DEATH // SENTENCE

One of the greatest fantasy epics of the 21st century ends here, with Alex Pheby's mind-bending Waterblack. We go in-depth into the trilogy and the surprising inspirations behind its central themes. Also, Skibidi Toilet. Music by Homeskin: https://homeskin.bandcamp.com/track/blood-to-disk Theme tune by Caïna: https://cainaband.bandcamp.com/

Ready to get DAMP? Sophie Sleigh-Johnson's Code: Damp explores fucked Anglo vibes through the work of sitcom legend Leonard Rossiter, star of Rising Damp and The Fall and Rise of Reginald Perrin. Buy it from Repeater Books here: https://repeaterbooks.com/product/code-damp-an-esoteric-guide-to-british-sitcoms/

Y'all ready to get DELEUZIAN? Victoria Brooks' Silicon God is a goopy, rhizomatic book about time mistresses from the future and a bunch of stuff that we definitely can't talk about here. Music by Phrenelith: https://phrenelith.bandcamp.com/album/ashen-womb

Why is Guan Yu so powerful? Which Universal Movie Monster tastes best? How can you get somebody to enjoy Brutal Death Metal? Will Communism win? Our audience has asked all of these questions and many more, and we tackle them all with our trademark professionalism and focus. Music by Wrekmeister Harmonies Theme tune by Caina.

Langdon is joined in the Wizard's Tower by Kayte Terry of Tender Subject and Jon Greenaway of Horror Vanguard to discuss Robert Eggers' tale of a Dracula trapped in a world he never made, looking for love in all the wrong places. Music by Ambrose Akinmusire

Langdon and Eden tackle linear time and how World War II, and its retellings, fit in with our cultural memories of the past. Then, they dive into the fragmented, gorgeous, and shocking Unknown Language, a tale shifting rapidly between alternative presents, futures, holy wars, love, and violence, all through the inimitable and kaleidoscopic lens of Hildegard von Bingen, Huw Lemmey, Bhanu Kapil and Alice Spawls! Music played: Tides From Nebula - Fearflood https://tidesfromnebulaofficial.bandcamp.com/track/fearflood-2 Pale - Almost Transparent Blue https://paleofband.bandcamp.com/track/almost-transparent-blue

Kazuo Ishiguro season keeps on truckin' into 2005's Never Let Me Go, perhaps his most widely read and equally widely loved novels. There are brain-donor clones drawing dank pepes, Ruth being a total b-word and -even though we are 100% anti-worldbuilding- some bad worldbuilding. Music by Skagos: https://skagos.bandcamp.com/album/chariot-sun-blazing

ENTER THE WIZARD'S TOWER with this episode in which we stretch the concept of a 'text' to breaking point by talking about a film- specifically 2024's The Substance. Joined by comedian Jake Flores and Tender Subject host Kayte Terry, will we survive the intricate mind maze of feminist discourse?

This time around, Langdon and Eden dive into the question of geo-political narratives and the stories we tell ourselves, specifically about the "American Century" and it's dubious decline. Then, they dive deep into Oh God, the Sun Goes, the debut novel by David Connor. State of mind, Pynchon-esque misconnections, hazy realities, and the power of the desert, combine into a flawed but highly moving book! Music played: Caelestra - Lightbringer https://caelestra.bandcamp.com/track/lightbringer The Great Old Ones - Me, the Dreamer https://thegreatoldonessom.bandcamp.com/track/me-the-dreamer

In the early 20th century Henri Bergson was a rockstar of philosophy, able to pack lecture halls and create the first ever traffic jam on Broadway. Today he's virtually unknown in the English-speaking world, and Dr. Emily Herring is aiming to fix that with her book Herald of a Restless World. Music by Lowen: https://lowen.bandcamp.com/album/do-not-go-to-war-with-the-demons-of-mazandaran-2