:50 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

"April 22, 2017, San Jose. A piece of onion flew past my head. This was a common occurrence when I argued with Erica while she was trying to cook. Today we were arguing about the lyrics of American Pie. She thought it was about rock n’ roll. I thought it was about Christian soteriology’s claim to supersede the Jewish conception of divine law." 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%9E-miss-american-pie/ Episode 59 Duration: 17:09 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

"“Sinner” in Biblical Hebrew is “aval”, no doubt kabbalistically connected to our English word “evil”. The gematria value of “aval” is 106. Bishop Ussher, the Biblical chronologist who fixed Creation at 4004 BC, tells us that 106 years passed between Noah’s flood and the Tower of Babel. This is unsurprising; the decision to build a tower to Heaven out of vanity is a sinful act; thus instances of 106, the number of sinners, will appear around it. Jane and I were eating breakfast in the Top Of The World observation deck/restaurant on the 106th floor of the Stratosphere Tower in Las Vegas. All around us, floor-to-ceiling glass windows presented a view of Las Vegas that would normally require a flying kayak. I wondered if Jane had contacts in Los Angeles who would retrieve her boat for her. It seemed like too wonderful an artifact to just abandon." 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-37-love-that-never-told-can-be/ Episode 60 Duration: 22:43

"Hershel of Ostropol came to an inn and asked for a warm meal. The innkeeper demanded he pay in advance, and when Hershel had no money, he told him to get out. Hershel raised himself up to his full height, looked the innkeeper in the eye menacingly, and said “Give me my meal, or I will do what my father did? You hear me? I will DO WHAT MY FATHER DID!” The terrified innkeeper served the traveller a nice warm meal. After dinner, when Hershel was calmer, he ventured to ask exactly what Hershel’s father had done. “That is simple,” answered Hershel. “When my father asked someone for a meal, and they refused to give it to him – then he would go to bed hungry.” — Old Jewish folktale May 13, 2017 ???? Blood bubbled up from the ground in little springs. The trees were growing skulls where the fruit should be. I concluded that I was somewhere from Aztec mythology. Probably not one of the good parts. It was neither a jungle nor a desert. More of a grassy valley with bushes and occasional trees. The sun had a face locked in a perpetual grimace. I had a vague memory that Aztec mythology was really bad. There was a directionality to the world. I followed it. It led me up a hill strewn with rocks. I spoke the Ascending Name. Nothing happened. Okay. This was somewhere else. The usual rules didn’t apply. Things started coming back to me. The Drug Lord. Peyote. I had taken peyote. Now I was … where?" 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-38-i-will-not-cease-from-mental-fight/ Episode 61 Duration: 29:10

"Tiferet’s position down the center between Keter and Yesod indicates to many Kabbalists that it is somewhat of a “converting” Sephirot between form (Yesod) and force (Keter). In other words, all crossing over the middle path via Tiferet results in a reversed polarity. – Reb Wiki" "A man. A plan. A canal. Panama." 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-39-fearful-symmetry/ Episode 62 Duration: 35:11 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

End of Book 2! "In a large and complicated system there might be various things that are pleasing in His eyes. — kingjamesprogramming.tumblr.com Evening, May 13, 2017 Las Vegas Holy Scripture only mentions vampires once, but once is enough. The context is Isiaiah 34. God is doing His usual thing where He talks about all of the horrible curses that will befall someone who pissed Him off – in this case the Edomites. He starts with standard fare; everyone will die, the stink of their carcasses shall fill the land, the mountains will be melted with their blood. The stars will fall from the sky like withered leaves on a grapevine, the skies will dissolve, the streams will be filled with burning oil. Then He gets creative. He starts naming all the horrible animals that will come to dwell in Edom. Exactly which ones depends on your preferred translation. The King James Version translates these as unicorns, satyrs, and screech-owls. The original Hebrew word translated “screech-owls” is “lilit”, and we may question King James’ judgment. If God starts by promising unicorns and satyrs, screech-owls are going to be something of a let-down. What is being hidden from our tender sensibilities? We turn to the New International Version, which glosses “lilit” as the more promising “night creatures”. A couple more translations along these lines and we get to the New Revised Standard Version. It translates the same word as “Lilith the Night Monster”, which you have to admit is more interesting than “screech owls”." 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-40-in-terrible-majesty/ Episode 63 Duration: 14:20 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

Here begins Book 3. "To: aaron.teller@gmail.com, telleraar@countenance.com, a.smithte@stanford.edu, aleph_samech_tet@stevensite.net, _LOS_@hotmail.com, A_IS_FOR_ADAM@myfreeemails.tk… From: root@[58.175.48.72] Talk to me, Aaron. I don’t know where you are, Aaron. Aaron, are you there?" 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-41-go-love-without-the-help-of-any-thing-on-earth/ Episode 64 Duration: 9:03 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

"HERE IS A FINAL CHANGELOG FOR PATCH 5776.11: 1. HUMANS NO LONGER DEPLETE WILLPOWER WHEN ENGAGING IN DIFFICULT TASKS; GLUCOSE NO LONGER NECESSARY TO REPLENISH IT. 2. ROCKETS CAN NOW LAND ON PLATFORMS AND BE REUSED IF NEEDED. 3. USER FFUKUYAMA COMPLAINS THAT THE POLITICAL SYSTEM HAS BECOME BORING. IN ORDER TO MAKE THINGS MORE INTERESTING, FIRST WORLD COUNTRIES WILL OCCASIONALLY FLIRT WITH FAR-RIGHT NATIONALISM. 4. UK NO LONGER CONSIDERED PART OF EUROPE FOR PURPOSE OF ECONOMIC BONUSES." 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%A0-changelog/ Episode 69 Duration: 11:43 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

"They smote the city with the edge of the sword, and one of his main motivations was the high cost of proprietary software houses. — kingjamesprogramming.tumblr.com" "“Can I ask you something?” said Brian Young. “Busy,” said Dylan Alvarez. “And close the door.” He got up, closed it himself, locked it, bolted it, then sat back down at the table. It was a perfectly ordinary New York City apartment, located in a nice neighborhood in a building without any irregularities to excite a passing cop. The decor was modern, the lighting excellent. There was a basket of fruit on the table. There was also a blank piece of paper, at which Dylan was staring and furrowing his brow theatrically. Finally Brian felt too awkward not to ask." 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-42-whose-whole-delight-is-in-destroying/ Episode 66 Duration: 14:23 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

"And Abraham said unto the LORD, “Will you not destroy the world if there are even a million righteous people in it?” And the LORD replied unto Abraham, “The world shall not be destroyed if there are even a thousand competent people in it. I don’t have anything to do with the process, mind, just making a prediction.” — Eliezer Yudkowsky Summer 1983 Washington, DC The overt meaning of salt is “sodium chloride”. The kabbalistic meaning of salt is “to try to escape destruction by heavenly fire”. This meaning we derive from Genesis 18-19. God tells Abraham that He has decided to destroy Sodom for its wickedness. Abraham asks God to spare the city if there are even fifty righteous men, and God agrees. Step by step, Abraham bargains God down to a mere ten righteous men, but he doesn’t try to bargain any further. And there turns out to be only one righteous man – Abraham’s nephew Lot. So God destroys Sodom, but warns Lot and his family to run away and not look back. Lot and his family rush out of the city, but his wife can’t help looking back to see what’s going on, and for her disobedience God turns her into a pillar of salt. Today President Reagan is meeting with the Devil in the White House to try to escape destruction by heavenly fire, and the name of the summit is Strategic Arms Limitations Talk (SALT)." 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-43-lest-they-be-annihilated-in-thy-annihilation/ Episode 67 Duration: 18:26

"The LORD sware unto thy fathers, to Abraham, to Isaac, and to Jacob, to give unto all this evil that was come to the decisive step of mathematical abstraction — kingjamesprogramming.tumblr.com" A Sohu and Uriel chapter. 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-44-a-world-within-opening-its-gates/ Episode 68 Duration: 20:40 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

"Praise the LORD from my hand for my son, to make a faster machine. - kingjamesprogramming.tumblr.com Evening, May 13, 2017 Citadel West During the Cold War, the United States had lived in uneasy peace with the Soviets on the mutual knowledge that if the Soviets nuked America, then America would nuke them back. This led some of the more paranoid military brass to ask: what if the Soviets nuked our Department Of Nuking Things Back first, then nuked the rest of us? Then where would we be? It was decided to spare no expense to place the Department Of Nuking Things Back somewhere so indestructible that if ever the sun were to crash into the Earth at a million miles an hour, all they would notice would be a soft ‘thud’ and a slight increase in heating bills." 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-45-in-the-remotest-bottoms-of-the-caves/ Episode 69 Duration: 15:50

"Why some people think the self is a prison escapes me. — @GapOfGods Dawn, May 13, 2017 Ossining, NY Commenters say Song of Songs 4:12 describes the imprisonment of the divine presence in the material world. “A garden locked is my sister, my bride,” it begins. “A rock garden locked, a spring sealed up.” The most famous prison in the Eastern Untied States is called Sing Sing, and Mark McCarthy was serving four consecutive twelve-year sentences there. This is not a coincidence because nothing is ever a coincidence." 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-46-to-talk-of-patience-to-the-afflicted/ This is the Early Access feed for patrons only. Episode 70 Duration: 19:27

"February 1984 Citadel West “Evening,” the Comet King said from across the table, stifling a yawn. “Why don’t you tell me something about yourself and why I should marry you?"" 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-47-for-he-beheld-new-female-forms/ Episode 71 Duration: 9:48

"Rage in favor of the proposition that the machine is somehow important in a way that could be uncovered through dispassionate analysis. — Steven Kaas Morning, May 14, 2017 Caribbean Sea I. Unfurling four of its seven sails , the world’s fastest ship shot out of the Panama Canal. It rocketed through the Caribbean and wove in and out of the Cayman Islands." 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-48-bring-me-my-chariot-of-fire/ Episode 73 Duration: 20:53

“Today I will expound unto you the kabbalistic theory of the creation of the world,” said Ana. “It all starts with Leibniz…” 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%a1-binary/ Episode 75 Duration: 10:49

"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

"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

"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

"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

"“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

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

"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

"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

"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

"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

"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

"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

"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

"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

"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

"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

"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

"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

"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 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

"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

"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

"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

"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

"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

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

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

"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

"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

"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

"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

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

"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

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

"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

"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/

“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/

"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.

"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/

"“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/

“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/

“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/

“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

“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/

“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/  

"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/

"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/

"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/

"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/

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/

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!