Not Quite Great Books: a TV podcast

John and Danielle welcome Producer Amy back on mic again for Season 2 Episode 3 of The Americans, “The Walk-In.” After responding to some listener mail (!), they dig into some of the major events of this ep: Paige’s visit to Aunt Helen, Elizabeth’s visit to Jared and the complicated feels this raises, and of course, Stan’s laundry-driven breakthrough. They have some fun amidst the darker themes of...

After many (!) episodes, John and Danielle finally record from the same room together! Recorded live from the Innovation Garage, your hosts discuss Episode 3 of Loki, “Lamentis.” They consider what makes a Loki a Loki, take the episode and themselves a little too seriously, and also wonder if Sylvie is ACAB. Danielle Marvelsplains and John triumphs in this week’s Easter Egg Hunt. Plato makes his s...

Still reeling from the big swings of last week’s episode, Danielle and John take on Season 2 Episode 2 of The Americans, “Cardinal”. They discuss the various relationships they encounter in this episode - from Philip and Fred, to Nina and Arkadii, and of course, Elizabeth and her kids - thinking together about the episode’s role after last week’s intensity. They are joined by Foucault in the cave...

John and Danielle are back for Episode 2 of Loki, “The Variant.” Danielle Marvelsplains what it means to hide in an apocalypse, and your hosts debate what counts as a joke and how/whether goats are funny, while also thinking a little about gender, temporality, and company towns. John offers an impressive gloss of Agamben in the Cave, and takes on a new round of Easter Egg Hunt. If The Americans is...

John and Danielle are back with a new set of takes on The Americans Season 2 Episode 1, “Comrades”. They confront the episode’s swing to brutality, the swift entry and exit of some friends from work, plus Paige’s heightened suspicions. They also dig into spycraft, deer imagery, and Philip’s glow-up. Season 2 quite literally kicks off with a bang.   Music by Lesfm from Pixabay

Summer is here and so is a new series deep dive on NQGB! John and Danielle shift gears, and tackle the Disney+ series, Loki. Danielle is in the driver’s seat this time around, with John riding shotgun as resident MCU-noob. After watching Episode 1, “Glorious Purpose,” they discuss who might be the audience for a show like this (is it John? Jury’s out) and introduce a few new segments: Marvelsplain...

Danielle and John take a break from episode-by-episode reviews to indulge some metanarrative about their respective (and surprisingly divergent) tastes in TV and film. Taking off from John’s proposed grand unifying theory, they explore aesthetic excess, escapism in film and TV, spectacle, fandom, IP, “prestige TV,” and beautiful terror. Along the way, they touch on a number of shows/universes: in...

Strap in, friends! John and Danielle have called on fellow Americans connoisseur Jon Keller to dissect the season 1 finale, “The Colonel.” Together, they discuss what to make of Philip and Elizabeth’s quarrel, Claudia, Nina, and shoddy spy tactics before Keller regales our hosts with some personal anecdotes about Lev Gorn’s (Arkady) gym habits. This wild ride should not be missed!   Music by Lesfm...

In the penultimate episode of Season 1 of The Americans, Danielle and John tackle the multiple oaths that take place in “The Oath”. They marvel at Clark and Martha’s nuptials and Nina’s heel turn (or was Stan the heel all along?), and chat about how oaths unite these two sets of events. Wig check returns, and your hosts meet Freud in the cave. Come for the spycraft, stay for the abundant 80s refer...

John and Danielle are back for Season 1 Episode 11 of The Americans, “Covert War”. Tensions run high between Elizabeth and Claudia, and your hosts are HERE FOR IT. Interpersonal strife parallels geopolitical tensions, and John and Danielle get into it all. Danielle raises some concerns about Claudia in this week’s Danielle Dossier, and John celebrates the quirkiness of Arkady.   Music by Lesfm fro...

Join Danielle and John as they discuss Season 1 Episode 10 of The Americans, “Only You”. This episode really ratchets up the stakes, and John and Danielle are along for the ride! They discuss the parallels between Gregory, Claudia, and even touch on Stan’s drunk monologue before considering how this episode fits into the season as a whole. And, for some reason John questionably raises the possibil...

Still buzzing from the Hanley Sororal Conspiracy from our last episode, John and Danielle are on their own this week to tackle Season 1 Episode 9 of The Americans, “Safe House”. They ask whether any of the houses are really safe as they dig into the show’s display of bro culture, suffering, and violence. We get our first ‘Danielle Dossier’ case closed - tune in to find out if Danielle’s (conspirac...

This week, John and Danielle are joined by some very special guests - plural - Danielle’s sisters: Kaitlin, Becky, and Tori. Our hosts manage to squeeze in some insightful discussion about The Americans S1E8, “Mutually Assured Discussion” with the help of the two-thirds of the Hanley sisters that watched the episode! Tori helps us understand how effective Philip’s wigs actually are, and Kaitlin jo...

On their own again this week, Danielle and John dig into The Americans Season 1 Episode 7, “Duty and Honor”. As both Philip and Stan explore extramarital dalliances, our hosts consider what duty and honor mean in a world defined by spying, murky loyalties, and double agents. Don’t worry, they also have travel agent takes for days, and end the episode with a sprinkling of everyone’s favorite Renais...

John and Danielle are back with their first special guest of the season, their friend Amy Schiller ! Together, they dive into The Americans Season 1 Episode 6, “Trust Me”. They take a moment to address the experience of engaging with this show against the contemporary backdrop of the Russian invasion of Ukraine before shifting to talk about the episode’s major themes: trust, violence, and family l...

This week, John and Danielle tackle The Americans Season 1 Episode 5, “COMINT”. They marvel at how Elizabeth slithers between cars and get into questions of patriarchy, violence, and of course, all the relationship dynamics on display. The return of Dirtbag Philip inaugurates another round of wig talk, which is never boring! Music by Lesfm from Pixabay

Who is “In Control” this week? Your hosts, John and Danielle, of course, as they return to discuss Season 1 Episode 4 of The Americans. After a check-in on how this episode plays with scale in the series, they discuss the overwhelming presence of Reagan, cool spycraft moments, and reflect on the anxiety of scenes in the woods. Come for John’s takes on Russian translation, stay for this week’s trip...

Danielle and John dive into The Americans Season 1 Episode 3, “Gregory”. They discuss the episode’s treatment of secrets and lies, consider the racial dynamics at play, marvel at some great camerawork, and offer their first impressions of Gregory and Claudia. Don’t worry, they make time to check in about bangs and 80s pop culture too! They also tap into their own lived experiences to evaluate how...

John and Danielle continue their exploration of The Americans with a rousing discussion of Season 1 Episode 2, “The Clock.” They generate a wide-ranging discussion that examines the role of the nuclear family and racial dynamics in the episode, while still making sure to carve out some time to gush about the 80’s nostalgia brought on by headphones and wigs in “The Clock”. “Minor Character of the W...

In their first (!) episode, John and Danielle start by laying out the motivations behind this podcast before diving into a lively discussion of the pilot episode of The Americans. Come for their careful consideration of nationalism, lies, and spycraft; stay for the segments on Soviet aesthetics, needle drops, and the award for ‘Minor Character of the Week’.  Join Danielle and John as they use thei...

Danielle and John banter about the origins, schticks, plans and more for Not Quite Great Books: a TV podcast, which kicks of with a episode-by-episode review of The Americans.  First episode coming soon!