Thoughts (loosely) inspired by Tana French's "Dublin Murder Squad" series and Anthony Horowitz's "Magpie/Moonflower/Marble Hall Murders" series. You will be tested.

Thoughts (loosely) inspired by the Charles Portis novel Gringos . . . and living at the beach for a month. Salt life!

Thoughts (loosely) inspired by Giuseppe Tomasi di Lampedusa's classic Sicilian novel "The Leopard."

A meditation on how place influences psyche (with some help from Bon Jovi and Bruce).

Thoughts about narration, reliable and otherwise, loosely inspired by the novels of Jim Thompson and the Richard Russo essay "In Defense of Omniscience."

There is also a film quiz . . . see how you fare.

Thoughts on creativity and identity (or the lack thereof) loosely inspired by the SNL Weezer sketch, Jonah Lehrer's article "Groupthink, Song Exploder episode 70: Weezer "Summer Elaine and Drunk Dory," the Atlantic article "Is This the Worst-Ever Era of American Pop Culture?" by Spencer Kornhaber and a bunch of other stuff.

A philosophical, literary, and musical meditation on creativity and good ideas.

Thoughts (loosely) inspired by Jonah Lehrer's article "Groupthink," Plutarch's "The Ship of Theseus Dilemma," and Steven Johnson's book Where Good Ideas Come From: The Natural History of Innovation.

A meditation on wealth and its consequences, at both the human and national scale.

Thoughts and theories (loosely) based on Taffy Brodesser-Akner's novel The Long Island Compromise and Andrew Bacevich's political critique The Age of Illusions: How America Squandered Its Cold War Victory.

Special Guests: Tana French, Pat Martino, F. Scott Fitzgerald, Tom Wolfe, Ayn Rand, Bret Easton Ellis, Gordon Gekko, Noam Chomsky, Ross Perot, and Miley Cyrus.

Thoughts (loosely) inspired by various articles on the L.A. Fires, Ralph Waldo Emerson's essay "Nature" and Joan Didion's essay "The Santa Anas."

Special Guests: The Bicycle Man, Conrad Bain, Nellie Bowles, David Gelles and Austyn Gaffney, Leighton Woodhouse, The Rivieras, Buffy the Vampire Slayer, the delta smelt, the gang from Full House, and the gang from WKRP in Cincinnati.

Thoughts loosely inspired by Ian Mortimer's history book Medieval Horizons: Why the Middle Ages Matter, Christopher Buehlman's fantasy novel Between Two Fires, and Connie Willis's science fiction novel The Doomsday Book.

Special Guests: Jim Carrey, Matthew Broderick, Janeane Garofalo, The Beastie Boys, George Carlin, Rick Moranis, MF Doom, the Monty Python Troupe, Kiefer Sutherland, 100 Gecs, Metallica, Arya and the Hound, Jimmy Walker, the Wu Tang Clan, and medievalist professor Dorsey Armstrong.

Thoughts on the history and future of the American suburbs (loosely) inspired by four books:

Disillusioned: Five Families and the Unraveling of America's Suburbs by Benjamin Herold

The Fifties by David Halberstam

Outside the Gates of Eden: The Dream of America from Hiroshima to Now by Peter Bacon Hales

The Man in the Gray Flannel Suit by Sloan Wilson

Special Guests: Monty Python, Bill Cosby, Rush, Descendents, Bob and Doug McKenzie, Edward Scissorhands, Arcade Fire, Dead Milkmen, Malvina Reynolds, Helen Keller, Lucille Ball, Desi Arnaz, Bruce Springsteen, and The Who.