The Satire Fire

Has a bushel been put on The Satire Fire? Not quite, don't think you can hide our light so easily. We are going to be taking a short-term hiatus from the podcast while we get some life stuff sorted out! Tune in for the details, but we hope to be back with new episodes in April. In the meantime, keep on supporting your local librarians!

So you saw someone steal bread and you're what, gonna tell the nearest cop? Cringe. We are back with another interlude episode and this week we are discussing the 1936 movie Modern Times by Charlie Chaplin! This is a movie all about the ways in which capitalism can move to benefit the wealthy while keeping down the poor. It deals with automation, labor strikes, police, and poverty all at the same...

In this final part of our Player Piano series we are putting all the pieces together! With the context from Part 2 and the plot from Part 1, can we understand what this book is trying to say? Probably so, because Vonnegut certainly wasn't known for subtleties. In this part we analyze and interpret the book, talk about its relevance in the modern era of work, and also discuss how good it is general...

Feel stuck in a deadend job in a deadend town with a deadend life? Well turns out, maybe that's because rich people hate you! In this episode we are looking at the historical context behind Player Piano by looking at the history of labor from before the Industrial Revolution right up until the book was written. Why so much talk about robots? What's the big deal with unemployment? Tune in to find o...

We are back with a book that dares to ask the question "What if being unemployed is worse than going to work?" as we start our series on Kurt Vonnegut's Player Piano ! This book deals with an alternative version of America where human labor has been fully replaced with an automated world run by engineers and managers. It has a lot to say about labor, human dignity, how we find purpose, and much mo...

It's time to put on those headphones and drift away, because The Satire Fire is back with another edition of the Fire Mixtapes! In this episode we will be discussing the conceptual album Animals by the legendary Pink Floyd. This album adopts some of the imagery and symbolism of Animal Farm to tell a story of British dissatisfaction and rebellion in the 1970's. Strap in to hear our hosts take on th...

We have reached the end of our series on George Orwell's Animal Farm which can only mean one thing; it's time to put the context and the plot together to see what this whole thing is about! In this week's episode we will be looking at how successfully this book is communicating its message, if that message is any good, and how relevant the message still is today. Is it actually possible to fit the...

And here we are in the middle of the long and fruitful leadership of Vladimir Lenin and... Wait a second, is that Joseph Stalin's music?? Welcome to Part Two of our series on George Orwell's Animal Farm ! Thia week we are taking a dive into the history behind this book so we can better understand what exactly Orwell was hoping for us to learn from it. Sydney gives us a brief look at the life of Or...

Welcome to a new year and a new series of the Satire Fire! We are starting the year off strong with the classic George Orwell novella Animal Farm . This is Orwell's first step into the socialist themes that would come to define his work. Here on an unassuming farm Orwell weaves a narrative of greed, revolution, and class struggle that has become a staple of modern English literature! Join us this...

We have reached the end of the year and that can only mean one thing! It is time for Sydney and Samuel to speculate wildly on what will happen in the world of books in 2026! This is the start of a yearly tradition where your Satire Fire hosts will put their industry knowledge to the test by making 10 predictions each about the upcoming year, then check back in next December to see who is the best...

It's the week of Christmas and much like the proverbial bird in the hand Samuel is alone! Sydney had some travel issues which means Samuel is picking the topic and running the show by himself this week, and the holiday topic he has chosen to cover is... Niche erotica? This week Samuel talks us through the enigma that is Chuck Tingle, breaks down the artistry and satire that he uses in his works, a...

Welcome back to the Satire Fire Stocking Stuffer Series, where each week we are bringing you a fun and casual holiday episode to help with that seasonal stress! This week we are playing a holiday movie game where Sydney and Samuel take turns guessing the plots of movies they haven't actually seen! Are we true media knowers, or just pretenders to the throne? What kind of comprehension skills do you...

It's the most Holiday time of the year, and The Satire Fire is here with a short holiday supplemental episode! Wait what's that? Sydney and Samuel got too caught up talking about their favorite books and accidentally recorded a full length supplemental? Well, 'tis the season of giving and here we are giving you a full hour of your favorite book podcast! For this first Stocking Stuffer we are talki...

We are one last time venturing into the tunnels under your floorboards to figure out exactly what that guy living there is up to. This is the final episode of our series on Dostoevsky's Notes from Underground and it is the one we have all been waiting for! In Part One we discussed the plot, in Part Two we examined the context, and here in Part Three we are finally analyzing! We discuss what the wh...

Can you smell what Dostoevsky's cooking?? Spoiler alert, it's a poignant picture of the human condition that also doubles as a pointed insult for a guy he disliked! We are back for Part 2 of our series on Dostoevsky's Notes from Underground and this episode is all about the context. Turns out kids these days don't know what was going on in 1800's Russia, so we are here to tell you about the life o...

What's that noise I hear? Has someone crept into my basement and started playing the hit literary podcast The Satire Fire from their portable speaker? Oh how thoughtful! This week we are starting the ambitious challenge of discussing Fyodor Dostoevsky's Notes from Underground , the novel equivalent of a diss track! In this part we will be discussing the plot of the book, getting you caught up if i...

The days are shorter, the holidays are coming, and that means it's time to watch a Jane Austen romance movie! Join us this week as we talk about and review the 2007 movie adaptation of Northanger Abbey starring podcast darling Carey Mulligan. We break down what the differences are between the book and the movie, if one of them is better than the other, then spend a lot of time talking about movie...

It's crumpets season baby, and we are bringing even more cozy vibes to relax and study to! We are back with our final part on Jane Austen's Northanger Abbey , a story all about being a girl who, get this, is not like the other girls. We take the plot we discussed in Part 1, look at it in conjunction with the historical context of Part 2, and come out the other side with an analysis of the themes a...

Ever wonder why Jane Austen wrote so much about rich people? Here's a bit of a spoiler: it certainly wasn't because she was poor! We are back with the history of Jane Austen and some context behind her novel Northanger Abbey , where we will teach out all about gothic novels, Regency Era life, and also who Samuel's favorite modern horror author is! So be sure to get out your tea and crumpets for th...

What's the deal with all these rich people?? The time has finally come for The Satire Fire to go high-brow and so here we are with Jane Austen's classic novel Northanger Abbey . This one has all the messy drama of a season of Love Island , so if you love gossip you will love this book! In this first part we will be breaking down the plot of the book, getting all of us caught up to speed about what...

Impressive, very nice. But let's hear Paul Allen's podcast intro. We are back with another interlude, this time discussing the American Psycho movie adaptation from 2000! We break down the plot, compare it to the plot of the book, and then spend some time analyzing the themes and discussing the ways it is perhaps better or worse than the book. If you want to hear about the book in more detail, goo...

It's time to finally lay this queen to rest and move on from the fashion diva Pat Bateman! This is our third and final episode on the book American Psycho by Brett Easton Ellis and we are using it to discuss the themes of the book, see how they hold up in a modern context, and finally give our personal reviews! Is it too much? Is it a misunderstood masterpiece? Did Sydney hate every second of read...

Get out of my neighborhood ya damn yuppies! It's our second episode of our series on American Psycho by Bret Easton Ellis and it is time for some context! In this episode we will be talking about the history of the author, the controversy that surrounded this book's release, and what was going on at the time that made this book relevant! We will also be discussing some of the modern context of thi...

Have you put on your sunscreen yet today? How about your retinol cream? Your anti-aging anti-wrinkle serum? You should really get on that, god forbid you look your age. This week we are starting our series on American Psycho by Bret Easton Ellis, a notorious and perhaps even infamous satire of society! For Part 1 we will be talking about the plot of the book, getting you caught up if you haven't r...

Personally, we think Al and Schmidt should've kissed. In this interlude week of The Satire Fire we will be discussing Emerald Fennell's debut 2020 film Promising Young Woman ! This is a satirical film looking at the harm that women face in their every day lives and the ways the system fails them after they have been harmed. It ties in nicely with the three part series we just finished on Her Body...