Episodes

  • Finnegans Wake: Come to Our Midden Heap!
    Jan 28 2022

    Gary and Siena tackle James Joyce's final and most convoluted work of fiction, Finnegan's Wake! Are you up to attempting this colossus? And how can you do that without letting it drive you nuts? Featuring an entertaining plot reveal, comparisons to Ulysses, and a talking butt amongst a cast of colourful characters.

    Follow us on Instagram at @howsthewaterpodcast or on Twitter at @whatiswater for more content and updates about future episodes!

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    51 mins
  • Agnes Grey: Poor and Happy
    Dec 22 2021

    Gary and Siena return to their favourite Brontë sister with Agnes Grey, the autobiographical debut novel of Anne Brontë. Our hosts draw comparisons between this book and The Tenant of Wildfell Hall, as well as the works of Anne's more well-known sisters - also, briefly, Dangerous Minds and Freedom Writers . Featuring stories about their worst ever jobs, and references to Charlotte Brontë's (allegedly) malicious nature.

    Follow us on Instagram at @howsthewaterpodcast or on Twitter at @whatiswater for more content and updates about future episodes!

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    44 mins
  • Dracula: This Airbnb Sucks!
    Oct 28 2021

    In a very spooky Halloween edition of How's the Water?, Gary and Siena cover one of Siena's favourite books, Dracula by Bram Stoker. Is it as scary as she remembers? How does Van Helsing get back and forth to Amsterdam so quickly? And would being a vampire really be all that bad?

    Follow us on Instagram at @howsthewaterpodcast or on Twitter at @whatiswater for more content and updates about future episodes!

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    50 mins
  • White Teeth: Coincidence Wins Y2K
    Oct 2 2021

    Gary and Siena discuss the coolness of Zadie Smith, multicultural Britain and great transitions in her debut and award winning novel, White Teeth. Also included: memories of the Great Storm of October 1987 and Gary feels attacked by the depiction of the middle class Chalfens.

    Follow us on Instagram at @howsthewaterpodcast or on Twitter at @whatiswater for more content and updates about future episodes!

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    52 mins
  • House of Leaves: Laughs and Screams
    Aug 30 2021

    Gary and Siena relive their postmodern nightmares as they examine Mark Z. Danielewski's bestselling novel House of Leaves. Featuring light trash talk, some spooky music and a shout out to Meow Wolf's House of Eternal Return.

    Follow us on Instagram at @howsthewaterpodcast or on Twitter at @whatiswater for more content and updates about future episodes!

    Virtutes Instrumenti by Kevin MacLeod
    Link: https://incompetech.filmmusic.io/song/4590-virtutes-instrumenti
    License: https://filmmusic.io/standard-license

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    48 mins
  • The Periodic Table: Argon, Potassium, Nickel, Vanadium
    Jul 31 2021

    Gary and Siena get elemental as they round off their European literature series with the brilliant Italian writer Primo Levi and his collection of short stories, which unexpectedly and elegantly combine his love of chemistry with his struggles during the rise and fall of fascism in Italy.

    Follow us on Instagram at @howsthewaterpodcast or on Twitter at @whatiswater for more content and updates about future episodes!

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    59 mins
  • W: A Shadow Amongst Their Shadows
    Jun 13 2021

    Gary and Siena piece together Georges Perec's W, or The Memory of Childhood, exploring themes of false memories and the loss of identity stemming from the author's experiences as a young boy in France amid The Holocaust.

    Follow us on Instagram at @howsthewaterpodcast or on Twitter at @whatiswater for more content and updates about future episodes!

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    41 mins
  • Left-Handed Dreams: Logical Quicksand
    May 13 2021

    Gary and Siena are back with an overdue deep dive into Italian writer Francesca Duranti's complex and charming novella, which covers the themes of multiple articulations of being, "otherness", and the acceptance of diversity in just 118 pages. And don't hesitate to get in touch with what you think of bidets.

    Follow us on Instagram at @howsthewaterpodcast or on Twitter at @whatiswater for more content and updates about future episodes!

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    49 mins