Left Shelf

“It's also not fair at all that stupidity has gotten you this far. That's another creature you've killed simply by having no brains, which makes anyone with brains feel as if it isn't worth the headache of having them.”

This type of quick, witty humor is what characterizes the treat of a read that is “Princess Floralinda and the Forty-Flight Tower” by Tamsyn Muir. It’s got all the ingredients of a modern day fairy tale: a badass princess, a stuck-up fairy, and an entrepreneurial witch. But in the end, there is a monstrous twist. In this episode, we talk about this delightful novel and how it examines gender and sexuality. 

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Read Princess Floralinda and the Forty-Flight Tower (free): here  

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In a (not-so-distant) future world where the experience of pain is outsourced to the third world, a man tries as he might to find intimacy. That is the premise of the short story, “Standard Loneliness Package” by Charles Yu, under today’s discussion. In this episode, we talk about emotional labor, the corruption of intimacy and the quiet piecewise loss of one’s life. 

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Read Standard Loneliness Package (free): here 

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A train is whizzing across the plains of New England, carrying with it two young boys full of hopes and dreams – one with a green alpine hat carelessly tossed over his head, large suitcases clumsily blocking the train car doors, while the other haughtily looks upon the scene. They are heading to a private boarding school named Choate where their loyalties and allegiances will be tested. In this episode, we are talking about “Smokers” by Tobias Wolff and debunking the myths of upward mobility.

Read Smokers (free): here  

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What’s up with Facebook changing their name to “Meta”? What is the “Metaverse” and where did it originate? In this episode, we tackle Neal Stephenson’s book “Snow Crash”, which first conceived of the Metaverse. Join us as we discuss late-stage capitalism and its next technological frontier that aims to transform our lives as ones lived and experienced exclusively through the internet.

Read Snow Crash (free): here  

Featuring Mike from Turn Leftist Podcast:

1. Turn Leftist Patreon
2. Turn Leftist Linktree (with links to shirts & discord)
3. Turn Leftist Twitter: @turnleftistpod
4. Turn Leftist Instagram: @turnleftist or @turnleftist1312
5. Turn Leftist Facebook

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James Tiptree Jr. (spoiler alert!) is actually the pseudonym for Alice Sheldon, who in her cyberpunk short stories like “The Girl Who Was Plugged In”, addresses gender issues head on. The short story is snarky, crazy, fast-paced, and explicit in its criticism of rigid gender roles and clearly outlines the inevitable tragedies that result from it. In this episode, we talk about what it means to be a woman as a political entity, how beauty and ugliness are defined, and how technology mediates these processes.

Read The Girl Who Was Plugged In (free): here  

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“Tlön, Uqbar and Orbis Tertius” is an almost prophetic short story by Jorge Luis Borges about reality and the experiment of thought. In this episode, we sit down with our valued guest Thomas to discuss this complex labyrinth of a story. In our conversation, we dive into the strange world of Uqbar and the even stranger world of Tlön. 

Read Tlön, Uqbar and Orbis Tertius (free): here  

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Roots: the connections we have with the natural environment around us; Trunk: the connections we have with each other; Crown: the connections we have with the mystical; Seeds: the hope that propagates life forward. “The Overstory” is a book that, through the structure of trees, expands the size of a singular human life and re-contextualizes the scales of time and geography. In this episode, we sit down with a guest, Navel Orange, to discuss this impassioned and moving work by Richard Powers. In our conversation, we talk about the history of environmental movements, our relationship to nature, trauma and more. 

Read The Overstory (free): here  

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“Letters to Martin” is a book that, through the flow of twelve meditations on historical as well as present events, leads to an understanding of contemporary political struggles. Written as letters to Martin Luther King Jr., this book addresses many of the issues faced by millions of people across the country today — economic inequality, freedom of assembly, police brutality, ongoing social class conflicts, and geopolitics. In this episode, we sit down to talk with the author of the book, Dr. Randal Maurice Jelks, who is a professor, a documentary producer, and an award-winning author. In our conversation, we cover the tender ways in which Dr. Jelks thinks about democracy and human dignity, and the warmth with which he tries to imbue hope. 

You can find Letter to Martin: Meditations on Democracy in Black America on:

1. Chicago Review Press
2. IndieBound
3. Amazon
4. Barnes & Noble

Find Dr. Randal Mauric Jelks on:

1. Official Website: www.RandalMauriceJelks.com
2. Facebook: /randal.jelks
3. Instagram: @drjelks
4. Twitter: @drjelks
5. Hashtags: #BlackTwitter #SocialJusticeTwitter

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The Salaryman by Krys Lee is a painfully real rendition of what happened as the South Korean economy collapsed in the mid-1990s. The International Monetary Fund (IMF)’s strict bailout policy forced large lay-offs and what were once guaranteed jobs for people quickly disappeared. In this episode, we touch on Korea’s history and how it shaped the setting described in this piece. We also touch on alcohol consumption as an aspect of culture, disillusionment and the act of being a human being.

Read The Salaryman (free): here

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This holiday season, when your next door neighbor approaches you and once again complains about all the looting that's taking place, what should you say? Listen to find out!

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