Pynchon In Public Podcast

02.05: Inherent Vice In which we continue our discussion of Thomas Pynchon’s Inherent Vice, moving on to chapters 14 and 15. Notes We talk about T.S. Eliot’s “The Waste Land” quite a bit in this episode. You can read it here. On “The Mythic Method,” read T.S. Eliot’s “Ulysses, Order, and Myth” here.

02.04: Inherent Vice In which we continue our discussion of Inherent Vice, moving on to chapters 10 through 13. Has Doc actually made any progress on the case? Is his investigation(s) unravelling, or reality itself? Is Doc an agent of chaos? Are Doc and Bigfoot maybe something more than adversaries? Is there a little bromance in their relationship? […]

02.03: Inherent Vice In which we move on to chapters 8 and 9 of Inherent Vice. Doc’s parents, zombies, drug use and addiction to frozen bananas are just a couple of the topics we tackle in the episode. Add in a somewhat lengthy discussion of (post-?) postmodernism, mentions of Arrested Development, and the nature of reality itself and this is […]

02.02: Inherent Vice In which we continue our discussion of Inherent Vice, this time moving on to Chapters 5 through 7.

02.01: Inherent Vice In which we begin Season Two: Inherent Vice.  In this podcast we discuss Chapters 1 through 4, including character, theme, and humor analysis, and manage to fit in a real-time example of how the internet is a liar.

01.06: Slow Learner In which we discuss the final story in Slow Learner, “The Secret Integration” and wrap up our discussion of the collection. We’ll be back with Season 2: Inherent Vice sometime in late September/early October. See you then!

01.05: Stand-alone episode In which we celebrate Pynchon in Public Day with an interview Dr. Martin Paul Eve about his newly released book, Pynchon and Philosophy: Wittgenstein, Foucault and Adorno. (Amazon) (Powell’s) Note: No, you didn’t miss episode seven. We wouldn’t be Pynchonites if we embraced linear narratives and expositions.

01.04: Slow Learner In which we discuss one of the more complex stories in Slow Learner, “Entropy,” and welcome a new panelist, Jason. He’s Irish – if you can’t tell – and we test his metal by having him explain the concept of entropy.

01.03: Slow Learner In which we continue our discussion of Mr. Pynchon’s short story collection, Slow Learner. The story under our collective microscopes this time is “The Low-Lands.” Included in this episode is our first “Pynch-song,” one of Pynchon’s many songs set to music.

01.02: Slow Learner In which we begin our discussion of Mr. Pynchon’s short story collection Slow Learner. First we talk about the Introduction, the only extant Pynchon-on-Pynchon writing available, and then move to the first short story, “The Small Rain.” Notes: In “The Small Rain,” the hurricane that has recently passed through southern Louisiana is hurricane Audrey. Here […]

01.01: Stand-alone episode In which we offer a gift of readings to you, Loyal Listeners. The Christmas season shows up often enough in Mr. Pynchon’s books, and here are three examples taken from V, Gravity’s Rainbow, and Mason & Dixon. Added in is a little holiday music, arranged and performed by one of our podcasters. […]

00.02: Bleeding Edge In which we wrap up our discussion of Bleeding Edge, talk of money and jokes, and make clear what is the best thing on the internet.

00.01: Bleeding Edge In which we discuss the new novel, Bleeding Edge, before any of us have had proper time to digest it.

00.00: Stand-alone episode In which we test the international waters, figure out what technical issues might need addressing, and talk a bit about Pynchon in Public Day and about what we hope to do with this podcast.