The Socialist Shelf

Special thanks to THE Count Dracula for stopping by! This week we get into Leo Frankowski's 1986 sci-fi—let's not say "epic," exactly—"The Cross-Time Engineer," the story of the coolest, buffest, smartest, sexiest engineer that's ever lived (and TOTALLY isn't a self-insert power fantasy character of the author!!) What's the deal with creepy libertarian men, just like in general? How are we supposed to feel about a masterful concept with wretched execution? How do you, in extreme detail, forge a steel sword? Heads-up, Frankowski was a real creep and his writing reflects that in his attitude towards women, especially underaged girls. While we don't harp on the details much, we do discuss his disgusting, pedophilic fantasies that play out in this book, so be forewarned. Music by Solo Monk (@SoloMonk256 on Twitter, https://www.patreon.com/solomonkart,) episode art from the book's cover.

This episode was delayed multiple times due to what is no doubt the curse of the ghost of Poe himself! This week we're discussing the life of famed American spook-smith, Edgar Allan Poe, with a particular focus on his short stories, "The Masque of The Red Death" and "Hop-Frog" Was Poe a tortured genius, or just some guy trying to get by? How do class politics bleed into the art of apolitical writers? Will Lenore ever be safe from bird attacks? All this and more! Music by Solo Monk (@SoloMonk256 on Twitter, https://www.patreon.com/solomonkart,) episode art from "Stephen King Vs. Edgar Allan Poe" Epic Rap Battle (I thought it was amusing.)

We're back with a Socialist Shelf author interview! This week we're talking to labor lawyer, long-time activist, and author of the book, "Fighting Times," Jonathan Melrod! Want to learn how to change the world through working-class organization? Jon is the man you need to hear from! He's an absolute fountain of wisdom. Don't miss this interview...or his book! Visit https://www.jonathanmelrod.com/ to learn more about Jon, purchase "Fighting Times," and get access to all sorts of resources on working-class history. Music by Solo Monk (@SoloMonk256 on Twitter, https://www.patreon.com/solomonkart,) episode art from the cover of "Fighting Times."

This is a fun one. Fantasy expert and professional hater Aysha U. Farah is back on the show to discuss C.S. Lewis' 1950 children's novel, "The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe," though we really get into all of Narnia and spend a lot of time on its deeply fascinating author. Who was this odd, sometimes-brilliant, sometimes-foolish, always-insane author? What made Narnia so wildly successful? Do we feel bad for Edmund? Was the Pevensie Monarchy a historically progressive force? You can find Aysha's work at her website, here: https://www.ayshaufarah.com/, or follow her on Twitter or Bluesky at @ayshaufarah. Music by Solo Monk (@SoloMonk256 on Twitter, https://www.patreon.com/solomonkart,) episode art from Pauline Baynes' artwork for the novels.

We're covering Tony Kushner's 2009 (and 2010, and 2011, and many-times-since-edited) play, "The Intelligent Homosexual's Guide to Capitalism and Socialism with a Key to the Scriptures," which incidentally could also be the name of this podcast. Joining us is beloved theater-enjoyer, A.J. Ditty from The Worst of All Possible Worlds podcast! Together we dive into the mind of one of the great American playwrights, figure out how to kill yourself Marxistly, and catch up on Italian-American lore. You can find A.J.'s work at https://www.worstpossible.world/ and follow him on Twitter @TheFuzzyMask. Music by Solo Monk (@SoloMonk256 on Twitter, https://www.patreon.com/solomonkart,) Episode art is a picture of the good Kush(ner)

It's 2024...new year, new books, a new name...the same, classic socialist spirit. We're talking about Francis Spufford's 2010 historical fiction...novel? Short story collection? Something like that... "Red Plenty." Come for the history of the first worker state, stay for the discourse on whether or not smoking is sexy. We both continue to remain dedicated to our organizing with the Party for Socialism and Liberation. Any funds you can contribute would be helpful! The link to donate is here: https://www.liberationatl.org/donate Music by Solo Monk (@SoloMonk256 on Twitter, https://www.patreon.com/solomonkart,) Episode art is the book cover.

It's our last episode of 2023...so let's end it on something we all know and love, "The Ones Who Walk Away From Omelas" by Ursula K. Le Guin! What is it about this little story that gets inside people's heads? Is Omelas basically just the story of Jesus? Can you reform a system built on child misery? (I'll go on and answer that one: no.) For more top-tier Omelas content, check out this phenomenal article by friend of the pod, Kurt Schiller! https://bloodknife.com/omelas-je-taime/ We are giving shout-outs to anyone who donates to PSL Atlanta and sends proof of donation to our Twitter account (@SocialistShelf) or email (TheSocialistShelf@gmail.com). The link to donate is here: https://www.liberationatl.org/donate Music by Solo Monk (@SoloMonk256 on Twitter, https://www.patreon.com/solomonkart,)

Yeah. The dog dies. This week we're discussing Paolo Bacigalupi's sci-fi short story, "The People of Sand and Slag." There's a lot of sand, there's a lot of slag. There's not a lot of joy, but we and our fantastic guest from Podside Picnic, Karlo Yeager Rodríguez, manage to find it where we can. They haven't managed to write a story yet that can destroy the power of a good bit. We talk about climate change as blasphemy, the responsibility of humanity to the earth, the job of speculative fiction, and manage to talk about "1984" AGAIN despite having not done a "1984" episode. Check out Karlo's work at https://alineofink.com/ and follow him on Twitter @kjy1066. Also, be sure to listen to Podside Picnic! https://www.patreon.com/PodsidePicnic We are giving shout-outs to anyone who donates to PSL Atlanta and sends proof of donation to our Twitter account (@SocialistShelf) or email (TheSocialistShelf@gmail.com). The link to donate is here: https://www.liberationatl.org/donate Music by Solo Monk (@SoloMonk256 on Twitter, https://www.patreon.com/solomonkart,)

Not all is well in the town of Salem...or Washington for that matter. Join the Shelfers as we dive into Arthur Miller's 1953 not-so-subtle-allegorical play, "The Crucible" Topics of discussion: McCarthyism, religious hypocrisy, Marilyn Monroe, and Jacob playing Judge Danforth in high school. We are doing shout-outs to anyone who donates to PSL Atlanta and sends proof of donation to our Twitter account (@SocialistShelf) or email (TheSocialistShelf@gmail.com). The link to donate is here: https://www.liberationatl.org/donate Music by Solo Monk (@SoloMonk256 on Twitter, https://www.patreon.com/solomonkart,) episode art is high school Jacob looking snazzy as Judge Danforth.

It's a lesser-known series...you probably haven't heard of it. Today the shelfers take on Matthew Stover's 2005 novelization of "Star Wars III: Revenge of the Sith," the novel that asks the dangerous question of what would happen if you made ROTS... good? Enjoy us diving into the concept of Star Wars legends, criticize Yoda for undialectical thinking, encouraging Bail Organa to start a Marxist militia on Alderaan, and draw parallels between Taylor Swift and Anakin Skywalker. As discussed in the cold open, we'll be doing shout-outs to anyone who donates to PSL Atlanta and sends proof of donation to our Twitter account (@SocialistShelf) or email (TheSocialistShelf@gmail.com). The link to donate is here: https://www.liberationatl.org/donate Music by Solo Monk (@SoloMonk256 on Twitter, https://www.patreon.com/solomonkart,) episode art is definitely an actual picture we took of ourselves to promote this episode.