Episodes

  • Episode 43: Meditations on the Tarot

    Episode 43: Meditations on the Tarot
    Nov 17 2022
    Not necessarily literature but a larger discussion about the nature of the universe. Whether it's open or closed. These Meditations are from a book by a anonymous author and are basic discussions for the understanding of Christian Hermeticism. Just pop your head into the bookstore and see if anything peaks your interest. We had fun. Western Thought on Patreon for backlisted episodes.
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    42 mins
  • Episode 35: The Drug Show (a podcast about Jack Kerouac and the Beat Generation)

    Episode 35: The Drug Show (a podcast about Jack Kerouac and the Beat Generation)
    Jun 10 2022
    This felt pretty good after we'd finished. The format Jonah always had in mind for the function of the podcast. A lot of Will talking with some pointed questions and secondary material thrown in. Some other secret magic may also have been involved. Come sit in the bookstore for a while.
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    1 hr and 34 mins
  • Episode 34: Trying to Understand William Faulkner

    Episode 34: Trying to Understand William Faulkner
    May 20 2022
    We are joined by a cool painter in a Canadian tuxedo named Sydney who plays the good sport. This one is rambling and reaching with a lot of laughter and Will tells me in the second half we get very un-PC. Jonah remembers a certain amount of belligerence ... but that's usually the most fun one can have with a podcast. So come sit in the bookstore and try to figure out what's the deal with William Faulkner. www.patreon.com/westernthought
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    1 hr and 9 mins
  • Episode 30: The David Foster Wallace Special

    Episode 30: The David Foster Wallace Special
    Jan 6 2022
    Warning: this episode contains irony. (To ruin the fun: It's actually about Henry Miller. Wait ... is that technically irony? It's not what I mean, and it's intended for comedic affect - I think it counts. Wallace was more concerned with Irony on a large scale cultural level which is obviously what this podcast will never have - so we get to have fun with the irony instead of wringing our hands.) Come sit in the bookstore for a while. www.patreon.com/westernthought
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    1 hr and 36 mins
  • Episode 27: Truman Capote, John Kennedy Toole

    Episode 27: Truman Capote, John Kennedy Toole
    Sep 23 2021
    Capote's MUSIC for CHAMELEONS and Toole's "Confederacy of Dunces" are discussed. Jonah discovers after the fact that he is wrong about much of Toole's biography. This well written article is probably worth more than his words. https://www.newyorker.com/books/second-read/the-uneasy-afterlife-of-a-confederacy-of-dunces Yet the virtue of the medium allows for the display of ignorance-par-excellance. Pretty breezy discussion with perhaps a touch too many personal stories, but hey, we're not getting paid. Come sit in the bookstore for a while.
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    1 hr and 39 mins
  • Episode 24: Haruki Murakami

    Episode 24: Haruki Murakami
    Jul 8 2021
    Shorter episode where we discuss the short stories of Murakami. Perhaps the most famous Japanese writer translated into English? Come sit in the bookstore for a while.
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    3 mins
  • Episode 16: Milan Kundera and Michel Houellebecq

    Episode 16: Milan Kundera and Michel Houellebecq
    Dec 5 2020
    This episode's discussion begins with a reading from Kundera's THE UNBEARABLE LIGHTNESS OF BEING. I cannot stress this enough - if you go out and get one of Kundera's middle period novels (and you should, right now) you need to get the Aaron Asher translations. He worked closely with Kundera in the 90's and they really are superior in every way. We get pretty french this week.
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    1 hr and 36 mins
  • William Gibson's PATTERN RECOGNITION

    William Gibson's PATTERN RECOGNITION
    Nov 11 2020
    Will and Jonah are on their game for this one. Unfortunately for you we shut off the recorder and talked for another two hours, but I like to think that it's burying peat, fertilizing the soil for future episodes.
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    1 hr and 6 mins