The Socialist Shelf

Breht O'Shea, host of RevLeft Radio and Red Menace, joins to explore China Miéville's thought-provoking novel, 'The City & The City.' They discuss the remarkable concept of dual cities that residents ignore and examine themes of societal conditioning and political dissent. O'Shea highlights how the narrative critiques entrenched ideologies and advocates for revolutionary change. The conversation delves into youth perspectives on activism and the necessity of collective engagement to challenge systemic inequalities and inspire meaningful action.

It's Part 2 of our Harry Potter series. Are we having fun yet?This week the Shelfers are joined by returning guest and brilliant web-comic creator, Max Graves, in discussing J.K. Rowling's 2003 fantasy novel, "Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix" as well as the second half of the series, including its YA turn.Rowling's finally getting POLITICAL! We have thoughts.Read Max's comic, "What Happens Next," here!Check out Max's Patreon hereFollow Max on Bluesky hereMusic by Solo Monk (@SoloMonk256 on Twitter, ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://www.patreon.com/solomonkart⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠,) episode art is us falling for Voldemort's trap

The Rowling miniseries begins.The Shelfers and honorary Shelfer, Aysha U. Farah, hop on our broomsticks and zoom into the impossibly big world of Harry Potter, and whatever now-notorious bigot J.K. Rowling's whole deal is (Our working theory is that once you cross $100 million in net worth, no matter what you were like before, you lose your mind.)In this episode, we talk Rowling's origins, the early days of the books, the conservative backlash to Harry Potter, and whether Harry and Draco are in fact gay (they are. We confirmed.)Follow Aysha on Bluesky here Wishlist The Sky Left Us now!Music by Solo Monk (@SoloMonk256 on Twitter, ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://www.patreon.com/solomonkart⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠,) episode art is us at Hogwarts of course.

Thar she blows!This week, the shelfers unpack The Great American Novel: Herman Melville's 1851 epic, "Moby Dick."Joining us is Isaac Boa, a writer, educator, and revolutionary organizer. Together, we're going to solve just what's going on with this whole whale situation.You can find Isaac's writing here.You can join the PSL Action Network Here.Music by Solo Monk (@SoloMonk256 on Twitter, ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://www.patreon.com/solomonkart⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠,) episode art is our first fan art poster!! Shout out to Em for real.

Octavia Butler Round 3The Shelfers finish the Parable Duology and the hazardous life of Lauren Oya Olamina in Octavia Butler's 1998 masterpiece, "Parable of the Talents."This book is an absolutely brilliant analysis of fascism and the powerful organizing that can arise in the face of it. Octavia is the best to ever do it. What else can we say?CW: There is some discussion of sexual violence committed by the fascist forces in this book.Music by Solo Monk (@SoloMonk256 on Twitter, ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://www.patreon.com/solomonkart⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠,) episode art is a campaign poster I made for Jarret, who is just the worst.

This is a bully good episode (am I using that term properly?)This week, the shelfers check out S.M. Stirling's 2018 alternative history WWI novel, "Black Chamber." The premise? Teddy Roosevelt gets a third term as president, and this time he's Bernie Sanders in a cowboy hat.We didn't dig this one. Jacob REALLY didn't dig this one.If you're here, you should check out our website! Lenore's got a new essay up on The Shelf about S.M. Stirling, so read that here.Music by Solo Monk (@SoloMonk256 on Twitter, ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://www.patreon.com/solomonkart⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠,) episode art is us in a "black chamber" get it?

Have you ever considered that when a nuclear war happens your grandparents will die and it'll be really sad? No? Well this book is gonna make you consider that.This week, the Shelfers take on Raymond Briggs' 1982 graphic novel, "When the Wind Blows," an upsetting little tale about an old couple facing the apocalypse.We are joined by veteran of our Sonic episode and artist behind the Socialist Shelf pod art, Tay, AKA Foxy Macchiato.Check out Tay's art, YouTube, and other content here!Music by Solo Monk (@SoloMonk256 on Twitter, ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://www.patreon.com/solomonkart⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠,) episode art is from the book cover but also we're dying in nuclear fire.

What if the treasure was the friends we made along the way but also was very literally a whole lot of treasure?Join us as we travel to 1988 to discuss Paulo Coelho's global phenomenon of a novel, "The Alchemist."We are joined by Kennedy Cooper, host of the podcasts, "The Worst Week Yet" and "The Most Important Election of our Lives." We haven't been able to confirm whether or not they are a real life alchemist, but we have our suspicions...What is it about this book that drove people so wild? Is "Live, Laugh, Love" always a bad thing? Why is Melchizedek here?Check out The Worst Week Yet!Check Out The Most Important Election of Our LivesFollow Kennedy on Bluesky @kennedytcooper.bsky.socialMusic by Solo Monk (@SoloMonk256 on Twitter, ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://www.patreon.com/solomonkart⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠,) episode art is from "The Alchemist" graphic novel and also we're there and some emojis too.

Our new website is live! Check out socialistshelf.com for all your Socialist Shelf needs.Today we enter the very gay, very violent, and very authoritarian mind of Yukio Mishima, aka the worst coup-plotter of all time, as we discuss his 1949 work, "Confessions of a Mask." This novel is harrowing at times, ridiculous at others. Absolutely relatable to anyone with closet experience in one moment, and the next he's talking like a return to tradition adult Catholic convert guy with a Greek statue profile picture. Music by Solo Monk (@SoloMonk256 on Twitter, ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://www.patreon.com/solomonkart⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠,) episode art is Mishima's ideal society.

Have you ever thought, "Hey, why can't I have a guy strapped to my wall that will basically serve as a living large language model for me and my bored guests?" No? Well, we talk a lot about that concept anyway.This is our discussion of "Liberation Day," a 2022 short story collection from George Saunders. Joining us is confirmed genius, Tom from the Anime Sickos podcast. He likes Saunders, and now so do we. You'll find out why.Themes in this episode: being obviously trapped but not knowing it, getting kicked to death in a theme park, and how even GOATs can be washed at times when they try to write about Donald TrumpCheck out AnimeSickos here! If you listen, you'll also be a certified genius.Music by Solo Monk (@SoloMonk256 on Twitter,⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://www.patreon.com/solomonkart⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠,) episode art is kind of abstract but just go with it.