
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

Mar 15, 2024 • 26min
Bonus Episode - Pilgrim at Tinker Creek by Annie Dillard
In the latest Mapping The Zone bonus episode off the press, we welcome listeners to an introduction to the nonfiction book Pilgrim at Tinker Creek, published by Annie Dillard in 1975. As a non-plot-oriented work of narrative essay, feel free to kick off your work shoes and tune in without the looming spectre of spoilers.Tasting notes: profound exploration of nature, contemplation of the roots of morality, river mudRecommended pairings: social exhaustion, a long walk with a dog, unfiltered cigarettesIf 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 8, 2024 • 36min
Bonus Episode - INLAND EMPIRE
David Lynch gets about as much focus on this show as Pynchon himself (especially in the Vineland episodes), so it seemed right to do a bonus episode where Cody can finally get all of his Lynch obsession out and in the wild. While the first part of the episode is a sort of overview of Lynch’s filmography, the main focus is his most recent film, 2005’s INLAND EMPIRE. It’s a beautifully strange film by one of the greatest filmmakers of all time, so let Cody ramble for half an hour about it and maybe he won’t have to keep bringing it up.If you want to watch David Lynch cook (and instruct on how to cook) quinoa, check out this video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uSP-ewdJYJcIf 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 1, 2024 • 2h 17min
Bonus Episode - My Dinner With Kate and Will
What you're about to listen to is a completely improvised, free flowing discussion between two hosts of Mapping the Zone. This conversation was captured as a result of a STOP RECORD button not being pressed, and two literary obsessives finding themselves locked in one of the best conversations they've ever had. Side effects may include: laughter, groaning, expansion of knowledge, or scoffing at the sheer duration of time two people talked about a single subject. That being said, the hosts of the regularly scheduled programming felt that he conversation had merit and was deemed to be of interest to its listeners. Who desperately hope they were right. If they happen to have been wrong, you only have a month before the return of their regularly produced internet radio talk show.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

Feb 23, 2024 • 1h 35min
Vineland: Wrap-up with Seth from W.A.S.T.E. Mailing List
We've come to the end of Vineland and spend this final episode of the season discussing our overall thoughts and feelings on the book. Joining us is Seth from W.A.S.T.E. Mailing List (links below) to share his experience on his most recent readthrough of Pynchon's overlooked, underappreciated 1990 novel.Seth's social media: https://linktr.ee/wastemailinglistIf 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

Feb 16, 2024 • 3h 27min
Vineland: Chapter 15 (Part 2)
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/mappingthezoneIf you enjoyed our discussion, please check out the following media we talked about:Films/TV: SLC Punk (1998; dir. James Merendino), Lost Highway (1997; dir. David Lynch), Clerks (1994; dir. Kevin Smith); We Live In Public (2009; dir. Ondi Timoner); Arrested Development (2003-2006)Music: Third stream jazzBooks: No other books came up this week, but do check out Cryptonomicon by Neal Stephenson and/or The New York Trilogy by Paul Auster. Follow us on Twitter to see what we’re reading from time to timeAs 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

Feb 9, 2024 • 2h 36min
Vineland: Chapter 15 (Part 1)
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/mappingthezoneIf you enjoyed our discussion, please check out the following media we talked about:Films: The Maltese Falcon (1941; dir. John Huston), Double Indemnity (1944; dir. Billy Wilder), Brick (2005; dir. Rian Johnson)Music: Portishead - Dummy (1994)Books: The Maltese Falcon by Dashiell Hammett, Double Indemnity by James M. CainAs 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

Feb 2, 2024 • 2h 40min
Vineland: Chapter 14
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/mappingthezoneIf you enjoyed our discussion, please check out the following media we talked about:Films: 2001: A Space Odyssey (1968; dir. Stanley Kubrick), Twin Peaks: Fire Walk With Me (1992; dir. David Lynch)Music: The Smile - Wall of EyesBooks: Our Wives Under the Sea by Julia ArmfieldAs 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

Jan 26, 2024 • 3h 14min
Vineland: Chapter 13
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/mappingthezoneIf you enjoyed our discussion, please check out the following media we talked about:YouTube: Maggie Mae Fish - The Surprising History of Hollywood Strikes: Blacklists, Labor, and the Mob - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=07bwL0fiM1AFilms: Judas and the Black Messiah (2021; dir. Shaka King), Blue Velvet (1986; dir. David Lynch)Music: Frank Zappa (listen to all of it, but start with Apostrophe or Overnite Sensation)Books: A Masterpiece in Disarray: David Lynch's Dune. An Oral History (Max Evry), If on a winter's night a traveler (Italo Calvino), Cryptonomicon (Neal Stephenson), Solenoid (Mircea Cărtărescu, translated by Sean Cotter), Fem (Magda Cârneci, translated by Sean Cotter)As 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

Jan 19, 2024 • 2h 53min
Vineland: Chapter 12
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/mappingthezoneFrank Zappa at the PMRC Senate hearings: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hgAF8Vu8G0wMaggie Mae Fish — Veterans After War | An Analysis of RAMBO + THE STRAIGHT STORY: https://youtu.be/HRnEjsdjtks?si=vx-3GvKgDqzNdx-0Movie/TV recommendations: The work of David Lynch — Eraserhead (1977), Twin Peaks (1990-1991, 1992, 2017), Lost Highway (1997)Music recommendations: Jaco Pastorius “Portrait of Tracy” (1976) https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WPsiuGcUniQReading recommendations: David Foster Wallace “David Lynch Keeps His Head”—found in A Supposedly Fun Thing I’ll Never Do Again (1997)As 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

Jan 12, 2024 • 2h 49min
Vineland: Chapters 10-11
We're back from our brief break and ready to jump into the back half of Vineland. We get some more insight into Frenesi's past and her involvement with 24fps as well as her relationship with Brock. Speaking of, we get our first real scenes with Brock, showing just how awful he truly is.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