Episodes
Friday Jan 20, 2023
Episode: 559: Mark Twain: Innocents Abroad (Part 1)
Friday Jan 20, 2023
Friday Jan 20, 2023
We move onto Mark Twain's first published book INNOCENTS ABROAD. This book recounts his adventures in Europe and Asia during a steamship tour. Through it he reflects a lot on tourism and authenticity.
Friday Jan 20, 2023
Robert A. Heinlein Book Club: Episode 9: If This Goes On (Part 2)
Friday Jan 20, 2023
Friday Jan 20, 2023
In this short episode, I finish up my thoughts on IF THIS GOES ON by Robert A. Heinlein, focusing on the strategy for insurgencies and how movement cultures transform ideology.
Tuesday Jan 17, 2023
Robert A. Heinlein Book Club: Episode 8: If This Goes On (Part 1)
Tuesday Jan 17, 2023
Tuesday Jan 17, 2023
In this episode of the Robert A. Heinlein Book Club, I examine the first half of "If This Goes On," which images a rebellion against a theocratic American autocracy. It forces us to consider what goes into making movement cultures.
Tuesday Jan 17, 2023
Episode 558: Mark Twain: Pudd’nhead Wilson
Tuesday Jan 17, 2023
Tuesday Jan 17, 2023
In this episode, I take a quick look at Mark Twain's PUDD'NHEAD WILSON, a great exploration of the absurdity of the color line and slavery in America.
Thursday Jan 12, 2023
Robert A. Heinlein BookClub: Episode 7: Requiem
Thursday Jan 12, 2023
Thursday Jan 12, 2023
There is not a whole lot to say about Robert A. Heinlein's story "Requiem" but I try anyway to give my thoughts. Maybe we will have more to say when we get to "The Man Who Sold the Moon", his prequel to this story.
Thursday Jan 12, 2023
Episode 557: Mark Twain: The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn (Part 3)
Thursday Jan 12, 2023
Thursday Jan 12, 2023
This episode is the conclusion to my thoughts on THE ADVENTURES OF HUCKLEBERRY FINN, one of my nation's greatest novels. It ends (in my opinion) with a criticism of liberalism as a path to change and progress.
Tuesday Jan 10, 2023
Robert A. Heinlein Book Club: Episode 6: The Roads Must Roll
Tuesday Jan 10, 2023
Tuesday Jan 10, 2023
I agree that the "roads must roll", but to what degree does that mean we should be obliged to one class of people? Perhaps I look into that in this review of "The Roads Must Roll" by Heinlein.
Tuesday Jan 10, 2023
Episode 556: Mark Twain: The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn (Part 2)
Tuesday Jan 10, 2023
Tuesday Jan 10, 2023
In part 2 of my review of THE ADVENTURES OF HUCKLEBERRY FINN by Mark Twain, I focus on the odious adults that Huck and Jim interact with and how we might interpret the various lines between freedom and slavery, adulthood and childhood, and above all, the color line.
Friday Jan 06, 2023
Robert A. Heinlein Book Club:Episode 5: Let There Be Light
Friday Jan 06, 2023
Friday Jan 06, 2023
In the 1940 story "Let There Be Light", Heinlein takes on the question of IP and public good, but much more radically than in "Life-Line." And based gender politics too.
Thursday Jan 05, 2023
Episode 555: Mark Twain: The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn (Part 1)
Thursday Jan 05, 2023
Thursday Jan 05, 2023
The first part of my review of THE ADVENTURES OF HUCKLEBERRY FINN by Mark Twain. I focus on Huck's character and the adults surrounding him. I will lots to say about both of these themes in future episodes, but it is clear how radical Twain's position is on civilization and morality.
Tuesday Jan 03, 2023
Robert A. Heinlein Book Club: Episode 4: Misfit
Tuesday Jan 03, 2023
Tuesday Jan 03, 2023
In "Misfit" by Robert A. Heinlein we experience the Civilian Conservation Corps in space and see how in the frontier a natural genius can succeed. Not sure how more American you can get than this story.
Monday Jan 02, 2023
Episode 554: Mark Twain: Life on the Mississippi (Part 4)
Monday Jan 02, 2023
Monday Jan 02, 2023
This episode is the conclusion of my review of LIFE ON THE MISSISSIPPI by Mark Twain. The ending has some great commentary on the Southern memory of the American Civil War and how the antebellum culture of the South was corrupted by the works of writers such as Walter Scott.
Thursday Dec 29, 2022
Robert A. Heinlein Book Club: Episode 3: Life-Line
Thursday Dec 29, 2022
Thursday Dec 29, 2022
What happens to insurance companies when a scientist can predict the moment of your death? Should corporations be able to stop the spread of knowledge that benefits humanity? Heinlein takes on these questions in his first published story, "Life-Line". I talk about these themes in this episode.
Thursday Dec 29, 2022
Episode 553: Mark Twain: Life on the Mississippi (Part 3)
Thursday Dec 29, 2022
Thursday Dec 29, 2022
This episode is part three of my coverage of LIFE ON THE MISSISSIPPI by Mark Twain. With Twain we explore how the South and the nation changed in the years after the American Civil War, for better or for worse. He grabbed my attention again with his writing on New Orleans.
Tuesday Dec 27, 2022
Robert A. Heinlein Book Club: Episode 2: For Us, the Living (Part 2)
Tuesday Dec 27, 2022
Tuesday Dec 27, 2022
In this episode, I finish my look at FOR US, THE LIVING by Robert A. Heinlein. There is a lot of historical and economic details that I scan over here, but I strongly encourage you to look at this utopia work.
Tuesday Dec 27, 2022
Episode 552: Mark Twain: Life on the Mississippi (Part 2)
Tuesday Dec 27, 2022
Tuesday Dec 27, 2022
This episode is a little more on LIFE ON THE MISSISSIPPI by Mark Twain. It is also an episode where I have a personal breakdown and realization.
Thursday Dec 22, 2022
Robert A. Heinlein Book Club: Episode 1: For Us, the Living (Part 1)
Thursday Dec 22, 2022
Thursday Dec 22, 2022
I start my exploration of Robert A. Heinlein's works with my thoughts on FOR US, THE LIVING, a fascinating study of the "social credit" economy.
Thursday Dec 22, 2022
Episode 551: Mark Twain: Life on the Mississippi (Part 1)
Thursday Dec 22, 2022
Thursday Dec 22, 2022
The early chapters of the massive THE LIFE ON THE MISSISSIPPI explores the natural and human history of the river before getting into the personal history of young Samuel Clemens as a trainee steamboat pilot. For much of the first half, it is a celebration of the knowledge of the working class.
Monday Dec 19, 2022
Episode 550:Mark Twain: The Adventures of Tom Sawyer (Part 2)
Monday Dec 19, 2022
Monday Dec 19, 2022
The second half of my review of THE ADVENTURES OF TOM SAWYER by Mark Twain. Here I discuss adulthood, the preservation of freedom (or not) and the horrors of maturation.
Tuesday Dec 13, 2022
Episode 549: Mark Twain: The Adventures of Tom Sawyer (Part 1)
Tuesday Dec 13, 2022
Tuesday Dec 13, 2022
I begin my series on the works of Mark Twain with THE ADVENTURES OF TOM SAWYER. I hope I have a little bit to say about this well-known novel.
Thursday Dec 08, 2022
Episode 548: The American Civil War (Part 28): The Finale
Thursday Dec 08, 2022
Thursday Dec 08, 2022
Finally, I reach the end of my series on the American Civil War. Next up, we will look at the works of Mark Twain.
Tuesday Dec 06, 2022
Episode 548: The American Civil War (Part 27): Lincoln’s Second Inagural
Tuesday Dec 06, 2022
Tuesday Dec 06, 2022
Among other things I explore Lincoln's Second Inaugural Address, the passage of the 13th Amendment, and the later battles of the Civil War. This series nears its end.
Friday Dec 02, 2022
Episode 546: The American Civil War (Part 26): March to the Sea
Friday Dec 02, 2022
Friday Dec 02, 2022
In this episode, I begin the end of my coverage of the American Civil War Library of America anthology with a gloss on the March to the Sea and related events, as well as the 1864 election.
Tuesday Nov 29, 2022
Tuesday Nov 29, 2022
The crucial election of 1864 took place in the context of decisive Union victories in Atlanta and Virginia. How do these events effect the people who experienced them first hand? I read about it in the Library of American anthology of Civil War writings.
Thursday Nov 24, 2022
Episode 544: The American Civil War (Part 24): Peace Movement?
Thursday Nov 24, 2022
Thursday Nov 24, 2022
In this episode, I consider documents from the American Civil War on the 1864 peace movement, the siege of Atlanta, the Jubal Early raid on Washington, and other issues.
Wednesday Nov 23, 2022
Episode 543: The American Civil War (Part 23): Overland Campaign
Wednesday Nov 23, 2022
Wednesday Nov 23, 2022
I continue to explore the American Civil War through primary sources, looking primarily at the brutal outcomes of the Overland Campaign and the soldiers responses and recollections of those costly battles.
Friday Nov 18, 2022
Episode 542: The American Civil War (Part 22)
Friday Nov 18, 2022
Friday Nov 18, 2022
In this episode, I begin my look at the final year of the American Civil War through the Library of American anthology. I was particularly moved by Harriet Jacob's school in Virginia. I also look into the Fort Pillow Massacre and the start of the Overland campaign.
Wednesday Nov 09, 2022
Episode 541: Stephen King: IT (Part 11)
Wednesday Nov 09, 2022
Wednesday Nov 09, 2022
The final episode in my review of IT. Let me know what you think of this novel and my coverage of it.
Sunday Nov 06, 2022
Episode 540: Stephen King: IT (Part 10)
Sunday Nov 06, 2022
Sunday Nov 06, 2022
In part 10 of my review of Stephen King's IT, we (almost) get the climax in the sewers. Before we can go there we need to spend around 100 pages watching King set that climax up. It has one of the most memorable and horrible moments in the novel, the confrontation between Beverly and her possessed father.
Wednesday Nov 02, 2022
Episode 539: Stephen King: IT (Part 9)
Wednesday Nov 02, 2022
Wednesday Nov 02, 2022
In this episode I explore three chapters of Stephen King's novel IT. It includes a couple of a my favorite sections: the death of Patrick Hockstetter and a deeper dive into Derry's history in the fourth "Interlude" chapter.
Wednesday Oct 26, 2022
Episode 538: Stephen King: IT (Part 8)
Wednesday Oct 26, 2022
Wednesday Oct 26, 2022
In this episode I look at the chapters "The Smokehole" and "Eddie's Big Break" from Stephen King's novel IT. Sadly these are both chapters that have been neglected or radically changed in the film adaptations, but they are still pretty important.
Wednesday Oct 19, 2022
Episode 537: Stephen King: IT (Part 7)
Wednesday Oct 19, 2022
Wednesday Oct 19, 2022
I continue my deep dive into IT by Stephen King by looking at the turning point chapters on the "Apocalyptic Rock Fight" and "The Album", which set up the confrontation that will dominate the rest of the novel
Thursday Oct 13, 2022
Episode 536: The American Civil War (21): Winter of 1863-1864
Thursday Oct 13, 2022
Thursday Oct 13, 2022
In this episode, I look at some historical documents produced in the winter of 1863 and 1864. With the tide of the war decisively changed, desperation, desertion, and even some radical proposals appear in the Confederacy. The war was lost at home and on the battlefield.
Tuesday Oct 11, 2022
Episode 535: Stephen King: IT (Part 6)
Tuesday Oct 11, 2022
Tuesday Oct 11, 2022
In this episode I look at the "Walking Tours" chapter of Stephen King's novel IT. It sets up some important themes for the later half of the novel and prepares us for the non-stop unification of past and present that we will experience from here to the end.
Thursday Oct 06, 2022
Episode 534: American Civil War (20): The Gettysburg Address
Thursday Oct 06, 2022
Thursday Oct 06, 2022
In this episode I explore more documents from the American Civil War, focusing on the end of 1863. Topics include Reconstruction, the battles around Chattanooga, and The Gettysburg Address.
Wednesday Oct 05, 2022
Episode 533: Stephen King, IT (5)
Wednesday Oct 05, 2022
Wednesday Oct 05, 2022
This is the episode where I deal with the biggest problem I have interpreting this novel. The question of IT's motivations, the return of the Losers, and the reason they are all rich and childless. I also talk about the second "interlude" chapter and "The Reunion".
Thursday Sep 29, 2022
Episode 532: The American Civil War (19): Making a Revolution
Thursday Sep 29, 2022
Thursday Sep 29, 2022
The documents from the summer of 1863, after the victories of Gettysburg and Vicksburg, show how rapidly Emancipation changed the fortunes of the war and public opinion in both the North and the South. I had a lot of fun with these documents and hope you enjoy too.
Tuesday Sep 27, 2022
Episode 531: Stephen King: IT (4)
Tuesday Sep 27, 2022
Tuesday Sep 27, 2022
In this episode we continue our slow read through IT by Stephen King and finish up part two of the book. The chapters focus on the power of magic, belief, reason, and the group.
Thursday Sep 22, 2022
Episode 530: Stephen King, It (3)
Thursday Sep 22, 2022
Thursday Sep 22, 2022
Part three of my review of IT by Stephen King. The chapters I look at here explore the creation of a Ka-tet (to steal a Dark Tower term) and meditate on the power of the group.
Wednesday Sep 21, 2022
Episode 529: The American Civil War (18): The Turning Point
Wednesday Sep 21, 2022
Wednesday Sep 21, 2022
In this episode we look at a handful of turning points in the American Civil War by working through the Library of America's anthology of Civil War writings.