Upper Middlebrow
A podcast in which we discuss high-craft works of popular culture
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Recent Episodes
Episode 15: “Big Tank! Big NUCLEAR Tank!” Jonathan Lethem’s The Arrest, Part I
Jonathan Lethem imagines not so much an apocalypse, but a kind of slow pause of most (but not all) advanced technologies, he calls “The Arrest”....
Episode 14: “The Impervious Battleship Egan,” or A Visit From the Goon Squad, Part II
In the second half of Goon Squad, many of the characters end up…surprisingly OK, especially when you consider their struggles and self-destructive...
Episode 13: “Time the Ravager” or Jennifer Egan’s 2010 A Visit From the Goon Squad, Part I
After a camel cricket update (!), Jesse and Chris try to untangle the conga line of affection and destruction that forms the structure of Egan’s remarkable...
Episode 12: “Hitler’s Springtime + Ziegfried’s Follies,” or Neal Stephenson’s Cryptonomicon, Part III
Play along with Dukes and Bagg as we play Neal Stephenson Bingo. We find that the final third does pick up a bit, with Goto Dengo’s story in particular...
Episode 11: “The Utopia of Fresno” or Neal Stephenson’s Cryptonomicon, Part II
Dukes and Bagg wonder about the length of the middle section of the book, which as far as they can tell, only establishes one major plot point. And...
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