The Slavic Literature Pod

Wondering where the other episodes in this series are? We've moved them to a secondary RSS feed (under the title Life and Fate - Chapter A Day Read Along) to avoid clutter. Find it on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Amazon Music, or wherever else you get your podcasts.Covering thoughts shared by some of our listeners on our Discord and on social media about Part 1, Chapter 1 of Vasily Grossman's Life and Fate. You can read our post about the chapter here.If you haven't already signed up to get daily emails reflecting on each chapter of Life and Fate, you can do so on our website.Be sure to follow us on Instagram and join our Discord to participate in the discussion.Thanks for nattyboi 24 for their thoughts in this episode.(If you think Cameron sounds worse than usual, it's because he rawdogged the recording into a laptop mic on his work patio.)Advertising Inquiries: https://redcircle.com/brands

Show Notes:Note: This is a re-run of Vasily Grossman's "The Sistine Madonna." Matt and Cameron have finished reading Stalingrad, but they aren’t yet done with Grossman. This week, they tackle his short story “The Sistine Madonna.” Written before the publication of Stalingrad and after he began to write Life and Fate, “The Sistine Madonna” is a piece about beauty, desperation, and hope for the future. Oh, and thermonuclear war. It covers a lot of ground. Grab your Bibles to track the religious analogies and tune in!Major themes: Thanking our supporters, being thankful for our back catalog, good riddance to 2023Check out our original airing of "The Sistine Madonna" for all the time-accurate show notes. The music used in this episode was “Старое Кино / Staroye Kino,” by Перемотка / Peremotka. You can find more of their work on Bandcamp and Youtube. Buy this book with our affiliate links on ⁠Bookshop⁠ or ⁠Amazon⁠!Our links: Website | ⁠Discord⁠ Socials: Instagram⁠ | BlueSky | Twitter⁠ | FacebookQuestions, comments, want to hear your voice on a bonus episode? Send us an email at slaviclitpod@gmail.com or call our voicemail at 209.800.3944Advertising Inquiries: https://redcircle.com/brands

This week, Matt and Cameron start up the December Supporter Drive 2023, aiming to raise their paying monthly supporters by 10 people. If you're interested in supporting us, you can do so here.So why are we asking for the money? To answer that, we recorded several short episodes covering our purpose (as we see it), how we plan to spend the money, and how we're looking to expand into the future.This week, we'll talking about what's coming next for us. Of course, we'll be touching on our upcoming Life and Fate Read Along -- but it doesn't stop there. Tune in to find out.Major themes: VASILY GROSSMAN VASILY GROSSMAN VASILY GROSSMANIf you're interested in supporting us, you can do so here. We're calling it SAVE OUR SHOW, because we're asking for help paying for all the software, tools, and people who make this podcast work -- and to help us continue to do it well into the future.The music used in this episode was “Старое Кино / Staroye Kino,” by Перемотка / Peremotka. You can find more of their work on Bandcamp and Youtube. Our links: Website | ⁠Discord⁠ Socials: Instagram⁠ | BlueSky | Twitter⁠ | FacebookQuestions, comments, want to hear your voice on a bonus episode? Send us an email at slaviclitpod@gmail.com or call our voicemail at 209.800.3944Advertising Inquiries: https://redcircle.com/brands

This week, Matt and Cameron start up the December Supporter Drive 2023, aiming to raise their paying monthly supporters by 10 people. If you're interested in supporting us, you can do so here.So why are we asking for the money? To answer that, we recorded several short episodes covering our purpose (as we see it), how we plan to spend the money, and how we're looking to expand into the future.This week, we'll talking through what we intend to use your money for: for the tools we use, to help make our job more sustainable by hiring people to take on some of the tasks we've done for years now, and so on. Major themes: sustainability and off-loadingIf you're interested in supporting us, you can do so here. We're calling it SAVE OUR SHOW, because we're asking for help paying for all the software, tools, and people who make this podcast work -- and to help us continue to do it well into the future.The music used in this episode was “Старое Кино / Staroye Kino,” by Перемотка / Peremotka. You can find more of their work on Bandcamp and Youtube. Our links: Website | ⁠Discord⁠ Socials: Instagram⁠ | BlueSky | Twitter⁠ | FacebookQuestions, comments, want to hear your voice on a bonus episode? Send us an email at slaviclitpod@gmail.com or call our voicemail at 209.800.3944Advertising Inquiries: https://redcircle.com/brands

This week, Matt and Cameron start up the December Supporter Drive 2023, aiming to raise their paying monthly supporters by 10 people. If you're interested in supporting us, you can do so here. So why are we asking for the money? To answer that, we recorded several short episodes covering our purpose (as we see it), how we plan to spend the money, and how we're looking to expand into the future. This week, we'll covering the first point: what is the point of the Slavic Literature Pod and why have we been doing this for three years? Major themes: good lord it's been three yearsIf you're interested in supporting us, you can do so here. We're calling it SAVE OUR SHOW, because we're asking for help paying for all the software, tools, and people who make this podcast work -- and to help us continue to do it well into the future.The music used in this episode was “Старое Кино / Staroye Kino,” by Перемотка / Peremotka. You can find more of their work on Bandcamp and Youtube. Our links: Website | ⁠Discord⁠ Socials: Instagram⁠ | BlueSky | Twitter⁠ | FacebookQuestions, comments, want to hear your voice on a bonus episode? Send us an email at slaviclitpod@gmail.com or call our voicemail at 209.800.3944Advertising Inquiries: https://redcircle.com/brands

Show Notes:This week, Matt and Cameron wrap up Mikhail Bulgakov’s Soviet-era masterpiece The Master and Margarita, covering chapters 26 to the epilogue. Come see the Devil and a representative of Yeshua Ha-Nozri hack out the fate of our eponymous characters, as the Moscow investigators finally try to put a pin into this whole “magic” thing. Major themes: Comedy in translation, Ivan as creative process, PG shootouts for Americans01:35 - “Soviet-era” literature, I should say 04:03 - Covering “The Best Ever Death Metal Band from Denton” on I Only Listen to the Mountain Goats14:55 - Clearly not beautiful enough for Matt to recall it much, though41:13 - “‘The Master and Margarita’ as Creative Process” by Pierre Hart52:22 - Two weeks before, sue meThe music used in this episode was “Старое Кино / Staroye Kino,” by Перемотка / Peremotka. You can find more of their work on Bandcamp and Youtube. Buy this book with our affiliate links on ⁠Bookshop⁠ or ⁠Amazon⁠!Our links: Website | ⁠Discord⁠ Socials: Instagram⁠ | BlueSky | Twitter⁠ | FacebookQuestions, comments, want to hear your voice on a bonus episode? Send us an email at slaviclitpod@gmail.com or call our voicemail at 209.800.3944Advertising Inquiries: https://redcircle.com/brands

Show Notes:This week, Matt and Cameron finish the last three parts of Guzel Yakhina’s A Volga Tale, discuss fairytales as history, talk about best character Vaska, and think about billiards as a metaphor for World War II. Join us as we think about just what does the Volga mean. Major themes: Knowing The Big Lie, WWII as billiards, rivers as historical force 43:56 - Part 1 of our series on Fyodor Gladkov’s Cement. The music used in this episode was “Старое Кино / Staroye Kino,” by Перемотка / Peremotka. You can find more of their work on Bandcamp and Youtube. Buy this book with our affiliate links on ⁠Bookshop⁠ or ⁠Amazon⁠!Our links: Website | ⁠Discord⁠ Socials: Instagram⁠ | BlueSky | Twitter⁠ | FacebookQuestions, comments, want to hear your voice on a bonus episode? Send us an email at slaviclitpod@gmail.com or call our voicemail at 209.800.3944Advertising Inquiries: https://redcircle.com/brands

Sign up for emails related to our Life and Fate read along here!Show Notes:This week, it’s time for Office Hours, which Matt and Cameron are contractually obliged to hold at least once per quarter. This episode they’ll be revealing a little something-something that you should look forward to, talk about violence and discomfort in media, and spend a little time on Reddit. Just another day on campus.Major themes: The Home Depot-Lowe’s spectrum, violence in media, Crime and Punishment and CCTV04:40 - Our interview with Robert ChandlerThe music used in this episode was “Старое Кино / Staroye Kino,” by Перемотка / Peremotka. You can find more of their work on Bandcamp and Youtube. Our links: Website | ⁠Discord⁠ Socials: Instagram⁠ | BlueSky | Twitter⁠ | FacebookQuestions, comments, want to hear your voice on a bonus episode? Send us an email at slaviclitpod@gmail.com or call our voicemail at 209.800.3944Advertising Inquiries: https://redcircle.com/brands

Show Notes:Content warning: there will be a brief mention of rape from 12:20 to 12:28. This week, Matt and Cameron get into their tuxes for a Devil’s Ball celebrated all the way from across the skies to the distorted apartments of Moscow, covering chapters 19 through 25 of Mikhail Bulgakov’s The Master and Margarita. They’ll be talking sex, they’ll be talking fairytale morality, and you bet they’ll be talking about dismembered heads. All in all, fairly normal things when you’re celebrating with hell’s annual ball. Major themes: Eroticism as individuality, fairytales as moral clarity, alternative afterlives 21:26 - “Margarita’s Orgasms: Reading the Erotic in Bulgakov’s The Master and Margarita.” by Zachary JohnsonThe music used in this episode was “Старое Кино / Staroye Kino,” by Перемотка / Peremotka. You can find more of their work on Bandcamp and Youtube. Buy this book with our affiliate links on ⁠Bookshop⁠ or ⁠Amazon⁠!Our links: Website | ⁠Discord⁠ Socials: Instagram⁠ | BlueSky | Twitter⁠ | FacebookQuestions, comments, want to hear your voice on a bonus episode? Send us an email at slaviclitpod@gmail.com or call our voicemail at 209.800.3944Advertising Inquiries: https://redcircle.com/brands

Show NotesContent Warning: there are mentions of rape around 10:55-12:30 and 27:45-28:10This week, Matt and Cameron lace up their sailing shoes and dig into Guzel Yakhina’s sophomore novel A Volga Tale. Hop on your skiff and let’s get discussing!Major themes: Fairy tales, women with “K” names, justified societal shunningBuy this book with our affiliate links on ⁠Bookshop⁠ or ⁠Amazon⁠!01:51 - A link to Part 1 of our episodes covering Guzel Yakhina’s Zuleikha.23:52 - Korenizatsiia27:10 - Laurus by Evgeny Vodolazkin41:00 - I wish Cameron pronounced “dictates” differentlyThe music used in this episode was “Старое Кино / Staroye Kino,” by Перемотка / Peremotka. You can find more of their work on Bandcamp and YouTube. Our links: Website | ⁠Discord⁠ Socials: Instagram⁠ | BlueSky | Twitter⁠ | FacebookQuestions, comments, want to hear your voice on a bonus episode? Send us an email at slaviclitpod@gmail.com or call our voicemail at 209.800.3944Advertising Inquiries: https://redcircle.com/brands