The Left Page

Itinerary: 00:00:00 - 00:27:54 Intro+Games we're playing 00:27:54 - 1:58:16 BioWhere? And the Evils of "Worldbuilding" 01:58:16 - END The Left Page Book Club™

For the Book Club we read chapters 14-26 of Gene Wolfe's Shadow of the Torturer. Next time we're going all the way to the end!

An episode on our favourite part of 40K...

30K!

Enough for a very special Halloween episode, with our dear friends of the Horror Vanguard, going into what the Horus Heresy is, does, and... how we can find plenty worth talking about! How does this popular media work? What are some useful explorations of it? And, of course, how fascism is a horrific force, no matter where and when.

Enjoy!

Check out Leon and Jon's participation in Acid Horizon: Grimdark Dialectics: Hegel and the Philosophy of Warhammer 40K

Article mentioned by Jon: Warhammer 40K is Cool

And, of course, check out the Horror Vanguard

If you can and are interested in early episodes and our bonus content, soon to be plenty more, check out our Patreon! https://www.patreon.com/leftpage

Also! If you're not there already, feel free to join our Discord! https://discord.gg/J2wgG3yrPN

Outro Music: Don't Leave! · El-Funoun Palestinian Popular Dance Troupe. From the Album: Zareef ℗ 2006 El-Funoun Episode cover art by Neil Roberts, for the Horus Heresy: The Siege of Terra. The End and the Death, Volume I, by Dan Abnett

Itinerary: 00:00:00 - 00:35:42 Intro+Games we're playing 00:35:42 - 1:21:31 Cyberpunk, Solarpunk, -punk 01:21:31 - END The Left Page Book Club™

For the Book Club we read chapters 1-13 of Gene Wolfe's Shadow of the Torturer. Next time we'll pick back up with chapters 14-26, join us then!

We talk about some of our experiences and familiarity with football, while understanding not only its role in culture, but how it can become a positive source of connection. Even under capitalism and vile organizations like fifa, the sport and the practices surrounding it can indeed be meaningful!

Furthermore, how can we think about the national themes, and the political symbols they sometimes offer not only to their own countries, but to others!

Enjoy!

The articles Leon mentioned! https://www.theguardian.com/football/2026/jun/25/bangladesh-brazil-argentina-world-cup-fans https://www.daily-sun.com/feature/880136/a-piece-of-brazil-in-bangladesh-football-fan-paints-home-in-yellow-and-green

If you can and are interested in early episodes and our bonus content, soon to be plenty more, check out our Patreon! https://www.patreon.com/leftpage

Also! If you're not there already, feel free to join our Discord! https://discord.gg/J2wgG3yrPN

Outro Music: Don't Leave! · El-Funoun Palestinian Popular Dance Troupe. From the Album: Zareef ℗ 2006 El-Funoun Episode cover art based on Jules David's 1887 French cover for Don Quijote

Itinerary: 00:00:00 - 00:46:34 Intro+Anti-AI+Questionaire 00:46:34 - 01:29:00 Anti-Utopianism 01:29:00 - END The Left Page Book Club™

Join us next Lets Prattle where we will continue the book club with the Shadow of the Torturer by Gene Wolfe, where we will discuss chapter 1 to 13!

Frank's sources:

BLAIM, Artur. Anti-utopia. In: MARKS, Peter; WAGNER-LAWLOR, Jennifer A.; VIEIRA, Fátima (ed.) The Palgrave Handbook of Utopian and Dystopian Literatures. London: Palgrave Macmillan, 2022. p. 39-51.

CURTIS, Claire P. Ambiguous Choices: Skepticism as a Grounding for Utopia. In: DAVIS, Laurence; STILLMAN, Peter (Ed.) The New Utopian Politics of Ursula K. Le Guin's The Dispossessed. New York: Lexington Books, 2005. p. 265-282.

DAVIS, Laurence. Isaiah Berlin, William Morris, and the Politics of Utopia. Critical Review of International Social and Political Philosophy, v. 3, n. 2-3, p. 56-86, 2000.

JAMESON, Fredric. The Antinomies of Postmodernity. The Seeds of Time. New York: Columbia University Press, 1994. p. 1-73.

We talk about The Zone in fiction.

Inspired by our Patreon Series on Pacific Drive we expand our understanding of Zones by also bringing in:

• The novel Roadside Picnic by the Strugatsky brothers

• The film Stalker by Andrei Tarkovsky

• The Metro series of books by Dmitry Glukhovsky and its games

• And a touch of the S. T. A. L. K. E. R. games.

There's a lot to the idea of Zones, so we establish a concept of what Zones are and how they can be successful ways of navigating and inventing fictional realities. And, of course, how certain Zones can succeed far more, and more interestingly, than others.

Enjoy!

If you can and are interested in early episodes and our bonus content, soon to be plenty more, check out our Patreon! https://www.patreon.com/leftpage

Also! If you're not there already, feel free to join our Discord! https://discord.gg/J2wgG3yrPN

Outro Music: Don't Leave! · El-Funoun Palestinian Popular Dance Troupe. From the Album: Zareef ℗ 2006 El-Funoun Episode cover art: Angus McKie, 1978

We take a dive into Arthuriana, adaptation, and more, as we talk about The Green Knight wit our good friend Jay!

Considering how not only the poem Sir Gawain and the Green Knight connects with the Dev Patel film, but also exploring the themes involved and how they can be treated by a contemporary framing.

And, of course, as we talk about adapting things, we go beyond just this pair, briefly going into Scorcese's The Last Temptation of Christ, but also interpretations of broader Arthuriana, and of course, how could we not go into Lord of the Rings?

Lots to dive into and explore in history and today with this one, enjoy!

Check out Jay on Library Punk: http://librarypunk.gay/

If you can and are interested in early episodes and our bonus content, soon to be plenty more, check out our Patreon! https://www.patreon.com/leftpage

Also! If you're not there already, feel free to join our Discord! https://discord.gg/J2wgG3yrPN

Outro Music: Don't Leave! · El-Funoun Palestinian Popular Dance Troupe. From the Album: Zareef ℗ 2006 El-Funoun Episode cover art: Angus McKie, 1978

itinerary: 00:00:00 - 00:34:30 - Intro 00:34:30 - 01:44:40 - Villains! 01:44:40 - END - Book Club (Cat VII - Cat VIII)

Given we're pretty close, we'll be going from the next chapter, Tyrion VII, all the way to the end!

We're back into Science Fiction, and with a great friend and comrade! As Breht from RevLeftRadio fame joins us to talk about the relationship of this genre and Empires.

Talking the roots of imperial representation, how we can critique them, and how a lot goes back into colonialism, fascist projects and more.

A wonderful dive into how this genre and this representation and structure connect, enjoy!

Check out RevLeftRadio! https://revleftradio.com/

If you can and are interested in early episodes and our bonus content, soon to be plenty more, check out our Patreon! https://www.patreon.com/leftpage

Also! If you're not there already, feel free to join our Discord! https://discord.gg/J2wgG3yrPN

Outro Music: Don't Leave! · El-Funoun Palestinian Popular Dance Troupe. From the Album: Zareef ℗ 2006 El-Funoun Episode cover art: Angus McKie, 1978

Our references and previous episodes:

• Memories of Future Empire: The Productive Effects of Imperial Imaginaries in Science Fiction – An Analysis of The Expanse - https://doi.org/10.1590/S0102-8529.20244603e20230058

• The Course of Empire: A Survey of the Imperial Theme in Early Anglophone Science Fiction - https://www.jstor.org/stable/25746408?seq=1

• Episode 44 - Postmodern Literature, Climate Chaos and Irony. On White Noise w/ RevLeftRadio - https://theleftpage.libsyn.com/episode-44-postmodern-literature-climate-chaos-and-irony-on-white-noise-w-revleftradio

• Warhammer 40k - The Horus Heresy: The Immaterium's Negative Dialectic & How to Read Warhammer - https://www.patreon.com/leftpage/posts/warhammer-40k-to-157369486

• Episode 70 - The Expanse 1-3: Where Subtle Utopia Meets Responsible Dystopia -https://theleftpage.libsyn.com/the-left-page-episode-70-the-expanse-1-3-where-subtle-utopia-meets-responsible-dystopia

This time we go into how we think about Pathology in media and videogames, while still talking about gaming news and the Left Page Book Club, enjoy!

itinerary: 00:00:00-01:03:21 - Intro + Summer Games Fest + Minute AI rambling 01:03:21-01:55:05: - The Broader Pathology of Media 01:55:05-END - The Left Page Book Club

Our next set of chapters is from Catelyn VII to Catelyn VIII! (Another 16 chapters!)

Article mentioned: https://thehaunt.blog/2026/03/29/on-moral-repugnance/

If you can and are interested in early episodes and our bonus content, soon to be plenty more, check out our Patreon! https://www.patreon.com/leftpage

Also! If you're not there already, feel free to join our Discord! https://discord.gg/J2wgG3yrPN

Outro Music: Don't Leave! · El-Funoun Palestinian Popular Dance Troupe. From the Album: Zareef ℗ 2006 El-Funoun