Slow Learners

And we're back! With VINELAND, chapters 6-8.

John and Asher discuss inter-generational negation, luddites, the computerized future, communitarian happenings, Esalen, transpersonal psychology, holotropic breathwork, and '70s solipsism.

THEN: We speak with former member of the Students for Democratic Society and the Weatherman Eleanor Stein about '60s radicalism and their intersection with the hippier counterculture, left politics tact...

We begin our read-through of Thomas Pynchon's Vineland in earnest, covering Chapters 1-5.

John and Asher discuss the amateurishness of opening a novel with a character waking up, the perils of transfenestration, the ersatzness of Hawaiian holidays, and whether Billy Barf and the Vomitones are a heavy metal band or a hardcore band. Was there D-beat before the band Discharge? We'll never know...

Also! We welcome author, broadca...

We missed "Pynchon Summer." But just barely! Cut us some slack, eh?

In any event, we are back with our read-through of Thomas Pynchon's Vineland (1990). Is it a triumphant return following the interminable 17 interregnum since Gravity's Rainbow? Or a total piece of junk! As usual, the truth is...what we say it is.

This intro episode sets up the book, its themes, and background. Then we chat with returning guest Noah Kulwin about the ...

We open the ol' mailbag, which is really more of google voicemail inbox, to answer some listener Q&As. At long last!

We accidentally deleted one and apologize. So if you're the person who called in to ask about the "keying waves" sequence, where Slothrop is talking to his dad...well....we are truly sorry. It was a good question!

Stay tuned. We are starting prep on our next season on Proust. We are currently ar...

Covering Part 4: 12...The End. We take an elevator ride to the skies, reflect on "anarcho-sadism," catch up with some of our old pals in Der Platz, smoke out of a kazoo, and take a tour around the L.A. freeways with our man Richard Zhlubb. Oh also, we lean what the S-Gerät is, and figure out the final terminus of the 00000 (sort of).

Additionally: we are joined by ⁠Dr. Gregory Marks⁠ to chat about the Marxist/historical m...

This week: before we head into the final stretch of Gravity's Rainbow, we stop to talk tarot and esotericism with Answers In Tarot, also known as L.A. Lubuschagne. He offers us some insights into the cultural context for the Tarot's reemergence in the '60s/'70s counterculture, unpacks Slothrop's identification with "The Fool," and offers a thorough reading of Weissman's Tarot, as laid down in the b...

Covering Part 4: Chapters 7-11. We follow the Counterforce to a surprise dinner, reflect on The World, learn of Weissman's new frontier, and finally reach the THRILLING climax between Tchitcherine and his Herero half-brother, Enzian.

Also: we speak with Professor Jeffrey Severs, literary scholar and co-host of the podcast Don DeLillo Should Win The Nobel Prize, about the 1962 Seattle World's Fair (a.k.a. the Century 21 Exhi...

Covering Part 4: Chapters 1-6. We enter the fourth--and final!--part of the novel. We discuss the formation of the "Counterforce," Slothrop's dispersal, and a fan-favorite episode about a sentient lightbulb that goes nuts.

In this episode, we embrace the threat of sentient technology by speaking with an A.I. generated spectre of the late literary critic Harold Bloom. We chat with "Harold" about the novel, By...

Covering Part 3: Chapters 24-32. We exit THE ZONE. Many BIG THINGS are revealed about Slothrop's purpose, his family history, and just what the HELL this book is about. Also: there's some pinball.

In this episode we chatted with Matt Christman (@cushbomb) from Chapo Trap House, Hell on Earth and his own Cushvlog about the Masons, the Rosy Cross, and how Protestantism gave rise to capitalism, in America and elsewhere.

Other ...

Covering Part 3: Chapters 13-23. Slothrop goes on a boat, and maybe has sex with a child. Then he goes on another boat. And then back to the same boat. Gravity's Rainbow? They should call this book Boats! Also: Slothrop's beging "thinning out." What does that mean? Has Ozempic claimed Tyrone Slothrop?!

This episode: we talk with with journalist and podcast Noah Kulwin (Blowback) about post-war geopolitics, banana ...

Covering Part 3: Chapters 6-12. Slothrop is reborn as "Rocketman," steals some hash, and meets Mickey Rooney, The John E. Badass appears, and does battle using a hot new drug named Oneirine Thiophosphate (or is it Theo-phosphate???).

This episode: we talk with documentarian and chemist Hamilton Morris about the novel's use of drugs, and chemistry, both technically and metaphorically. Is Oneirine real? Could it be?!

O...

Covering Part 3: Chapters 1-5. Our read-through of Gravity's Rainbow continues as we enter THE ZONE. The War--at least in Europe--is over. But the novel is merely beginning, in some ways. Slothrop meets a witch, a Herero revolutionary, and stumbles upon an abandoned rocket factory factory building rockets. Try not to zone out, eh?

We are joined by Elizabeth Baer, author of The Genocidal Gaze, to get some context for German col...

Hallo Leute!

Interrupting the regular flow with this bonus interview with German writer/director Robert Bramkamp, whose film Prüfstand VII uses Gravity's Rainbow as a way into analyzing the history of the rocket in Germany, and the Nazi program itself. Some very interesting insights on how the novel resonated with a German reader. Also...some fun links below! We'll be back next week with another read-a-long episode, which t...

Slow Learners continues! This episode covers the entire second section of Gravity's Rainbow, in which Tyrone Slothrop emerges as our clear hero, or the closest thing to it.

We speak with filmmaker Alex Ross Perry (Her Smell, The Color Wheel, Queen of Earth) about his debut feature, Impolex, and about his relationship with Pynchon's writing, literary adaptation, and The Simpsons Movie. Stay tuned for a juicy detail about the...

We wrap the first part of Gravity's Rainbow (chapters 18-21), which sees Pointsman getting lucky, Slothrop shipped off to the Riviera, and Roger and Jessica checking out a cheeky Christmas panto.

In this episode, we're joined by David Cowart, author of Thomas Pynchon and the Dark Passages of History and Thomas Pynchon: The Art of Allusion, to talk about the history of the postmodern novel, and how Gravity's Rainbow def...

We continue our journey "Beyond the Zero," covering Gravity's Rainbow, Part 1, Chapters 14-17.

And: Alex Shephard (The New Republic) joins us to talk about literary hoaxes, Pynchonian mysteries, how Gravity's Rainbow scandalized the hoity-toity world of arts and letters.

Other topics include: S&M, prosthetic vaginas, church ceremonies, "The Book," by Pavlov, Thomas Pynchon's jump-shot.

Read ⁠Prov...

We get further into the weeds, covering Gravity's Rainbow, Part 1, Chapters 10-13.

We're joined by Stephen Kinzer, author of the Sidney Gottlieb biography ⁠Poisoner In Chief⁠ to talk about the history of military mind-control, and Project MKUltra.

Other topics discussed: toilets, jive accessories, having sex with a snake, racism, genocide, LSD.

Read ⁠Proverbs For Paranoids,⁠ John's guide to Gravity's Rainbow.

E-mail...

The season begins in earnest with this recap and discussion of Gravity's Rainbow, Part 1: Chapters 1-9.

We chat with Dr. Jordan Bimm, a historian of science and technology, about the history of the V-2 rocket, the Space Race, and the mystical/material dimensions of interstellar travel, Britain's most famous witch.

Other topics include: bananas, '50s monster movies, penis-as-dowsing-rod, low humour, Ulysses, etc., etc.

R...