Mapping the Zone: A Thomas Pynchon discussion podcast

After some much-needed psychic rehabilitation, the whole crew is back together, and like Lindsay and the other Chums reuniting, we're diving in deep straight off the bat. Things do get twisted, perhaps even time itself, with a tinker like Merle at Candlebrow up to his elbows in the stuff. Please have your textbooks with you. Next episode: Ch. 34-35 (p. 460-488) If you like what we're doing and wan...

How is a book this long, still this good, this far in? Gately gets a job, Marathe and Steeply converse and wax philosophical, and a young JOI helps his dad move a mattress. Put your empty glass of peppered tomato juice down somewhere and join us in this latest episode. Next episode: Pages 503-601 (ending at “Orin’s smile wasn’t as cool as he though as he told the seated figure that that was a matt...

Next episode: Pages 410 - 503 (ending at “This was how I first became interested in the possibilities of annulation.”) If you like what we're doing and want to support the show, please consider making a donation on Ko-Fi. Funds we receive will be used to upgrade equipment, pay hosting fees, and help make the show better. https://ko-fi.com/mappingthezone If you enjoyed our discussion, please check...

Finally wrapping up our hiatus episodes, Will is back, and he's stirring the pot again. Inside, listeners will find a lyrical brief on billy woods & Kenny Segal's Hiding Places, making this a meaningful step in the evolution of our show, as it lasts longer than the subject matter. The better thing to do may be to just listen to the album. You know you want to.​ If you like what we're doing and...

If you like what we're doing and want to support the show, please consider making a donation on Ko-Fi. Funds we receive will be used to upgrade equipment, pay hosting fees, and help make the show better. https://ko-fi.com/mappingthezone As always, thanks so much for listening! Email: ⁠ mappingthezonepod@gmail.com ⁠ Bluesky: https://bsky.app/profile/mappingthezone.bsky.social Twitter: https://twitt...

On this week's bonus episode, Luke discusses the short stories, novels, and life of R.A. Lafferty. Give it a listen? Yeah, you should. If you like what we're doing and want to support the show, please consider making a donation on Ko-Fi. Funds we receive will be used to upgrade equipment, pay hosting fees, and help make the show better. https://ko-fi.com/mappingthezone You can also subscribe to th...

In the first of our series of bonus episodes in-between parts 2 and 3 of Against the Day, we talk with Sara Marcus about her 2010 book about the Riot Grrrl movement. We discuss the bands, the music, the zines, and the revolution itself. If you're looking to hear Riot Grrrl music, I've compiled a playlist (see below) of bands and artists who were either part of the movement or who I feel are carryi...

It's a beautifully tragic series of scenes we get with this section of the book. While this is some of the best writing in the novel, thus far, it's also tremendously upsetting and hard to get through. There's still plenty of humor and weirdness to be found, so join us as we talk about the ups ad downs of this motley cast of characters. If you like what we're doing and want to support the show, pl...

If you like what we're doing and want to support the show, please consider making a donation on Ko-Fi. Funds we receive will be used to upgrade equipment, pay hosting fees, and help make the show better. https://ko-fi.com/mappingthezone You can also subscribe to the show on Apple Podcasts to get early access to our Infinite Jest series as well as any other bonus episodes/series we do down the road...

It's been nearly a year and a half since we started covering Against the Day and we've finally come to the end of Part 2, Iceland Spar! With us for this wrap-up is friend of the show (and basically the fifth host) Brett Biebel who chats with us about what makes Against the Day such an incredible work of fiction and what we love so much about it (so far). If you like what we're doing and want to su...

The story begins to take more shape, the characters are becoming more dynamic, and the world is making as much sense as it can in this section of the book. Join us as we talk about the importance of Marathe's conversation with Steeply, Americanisms, the haunting backstory of Himself, and so much more. Next episode: Pages 306 - 410 If you like what we're doing and want to support the show, please c...

If you like what we're doing and want to support the show, please consider making a donation on Ko-Fi. Funds we receive will be used to upgrade equipment, pay hosting fees, and help make the show better. https://ko-fi.com/mappingthezone You can also subscribe to the show on Apple Podcasts to get early access to our Infinite Jest series as well as any other bonus episodes/series we do down the road...

Time: var. moments of social cavitation Location: var. locales of New Old Mexico, esp. northern Subject: Quiselgur, El Chavalito "Frank Traverse" Concerns: - rigid and constricted manifolds - succulent flora - turnabout Recommendations: - Continue observation - Maintain separation from subject "QR" - Apply steady pressure along lines of cleavage If you like what we're doing and want to support the...

If you like what we're doing and want to support the show, please consider making a donation on Ko-Fi. Funds we receive will be used to upgrade equipment, pay hosting fees, and help make the show better. https://ko-fi.com/mappingthezone If you enjoyed our discussion, please check out the following media that relates to these chapters: Interview with Michael Silverblatt: David Foster Wallace on Boo...

Nothing new about this episode, despite the 2.0 in the name. We had some problems with the original being Apple Podcasts exclusive, so the workaround was in changing the title (slightly). If you like what we're doing and want to support the show, please consider making a donation on Ko-Fi. Funds we receive will be used to upgrade equipment, pay hosting fees, and help make the show better. Next epi...

Before setting sail, we check in on the bouncing baby Jesse and the newlyweds who made him. Things aren't going too hot for the young family, the line between reciprocal sacrifice and foolheadedness seeming blurrier every day, and that's without getting into the vigilantism. But now they've parted ways, for the kid's own good, and as Reef eyes his duty to gallivant overseas, the crew shuffles pape...

Thirty years ago, a monumental book was published which shook the literary world and completely revolutionized post-modern fiction. Not Margaret Atwood's Alias Grace , or the first book in George R.R. Martin's A Song of Ice and Fire series, and it wasn't Fight Club (1996 was a pretty stacked year for media). David Foster Wallace's magnum opus, Infinite Jest was released on 01 Feb 1996 and has rema...

Dally rolls into town just around the corner, readier than most to take the world by its horns, but our crew of worryworts can't help themselves from checking in. Helpful roommate Katie eases some concerns, but then again, would a girl like Dahlia end up a mock white slave without some bad influences? Between Tong wars and ghosts of her past known and unknown, it seems like our time in NYC is to b...

Kit's going through it, so we get down and rough it with the poor boy. It's nice to catch up with him, gives the crew an opportunity to connect some dots, draw some prospective lines. Between the continuance of Tesla v. World, acute personal loss, and unveiling Vibratory horizons, there are plenty of anchors to hang the threads. Perhaps too many. If you like what we're doing and want to support th...

It's the end of the year, so we decided to talk about some books we read in 2025 that weren't Pynchon. Of course, we decided to do this after we finished recording a 4+ hour episode for Against the Day, so we were admittedly all a bit spacey. Anyway, hopefully you'll recognize some of these books or come away with some new stuff to add to your never-ending TBR pile. If you like what we're doing an...

Starting 01 February 2026, Cody and Kate will be (kinda) deep-diving into another book. What's the twist? It's not a Pynchon book (cue "shocking" sound bite). If you want to know what we're going to be covering in a monthly 10-part series within our series, give this brief explainer episode a listen! If you like what we're doing and want to support the show, please consider making a donation on Ko...

If you like what we're doing and want to support the show, please consider making a donation on Ko-Fi. Funds we receive will be used to upgrade equipment, pay hosting fees, and help make the show better. https://ko-fi.com/mappingthezone If you enjoyed our discussion, please check out the following media that relates to these chapters: Books: Warlock by Oakley Hall; The Assassination of Jesse James...

In hindsight, it may appear unfair to have just been gallivanting about in Europe, as we return this episode to circle the Colorado Traverses. Lake gets in too deep, while Frank scopes the surface of his enemies, and our hosts struggle to keep their guts as lust intercedes. Despite their best efforts, even fleeing the Chums' company has not freed the Mappers from the occult slings of the Outsiders...

Quit your scratching and bleeding and put down the rosary, the cure of all your anxieties has arrived! At long last, the Mapping the Zone Review of Shadow Ticket, Spoilerful Edition, has been released, and it's packed with more hot takes and thrilling twists than any diehard fans of the storied Spoiler-free episode could have imagined. The hype is NOT TOO HIGH! If you like what we're doing and wan...

It's finally here and we got to read it! Shadow Ticket, the newest (and perhaps final) novel by Thomas Pynchon is out in the wild and we are here with a spoiler-free review for those who may not have had a chance to read it as of yet. We will have a longer, more in-depth review episode out on 31 October 2025, so stay tuned for that if you wanted a more nuanced discussion of our thoughts on the nov...