
Mapping the Zone: A Thomas Pynchon discussion podcast
Each episode, we take a deep-dive into the book we are focusing on—we explore the references, characters, plot, and everything in between from a non-scholarly point of view. We are just four fans who love these books and can talk about them endlessly.
Latest episodes

Jun 7, 2024 • 2h 6min
Bleeding Edge: Chapters 19-21
If you enjoyed our discussion, please check out the following media we talked about:Films/TV: Spaced (1999-2001)Music: Selected Ambient Works Volume II by Aphex Twin; Goblin (various film scores)Books: The Only Plane in the Sky: An Oral History of 9/11 by Garrett M. Graff; Falling Man by Don DeLiloIf you like what we're doing and want to support the show, please consider making a donation on Ko-Fi. Funds we receive will be used to upgrade equipment, pay hosting fees, and help make the show better.https://ko-fi.com/mappingthezoneAs always, thanks so much for listening!Email: mappingthezonepod@gmail.comBluesky: https://bsky.app/profile/mappingthezone.bsky.socialTwitter: https://twitter.com/pynchonpodInstagram: https://www.instagram.com/mappingthezonepodcast/Show art by Brad Wetzel: @bradspersecond (on IG and Reddit) bradspersecond.com

May 24, 2024 • 2h 59min
Bleeding Edge: Chapters 16-18
If you enjoyed our discussion, please check out the following media we talked about:Films/TV: Lost Highway (1997; dir. David Lynch)Music: Elvis Hitler - Green Haze: https://youtube.com/watch?v=4FFgxJsjqkgBooks: The Looming Tower by Lawrence WrightIf you like what we're doing and want to support the show, please consider making a donation on Ko-Fi. Funds we receive will be used to upgrade equipment, pay hosting fees, and help make the show better.https://ko-fi.com/mappingthezoneAs always, thanks so much for listening!Email: mappingthezonepod@gmail.comBluesky: https://bsky.app/profile/mappingthezone.bsky.socialTwitter: https://twitter.com/pynchonpodInstagram: https://www.instagram.com/mappingthezonepodcast/Show art by Brad Wetzel: @bradspersecond (on IG and Reddit) bradspersecond.com

May 10, 2024 • 2h 58min
Bleeding Edge: Chapters 13-15
If you like what we're doing and want to support the show, please consider making a donation on Ko-Fi. Funds we receive will be used to upgrade equipment, pay hosting fees, and help make the show better.https://ko-fi.com/mappingthezoneAs always, thanks so much for listening!Email: mappingthezonepod@gmail.comBluesky: https://bsky.app/profile/mappingthezone.bsky.socialTwitter: https://twitter.com/pynchonpodInstagram: https://www.instagram.com/mappingthezonepodcast/Show art by Brad Wetzel: @bradspersecond (on IG and Reddit) bradspersecond.com

May 3, 2024 • 2h 44min
Bleeding Edge: Chapters 10-12
If you enjoyed our discussion, please check out the following media we talked about:Films/TV: Aretha Franklin “Nessun Dorma” https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=k33sINjn9o0Books: Capital in the Twenty-First Century by Thomas PikettyIf you like what we're doing and want to support the show, please consider making a donation on Ko-Fi. Funds we receive will be used to upgrade equipment, pay hosting fees, and help make the show better.https://ko-fi.com/mappingthezoneAs always, thanks so much for listening!Email: mappingthezonepod@gmail.comBluesky: https://bsky.app/profile/mappingthezone.bsky.socialTwitter: https://twitter.com/pynchonpodInstagram: https://www.instagram.com/mappingthezonepodcast/Show art by Brad Wetzel: @bradspersecond (on IG and Reddit) bradspersecond.com

Apr 26, 2024 • 3h 6min
Bleeding Edge: Chapters 7-9
If you enjoyed our discussion, please check out the following media we talked about:Films/TV: Office Space (1999; dir. Mike Judge)Books: The Declaration of Cyberspace by John Perry Barlow; Free Culture by Lawrence Lessig; Infinite Jest by David Foster Wallace; The Looming Tower by Lawrence Wright (watch the Hulu Miniseries Adaptation, as well)If you like what we're doing and want to support the show, please consider making a donation on Ko-Fi. Funds we receive will be used to upgrade equipment, pay hosting fees, and help make the show better.https://ko-fi.com/mappingthezoneAs always, thanks so much for listening!Email: mappingthezonepod@gmail.comBluesky: https://bsky.app/profile/mappingthezone.bsky.socialTwitter: https://twitter.com/pynchonpodInstagram: https://www.instagram.com/mappingthezonepodcast/Show art by Brad Wetzel: @bradspersecond (on IG and Reddit) bradspersecond.com

Apr 19, 2024 • 2h 33min
Bleeding Edge: Chapters 4-6
If you enjoyed our discussion, please check out the following media we talked about:Books: Meet Me In the Bathroom by Lizzy Goodman; 9/11 as Mass Ritual by S.K. Bainshttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Montauk_Monsterhttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Philadelphia_Experimenthttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Plum_Island_Animal_Disease_Center#ControversyIf you like what we're doing and want to support the show, please consider making a donation on Ko-Fi. Funds we receive will be used to upgrade equipment, pay hosting fees, and help make the show better.https://ko-fi.com/mappingthezoneAs always, thanks so much for listening!Email: mappingthezonepod@gmail.comBluesky: https://bsky.app/profile/mappingthezone.bsky.socialTwitter: https://twitter.com/pynchonpodInstagram: https://www.instagram.com/mappingthezonepodcast/Show art by Brad Wetzel: @bradspersecond (on IG and Reddit) bradspersecond.com

Apr 12, 2024 • 2h 38min
Bleeding Edge: Chapters 1-3
If you enjoyed our discussion, please check out the following media we talked about:Films/TV: We Live In Public (2009; dir. Ondi Timoner)Music: Satan Is Real by The Louvin BrothersBooks: Cryptonomicon by Neal Stephenson, Hard-Boiled Wonderland and The End of the World by Haruki Murakami“Postmodern Syllabus” (mentioned in My Dinner With Will and Kate): https://tildes.net/~books/rf7/if_you_had_to_teach_a_class_on_literature_what_books_would_you_put_on_your_syllabusIf you like what we're doing and want to support the show, please consider making a donation on Ko-Fi. Funds we receive will be used to upgrade equipment, pay hosting fees, and help make the show better.https://ko-fi.com/mappingthezoneAs always, thanks so much for listening!Email: mappingthezonepod@gmail.comBluesky: https://bsky.app/profile/mappingthezone.bsky.socialTwitter: https://twitter.com/pynchonpodInstagram: https://www.instagram.com/mappingthezonepodcast/Show art by Brad Wetzel: @bradspersecond (on IG and Reddit) bradspersecond.com

Apr 5, 2024 • 1h 8min
Bonus Episode - David Bowie
Kate and Cody took advantage of the break to spend some time talking about one of their favorite artists, David Bowie. A wildly talented artist, Bowie's influence is wider reaching than many might have known. Whether you're a longtime fan of Bowie and his discography or you've never heard any of his music (you have, you just don't know it was him), we hope you enjoy our long overdue discussion on one of the most important musicians of all time.Links to things mentioned:Dissonance tour performance (Nine Inch Nails and David Bowie): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=j4sP1CTuIjsDavid Bowie and Placebo - “Without You, I’m Nothing”: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=c14qMbmP9egVenture Bros: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=j1X3vl8QMYkDavid Bowie & Robert Smith (The Cure): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Krhzq6C1EBwFlight of the Conchords - "Bowie": https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=g8f_XCH3zmMIf you like what we're doing and want to support the show, please consider making a donation on Ko-Fi. Funds we receive will be used to upgrade equipment, pay hosting fees, and help make the show better.https://ko-fi.com/mappingthezoneAs always, thanks so much for listening!Email: mappingthezonepod@gmail.comBluesky: https://bsky.app/profile/mappingthezone.bsky.socialTwitter: https://twitter.com/pynchonpodInstagram: https://www.instagram.com/mappingthezonepodcast/Show art by Brad Wetzel: @bradspersecond (on IG and Reddit) bradspersecond.com

Mar 29, 2024 • 45min
Bonus Episode - Octavia Butler's Patternist series
In the latest Mapping the Zone bonus episode, Luke explores the world of Octavia E. Butler, with a particular emphasis on her Patternist series.We'll be back on 12 April 2024 to begin our exploration of Bleeding Edge!If you like what we're doing and want to support the show, please consider making a donation on Ko-Fi. Funds we receive will be used to upgrade equipment, pay hosting fees, and help make the show better.https://ko-fi.com/mappingthezoneAs always, thanks so much for listening!Email: mappingthezonepod@gmail.comBluesky: https://bsky.app/profile/mappingthezone.bsky.socialTwitter: https://twitter.com/pynchonpodInstagram: https://www.instagram.com/mappingthezonepodcast/Show art by Brad Wetzel: @bradspersecond (on IG and Reddit) bradspersecond.com

Mar 22, 2024 • 33min
Bonus Episode - Death In Her Hands by Otessa Moshfegh
Did you enjoy learning about books written by women in the modern literary landscape when Kate went on a long monologue about them several months ago? Have you potentially been pining for another installment ever since you heard the final dulcet tones of her voice tell you about Julia Armfield's masterpiece? No? Well, either way, she's done it again. Except now it's about OTTESSA MOSHFEGH, everyone's favorite social-media-propagated female author (the writer of this description does not acknowledge Colleen Hoover as a viable candidate for this title). Kate (who happens to be the writer of this description) hopes that her newest monologue on women in publishing, this time made with the aid of intensive allergy medication (she thought she had a cold, turns out her body's ability to withstand pollen is just terrible), is just as entertaining as all the others.If you like what we're doing and want to support the show, please consider making a donation on Ko-Fi. Funds we receive will be used to upgrade equipment, pay hosting fees, and help make the show better.https://ko-fi.com/mappingthezoneAs always, thanks so much for listening!Email: mappingthezonepod@gmail.comBluesky: https://bsky.app/profile/mappingthezone.bsky.socialTwitter: https://twitter.com/pynchonpodInstagram: https://www.instagram.com/mappingthezonepodcast/Show art by Brad Wetzel: @bradspersecond (on IG and Reddit) bradspersecond.com