Pynchon Pals
by Pynchon Pals
Latest episode
30: In which we take chemistry lessons from the manosphere and…
30: In which we take chemistry lessons from the manosphere and…
About this podcast
Pynchon Pals is a podcast about finally reading Thomas Pynchon.
Join co-hosts and good friends Patrick Fiorilli, Andrew Tillett, and Duri Long as they talk through, break down, and identify exciting new recipes from the works of one of American literature's foremost figures.
Just saw One Battle After Another ? Picked up Shadow Ticket ? Had Gravity's Rainbow on your shelf for a decade? Or just a longtime fan looking to revisit your favorites? Everyone's welcome to be a Pynchon Pal!
Support us at patreon.com/pynchonpals ( http://patreon.com/pynchonpals ) for additional bonus episodes, and follow us @pynchonpals.bsky.social ( https://bsky.app/profile/pynchonpals.bsky.social ).
Episodes
The newest 20 of 30 episodes
- 30: In which we take chemistry lessons from the manosphere and Missouri is mentioned (Gravity’s Rainbow Episodes 3.29-3.30) · 2 h 25 min · Episode 30Listener, there’s a lot of talk at the top of this episode about how we’re “leaving the Zone” and “finishing Book 3” and so on. Well, that dog just wasn’t gonna hunt. Instead…
- 29: In which not all those who wander are lost, but Tyrone Slothrop sure is (Gravity’s Rainbow Episodes 3.25-3.28) · 2 h 44 min · Episode 29It’s aaaaall coming together, folks. That’s right: the manicules are back and even more thematically relevant than ever! Elsewhere, Thomas Pynchon finally figures out what his…
- 28: In which, thanks to several tangents, the pod’s “temporal bandwidth” goes wild (Gravity’s Rainbow Episodes 3.21-3.24) · 2 h 57 min · Episode 28Topics include: Gravity’s Rainbow’s Hot or Not, hypertext, philosophy of technology, our expanding universe, old fashioned candy stores, and moles (the coastal structure, not the…
- 27: In which we drive like a demon from station to station… to station to station (Gravity’s Rainbow Episodes 3.19-3.20) · 2 h 35 min · Episode 27In this Action-Packed One-Year Anniversary Episode (!), Tyrone Slothrop takes us from Pirates of the Caribbean to Metal Gear Solid. Next time, Gravity’s Rainbow Episodes 3.21…
- 26: In which the Pynchon Pals all kinda help each other reach several retrospectively obvious conclusions (Gravity’s Rainbow Episodes 3.15-3.18) · 2 h 20 min · Episode 26No sooner did we encounter the Anubis than, as the old sea shanty goes, “it’s time for us to leave her!” And thank heavens for that. But watch out, Slothrop—it’s werewolf season…
- 25: In which the Pynchon Pals disagree about what Thomas Pynchon’s best pun is from this week’s reading (Gravity’s Rainbow Episodes 3.12-3.14) · 3 h 1 min · Episode 25Rocketman: I have to go now. My planet needs me. (Note: Rocketman died on the way back to his home planet.) Meanwhile, the book returns, unfortunately for us and for everyone…
- 24: In which, of all the fantastical buses out there, magic-school or cat-shaped, we had to end up on THIS one (Gravity’s Rainbow Episode 3.11) · 2 h 59 min · Episode 24Have we arrived at Thomas Pynchon’s single best piece of writing so far? We three may very well think so. Get the ladder—because this one’s going up in the rafters next to…
- 23: In which meet die ganze kaputte Bande und/y la dotación enferma (Gravity’s Rainbow Episodes 3.6-3.10) · 2 h 47 min · Episode 23Well gang, we made it to our very own brennschluss point. Or at least we think we did? Join us for the thrilling first issue of ROCKETMAN and reencounter some old friends and…
- 22: In which one sequence, at least, is pretty straightforward (Gravity’s Rainbow Episodes 3.3-3.5) · 3 h 8 min · Episode 22A round of applause for the staff at Thomas Pynchon’s local library in the early 1970s. Working overtime getting that man his Herero cosmologies and Soviet orthographical…
- 21: In which the Pynchon Pals write a limerick (Gravity’s Rainbow Episodes 3.1-3.2) · 2 h 25 min · Episode 21History, math, physics, literature, architecture. This book’s a whole course of study! Do we get a little confused here about the difference between “parabolic” and “catenary”…
- 20: In which Patrick uncovers the Pynchon-Star Wars connection (Gravity’s Rainbow Episodes 2.6-2.8) · 2 h 36 min · Episode 20Is Slothrop a ghost? Is gravity time travel? Is Joe Biden a fan of the show? What’s in The Zone? These questions and more will not be answered… yet. Next time, Gravity’s Rainbow…
- 19: In which this book is sort of like The History Channel meets The Great Mouse Detective meets Severance meets Riverdale meets Dumb and Dumber (Gravity’s Rainbow Episodes 2.3-2.5) · 3 h 5 min · Episode 19Debauchery. Grotesquerie. Eschatology. Showtunes. That’s Thomas Pynchon, for ya! Next time, Gravity’s Rainbow Episodes 2.6, 2.7, and 2.8, or pp. 247-282 in the U.S. Penguin…
- 18: In which Patrick finally finds an excuse to do his Jimmy Stewart impression (Gravity’s Rainbow Episodes 2.1-2.2) · 2 h 22 min · Episode 18Ah, now this is what we’ve been missing! The sun, the sea, the songs! This episode’s all escapades along the esplanade. At least until the paranoia sets in. Next time, Gravity’s…
- 17: In which we tour Mr. Pynchon’s Mysterious Society for Peculiarly Gifted Bureaucrats (Gravity’s Rainbow Episodes 1.17-1.21) · 3 h 11 min · Episode 17Do we dare go beyond “Beyond the Zero”? Well, first we’ve got to meet a bunch of characters who will surely—surely—be important later. Then, this book heard you liked the occult…
- 16: In which Crest the savior is born (Gravity’s Rainbow Episodes 1.14-1.16) · 2 h 46 min · Episode 16GR just keeps getting V.-ier and V.-ier. Luckily, there’s a funny scene about candy waiting for us on the other end. And hey, it’s our favorite couple Jessica and Roger! Oh dear…
- 15: In which a real live rocket launches (Gravity’s Rainbow Episodes 1.8-1.13) · 2 h 53 min · Episode 15Discussions of Pavlov bookend interdepartmental conspiracy and pseudo-domesticity. Meanwhile Slothrop, like Benny Profane and Herbert Stencil before him, ventures into the sewer…
- 14: In which the Pynchon Pals, in their arrogance, thought they could talk through more of the book in three hours (Gravity’s Rainbow Episodes 1.1-1.7) · 3 h 10 min · Episode 14Well, we’ve arrived at The Big One. Or, The First Big One, anyways. Join us -- again or for the first time -- as we puzzle out plots, diagram arcane organizational structures…
- 13: In which we wonder, what if this book was, like, six times as long? (The Crying of Lot 49 Ch. 6) · 2 h 47 min · Episode 13Angels, dark and light, descend on Southern California, and we bid adieu to Arnold Snarb, I mean, Edna Mosh. Next time, Gravity’s Rainbow sections 1.1 through 1.9, or pp. 1-60 in…
- 12: “In which the Pynchon Pals retell Platonic dialogues and Porky Pig cartoons” (The Crying of Lot 49 Chs. 4-5) · 2 h 49 min · Episode 12The devil is in the details in this episode—or should we say, the demon? We follow Oedipa up north and into the entropic underground. Groovy… Next time, The Crying of Lot 49 Ch…
- 11. In which the Pynchon Pals, unseen, do a little dance (The Crying of Lot 49 Chs. 1-3) · 2 h 46 minMove over Benny, Rachel, Stencil, and Paola, it’s time for a new book! Journeying into the swingin’ 60s, we talk on the phone, watch television, and even go to the theatre. Hey…
