Gom Jabbar: A Dune Podcast

Abu and Leo reluctantly launch into their coverage of Sandworms of Dune, the final part of Brian Herbert and Kevin J. Anderson's conclusion of the Dune saga. They summarize the first half of the book, and vent their feelings along the way. This episode contains SPOILERS for all six of Frank Herbert's Dune novels, plus Hunters of Dune and the first half of Sandworms of Dune. SUPPORT THE S...

Princess Irulan Corrino, Shaddam IV's eldest daughter and Paul's wife in name only, finally gets her own character deep dive. Abu and Leo dig into what the Dune Encyclopedia says about her life and legacy, with an eye on Florence Pugh's return to the role in Dune: Part Three. Dune historians are brutal about Irulan's Bene Gesserit abilities, yet they also credit her as an independent thinker who n...

Abu and Leo dig into "Greenslaves" and "Occupation Force," two stories Herbert wrote in the decade before Dune made him famous, to see what they reveal about the mind behind the books. "Greenslaves," published in Amazing in March 1965 and later expanded into the novel The Green Brain, follows a Brazilian extermination program built to wipe out every last insect, and the swarm that has learned to d...

Abu and Leo finish their Lost Entries run through Carl B. Yoke's psychology manuscripts, uncovered at the Fullerton Archives. This week they read two unpublished Dune Encyclopedia entries on the psychology of the Sardaukar and the Harkonnens. The Sardaukar entry centers on the Dhama ti Kama, the corps' secret training manual, which Lady Margot Fenring somehow stole for the Bene Gesserit. Its autho...

Abu and Leo finish Hunters of Dune, the first book in Brian Herbert and Kevin J. Anderson's conclusion of the Dune saga. They break down the back half of the book and vent their feelings about how this is all just so wrong. They cover the Ithaca's stalled journey through the Scattering, Duncan Idaho's fixation on the absent Murbella, and the ghola children growing up aboard the no-ship. On Chapter...

An unpublished Dune Encyclopedia manuscript called Psychology of the Fremen never made it past Willis E. McNelly's editing desk, until now. Abu and Leo dig into what got cut, in part one of a two-episode dive into the Fullerton archives' unreleased psychology entries. Carl B. Yoke, a Kent State University professor, wrote it as one of five planned psychology profiles that also covered the Bene Ges...

The 2026 Hugo Awards hand Best Novel to Alix E. Harrow's The Everlasting and give Murderbot its first-ever trophy, while WorldCon finally reveals the price for the 2023 Hugo scandal: a lifetime ban for administrator Dave McCarty and lesser bans for three others. Plus, Silo closes its most divisive season yet to a critic/audience split the internet doesn't seem to agree with, and the Bobiverse's fi...

Abu and Leo begin the book club coverage of Hunters of Dune, the first novel completing Frank Herbert's saga after his death. They walk through the first half of the book's tangled plot before turning to the continuity breaks and creative choices they think do real damage to the Dune canon. This episode contains SPOILERS for all six of Frank Herbert's Dune novels, plus chapters 1-44 of Hunters of...

Since we're in our #BrianHerbertEra, Abu and Leo revisit an episode from 2022 covering the history of Dune as told by Brian Herbert in his book, The Road to Dune. SUPPORT THE SHOW Get ad-free episodes and more: ⁠patreon.com/gomjabbar⁠ Say thank you with a tip: ⁠buymeacoffee.com/gomjabbar⁠ Buy custom-designed Dune merch: ⁠gomjabbar.shop⁠ Watch video episodes and clips: ⁠youtube.com/@loreparty Learn...

Frank Herbert spent five books showing how faiths merge, mutate, and drift beyond recognition. Then, in Chapterhouse: Dune, he wrote in a community of Jews who had not changed at all. Abu and Leo gather critical takes from Jewish readers and scholars, then sit down with historian DZ Kalman to ask whether representation that gets things wrong can still be worth having. This episode contains SPOILER...

Abu⁠ and ⁠Leo⁠ close out the book club with a live listener Q&A, the first one recorded with every page of Frank Herbert's saga behind them. It's a reflective hang about how this series thinks about power, governance, and the limits of art as political commentary, and about what it feels like to reach the end of a six-year read-through. This episode contains SPOILERS for all six of Frank Herbert's...

Abu and Leo return to the Lost Entries series with two Dune Encyclopedia manuscripts that never made it into print. Both were written by one of the Encyclopedia's most prolific contributors, and detail the life of Dune's Oppenheimer: a man named Roj Amalkin, who invented the deadliest weapon in the galaxy.. They read the manuscripts in full, and argue about why McNelly left them on the cutting roo...

Abu⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ and ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Leo⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ complete their read-through of Chapterhouse Dune by diving deep into chapters 46-48. They reflect back on their journey covering every single Dune book by Frank Herbert, and look ahead to what's next. This episode contains NO SPOILERS beyond the books and pages covered thus far Read along with us by following the ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Chapterhouse Dune book club s...

Abu and Leo officially announce Spice & Dice, a new Dungeons & Dragons actual play podcast set in the far corners of the Dune universe, with Noah Perito back in the dungeon master's chair. The show is built to welcome newcomers to D&D as much as longtime tabletop players, and this episode closes with a preview from the debut campaign. Spice & Dice targets a Q4 2026 launch, timed just ahead of Dune...

Abu and Leo break down the new Dune: Part Three trailer shot by shot, tracing what it reveals about Paul Atreides' transformation from reluctant messiah to feared emperor. They dig into the trailer's visual clues, editing misdirections, and the conspiracy forming against Paul's rule, then share their honest hopes and worries for the finished film. This episode contains SPOILERS for Dune and Dune:...

Abu⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ and ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Leo⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ continue their read-through of Chapterhouse Dune by diving deep into chapters 43-45. This episode contains NO SPOILERS beyond the books and pages covered thus far Read along with us by following the ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Chapterhouse Dune book club schedule⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ Get ad-free episodes and bonus content: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://www.patreon.com/GomJabbar⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ Say th...

The second trailer for Dune: Part Three just dropped and it somehow raises even more questions about the film, despite giving us new glimpses of what to expect this December. Our full breakdown will be released on all podcast feeds this weekend, but for now, here are our messy immediate reactions. Read our instant reactions, for free: https://www.patreon.com/GomJabbar/posts/excited-and-our-1632924...

Abu and Leo dig into Pantheon, the wildly underrated animated sci-fi series almost nobody watched. Across the first four episodes they wrestle with what the show has to say about mortality, capitalism, and the promises we make about new technology. It is bold, timely, occasionally rough around the edges, and exactly the kind of science fiction they want more of. This episode contains SPOILERS for...

Abu⁠ and ⁠Leo⁠ continue their read-through of Chapterhouse: Dune with chapters 40 - 42. Teg launches his attack on Gammu, Odrade meets with Dama, and the battle on Junction begins and... ends? Then the takeaway digs into Extremis Progressiva and to what lengths humans can go to save their culture. This episode contains NO SPOILERS beyond the books and pages covered thus far Read along with us by f...

Abu and Leo dig into the Fremen Jihad, the brutal 12-year war Frank Herbert left almost entirely off-page between his first two novels. Leaning on the Dune Encyclopedia to fill in that missing history, they trace how a political standoff curdled into religious conquest, then set this jihad beside the Butlerian Jihad to ask what Frank was really saying about charismatic leaders, mob fervor, and the...

Abu and Leo continue their read-through of Chapterhouse: Dune with chapters 37 -39. Odrade says her goodbyes, the mission to Junction begins, and a beloved cyborg bus driver makes a triumphant return. Then the takeaway digs into the leveling drift, the Bene Gesserit belief that humanity always sands its outliers back down toward the average. This episode contains NO SPOILERS beyond the books and p...

Six years into the show, Abu and Leo finally give the most consequential event in Dune history its own episode. From Jehanne Butler's personal tragedy on Komos to the century of holy war that followed, this is the story of how humanity destroyed its thinking machines and rebuilt itself without them. Part 1 of a two-part series on the jihads of Dune. LIGHT SPOILERS: if you've read the first book or...

Abu⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ and ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Leo⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ continue their read-through of Chapterhouse Dune by diving deep into chapters 34-36. This episode contains NO SPOILERS beyond the books and pages covered thus far Read along with us by following the ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Chapterhouse Dune book club schedule⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ Get ad-free episodes and bonus content: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://www.patreon.com/GomJabbar⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ Say thank you with a...

⁠Abu⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ and ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Leo⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ return to one of their earliest and most popular episodes to provide bonus commentary and analysis years later. Get ad-free episodes and bonus content: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://www.patreon.com/GomJabbar⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ Say thank you with a tip: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠http://buymeacoffee.com/gomjabbar⁠⁠⁠ Watch video versions of select episodes: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://www.youtube.com/@loreparty⁠⁠⁠ Get yoursel...

Abu⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ and ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Leo⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ pause their read-through of Chapterhouse Dune to share your emails and answer your burning questions about the book and wider Dune universe. This episode contains NO SPOILERS beyond the books and pages covered thus far Read along with us by following the ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Chapterhouse Dune book club schedule⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ Get ad-free episodes and bonus content: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠...