Wheel Takes

In this week's episode, Ali is (spoilers) thoroughly shaken by a revelation , The Wonder Girls go on a cross-country trip, and Else Grinwell is challenged for the title of Queen of Thirst. Material covered in this episode: Chapters 38-40 of THE GREAT HUNT. This episode contains SPOILERS through Chapter 40 of THE GREAT HUNT. Check out our FACEBOOK , INSTAGRAM and TWITTER . Ali's nicknames confusing...

WEEK OF WHEEL TAKES THREE (Part 4 of 4) In today's episode, Ali and Gus cannot get over how adorable Loial is when he's thinking about Erith, Michael Kramer blows Ali's mind with his dialectical prowess, and Rand manages to simultaneously mess up and succeed at some pretty major stuff. Material covered in this episode: Chapters 36 and 37 of THE GREAT HUNT. This episode contains SPOILERS through Ch...

WEEK OF WHEEL TAKES THREE (Part 3 of 4) In today's episode, Ali is disappointed at having been right about someone's retirement plans, Padan Fain makes a lot of incorrect assumptions about other cultures he doesn't know anything about, and Loial desperately tries to avoid getting cooties. Material covered in this episode: Chapters 34 and 35 of THE GREAT HUNT. This episode contains SPOILERS through...

WEEK OF WHEEL TAKES THREE (Part 2 of 4) In today's episode we spend some time with the outrageously thirsty Cairhienin nobility, Rand realizes that he actually knows even less about things than he had thought, and Mat looks pale and sickly. Moreso than usual. Material covered in this episode: Chapters 32 and 33 of THE GREAT HUNT. This episode contains SPOILERS through Chapter 33 of THE GREAT HUNT....

WEEK OF WHEEL TAKES THREE (Part 1 of 4*) In today's episode, Ali and Gus return to Ali's least favorite city, where the gang gets back together and Ali has second thoughts about how terrible a certain character might be. Material covered in this episode: Chapters 30 and 31 of THE GREAT HUNT. This episode contains SPOILERS through Chapter 31 of THE GREAT HUNT. Check out our FACEBOOK , INSTAGRAM and...

In this episode, Ali and Gus meet the Seanchan, get into discussions about accents and dialects, and applaud Bayle Domon for his doo-be-doo-be-doo refrain of IT DO NO BE MY BUSINESS. Material covered in this episode: Chapter 29 of THE GREAT HUNT. This episode contains SPOILERS through Chapter 29 of THE GREAT HUNT. Check out our FACEBOOK , INSTAGRAM and TWITTER . Ali's nicknames confusing you? Chec...

In this episode, Ali and Gus have the misfortune of once again encountering Selene, a whole new culture is introduced (or at least the glimmers of one), and Ali laments the inadequate lengths that explosives manufacturers appear to have gone to to protect against conflagration. HOW TO NOT BE SEEN Material covered in this episode: Chapters 27 and 28 of THE GREAT HUNT. This episode contains SPOILERS...

In this episode, Ali and Gus reconnoiter with yet another old friend, Ali's worst fears about Cairhien are confirmed and bring about some deeply buried eyepatch-related trauma from middle school, and, once again, there's a whole bunch of prophecies and imagery that we get to talk about because THE GREAT HUNT is completely chock-full of lore. Material covered in this episode: Chapters 25 and 26 of...

In this episode Ali and Gus celebrate the Return of a particularly thirsty queen, Ali relishes the fact that some of her theories might be bearing fruit, and we spend some time discussing the nitty gritty details of Andoran inheritance law. Material covered in this episode: Chapter 24 of THE GREAT HUNT. This episode contains SPOILERS through Chapter 24 of THE GREAT HUNT. Check out our FACEBOOK , I...

WEEK OF WHEEL TAKES, DAY 2 (of 5)! In this episode, Ali and Gus join Nynaeve on a journey through some arches, find a hairstyle that might just be worse than the hairstyle they discussed a couple of episodes ago, and Ali breaks down her thoughts on the 3 Oaths. Material covered in this episode: Chapter 23 of THE GREAT HUNT. This episode contains SPOILERS through Chapter 23 of THE GREAT HUNT. Check...

WELCOME TO ANOTHER WEEK OF WHEEL TAKES! We got so much positive feedback about our first Week of Wheel Takes that, once again, we're uploading an episode EVERY WEEKDAY THIS WEEK! In this episode, Gus and Ali look into the finer points of translation of certain specific prophecies that may or may not involve the Dragon Reborn (because Moiraine doing it too), Ali has a brain blast about what might h...

In this episode, Gus and Ali discuss some of the cultural styles that Jordan drew on for Cairhien and the Borderlands, Ali realizes that "Cairhien" is spelled "Cairhien", and we can't quite wrap our minds around how the Cairhienin like their hair. Material covered in this episode: Chapters 20 and 21 of THE GREAT HUNT. This episode contains SPOILERS through Chapter 21 of THE GREAT HUNT. Check out o...

For the fifth and final episode of the WEEK OF WHEEL TAKES, which Ali and Gus recorded very late at night, we go completely off the rails and collapse into giggles during a discussion of a chest and a dagger. Ali expand on her thoughts on Selene, Hurin and Loial get uncomfortable, and Rand does his best. Material covered in this episode: Chapter 19 of THE GREAT HUNT. This episode contains SPOILERS...

In this episode, Gus and Ali analyze the geographical layout of Tar Valon, lean really heavily on our podcast's "explicit" tag, and get into the nitty gritty of different peoples' learning styles. There's also discussion of gender politics and warning signs of an unhealthy relationship, but there's WAY more joking about the geographical layout of Tar Valon and making fun of Rand. Material covered...

In this episode Gus and Ali deal with the return of a particularly fiery adversary, get deep into a discussion of free will versus fate in the multiverse of the Wheel of Time, chat for a while about whether or not the Light is inevitably doomed to failure in the course of its eternal struggle against the shadow, and then throw all of that seriousness out the window to make fun of Rand for how susc...

In this episode Gus and Ali spend some time theorizing about wolfbrothers (and wolfsisters), Ali offers a look into the entertainment that defined her childhood, and Gus continues to draw parallels between Wheel of Time characters and real-life people who you probably do not know. Material covered in this episode: Chapters 13 and 14 of THE GREAT HUNT. This episode contains spoilers through Chapter...

In this episode, Gus and Ali address sibling (and close friend) rivalry, chat about where some of Ali's favorite characters might find themselves in a few books, and try to figure out the timeline of exactly what happens when in THE GREAT HUNT. Also, Nynaeve secures her spot as Ali's favorite character (thus far), and Ali laments how many Aes Sedai have similar names... in book two. Material cover...

In this episode, Gus and Ali get way into extended metaphors about swords (it's pretty much what you'd expect), Ali celebrates the semi-triumphant return of "Patches al'Tarmon", and both of them try to figure out what Robert Jordan was talking about when he came up with the name of that inn. Material covered in this episode: Chapters 9 and 10 of THE GREAT HUNT. This episode contains spoilers throu...

In this episode Gus and Ali discover that explaining to a farm boy that he's Satan-Jesus is a little more complicated than just saying, "hey, you're Satan-Jesus", Gus mis-remembers how Verin spends her spare time in meetings, and Ali bemoans her inability to keep all of these made-up place names straight in her head. Material covered in this episode covers Chapter 8 of THE GREAT HUNT. This episode...

In this episode Gus comes clean on his deceptive Aes Sedai style trickery towards Ali as they discuss the escape of a renowned comedian, Ali falls in love with Verin as she wades knee-deep through filth to discuss the finer points of translation and poetic verse, and many foreshadowings are laid in place that Ali may or may not remember later. Material covered in this episode begins in Chapter 6 o...

In this episode Ali and Gus ponder the confirmed existence of the Black Ajah, compare the White Tower to a popular ABC reality television show, and Ali makes some guesses as to who might be the mysterious figure who appears at the end of Chapter 5. Material covered in this episode begins in Chapter 4 of THE GREAT HUNT and ends in Chapter 5. This episode contains spoilers through Chapter 5 of THE G...

In this episode Gus and Ali reveal how little they know about Greek life as they discuss a Darkfriend Social, and the target of Ali's ire begins to shift in an unexpected direction as Egwene begins disobeying Ali's favorite character. Material covered in this episode begins at the Prologue of THE GREAT HUNT and ends at the end of Chapter 3. This episode contains spoilers through Chapter 3 of THE G...

In this episode, Gus and Ali follow the gang past black wind, Ultimate Crab Man Padan Fain, and the mysterious "stick" to encounter a tree-man and some old creepy perverts in the middle of the blight. Oh, and they also finish The Eye of the World. Material covered in this episode starts around Chapter 35 of THE EYE OF THE WORLD and continues through the end of the book. This episode contains spoil...

In this episode, Ali and Gus cover the gang's adventures (and misadventures) in Caemlyn, meeting new characters, re-encountering old ones, and perhaps hinting at ones to come, and Ali is incensed to discover that Moiraine's attitude towards the boys' poor behavior does not mirror her own. Material covered in this episode starts around Chapter 34 of THE EYE OF THE WORLD and ends around Chapter 44....

In this episode, Gus and Ali continue through THE EYE OF THE WORLD and discuss why you should never split the party, following Rand and Mat, Perrin and Egwene, and Nynaeve, Moiraine, and Lan on their separate journeys to Caemlyn. Material covered in this episode starts around Chapter 19 of THE EYE OF THE WORLD and ends around Chapter 38. This episode contains spoilers for the entirety of THE EYE O...