Episodes

  • i love dick by chris kraus

    i love dick by chris kraus
    Feb 5 2026
    our 1990s season continues with i love dick by chris kraus and a slew of 1997 facts, including lots of titanic talk. the big question, right off the bat: how did they make this a tv series? (shreds plans to investigate.) we discuss the text’s format and two (very different) halves, the reference to kathy acker, and the inherent sadness and embarrassment in this novel and in sylvere leaving her. we attempt to refilter chris’s obsession through a modern lens, and we also try to contextualize the feminism of the text. what is chris kraus’s impression of this world? it’s unclear, which we struggle with. we hear from the egg and read youtube comments we missed. reading list for season seventeen vineland by thomas pynchonmao ii by don delilloall the pretty horses by cormac mccarthytrainspotting by irvine welshnotes of a crocodile by qiu miaojinsabbath’s theater by philip roththe atlas by william t. vollmanni love dick by chris krausthe poisonwood bible by barbara kingsolverfrom hell by alan moore
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    41 mins
  • the atlas by william t. vollmann

    the atlas by william t. vollmann
    Jan 22 2026
    we’ve entered 1996 with the atlas by william t. vollmann, which has laid a curse upon our podcast. after an unprecedented preview of an upcoming module, we discuss vollmann’s various writing styles he uses throughout the text (and what they do). joey shares some 1996 facts, including a quick look back at video games that blew our minds. we talk about vollmann acting as a journalist (but also intervening), the meaning of the only thing that vollmann ever footnotes throughout the text, and how the atlas is a book that makes you feel like you’ve never lived live… and maybe that’s okay. mosquitoes: aaaah! we explore the ambitious structure of the text (and how it doesn’t necessarily land without re-reading) and how vollmann parallels western constructs to the reality of the rest of the world. reading list for season seventeen vineland by thomas pynchonmao ii by don delilloall the pretty horses by cormac mccarthytrainspotting by irvine welshnotes of a crocodile by qiu miaojinsabbath’s theater by philip roththe atlas by william t. vollmanni love dick by chris krausthe poisonwood bible by barbara kingsolverfrom hell by alan moore
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    51 mins
  • sabbath's theater by philip roth

    sabbath's theater by philip roth
    Jan 8 2026
    the 1990s keeps on truckin’ as we advance into 1995 for sabbath’s theater by philip roth. after talking about patricia lockwood’s new book (will there ever be another you), joey shares some 1995 facts, including some pride for our new jersey devils. then, we talk about how sabbath’s theater fully sticks the landing (with an all-time great final line, not to mention a great opening line), how the text is reminiscent of charlie kaufman, and why no one writes like philip roth anymore. shreds discusses the end goals of the misogyny in roth’s novels. we talk about the way roth writes about new jersey, the emotional weight of the pivot to mickey’s brother dying in world war ii, the distinct difference between horny books written by men and ones written by women, and how roth reflects masculinity in sabbath’s theater. shreds breaks down the common comparison between roth and woody allen. joey talks about the audiobook, narrated by john turturro. we read a couple of emails from the egg. reading list for season seventeen vineland by thomas pynchonmao ii by don delilloall the pretty horses by cormac mccarthytrainspotting by irvine welshnotes of a crocodile by qiu miaojinsabbath’s theater by philip roththe atlas by william t. vollmanni love dick by chris krausthe poisonwood bible by barbara kingsolverfrom hell by alan moore
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    58 mins
  • notes of a crocodile by qiu miaojin

    notes of a crocodile by qiu miaojin
    Dec 25 2025
    we’re talking about notes of a crocodile by qiu miaojin. first, though: 1994 facts and talk of the car that shreds will never buy. we discuss qiu miaojin’s tragic end (and how it pops up a lot among our authors) and the equally dark inspiration for this novel (which still winds up being not a total downer). shreds compares notes of a crocodile‘s tonal ties to no longer human and colorless tsukuru tazaki. joey shares big updates in his life since our last episode. we discuss the cultural legacy of crocodile and how qiu miaojin is able to capture the emotional heights of young love. we take a brief interlude for a quick review of paul thomas anderson’s one battle after another and to discuss what he and pynchon do well that the other does not. we get another email about the patreon and we hear from the egg, who likens this text to those by two other female authors. in an unprecedented move, we announce our next big module way early. reading list for season seventeen vineland by thomas pynchonmao ii by don delilloall the pretty horses by cormac mccarthytrainspotting by irvine welshnotes of a crocodile by qiu miaojinsabbath’s theater by philip roththe atlas by william t. vollmanni love dick by chris krausthe poisonwood bible by barbara kingsolverfrom hell by alan moore
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    43 mins
  • trainspotting by irvine welsh

    trainspotting by irvine welsh
    Dec 11 2025
    we enter into 1993 with trainspotting by irvine welsh, which released on january 1. (whew, we just snuck in there!) after shreds fails to surface any 1993 facts, joey saves the day. we talk about a 90s novel set in the 90s, explore the irvine welsh shared universe, and discuss the dialectal writing in the text as well as the line that welsh straddles. we talk about how to describe the novel (in terms of it being a novel about masculinity, colonialism, heroin, and hiv) and how masculinity in 90s literature was defined by three writers (bret easton ellis, irvine welsh, and chuck palahniuk). we also make sure to talk about the humor (and how fresh this writing sounded upon release) before briefly discussing the adaptation (and what it changes/omits). shreds recounts an embarrassing moment from a film class. reading list for season seventeen vineland by thomas pynchonmao ii by don delilloall the pretty horses by cormac mccarthytrainspotting by irvine welshnotes of a crocodile by qiu miaojinsabbath’s theater by philip roththe atlas by william t. vollmanni love dick by chris krausthe poisonwood bible by barbara kingsolverfrom hell by alan moore
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    1 hr
  • all the pretty horses by cormac mccarthy

    all the pretty horses by cormac mccarthy
    Nov 27 2025
    our 1990s module continues with all the pretty horses by cormac mccarthy, marking a rapid return to his writing after covering blood meridian earlier this year. after discussing whether we could have approached “the border trilogy” in another way, we discuss 1992 facts (wherein shreds makes a generous offer) and talk about mccarthy’s assumption that you understand a fair amount of spanish to read his work. we talk about the minimal plot found in all the pretty horses, how this book serves as both an antidote to blood meridian and a possible return to religion for mccarthy, and the focus on morality in this text. we also talk about the “offscreen” violence (and reading with a fear of blood meridian-esque violence), whether we could do a module of books set in the 1990s (rather than published then), and the hallmarks of the western genre. we also talk about the issues with billy bob thornton’s film adaptation (though it’s likely not his fault). reading list for season seventeen vineland by thomas pynchonmao ii by don delilloall the pretty horses by cormac mccarthytrainspotting by irvine welshnotes of a crocodile by qiu miaojinsabbath’s theater by philip roththe atlas by william t. vollmanni love dick by chris krausthe poisonwood bible by barbara kingsolverfrom hell by alan moore
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    45 mins
  • mao ii by don delillo

    mao ii by don delillo
    Nov 13 2025
    we’ve progressed into 1991 to talk about mao ii by don delillo, and joey has finally done his due diligence and brought some 90s facts. we start things off by talking about whether or not it’s important to have historical context for the events covered in the text, how dull (complimentary) and realistic delillo’s writing is, and the death of the novelist as a cultural touchstone/celebrity. we talk about art in delillo’s books as an avenue of compulsion for its creators, how nice it is to return to an author you love, and whether the andy warhol-inspired title is fitting for the text. egg writes in a short email. we talk about the cult psychology of fandom, learning “how” to read delillo (or any author), and the first three episodes of alien: earth. reading list for season seventeen vineland by thomas pynchonmao ii by don delilloall the pretty horses by cormac mccarthytrainspotting by irvine welshnotes of a crocodile by qiu miaojinsabbath’s theater by philip roththe atlas by william t. vollmanni love dick by chris krausthe poisonwood bible by barbara kingsolverfrom hell by alan moore
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    53 mins
  • vineland by thomas pynchon

    vineland by thomas pynchon
    Oct 30 2025
    our 1990s module kicks off with vineland by thomas pynchon and an existential dilemma: are we starting off this module with a lie? after talking about getting our hands on media before its release date, we detour to discuss radiohead’s live “hail to the thief” album, which shreds expertly weaves right into the novel description via paul thomas anderson’s upcoming “loose adaptation” of vineland. joey shares his pov coming into this (and how it failed him); we talk about the misdirection of vineland not really being a novel about zoyd and discuss who the main character really is. we talk about the novel being structurally strange, pynchon’s exploration of 60s counter-culture (and the yippie to yuppie pipeline), and the amount of time he’s taken to publish his work. we critique the things that pynchon doesn’t do very well and admire him for what he does. shreds gives tips on reading a book where you get lost within the plot. we ask: please, write in about this book. also: happy halloween. reading list for season seventeen vineland by thomas pynchonmao ii by don delilloall the pretty horses by cormac mccarthytrainspotting by irvine welshnotes of a crocodile by qiu miaojinsabbath’s theater by philip roththe atlas by william t. vollmanni love dick by chris krausthe poisonwood bible by barbara kingsolverfrom hell by alan moore
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    54 mins