Michael & Ethan in a Room with Scotch

Michael and Ethan begin their discussion of Beloved, by Toni Morrison, while drinking Jura 12yo single malt.

In this episode:

Immediately the ghosts/vampires thing again, we promise we’re not Vamps and Mers

Michael said “The ghosts have business to do” and Ethan didn’t even chortle—the boys are growing up

The seeds of vampires (but not like that)

Main characfter vs central character—a potentially not very interesting debate (which we have eventually anyway, sort of)

Ghost stories as modern incarnations of classical tragedy

Pulp stories as reckoning with the unexpurgated guilt of the culture that produces them

What Viking history has to do with vengeance, what vengeance has to do with justuce, and what any of this has to do with Beloved (hopefully)

Beloved as whirlpool vs Denver as Odysseus

Michael names with Michael

Why are Americans taught so little about history between the end of the Civil War and the start of WWI?

Next time Michael and Ethan will begin to discuss Beloved, by Toni Morrison! Join the discussion! Go to the Contact page and put "Scotch Talk" in the Subject line. We'd love to hear from you! And submit your homework at the Michael & Ethan in a Room with Scotch page.

Donate to our Patreon!

BUY A NIHILIST BLANKET!

Your Hosts: Michael G. Lilienthal (@mglilienthal) and

Ethan Bartlett (@bjartlett)

MUSIC & SFX:

"Kessy Swings Endless - (ID 349)" by Lobo Loco. Used by permission.

"The Grim Reaper - II Presto" by Aitua. Used under an Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike License.

"Thinking It Over" by Lee Rosevere. Used under an Attribution License.

Michael and Ethan continue their discussion of The Sentence, by Louise Erdrich, while drinking Jura 12yo single malt.

In this episode:

Who is the real fool: the fool or the fool who edits him?

A bespoke toast, or, the most work anyone has ever done to prep for this podcast

Does the adjective “ghost” actually indicate simply the inclusion of a ghost, or does it mean something more?

Is a ghost actually a vampire? Are novels vampires? Is COVID a vampire? Is COVID a ghost? Is a novel a ghost? Is this podcast a ghost? Will Michael slip and say “vampire”? If he does, will Ethan notice?

Parameters of author self-insert technique

Paradoxes of being essential

Unparsability: a definitely real word

Obligatory Hamlet reference (but this one’s pretty good)

Ghosts as political actors

Next time Michael and Ethan will begin to discuss Beloved, by Toni Morrison! Join the discussion! Go to the Contact page and put "Scotch Talk" in the Subject line. We'd love to hear from you! And submit your homework at the Michael & Ethan in a Room with Scotch page.

Donate to our Patreon!

BUY A NIHILIST BLANKET!

Your Hosts: Michael G. Lilienthal (@mglilienthal) and

Ethan Bartlett (@bjartlett)

MUSIC & SFX:

"Kessy Swings Endless - (ID 349)" by Lobo Loco. Used by permission.

"The Grim Reaper - II Presto" by Aitua. Used under an Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike License.

"Thinking It Over" by Lee Rosevere. Used under an Attribution License.

Michael and Ethan begin their discussion of The Sentence, by Louise Erdrich, while drinking Jura 12yo single malt.

In this episode:

This podcast is a haunting

Other covid novels:

Sea of Tranquility

America Fantastica

Sentence Sentencing Sentences

Ethan is unprepared to answer a basic question about the text, but he affirms that there IS an answer

The grace of babies

Please tell us that Ethan is wrong

Michael does a bad thing right at the end

Next time Michael and Ethan will continue to discuss The Sentence, by Louise Erdrich! Join the discussion! Go to the Contact page and put "Scotch Talk" in the Subject line. We'd love to hear from you! And submit your homework at the Michael & Ethan in a Room with Scotch page.

Donate to our Patreon!

BUY A NIHILIST BLANKET!

Your Hosts: Michael G. Lilienthal (@mglilienthal) and

Ethan Bartlett (@bjartlett)

MUSIC & SFX:

"Kessy Swings Endless - (ID 349)" by Lobo Loco. Used by permission.

"The Grim Reaper - II Presto" by Aitua. Used under an Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike License.

"Thinking It Over" by Lee Rosevere. Used under an Attribution License.

Ethan and special guests Risha and Erin of the Vampires and Mermaids podcast, and also Michael, discuss ‘Salem’s Lot, by Stephen King, while drinking Auchentoshan 12.

In this episode:

Sometimes sharp places are filled with dark objects (shoutout to Gillian Flynn)

Also, bamboozlement

At some point the plot is discussed, eventually

A deep and very important dive into ranking the scariness of bugs

This book is existentialist Dracula, including:

Kierkegaard, symbology, and Lutheran vs Catholic theology

ex opera operato

nihil est sacrementum extra usus

Iconoclasm

TULIP: if you know you know

Luther on the Titanic, a fanfiction challenge

…and other things Stephen King was definitely thinking about when he wrote this book.

We all grow up and get old

Vampires and Mermaids is already classier than this show, until anyone drinks one-handed

Revisionist vampire novels, a Bingo Card Special

Ethan does lose a second time, but by the end that loss gets lost, soooo…

Mark: the best boy

Canines!

Michael both loses and, worse, gets his historical analogy backwards

An extra-unlistenable Poe race

Next time Michael and Ethan will discuss The Sentence, by Louise Erdrich! Join the discussion! Go to the Contact page and put "Scotch Talk" in the Subject line. We'd love to hear from you! And submit your homework at the Michael & Ethan in a Room with Scotch page.

Donate to our Patreon!

BUY A NIHILIST BLANKET!

Your Hosts: Michael G. Lilienthal (@mglilienthal) and

Ethan Bartlett (@bjartlett)

MUSIC & SFX:

"Kessy Swings Endless - (ID 349)" by Lobo Loco. Used by permission.

"The Grim Reaper - II Presto" by Aitua. Used under an Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike License.

"Thinking It Over" by Lee Rosevere. Used under an Attribution License.

Ethan and special guests Risha and Erin of the Vampires and Mermaids podcast, and also Michael, discuss ‘Salem’s Lot, by Stephen King, while drinking Auchentoshan 12.

In this episode:

Special guests! Who have a show! That involves vampires and mermaids OR mermaids and vampires!

The introduction of what proves to be possibly the most chaotic rule in the history of the podcast

Followed by THE FASTEST LOSS(ES) IN PODCAST HISTORY

Like, so much of this episode is not about the book OR the scotch, sorry

THIS IS A FAMILY PODCAST

Some stuff about Stephen King’s psychology, which is at least LIKE discussing the book

MOMMY ISSUES

Sisterly traps

The/a comfort creep(s) (but get consent first)

Erin brings the “science nerd” heat, an unusual treat for this normally humanities-pilled podcast

You can intentionally titillate (a perfectly PG-rated word), or you can be punched in the face by a clown walking down the midway

Ethan’s punishment

Next time Ethan and Erin and Risha and also Michael will continue to discuss ‘Salem’s Lot, by Stephen King! Join the discussion! Go to the Contact page and put "Scotch Talk" in the Subject line. We'd love to hear from you! And submit your homework at the Michael & Ethan in a Room with Scotch page.

Donate to our Patreon!

BUY A NIHILIST BLANKET!

Your Hosts: Michael G. Lilienthal (@mglilienthal) and

Ethan Bartlett (@bjartlett)

MUSIC & SFX:

"Kessy Swings Endless - (ID 349)" by Lobo Loco. Used by permission.

"The Grim Reaper - II Presto" by Aitua. Used under an Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike License.

"Thinking It Over" by Lee Rosevere. Used under an Attribution License.

Michael and Ethan conclude their discussion of the first book of the new season, Sayaka Murata’s Convenience Store Woman.

In this episode:

You know how deeply uncomfortable experiences can be deeply uncomfortable?

A human is someone who looks other humans in the eyes

A Krispy Kreme donut dunked in a cup of tea

The Underdark: A Modified Craftalk, by Brandon Taylor

Glib pull-quotes often assert an incredibly debatable interpretation

If we didn’t talk about Shiraha, we would need to

The cave(person) mythological complex

The Beckett play Ethan references is, as Michael suggested, “Endgame”

This book might be a symphony

Next time Michael and Ethan will continue to discuss Convenience Store Woman, by Sayaka Murata! Join the discussion! Go to the Contact page and put "Scotch Talk" in the Subject line. We'd love to hear from you! And submit your homework at the Michael & Ethan in a Room with Scotch page.

Donate to our Patreon!

BUY A NIHILIST BLANKET!

Your Hosts: Michael G. Lilienthal (@mglilienthal) and

Ethan Bartlett (@bjartlett)

MUSIC & SFX:

"Kessy Swings Endless - (ID 349)" by Lobo Loco. Used by permission.

"The Grim Reaper - II Presto" by Aitua. Used under an Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike License.

"Thinking It Over" by Lee Rosevere. Used under an Attribution License.

Michael and Ethan begin their discussion of the first book of the new season, Sayaka Murata’s Convenience Store Woman.

In this episode:

The finest wood

Sherlock Holmes, or, coffee shop brags from Ethan, or, amusement park brags from Michael

A paean to Japanese convenience stores

Irasshaimase!

Ethan invents a new segment: doing background research during the show

What is normal? What is the purpose of humanity? What is an exception to “normal”? This book asks very easy questions.

Almost a loss, but obligatory Shakespeare reference instead

The human body as a cog in the machine that is society, society as a human body

The world needs ditch-diggers and convenience store workers

We’re encouraging Kwik Trip to be better

Next time Michael and Ethan will continue to discuss Convenience Store Woman, by Sayaka Murata! Join the discussion! Go to the Contact page and put "Scotch Talk" in the Subject line. We'd love to hear from you! And submit your homework at the Michael & Ethan in a Room with Scotch page.

Donate to our Patreon!

BUY A NIHILIST BLANKET!

Your Hosts: Michael G. Lilienthal (@mglilienthal) and

Ethan Bartlett (@bjartlett)

MUSIC & SFX:

"Kessy Swings Endless - (ID 349)" by Lobo Loco. Used by permission.

"The Grim Reaper - II Presto" by Aitua. Used under an Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike License.

"Thinking It Over" by Lee Rosevere. Used under an Attribution License.

Michael and Ethan conclude their discussion of this year’s extra-mondo mondo book, Leo Tolstoy’s War and Peace.

In this episode:

Ethan is surprise-attacked about his love of Natasha

The Thackery T. Lambshead Pocket Guide to Eccentric and Discredited Diseases

Conventions of marriage, or, everyone loves Natasha (not just Ethan)

Romanticism! The zeitgeist of the 19th century! Other topics the hosts are somewhat unqualified to discuss!

People are shocked, SHOCKED to find that there is humor in this novel

Mysteries, sacraments, sacraments, and mysteries

The annual mondo book, forever and ever amen

Deep, deep, deep apologies to any speakers of French

Next time Michael and Ethan will discuss Convenience Store Woman, by Sayaka Murata! Join the discussion! Go to the Contact page and put "Scotch Talk" in the Subject line. We'd love to hear from you! And submit your homework at the Michael & Ethan in a Room with Scotch page.

Donate to our Patreon!

BUY A NIHILIST BLANKET!

Your Hosts: Michael G. Lilienthal (@mglilienthal) and

Ethan Bartlett (@bjartlett)

MUSIC & SFX:

"Kessy Swings Endless - (ID 349)" by Lobo Loco. Used by permission.

"The Grim Reaper - II Presto" by Aitua. Used under an Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike License.

"Thinking It Over" by Lee Rosevere. Used under an Attribution License.

Michael and Ethan continue their discussion of this year’s extra-mondo mondo book, Leo Tolstoy’s War and Peace.

In this episode:

Remember a couple notes ago when we apologized for all of our French pronunciation? cf. Ethan’s pronunciation of “Dubonnet”

Some real in-depth stuff about chance, fate, free will, and faith—not super good material for sassy or funny footnotes

The infinite sky (also not funny)

Talk of John Newton (super not funny)

Life is NOT over at 31

One-degree turns

Next time Michael and Ethan will conclude their discussion of Tolstoy’s War and Peace! Join the discussion! Go to the Contact page and put "Scotch Talk" in the Subject line. We'd love to hear from you! And submit your homework at the Michael & Ethan in a Room with Scotch page.

Donate to our Patreon!

BUY A NIHILIST BLANKET!

Your Hosts: Michael G. Lilienthal (@mglilienthal) and

Ethan Bartlett (@bjartlett)

MUSIC & SFX:

"Kessy Swings Endless - (ID 349)" by Lobo Loco. Used by permission.

"The Grim Reaper - II Presto" by Aitua. Used under an Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike License.

"Thinking It Over" by Lee Rosevere. Used under an Attribution License.

Michael and Ethan continue their discussion of this year’s extra-mondo mondo book, Leo Tolstoy’s War and Peace.

In this episode:

Tolstoyan compliments

Things Tolstoy thinks are impossible to know

War and Peace is funny, we promise

Tolstoy’s biography is WILD

ANARCHISM YUSSSS

Natasha, Pierre, and a Bunch of Distracting Side Plots

In Tolstoy, no two horses are the same

Tolstoy does us dirty

We will duel him

Next time Michael and Ethan will continue reading Tolstoy’s War and Peace! Join the discussion! Go to the Contact page and put "Scotch Talk" in the Subject line. We'd love to hear from you! And submit your homework at the Michael & Ethan in a Room with Scotch page.

Donate to our Patreon!

BUY A NIHILIST BLANKET!

Your Hosts: Michael G. Lilienthal (@mglilienthal) and

Ethan Bartlett (@bjartlett)

MUSIC & SFX:

"Kessy Swings Endless - (ID 349)" by Lobo Loco. Used by permission.

"The Grim Reaper - II Presto" by Aitua. Used under an Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike License.

"Thinking It Over" by Lee Rosevere. Used under an Attribution License.