About the show

Every week we discuss the first page--and only the first page--of a different novel, ranging from cult oddities (Tarnsman of Gor) to literary classics (Paradise Lost) to influential thrillers (Jaws). Each episode focuses on that first page and uses it as a jumping off point for an idiosyncratic discussion of media and how we make stories make sense.

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Episodes

  • Spacial Delivery (with Hannah Culbert)

    October 31st, 2022  |  50 mins 43 secs
    1970s, american, bears, canadian, comedy, science fiction, space diplomacy

    Tonight we're discussing Spacial Delivery by Gordon R. Disckson, with our guest Hannah Culbert.

  • Mall Purchase Night (with Kelly Asprooth-Jackson)

    October 3rd, 2022  |  49 mins 18 secs
    1990s, aging, california, disability, fantasy, mall, society for creative anachronism, urban fantasy

    Tonight we're discussing Mall Purchase Night by Rick Cook with our guest Kelly Asprooth-Jackson.

  • Dead Souls (with Roy Janik)

    September 19th, 2022  |  44 mins 17 secs
    1800s, class issues, fantastic, final work, muppets, russian, satire, surreal, unfinished

    Tonight we're discussing Dead Souls by Nikolai Gogol, with our guest Roy Janik.

  • Gabriel Knight: Sins of the Fathers (with Chase Greenlee)

    September 5th, 2022  |  50 mins 18 secs
    1990s, adaptation, horror, mystery, tim curry, video game, voodoo, writer protagonist

    Tonight we're discussing Gabriel Knight: Sins of the Fathers by Jane Jensen, with our guest Chase Greenlee.

  • Gargantua & Pantagruel (with Peter Rogers)

    August 22nd, 2022  |  45 mins 47 secs
    1500s, bawdy, fantasy, french, giants, rabelaisian, satire, translation

    Tonight we're discussing Gargantua & Pantagruel by François Rabelais, with our guest Peter Rogers.

  • Retief & The Pan-Galactic Pageant of Pulchritude (with Zack Handlen)

    August 8th, 2022  |  40 mins 8 secs
    1980s, american, foreign service, pulp, scifi, space diplomacy

    Tonight we're discussing Retief & The Pan-Galactic Pageant of Pulchritude by Keith Laumer, with our guest Zack Handlen.

  • Molloy (with Tom Perrin)

    July 25th, 2022  |  54 mins 42 secs
    1950s, french, irish, surreal

    Tonight we're discussing Molloy by Samuel Beckett, with our guest Tom Perrin.

  • Goosebumps: Night of the Living Dummy (with Hannah Culbert)

    July 11th, 2022  |  57 mins 31 secs
    1990s, childrens, franchise, horror, ventriloquism

    Tonight we're discussing Goosebumps: Night of the Living Dummy by R.L. Stine, with our guest Hannah Culbert.

  • The Color of Magic (with Michael Yichao)

    June 27th, 2022  |  48 mins 23 secs
    1980s, british, elephants, fantasy, humor, pet tangent, turtles

    Tonight we're discussing The Color of Magic by Terry Pratchett, with our guest Michael Yichao.

  • Uncle Tom's Cabin (with Moacir P. de Sá Pereira)

    June 13th, 2022  |  1 hr 10 mins
    1800s, civil war, historical, racism, slavery, tintin tangent

    Tonight we're discussing Uncle Tom's Cabin by Harriet Beecher Stowe, with our guest Moacir P. de Sá Pereira.

  • TORG Storm Knights (with Rachael Jones)

    May 30th, 2022  |  50 mins 30 secs
    1990s, american, apocalypse, cyberpope, reality crash, rpg, scifi, tie-in

    Tonight we're discussing TORG Storm Knights by Greg Gorden & Bill Slavicsek, with our guest Rachael Jones.

  • Kzradock the Onion Man & the Spring-Fresh Methuselah (with Kelly Asprooth-Jackson)

    May 16th, 2022  |  46 mins 29 secs
    1910s, danish, in translation, murder, mystery, psychology, pulp, surreal

    Tonight we're discussing Kzradock the Onion Man & the Spring-Fresh Methuselah by Louis Levy, with our guest Kelly Asprooth-Jackson.

  • Night of the Crabs (with Chase Greenlee)

    March 28th, 2022  |  46 mins 9 secs
    1970s, british, crabs, garfield digression, horror, marine life, wales

    Tonight we're discussing NIGHT OF THE CRABS by Guy N. Smith, with our guest Chase Greenlee.

  • Dragonlance: Dragons of Autumn Twilight (with Wendy Wagner)

    March 14th, 2022  |  47 mins 35 secs
    1980s, american, dragons, fantasy, roleplaying

    Tonight we're discussing Dragons of Autumn Twilight by Margaret Weis & Tracy Hickman, with our guest Wendy Wagner.

  • Mrs. Frisby & the Rats of NIMH (with Kacey Smith)

    February 21st, 2022  |  49 mins 21 secs
    1970s, animals, british, childrens, poverty

    Tonight we're discussing Mrs. Frisby & the Rats of NIMH by Robert C. O'Brien, with our guest Kacey Smith.

  • Star Trek: The Captain's Table #1 War Dragons (with Braden Lamb)

    January 17th, 2022  |  55 mins 48 secs
    1990s, mars, scifi, star trek

    Tonight we're discussing Star Trek: The Captain's Table #1 War Dragons by L.A. Graf, with our guest Braden Lamb.