Workers' Lit

Let's get into the savage heart of the American dream, shall we?

Join us as we visit Hunter S. Thompson's pocket dimension version of Las Vegas in his 1971 work of gonzo journalism, "Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas."

Hear us praise the writing, be moved by the characters, and get really pissed at the author.

Abandon Hope All Ye Who Enter Here.

Worst of All Possible Worlds’ Josh Boerman, veteran of both the Socialist Shelf and the battle every young man must face, join us as we take on the villainous Arterburn M Stephen and the downright freaky Fred Stoeker’s 2002, sexual purity self-help book, “Every Young Man’s Battle”

If you’ve ever wanted to face the intersection of evangelical sexual oppression and the New Right down while laughing about sumo wrestlers and stallions, this is your episode. 

Disclaimer: the ideas spouted in this book are really gross, downright heinous. Please keep that in mind as you listen, and feel free to skip this one if the discussion makes you too uncomfortable.

Episode art is Fred Stoeker's Instagram feed. He's joined by a few cool folks who are just driving by.

Title: "Luke Castellan and the Heroic Kronosian People's Front's Noble and Correct War Against the Poseidonist Running Dog Known as Percy JacKKK$on and the Imperialist, Westernist Pigs at KKKamp Halfblood, Including the Reactionary and Hyper-Consumptivist Diony$u$ and the Liberal Moralist Annabeth Cha$e, Who Represent Scant Resistance to the Titanic Proletarian-Peasant-Monster Aligned Forces of the People's Army of Tartarus."

Today the Shelfers are discussing the 2005 novel, "Percy Jackson and the Olympians: The Lightning Thief," the first installment in Rick Riordan's YA Fantasy series that started as a bedtime story and became a mega-franchise.

To be honest, the politics in this one are pretty limited. Jacob just really likes this book. We still think it's a good episode though!

Oh yeah, apologies on the audio. We recorded in Lenore's basement and apparently her AC is counter-revolutionary.

We went and ended the whole world this time.

This week, the Shelfers unleash the powers of the Evil Earth with N.K. Jemisin 2015 fantasy hit, "The Fifth Season."

We talk discrimination against earthbenders, repressed sexuality, and second-person narratives. Not necessarily in that order.

It's time to do some serious 3D Printing.

The Shelfers are joined by comic artist and internet expert, Max Graves, to discuss Cory Doctorow's 2009, near-future sci-fi, "Makers." Together, we discuss what Doctorow got really right, what he got really wrong, and a bunch of stuff that's just plain confusing.

Do you like cheap plastic? Fad diets? Disney World mercenaries? I hope not, because we go hard against these things.

You can and should check out Max's phenomenal webcomic, "What Happens Next" here.

The epic saga comes to a close...

This week we finish our Tolkien series with Return of the King...but the king's not the only one returning! Alongside us is the triple-guest, Aysha U. Farah!

We're talking elves, we're talking gollums, we're talking sad homecomings and magic swords. You already knowwww!

No, it doesn't make sense that we did an episode on the Sonic Archie Comics...but it'll be fine. We had fun.

To get into the wild world of Sonic comics, we bring on Wiispywitch, AKA Tay, AKA creator of the iconic (to us) Socialist Shelf art. Between her passion, Ryan's expertise, and the shadow of "The President is Missing" hounding everything we do, this is a fun one.

Check out Wiispywitch's art and other projects here.

It's time to jump off a cliff, seduce a troll, and get turned into a button.

This week, we're talking about Henrik Ibsen's 1867 play, "Peer Gynt," an absolutely crazy ride of folklore, modernity's encroachment on tradition, good music, and Sphinxes with Berlin accents.

Brian Alford of "the Worst of All Possible Worlds" joins us to discuss this foundational piece of literature...but can any of us escape the terror of the Boyg?

Check out The Worst of All Possible Worlds! wherever you get your podcasts, and follow Brian on Insta @uninterestingbrian and on twitter @spocksbrian

Remember James Comey, the FBI Director who infuriated Democrats by reopening the Hillary Clinton email investigation just before the 2016 election, then became a liberal hero a year or so later because Trump fired him? Well, he wrote a novel. We read it.

"Central Park West" is a 2023 crime novel about the mafia, being a good mom, and using the full might of the U.S. government to crush your enemies. We get into its cliche-but-tolerable plot, and the terrifying implications that lie underneath.

Episode art is a perhaps-slightly-tweaked version of the novel's cover. Music by Solo Monk (@SoloMonk256 on Twitter, https://www.patreon.com/solomonkart,)

Part 3 of our Tolkien series is HERE!

It's time for Ents, Wizards, Giant Spiders, and Ecological Catastrophe, because we're talking about J.R.R. Tolkien's, "The Two Towers."

Is this the most action-packed book of the trilogy? How did C.S. Lewis become a tree? How can we keep mind-control incels out of politics? Are Frodo and Sam gay (no...but actually?)

Episode art is a collab between me and Professor Tolkien.