Three Percent Podcast

Emma Ramadan—translator of Despentes's  Pretty Things  and Anne Garreta (among many others), and recent winner of the PEN Translation Prize—joins Brian and Chad to talk about how cool Despentes is, and how much slang she uses in her work. They also discuss the conflict that will drive the plot (Laurent Dopalet vs. Bleach's tapes), inventing fake identities on the Internet (hi, Doug Feldick!), and,...

The fifteenth iteration of the Two Month Review kicks off in a big way, giving a quick overview of Virginie Despentes's life and work for Brian, and then launching into the wonderful world Despentes constructs filled with characters who are past their prime, who are flawed and don't hide their warts. The subtle ways in which Despentes criticizes society, the separation between horrible thoughts an...

The final episode of the season! First off, Chad and Brian wrap things up, and preview season 15 (Virginie Despentes's  Vernon Subutex trilogy, coming in April!), then Nick Sullivan talks to Chad about recording the audiobook, how he got into that business in the first place, the challenges of recording a book like this, and much much more. This week's music is " In America " by Ezra Furman. If yo...

Kaija Straumanis joins Chad and Brian this week to talk about toxic masculinity, the genius of the  J R  audiobook, Bach, "up yours, up mine," connections to Pynchon, shit & money & the American Dream, and the implosion of J R's paper empire. This week's music is " Deadlines (Hostile) " by Car Seat Headrest. If you'd prefer to watch the conversation, you can find it on YouTube along with all our p...

This week, Sam Rutter and Nick During join Chad for a long, sprawling discussion of  J R,  of the interesting quote Joy Williams attributes to Gaddis instead of Gibbs, of Gibbs's knowledge of financial doings, of how great Rhoda is as a character, and so so much more. This is the longest episode to date, but also one of the most fun. This week's music is " Don't Get Hit By a Car " by Cheekface. If...

Chad and Brian talk about church parking lots, relationship entropy, millionaires, corporate logos ("Just Rite"), the uneasy alliance of art and commerce, and much more on this week's episode. This week's music is " Highlights of 100 " by Kiwi Jr. If you'd prefer to watch the conversation, you can find it on YouTube along with all our past episodes . You can watch the next episode on Wednesday, Fe...

Dan O'Brien ( The House in Scarsdale , A Story that Happens ) joins the podcast this week to talk about  J R  from a playwriting perspective. Lots of interesting insights in this episode, about theater, about the relationship between art and commerce in the book, and about GameStop. This week's music is " Our Life Is Not a Movie or Maybe " by Okkervil River. If you'd prefer to watch the conversati...

Chad and Brian go it alone this week, and prove that even the most claustrophobic sections (trigger warning for anyone who grew up with hoarders) of J R  are also riotously funny. They also don't understand money or business, but no one else in the book seems to either . . . There's also a lot of talk about Gibbs's footwear issues. This week's music is " Laugh Track " by Ben Hopkins, one of the gr...

Rodrigo Fresan ( The Dreamed Part ) joins Chad and Brian to talk about one of his favorite authors and books. There's good banter, some insight into  J R , tell a (false) story about  Fire the Bastards! , and generally try and entertain you.  If you'd prefer to watch the conversation, you can find it on YouTube along with all our past episodes . You can watch the next episode on Wednesday, January...

The year-long Best Translated Book Award retrospective kicks off with this episode featuring the very first winner of the BTBA:  Guantanamo  by Dorothea Dieckmann, translated from the German by Tim Mohr and published by Soft Skull. There are three discussions on this episode: Chad W. Post and Patrick Smith talk about the formation of the BTBA and how the first year worked, then Patrick and Tim Moh...

Ryan Chapman ( Riots I Have Known ) joins Chad and Brian to crap on Jonathan Franzen's "famous" "essay" about Gaddis, " Mr. Difficult ." They also talk about the casual sexism present in so many of the male characters, the parallels and reversals connecting various scenes, just how funny and readable this book is, and the relationships between kids and adults in  J R.  If you'd prefer to watch the...

Vince Francone made his TMR debut on this episode about one of the funniest sections of  J R  to date. They talk about the dirty photos, how the book isn't as challenging as its reputation indicates, the maybe incest scene, shitting in a piano, and much more. If you'd prefer to watch the conversation, you can find it on YouTube along with all our past episodes . You can watch the next episode on W...

First time Gaddis reader Elizabeth DeMeo from Tin House joins Chad and Brian to talk about J R's field trip to the New York Stock Exchange where his class buys a share of Diamond Cable stock. In addition to recapping this somewhat chaotic segment—just imagine twelve sixth graders loose in NYC—they talk about Gaddis's style, what he had to say about the process of writing a book, the Rick Moody int...

The first new Three Percent Podcast since May! This is an episode all about sound and curation—in books, in music. It's unlike all the previous episodes, featuring three readings and two interviews.  Here are all the songs featured on this episode: Without Me Americana The Pull of You Impossible Weight Living in America If you don’t already subscribe to the Three Percent Podcast you can find us on...

Chad, Mauro Javier Cardenas ( Aphasia ), and NYRB publisher Edwin Frank kick off season 14 by talking about entropy, Gaddis's humor, how best to approach reading this book (fast and out of control), the little plot hints that are left to figure out, the lack of interiority in J R  and how he develops characters and voice, and much more. It's a great time, a good introduction for anyone approaching...

This is a bonus episode in which Chad and Brian talk about three different essays on  Ada , two boring ones by academic males, and an incredible chapter from Azar Nafisi's That Other World.  There is good banter, a lot of jokes, and a true appreciation for this novel. Plus, Chad throws down a very unpopular hot take at the end while teeing up next season's book. If you'd prefer to watch the conver...

After a bit of business banter about publishing mergers and the future of books, Chad and Brian break down the final two parts of  Ada, or Ardor , debating the purpose of the book as a whole, whether the ending "works," the unreliable unreliableness of Van Veen, and much more. On next week's episode, they'll talk about three essays on  Ada : " Nabokov's  Ada  and the Texture of Time " by Dwight A....

As Chad and Brian finish part III of  Ada, or Ardor , they talk about Ada and Van's reunion, the passage of time within this book, moustaches, who knows what about whom, and much more. This week's music is "Endless Night" by Holy Motors. If you'd prefer to watch the conversation, you can find it on YouTube along with all our past episodes . You can watch episode 11 live on Friday, November 27th at...

Following a long discussion about what actually happens on this podcast (spoiler: definitely not critical analysis), Chad and Brian dive into Part III of  Ada, or Ardor , asking what the point of whole book is, what type of fragmented postmodernism Nabokov is playing with, the passage of time and action in this novel, and the varied responses to Ada's cinematic appearance. There's also a couple de...

In a rather subdued (re: election night hangover) episode, Chad and Brian discuss the relationship between cinema and writing, photos and memory, and what seems to be Nabokov's relationship to movies as art. They also talk about the screwball comedy nature of Van and Ada being found out, discuss the way in which part II differs from part I, learn a bit about Ada's engagement, and head into part II...

From the International House of Prostitutes to the reunion of Ada and Van, this week's episode is quite a trip. Chad and Brian talk about dreams, John Garner, Martin Amis on "obscure" and "difficult" novels, how to  actually  pronounce Van, and much more. This week's music is "Money" by Widowspeak. If you'd prefer to watch the conversation, you can find it on YouTube along with all our past episod...

Chad and Brian wrap up Part One of  Ada, or Ardor —which features a duel, multiple deaths, an existential diatribe, and canes—and move onto Part Two, which is very Pynchon-esque. They get to dive into Van's "philosophical novel," ideas of time, questions about Terra, and much more. This episode is as fun and wild as the book itself! This week's music is " Riding Solo " from the Spanish indie rock...

A family dinner, a picnic in the woods—what could be more innocent? Well, in  Ada, or Ardor , everything is tinged with a baseline feeling of "kind of creepy," especially the "passionate pump-joy exertions." Chad and Brian break it all down, talking about Demon, unraveling Nabokovian puns, finding subtle hints about Van's true parentage, and, at the end, unveiling Season 14's book. This week's mus...

Things shift in  Ada, or Ardor  this week, with Van's second trip to Ardis being much darker, much more perverse and troubling than the first, "more innocent" summer with Ada. There's also another couple hints about Terra, and the possiblity of Ada having another lover . . . And, as is par for the course, some amazing writing from Nabokov. This week's music is "Reset" by Rich Aucoin, another prote...

Rodrigo Fresán ( The Invented Part , The Dreamed Part , Bottom of the Sky ) joins Chad and Brian to talk about the only Nabokov book he hasn't read. In addition to talking about all the reasons to love Nabokov, about how this book is the one where he actually seems to be measuring himself against the all time greats, they talk about strange science-fiction books, publishers as characters (and supe...