Pynchon Pals

In this Action-Packed One-Year Anniversary Episode (!), Tyrone Slothrop takes us from Pirates of the Caribbean to Metal Gear Solid . Next time, Gravity’s Rainbow Episodes 3.21, 3.22, 3.23, and 3.24, or pp. 527-527 in the U.S. Penguin Classics Deluxe Edition.  Support the show and get access to monthly bonus episodes at patreon.com/pynchonpals and follow us @pynchonpals.bsky.social .  For the month...

No sooner did we encounter the Anubis than, as the old sea shanty goes, “it’s time for us to leave her!” And thank heavens for that. But watch out, Slothrop—it’s werewolf season again.  Next time, Gravity’s Rainbow Episodes 3.19 and 3.20, or pp. 500-527 in the U.S. Penguin Classics Deluxe Edition.  Support the show and get access to monthly bonus episodes at patreon.com/pynchonpals and follow us @...

Rocketman: I have to go now. My planet needs me. (Note: Rocketman died on the way back to his home planet.) Meanwhile, the book returns, unfortunately for us and for everyone involved, to some of its go-to subjects. And no, not just toilets.  Next time, Gravity’s Rainbow Episodes 3.15, 3.16, 3.17, and 3.18 or pp. 476-500 in the U.S. Penguin Classics Deluxe Edition.  Support the show and get access...

Have we arrived at Thomas Pynchon’s single best piece of writing so far? We three may very well think so. Get the ladder—because this one’s going up in the rafters next to Mondaugen’s story and Oedipa’s dark night of the soul. Next time, Gravity’s Rainbow Episodes 3.12, 3.13, and 3.14, or pp. 440-476 in the U.S. Penguin Classics Deluxe Edition.  Support the show and get access to monthly bonus epi...

Well gang, we made it to our very own brennschluss point. Or at least we think we did? Join us for the thrilling first issue of ROCKETMAN and reencounter some old friends and some old, old friends.  Next time, Gravity’s Rainbow Episode 3.11, or pp. 403-440 in the U.S. Penguin Classics Deluxe Edition.  Support the show and get access to monthly bonus episodes at patreon.com/pynchonpals and follow u...

A round of applause for the staff at Thomas Pynchon’s local library in the early 1970s. Working overtime getting that man his Herero cosmologies and Soviet orthographical histories. And, hey, let's hear it for the projectionist at the repertory theater showing all those old slapstick flicks, too.  Next time, Gravity’s Rainbow Episodes 3.6, 3.7, 3.8, 3.9, and 3.10, or pp. 365-403 in the U.S. Pe...

History, math, physics, literature, architecture. This book’s a whole course of study! Do we get a little confused here about the difference between “parabolic” and “catenary” arches here? Sure we do. But we’re pretty sure our explanations of calculus check out! Next time, Gravity’s Rainbow Episodes 3.3, 3.4, and 3.5, or pp. 319-365 in the U.S. Penguin Classics Deluxe Edition.  Support the show an...

Is Slothrop a ghost? Is gravity time travel? Is Joe Biden a fan of the show? What’s in The Zone? These questions and more will not be answered… yet. Next time, Gravity’s Rainbow Episodes 3.1 and 3.2, or pp. 285-319 in the U.S. Penguin Classics Deluxe Edition.  Support the show and get access to monthly bonus episodes at patreon.com/pynchonpals and follow us @pynchonpals.bsky.social .  For the mont...

Debauchery. Grotesquerie. Eschatology. Showtunes. That’s Thomas Pynchon, for ya!  Next time, Gravity’s Rainbow Episodes 2.6, 2.7, and 2.8, or pp. 247-282 in the U.S. Penguin Classics Deluxe Edition.  Support the show and get access to monthly bonus episodes at patreon.com/pynchonpals and follow us @pynchonpals.bsky.social .  For the month of May’s Patreon-exclusive bonus episode we watched Hitler&...

Ah, now this is what we’ve been missing! The sun, the sea, the songs! This episode’s all escapades along the esplanade. At least until the paranoia sets in.  Next time, Gravity’s Rainbow Episodes 2.3 through 2.5, or pp. 208-247 in the U.S. Penguin Classics Deluxe Edition.  Support the show and get access to monthly bonus episodes at patreon.com/pynchonpals and follow us @pynchonpals.bsky.social . ...

Do we dare go beyond “Beyond the Zero”? Well, first we’ve got to meet a bunch of characters who will surely—surely—be important later. Then, this book heard you liked the occult, so it put a séance in its séance so you can speak to the dead while you speak to the dead. Finally, Roger and Jessica just keep breaking our hearts.  Next time, Gravity’s Rainbow Episodes 2.1 and 2.2, or pp. 181-208 in th...

GR just keeps getting V .-ier and V .-ier. Luckily, there’s a funny scene about candy waiting for us on the other end. And hey, it’s our favorite couple Jessica and Roger! Oh dear, they look very sad… Next time, Gravity’s Rainbow Episodes 1.17-1.21, or pp. 139-180 in the U.S. Penguin Classics Deluxe Edition.  Support the show and get access to monthly bonus episodes at patreon.com/pynchonpals and...

Discussions of Pavlov bookend interdepartmental conspiracy and pseudo-domesticity. Meanwhile Slothrop, like Benny Profane and Herbert Stencil before him, ventures into the sewer. Makes you miss the alligators! Next time—I misspoke in the episode!— Gravity’s Rainbow Episodes 1.14-1.16 (not through 1.17), or pp. 94-139 in the U.S. Penguin Classics Deluxe Edition.  Support the show and get access to...

Well, we’ve arrived at The Big One. Or, The First Big One, anyways. Join us -- again or for the first time -- as we puzzle out plots, diagram arcane organizational structures, and go long on bananas.  Next time, Gravity’s Rainbow Episodes 1.8-1.13, or pp. 48-94 in the U.S. Penguin Classics Deluxe Edition.  Support the show and get access to monthly bonus episodes at patreon.com/pynchonpals and fol...

Angels, dark and light, descend on Southern California, and we bid adieu to Arnold Snarb, I mean, Edna Mosh.  Next time, Gravity’s Rainbow sections 1.1 through 1.9, or pp. 1-60 in the U.S. Penguin Classics Deluxe Edition.  Support the show and get access to monthly bonus episodes at patreon.com/pynchonpals and follow us @pynchonpals.bsky.social .  Show Notes: “The Simple Art of Murder,” by Raymond...

The devil is in the details in this episode—or should we say, the demon ? We follow Oedipa up north and into the entropic underground. Groovy…  Next time, The Crying of Lot 49 Ch. 6.  Support the show and get access to monthly bonus episodes at patreon.com/pynchonpals and follow us @pynchonpals.bsky.social .  Show Notes: Spoilers for Twin Peaks Season 2 around 2:31:50 to 2:32:05! Thomas Pynchon, i...

Move over Benny, Rachel, Stencil, and Paola, it’s time for a new book! Journeying into the swingin’ 60s, we talk on the phone, watch television, and even go to the theatre. Hey, wait a second, I know that kazoo tune… Next time, The Crying of Lot 49 Chs. 4-5.  Support the show and get access to monthly bonus episodes at patreon.com/pynchonpals and follow us @pynchonpals.bsky.social .  Show Notes: “...

We hope you enjoy listening to this Q+A episode as much as we enjoyed making it! If so, you can now sign up to support the show via the brand new patreon.com/pynchonpals to get access to future Patreon-exclusive bonus episodes featuring Q+A’s, movie discussion, and more.    Next time, The Crying of Lot 49 Chs. 1-3. (Wow, a whole new book!) Show Notes: Content warnings: strong language, physical an...

Sydney Stencil’s in Valletta for one last job, and so are we. Sail on, sailor! Next time, V. Q+A. Last chance to send in questions on Bluesky or by email: if you’ve got one, we want to read it! Show Notes: St. Agatha’s Crypt, Catacombs & Museum , website “ V. : Analysis of Major Characters,” by Victoria Price via EBSCO  “The Mysterious Manicule,” by Keith Houston via Slate  Content warnings: s...

Things lurk Behind the Curtain as we bid farewell to Benny and the gang. And time is running out to send in questions for our V. Q+A in the episode after next! Next time, V. Epilogue. Show Notes: Frank C. Stanley performs “Auld Lang Syne,” recorded 1910 on (now public domain) wax cylinder, released by the Indestructible Record Company, UC Santa Barbara Cylinder Audio Archive Family Relationship of...

Happy Holidays from Pynchon Pals! In this episode, we stick with the Whole Sick Crew through their ups, their downs, their subsequent downs, their—wow, more downs, huh?  Next time, V. Chs. 14-16. Show Notes: Content warnings: strong language, physical and sexual violence, misogyny, racism, suicide, abortion. --- Featuring Patrick Fiorilli, Andrew Tillett, and Duri Long. Produced and edited by Patr...

In this episode, we flop around with the Whole Sick Crew, then flip over to the metaphysical hellscape of besieged Malta, before finally deconstructing this whole “V” situation, literally.  Next time, V. Chs. 12-13. Show Notes: A collection of V. book covers via ThomasPynchon.com "Mystery and Melancholy of a Street," by Giorgio de Chirico    "The Philosopher’s Conquest," by Giorgio...

In this episode, we yo-yo from bohemian banality to colonialist atrocity. Awful house parties occur amidst both.  Next time, V. Chs. 10-11. Show Notes: Archive.org “Report on the natives of South-west Africa and their treatment by Germany,”via the South-West Africa. Administrator’s Office Al Jazeera “How to pay for genocide: Namibian victims of German colonialism want a say,” by Shola Lawal Conten...

In this episode, we get our teeth checked for ego, encounter the Situation, and finally chat for a bit about Paul Thomas Anderson's One Battle After Another (spoilers for the film after 2:24:00).  Next time, V. Chs. 8-9 Show Notes: “Gaucho,” by Steely Dan Mother Country Radicals: A Family History of the Weather Underground Content warnings: strong language, physical and sexual violence, misog...

In this episode, we head underground and somehow spend a long time talking about Dr. Seuss books, the musical Grease, and the modern classic (?) John Cena movie Ricky Stanicky . Next time: V. Ch. 7 Show Notes: Reddit: The Zug Under The Rug From There's A Wocket In My Pocket is now The Vug Under The Rug. The New York Times: 5 IN QUEENS GUILTY IN SEWER SCANDAL; CASE RAN 202 DAYS; 5 Guilty in Que...