Poirot Pod

A great book (which Amanda hated) featuring both Poirot and Colonel Race, and Agatha Christie taking (apparently obvious) shots at romance author Elinor Glyn. Portia shouts "boobs!" while Amanda faces her feeling for butch Maggie Smith in the 1978 film adaptation. Many questions come up including: if you are Bernie Madoffing--does that make you boulder-pushy?

This episode was recorded half in-person, and the book HAS A DOG which seems to be the main reason Amanda loves it, while Portia is forced to identify with the victim before the murder, so that loses the book points on the Portia Scale. Agatha Christie falls on the right side of colorism (for a change!) but uses marginalization of women to manipulate us (it worked). Bobby gets a sandwich while watching home improvement shows, and Portia recommends two new books: The Thursday Murder Club and A Study in Scarlet Women. Also, farewell to Hastings?!?!

This book is murder in a bottle, featuring a Scooby-Doo gang of all our fav detectives solving the murder of a mephistophelian poseur during a bridge game. It registered only a 6 on The Portia Scale, but Amanda thinks it's peak Poirot and thinks would be a great first book to introduce a new reader to Agatha Christie. The episode is super rambling with "Bobby got a sandwich" tangents including: mercury retrograde, boobs, challenging conversations about language in the context of African American Vernacular English, appropriation, code switching, racism, and white supremacy. We occasionally remember to discuss the plot, which brilliantly features the character of Mrs. Oliver as a stand in for Christie herself, as a vehicle for both self-depreciating humor and jabs at the audience.

Hercule & Arthur go to WhiteCastle to catch a (faux) serial killer. Hastings and Poirot both shine in this ingenious plot which is not, in fact, poo poo pants. Also Portia Scale catch up and a Rupert Grint tangent.

The Mystery of the Missing Episode! We recorded this back in the summer, but somehow missed it in publishing. The book is bringing big Chimneys-sequel energy with hilarious writing, questionable plot elements, and a realistic love story.

Special In-Person episode #thankyouvaccines !!! This book is another murder in a bottle (you gotta rub me the right way) for which Oedipus is *not* a good analogy. Could you reunite with an ex without knowing it? Poirot is a mentor and not an a**hole again (yay), but the villain has been catch-me-if-you-can-ing for a *real* long con and we don't buy the twist/solution. Then, we, like, introduce, like, Elocution Pod!

This book is a Poirot-y Poirot mystery that casts him as a more likable mentor, but leaves Portia and Amanda at odds on who conspired in the murder. Our discussion features searching for the terms "Québécois"  and "bottle episode," as well as a discussion of penis bees. This episode's "Bobby got a sandwich" is "Lady Horbury does some more coke."

This episode's conversation got us to come up with the... *Parker Pyne Fan Fiction Contest! Email your modern Parker Pyne story to [email protected]! What are the modern reasons for discontentment, and how would you fix them in a PP way?* This second half of the book is Parker Pyne ROAD RULES, where Ms. Christie seems to have lost interest in the agency, so PP goes on the road and does Poirot and Satterthwaite impressions, complete with racism. Featuring just your typical Agatha Christie convo: e.g. "may I direct your attention to my genitals?," "The Mystery of the Boob Static," and murderers wearing I Heart Strychnine T-shirts.

Parker Pyne pod! Covering the 1st half of Parker Pyne Investigates. Topics include: different racism edits in different versions, including Asian fetishism, is sneezing the covidtimes farting? getting one's groove back: can you get healthy on your own, or do you have to engage in life to move forward? We discuss PP's approach to manipulation instead of therapy to address "unhappiness," consent, cat fortnite, the monotony of responsibility that the pandemic has taught us, and how PP is a precursor to media including Fantasy Island and The Game (featuring Michael Douglas and/or Keaton).

The redemption of Hercule! Agatha and Amanda are both back on Team Poirot in this masterful, dark-*ss book which is a reverse Rodger Aykroyd, and future-reverse And Then There Were None featuring Italian stereotypes. The "Bobby got a sandwich" nonsense tangents in this episode features spoilers for Knives Out, discussion of antepenultimate syllables and other (mis)pronouncing, the sexiness of various languages (with wildly offensive impressions and generalizations), Raymond Burr/Perry Mason. And we catch up on the Portia Scale.