Podcasts about Bildungsroman

“Once the flight had flown…” Taylor Swift is a master storyteller, but how does she tell those stories? In this week's Show & Tell episode, we're talking all about Narratology. We break down the structure behind the storytelling, unpacking flashbacks, fast forwards, stream of consciousness, and first-person limited narration through three brilliant Swift tracks. From fairy tale distortion in “Is It Over Now?”, a murder mystery arc in “No Body, No Crime,” to the heart-tugging Bildungsroman of “You're On Your Own, Kid,” this episode explores the how behind the heartbreaks, twists, and self-discoveries. Whether you're into literary theory, folklore, or just love a well-crafted bridge, you'll leave this episode with a deeper appreciation for Taylor's evolving narrative toolkit—and maybe a few English class flashbacks of your own. Subscribe to get new episode updates: aptaylorswift.substack.com/subscribe Stay up to date at aptaylorswift.com    Mentioned in this episode:  White Lotus E51: All Too Well (10 Minute Version) Mrs. Dalloway, Virginia Woolf Dracula, Bram Stoker The Lord of the Rings, J.R.R. Tolkien Beauty and the Beast Sleeping Beauty Alice and Wonderland Snow White Doctor Who E78: Tim McGraw Deep Dive Harry Potter Great Expectations, Charles Dickens Jane Eyre, Charlotte Brontë   ***   Episode Highlights:  [01:13] Intro to narratology [05:25] “Is It Over Now?” 1989 (Taylor's Version) (From the Vault) [19:34] “No body, no crime” evermore [32:20] “You're on You're Own, Kid” Midnights   Follow AP Taylor Swift podcast on social!  TikTok → tiktok.com/@APTaylorSwift Instagram → instagram.com/APTaylorSwift YouTube → youtube.com/@APTaylorSwift Link Tree →linktr.ee/aptaylorswift Bookshop.org → bookshop.org/shop/apts Libro.fm →  tinyurl.com/aptslibro Contact us at aptaylorswift@gmail.com  Affiliate Codes:  Krowned Krystals - krownedkrystals.com use code APTS at checkout for 10% off!  Libro.fm - Looking for an audiobook? Check out our Libro.fm playlist and use code APTS30 for 30% off books found here tinyurl.com/aptslibro This podcast is neither related to nor endorsed by Taylor Swift, her companies, or record labels. All opinions are our own. Intro music produced by Scott Zadig aka Scotty Z.

Sein Debüt-Roman "Auf Erden sind wir kurz grandios" wurde weltweit gefeiert. Mit "Der Kaiser der Freude" legt Ocean Vuong nun einen Bildungsroman vor. Er erzählt vom Erwachsenwerden in der trostlosen US-Provinz - in der es dennoch Hoffnung gibt. Albath, Maike www.deutschlandfunk.de, Büchermarkt

¿Cómo y de qué ingredientes están hechos los Nuggets? ¿Quiénes fueron los pobladores originales de Irlanda y que imperios los fueron invadiendo? ¿ De qué trata Siddharta de Hermann Hesse y por qué su estilo es tan único? ¿Qué nos puede decir Sostiene Pereira de la dictadura salazarista? En este capítulo hablamos de: Nuggets, Robert C. Baker, Demian, Bildungsroman, Los Normandos, El trébol de cuatro hojas, Y más datos curiosos y chismes en los Entremeses del Banquete del Doctor Zagal.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Heinrich Mann liebäugelte im Gegensatz zu seinem jüngeren Bruder Thomas Mann nie mit dem Deutschnationalen und Konservativen. Er setzte sich in dem Roman „Der Untertan“ kritisch mit dem Militär und dem deutschen Obrigkeitsdenken auseinander und in „Professor Unrat“ wendet er sich gegen die bürgerliche Doppelmoral, während er mit seinem ersten großen Roman „Im Schlaraffenland“ nicht nur den börsengetriebenen Kapitalismus, sondern auch den Habitus der Reichen und den Opportunismus der Literaten und Journalisten aufs Korn nimmt. In dem satirischen Roman geht der junge Provinzler Andreas Zumsee nach Berlin, weil er von einer Karriere als Schriftsteller träumt. Schnell stellt er Kontakte zu Zeitungen her, bald wird er ins Haus des Börsenspekulanten Türkheimer eingeladen, wo er auch auf die Gattin Adelheid trifft, mit der er eine lukrative Affäre beginnen wird. Sein Aufstieg vollzieht sich nun rasant. Heinrich Mann zeigt eine Welt der Spekulation, bei der sowohl die Börsianer als auch die Künstler mit dem Nichts jonglieren. Dabei persifliert Mann den Bildungsroman und macht daraus einen Anpassungsroman. In der neuen Folge von „Wohlstand für Alle“-Literatur sprechen Ole Nymoen und Wolfgang M. Schmitt über die Satire. Literatur: Heinrich Mann: Im Schlaraffenland. Ein Roman unter feinen Leuten, S. Fischer. Unsere Zusatzinhalte könnt ihr bei Apple Podcasts, Steady und Patreon hören. Vielen Dank! Apple Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/de/podcast/wohlstand-f%C3%BCr-alle/id1476402723 Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/oleundwolfgang Steady: https://steadyhq.com/de/oleundwolfgang/about

Opowieść o naczycielce z byłej NRD. Wartościowe, nie tylko dla nauczycieli. Polecam Państwu nową książkę Judith Schalansky. przekład

The classical Bildungsroman charted an idealized path of human development—the harmonization of individual desires with societal norms in the formation of a well-rounded, liberal subject. But what happens when this Enlightenment blueprint for self-cultivation runs up against the particularities of a colonial society riven by nationalism, revolution, and uneven modernization? The Irish Bildungsroman (Syracuse UP, 2025) provides the first comprehensive study of how this quintessentially bourgeois and European genre was transformed and reinvented by Irish writers from the Act of Union to the present day. Through incisive readings of over two centuries of Irish novels, the volume's contributors illuminate the diverse narrative strategies Irish authors have employed to depict personal formation within a colonial/postcolonial nation fractured by religion, class, gender, and ethnic divisions. Carefully periodized into three major sections, the book maps the evolution of the Irish Bildungsroman across key historical junctures: the rise of cultural nationalism in the nineteenth century, the revolutionary period and emergence of the postcolonial state in the early twentieth century, and more recent waves of globalization and the reconfiguration of Irish identity. From Maria Edgeworth's post-Union novels to Sally Rooney's millennial fictions, The Irish Bildungsroman excavates a rich vein of self-reflexive writing that creatively reworked this genre to expose the fault lines of liberal humanism and imagine new modes of selfhood. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices Support our show by becoming a premium member! https://newbooksnetwork.supportingcast.fm/new-books-network

The classical Bildungsroman charted an idealized path of human development—the harmonization of individual desires with societal norms in the formation of a well-rounded, liberal subject. But what happens when this Enlightenment blueprint for self-cultivation runs up against the particularities of a colonial society riven by nationalism, revolution, and uneven modernization? The Irish Bildungsroman (Syracuse UP, 2025) provides the first comprehensive study of how this quintessentially bourgeois and European genre was transformed and reinvented by Irish writers from the Act of Union to the present day. Through incisive readings of over two centuries of Irish novels, the volume's contributors illuminate the diverse narrative strategies Irish authors have employed to depict personal formation within a colonial/postcolonial nation fractured by religion, class, gender, and ethnic divisions. Carefully periodized into three major sections, the book maps the evolution of the Irish Bildungsroman across key historical junctures: the rise of cultural nationalism in the nineteenth century, the revolutionary period and emergence of the postcolonial state in the early twentieth century, and more recent waves of globalization and the reconfiguration of Irish identity. From Maria Edgeworth's post-Union novels to Sally Rooney's millennial fictions, The Irish Bildungsroman excavates a rich vein of self-reflexive writing that creatively reworked this genre to expose the fault lines of liberal humanism and imagine new modes of selfhood. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices Support our show by becoming a premium member! https://newbooksnetwork.supportingcast.fm/literary-studies

The classical Bildungsroman charted an idealized path of human development—the harmonization of individual desires with societal norms in the formation of a well-rounded, liberal subject. But what happens when this Enlightenment blueprint for self-cultivation runs up against the particularities of a colonial society riven by nationalism, revolution, and uneven modernization? The Irish Bildungsroman (Syracuse UP, 2025) provides the first comprehensive study of how this quintessentially bourgeois and European genre was transformed and reinvented by Irish writers from the Act of Union to the present day. Through incisive readings of over two centuries of Irish novels, the volume's contributors illuminate the diverse narrative strategies Irish authors have employed to depict personal formation within a colonial/postcolonial nation fractured by religion, class, gender, and ethnic divisions. Carefully periodized into three major sections, the book maps the evolution of the Irish Bildungsroman across key historical junctures: the rise of cultural nationalism in the nineteenth century, the revolutionary period and emergence of the postcolonial state in the early twentieth century, and more recent waves of globalization and the reconfiguration of Irish identity. From Maria Edgeworth's post-Union novels to Sally Rooney's millennial fictions, The Irish Bildungsroman excavates a rich vein of self-reflexive writing that creatively reworked this genre to expose the fault lines of liberal humanism and imagine new modes of selfhood. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices Support our show by becoming a premium member! https://newbooksnetwork.supportingcast.fm/intellectual-history

The classical Bildungsroman charted an idealized path of human development—the harmonization of individual desires with societal norms in the formation of a well-rounded, liberal subject. But what happens when this Enlightenment blueprint for self-cultivation runs up against the particularities of a colonial society riven by nationalism, revolution, and uneven modernization? The Irish Bildungsroman (Syracuse UP, 2025) provides the first comprehensive study of how this quintessentially bourgeois and European genre was transformed and reinvented by Irish writers from the Act of Union to the present day. Through incisive readings of over two centuries of Irish novels, the volume's contributors illuminate the diverse narrative strategies Irish authors have employed to depict personal formation within a colonial/postcolonial nation fractured by religion, class, gender, and ethnic divisions. Carefully periodized into three major sections, the book maps the evolution of the Irish Bildungsroman across key historical junctures: the rise of cultural nationalism in the nineteenth century, the revolutionary period and emergence of the postcolonial state in the early twentieth century, and more recent waves of globalization and the reconfiguration of Irish identity. From Maria Edgeworth's post-Union novels to Sally Rooney's millennial fictions, The Irish Bildungsroman excavates a rich vein of self-reflexive writing that creatively reworked this genre to expose the fault lines of liberal humanism and imagine new modes of selfhood. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

A month of great theatre stories, plus we speak to Denver-born playwright Jake Brasch, whose play ‘The Reservoir' gets its world premiere at the Denver Center   In this episode of the OnStage Colorado Podcasts, Alex Miller and Toni Tresca are joined by special guest host John Moore. A longtime theatre writer in Colorado and senior arts reporter at the Denver Gazette, John is also the creator of the annual True West Awards honoring local theatre folks. He's also the founder of the Denver Actors Fund, which to date has raised and donated over $1.5 million to theatre folks (and in some cases, their pets).   Also in this episode, Alex interviews The Reservoir playwright Jake Brasch. The Denver native has their first professionally produced work in a world premiere at the Denver Center, opening in previews Jan. 17.   And we're back with our Top 10 Colorado Headliners, which this week include:   The 39 Steps, Jan. 11-Feb. 8, Lincoln Center Magnolia Theatre, Fort Collins The Beauty Queen of Leenane, Jan. 16-26, The People's Building, Aurora A Case for the Existence of God, Preview Jan. 16-17, runs Jan. 18-Feb. 16, Curious Theatre Company, Denver Jane/Eyre from Grapefruit Lab with live music by Teacup Gorillat at Buntport Theatre in Denver Jan. 17-Feb. 1 She Kills Monsters, Jan. 17-Feb. 23, Vintage Theatre, Denver Mary Poppins, Parker PACE Center, Jan. 17-Feb. 9 Kid Detective, A Bildungsroman from Shifted Lens Theatre Company at Roaming Gnome in Aurora, Jan. 11-26 Ghost Quartet, The Catamounts at the Boulder Dairy Center, Jan. 18-Feb. 8 The Time is Always Right from BETC at the Dairy Center in Boulder, Jan. 19 at 2 and 7 Still We Rise from Motus Theater, Jan. 20 at the Dairy Center in Boulder

Will you enjoy the new crop of audio dramas debuting this fall on the Magnum Radio Network? The Gun Doctor! Chap Zero's House of Traps! Chick Quasar, Space Stevedore! Listen to find out!Debut Taunts, episode 116 of This Gun in My Hand, was doctored by Rob Northrup. This episode and all others are available on Youtube with automatically-generated closed captions of dialog. Visit http://ThisGuninMyHand.blogspot.com for credits, show notes, archives, and to buy my books, such as Little Heist in the Big Woods and Other Revisionist Atrocities. What's coming your way next fall? This Gun in My Hand!Show Notes:1. Listen to the Mystery Frequency podcast for a wide variety of old time radio dramas, like Dr. Sixgun and Captain Starr of Space.https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/the-mystery-frequency-audio-drama-radio/id16940416952. I want to say that toys advertising actual gold seems like something unique to our modern hellscape, but they've probably done it before, or equally ridiculous and borderline scammy promotions. For example, in 1955, Quaker Oats bought 19 acres of land in the Yukon Territory of Canada and printed 21 millions deeds, each deed for square inch of land, as a promotion for the Sergeant Preston of the Yukon TV show.https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Klondike_Big_Inch_Land_PromotionCredits:The opening and middle transitional music clips were from The Sun Sets at Dawn (1950), and the closing music was from Killer Bait (1949), both films in the public domain. Most of the music and sound effects used in the episode are modified or incomplete versions of the originals.“Gun Doctor” music and hoofbeats taken from the September 2, 1954 episode of the radio show Dr. Sixgun. License: Public Domainhttps://archive.org/details/otr_drsixgunOrgan music in “Chick Quasar” taken from the July 14, 1953 episode of the radio show Captain Starr of Space.License: Public Domainhttps://archive.org/details/CaptainStarrOfSpace1953/I hope the tiny excerpt of “Need to Know” by Incognito (Democracy Now theme song) counts as fair use after it was chopped, screwed and filtered.Music Title: Flight of the Carpenter BeeBy Steven Arntson License: Creative Commons Attribution 3.0https://archive.org/details/Bildungsroman-7512Sound Effect Title: Mount Moganshan Insect ChorusBy: RTB45 License: Creative Commons Attribution 3.0https://freesound.org/people/RTB45/sounds/325321/Insect chorus recorded one summer evening, Mount Moganshan, Zhejiang Provence, People's Republic of ChinaSound Effect Title: Car_motor_Sound.m4a License: Public Domainhttps://freesound.org/people/Blizzard123/sounds/504633/#Sound Effect Title: barking dog 2License: public domainhttps://freesound.org/people/roman_cgr/sounds/415023/Sound Effect Title: Angry big dog barking - Close [d15].wavLicense: Public Domainhttps://freesound.org/people/v23/sounds/440866/Sound Effect Title: Dog Barking and Whining.wavLicense: Public Domainhttps://freesound.org/people/DaniloSFX/sounds/672733/Sound Effect Title: Doggo_Panting_1_Para.mp3 by Paradoxxxical License: Creative Commons Attribution 4.0https://freesound.org/s/679219/ Sound Effect Title: R15-82-Men Laughing Heartily.wav License: Public Domainhttps://freesound.org/s/480806/ Sound Effect Title: Real Colt 45 M1911 (shot)By CarmelomikeLicense: Creative Commons Attribution 3.0https://freesound.org/people/Carmelomike/sounds/255216/Sound Effect Title: Kimmokkeita / RicochetsBy YleArkistoLicense: Creative Commons Attribution 4.0https://freesound.org/people/YleArkisto/sounds/401921/Sound Effect Title: bustle in the pubLicense: Public Domainhttps://freesound.org/people/organicmanpl/sounds/403285/Music Title: spoons.wav (used in “Fight the Rascals”)by angienmLicense: Public Domainhttps://freesound.org/s/249709/ Music Title: Munniharppua.ogg (jaw harp used in “Fight the Rascals”)By ElectricToothpasteLicense: Creative Commons Attribution ShareAlike 4.0 via Wikimedia Commonshttps://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Munniharppua.oggThe image accompanying this episode is a modified detail of the public domain comic book cover from Tom Corbett, Space Cadet Number 10, May-July 1954. Painting by Al McWilliams.

fWotD Episode 2715: To Kill a Mockingbird Welcome to Featured Wiki of the Day, your daily dose of knowledge from Wikipedia’s finest articles.The featured article for Thursday, 10 October 2024 is To Kill a Mockingbird.To Kill a Mockingbird is a novel by the American author Harper Lee. It was published in July 1960 and became instantly successful. In the United States, it is widely read in high schools and middle schools. To Kill a Mockingbird has become a classic of modern American literature; a year after its release, it won the Pulitzer Prize. The plot and characters are loosely based on Lee's observations of her family, her neighbors and an event that occurred near her hometown of Monroeville, Alabama, in 1936, when she was ten.Despite dealing with the serious issues of rape and racial inequality, the novel is renowned for its warmth and humor. Atticus Finch, the narrator's father, has served as a moral hero for many readers and as a model of integrity for lawyers. The historian Joseph Crespino explains, "In the twentieth century, To Kill a Mockingbird is probably the most widely read book dealing with race in America, and its main character, Atticus Finch, the most enduring fictional image of racial heroism." As a Southern Gothic novel and Bildungsroman, the primary themes of To Kill a Mockingbird involve racial injustice and the destruction of innocence. Scholars have noted that Lee also addresses issues of class, courage, compassion, and gender roles in the Deep South. Lessons from the book emphasize tolerance and decry prejudice. Despite its themes, To Kill a Mockingbird has been subject to campaigns for removal from public classrooms, often challenged for its use of racial epithets. In 2006, British librarians ranked the book ahead of the Bible as one "every adult should read before they die".Reaction to the novel varied widely upon publication. Despite the number of copies sold and its widespread use in education, literary analysis of it is sparse. Author Mary McDonough Murphy, who collected individual impressions of To Kill a Mockingbird by several authors and public figures, calls the book "an astonishing phenomenon". It was adapted into an Academy Award-winning film in 1962 by director Robert Mulligan, with a screenplay by Horton Foote. Since 1990, a play based on the novel has been performed annually in Harper Lee's hometown.To Kill a Mockingbird was Lee's only published book until Go Set a Watchman, an earlier draft of To Kill a Mockingbird, was published on July 14, 2015. Lee continued to respond to her work's impact until her death in February 2016, although she had refused any personal publicity for herself or the novel since 1964.This recording reflects the Wikipedia text as of 00:23 UTC on Thursday, 10 October 2024.For the full current version of the article, see To Kill a Mockingbird on Wikipedia.This podcast uses content from Wikipedia under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License.Visit our archives at wikioftheday.com and subscribe to stay updated on new episodes.Follow us on Mastodon at @wikioftheday@masto.ai.Also check out Curmudgeon's Corner, a current events podcast.Until next time, I'm standard Joey.

In this week's episode, we take a look back at one of our more popular episodes, which discusses three different methods for starting your novel and introducing the central conflict. The episode ends with a preview of the audiobook of WIZARD-THIEF, as excellently narrated by Leanne Woodward. TRANSCRIPT 00:00:00 Introduction and Writing Updates (August 2024) Hello, everyone. Welcome to Episode 213 of The Pulp Writer Show. My name is Jonathan Moeller. Today is August the 9th, 2024 and today we are looking back at one of our older episodes, specifically Episode 110: Three Techniques for Starting Your Novel and Introducing the Conflict (from way back in February of 2022). It was one of the more popular episodes, so it seems like a good one to replay. Next week, we will go back to recording new episodes, but I've had a lot to do in real life these past couple weeks, so it seems like a good time to rerun some old episodes. If you have 213 episodes of your podcast, what's the point unless you can dig into the archives and rerun an old episode every once in a while? We will return to new episodes next week. We'll also close out this episode with a short preview of the audiobook of Wizard-Thief (as excellently narrated by Leanne Woodward). So listen for that at the end of the show. Before we get back to our old episode, let's have an update on my current writing projects. Half-Orc Paladin is done and it is available. You can get it at Amazon and Kindle Unlimited. People have asked when it's going to come to the other stores and it will once the series is done and all six books are out, which should be sometime in 2025. Now that Half-Orc Paladin is done, I am working on Shield of Conquest as my main project. I am on Chapter 3 of 22, which puts me 11,000 words into it. After that, I shall write Ghost in the Tombs and I'm 31,000 words into that. And after Ghost in the Tombs is done, I will then start on Cloak of Illusion, and I am 1,000 words into that. So if all goes well, hopefully we will have Shield of Conquest in September, Ghost in the Tombs of October, and Cloak of Illusion in November, which pretty much takes us almost to the end of 2024. So that's where I'm at with my current writing projects and now we will flash back to February 2022 and talk about 3 techniques to start your novel/introducing the conflict, and then we'll close out the show with a preview of the audiobook of Wizard-Thief, as excellently narrated by Leanne Woodward.   00:02:06 Re-airing of Episode 110 Begins. Introduction and Writing Updates from February 2022   Hello. Welcome to Episode 110 of The Pulp Writer Show. My name is Jonathan Moeller. Today is February the 25th, 2022 and today we're going to talk about how to start your book and introduce your conflict. Before we get into that, let's have some updates on my current writing projects. Editing is underway for Dragonskull: Blade of the Elves, and I also wrote a tie-in short story to go with it called The First Warlock, which is an origin story for one the new villains introduced in Blade of the Elves. This week I finished Dragonskull: Blade of the Elves, started editing, and also finished The First Warlock, and so if editing goes well and all goes well, that should be out sometime in March. I also finished writing Chapter One of Cloak of Shards. That will be my next main project after Dragonskull: Blade of the Elves is published in March. In audiobook news, I am beginning to proof-listen to chapters for Frostborn: The Dragon Knight (as excellently narrated by Brad Wills). So if all goes well, we should be able to listen to Frostborn: The Dragon Knight on audiobook platforms before too much longer. 00:03:22 Reader Question on Services for Physical Book Publishing Before we get into our main topic, we have one question from a reader this week. Steve asks: who do you typically do your physical publishing through, if I may ask? I almost always use Kindle Direct Publishing Print. It's generally the easiest and the simplest to use and offers both paperback and hardback now. Other providers like Ingram Spark offer a lot more options and customization options, but Ingram Spark is definitely harder and more complicated to use than Kindle Direct Publishing Print. And it's also easier to lose money doing that, since you can accidentally set yourself up with a negative return rate, which Amazon doesn't let you do. Draft to Digital has a print service. I've heard good things about it, but I've never actually used it, so I can't attest to it one way or the other. So if you're just starting out with your first book like I believe Steve is, then probably Kindle Direct Publishing Print is your quickest and easiest option for getting your book in paperback and hardback. 00:04:23 Main Topic of the Week: How to Start Your Book and Introduce Conflict So our main topic this week will be how to start your book and how to introduce your conflict. And of course, there's only one sentence that can start out that topic: “It was a dark and stormy night.” That sentence is perhaps the most cliched opening line in English literature. Of course, the opposite of that is writers who try to make the opening line of their book as shocking and memorable as possible, like for example, something along the lines of “today was the day I died for the seventh time.” If you read websites and Internet groups where writers frequent, you will often see writers agonizing at length about the opening line of their novel. Generally, the agonizing is all unnecessary. The introduction to your story has three purposes, and if you keep those three functions in mind, it will be much easier to both write the opening mind and the rest of the introduction. First, the introduction should catch the reader's attention. Second, the introduction should introduce the protagonist and the leading characters. Third, it should set the stage for the story's conflict. Let's go through each of these purposes and then share three methods for getting your story off the ground. First, catch the reader's attention. As we mentioned above, the necessity of seizing the reader's attention and of crafting an interesting opening sentence is a source of much angst in various Internet writers' forums. That said, it's best not to overthink things. The key is to provide just a little mystery, enough to inspire your curiosity and encourage the reader to continue further into the book. The easiest way to be interesting is not to be boring. That's, you know, easy to say, but difficult to do. There are, alas, numerous boring ways to start a book, and you should avoid them. It is best to avoid descriptions of the weather, like the famous dark and stormy night. Likewise, it is a good idea to avoid starting your book with lengthy descriptions of the scenery or the setting. Writers who are good at writing lovely prose might pull that off. But I'm not one of those writers, and in my opinion, lovely prose is only useful as a vehicle to advance the plot. Like most advice, “don't be boring” is easy to say and harder to do. How do you provide a little mystery in your novel's introduction? You want to set up a situation where you've inspired just enough curiosity in your reader that they keep reading. The first sentence doesn't have to carry the entire load, but it does help. “After dropping my children off at daycare, I drove to the gas station, loaded my pistol, and walked inside.” This example of an opening sentence might be a bit overdramatic, but it serves to illustrate the point. The narrator is seemingly a responsible parent, dropping his or her children off at daycare before heading to work. Why, then, is the narrator walking into a gas station with a weapon? For many readers, this will inspire enough curiosity to keep reading. Here is the opening sentence from my urban fantasy novel, Cloak Games: Thief Trap (which as of this recording is available for free on all book all ebook platforms). “One of the earliest things I remember is watching the entire United States Congress commit suicide on national television.” Readers have emailed to tell me that this is one of the more effective opening sentences that I have written. It is both a bit of a shock and a mystery hook. Why is a small child watching in the government commit suicide on national TV? If the reader wants to find out why, they will have to read on. Second, introduce the characters. The introduction of the story must also present the main characters to the reader. Obviously, you don't need to introduce all the characters in the book to the reader right away, nor all the details about them. This, in fact, would be a bad idea. The easiest way to introduce any characters in the introduction is to have them engaged in something that reflects their personality and potential conflicts. For example, consider the novel Dracula by Bram Stoker. The book opens with letters written by Jonathan Harker to his fiancée, Mina Murray. In the letters, we learn that Harker is a new solicitor on his way to Transylvania to conduct a real estate transaction with an eccentric rural nobleman named Count Dracula. This handily introduces the characters of Harker, Mina, and Dracula, and sets up the stakes. Harker wants to establish himself in his profession so he can marry Mina, and he just needs to conclude his business with Dracula. Unfortunately for Harker, Dracula turns out to be far more dangerous than he initially appears. Soon, both Harker and the reader realize that Dracula is in fact an ancient vampire and the book's conflict begins. Introducing the characters is a good way to segue into setting the stage for the story's conflict, which we will discuss next. Third, introducing the conflict. The third and final purpose of the introduction is to introduce the reader to the story's conflict or antagonist. There are lots of fun and exciting ways to introduce the conflict. And I say fun and exciting because this is often where the story starts getting quite energetic. In a fantasy novel, it might be when the hero's village is attacked by orcs. In a mystery story, it's when someone stumbles across a dead body. In a thriller novel, perhaps the hero finds a sinister terror plot that is already well underway. The conflict can also be introduced more sedately. In an action themed book, it is easy to introduce the conflict via sudden violence, the attack of orcs, or sudden murder. Other kinds of stories may not involve so much physical danger. The central conflict of most romance novels, for example, is whether or not the heroine and the love interest will get together and whether or not they can overcome the assorted obstacles preventing them from having a relationship. A romance novel might introduce the conflict by having the love interest antagonize the heroine in some way. Perhaps the love interest is a lawyer who represents the heroine's business rival or the heroine is a local law enforcement official and the love interest is an FBI agent who threatens to take over her case. Regardless of how the conflict is introduced, the most important part of the conflict is that it must compel the protagonist to take action. If the conflict or the antagonist isn't serious enough to force the protagonist to act, then nothing happens and you don't have a story. It is possible to have the protagonist refuse to engage with the conflict, only to be forced into it later. For example, take a detective story where the main character, a retired cop, refuses to look into an old case. The retired cop's former partner is murdered and the grief over his death drives the protagonist into investigating. Now that you're familiar with the three roles an introduction needs to fill, let's take a look at three different methods of writing an introduction: a prologue, Bildungsroman/a slow build, or in media res/in the middle of things. First, a prologue. A prologue is a short preamble before the main story where you introduce the situation and certain facts about the setting to the reader, facts that your protagonist may not discover until later in the novel. The disadvantage of the prologue is that you will probably need to continue the introduction within the main body of the story, since the prologue is usually not enough to introduce the reader to the protagonist and the main conflict in an interesting way. The advantage of a prologue is that you can show the reader vital facts about the story and obtaining those facts might be a central plot point for the main characters. One of the better examples of a good prologue I've read comes from the mystery novel Field of Prey by John Sanford. The novel revolves around Detective Lucas Davenport's efforts to find a pair of serial killers operating in rural Minnesota. The prologue introduces the two serial killers and shows how they stumble across their preferred method of capturing their victims. In terms of story structure, that means the reader immediately knows who the killers are, even though Davenport and the other detectives do not. The actual plot does not kick off until the first chapter, when a pair of teenagers accidentally discover where the serial killers have been hiding the bodies of their victims. But throughout the book, the reader's advance knowledge from the prologue adds an additional layer of tension to the story, especially when one of the investigators stumbles across the killers without realizing his mortal peril. Field of Prey had an effective prologue, but I have to admit, a prologue is my least favorite technique for an introduction. In the hands of a capable writer, a prologue works, but I've seen a lot of prologues used to dump information on the reader that the writer couldn't figure out how to reveal in the story or to introduce a character who doesn't turn up until 2/3 of the way through the book. If you do use a prologue, you will likely have to combine it with one of the other two introductory techniques we'll discuss during this podcast. That leads us to the second technique, Bildungsroman, which I think I pronounced correctly, but if I didn't, my apologies. The term Bildungsroman is a German word that means education novel and refers to a genre of fiction that revolves around the education and development of a young protagonist. Nowadays, in English, we tend to call these kind of books coming of age novels. As you might expect, books like this tend to be quite leisurely, following the protagonist from childhood to adulthood. I found that Bildungsroman is also a useful shorthand to describe a kind of introduction where the story slowly builds to the conflict. The Lord of the Rings is a good example of a story with a leisurely introduction to the conflict. Frodo doesn't learn that his uncle Bilbo's magic ring is in fact The One Ring until well into the story, and even more time passes before he leaves with the ring to keep it safe. For that matter, the central conflict isn't fully expressed, that the ring must be destroyed and Frodo is the one to do it, until well into the book. It can be tricky to hold the reader's interest during a long and leisurely introduction. A good way to keep the reader's interest is to introduce an element of mystery to a long introduction. In a fantasy novel, the protagonist might have a secret he has to keep from everyone. Perhaps he has magical abilities and is hiding them for fear of persecution, or he's secretly the heir to a deposed king and the current regime will kill him if they find him. A Study in Scarlet, the first Sherlock Holmes story, is a good example of a slow introduction, even though the entire book is relatively short. Doctor Watson needs a roommate to help cover his rent, so he moves in with the mysterious Sherlock Holmes. Holmes has many eccentricities, lending an air of mystery to him, and finally Watson learns that Holmes is consulting detective. The actual central conflict of the book (Holmes is brought in to solve a mysterious murder) does not take place until well into the story, but the mystery around Holmes himself helps hold the reader's interest. That leads to our third potential technique for starting a story, in media res. Now in media res is a Latin phrase that translates to “into the middle of things” in English and refers to the kind of introduction where you immediately thrust the reader into the plot without much in the way of build up. There are many different methods to do this, and in some ways, it is much easier to write than a slower introduction. In a fantasy novel, for example, the protagonist might wake up to find his village under attack by orcs. In a military science fiction novel, the book could start with the protagonist leading his platoon or squadron into battle against the space bugs. I have to admit, this story trope does seem quite common in military science fiction. A contemporary mystery novel could open with the detective standing over the murder victim and starting the investigation that will be the central conflict of the plot. A legal thriller might open in the middle of a high stakes trial, with the judge issuing a ruling that sets back the protagonist case and forces her to pursue a different strategy. The strength of starting the plot in media res is that you can immediately hook the reader with an action scene or some other kind of problem. It's easier to draw the reader's attention with a battle scene or some sort of dramatic sequence than it is with a slower introduction. You can then shift to the next phase of story structure and the conflict once you've gotten through the initial introduction. The weakness of starting in media res is that you're probably going to skip a lot of important information for the plot that you'll need to address later. To return to our previous examples, why are the orcs attacking the protagonist's village? Or why is the protagonist leading his platoon into battle against the space bugs? The danger is that you might be tempted to engage in massive info dumps later in the book, where characters state obvious things to each other that they already know, like for example, “as you know, Bob, we're both detectives engaged in a murder investigation.” Now people in real life generally do not talk that way, and using infodumps in dialogue or regular prose runs the risk of breaking the story's air of verisimilitude. The way to avoid info dumps is to use the release of new information as part of driving the plot. As always, the best way to do that is to keep an element of mystery in the story, allowing you to reveal information for maximum dramatic effect. To return to the example of the mystery novel that opens with the detective standing over the dead body, let's say that after the first few chapters, the detective's superior threatens to pull him off the case. There could be any number of reasons. Perhaps the detective botched a similar case, or the detective's partner was killed investigating the similar case, and the failure haunts our protagonist to this day or the murder has political implications and the detective superior is feeling pressure from his bosses to bury the case. Revealing this information as a complication in the plot rather than an infodump will improve the story. In our example of a fantasy novel where the protagonist's village is attacked by orcs and the villagers are taken captive, perhaps the human kingdom and the orcs have been at war for centuries. Perhaps the orcs were responding to a human attack, or maybe there is a traitor in the human kingdom who is working with the orcs. Either way, it is better for the protagonist to discover this during the plot rather than explaining it all in the introduction. Starting the story in media res is a great way to kick off the book, but it can be a challenge to not let things slacken after that. Retaining an element of mystery and, of course, complications for a protagonist to face, will keep things moving and interesting for the reader. As a final point, it is possible to open your book with a combination of prologue, Bildungsroman, and in media res, though you might want to wait until you have more experience writing novels before trying something complicated. The harsh advice of “keep it simple, stupid” applies to many areas of life and keeping things as simple as possible is often useful for writing novels as well. So, I hope you have found that helpful and that those techniques will be of use to you as you seek to start writing your own novels and short stories. So that is it for this week. Thank you all for listening to The Pulp Writer Show. If you enjoyed the podcast, please leave a review on your podcasting platform of choice. Stay safe and stay healthy and see you all next week.

We blikken terug op de programma's van afgelopen seizoen met De Balie Podcast. Deze keer: Publieke Intellectuelen: Hugo Claus. Of je deze zomer onderweg bent in de auto, op de camping staat of aan het strand ligt, De Balie is dichtbij. Met elke week twee programma's om te luisteren.Hugo Claus was een artistieke duizendpoot: poëzie- en prozaschrijver, toneelauteur, kunstenaar, filmregisseur en librettist. Zijn schrijfwerk maakte van hem het boegbeeld van de Vlaamse literatuur na de Tweede Wereldoorlog. Vijftien jaar na zijn overlijden blikken we samen met zijn biograaf, Mark Schaevers, terug op Claus' werk: wat is zijn nalatenschap? Tijdens deze editie van Publieke Intellectuelen blikken we terug op Claus' leven en werken en zijn betekenis in onze cultuur. Zijn biograaf Mark Schaevers zal Claus met snelle trekken portretteren en gaat daarna het gesprek aan met zijn favoriete sparringpartner, Arnon Grunberg. Acteurs Sam Ghilane en Vincent van den Berg lezen teksten van Hugo Claus voor.Hugo Claus' meest bekroonde roman Het verdriet van België raakt een tal aan genres: het wordt gezien als een sleutelroman, sociale roman, Bildungsroman, familiekroniek, kunstenaarsroman en als historisch verhaal. Claus mengde het klassieke, tragische, verhevene met het banale, obscene en experimentele.Zie het privacybeleid op https://art19.com/privacy en de privacyverklaring van Californië op https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.Zie het privacybeleid op https://art19.com/privacy en de privacyverklaring van Californië op https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Can Falk steer rookies in the world of crime down the path of justice? Will he be forced off the road of crime-fighting by a spindly motorized bicycle? What's that smell? Listen to find out!Watching the Defectives, episode 104 of This Gun in My Hand, was mentored by Rob Northrup. This episode and all others are available on Youtube with automatically-generated closed captions of dialog. Visit http://ThisGuninMyHand.blogspot.com for credits, show notes, archives, and to buy my books, such as Little Heist in the Big Woods and Other Revisionist Atrocities. What keeps you from turning to crime? This Gun in My Hand!Show Notes:1. Citations Needed podcast on the exaggeration of the modern “organized shoplifting racket”:https://citationsneeded.medium.com/news-brief-organized-crime-shoplifting-epidemic-panic-hits-san-francisco-media-b044c0f78bfa2. The Olympics first added women's shot put in 1948.3. My maternal grandmother's middle name was “Ederle,” named after the first woman known to swim solo across the English Channel. Is this the equivalent of naming your kid Khaleesi or Anakin?Credits:The opening and middle transitional music clips were from The Sun Sets at Dawn (1950), and the closing music was from Killer Bait (1949), both films in the public domain. Most of the music and sound effects used in the episode are modified or incomplete versions of the originals.Sound Effect Title: Park ambience - mostly birdsLicense: Public Domainhttps://freesound.org/people/Mafon2/sounds/274175/#Sound Effect Title: footsteps cellar.wavLicense: Public Domainhttps://freesound.org/people/gecop/sounds/545030/Sound Effect Title: Heels on Pavement.wavLicense: Public Domainhttps://freesound.org/people/B.Harkins/sounds/683658/Music Title: Flight of the Carpenter BeeBy Steven Arntson License: Creative Commons Attribution 3.0https://archive.org/details/Bildungsroman-7512Sound Effect Title: Mount Moganshan Insect ChorusBy: RTB45 License: Creative Commons Attribution 3.0https://freesound.org/people/RTB45/sounds/325321/Insect chorus recorded one summer evening, Mount Moganshan, Zhejiang Provence, People's Republic of ChinaSound Effect Title: Car_motor_Sound.m4a License: Public Domainhttps://freesound.org/people/Blizzard123/sounds/504633/#Sound Effect Title: motorcycle throaty pull away medium speed smooth Gaza 2016.wavLicense: Public Domainhttps://freesound.org/people/kyles/sounds/406387/Sound Effect Title: Squeaky Car Door License: Public Domainhttps://freesound.org/people/coltures/sounds/262325/#Sound Effect Title: Car_Stop_Breaks_Screech_Engine-Rev_by-monnie101.mp4.WAVLicense: Public Domainhttps://freesound.org/people/monnie101/sounds/58150/Sound Effect Title: audi a4 b8 20tdi update engine set1 idle acceleration early gear shifting mono.wavBy SoundholderLicense: Creative Commons Attribution 3.0https://freesound.org/people/Soundholder/sounds/425397/Sound Effect Title: R03-19-Old Auto Tire Skid.wavLicense: Public Domainhttps://freesound.org/people/craigsmith/sounds/481668/Sound Effect Title: Bike Falling on Concrete.wav By pliveseyLicense: Creative Commons Sampling+https://freesound.org/s/78960/ The image accompanying this episode is a modified detail of a panel from the public domain comic book Hot Rods And Racing Cars, Number 32 (October 1957), pencils by Bill Molno, inks by Sal Trapani.

In Loose of Earth, a story of a tight-knit evangelical family in West Texas, the oldest daughter tries to make sense of the contradictions of the world she is warned about and the world she has to occupy. When her father contracts cancer from "forever chemicals" her world come crashing down. The memoir is Loose of Earth, and we hear from the author Kathleen Dorothy Blackburn.

Dubiose Finanzgeschäfte, einarmige Banditen und die Frage, was man im Leben wirklich braucht: Ulrich Peltzers neuer Roman ist ein fulminanter Erinnerungsmonolog über Geld und Leben, Gier und Sucht - und ein packender Bildungsroman aus dem Berlin der Nachwendezeit. Anja Brockert im Gespräch mit Ulrich Peltzer

M: 6.5. E: 6.

Famously undefinable, in many ways art is an ‘I'll know it when I see it' kind of thing. It's a giant sociological concept whose tendrils snake into all our lives. In today's episode, I speak to Farah Nayeri: journalist and author of Takedown: Art and Power in the Digital Age, a fascinating overview of some of the most difficult questions currently being asked in the contemporary art world. What should we be doing about culturally valuable works from problematic artists? Are the demographics of the industry (historically a hotbed of old, straight white men) changing fast enough? How can artists tread the line between appreciation and appropriation? In today's wide-ranging conversation, we cover this and much, much more – along with a snapshot into Farah's literary tastes and recommendations. Lit with Charles loves reviews. If you enjoyed this episode, I'd be so grateful if you could leave a review of your own, and follow me on Instagram @litwithcharles. Let's get more people listening – and reading! Books mentioned in the episode: Farah's favourite book I had probably never heard of was Venice is a Fish: A Sensual Guide, by Tiziano Scarpa (2008), an intoxicating and lyrical exploration of the parts of the city traditional guidebooks won't show you. The best book she has read in the last 12 months was David Smith: The Art and Life of a Transformational Sculptor, by Michael Brenson (2022), a biography of the industry titan who helped spark a love for the plastic arts in the US ‘scene'. The book she would take to a desert island was À la recherche du temps perdu, by Marcel Proust (1913), whose translated title is In Search of Lost Time, a Bildungsroman following the life of narrator ‘Marcel', set in high-society France. The book that changed her mind was Empireland: How Imperialism Has Shaped Modern Britain, by Sathnam Sanghera (2021), which offers a fresh critique of the history of British colonialism. Finally, the book that pleasantly surprised her was The Human Stain, by Philip Roth (2000), the story of an ageing classics professor in a small New England town forced to retire amidst allegations of racism. Find Farah: Book: https://amzn.eu/d/cdIRzdf Website: http://www.farahnayeri.com/ Instagram: @nayeri.farah

Welcome back to Trail Correspondents! This is the final episode of season 4: an interview with your former self.  Traditionally, this episode is formatted such that we pan back and forth between the present and the past as the Correspondents ask and answer questions they posed to themselves prior to leaving for their journeys; however, as I started to dig into putting this episode together, I was struck by the stark difference in tone between these two chronologically distant clips.  So I made a unilateral, editorial decision to mostly change the formatting of this episode in order to preserve its potency. Rather than split each question up with its associated answer I've elected to present both in their entirety so that you as the listener can really hear the doubt, uncertainty and honestly fear of the unknown give way to courage, confidence, and acquired knowledge. So, for the most part I've abandoned tradition. If you'll grant me one final indulgence, I present to you now our concluding episode.  Let's get into it, one more time. One final chance to send us your questions about anything and everything here: https://www.speakpipe.com/TrailCorrespondents In today's episode we hear from: Abbey Turnbull Harking from the South Coast of the UK, Abbey, aged 26, is swapping the rolling hills of the South Downs for the mountains of the Pacific Crest. A thru-hike of the JMT last year confirmed what she thought to be true – hiking from Mexico to Canada was her destiny for 2023. Loves good food and wine, Taylor Swift, American hospitality, and mountain vistas. Hates steep downhill slopes, her own unfortunate susceptibility to altitude sickness, and oatmeal. Abbigale (Abby) Evans Abby Evans (she/they) has a hankering to shave their head and hike the AT and now they will get to do both! They will be fulfilling their vagabond-dirtbag-poet dreams and aspire to one day become a creative writing professor. They'll be listening to seventies folk music and reflecting on their life as they wander through all the states they grew up in: they were born in Maryland, grew up in New Jersey and went to college at Virginia Tech. Abby is excited for this Bildungsroman and hopes to celebrate their 23rd birthday (August 24) near Maine. Aly Pagano Aly is local to the southern Appalachians in western North Carolina. She has spent her life hiking, trail running, fishing, foraging, and farming; she aspires to increase her own knowledge and awareness of traditional Appalachian folk medicine, music, and skills as in an effort to live harmoniously with the mountains around her. With a degree in Ecology, Aly focuses on seasonal changes, flora, and fauna while hiking the Appalachian Trail. David Firari David “Good Soup” is excited to be sharing their northbound Appalachian Trail with you! This is their first ever backpacking trip and they hope all the reading and shakedown hikes they did pay off. In addition to being a novice backpacker, Good Soup is also managing a schedule of recurring medical treatments back home in Wisconsin in order to make this trip happen. Derek Witteman Derek is a 37 years young Northern California native, presently thriving in San Antonio, Texas. In no particular order he is a physician, veteran, hiker, nerd, and jokester. In his free time he enjoys taking selfies with wildlife, and thinking of spirit animals the represent his current mood. Eddie Arriola Eddie is a travel PTA, physical therapist assistant, who's been dreaming of the PCT for four years. In his spare time he enjoys photography, karaoke, and has other eclectic hobbies. He's originally from southern Arizona, Tucson, and is excited to get back to his primary partner and dogs after the trail. Elke Pabst Elke comes from Germany and wants to thruhike the AT with her dog Tilli. It is her first stay in the USA und doesn t hiking before. She has 3 nearly grown up sons and a husband who take care of everything while she is hiking with her 9 year old dog Tilli. Jake Landgraf Jake is currently on the AT attempting his first thru-hike. A proud Wisconsin resident, he enjoys beer, the outdoors, and the Green Bay Packers. On trail, Jake is known as “Radioface” and is obsessed with cosmic brownies. Follow Jake on his own, daily podcast at whereisjakeat.com.   Summer Midyett Summer has had an adventurous spirit since she was young, having spent her most of her childhood traveling around the world with her family. She's been dreaming of hiking the Pacific Crest Trail since 2020, when she moved to Oregon and fell in love with the mountains of the PNW. While it's certainly shaping up to be an interesting year for the PCT, she's excited to see whatever the trail has in store. FIND US ON ITUNES | FIND US ON GOOGLE PLAY | FIND US ON STITCHER Check out Appalachian Trials and Pacific Crest Trials. Have any praise, questions, praise, comments, praise, or praise for Trail Correspondents? Reach out to podcast@thetrek.co. INSTAGRAM: Follow Trail Correspondents, The Trek, and Badger. YOUTUBE: Subscribe to The Trek. FACEBOOK: Follow Trail Correspondents and The Trek. Sign up for our newsletter Give us feedback on Trail Correspondents here.

Welcome back to Trail Correspondents! We've finally come to it: the finish.  Send us your questions about anything and everything here: https://www.speakpipe.com/TrailCorrespondents In today's episode we hear from: Abbey Turnbull Harking from the South Coast of the UK, Abbey, aged 26, is swapping the rolling hills of the South Downs for the mountains of the Pacific Crest. A thru-hike of the JMT last year confirmed what she thought to be true – hiking from Mexico to Canada was her destiny for 2023. Loves good food and wine, Taylor Swift, American hospitality, and mountain vistas. Hates steep downhill slopes, her own unfortunate susceptibility to altitude sickness, and oatmeal. Abbigale (Abby) Evans Abby Evans (she/they) has a hankering to shave their head and hike the AT and now they will get to do both! They will be fulfilling their vagabond-dirtbag-poet dreams and aspire to one day become a creative writing professor. They'll be listening to seventies folk music and reflecting on their life as they wander through all the states they grew up in: they were born in Maryland, grew up in New Jersey and went to college at Virginia Tech. Abby is excited for this Bildungsroman and hopes to celebrate their 23rd birthday (August 24) near Maine. Aly Pagano Aly is local to the southern Appalachians in western North Carolina. She has spent her life hiking, trail running, fishing, foraging, and farming; she aspires to increase her own knowledge and awareness of traditional Appalachian folk medicine, music, and skills as in an effort to live harmoniously with the mountains around her. With a degree in Ecology, Aly focuses on seasonal changes, flora, and fauna while hiking the Appalachian Trail. Iris Hartshorn A queer Alaskan, Iris, aka Panther, strives to build adventure into their life. The last years have been filled with world travel, skiing, packrafting, hiking, backpacking, vanlife, and epic trips across Alaska. This year's highlight is to walk from Mexico to Canada. Or, at least, just to keep walking somewhere. David Firari David “Good Soup” is excited to be sharing their northbound Appalachian Trail with you! This is their first ever backpacking trip and they hope all the reading and shakedown hikes they did pay off. In addition to being a novice backpacker, Good Soup is also managing a schedule of recurring medical treatments back home in Wisconsin in order to make this trip happen. Derek Witteman Derek is a 37 years young Northern California native, presently thriving in San Antonio, Texas. In no particular order he is a physician, veteran, hiker, nerd, and jokester. In his free time he enjoys taking selfies with wildlife, and thinking of spirit animals the represent his current mood. Eddie Arriola Eddie is a travel PTA, physical therapist assistant, who's been dreaming of the PCT for four years. In his spare time he enjoys photography, karaoke, and has other eclectic hobbies. He's originally from southern Arizona, Tucson, and is excited to get back to his primary partner and dogs after the trail. Elke Pabst Elke comes from Germany and wants to thruhike the AT with her dog Tilli. It is her first stay in the USA und doesn t hiking before. She has 3 nearly grown up sons and a husband who take care of everything while she is hiking with her 9 year old dog Tilli. Jake Landgraf Jake is currently on the AT attempting his first thru-hike. A proud Wisconsin resident, he enjoys beer, the outdoors, and the Green Bay Packers. On trail, Jake is known as “Radioface” and is obsessed with cosmic brownies. Follow Jake on his own, daily podcast at whereisjakeat.com.   Summer Midyett Summer has had an adventurous spirit since she was young, having spent her most of her childhood traveling around the world with her family. She's been dreaming of hiking the Pacific Crest Trail since 2020, when she moved to Oregon and fell in love with the mountains of the PNW. While it's certainly shaping up to be an interesting year for the PCT, she's excited to see whatever the trail has in store. FIND US ON ITUNES | FIND US ON GOOGLE PLAY | FIND US ON STITCHER Check out Appalachian Trials and Pacific Crest Trials. Have any praise, questions, praise, comments, praise, or praise for Trail Correspondents? Reach out to podcast@thetrek.co. INSTAGRAM: Follow Trail Correspondents, The Trek, and Badger. YOUTUBE: Subscribe to The Trek. FACEBOOK: Follow Trail Correspondents and The Trek. Sign up for our newsletter Give us feedback on Trail Correspondents here.

Welcome back to Trail Correspondents! I am your host moron and this is episode 13 all about the last week on trail. There are a lot of complex, possibly mutually exclusive and contradicting feelings that can arise on the last week of trail. You've found a groove, have your gear and resupply system fine tuned and have all of the intellectual, emotional and physical momentum you could need to reach your destination. But then, there you are at the sign or monument signifying your journey's conclusion.  While the contents of each day on trail are usually unknown at the outset and are filled in by the the whims of fate as you make your daily mileage, as you approach nearer and nearer to what you've been chasing for so many weeks and months, it's hard to grasp what the end of the experience will mean for the near future.  There's no doubt that the end of a journey like a long-trail is a hard pill to swallow and it's uniquely individualized for each person.  Send us your questions about anything and everything here: https://www.speakpipe.com/TrailCorrespondents In today's episode we hear from: Abbigale (Abby) Evans Abby Evans (she/they) has a hankering to shave their head and hike the AT and now they will get to do both! They will be fulfilling their vagabond-dirtbag-poet dreams and aspire to one day become a creative writing professor. They'll be listening to seventies folk music and reflecting on their life as they wander through all the states they grew up in: they were born in Maryland, grew up in New Jersey and went to college at Virginia Tech. Abby is excited for this Bildungsroman and hopes to celebrate their 23rd birthday (August 24) near Maine. Aly Pagano Aly is local to the southern Appalachians in western North Carolina. She has spent her life hiking, trail running, fishing, foraging, and farming; she aspires to increase her own knowledge and awareness of traditional Appalachian folk medicine, music, and skills as in an effort to live harmoniously with the mountains around her. With a degree in Ecology, Aly focuses on seasonal changes, flora, and fauna while hiking the Appalachian Trail. David Firari David “Good Soup” is excited to be sharing their northbound Appalachian Trail with you! This is their first ever backpacking trip and they hope all the reading and shakedown hikes they did pay off. In addition to being a novice backpacker, Good Soup is also managing a schedule of recurring medical treatments back home in Wisconsin in order to make this trip happen. Derek Witteman Derek is a 37 years young Northern California native, presently thriving in San Antonio, Texas. In no particular order he is a physician, veteran, hiker, nerd, and jokester. In his free time he enjoys taking selfies with wildlife, and thinking of spirit animals the represent his current mood. Eddie Arriola Eddie is a travel PTA, physical therapist assistant, who's been dreaming of the PCT for four years. In his spare time he enjoys photography, karaoke, and has other eclectic hobbies. He's originally from southern Arizona, Tucson, and is excited to get back to his primary partner and dogs after the trail. Elke Pabst Elke comes from Germany and wants to thruhike the AT with her dog Tilli. It is her first stay in the USA und doesn t hiking before. She has 3 nearly grown up sons and a husband who take care of everything while she is hiking with her 9 year old dog Tilli. Jake Landgraf Jake is currently on the AT attempting his first thru-hike. A proud Wisconsin resident, he enjoys beer, the outdoors, and the Green Bay Packers. On trail, Jake is known as “Radioface” and is obsessed with cosmic brownies. Follow Jake on his own, daily podcast at whereisjakeat.com.   Mary Garcia Mary is a boring woman who likes to make various things, especially her hiking gear. She also has problems completing a thru hike. She did half the PCT in 2017 and a month on the CDT in 2022.   Summer Midyett Summer has had an adventurous spirit since she was young, having spent her most of her childhood traveling around the world with her family. She's been dreaming of hiking the Pacific Crest Trail since 2020, when she moved to Oregon and fell in love with the mountains of the PNW. While it's certainly shaping up to be an interesting year for the PCT, she's excited to see whatever the trail has in store. FIND US ON ITUNES | FIND US ON GOOGLE PLAY | FIND US ON STITCHER Check out Appalachian Trials and Pacific Crest Trials. Have any praise, questions, praise, comments, praise, or praise for Trail Correspondents? Reach out to podcast@thetrek.co. INSTAGRAM: Follow Trail Correspondents, The Trek, and Badger. YOUTUBE: Subscribe to The Trek. FACEBOOK: Follow Trail Correspondents and The Trek. Sign up for our newsletter Give us feedback on Trail Correspondents here.

Welcome back to Trail Correspondents! You'll certainly find a noticeable theme throughout these clips - especially with those who are completing their first long trail, that it's difficult to sum up in words what's been learned.  The duration of time a thru hike requires is definitely enough to cause a thorough change within a person - it's so all-encompassing and transforming that it's hard to nail down exactly who and what you were before embarking on your journey. It requires re-acclimation to the life you left in order to reorient who you've become.  On that note, let's get into what our correspondents have to say on the matter. Their closeness to the essence of this kind of experiential change is sure to be captivating… In today's episode we hear from: Abbey Turnbull Harking from the South Coast of the UK, Abbey, aged 26, is swapping the rolling hills of the South Downs for the mountains of the Pacific Crest. A thru-hike of the JMT last year confirmed what she thought to be true – hiking from Mexico to Canada was her destiny for 2023. Loves good food and wine, Taylor Swift, American hospitality, and mountain vistas. Hates steep downhill slopes, her own unfortunate susceptibility to altitude sickness, and oatmeal. Abbigale (Abby) Evans Abby Evans (she/they) has a hankering to shave their head and hike the AT and now they will get to do both! They will be fulfilling their vagabond-dirtbag-poet dreams and aspire to one day become a creative writing professor. They'll be listening to seventies folk music and reflecting on their life as they wander through all the states they grew up in: they were born in Maryland, grew up in New Jersey and went to college at Virginia Tech. Abby is excited for this Bildungsroman and hopes to celebrate their 23rd birthday (August 24) near Maine. Aly Pagano Aly is local to the southern Appalachians in western North Carolina. She has spent her life hiking, trail running, fishing, foraging, and farming; she aspires to increase her own knowledge and awareness of traditional Appalachian folk medicine, music, and skills as in an effort to live harmoniously with the mountains around her. With a degree in Ecology, Aly focuses on seasonal changes, flora, and fauna while hiking the Appalachian Trail. David Firari David “Good Soup” is excited to be sharing their northbound Appalachian Trail with you! This is their first ever backpacking trip and they hope all the reading and shakedown hikes they did pay off. In addition to being a novice backpacker, Good Soup is also managing a schedule of recurring medical treatments back home in Wisconsin in order to make this trip happen. Derek Witteman Derek is a 37 years young Northern California native, presently thriving in San Antonio, Texas. In no particular order he is a physician, veteran, hiker, nerd, and jokester. In his free time he enjoys taking selfies with wildlife, and thinking of spirit animals the represent his current mood. Eddie Arriola Eddie is a travel PTA, physical therapist assistant, who's been dreaming of the PCT for four years. In his spare time he enjoys photography, karaoke, and has other eclectic hobbies. He's originally from southern Arizona, Tucson, and is excited to get back to his primary partner and dogs after the trail. Elke Pabst Elke comes from Germany and wants to thruhike the AT with her dog Tilli. It is her first stay in the USA und doesn t hiking before. She has 3 nearly grown up sons and a husband who take care of everything while she is hiking with her 9 year old dog Tilli. Jake Landgraf Jake is currently on the AT attempting his first thru-hike. A proud Wisconsin resident, he enjoys beer, the outdoors, and the Green Bay Packers. On trail, Jake is known as “Radioface” and is obsessed with cosmic brownies. Follow Jake on his own, daily podcast at whereisjakeat.com.   Mary Garcia Mary is a boring woman who likes to make various things, especially her hiking gear. She also has problems completing a thru hike. She did half the PCT in 2017 and a month on the CDT in 2022.   Summer Midyett Summer has had an adventurous spirit since she was young, having spent her most of her childhood traveling around the world with her family. She's been dreaming of hiking the Pacific Crest Trail since 2020, when she moved to Oregon and fell in love with the mountains of the PNW. While it's certainly shaping up to be an interesting year for the PCT, she's excited to see whatever the trail has in store. FIND US ON ITUNES | FIND US ON GOOGLE PLAY | FIND US ON STITCHER Check out Appalachian Trials and Pacific Crest Trials. Have any praise, questions, praise, comments, praise, or praise for Trail Correspondents? Reach out to podcast@thetrek.co. INSTAGRAM: Follow Trail Correspondents, The Trek, and Badger. YOUTUBE: Subscribe to The Trek. FACEBOOK: Follow Trail Correspondents and The Trek. Sign up for our newsletter Give us feedback on Trail Correspondents here.

Welcome back to Trail Correspondents! This is Episode 11 which is all about the mental game required to attempt a thru-hike.  Denial is not just a river in Africa and it's the stories we tell ourselves that frame our experience as heavenly or hellish. Now some relevant quotes:  Henry Ford, “Whether you think you can or can't, you're right.” Sapiens author, Yuval Noah Harari, "Homo sapiens is a storytelling animal that thinks in stories rather than in numbers or graphs, and believes that the universe itself works like a story, replete with heroes and villains, conflicts and resolutions, climaxes and happy endings. When we look for the meaning of life, we want a story that will explain what reality is all about and what my particular role is in the cosmic drama. This role makes me a part of something bigger than myself, and gives meaning to all my experiences and choices.” And one more from our very own Zach Badger Davis on the topic, "What we call “reality” is really just an interpretation of events based on prior life experiences. So if reality is a byproduct of our perceptions, it's our job to rewire how we perceive tough times. We need to look at the glass as half full.” - from Appalachian Trails A thru hike is hard and not just in the ways that are obvious. Success requires a unity of the body, the spirit and THE MIND.  Today we focus-in on the vital role that 3-pound mass of worn-weight between our ears plays in managing one of the most arduous tasks a person can assign themself.  Let's get into it. In today's episode we hear from: Abbey Turnbull Harking from the South Coast of the UK, Abbey, aged 26, is swapping the rolling hills of the South Downs for the mountains of the Pacific Crest. A thru-hike of the JMT last year confirmed what she thought to be true – hiking from Mexico to Canada was her destiny for 2023. Loves good food and wine, Taylor Swift, American hospitality, and mountain vistas. Hates steep downhill slopes, her own unfortunate susceptibility to altitude sickness, and oatmeal. Abbigale (Abby) Evans Abby Evans (she/they) has a hankering to shave their head and hike the AT and now they will get to do both! They will be fulfilling their vagabond-dirtbag-poet dreams and aspire to one day become a creative writing professor. They'll be listening to seventies folk music and reflecting on their life as they wander through all the states they grew up in: they were born in Maryland, grew up in New Jersey and went to college at Virginia Tech. Abby is excited for this Bildungsroman and hopes to celebrate their 23rd birthday (August 24) near Maine. Iris Hartshorn A queer Alaskan, Iris, aka Panther, strives to build adventure into their life. The last years have been filled with world travel, skiing, packrafting, hiking, backpacking, vanlife, and epic trips across Alaska. This year's highlight is to walk from Mexico to Canada. Or, at least, just to keep walking somewhere. David Firari David “Good Soup” is excited to be sharing their northbound Appalachian Trail with you! This is their first ever backpacking trip and they hope all the reading and shakedown hikes they did pay off. In addition to being a novice backpacker, Good Soup is also managing a schedule of recurring medical treatments back home in Wisconsin in order to make this trip happen. Derek Witteman Derek is a 37 years young Northern California native, presently thriving in San Antonio, Texas. In no particular order he is a physician, veteran, hiker, nerd, and jokester. In his free time he enjoys taking selfies with wildlife, and thinking of spirit animals the represent his current mood. Eddie Arriola Eddie is a travel PTA, physical therapist assistant, who's been dreaming of the PCT for four years. In his spare time he enjoys photography, karaoke, and has other eclectic hobbies. He's originally from southern Arizona, Tucson, and is excited to get back to his primary partner and dogs after the trail. Elke Pabst Elke comes from Germany and wants to thruhike the AT with her dog Tilli. It is her first stay in the USA und doesn t hiking before. She has 3 nearly grown up sons and a husband who take care of everything while she is hiking with her 9 year old dog Tilli. Jake Landgraf Jake is currently on the AT attempting his first thru-hike. A proud Wisconsin resident, he enjoys beer, the outdoors, and the Green Bay Packers. On trail, Jake is known as “Radioface” and is obsessed with cosmic brownies. Follow Jake on his own, daily podcast at whereisjakeat.com.   Mary Garcia Mary is a boring woman who likes to make various things, especially her hiking gear. She also has problems completing a thru hike. She did half the PCT in 2017 and a month on the CDT in 2022.   Summer Midyett Summer has had an adventurous spirit since she was young, having spent her most of her childhood traveling around the world with her family. She's been dreaming of hiking the Pacific Crest Trail since 2020, when she moved to Oregon and fell in love with the mountains of the PNW. While it's certainly shaping up to be an interesting year for the PCT, she's excited to see whatever the trail has in store. FIND US ON ITUNES | FIND US ON GOOGLE PLAY | FIND US ON STITCHER Check out Appalachian Trials and Pacific Crest Trials. Have any praise, questions, praise, comments, praise, or praise for Trail Correspondents? Reach out to podcast@thetrek.co. INSTAGRAM: Follow Trail Correspondents, The Trek, and Badger. YOUTUBE: Subscribe to The Trek. FACEBOOK: Follow Trail Correspondents and The Trek. Sign up for our newsletter Give us feedback on Trail Correspondents here.

Welcome back to Trail Correspondents! I am your host moron and this is the last installment of the wildcard episodes for this season of the show. No real need for introductions here as we all know the drill by now. So, settle in and prepare to hear a little of this, a little of that, and a whole lot in between.  Let's get into it.   In today's episode we hear from: Abbigale (Abby) Evans Abby Evans (she/they) has a hankering to shave their head and hike the AT and now they will get to do both! They will be fulfilling their vagabond-dirtbag-poet dreams and aspire to one day become a creative writing professor. They'll be listening to seventies folk music and reflecting on their life as they wander through all the states they grew up in: they were born in Maryland, grew up in New Jersey and went to college at Virginia Tech. Abby is excited for this Bildungsroman and hopes to celebrate their 23rd birthday (August 24) near Maine. Aly Pagano Aly is local to the southern Appalachians in western North Carolina. She has spent her life hiking, trail running, fishing, foraging, and farming; she aspires to increase her own knowledge and awareness of traditional Appalachian folk medicine, music, and skills as in an effort to live harmoniously with the mountains around her. With a degree in Ecology, Aly focuses on seasonal changes, flora, and fauna while hiking the Appalachian Trail. David Firari David “Good Soup” is excited to be sharing their northbound Appalachian Trail with you! This is their first ever backpacking trip and they hope all the reading and shakedown hikes they did pay off. In addition to being a novice backpacker, Good Soup is also managing a schedule of recurring medical treatments back home in Wisconsin in order to make this trip happen. Derek Witteman Derek is a 37 years young Northern California native, presently thriving in San Antonio, Texas. In no particular order he is a physician, veteran, hiker, nerd, and jokester. In his free time he enjoys taking selfies with wildlife, and thinking of spirit animals the represent his current mood. Eddie Arriola Eddie is a travel PTA, physical therapist assistant, who's been dreaming of the PCT for four years. In his spare time he enjoys photography, karaoke, and has other eclectic hobbies. He's originally from southern Arizona, Tucson, and is excited to get back to his primary partner and dogs after the trail. Elke Pabst Elke comes from Germany and wants to thruhike the AT with her dog Tilli. It is her first stay in the USA und doesn t hiking before. She has 3 nearly grown up sons and a husband who take care of everything while she is hiking with her 9 year old dog Tilli. Jake Landgraf Jake is currently on the AT attempting his first thru-hike. A proud Wisconsin resident, he enjoys beer, the outdoors, and the Green Bay Packers. On trail, Jake is known as “Radioface” and is obsessed with cosmic brownies. Follow Jake on his own, daily podcast at whereisjakeat.com.   Mary Garcia Mary is a boring woman who likes to make various things, especially her hiking gear. She also has problems completing a thru hike. She did half the PCT in 2017 and a month on the CDT in 2022.   Summer Midyett Summer has had an adventurous spirit since she was young, having spent her most of her childhood traveling around the world with her family. She's been dreaming of hiking the Pacific Crest Trail since 2020, when she moved to Oregon and fell in love with the mountains of the PNW. While it's certainly shaping up to be an interesting year for the PCT, she's excited to see whatever the trail has in store. FIND US ON ITUNES | FIND US ON GOOGLE PLAY | FIND US ON STITCHER Check out Appalachian Trials and Pacific Crest Trials. Have any praise, questions, praise, comments, praise, or praise for Trail Correspondents? Reach out to podcast@thetrek.co. INSTAGRAM: Follow Trail Correspondents, The Trek, and Badger. YOUTUBE: Subscribe to The Trek. FACEBOOK: Follow Trail Correspondents and The Trek. Sign up for our newsletter Give us feedback on Trail Correspondents here.

Welcome back to Trail Correspondents! Though many of us eat more so out of pleasure, schedule, routine or the like, a hiker's relationship to food evolves during the course of a thru-hike and it's an interesting change to take note of. Wherever you fall in the dietary spectrum it's somewhat unlikely that you will have the same relationship with food pre and post trail.  Food is important and it becomes a vital part of your hiking strategy out of necessity, which is obvious on its face: you need to eat, but when your white hot furnace of a metabolism is glowing for 8, 10, or 12 hours a day, the importance of eating takes on a new form.  So, let's hear what our correspondents have to report about what role food has played for them on their hikes. Sure to be mouth watering. And, if you're listening at home, make sure to have a drink handy as it will be a requirement to take a sip everytime someone mentions a ramen bomb. Let's get into it. Listen here: In today's episode we hear from: Abbey Turnbull Harking from the South Coast of the UK, Abbey, aged 26, is swapping the rolling hills of the South Downs for the mountains of the Pacific Crest. A thru-hike of the JMT last year confirmed what she thought to be true – hiking from Mexico to Canada was her destiny for 2023. Loves good food and wine, Taylor Swift, American hospitality, and mountain vistas. Hates steep downhill slopes, her own unfortunate susceptibility to altitude sickness, and oatmeal. Abbigale (Abby) Evans Abby Evans (she/they) has a hankering to shave their head and hike the AT and now they will get to do both! They will be fulfilling their vagabond-dirtbag-poet dreams and aspire to one day become a creative writing professor. They'll be listening to seventies folk music and reflecting on their life as they wander through all the states they grew up in: they were born in Maryland, grew up in New Jersey and went to college at Virginia Tech. Abby is excited for this Bildungsroman and hopes to celebrate their 23rd birthday (August 24) near Maine. Aly Pagano Aly is local to the southern Appalachians in western North Carolina. She has spent her life hiking, trail running, fishing, foraging, and farming; she aspires to increase her own knowledge and awareness of traditional Appalachian folk medicine, music, and skills as in an effort to live harmoniously with the mountains around her. With a degree in Ecology, Aly focuses on seasonal changes, flora, and fauna while hiking the Appalachian Trail. Iris Hartshorn A queer Alaskan, Iris, aka Panther, strives to build adventure into their life. The last years have been filled with world travel, skiing, packrafting, hiking, backpacking, vanlife, and epic trips across Alaska. This year's highlight is to walk from Mexico to Canada. Or, at least, just to keep walking somewhere. David Firari David “Good Soup” is excited to be sharing their northbound Appalachian Trail with you! This is their first ever backpacking trip and they hope all the reading and shakedown hikes they did pay off. In addition to being a novice backpacker, Good Soup is also managing a schedule of recurring medical treatments back home in Wisconsin in order to make this trip happen. Derek Witteman Derek is a 37 years young Northern California native, presently thriving in San Antonio, Texas. In no particular order he is a physician, veteran, hiker, nerd, and jokester. In his free time he enjoys taking selfies with wildlife, and thinking of spirit animals the represent his current mood. Eddie Arriola Eddie is a travel PTA, physical therapist assistant, who's been dreaming of the PCT for four years. In his spare time he enjoys photography, karaoke, and has other eclectic hobbies. He's originally from southern Arizona, Tucson, and is excited to get back to his primary partner and dogs after the trail. Elke Pabst Elke comes from Germany and wants to thruhike the AT with her dog Tilli. It is her first stay in the USA und doesn t hiking before. She has 3 nearly grown up sons and a husband who take care of everything while she is hiking with her 9 year old dog Tilli. Jake Landgraf Jake is currently on the AT attempting his first thru-hike. A proud Wisconsin resident, he enjoys beer, the outdoors, and the Green Bay Packers. On trail, Jake is known as “Radioface” and is obsessed with cosmic brownies. Follow Jake on his own, daily podcast at whereisjakeat.com.   Mary Garcia Mary is a boring woman who likes to make various things, especially her hiking gear. She also has problems completing a thru hike. She did half the PCT in 2017 and a month on the CDT in 2022.   Summer Midyett Summer has had an adventurous spirit since she was young, having spent her most of her childhood traveling around the world with her family. She's been dreaming of hiking the Pacific Crest Trail since 2020, when she moved to Oregon and fell in love with the mountains of the PNW. While it's certainly shaping up to be an interesting year for the PCT, she's excited to see whatever the trail has in store. FIND US ON ITUNES | FIND US ON GOOGLE PLAY | FIND US ON STITCHER Check out Appalachian Trials and Pacific Crest Trials. Click here for more about the Book of Moron Have any praise, questions, praise, comments, praise, or praise for Trail Correspondents? Reach out to podcast@thetrek.co. INSTAGRAM: Follow Trail Correspondents, The Trek, and Badger. YOUTUBE: Subscribe to The Trek. FACEBOOK: Follow Trail Correspondents and The Trek. Sign up for our newsletter Give us feedback on Trail Correspondents here.

Welcome back to Trail Correspondents! Today we're talking about the physical adjustment our correspondents have endured on trail.  When it comes to staying on trail, you have to listen to your body. You ignore its cries and protests at your peril. If there's one piece of advice I can give with respect to acclimating to the physical demands of thru hiking, it's to tend to things THE MOMENT they arise. If you feel a small itch on the back of your heel, pull over and investigate. If your cookset is digging into your back, take your pack off and reorient it, and so on.  With the attrition rate of any thru hike being what it is, anything you can do to stop problems before they arise will incrementally increase your odds of arriving at your intended terminus. In today's episode we hear from: Abbey Turnbull Harking from the South Coast of the UK, Abbey, aged 26, is swapping the rolling hills of the South Downs for the mountains of the Pacific Crest. A thru-hike of the JMT last year confirmed what she thought to be true – hiking from Mexico to Canada was her destiny for 2023. Loves good food and wine, Taylor Swift, American hospitality, and mountain vistas. Hates steep downhill slopes, her own unfortunate susceptibility to altitude sickness, and oatmeal. Abbigale (Abby) Evans Abby Evans (she/they) has a hankering to shave their head and hike the AT and now they will get to do both! They will be fulfilling their vagabond-dirtbag-poet dreams and aspire to one day become a creative writing professor. They'll be listening to seventies folk music and reflecting on their life as they wander through all the states they grew up in: they were born in Maryland, grew up in New Jersey and went to college at Virginia Tech. Abby is excited for this Bildungsroman and hopes to celebrate their 23rd birthday (August 24) near Maine. Aly Pagano Aly is local to the southern Appalachians in western North Carolina. She has spent her life hiking, trail running, fishing, foraging, and farming; she aspires to increase her own knowledge and awareness of traditional Appalachian folk medicine, music, and skills as in an effort to live harmoniously with the mountains around her. With a degree in Ecology, Aly focuses on seasonal changes, flora, and fauna while hiking the Appalachian Trail. Iris Hartshorn A queer Alaskan, Iris, aka Panther, strives to build adventure into their life. The last years have been filled with world travel, skiing, packrafting, hiking, backpacking, vanlife, and epic trips across Alaska. This year's highlight is to walk from Mexico to Canada. Or, at least, just to keep walking somewhere. David Firari David “Good Soup” is excited to be sharing their northbound Appalachian Trail with you! This is their first ever backpacking trip and they hope all the reading and shakedown hikes they did pay off. In addition to being a novice backpacker, Good Soup is also managing a schedule of recurring medical treatments back home in Wisconsin in order to make this trip happen. Derek Witteman Derek is a 37 years young Northern California native, presently thriving in San Antonio, Texas. In no particular order he is a physician, veteran, hiker, nerd, and jokester. In his free time he enjoys taking selfies with wildlife, and thinking of spirit animals the represent his current mood. Eddie Arriola Eddie is a travel PTA, physical therapist assistant, who's been dreaming of the PCT for four years. In his spare time he enjoys photography, karaoke, and has other eclectic hobbies. He's originally from southern Arizona, Tucson, and is excited to get back to his primary partner and dogs after the trail. Elke Pabst Elke comes from Germany and wants to thruhike the AT with her dog Tilli. It is her first stay in the USA und doesn t hiking before. She has 3 nearly grown up sons and a husband who take care of everything while she is hiking with her 9 year old dog Tilli. Jake Landgraf Jake is currently on the AT attempting his first thru-hike. A proud Wisconsin resident, he enjoys beer, the outdoors, and the Green Bay Packers. On trail, Jake is known as “Radioface” and is obsessed with cosmic brownies. Follow Jake on his own, daily podcast at whereisjakeat.com.   Mary Garcia Mary is a boring woman who likes to make various things, especially her hiking gear. She also has problems completing a thru hike. She did half the PCT in 2017 and a month on the CDT in 2022.   Summer Midyett Summer has had an adventurous spirit since she was young, having spent her most of her childhood traveling around the world with her family. She's been dreaming of hiking the Pacific Crest Trail since 2020, when she moved to Oregon and fell in love with the mountains of the PNW. While it's certainly shaping up to be an interesting year for the PCT, she's excited to see whatever the trail has in store. FIND US ON ITUNES | FIND US ON GOOGLE PLAY | FIND US ON STITCHER Check out Appalachian Trials and Pacific Crest Trials. Click here for more about the Book of Moron Have any praise, questions, praise, comments, praise, or praise for Trail Correspondents? Reach out to podcast@thetrek.co. INSTAGRAM: Follow Trail Correspondents, The Trek, and Badger. YOUTUBE: Subscribe to The Trek. FACEBOOK: Follow Trail Correspondents and The Trek. Sign up for our newsletter Give us feedback on Trail Correspondents here.

Welcome back to Trail Correspondents! Today we're looking at another wildcard edition of the show.  In case you don't know, wildcard episodes give our correspondents free reign to talk about whatever they'd like.  So strap in for some wholesome rambling regarding this, that, and the other! Let's get into it.  In today's episode we hear from: Abbey Turnbull Harking from the South Coast of the UK, Abbey, aged 26, is swapping the rolling hills of the South Downs for the mountains of the Pacific Crest. A thru-hike of the JMT last year confirmed what she thought to be true – hiking from Mexico to Canada was her destiny for 2023. Loves good food and wine, Taylor Swift, American hospitality, and mountain vistas. Hates steep downhill slopes, her own unfortunate susceptibility to altitude sickness, and oatmeal. Abbigale (Abby) Evans Abby Evans (she/they) has a hankering to shave their head and hike the AT and now they will get to do both! They will be fulfilling their vagabond-dirtbag-poet dreams and aspire to one day become a creative writing professor. They'll be listening to seventies folk music and reflecting on their life as they wander through all the states they grew up in: they were born in Maryland, grew up in New Jersey and went to college at Virginia Tech. Abby is excited for this Bildungsroman and hopes to celebrate their 23rd birthday (August 24) near Maine. Aly Pagano Aly is local to the southern Appalachians in western North Carolina. She has spent her life hiking, trail running, fishing, foraging, and farming; she aspires to increase her own knowledge and awareness of traditional Appalachian folk medicine, music, and skills as in an effort to live harmoniously with the mountains around her. With a degree in Ecology, Aly focuses on seasonal changes, flora, and fauna while hiking the Appalachian Trail. Iris Hartshorn A queer Alaskan, Iris, aka Panther, strives to build adventure into their life. The last years have been filled with world travel, skiing, packrafting, hiking, backpacking, vanlife, and epic trips across Alaska. This year's highlight is to walk from Mexico to Canada. Or, at least, just to keep walking somewhere. David Firari David “Good Soup” is excited to be sharing their northbound Appalachian Trail with you! This is their first ever backpacking trip and they hope all the reading and shakedown hikes they did pay off. In addition to being a novice backpacker, Good Soup is also managing a schedule of recurring medical treatments back home in Wisconsin in order to make this trip happen. Derek Witteman Derek is a 37 years young Northern California native, presently thriving in San Antonio, Texas. In no particular order he is a physician, veteran, hiker, nerd, and jokester. In his free time he enjoys taking selfies with wildlife, and thinking of spirit animals the represent his current mood. Eddie Arriola Eddie is a travel PTA, physical therapist assistant, who's been dreaming of the PCT for four years. In his spare time he enjoys photography, karaoke, and has other eclectic hobbies. He's originally from southern Arizona, Tucson, and is excited to get back to his primary partner and dogs after the trail. Jake Landgraf Jake is currently on the AT attempting his first thru-hike. A proud Wisconsin resident, he enjoys beer, the outdoors, and the Green Bay Packers. On trail, Jake is known as “Radioface” and is obsessed with cosmic brownies.   Mary Garcia Mary is a boring woman who likes to make various things, especially her hiking gear. She also has problems completing a thru hike. She did half the PCT in 2017 and a month on the CDT in 2022.   Summer Midyett Summer has had an adventurous spirit since she was young, having spent her most of her childhood traveling around the world with her family. She's been dreaming of hiking the Pacific Crest Trail since 2020, when she moved to Oregon and fell in love with the mountains of the PNW. While it's certainly shaping up to be an interesting year for the PCT, she's excited to see whatever the trail has in store. FIND US ON ITUNES | FIND US ON GOOGLE PLAY | FIND US ON STITCHER Check out Appalachian Trials and Pacific Crest Trials. Click here for more about the Book of Moron Have any praise, questions, praise, comments, praise, or praise for Trail Correspondents? Reach out to podcast@thetrek.co. INSTAGRAM: Follow Trail Correspondents, The Trek, and Badger. YOUTUBE: Subscribe to The Trek. FACEBOOK: Follow Trail Correspondents and The Trek. Sign up for our newsletter Give us feedback on Trail Correspondents here.

Then let the story really begin in 1968, though it has little to do with May. By chance it opens in January of that year, and it really concerns me rather than the world of political events, though these are always on my mind, as they were always on my mind. Future Imperfect: The Past Between My Fingers... (2021), Adrian Rifkin's short Bildungsroman sets beside each other the fault lines of events and moments recalled without a diary with the verification and sometimes undermining effects of new research of materials, the recovery of what was known, what might have been known, and what was merely probable, as if this were a history of the history of art. Adrian Rifkin speaks to Pierre d'Alancaisez about the uses of radical pedagogy, dreams, art history, and the economy of memory. Wagner and the Teletubbies also feature. Adrain's performance Hypotheses and Loving Contradictions at Haus der Kunst, 2017 The White Pube 

Then let the story really begin in 1968, though it has little to do with May. By chance it opens in January of that year, and it really concerns me rather than the world of political events, though these are always on my mind, as they were always on my mind. Future Imperfect: The Past Between My Fingers... (2021), Adrian Rifkin's short Bildungsroman sets beside each other the fault lines of events and moments recalled without a diary with the verification and sometimes undermining effects of new research of materials, the recovery of what was known, what might have been known, and what was merely probable, as if this were a history of the history of art. Adrian Rifkin speaks to Pierre d'Alancaisez about the uses of radical pedagogy, dreams, art history, and the economy of memory. Wagner and the Teletubbies also feature. Adrain's performance Hypotheses and Loving Contradictions at Haus der Kunst, 2017 The White Pube 

Then let the story really begin in 1968, though it has little to do with May. By chance it opens in January of that year, and it really concerns me rather than the world of political events, though these are always on my mind, as they were always on my mind. Future Imperfect: The Past Between My Fingers... (2021), Adrian Rifkin's short Bildungsroman sets beside each other the fault lines of events and moments recalled without a diary with the verification and sometimes undermining effects of new research of materials, the recovery of what was known, what might have been known, and what was merely probable, as if this were a history of the history of art. Adrian Rifkin speaks to Pierre d'Alancaisez about the uses of radical pedagogy, dreams, art history, and the economy of memory. Wagner and the Teletubbies also feature. Adrain's performance Hypotheses and Loving Contradictions at Haus der Kunst, 2017 The White Pube 

Then let the story really begin in 1968, though it has little to do with May. By chance it opens in January of that year, and it really concerns me rather than the world of political events, though these are always on my mind, as they were always on my mind. Future Imperfect: The Past Between My Fingers... (2021), Adrian Rifkin's short Bildungsroman sets beside each other the fault lines of events and moments recalled without a diary with the verification and sometimes undermining effects of new research of materials, the recovery of what was known, what might have been known, and what was merely probable, as if this were a history of the history of art. Adrian Rifkin speaks to Pierre d'Alancaisez about the uses of radical pedagogy, dreams, art history, and the economy of memory. Wagner and the Teletubbies also feature. Adrain's performance Hypotheses and Loving Contradictions at Haus der Kunst, 2017 The White Pube 

Then let the story really begin in 1968, though it has little to do with May. By chance it opens in January of that year, and it really concerns me rather than the world of political events, though these are always on my mind, as they were always on my mind. Future Imperfect: The Past Between My Fingers... (2021), Adrian Rifkin's short Bildungsroman sets beside each other the fault lines of events and moments recalled without a diary with the verification and sometimes undermining effects of new research of materials, the recovery of what was known, what might have been known, and what was merely probable, as if this were a history of the history of art. Adrian Rifkin speaks to Pierre d'Alancaisez about the uses of radical pedagogy, dreams, art history, and the economy of memory. Wagner and the Teletubbies also feature. Adrain's performance Hypotheses and Loving Contradictions at Haus der Kunst, 2017 The White Pube 

Welcome back to Trail Correspondents! This is episode 6: the social experience. This episode isn't just about the "tramily" most hikers will invariably and organically find themselves a part of - it's about the trail angels, the people who give you rides to town, the clerks at the grocery stores, the attendants at gas stations and so on.  When you're on trail, you're on a mission and its gravity is palpable. People see you with your pack and assign you a special special status. It feels like being an important member of a close knit community. Life on trail is edifying, nourishing, validating, and to be honest, a little addicting.  Today we hear about how our correspondents are getting along with those they've met on trail in addition to the wider world enveloping them and though this episode does sadly see us saying goodbye to another contributor, all the stories contained within have a similar undertone of conscious appreciation of how the presence of those sharing in this rarefied experience we call thru hiking is one of the most enriching parts of the entire endeavor.  In today's episode we hear from: Abbey Turnbull Harking from the South Coast of the UK, Abbey, aged 26, is swapping the rolling hills of the South Downs for the mountains of the Pacific Crest. A thru-hike of the JMT last year confirmed what she thought to be true – hiking from Mexico to Canada was her destiny for 2023. Loves good food and wine, Taylor Swift, American hospitality, and mountain vistas. Hates steep downhill slopes, her own unfortunate susceptibility to altitude sickness, and oatmeal. Abbigale (Abby) Evans Abby Evans (she/they) has a hankering to shave their head and hike the AT and now they will get to do both! They will be fulfilling their vagabond-dirtbag-poet dreams and aspire to one day become a creative writing professor. They'll be listening to seventies folk music and reflecting on their life as they wander through all the states they grew up in: they were born in Maryland, grew up in New Jersey and went to college at Virginia Tech. Abby is excited for this Bildungsroman and hopes to celebrate their 23rd birthday (August 24) near Maine. Aly Pagano Aly is local to the southern Appalachians in western North Carolina. She has spent her life hiking, trail running, fishing, foraging, and farming; she aspires to increase her own knowledge and awareness of traditional Appalachian folk medicine, music, and skills as in an effort to live harmoniously with the mountains around her. With a degree in Ecology, Aly focuses on seasonal changes, flora, and fauna while hiking the Appalachian Trail. Iris Hartshorn A queer Alaskan, Iris, aka Panther, strives to build adventure into their life. The last years have been filled with world travel, skiing, packrafting, hiking, backpacking, vanlife, and epic trips across Alaska. This year's highlight is to walk from Mexico to Canada. Or, at least, just to keep walking somewhere. David Firari David “Good Soup” is excited to be sharing their northbound Appalachian Trail with you! This is their first ever backpacking trip and they hope all the reading and shakedown hikes they did pay off. In addition to being a novice backpacker, Good Soup is also managing a schedule of recurring medical treatments back home in Wisconsin in order to make this trip happen. Eddie Arriola Eddie is a travel PTA, physical therapist assistant, who's been dreaming of the PCT for four years. In his spare time he enjoys photography, karaoke, and has other eclectic hobbies. He's originally from southern Arizona, Tucson, and is excited to get back to his primary partner and dogs after the trail. Elke Pabst Elke comes from Germany and wants to thruhike the AT with her dog Tilli. It is her first stay in the USA und doesn t hiking before. She has 3 nearly grown up sons and a husband who take care of everything while she is hiking with her 9 year old dog Tilli. Emily Russo Miller Dreaming of being on trail is Emily's favorite pastime. A 37-year-old journalist from Juneau, Alaska, she risked it all a few years ago (left her job, sold all her belongings and moved to the Lower 48) in pursuit of something new and beautiful. She found it in thru-hiking and hasn't looked back since. You may know her as “Bear Spray Girl” from her LASH on the AT in 2021, or “Legs” from her PCT thru in 2022.   Jake Landgraf Jake is currently on the AT attempting his first thru-hike. A proud Wisconsin resident, he enjoys beer, the outdoors, and the Green Bay Packers. On trail, Jake is known as “Radioface” and is obsessed with cosmic brownies.   Mary Garcia Mary is a boring woman who likes to make various things, especially her hiking gear. She also has problems completing a thru hike. She did half the PCT in 2017 and a month on the CDT in 2022.   Summer Midyett Summer has had an adventurous spirit since she was young, having spent her most of her childhood traveling around the world with her family. She's been dreaming of hiking the Pacific Crest Trail since 2020, when she moved to Oregon and fell in love with the mountains of the PNW. While it's certainly shaping up to be an interesting year for the PCT, she's excited to see whatever the trail has in store. FIND US ON ITUNES | FIND US ON GOOGLE PLAY | FIND US ON STITCHER Check out Appalachian Trials and Pacific Crest Trials. Click here for more about the Book of Moron Have any praise, questions, praise, comments, praise, or praise for Trail Correspondents? Reach out to podcast@thetrek.co. INSTAGRAM: Follow Trail Correspondents, The Trek, and Badger. YOUTUBE: Subscribe to The Trek. FACEBOOK: Follow Trail Correspondents and The Trek. Sign up for our newsletter Give us feedback on Trail Correspondents here.

Welcome back to Trail Correspondents! This is episode 5: expectations vs. reality.  Picture in your mind's eye, an ideal version of time spent in nature. It's likely not raining and warm but not hot. Perhaps the perfect cooling breeze supportively buffets your face while you climb a challenging but not impossible ascent.  You may find yourself surrounded by lush, green foliage, peeking out from which you spot rare and beautiful wildlife, that is so unafraid of your presence as to be practically posing for you as you snap a magnificent photo… If only everyday could be like this…  Though trail life is a certain kind of escape it is definitely not a wholesale entrance into a fantasy reality free from the doldrums and discomforts of everyday life. And while it's easy to romanticize thoughts of living in the woods for an extended period of time, as the days become weeks become months, one is quickly disabused of these flights of fancy.  In this episode our correspondents place their preconceived notions about life on trail up against their lived experiences. The sharp contrast here provides a certain type of clarity painting a clear picture of what a very long walk in the woods actually involves...  In today's episode we hear from: Abbey Turnbull Harking from the South Coast of the UK, Abbey, aged 26, is swapping the rolling hills of the South Downs for the mountains of the Pacific Crest. A thru-hike of the JMT last year confirmed what she thought to be true – hiking from Mexico to Canada was her destiny for 2023. Loves good food and wine, Taylor Swift, American hospitality, and mountain vistas. Hates steep downhill slopes, her own unfortunate susceptibility to altitude sickness, and oatmeal. Abbigale (Abby) Evans Abby Evans (she/they) has a hankering to shave their head and hike the AT and now they will get to do both! They will be fulfilling their vagabond-dirtbag-poet dreams and aspire to one day become a creative writing professor. They'll be listening to seventies folk music and reflecting on their life as they wander through all the states they grew up in: they were born in Maryland, grew up in New Jersey and went to college at Virginia Tech. Abby is excited for this Bildungsroman and hopes to celebrate their 23rd birthday (August 24) near Maine. Aly Pagano Aly is local to the southern Appalachians in western North Carolina. She has spent her life hiking, trail running, fishing, foraging, and farming; she aspires to increase her own knowledge and awareness of traditional Appalachian folk medicine, music, and skills as in an effort to live harmoniously with the mountains around her. With a degree in Ecology, Aly focuses on seasonal changes, flora, and fauna while hiking the Appalachian Trail. Iris Hartshorn A queer Alaskan, Iris, aka Panther, strives to build adventure into their life. The last years have been filled with world travel, skiing, packrafting, hiking, backpacking, vanlife, and epic trips across Alaska. This year's highlight is to walk from Mexico to Canada. Or, at least, just to keep walking somewhere. David Firari David “Good Soup” is excited to be sharing their northbound Appalachian Trail with you! This is their first ever backpacking trip and they hope all the reading and shakedown hikes they did pay off. In addition to being a novice backpacker, Good Soup is also managing a schedule of recurring medical treatments back home in Wisconsin in order to make this trip happen. Eddie Arriola Eddie is a travel PTA, physical therapist assistant, who's been dreaming of the PCT for four years. In his spare time he enjoys photography, karaoke, and has other eclectic hobbies. He's originally from southern Arizona, Tucson, and is excited to get back to his primary partner and dogs after the trail. Elke Pabst Elke comes from Germany and wants to thruhike the AT with her dog Tilli. It is her first stay in the USA und doesn t hiking before. She has 3 nearly grown up sons and a husband who take care of everything while she is hiking with her 9 year old dog Tilli. Emily Russo Miller Dreaming of being on trail is Emily's favorite pastime. A 37-year-old journalist from Juneau, Alaska, she risked it all a few years ago (left her job, sold all her belongings and moved to the Lower 48) in pursuit of something new and beautiful. She found it in thru-hiking and hasn't looked back since. You may know her as “Bear Spray Girl” from her LASH on the AT in 2021, or “Legs” from her PCT thru in 2022. Jake Landgraf Jake is currently on the AT attempting his first thru-hike. A proud Wisconsin resident, he enjoys beer, the outdoors, and the Green Bay Packers. On trail, Jake is known as “Radioface” and is obsessed with cosmic brownies. Mary Garcia Mary is a boring woman who likes to make various things, especially her hiking gear. She also has problems completing a thru hike. She did half the PCT in 2017 and a month on the CDT in 2022. Summer Midyett Summer has had an adventurous spirit since she was young, having spent her most of her childhood traveling around the world with her family. She's been dreaming of hiking the Pacific Crest Trail since 2020, when she moved to Oregon and fell in love with the mountains of the PNW. While it's certainly shaping up to be an interesting year for the PCT, she's excited to see whatever the trail has in store. FIND US ON ITUNES | FIND US ON GOOGLE PLAY | FIND US ON STITCHER Check out Appalachian Trials and Pacific Crest Trials. Click here for more about the Book of Moron Have any praise, questions, praise, comments, praise, or praise for Trail Correspondents? Reach out to podcast@thetrek.co. INSTAGRAM: Follow Trail Correspondents, The Trek, and Badger. YOUTUBE: Subscribe to The Trek. FACEBOOK: Follow Trail Correspondents and The Trek. Sign up for our newsletter Give us feedback on Trail Correspondents here.

Welcome back to Trail Correspondents! I am your host moron. This is episode 4 of Trail Correspondents - the first wild card edition, wherein each of our contributors get to relay whatever is on their mind. This episode is a fun exposé highlighting everyone's unique taste and what they individually bring to the table: it's a narrative potluck, y'all.   Let's get into it!  In today's episode we hear from: Abbey Turnbull Harking from the South Coast of the UK, Abbey, aged 26, is swapping the rolling hills of the South Downs for the mountains of the Pacific Crest. A thru-hike of the JMT last year confirmed what she thought to be true – hiking from Mexico to Canada was her destiny for 2023. Loves good food and wine, Taylor Swift, American hospitality, and mountain vistas. Hates steep downhill slopes, her own unfortunate susceptibility to altitude sickness, and oatmeal. Abbigale (Abby) Evans Abby Evans (she/they) has a hankering to shave their head and hike the AT and now they will get to do both! They will be fulfilling their vagabond-dirtbag-poet dreams and aspire to one day become a creative writing professor. They'll be listening to seventies folk music and reflecting on their life as they wander through all the states they grew up in: they were born in Maryland, grew up in New Jersey and went to college at Virginia Tech. Abby is excited for this Bildungsroman and hopes to celebrate their 23rd birthday (August 24) near Maine. Aly Pagano Aly is local to the southern Appalachians in western North Carolina. She has spent her life hiking, trail running, fishing, foraging, and farming; she aspires to increase her own knowledge and awareness of traditional Appalachian folk medicine, music, and skills as in an effort to live harmoniously with the mountains around her. With a degree in Ecology, Aly focuses on seasonal changes, flora, and fauna while hiking the Appalachian Trail. Iris Hartshorn A queer Alaskan, Iris, aka Panther, strives to build adventure into their life. The last years have been filled with world travel, skiing, packrafting, hiking, backpacking, vanlife, and epic trips across Alaska. This year's highlight is to walk from Mexico to Canada. Or, at least, just to keep walking somewhere. David Firari David “Good Soup” is excited to be sharing their northbound Appalachian Trail with you! This is their first ever backpacking trip and they hope all the reading and shakedown hikes they did pay off. In addition to being a novice backpacker, Good Soup is also managing a schedule of recurring medical treatments back home in Wisconsin in order to make this trip happen. Eddie Arriola Eddie is a travel PTA, physical therapist assistant, who's been dreaming of the PCT for four years. In his spare time he enjoys photography, karaoke, and has other eclectic hobbies. He's originally from southern Arizona, Tucson, and is excited to get back to his primary partner and dogs after the trail. Elke Pabst Elke comes from Germany and wants to thruhike the AT with her dog Tilli. It is her first stay in the USA und doesn t hiking before. She has 3 nearly grown up sons and a husband who take care of everything while she is hiking with her 9 year old dog Tilli. Emily Russo Miller Dreaming of being on trail is Emily's favorite pastime. A 37-year-old journalist from Juneau, Alaska, she risked it all a few years ago (left her job, sold all her belongings and moved to the Lower 48) in pursuit of something new and beautiful. She found it in thru-hiking and hasn't looked back since. You may know her as “Bear Spray Girl” from her LASH on the AT in 2021, or “Legs” from her PCT thru in 2022.   Jake Landgraf Jake is currently on the AT attempting his first thru-hike. A proud Wisconsin resident, he enjoys beer, the outdoors, and the Green Bay Packers. On trail, Jake is known as “Radioface” and is obsessed with cosmic brownies.   Mary Garcia Mary is a boring woman who likes to make various things, especially her hiking gear. She also has problems completing a thru hike. She did half the PCT in 2017 and a month on the CDT in 2022.   Summer Midyett Summer has had an adventurous spirit since she was young, having spent her most of her childhood traveling around the world with her family. She's been dreaming of hiking the Pacific Crest Trail since 2020, when she moved to Oregon and fell in love with the mountains of the PNW. While it's certainly shaping up to be an interesting year for the PCT, she's excited to see whatever the trail has in store. FIND US ON ITUNES | FIND US ON GOOGLE PLAY | FIND US ON STITCHER Check out Appalachian Trials and Pacific Crest Trials. Click here for more about the Book of Moron Have any praise, questions, praise, comments, praise, or praise for Trail Correspondents? Reach out to podcast@thetrek.co. INSTAGRAM: Follow Trail Correspondents, The Trek, and Badger. YOUTUBE: Subscribe to The Trek. FACEBOOK: Follow Trail Correspondents and The Trek. Sign up for our newsletter Give us feedback on Trail Correspondents here.

Black Queer Flesh: Rejecting Subjectivity in the African American Novel (U Minnesota Press, 2021) reinterprets key African American novels from the Harlem Renaissance to Black Modernism to contemporary literature, showing how authors have imagined a new model of Black queer selfhood. African American authors blame liberal humanism's model of subjectivity for double consciousness and find that liberal humanism's celebration of individual autonomy and agency is a way of disciplining Black queer lives. These authors thus reject subjectivity in search of a new mode of the self that Alvin J. Henry names “Black queer flesh”—a model of selfhood that is collective, plural, fluctuating, and deeply connected to the Black queer past. Henry begins with early twentieth-century authors such as Jessie Redmon Fauset and James Weldon Johnson. These authors adapted the Bildungsroman, the novel of self-formation, to show African Americans gaining freedom and agency by becoming a liberal, autonomous subjects. These authors, however, discovered that the promise of liberal autonomy held out by the Bildungsroman was yet another tool of antiblack racism. As a result, they tentatively experimented with repurposing the Bildungsroman to throw off subjectivity and its attendant double consciousness. In contrast, Nella Larsen, Henry shows, was the first author to fully reject subjectivity. In Quicksand and Passing, Larsen invented a new genre showing her queer characters—characters whose queerness already positioned them on the margins of subjectivity—escaping subjectivity altogether. Using Ralph Ellison's archival drafts, Henry then powerfully rereads Invisible Man, revealing that the protagonist as a queer, disabled character taught by the novel's many other queer, disabled characters to likewise seek a selfhood beyond subjectivity. Although Larsen and Ellison sketch glimpses of this selfhood beyond subjectivity, only Saidiya Hartman's Wayward Lives, Beautiful Experiments shows a protagonist fully inhabiting Black queer flesh—a new mode of selfhood that is collective, plural, always evolving, and no longer alienated from the black past. Black Queer Flesh is an original and necessary contribution to Black literary studies, offering new ways to understand and appreciate the canonical texts and far more. Omari Averette-Phillips is a graduate student in the Department of History at UC Davis. He can be reached at omariaverette@gmail.com. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices Support our show by becoming a premium member! https://newbooksnetwork.supportingcast.fm/african-american-studies

Black Queer Flesh: Rejecting Subjectivity in the African American Novel (U Minnesota Press, 2021) reinterprets key African American novels from the Harlem Renaissance to Black Modernism to contemporary literature, showing how authors have imagined a new model of Black queer selfhood. African American authors blame liberal humanism's model of subjectivity for double consciousness and find that liberal humanism's celebration of individual autonomy and agency is a way of disciplining Black queer lives. These authors thus reject subjectivity in search of a new mode of the self that Alvin J. Henry names “Black queer flesh”—a model of selfhood that is collective, plural, fluctuating, and deeply connected to the Black queer past. Henry begins with early twentieth-century authors such as Jessie Redmon Fauset and James Weldon Johnson. These authors adapted the Bildungsroman, the novel of self-formation, to show African Americans gaining freedom and agency by becoming a liberal, autonomous subjects. These authors, however, discovered that the promise of liberal autonomy held out by the Bildungsroman was yet another tool of antiblack racism. As a result, they tentatively experimented with repurposing the Bildungsroman to throw off subjectivity and its attendant double consciousness. In contrast, Nella Larsen, Henry shows, was the first author to fully reject subjectivity. In Quicksand and Passing, Larsen invented a new genre showing her queer characters—characters whose queerness already positioned them on the margins of subjectivity—escaping subjectivity altogether. Using Ralph Ellison's archival drafts, Henry then powerfully rereads Invisible Man, revealing that the protagonist as a queer, disabled character taught by the novel's many other queer, disabled characters to likewise seek a selfhood beyond subjectivity. Although Larsen and Ellison sketch glimpses of this selfhood beyond subjectivity, only Saidiya Hartman's Wayward Lives, Beautiful Experiments shows a protagonist fully inhabiting Black queer flesh—a new mode of selfhood that is collective, plural, always evolving, and no longer alienated from the black past. Black Queer Flesh is an original and necessary contribution to Black literary studies, offering new ways to understand and appreciate the canonical texts and far more. Omari Averette-Phillips is a graduate student in the Department of History at UC Davis. He can be reached at omariaverette@gmail.com. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices Support our show by becoming a premium member! https://newbooksnetwork.supportingcast.fm/new-books-network

Black Queer Flesh: Rejecting Subjectivity in the African American Novel (U Minnesota Press, 2021) reinterprets key African American novels from the Harlem Renaissance to Black Modernism to contemporary literature, showing how authors have imagined a new model of Black queer selfhood. African American authors blame liberal humanism's model of subjectivity for double consciousness and find that liberal humanism's celebration of individual autonomy and agency is a way of disciplining Black queer lives. These authors thus reject subjectivity in search of a new mode of the self that Alvin J. Henry names “Black queer flesh”—a model of selfhood that is collective, plural, fluctuating, and deeply connected to the Black queer past. Henry begins with early twentieth-century authors such as Jessie Redmon Fauset and James Weldon Johnson. These authors adapted the Bildungsroman, the novel of self-formation, to show African Americans gaining freedom and agency by becoming a liberal, autonomous subjects. These authors, however, discovered that the promise of liberal autonomy held out by the Bildungsroman was yet another tool of antiblack racism. As a result, they tentatively experimented with repurposing the Bildungsroman to throw off subjectivity and its attendant double consciousness. In contrast, Nella Larsen, Henry shows, was the first author to fully reject subjectivity. In Quicksand and Passing, Larsen invented a new genre showing her queer characters—characters whose queerness already positioned them on the margins of subjectivity—escaping subjectivity altogether. Using Ralph Ellison's archival drafts, Henry then powerfully rereads Invisible Man, revealing that the protagonist as a queer, disabled character taught by the novel's many other queer, disabled characters to likewise seek a selfhood beyond subjectivity. Although Larsen and Ellison sketch glimpses of this selfhood beyond subjectivity, only Saidiya Hartman's Wayward Lives, Beautiful Experiments shows a protagonist fully inhabiting Black queer flesh—a new mode of selfhood that is collective, plural, always evolving, and no longer alienated from the black past. Black Queer Flesh is an original and necessary contribution to Black literary studies, offering new ways to understand and appreciate the canonical texts and far more. Omari Averette-Phillips is a graduate student in the Department of History at UC Davis. He can be reached at omariaverette@gmail.com. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices Support our show by becoming a premium member! https://newbooksnetwork.supportingcast.fm/literary-studies

Black Queer Flesh: Rejecting Subjectivity in the African American Novel (U Minnesota Press, 2021) reinterprets key African American novels from the Harlem Renaissance to Black Modernism to contemporary literature, showing how authors have imagined a new model of Black queer selfhood. African American authors blame liberal humanism's model of subjectivity for double consciousness and find that liberal humanism's celebration of individual autonomy and agency is a way of disciplining Black queer lives. These authors thus reject subjectivity in search of a new mode of the self that Alvin J. Henry names “Black queer flesh”—a model of selfhood that is collective, plural, fluctuating, and deeply connected to the Black queer past. Henry begins with early twentieth-century authors such as Jessie Redmon Fauset and James Weldon Johnson. These authors adapted the Bildungsroman, the novel of self-formation, to show African Americans gaining freedom and agency by becoming a liberal, autonomous subjects. These authors, however, discovered that the promise of liberal autonomy held out by the Bildungsroman was yet another tool of antiblack racism. As a result, they tentatively experimented with repurposing the Bildungsroman to throw off subjectivity and its attendant double consciousness. In contrast, Nella Larsen, Henry shows, was the first author to fully reject subjectivity. In Quicksand and Passing, Larsen invented a new genre showing her queer characters—characters whose queerness already positioned them on the margins of subjectivity—escaping subjectivity altogether. Using Ralph Ellison's archival drafts, Henry then powerfully rereads Invisible Man, revealing that the protagonist as a queer, disabled character taught by the novel's many other queer, disabled characters to likewise seek a selfhood beyond subjectivity. Although Larsen and Ellison sketch glimpses of this selfhood beyond subjectivity, only Saidiya Hartman's Wayward Lives, Beautiful Experiments shows a protagonist fully inhabiting Black queer flesh—a new mode of selfhood that is collective, plural, always evolving, and no longer alienated from the black past. Black Queer Flesh is an original and necessary contribution to Black literary studies, offering new ways to understand and appreciate the canonical texts and far more. Omari Averette-Phillips is a graduate student in the Department of History at UC Davis. He can be reached at omariaverette@gmail.com. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices Support our show by becoming a premium member! https://newbooksnetwork.supportingcast.fm/intellectual-history

Black Queer Flesh: Rejecting Subjectivity in the African American Novel (U Minnesota Press, 2021) reinterprets key African American novels from the Harlem Renaissance to Black Modernism to contemporary literature, showing how authors have imagined a new model of Black queer selfhood. African American authors blame liberal humanism's model of subjectivity for double consciousness and find that liberal humanism's celebration of individual autonomy and agency is a way of disciplining Black queer lives. These authors thus reject subjectivity in search of a new mode of the self that Alvin J. Henry names “Black queer flesh”—a model of selfhood that is collective, plural, fluctuating, and deeply connected to the Black queer past. Henry begins with early twentieth-century authors such as Jessie Redmon Fauset and James Weldon Johnson. These authors adapted the Bildungsroman, the novel of self-formation, to show African Americans gaining freedom and agency by becoming a liberal, autonomous subjects. These authors, however, discovered that the promise of liberal autonomy held out by the Bildungsroman was yet another tool of antiblack racism. As a result, they tentatively experimented with repurposing the Bildungsroman to throw off subjectivity and its attendant double consciousness. In contrast, Nella Larsen, Henry shows, was the first author to fully reject subjectivity. In Quicksand and Passing, Larsen invented a new genre showing her queer characters—characters whose queerness already positioned them on the margins of subjectivity—escaping subjectivity altogether. Using Ralph Ellison's archival drafts, Henry then powerfully rereads Invisible Man, revealing that the protagonist as a queer, disabled character taught by the novel's many other queer, disabled characters to likewise seek a selfhood beyond subjectivity. Although Larsen and Ellison sketch glimpses of this selfhood beyond subjectivity, only Saidiya Hartman's Wayward Lives, Beautiful Experiments shows a protagonist fully inhabiting Black queer flesh—a new mode of selfhood that is collective, plural, always evolving, and no longer alienated from the black past. Black Queer Flesh is an original and necessary contribution to Black literary studies, offering new ways to understand and appreciate the canonical texts and far more. Omari Averette-Phillips is a graduate student in the Department of History at UC Davis. He can be reached at omariaverette@gmail.com. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices Support our show by becoming a premium member! https://newbooksnetwork.supportingcast.fm/american-studies

Welcome back to Trail Correspondents! This is the moment we've all been waiting for: hitting the trail. While 11 members of this group have boots on the ground and are headed in their chosen direction toward their trail's terminus, today we also hear from one correspondent who has yet to depart along with another who, after a harrowing first day, has made the difficult decision to get off trail.  Each trail presents its own difficulties and challenges and simply showing up on the first day is certainly a herculean feat in and of itself.  So, let's learn about how our correspondents are acclimating to trail life as we hear first-hand about their first days and nights.  In the words of Samuel Jackson, “hold onto your butts.”  To save 15% on CTUG gear head to chickentrampergear.com and use code “TREK15” at checkout. This code applies to all their gear excluding backpacks and camera bags. In today's episode we hear from: Abbey Turnbull Harking from the South Coast of the UK, Abbey, aged 26, is swapping the rolling hills of the South Downs for the mountains of the Pacific Crest. A thru-hike of the JMT last year confirmed what she thought to be true – hiking from Mexico to Canada was her destiny for 2023. Loves good food and wine, Taylor Swift, American hospitality, and mountain vistas. Hates steep downhill slopes, her own unfortunate susceptibility to altitude sickness, and oatmeal. Abbigale (Abby) Evans Abby Evans (she/they) has a hankering to shave their head and hike the AT and now they will get to do both! They will be fulfilling their vagabond-dirtbag-poet dreams and aspire to one day become a creative writing professor. They'll be listening to seventies folk music and reflecting on their life as they wander through all the states they grew up in: they were born in Maryland, grew up in New Jersey and went to college at Virginia Tech. Abby is excited for this Bildungsroman and hopes to celebrate their 23rd birthday (August 24) near Maine. Aly Pagano Aly is local to the southern Appalachians in western North Carolina. She has spent her life hiking, trail running, fishing, foraging, and farming; she aspires to increase her own knowledge and awareness of traditional Appalachian folk medicine, music, and skills as in an effort to live harmoniously with the mountains around her. With a degree in Ecology, Aly focuses on seasonal changes, flora, and fauna while hiking the Appalachian Trail. Iris Hartshorn A queer Alaskan, Iris, aka Panther, strives to build adventure into their life. The last years have been filled with world travel, skiing, packrafting, hiking, backpacking, vanlife, and epic trips across Alaska. This year's highlight is to walk from Mexico to Canada. Or, at least, just to keep walking somewhere. Angelique "Perky"Krohn Angelique (she/her) is a children's librarian, artist, and semi-professional dungeon master, currently residing with her partner and their cat in New Jersey. She thru hiked the Appalachian Trail in 2018, and has been dreaming about hiking the Continental Divide Trail ever since. She is especially looking forward to exploring the different landscapes along the CDT and learning more about the plants and animals that call them home. It is rumored she might finally break the world record for “World's Dirtiest Pair of Glasses” along this trek. David Firari David “Good Soup” is excited to be sharing their northbound Appalachian Trail with you! This is their first ever backpacking trip and they hope all the reading and shakedown hikes they did pay off. In addition to being a novice backpacker, Good Soup is also managing a schedule of recurring medical treatments back home in Wisconsin in order to make this trip happen. Derek Witteman Derek is a 37 years young Northern California native, presently thriving in San Antonio, Texas. In no particular order he is a physician, veteran, hiker, nerd, and jokester. In his free time he enjoys taking selfies with wildlife, and thinking of spirit animals the represent his current mood. Eddie Arriola Eddie is a travel PTA, physical therapist assistant, who's been dreaming of the PCT for four years. In his spare time he enjoys photography, karaoke, and has other eclectic hobbies. He's originally from southern Arizona, Tucson, and is excited to get back to his primary partner and dogs after the trail. Elke Pabst Elke comes from Germany and wants to thruhike the AT with her dog Tilli. It is her first stay in the USA und doesn t hiking before. She has 3 nearly grown up sons and a husband who take care of everything while she is hiking with her 9 year old dog Tilli. Emily Russo Miller Dreaming of being on trail is Emily's favorite pastime. A 37-year-old journalist from Juneau, Alaska, she risked it all a few years ago (left her job, sold all her belongings and moved to the Lower 48) in pursuit of something new and beautiful. She found it in thru-hiking and hasn't looked back since. You may know her as “Bear Spray Girl” from her LASH on the AT in 2021, or “Legs” from her PCT thru in 2022.   Jake Landgraf Jake is currently on the AT attempting his first thru-hike. A proud Wisconsin resident, he enjoys beer, the outdoors, and the Green Bay Packers. On trail, Jake is known as “Radioface” and is obsessed with cosmic brownies.   Mary Garcia Mary is a boring woman who likes to make various things, especially her hiking gear. She also has problems completing a thru hike. She did half the PCT in 2017 and a month on the CDT in 2022.   Summer Midyett Summer has had an adventurous spirit since she was young, having spent her most of her childhood traveling around the world with her family. She's been dreaming of hiking the Pacific Crest Trail since 2020, when she moved to Oregon and fell in love with the mountains of the PNW. While it's certainly shaping up to be an interesting year for the PCT, she's excited to see whatever the trail has in store. Check out Appalachian Trials and Pacific Crest Trials. Click here for more about the Book of Moron Have any praise, questions, praise, comments, praise, or praise for Trail Correspondents? Reach out to podcast@thetrek.co. INSTAGRAM: Follow Trail Correspondents, The Trek, and Badger. YOUTUBE: Subscribe to The Trek. FACEBOOK: Follow Trail Correspondents and The Trek. Sign up for our newsletter Give us feedback on Trail Correspondents here. And remember that you can still save 15% on CTUG gear by heading to chickentrampergear.com and using the code “TREK15” at checkout. Once again, this code applies to all their gear excluding backpacks and camera bags.

It's said that proper preparation prevents poor performance. That being so, though there is a high level of inescapable serendipity and general chaos that has to be accepted and even embraced during a thru-hike, equally important is the forethought that goes into this kind of endurance endeavor.  Preparation is individualized and personal. In the world of trail tropes, it's also often said that one packs their fears and in a similar vein, the way in which one plans for a multi-month backpacking trip illuminates their own value system and areas of focus.     Now, let's hear from our 13 correspondents about what they've done in order to structure their hikes. From physical training, to mental gymnastics, on-trail logistics and even simply jumping into the deep end with eyes closed, this episode highlights this cohorts pre-trail considerations. Let's get into it.  ---------------- To save 15% on CTUG gear head to chickentrampergear.com and use code “TREK15” at checkout. This code applies to all their gear excluding backpacks and camera bags. ---------------- In today's episode we hear from: Abbey Turnbull Harking from the South Coast of the UK, Abbey, aged 26, is swapping the rolling hills of the South Downs for the mountains of the Pacific Crest. A thru-hike of the JMT last year confirmed what she thought to be true – hiking from Mexico to Canada was her destiny for 2023. Loves good food and wine, Taylor Swift, American hospitality, and mountain vistas. Hates steep downhill slopes, her own unfortunate susceptibility to altitude sickness, and oatmeal. Abbigale (Abby) Evans Abby Evans (she/they) has a hankering to shave their head and hike the AT and now they will get to do both! They will be fulfilling their vagabond-dirtbag-poet dreams and aspire to one day become a creative writing professor. They'll be listening to seventies folk music and reflecting on their life as they wander through all the states they grew up in: they were born in Maryland, grew up in New Jersey and went to college at Virginia Tech. Abby is excited for this Bildungsroman and hopes to celebrate their 23rd birthday (August 24) near Maine. Aly Pagano Aly is local to the southern Appalachians in western North Carolina. She has spent her life hiking, trail running, fishing, foraging, and farming; she aspires to increase her own knowledge and awareness of traditional Appalachian folk medicine, music, and skills as in an effort to live harmoniously with the mountains around her. With a degree in Ecology, Aly focuses on seasonal changes, flora, and fauna while hiking the Appalachian Trail. Iris Hartshorn A queer Alaskan, Iris, aka Panther, strives to build adventure into their life. The last years have been filled with world travel, skiing, packrafting, hiking, backpacking, vanlife, and epic trips across Alaska. This year's highlight is to walk from Mexico to Canada. Or, at least, just to keep walking somewhere. Angelique "Perky"Krohn Angelique (she/her) is a children's librarian, artist, and semi-professional dungeon master, currently residing with her partner and their cat in New Jersey. She thru hiked the Appalachian Trail in 2018, and has been dreaming about hiking the Continental Divide Trail ever since. She is especially looking forward to exploring the different landscapes along the CDT and learning more about the plants and animals that call them home. It is rumored she might finally break the world record for “World's Dirtiest Pair of Glasses” along this trek. David Firari David “Good Soup” is excited to be sharing their northbound Appalachian Trail with you! This is their first ever backpacking trip and they hope all the reading and shakedown hikes they did pay off. In addition to being a novice backpacker, Good Soup is also managing a schedule of recurring medical treatments back home in Wisconsin in order to make this trip happen. Derek Witteman Derek is a 37 years young Northern California native, presently thriving in San Antonio, Texas. In no particular order he is a physician, veteran, hiker, nerd, and jokester. In his free time he enjoys taking selfies with wildlife, and thinking of spirit animals the represent his current mood. Eddie Arriola Eddie is a travel PTA, physical therapist assistant, who's been dreaming of the PCT for four years. In his spare time he enjoys photography, karaoke, and has other eclectic hobbies. He's originally from southern Arizona, Tucson, and is excited to get back to his primary partner and dogs after the trail. Elke Pabst Elke comes from Germany and wants to thruhike the AT with her dog Tilli. It is her first stay in the USA und doesn t hiking before. She has 3 nearly grown up sons and a husband who take care of everything while she is hiking with her 9 year old dog Tilli. Emily Russo Miller Dreaming of being on trail is Emily's favorite pastime. A 37-year-old journalist from Juneau, Alaska, she risked it all a few years ago (left her job, sold all her belongings and moved to the Lower 48) in pursuit of something new and beautiful. She found it in thru-hiking and hasn't looked back since. You may know her as “Bear Spray Girl” from her LASH on the AT in 2021, or “Legs” from her PCT thru in 2022. >Jake Landgraf Jake is currently on the AT attempting his first thru-hike. A proud Wisconsin resident, he enjoys beer, the outdoors, and the Green Bay Packers. On trail, Jake is known as “Radioface” and is obsessed with cosmic brownies. Mary Garcia Mary is a boring woman who likes to make various things, especially her hiking gear. She also has problems completing a thru hike. She did half the PCT in 2017 and a month on the CDT in 2022. Summer Midyett Summer has had an adventurous spirit since she was young, having spent her most of her childhood traveling around the world with her family. She's been dreaming of hiking the Pacific Crest Trail since 2020, when she moved to Oregon and fell in love with the mountains of the PNW. While it's certainly shaping up to be an interesting year for the PCT, she's excited to see whatever the trail has in store. FIND US ON ITUNES | FIND US ON GOOGLE PLAY | FIND US ON STITCHER ---------------- Check out Appalachian Trials and Pacific Crest Trials. Click here for more about the Book of Moron ---------------- Have any praise, questions, praise, comments, praise, or praise for Trail Correspondents? Reach out to podcast@thetrek.co. ---------------- INSTAGRAM: Follow Trail Correspondents, The Trek, and Badger. YOUTUBE: Subscribe to The Trek. FACEBOOK: Follow Trail Correspondents and The Trek. ---------------- Sign up for our newsletter ---------------- Give us feedback on Trail Correspondents here. ---------------- And remember that you can still save 15% on CTUG gear by heading to chickentrampergear.com and using the code “TREK15” at checkout. Once again, this code applies to all their gear excluding backpacks and camera bags.

Hello and welcome back to the much anticipated, 4th season of Trail Correspondents! This season features a great group of hopeful hiker who will be sharing their journeys with us all. Beyond just getting to know this new batch of folks, there is also the passing of the host-torch from Zach "Badger" Davis to Kenneth "Moron" Pararo. We get a quick update on this change of guard, hear a bit from Moron about how and why he's taken the reigns and then dive into introductions from our correspondents. This season promises to be a true return to form as we follow our 13 contributors through all aspects of what it takes to tackle a multi-month thru hike. So, strap in as we get to know our 2023 hikers - it's going to be a wild ride! To save 15% on CTUG gear head to chickentrampergear.com and use code “TREK15” at checkout. This code applies to all their gear excluding backpacks and camera bags. In today's episode we hear from: Abbey Turnbull Harking from the South Coast of the UK, Abbey, aged 26, is swapping the rolling hills of the South Downs for the mountains of the Pacific Crest. A thru-hike of the JMT last year confirmed what she thought to be true – hiking from Mexico to Canada was her destiny for 2023. Loves good food and wine, Taylor Swift, American hospitality, and mountain vistas. Hates steep downhill slopes, her own unfortunate susceptibility to altitude sickness, and oatmeal. Abbigale (Abby) Evans Abby Evans (she/they) has a hankering to shave their head and hike the AT and now they will get to do both! They will be fulfilling their vagabond-dirtbag-poet dreams and aspire to one day become a creative writing professor. They'll be listening to seventies folk music and reflecting on their life as they wander through all the states they grew up in: they were born in Maryland, grew up in New Jersey and went to college at Virginia Tech. Abby is excited for this Bildungsroman and hopes to celebrate their 23rd birthday (August 24) near Maine. Aly Pagano Aly is local to the southern Appalachians in western North Carolina. She has spent her life hiking, trail running, fishing, foraging, and farming; she aspires to increase her own knowledge and awareness of traditional Appalachian folk medicine, music, and skills as in an effort to live harmoniously with the mountains around her. With a degree in Ecology, Aly focuses on seasonal changes, flora, and fauna while hiking the Appalachian Trail. Iris Hartshorn A queer Alaskan, Iris, aka Panther, strives to build adventure into their life. The last years have been filled with world travel, skiing, packrafting, hiking, backpacking, vanlife, and epic trips across Alaska. This year's highlight is to walk from Mexico to Canada. Or, at least, just to keep walking somewhere. Angelique "Perky"Krohn Angelique (she/her) is a children's librarian, artist, and semi-professional dungeon master, currently residing with her partner and their cat in New Jersey. She thru hiked the Appalachian Trail in 2018, and has been dreaming about hiking the Continental Divide Trail ever since. She is especially looking forward to exploring the different landscapes along the CDT and learning more about the plants and animals that call them home. It is rumored she might finally break the world record for “World's Dirtiest Pair of Glasses” along this trek. David Firari David “Good Soup” is excited to be sharing their northbound Appalachian Trail with you! This is their first ever backpacking trip and they hope all the reading and shakedown hikes they did pay off. In addition to being a novice backpacker, Good Soup is also managing a schedule of recurring medical treatments back home in Wisconsin in order to make this trip happen. Derek Witteman Derek is a 37 years young Northern California native, presently thriving in San Antonio, Texas. In no particular order he is a physician, veteran, hiker, nerd, and jokester. In his free time he enjoys taking selfies with wildlife, and thinking of spirit animals the represent his current mood. Eddie Arriola Eddie is a travel PTA, physical therapist assistant, who's been dreaming of the PCT for four years. In his spare time he enjoys photography, karaoke, and has other eclectic hobbies. He's originally from southern Arizona, Tucson, and is excited to get back to his primary partner and dogs after the trail. Elke Pabst Elke comes from Germany and wants to thruhike the AT with her dog Tilli. It is her first stay in the USA und doesn t hiking before. She has 3 nearly grown up sons and a husband who take care of everything while she is hiking with her 9 year old dog Tilli. Emily Russo Miller Dreaming of being on trail is Emily's favorite pastime. A 37-year-old journalist from Juneau, Alaska, she risked it all a few years ago (left her job, sold all her belongings and moved to the Lower 48) in pursuit of something new and beautiful. She found it in thru-hiking and hasn't looked back since. You may know her as “Bear Spray Girl” from her LASH on the AT in 2021, or “Legs” from her PCT thru in 2022.   Jake Landgraf Jake is currently on the AT attempting his first thru-hike. A proud Wisconsin resident, he enjoys beer, the outdoors, and the Green Bay Packers. On trail, Jake is known as “Radioface” and is obsessed with cosmic brownies.   Mary Garcia Mary is a boring woman who likes to make various things, especially her hiking gear. She also has problems completing a thru hike. She did half the PCT in 2017 and a month on the CDT in 2022.   Summer Midyett Summer has had an adventurous spirit since she was young, having spent her most of her childhood traveling around the world with her family. She's been dreaming of hiking the Pacific Crest Trail since 2020, when she moved to Oregon and fell in love with the mountains of the PNW. While it's certainly shaping up to be an interesting year for the PCT, she's excited to see whatever the trail has in store.[divider] FIND US ON ITUNES | FIND US ON GOOGLE PLAY | FIND US ON STITCHER Check out Appalachian Trials and Pacific Crest Trials. Click here for more about the Book of Moron Have any praise, questions, praise, comments, praise, or praise for Trail Correspondents? Reach out to podcast@thetrek.co. Subscribe to this podcast on iTunes (and please leave us a review)! Download this episode here. Find us on Stitcher and Google Play. INSTAGRAM: Follow Trail Correspondents, The Trek, and Badger. YOUTUBE: Subscribe to The Trek. FACEBOOK: Follow Trail Correspondents and The Trek. sign up for our newsletter  Give us feedback on Trail Correspondents here. And, one final mention, that you can save 15% on CTUG gear by heading to chickentrampergear.com and using the code “TREK15” at checkout. Once again, this code applies to all their gear excluding backpacks and camera bags.

Merriam-Webster's Word of the Day for March 28, 2023 is: bildungsroman • BIL-doonks-roh-mahn • noun A bildungsroman is a novel about the moral and psychological growth of the main character. // She was thrilled to discover that the next book on the syllabus was a bildungsroman by her favorite author. See the entry > Examples: "[Brendan] Slocumb's debut novel, a musical bildungsroman nestled within a literary thriller, centers itself on the theft and ransom of a rising star's priceless violin—once a modest family heirloom until an appraisal reveals its true worth—just days before the prestigious Tchaikovsky Competition." — Miguel Salazar, The New York Times, 4 Dec. 2022 Did you know? Bildungsroman is the combination of two German nouns: Bildung, meaning "education," and Roman, meaning "novel." (Nouns in German are always capitalized.) Fittingly, a bildungsroman is a novel that deals with the formative years of the main character, and in particular, with the character's psychological development and moral education. The bildungsroman usually ends on a positive note, with the protagonist's foolish mistakes and painful disappointments over, and a life of usefulness ahead. Johann Wolfgang von Goethe's late 18th-century work Wilhelm Meister's Apprenticeship is often cited as the classic example of a bildungsroman. Though the term is primarily applied to novels, in recent years some English speakers have begun to apply it to films that deal with a youthful character's coming-of-age.

This week we revisit the Gothic Horror, Bildungsroman, potential black comedy, Victorian Middle Class novel that is Jane Eyre. This was Nic's selection for the book he read in high school and hated, but will a reread make it better? It certainly won't make it shorter!  From the back of the Penguin Classics Edition (where the cover art comes from as well): "A novel of intense power and intrigue, Jane Eyre has dazzled generations of readers with its depiction of a woman's quest for freedom. Having grown up an orphan in the home of her cruel aunt and at a harsh charity school, Jane Eyre becomes an independent and spirited survivor-qualities that serve her well as governess at Thornfield Hall. But when she finds love with her sardonic employer, Rochester, the discovery of his terrible secret forces her to make a choice. Should she stay with him whatever the consequences or follow her convictions, even if it means leaving her beloved?" How will Jane Eyre hold up? Host: Nic Co-Host: Mike and Mike 

After a monthlong reprieve, Ellie and Carrie return to discuss their all time favorite artist, Taylor Swift, and her lasting hold over American music and popular culture. The sisters discuss their relationship with Taylor over the past twelve years, from the release of her eponymous album in 2006 to her latest studio album Midnights, which, in the month since it was dropped, has shattered records and quite literally, broken the internet. Or Ticketmaster, at least. They chart a musical history that mirrors that of Taylor — from childhood and adolescence to young and not so young adulthood. The multifaceted Taylor is examined through a variety of lenses — musical wunderkind, pop star, celebrity, icon, deity, activist, storyteller, trickster, arbiter of angst, wizard of words, and mistress of reinvention. Taken as a whole, Taylor's discography is the ultimate bildungsroman of an artist who shirked the cloak of likability to become her own flawed and messy person. Topics discussed include Horse Girls, media witch hunts, the toxic aughts, #KanyeGate, and the cathartic power of the inimitable T.Swift bridge. Articles are: “You Belong With Me: How Taylor Swift made teen angst into a business empire” by Lizzie Widdicombe (2011), “Taylor Swift Is Confusing” by Curtis Sittenfeld (2015), Pitchfork's “Midnights Review” (2022), “In Taylor Swift's ‘Midnights', The Easter Eggs Aren't the Point” By Lauren Michele Jackson (2022).

NOTE: Please stick through the intro. There's an important announcement.WARNING: This episode contains the use of offensive racial epithets and disturbing depictions of bigotry that some listeners may find upsetting.What was like to be a child and grow up during the rise of the Nazis? Many have given us memorable answers to that question. There are even those who are still alive and remember it, however vaguely, though we are quickly losing them to the passage of time. But a more pressing and unusual question must be asked, especially in the context of this story: what was it like to be a child and grow up during the rise of the Nazis…while also being black?In this episode of History Impossible, we're going to explore this question by looking at the epic life story of a one Hans-Jurgen Massaquoi, the son of African nobility and German peasantry. We'll see how his existence was allowed for by the incredible story of Liberia itself, as well as its relationship with the early Weimar Republic. We'll look at how his existence was received both before and after the rise of the Nazis. We'll see how their education reforms and adoption of American-style eugenics impacted him. We'll cover the famous pre-war events that would help shape Hans into the man he would become, namely the famous Joe Louis v. Max Schmeling boxing match and the 1936 Olympics in which Jesse Owens took home the gold. We'll examine how he survived the war years and what it was like to live under such conditions as a German civilian.But most of all, we will be shown what it means to not only survive, but to thrive, despite all odds being stacked against you as you grow up in a world that is objectively and abjectly hostile to your very existence.History Impossible has been made possible by the following generous supporters on Patreon and PayPal. Please consider donating today to help keep me free and this show alive.David AdamcikAlireza AtarianBenjaminElias BorotaCharles CCJCRdaddygorgonRichard DaveyNathan DiehlGavin Edwardseli123kyKevin GonyNathan GroteAl HallBenjamin HamiltonPeter HauckJoseph HurstThomas JustesenMike KalninsBryn KaufmanBenjamin LeeTrevor LindborgMaddyMounty of MadnessJose MartinezMike MaylebenJudy McCoidMonicaKostas MorosRyan MortensonBen MullenSkip PachecoMolly PanJeff ParrentJean PetersBrian PritzlPJ RaderGleb RadutskyAleksandr RakitinEdward RayJon Andre SaetherAlison SaloJake ScaliaEmily SchmidtJulian SchmidtCameron SmithBrian SteggemanPier-Luc St-PierreJared Cole TempleChrisTXSteve UhlerRicky WortheyF. You