DEATH // SENTENCE

What if nasty commoners were going around breaking all the nice people's art? What if we've been getting morality all wrong? We consider all this and more when talking about Kay Dick's rediscovered masterpiece They. Music by Sleepyime Gorilla Museum: https://sleepytimegorillamuseum1.bandcamp.com/album/of-the-last-human-being

What if everything you were taught about Neoliberalism was wrong? What if it's not a free-market free-for-all but as tightly controlled as any planned economy? Grace Blakeley joins us to discuss her new book about this, why everything is so expensive, where all the money went and what we can do about it. Music by Full of Hell.

Langdon talks to Ian Cory, former editor-in-chief of the almighty Invisible Oranges blog and now lead of genre-agnostic (but generally heavy) band Lamniforms.

We're 'mad for it' on this episode! And by 'mad for it' we mean mad about how Manchester, the city where capitalism and communism were invented, has turned into a nightmare of hotdesking 'spaces', dumb concept bars that last two weeks and towers to store insufferable yuppies. Isaac Rose is here to talk about his new book The Rentier City: Manchester And The Making Of The Neoliberal Metropolis and what has happened to this once-adequate city. Music by Genital Shame. Join our Patreon community and get an invite to our Discord, where you can ask us questions about things: https://www.patreon.com/DeathSentence

It's a very chipper and uplifting episode, as Langdon and Eden tackle the question of revolutionary optimism, the role of hope (or lack thereof) in revolutionary politics, and the question of "doomerism". Then, they dive deep into a workplace novel unlike any other, the incisive, empathic, and deeply sad Jonathan Abernathy You Are Kind. Dreams, quotas, debt, rent, and monsters mix and clash as they tear the protagonist's (and our) lives apart. Also, join us on Discord - https://discord.gg/A2RXQXmtrq Music played: Wishbone Ash - Throw Down the Sword https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=w-BHRQrMglo Wishbone Ash - The Pilgrim https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YoCnt-yP6_o

This time around, Langdon and Eden talk about how the Internet is dead, actually, and who has killed it. Then, they stay on the topic of demise by diving into Nicole Kornher-Stace's Archivist Wasp, a weird and twisted exploration of death, the afterlife, and trying your best. Music played: Vitriol - Locked in Thine Frothing Wisdom https://centurymedia.bandcamp.com/track/locked-in-thine-frothing-wisdom Chapel of Disease - A Death Though No Loss https://chapelofdisease.bandcamp.com/track/a-death-though-no-loss

Josie Riesman joins us to talk about her book on Vince McMahon, the head of the WWE and arguably the creator of modern wrestling, who is now undergoing a long-overdue downfall after certain allegations came to light. Music by Darkspace: https://darkspace.bandcamp.com/ I'm sure you'd like a tasty beer to go with this episode - give the cooperatively run, community-owened Lacada Brewery from Portrush, Northern Ireland a go: https://www.lacadabrewery.com/

On this solo episode, Eden kicks off a series looking at a new format for Death // Sentence - the science fiction poem! He does it by diving deep into two fine examples of the format, Aniara and Deep Wheel Orcadia, focusing on themes of language, translation, belonging, deep space, and religiosity! Music played: Ranges - The Slings and Arrows of Outrageous Fortune https://ranges.bandcamp.com/track/i-the-slings-and-arrows-of-outrageous-fortune

The singular entity known as Langdon/Eden records a solo episode continuing the long-promised series on Kazuo Ishiguro. This time around, they tackle "An Artist of the Floating World", Ishiguro's second novel and his attempt to tackle post-WWII Japan, masculinity, old age, honor, shame, and more! Music played: Jesus i betong by Cortex https://heartworkrecords.bandcamp.com/track/jesus-i-betong

This time around, Langdon and Eden explore the shadowy and religious urbanity of The Saint of Bright Doors, a fantasy book about knowledge, imperialism, and violence. But first, they talk about the shadow urbanity of the United States of America and Langdon's trans-dimensional adventures with Power Wash Simulator (yes). Music played: Pessimystic - Burnt Offering https://pessimysticofficial.bandcamp.com/track/burnt-offering Bull of Apis Bull of Bronze - Ekstasis, Enstasis, and The Fractal Ouroboros https://bullofapisbullofbronze.bandcamp.com/track/ekstasis-enstasis-and-the-fractal-ouroboros