We're back with a brand new episode, after some delay caused by the ever-dreaded summer camp schedule - just kidding, we love escaping the big city, but it's good to be back and talking about Neil Gaiman's "American Gods," a novel loved by many and recently adapted to TV. It was a lighter turn for us, but we still enjoyed Gaiman's perspective on U.S. culture and its relationship to myths touching religion, identity and the long-established character of the grifter, or con artist. There is a...

We're getting the band back together! After a few guest-filled episodes we're back to talk summer reads, weddings and of course Neil Gaiman and his mammoth tome "American Gods." In our introduction to our new featured writer, we outline his decorated and eclectic career, the praise and criticism of "American Gods," and the hullabaloo surrounding the new TV adaptation.

Special guest Shawn Moksvold joins me to discuss Sir Fred Hoyle's "The Black Cloud." We talk about real science in Science Fiction and our conceptualization of aliens. We also think about Fred Hoyle's unique criticism of democracy. If you thought "The Handmaid's Tale" was scary in how it pertains to today, you won't want to miss this episode! *Note: What happens when you try to record in 105 F heat and the A.C. is broken? This episode! We apologize for the occasional background noises. ...

In this Aside, special guest Shawn Moksvold joins me to talk about our upcoming episode on Fred Hoyle's "The Black Cloud." We introduce Shawn, talk about Science Fiction in general and why it is maligned, and then preview Hoyle's novel. BE SURE NOT TO MISS: Shawn and I finally settle the great debate on which is a better Sci-Fi movie: Mars Attacks or Independence Day.

In this episode, special guest Zak Breckenridge joins us to talk about Margaret Atwood's "The Handmaid's Tale." We discuss the power dynamics of language in a dystopia, survival, and maintaining a sense of self. Plus, we consider how exactly to categorize the novel (if that is even important) as well as try to navigate through all the internet noise surrounding this book/television show. If you liked the novel or the show and are fed up with disingenuous internet opinions, don't miss this...

On our new Aside, Zak Breckenridge is back on the show with us to talk about getting featured on LitHub, the emerging academic field of Environmental Humanities, and of course help us introduce our new featured book "The Handmaid's Tale" by Margaret Atwood. We mention some of the questions we'll be exploring on our full-length episode, and shamelessly gush about how much we love Atwood's 1985 novel. WARNING: we have purposely avoided all talk about the new Hulu series adaptation, and the...

On our 20th episode, Alex is joined by frequent casual academic Clay Oppenhuizen to discuss one of their favorite novels, "The Posthumous Memoirs of Brás Cubas," otherwise known as "Epitaph of a Small Winner." While Jake is off galavanting through the icy beauty of Finnish Lapland, Clay and Alex talk about their love for Machado de Assis, its unique place in literary history and interpretation, as well as the various philosophical and literary games Machado, or in this case Brás, plays with...

On our 13th Aside, we are joined by fellow casual academic Clay Oppenhuizen to talk 19th century Brazilian literature and history, as well as introduce our second featured author of Brazilian Literature Month, Machado de Assis. We are reading his 1881 novel "The Posthumous Memoirs of Brás Cubas," otherwise known as 'Epitaph of a Small Winner." Apart from presenting an angle of Brazilian culture and society at the end of the 19th century, we also talk (bordering on rant) about how Western...

Brazilian Literature Month at The Casual Academic is in full swing! On this episode, we discuss the debut novel of Clarice Lispector, "Near to the Wild Heart." We talk about her unique narrative style, it's break with institutionalized novelistic forms in Brazil, and of course "the thing itself." If you are interested in approaching Brazilian literature, this is the place to start. you can send us your thoughts, questions and ideas about Clarice's novel and our discussion at...

The Casual Academic's Brazilian Literature Month has officially started! You might say, isn't it March 20th? Well, you would be right, but we operate on a calendar the likes of Borges would appreciate. On this Aside, we speculate on the reasons why Brazilian Literature isn't the powerhouse it should be, and we present our two featured authors - Clarice Lispector and Machado de Assis. We briefly discuss the life and work of Lispector, and Alex shares his experience reading "The Hour of the...

The recording of the launch event of La Errante, A Journal of Art & Literature based out of Madrid, Spain. The event was recorded live last Friday (10/4/2017) at the bookstore Desperate Literature in Madrid. The event was a total success and a lot of fun. It was a true pleasure to be able to be in a place with so many amazing people. We are very proud to be able to present this recording to all of our listeners. You'll hear Layla Benitez-James, Martha Sprackland, Robert Greer, Emma...

On our 18th episode Clay Oppenhuizen joins us for a heady discussion of Yukio Mishima's 1949 novel Confessions of a Mask. We continue our brief overview of some historical and cultural background of Japan's Meiji Restoration to lay the groundwork for Mishima's love/hate relationship with the Western world, his narrator's struggles to accept himself and his society in post-war Japan, and the influence of German literature and philosophy on Mishima's thought-provoking, brilliant novel. You...

On our 11th Aside we welcome back our old friend and frequent guest Clay Oppenhuizen, who catches us up on his life, studies and upcoming article on our website about Ursula LeGuin's "The Left Hand of Darkness." We then introduce our new featured author Yukio Mishima and discuss his diverse artistic output, various personae, beliefs and his novel "Confessions of Mask" for our upcoming 18th episode. Don't forget to look for us on social media, send us comments, questions or recommendations...

On this episode we discuss Shirley Jackson's unsettlingly masterpiece in light of a general renewed interest in her work and life. We discuss her refreshing take on the gothic story and setting, the various interpretations of the castle and its relationship to the minds of Merricat and Constance, and celebrate the dark humor that abounds in "We Have Always Lived in the Castle" as well as the recently published "Let Me Tell You: New Stories, Essays, and Other Writings." We hope you enjoy the...

It would seem that we are starting a schedule of sorts. Will it last? We hope so. Anyway, on this Aside we talk about our current featured article on Thomas Mann's "Death in Venice," the books we read over the winter holidays, and mostly importantly, introduce Shirley Jackson as our new featured author here at The Casual Academic. We are reading "We Have Always Lived in the Castle" for our 17th full-length episode, so if you haven't, go out and read it! Don't forget, you can find us on...

On our 16th episode, we fall at the feet of W.G. Sebald, a German writer and academic whose work "The Rings of Saturn" blew us away with its haunting voice, genre-exploding form, and dizzying presentation of history, memory and memoir. We discuss the careful layering of connections and inter-textual references Sebald wove into "The Rings of Saturn," as well as his take on historical discourse and the role memory plays on individuals as well as collective consciousness. From the book's title...

On our 9th Aside, we talk about the ins and outs of our recently launched website, and introduce our author and work for our 16th and final episode of 2016, W.G. Sebald and his phenomenal book "The Rings of Saturn." We also ask our listeners for bourbon recommendations in order to properly thank our webmaster for all his help on our website. If you have any thoughts on bourbon, Sebald, or the decadence of civilization as we conceive of it, let us know on twitter, instagram, facebook, or...

On our 15th episode, we tackle Tayeb Salih's widely acclaimed novel Season of Migration to the North. Voted as the most important book written in Arabic of the 20th century, Salih's novel writes back to the empire, but leaves problematic spaces that make the postcolonial condition anything but black and white. Also featured on this episode are writers Edward Said, Joseph Conrad, Chinua Achebe and even a little Shakespeare. Our new episode coincides with the launch of our new website! ...

In our 8th Aside, we preview our upcoming episode on Tayeb Salih's "Season of Migration to the North," and its place among Arabic as well as postcolonial literature. We also introduce Edward Said and his landmark text "Orientalism," which we will be using in our full-length episode on Salih's novel.

It is the beginning of the end of Horror Month here at The Casual Academic. Our 14th episode is a collection of some of our favorite short creepy tales, as well as a few that were recommended by some of our listeners. We discuss ambiguity, some more about atmosphere, and talk about the following authors - Edgar Allan Poe, Charlotte Perkins Gilman, Algernon Blackwood, Ryunosuke Akutagawa and Kazuo Ishiguro.

We continue our streak of Horror Month 2016 with an episode dedicated to H.P. Lovecraft's famous 1936 novella. Our 13th episode no less. Listen for a continued discussion on the perennially fascinating use of the "Terra Incognita," a comparison to Joseph Conrad's "Heart of Darkness," as well as the Shoggoth as allegory and our new favorite academic field, Mirage Studies. If we missed anything, make sure to let us know on our Facebook page, tweet us at @casualacademic, or write us an email...

We are back with our first full episode of Horror Month, and equally proud to present the FIRST podcast episode dedicated to the writer Thomas Ligotti (on iTunes and Stitcher at least). Jake reads a passage from one of our favorite stories, which launches us into a discussion on Ligotti's technique and vision; two things that are intricately linked to his philosophy of Pessimism. Our discussion includes stories from "Grimscribe: His Lives and Works," "Songs of a Dead Dreamer," "Teatro...

In this special Aside for Horror month, Alex and Jake discuss Thomas LIgotti, H.P. Lovecraft and the weird history of the American Novel. They also preview the upcoming episodes on Thomas Ligotti (Songs of a Dead Dreamer/Grimscribe) and H.P. Lovecraft (At the Mountains of Madness). Finally, they ask for listener input on what short stories to read for the Halloween episode.

We are joined by our returning guest Zak Breckenridge in a conversation about the theories, ideas, and books behind Umberto Eco's debut novel. With his help, we establish a baseline understanding of Semiotics in order to make sense of the ways in which our author incorporated his own academic pursuits in "The Name of the Rose," as well as discuss the myriad of ideas, philosophies, authors and other books that appear in this labyrinthine "detective novel." We have to ask though, can we...

In this Aside, Alex is joined by Clay and Zak to talk about their days at University of Chicago, broader themes about academia and preview the next episode on Umberto Eco's "The Name of the Rose."