The Great Dante Readthrough

Simon and Edie readthrough the second half of “The Courtship of Jena Makarov” and discuss: Andreas “Coburn” Romanov, Edwin Star, how bricks don’t float, fridging, meaningful love-making, and...the end of season one.

Simon and Edie readthrough the first half of “The Courtship of Jena Makarov” and discuss: Drew Struzan, the inspiration for Julianna, communist body mods, and how Dante brings you back to the Prog.

Simon and Edie readthrough “Cruel Seas” and “Requiem for Lost Love” and discuss: Pulp novel sci-fi aesthetics, BURNS, Little Shop of Horrors-level villainy, whether Prima Nocta existed, and a distinct lack of Prussian Blue.

Simon and Edie readthrough “Fists of Fury” and “Last Dance on the Trans-Siberian Express” and discuss: a collective noun listener challenge, Dante’s influencer status, chewing ice ASMR, the best conveyor belt sushi restaurant in America, and how Prussian Blue is the saddest color.

Simon and Edie readthrough “The Hunting Party” and discuss: snowball rivalry, Nastasia getting grosser, daytime trash TV-spin offs, VC Andrews, progressive barbarians, Andy Clarke t-shirts, and more listener questions!

Simon and Edie readthrough “The Cadre Infernale” and discuss: Gary’s airbrush madness, filthy pacifiers, whether half-aristocrats exist, faux-Luther Arkwright, sexy pandas, blood or taxes, Half-Life monsters, and an original line-work mystery!

Simon and Edie readthrough “Tour of Duty” and discuss: Fabergé Space Egg, creatures from the Id, and surprise Part Three! Also: Simon confirms who wears the pants in he and Robbie’s creative partnership in our first ever listener questions segment!

Simon and Edie readthrough “The Masque Of Dante” and “The Movable Feast” and discuss: getting 90s gossip wrong, competing with drawings, Incel Dante, Alex Toth-ian things, sex Snowpiercer, and the horrors of fighting with knives.

Simon and Edie readthrough the first half of “The Octobriana Seduction” and discuss: Antiquarian booksellers, bird cabins, nerdy Dune debates, cheesy teeth, and our first no-prize awards ceremony.

Simon and Edie readthrough the second half of “The Great Game” and discuss: toasting the end of an epic, defenestrating Dante, Gail Simone, grief as an actual black hole, and how not to win at class warfare.

Simon and Edie readthrough the first half of “The Great Game” and discuss: secret earring origins, robot mustaches, thoughtful knee pillows, going full Jack Kirby and physics be damned!

Simon and Edie readthrough “The Trouble with Arbatovs” and “Cruel Britannia” and discuss: natural Arbatov selection, Shooty McGunwagons, regal rings, attack hot tubs, and the new British national anthem.

Simon and Edie readthrough “The Gulag Apocalyptic” and discuss: shower power plays, the lack of space-skirts, Kentucky space-guns, Red Guard industrial farming, and Romanov-branded merch.

Simon and Edie readthrough “The Full Dante” and “Moscow Duellists” and discuss: Surprise Arkady, Italian pagan goddesses, a sentimental captain’s wheel, Face Palaces, baby elephant cuddles, and improbable chandeliers.

Simon and Edie readthrough “Russia's Greatest Love Machine” and “The Gentleman Thief” and discuss: dirty comics at the Vatican, low-hanging cheese, mini-Anna Nicole, disappointing Dante, and the Arbatov drinking game.

Discussion about sexual assault from 51:56 to 53:56. This involves Nikolai’s mother Katarina and Dimitri Romanov and is a major plot point, but you can feel free to skip that part.

Simon and Edie readthrough “The Adventures of Nikolai Dante” and discuss: the value of Imperial Seductress undergarments, attendance problems at the court of the Tsar, bathing with an audience, twincest, and a hidden homage to Lone Wolf and Cub.