Podcasts by The Casual Academic: A Literary Podcast
In-depth literary discussion without the pretence. Just good books. Based out of Madrid, Spain, we compress big ideas and in-depth discussion of literature into a digestible, entertaining format.
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Episode 36 - Structural Tricks, Disintegration&Ghosts in Valeria Luiselli's "Faces in the Crowd" from 2019-09-17T19:50:54
Episode 36 features Valeria Luiselli's "Faces in the Crowd," a novella we loved and can't recommend enough. Our discussion includes a bit of her non-fiction, especially her essay "Relingos," as we...
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Episode 35 - Memory, Self&La Revolución in Carlos Fuentes' "The Death of Artemio Cruz" from 2019-09-06T17:35:43
Rising out of the depths of a busy summer and unreliable internet, we're back to finally put out a miniseries on Mexican literature that's been long in the making. We hope you all have had a wonder...
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Traveler, Writer, Soldier, Spy: Lit&Context in Patrick L. Fermor's "The Violins of Saint-Jacques" from 2019-03-26T21:35:58
After several editing and technical hiccups, we're happy to present episode 34 on beloved travel writer Patrick Leigh Fermor and his only novel. A soldier who led the resistance in Crete during WW...
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Episode 33 - Disembodiment, Structure&Millennial Existentialism in Sylvia Plath's "The Bell Jar" from 2019-02-19T22:04:36
Good evening from Spain! Allow us to present the 2nd episode of our "Books Casually Left on the Shelf" series on Sylvia Plath's only and much-celebrated novel. Take a listen for some talk on the ...
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The Arabesque, Orientalism&Unholy Trinities in Jan Potocki's "The Manuscript Found in Saragossa" from 2019-02-05T21:35:58
Episode 32 inaugurates our new episode series "Books Casually Left on the Shelf" (working title). This book was a hidden gem for us, and we hope you enjoy as much as we did diving into the arabesq...
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Aside #24 - Patreon Launch&Our Next Episode Series from 2018-11-13T19:09:21
We are VERY excited to announce that our Patreon page has launched about....24 minutes ago! On this quick Aside we talk about Patreon membership, why we're starting on the website and what you'll g...
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Episode 31 - Gender Binaries, Identity&Interiority in Qiu Miaojin's "Notes of a Crocodile" from 2018-11-06T18:57:35
In the final episode of our Overlooked Authors Series, we discuss Qiu Miaojin's cult classic, "Notes of a Crocodile." We talk about Miaojin's rejection of gender binaries as well as just about any...
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Episode 30 - Imposters, Doppelgängers&Duplicates in Silvina Ocampo's "Thus Were Their Faces" from 2018-10-23T19:24:59
We're back! On this episode, we discuss the Argentine author Silvina Ocampo. Although she spent her life in the shadow of J.L. Borges, Adolfo Bioy Casares (her husband)and her sister Victoria, Ms....
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Episode 29 - Memory, Perception&Fairytales in Tatyana Tolstaya's "White Walls" from 2018-04-10T23:45:58
In this episode, we marvel at Tatyana Tolstaya's collection of stories, "White Walls," and focus our discussion on topics such as memory, time, perception, art and fairytales (just to name a few)....
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Episode 28 - Untouchability, Inaction and "The Seventh Seal" in U.R. Ananthamurthy's "Samskara" from 2018-03-20T22:53:05
Overlooked Authors on The Casual Academic has begun! We discuss our first featured book, U.R. Ananthamurthy's classic "Samskara: A Rite for a Dead Man," translated by A.K. Ramanujan. Our conversat...
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Aside #23 - Overlooked Authors Series with NYRB Classics from 2018-03-06T21:39:55
On Aside #23, we discuss our upcoming series on overlooked authors! The next four episodes will feature: Samskara: A Rite for a Dead Man - U.R. AnanthamurthyWhite Walls - Tatyana Tolstaya Thus Wer...
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Episode 27 (Pt. 2) - Gender, Sexuality&Race in Carson McCullers' "The Heart Is A Lonely Hunter" from 2018-02-27T11:20:43
On Part II of our 27th episode, Alex and guest Zak Breckenridge continue their discussion on Carson McCullers' 1940 novel "The Heart is a Lonely Hunter," focusing on how gender, sexuality and race ...
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Episode 27(Pt.1)- Southern Gothic Limits, Low Modernism&Politics in "The Heart is a Lonely Hunter" from 2018-02-14T12:18:24
On our 27th episode, Alex talks with returning guest Zak Breckenridge about Carson McCullers' 1940 novel "The Heart is a Lonely Hunter". We had to divide the episode into two parts because, well, ...
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Aside #22 - Environmental Humanities&an intro to Carson McCullers' "The Heart is a Lonely Hunter" from 2018-02-01T13:12:13
On this Aside, returning guest Zak Breckenridge joins Alex in a conversation on the emerging academic field of Environmental Humanities, and their first reactions to our new featured book "The Hear...
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Episode 26 (Pt. 2) - Postcolonial Problems, Decay&Flux in V.S. Naipaul's "The Enigma of Arrival" from 2018-01-23T07:45:26
On this episode, we focus on the last three sections of Naipaul's novel, "Ivy," "Rooks," and "A Ceremony of Farewell." Within these three sections, we explore the controversy surrounding Naipaul's...
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Aside #21 - Xmas Holidays and Our Favorite Reads of 2017 from 2017-12-30T20:17:03
Merry Christmas from The Casual Academic! Well...more like Happy New Year! We're just in time with our top reads from 2017 - eight books (four from each of us) that come highly recommended, six o...
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Episode 26 (Pt. 1) - 'Jack's Garden'&'The Journey' in V.S. Naipaul's "The Enigma of Arrival" from 2017-12-12T20:57:02
In Part 1 of the two part extravaganza on V.S. Naipaul's "The Enigma of Arrival," Jacob and Alex compare Naipaul and W.G. Sebald in their style, substance and techniques. They then give their firs...
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Aside #20 - Separating Art from Artist and looking ahead to V.S. Naipaul&"The Enigma of Arrival" from 2017-11-28T23:05:05
In light of current events, on this Aside we talk about if we are capable of separating art from the artist, and which mediums allow for an easier (or more difficult) disassociation of a work of ar...
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Episode 25 (Pt.2) - Critical Interpretations of Henry James' "The Turn of the Screw" from 2017-11-15T22:41:33
We are back for Part II of our episode on Henry James' "The Turn of the Screw," and as promised we discuss the good, the bad and the ugly of the literary criticism on James' novella. Listen for th...
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Episode 25 (Pt.1) - Some Changes, Narrative Games&Our First Impressions of "The Turn of the Screw" from 2017-11-07T13:50:52
On our 25th episode, we are inaugurating a structural change to The Casual Academic. Think of it as an experiment with the goal of making your listening experience the best it can be. We've decid...
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Aside #19 - An Intro to Henry James&Our Top Creepy Tales from 2017-11-01T16:31:52
On our newest Aside, we introduce our new featured author Henry James, whose infamous novella "The Turn of the Screw" we'll be reading for our next episode. After that, we have a bit of a guessing...
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Episode 24 - R.L. Stevenson, Plotting&Immortality in Adolfo Bioy Casares' "The Invention of Morel" from 2017-10-24T20:29:19
Hello! We are very excited to present our full-length episode on Adolfo Bioy Casares' beloved novella "The Invention of Morel." Apart from our blatant enthusiasm over his writing, we talk about th...
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Aside #18 - Argentine Literature, Borges&an Intro to Adolfo Bioy Casares' "The Invention of Morel" from 2017-10-09T10:15:33
TCA is back in full gear! On this Aside, we introduce one of our favorite recent reads, Adolfo Bioy Casares' "The Invention of Morel." Listen for a discussion on Argentine literary history and its...
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Aside #17 - Summer Reads, The Return of the Serial&Electric Lit's "Star Witness" from 2017-09-25T08:52:24
And we're back! The light in august has faded, and that means a return to work and, better news, the return of The Causal Academic. We catch up on our summers, what we read, and warn fellow trave...
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Episode 23 - Belief, Con Artists&The American Soul in Neil Gaiman's "American Gods" from 2017-07-31T10:04:05
We're back with a brand new episode, after some delay caused by the ever-dreaded summer camp schedule - just kidding, we love escaping the big city, but it's good to be back and talking about Neil ...
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Aside #16 - Weddings, Summer Reads&an intro to Neil Gaiman's "American Gods" from 2017-07-12T00:15:59
We're getting the band back together! After a few guest-filled episodes we're back to talk summer reads, weddings and of course Neil Gaiman and his mammoth tome "American Gods." In our introductio...
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Episode 22 - Science in Sci-Fi, Aliens, and a Critique of Democracy in "The Black Cloud" from 2017-06-22T19:57:30
Special guest Shawn Moksvold joins me to discuss Sir Fred Hoyle's "The Black Cloud." We talk about real science in Science Fiction and our conceptualization of aliens. We also think about Fred Ho...
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Aside #15 - A Special Guest, "Good" Science Fiction&Our Imminent Death from 2017-06-08T14:26:43
In this Aside, special guest Shawn Moksvold joins me to talk about our upcoming episode on Fred Hoyle's "The Black Cloud." We introduce Shawn, talk about Science Fiction in general and why it is...
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Episode 21 - Speculative Fiction, Language and Survival in Margaret Atwood's "The Handmaid's Tale" from 2017-05-30T15:28:48
In this episode, special guest Zak Breckenridge joins us to talk about Margaret Atwood's "The Handmaid's Tale." We discuss the power dynamics of language in a dystopia, survival, and maintaining a...
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Aside #14 - Lit Hub, Environmental Humanities&an Intro Discussion on "The Handmaid's Tale" from 2017-05-17T22:11:19
On our new Aside, Zak Breckenridge is back on the show with us to talk about getting featured on LitHub, the emerging academic field of Environmental Humanities, and of course help us introduce our...
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Vanity, Philosophy&Literary Lineages in Machado de Assis' "The Posthumous Memoirs of Brás Cubas" from 2017-05-09T22:24:53
On our 20th episode, Alex is joined by frequent casual academic Clay Oppenhuizen to discuss one of their favorite novels, "The Posthumous Memoirs of Brás Cubas," otherwise known as "Epitaph of a Sm...
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Aside #13 - 19th Century Brazil&Machado de Assis from 2017-04-11T10:21:36
On our 13th Aside, we are joined by fellow casual academic Clay Oppenhuizen to talk 19th century Brazilian literature and history, as well as introduce our second featured author of Brazilian Liter...
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Episode 19 - Narrative Techniques&The Thing Itself in Clarice Lispector's "Near to the Wild Heart" from 2017-04-05T19:46:30
Brazilian Literature Month at The Casual Academic is in full swing! On this episode, we discuss the debut novel of Clarice Lispector, "Near to the Wild Heart." We talk about her unique narrative ...
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Aside #12 - Brazilian Lit Month, an introduction to Clarice Lispector&"The Hour of the Star" from 2017-03-21T20:44:26
The Casual Academic's Brazilian Literature Month has officially started! You might say, isn't it March 20th? Well, you would be right, but we operate on a calendar the likes of Borges would appre...
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Special - Live Recording of the Launch of Literary Zine "La Errante," from Desperate Literature from 2017-03-13T22:29:57
The recording of the launch event of La Errante, A Journal of Art&Literature based out of Madrid, Spain. The event was recorded live last Friday (10/4/2017) at the bookstore Desperate Literature i...
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Episode 18 - Love, Violent Sexuality, and Western Influence in Yukio Mishima's Confessions of a Mask from 2017-03-09T00:39:18
On our 18th episode Clay Oppenhuizen joins us for a heady discussion of Yukio Mishima's 1949 novel Confessions of a Mask. We continue our brief overview of some historical and cultural background ...
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Aside #11 - Clay Oppenhuizen's Return, PhDs&Yukio Mishima from 2017-02-22T22:36:02
On our 11th Aside we welcome back our old friend and frequent guest Clay Oppenhuizen, who catches us up on his life, studies and upcoming article on our website about Ursula LeGuin's "The Left Hand...
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Episode 17 - Female Gothic, Neurosis&Humor in Shirley Jackson's We Have Always Lived in the Castle from 2017-02-15T10:27:51
On this episode we discuss Shirley Jackson's unsettlingly masterpiece in light of a general renewed interest in her work and life. We discuss her refreshing take on the gothic story and setting, t...
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Aside #10 - Website Articles, Winter Reads and Shirley Jackson from 2017-01-31T23:23:04
It would seem that we are starting a schedule of sorts. Will it last? We hope so. Anyway, on this Aside we talk about our current featured article on Thomas Mann's "Death in Venice," the books w...
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Episode 16 - The Poetics of Suspension in "The Rings of Saturn" and the Greatness of W.G. Sebald from 2017-01-23T01:07:04
On our 16th episode, we fall at the feet of W.G. Sebald, a German writer and academic whose work "The Rings of Saturn" blew us away with its haunting voice, genre-exploding form, and dizzying prese...
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Aside #9 - Our New Website and an Introduction to W.G. Sebald's "The Rings of Saturn" from 2016-12-14T10:23:42
On our 9th Aside, we talk about the ins and outs of our recently launched website, and introduce our author and work for our 16th and final episode of 2016, W.G. Sebald and his phenomenal book "The...
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Episode 15 - Ambiguity, Violence and the Postcolonial Condition in Season of Migration to the North from 2016-12-08T17:12:40
On our 15th episode, we tackle Tayeb Salih's widely acclaimed novel Season of Migration to the North. Voted as the most important book written in Arabic of the 20th century, Salih's novel writes b...
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Aside #8 - Tayeb Salih, Edward Said&a preview of "Season of Migration to the North" from 2016-11-22T13:16:04
In our 8th Aside, we preview our upcoming episode on Tayeb Salih's "Season of Migration to the North," and its place among Arabic as well as postcolonial literature. We also introduce Edward Said ...
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Episode 14 - Our Favorite Short Horror&Listener Recommendations from 2016-11-15T00:08:17
It is the beginning of the end of Horror Month here at The Casual Academic. Our 14th episode is a collection of some of our favorite short creepy tales, as well as a few that were recommended by so...
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Episode 13 - Mirages, Dread and the Unreliable Narrator in Lovecraft's "At The Mountains of Madness" from 2016-10-31T09:13:55
We continue our streak of Horror Month 2016 with an episode dedicated to H.P. Lovecraft's famous 1936 novella. Our 13th episode no less. Listen for a continued discussion on the perennially fasci...
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Episode 12 - The World, The Fiction&The Philosophy of Thomas Ligotti from 2016-10-20T21:29:10
We are back with our first full episode of Horror Month, and equally proud to present the FIRST podcast episode dedicated to the writer Thomas Ligotti (on iTunes and Stitcher at least). Jake reads...
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Aside #7 - Ligotti, Lovecraft and the Spectral History of the American Novel from 2016-10-11T21:00:48
In this special Aside for Horror month, Alex and Jake discuss Thomas LIgotti, H.P. Lovecraft and the weird history of the American Novel. They also preview the upcoming episodes on Thomas Ligotti ...
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Episode 11 - Semiotics, Sublimation and Inter-Textuality in Umberto Eco's "The Name of the Rose" from 2016-10-03T00:00
We are joined by our returning guest Zak Breckenridge in a conversation about the theories, ideas, and books behind Umberto Eco's debut novel. With his help, we establish a baseline understanding o...
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Aside #6 - University of Chicago, Academia and Previewing Eco's "The Name of the Rose" from 2016-09-19T17:42:03
In this Aside, Alex is joined by Clay and Zak to talk about their days at University of Chicago, broader themes about academia and preview the next episode on Umberto Eco's "The Name of the Rose."
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Episode 10 - Ta-Nehisi Coates, James Baldwin&Richard Wright in "Between The World&Me" from 2016-09-04T18:19:50
We are happy to bring you our 10th episode on Ta-Nehisi Coates' "Between The World And Me." Alex is joined by returning guest and fellow casual academic Clay Oppenhuizen and a new voice on our sho...
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Aside #5 pt. ll - The Book Review Draft from 2016-08-09T13:52:40
In Part ll, the 2016-2017 season of The Casual Academic is decided in an intense and electrifying five-round book review draft. Psyche-outs, sleight of hand, and a book nobody wants on their kickb...
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Episode 9 - The Devil&The Gothic in Flannery O'Connor's "The Violent Bear It Away" from 2016-08-08T17:55:45
After a long delay, we are back with an episode devoted to the wondrous Flannery O'Connor. We take our time in discussing her philosophy of writing; what the gothic does in "The Violent Bear It Aw...
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Aside #5 - Fall Reads, Speculative Fiction&Thomas Ligotti from 2016-07-30T20:25:28
After a slight July delay, we are back with some pretty cool news about The Casual Academic project, as well as discussing our choices for our late summer and fall reads. Later on, Alex&Jake chat ...
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Aside #4 News and Summer Reading Preview from 2016-06-28T18:35:36
Alex and Jacob had to postpone the episode on "The Violent Bear It Away" due to work conflicts until August. In the meantime, listen to them talk about creating their magnum opus known as Peter Pa...
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Aside #3 - Southern Gothic&Listener Questions from 2016-06-20T17:14:09
In Aside #3, Alex and Jacob answer listener questions, talk Southern Gothic literature and preview the next podcast on Flannery O'Connor's "The Violent Bear It Away." For all questions: thecasual...
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Episode 8 - Terra Incognita, Utopia and I&Thou in Ursula K. LeGuin's "The Left Hand of Darkness" from 2016-06-13T00:22:19
On this episode, Alex&Jake with their guest Clay Oppenhuizen contemplate LeGuin's inclusion of different perspectives such as journal entries, oral tales and investigative reports to tell the story...
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Aside #2 - Sci-Fi, Ursula Le Guin, an introduction to our guest Clay Oppenhuizen from 2016-05-31T12:54:01
On this Aside, we talk about what sci-fi can do, Ursula Le Guin's relationship with the academy, and our guest Clay Oppenhuizen proves himself more articulate than the both of us.
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Episode 7 - The 20th Century Catholic Writer&Paradox in Graham Greene's "The Power and The Glory" from 2016-05-25T09:38:02
On this episode, Jake and Alex talk about why Graham Greene's tag as a Catholic writer is restricting, and how in his acclaimed masterpiece he uses paradox both to create his fallen world and its c...
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Aside #1 - A Bit About Ourselves&an intro to Graham Greene from 2016-05-17T19:43:59
In Aside # 1, Alex and Jacob talk about their backgrounds and the odd books that got them interested in reading during their formative years. Also, they preview their next podcast episode on Graha...
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Episode 6 - Borderlands, Self-Other and the Failure of Language in J.M. Coetzee's "Disgrace" from 2016-05-09T05:45:41
In this episode, Jake and Alex discuss J.M. Coetzee's controversial book "Disgrace," which won him the Man Booker Prize for a second time in 1999. Race, animals, poetics and Post-Apartheid reality...
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Episode 5 - The Russian Post-Modern Condition in Venedikt Erofeev's Moscow to the End of the Line from 2016-04-25T23:24:08
In this episode, Jake and Alex give a general introduction to Postmodernism in Russian 20th century literature, and where it can be located in Venedikt Erofeev's beloved "Moscow to the End of the L...
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Episode 4 - Narrative Pathways&Alternate Histories in Jorge Luis Borges' "Fictions" from 2016-04-10T19:24:53
On this episode, we discuss various stories found in Jorge Luis Borges' "Fictions," and in the process might have created a labyrinth of our own. In thinking about what many “boom” writers of Latin...
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Episode 3 - Saudade&Memory in Ernest Hemingway's "A Moveable Feast" from 2016-04-03T14:50:35
In our third episode, we take on Ernest Hemingway's memoir in a conversation about the genre of memoir, saudade and the fiction of memory.
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Episode 2 - An Assortment of Franz Kafka from 2016-03-18T14:54:31
The second installment of our podcast, The Casual Academic (As I Lay Reading). Alex and Jake make their way through the dank murky waters of meaning in A Country Doctor, In the Penal Colony, A Rep...
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Episode 1 - The Apollonian&Dionysian in Thomas Mann's "Death In Venice" from 2016-03-12T16:51:10
Our flagship entry into the world of podcasting. Our first episodes covers dangerous obsession and cholera outbreaks in Thomas Mann's Death in Venice. NOTE: First podcast. The sound quality i...
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