The Left Page

Hello everyone!! For this month's episode we are joined by a Brazilian friend and scholar, Arthur Maia, to talk about George R.R. Martin, Ursula K. Le Guin, Science Fiction, and how they both create stories, communicate ideas, alongside their differences and the things they do both good and bad! So join us as we take the story "And Seven Times Never Kill Man!" as a jumping point and talk about so...

Hello everyone!! We kick off April episodes with this *simple* investigation into the Mass Effect Trilogy! We think about both its representations and SF ideas, alongside the main elements of the series as games themselves. It's a lot to talk about, and 3 games in 1 show, but it's still a good and fun time as we think about creating SF stories and videogames, and what, indeed, can be a good story....

Hello everyone!! For this month's extra HBM episode we have an odd one. This time we dove into the  utterly terrible IGN list of Top 100 Games of All Time. It's awful. So we took the opportunity to talk about it! About what games and ideas we enjoy the most in games, the ills of ranking and the dangerous subjective swamp, all while having fun and complaining about this absolutely terrible list. Gr...

Hello everyone! Really excited to share this month's Left Page episode with you all! In this month's Left Page show we are joined by Kayte, from the Crimes of the Future episode, to chat about this curious and fascinating book by Lisa Robertson, "The Baudelaire Fractal"! We talk poetry, literature, dandies, feminism and history in this great episode! Enjoy this strange and great chat with another...

Hello everyone! It is finally time for us to talk about a Paradox game, and Crusader Kings, no less! We dive into the intricacies of Medieval History, its (mis)representations and the difficult effort of creating a historical game, with the added challenge of it being a grand strategy game like this one. All in all, a fun and very intricate episode on how we look at history, how do we create thing...

Hello everyone!! Welcome to a special bonus HBM episode for February! And an excellent collab at that, with Kayte, of the Fangs for the Memories Podcast!! She joins Leon to chat about the latest David Cronenberg film "Crimes of the Future"! It is a deep dive into body horror, climate catastrophe, and even some psychoanalysis in this strange and excellent movie where one can find utopian hope even...

Hello everyone!!! Welcome to the 4 year anniversary episode of The Left Page!!! Can you believe we've been running this for that long?! To celebrate our wonderful show we tackle this great and big book, Babel by R. F. Kuang! A novel of colonialism, violence, imperialism, and even the resistances to it! A very special and fun episode, as we talk about all things Empire once more, diving into a new...

Hello everyone!! Welcome back to Here Be Media!! This month's HBM episode is on the excellent God of War: Ragnarök! So we dive into the things we love about it, the annoyances we have, and our questions on politics, mythology and the omnipresent psychological element in the game! Overall a pretty awesome episode to kick off our games chat this year! Have fun! Please support our Patreon if you're i...

Hello everyone!! Welcome to the first episode of The Left Page for 2023!! To start the year well, we chat about the excellent novel (novella?) by P. Djèlí Clark "The Haunting of Tram Car 015"! A great alternate history story that considers a much more magical Cairo, and world, in the 1910s, allowing for many opportunities of fighting back against colonization and other radical experiences! And, fr...

Hello everyone!! Welcome to another episode of Here Be Media! The first proper one for 2023! In this one we finally dive into quite popular Star Wars show, Andor! Considering questions of "leftist media", the care of investigating culture and what we think about the show itself! It's an excellent start to the year and we hope you like it as well! Have fun! Please support our Patreon if you're inte...

Hello everyone!! Welcome back to the podcasts in 2023! As a fitting start, Frank and Leon do a special year-in-review! Thinking about some of the significant, both good and bad, things of 2022, and considering some of what we look forward to in 2023! We hope you enjoy this bonus content and what is coming this year! Please support our Patreon if you're interested and want access to early content a...

Hello everyone! Welcome to our last episode of 2022!   In this Leon and I talk about the excellent novel by Arkady Martine "A Memory Called Empire"! A story and book that allows us to dive into matters of Imperialism, survival, and especially culture within a devouring and wide-spanning empire as is Teixcalaan.   A wonderful show to top off another magnificent year for the Left Page and Here Be Me...

Hello everyone! For this last month of the year we're having a bonus HBM episode!! (Feel free to thank Leon for the effort of setting this up!) CONTENT WARNINGS: Homophobia, queerphobia, misogyny, drug abuse, conversion therapy It's our first proper movie episode! Of Todd Haynes' 1998 film "Velvet Goldmine", a wonderfully queer movie about 1970s glam rock, queerness, identity, relationships and mu...

Hello everyone! It's another month, which means another HBM! And with a guest! The truly magnificent Labor Kyle, friend, comrade, all around good guy and excellent researcher! We got him! And for this episode we chat about something OTHER than videogames! It's the Netflix anthology tv series "Love, Death, Robots"! Where we manage to dive deep into questions of media, telling stories, ideas of comm...

Hello everyone! For this month's HBM episode we dive into the beautiful GRIS, talking about the many elements that make and connect a videogame! It is a great chat on what can make a great game and the things that sometimes fall short. Definitely an investigation into good media and the challenges involved!  Enjoy!   P.S. Sorry about Frank's audio! They were betrayed yet again with their mic not h...

Hello everyone! For this month's Left Page episode, along with a great special announcement, we have a great dive into a nice and gentle story in Becky Chambers' "A Psalm for the Wild-Built" an excellent book about identity, hope, communication and an ongoing effort to finding and building our places in the world. Enjoy this lovely story and the delight and importance of taking a break. Have fun!...

Hello everyone! This is our second episode of Here Be Media! Paired with the 3rd one as we dive into the Knights of the Old Republic series! Their successes, failures, and the many things that make them interesting and noteworthy today! For this first one, we explore the icon of Revan, the concept of the Monomyth, and why this game, and Bioware generally, are so in line with Star Wars. Have fun! I...

Hello everyone! It's our second part of our Knights of the Old Republic dive, as we simply could not make these episodes any shorter! For the sequel, we talk about how it's very much an Obsidian game, how it is so good because it is so heretical towards its franchise, and of the wondrous potential there is in the vision of the Death of the Force. Enjoy!! Intro Music: Gymnopédie Nº1, Erik Satie, 18...

Happy Halloween everyone! Once again, for our special October episodes, we have summoned the illustrious ghosts, or should I say hosts! Of the Horror Vanguard! Jon and Ash join me to chat about China Miéville's Perdido Street Station! It was a wonderful chat about fascist regimes, aesthetics, the politization of art, resistance and class struggle, socialist journalism and the immense power of Dial...

Hello everyone!! For this special birthday month (and day, as it turns out!) for Frank, we have a two-for-one episode on The Witcher books! They are also joined by their friend and co-host of Here Be Media, Leon! Together we dive into the two short story collections by Andrzej Sapkowski of The Witcher: The Last Wish and  Sword of Destiny . We talk about The Witcher's relationship to fantasy and fo...

Welcome everyone! To the first episode of Here Be Media!! Our newest show on a variety of media, especially videogames! Enjoy our first episode on Supergiant's Hades! As Frank and Leon think about mythology, representation and the multitude of relationships that make this game really stand out on all counts! Enjoy!   Please support our Patreon if you're interested and want access to early content...

Hello everyone! For this month's episode I, shamelessly, dive back into Le Guin's fiction, but not only that, and not alone! I am joined by the excellent Chase from Faith and Capital and Mass Struggle, so we can talk about utopias, utopianism and two different short stories:  The Ones Who Walk Away From Omelas , by Le Guin, and  The Ones Who Stay and Fight , by N. K. Jemisin. From the titles you c...

Hello everyone! In this second episode with a Kyle, albeit a different one (long live the Kylessaince!), this time Kyle Winkler, academic, writer and fellow podcaster joins me to talk about his latest book Boris Says the Words! It is a fascinating chat on how to think and represent illnesses and misery, the potential power and danger of words, and a lot of sadness. Yet, as I always do, we tend to...

Hello everyone! In this episode I am once again joined by Labor Kyle! As we dive into the magnificent world, or solar system, of Kim Stanley Robinson's  2312 ! We talk of Utopia, History, Xenogenders, Liberation and Emancipation! This special almost double-length episode is certainly one you do not want to miss! Enjoy!   Check out and support Kyle's work! Twitter:  https://twitter.com/laborkyle Yo...

Hello veryone! This is a very special Writer's Desk, as it was originally closed, but now I release it to all, along with the companion piece on the Reading Corner It is, after all, a conversation on the question of the Death of the Author, what it is, and how to think is alongside ethics. In it I both present the concept and try to engage with how to engage in contemporary capitalism and any poss...