DEATH // SENTENCE

Eden and Langdon return to disparage Francis Fukuyama (and mispronounce his name, sorry) before moving to lauding Italo Calvino's tongue-in-cheek, sharply constructed The Nonexistent Knight. They explore questions of historical reception, "herohood", identity, and (post)modernism.

Music played:

Papangu - Colosso https://papangu.bandcamp.com/track/colosso

Kayte Terry from Tender Subject podcast joins Langdon to talk about The Singularity, the first serious piece of Italian science fiction and a story of getting yourself all messed up about AI, the cold war and weird Zones.

The song is "Endogenous Polypharmaceutical Communion Rite of the Oracular Virgin Priestess" by Effluence and it's 35 minutes long.

The Chaos Configuration emerges to discuss Missouri Williams' beguiling, frustrating, oppressive, and gorgeous The Vivisectors. A tale of the end of history, the collapse of meaning, how weird gardens are, and a messed up city.

Music played:

Oh Hiroshima - Broken Sunlight https://ohhiroshima.bandcamp.com/track/broken-sunlight

The long and storied career of Anathema is not just a template of the trajectory of a certain type of metal band but also a massive influence on the lives, minds, and hearts of Langdon and Eden. In this episode, we dive into the ways in which Anathema has changed over time, the power of their music, and the personal impact it has had on us.

Music played:

Anathema - One Last Goodbye https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5znnV1XLLEM

Anathema - Lightning Song https://anathema.bandcamp.com/track/lightning-song

The door to the Wizard's Tower opens and reveals... An interview with author LJ Pemberton! Witness the process by which she wrote the Dublin Literary Award longlisted Still Alive! Thrill to music by Darkthrone!

Joe Kasabian, who you might know from his memoir The Hooligans of Kandahar, his sci-fi novels and the military history podcast Lions Led by Donkeys joins us to talk about his new book The Highlands Burn, and the responsibility writers have for getting conflict right.

Music by Panopticon

Is Elon Musk just a guy who can't post, or is he the avatar of Muskism - a new philosophy for our postliberal age? Quinn Slobodian and Ben Tarnoff's book Muskism: A Guide For the Perplexed argues the latter, taking us through techno-fascist South Africa to Silicon Valley - and along the way we find out that two of the most insightful critics of technology and neoliberalism know a *lot* about anime.

Music by Neurosis: https://neurosis.bandcamp.com/album/an-undying-love-for-a-burning-world

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Langdon and Eden dive into the collapse, tackling Event Factory, the first book from Renee Gladman's Ravicka novels. Meaning disappears, rituals empty of signal, and the malaise of our urban existence is revealed. But also, potentials are exposed, connections are made, and understanding hinted at.

Music played:

Ordh - Apis Bull https://ordh.bandcamp.com/track/apis-bull

Sports betting, crypto, predictions markets, Buy Now Pay Later, getting a credit card to pay off your credit card - what if we said that isn't even the tip of the iceberg when it comes to nihilism and finance? Amin Samman joins us to talk about his book Currency of Nihilism, punk rock, the abyss of meaning that is money and why French poststructuralists are Like That.

Music by Warning: https://warningdoom.bandcamp.com/album/rituals-of-shame

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This time around, we go back to the early 20th century to discuss a foundational work of British Weird - The Human Chord by Algernon Blackwood! We survey the cultural trends of the 19th and 20th century literary and occult scenes in general, the gripping power of this tight and precise novel, and the feeling of dread and awe so often invoked by the weird.

Music played:

Cryptic Shift - Hyperspace Topography https://cryptic-shift.bandcamp.com/track/hyperspace-topography-2