Episodes
Wednesday May 31, 2017
Episode 10: Philip K. Dick Book Club: Roog
Wednesday May 31, 2017
Wednesday May 31, 2017
In "Roog," Dick explores the never ending battle between dog and garbage man, or something.
Wednesday May 31, 2017
Episode 32: George Schuyler: "Black No More"
Wednesday May 31, 2017
Wednesday May 31, 2017
An interesting science fiction novel on race and the color line in America. In George Schuyler's Black No More we discover what happens when science provides a solution to the race problem in America.
Saturday May 27, 2017
Episode 9: Philip K. Dick Book Club: The Piper in the Woods
Saturday May 27, 2017
Saturday May 27, 2017
In "The Piper in the Woods", Philip K. Dick explores work and finds it better to rest and watch the pretty alien girls go by.
Saturday May 27, 2017
Episode 31: Langston Hughes: Not Without Laughter (2)
Saturday May 27, 2017
Saturday May 27, 2017
We continue our study of Not Without Laughter, the only novel written by Langston Hughes. This part follows our hero as he transitions from boy to man in the contet of the momentous early 20th century.
Tuesday May 23, 2017
Episode 30: Langston Hughes: Not Without Laughter (1)
Tuesday May 23, 2017
Tuesday May 23, 2017
The first of two episodes on Langston Hughes' sole novel, Not Without Laughter, a coming of age story that is also a celebration of leisure and having a bit of fun with life even when the system is agaisnt you.
Tuesday May 23, 2017
Episode 8: Philip K. Dick Book Club: The Eyes Have It
Tuesday May 23, 2017
Tuesday May 23, 2017
In this episode we explore how Dick played with the role of figurative language in science fiction. The lesson: it may sometimes be best to assume the literal.
Saturday May 20, 2017
Episode 29: Wallace Thurman: The Blacker the Berry
Saturday May 20, 2017
Saturday May 20, 2017
In this episode we study Wallace Thurman's novel The Blacker the Berry. It is a nice counterpoint to Plum Bun.
Saturday May 20, 2017
Episode 7: Philip K. Dick Book Club: Mr. Spaceship
Saturday May 20, 2017
Saturday May 20, 2017
Dick explores the final frontier of space and the mind in this beautiful celebration of exploration and human rebirth. Join me for an examination of "Mr. Spaceship."
Wednesday May 17, 2017
Episode 28: Jessie Redmon Fauset: Plum Bun (3)
Wednesday May 17, 2017
Wednesday May 17, 2017
Final episode on Jessie Redmon Fauset's Plum Bun.
Wednesday May 17, 2017
Episode 6: Philip K. Dick Book Club: The Defenders
Wednesday May 17, 2017
Wednesday May 17, 2017
What happens when the machines we build to serve us learn to lie? Find out today in this episode of The Philip K. Dick Book Club as we explore "The Defenders."
Saturday May 13, 2017
Episode 27: Jessie Redmon Fauset: Plum Bun (2)
Saturday May 13, 2017
Saturday May 13, 2017
Part two of Jessie Redmon Fauset's novel Plum Bun. This part focuses on the limitations of passing in urban America.
Saturday May 13, 2017
Episode 5: Philip K. Dick Book Club: The Little Movement
Saturday May 13, 2017
Saturday May 13, 2017
In this episode, the toys attack. Examine Dick's version of Toy Story in "The Little Movement."
Thursday May 11, 2017
Episode 26: Jessie Redmon Fauset: Plum Bun (1)
Thursday May 11, 2017
Thursday May 11, 2017
Part one of a three part series on Jessie Redmon Fauset's novel Plum Bun, the classic Harlem Renaissance novel about passing.
Tuesday May 09, 2017
Episode 4: Philip K. Dick Book Club: The Skull
Tuesday May 09, 2017
Tuesday May 09, 2017
In this episode of the Philip K. Dick Book Club, we look at the 1952 story, "The Skull." In it, the origins of a new religion is explained through time travel. And maybe, it works to explain how another religious leader could appear after his untimely death.
Sunday May 07, 2017
Episode 25: The Harlem Renaissance: Nella Larsen, Quicksand.
Sunday May 07, 2017
Sunday May 07, 2017
In this episode we will look at all of Nella Larsen's Quicksand, a novel about a young woman maturing in a biracial and international context.
Sunday May 07, 2017
Episode 3: Philip K. Dick Book Club: "The Gun"
Sunday May 07, 2017
Sunday May 07, 2017
Philip K. Dick's second published story, "The Gun" explores the questions of knowledge, lost civilizations, and automation. It is Dick's first published commentary on the problem of automation, a theme he will thoroughly explore throughout the 1950s.
Thursday May 04, 2017
Episode 2: Philip K. Dick Book Club: Beyond Lies the Wub
Thursday May 04, 2017
Thursday May 04, 2017
Episode 2 of the Philip K. Dick Book Club looks at Dick's first publishes story, "Beyond Lies the Wub", a story of fate, self-sacrifice, and the transmigration of the soul....and a pig.
Tuesday May 02, 2017
Episode 24: Harlem Renaissance: Claude McKay: Home to Harlem (2)
Tuesday May 02, 2017
Tuesday May 02, 2017
Part 2 on Claude McKay's novel Home to Harlem. Some great material on urban culture, mobility, railroad work, and love.