Not Quite Great Books: a TV podcast

Danielle and John are joined by their first Moon Knight guest host, Regan Levitte, John’s colleague and friend! Together, they consider the potential contribution of the MCU to contemporary culture, and they declare NQGB a Layla stan podcast. John asks some solid question in Marvelsplaining, and Regan regales everyone with a fascinating discussion of fanfiction, remixing, and the generative potential of a feminist entry point into MCU properties. In the Cave, Regan, John and Danielle dig deeper and link their broader discussion to questions of the monomyth (a la Joseph Campbell) and Edgar Rice Burroughs’ colonialist thinking. Come for the quips about a shirtless Oscar Isaac, stay for the queer feminist thoughtfulness that weaves its way throughout this episode!
Music by Lesfm from Pixabay
 
Show notes:
"A Girl and Her Taser" and "How to Win Friends, Crash Cymbals, and Fail at Asking Her Out" at AO3
Transformative Works and Cultures journal
The Winterowd references are to Chapter 1, "The Classical Tradition in Composition/Rhetoric," in The Contemporary Writer (1975/1981)
"DID System Reacts to Moon Knight | Episodes 1&2" by braiDIDbunch
"The Marvel Cinematic Universe isn't Art" by Patrick Marlborough, at VICE

Back on their own again this week, John and Danielle tackle The Americans S2E8, “New Car.” They structure their discussion around the way each major plot thread poses a question about the relationship between pure ideology and lived experience. They explore this tension through Philip’s flashy new purchase, relationships to capitalism, the conflict with Larrick, and even around the challenges with Henry. John has some pressing questions for Danielle in the Dossier, and in the Cave, your hosts meet Mark Fisher to discuss the link between this ep’s questions and capitalist realism. There’s also a healthy does of 80s (anti?) nostalgia around Martha’s questionable breakfast choices and Reagan’s CPAC speech. The tensions are rising in The Americans but your podcast hosts keep it cool (cooler than they would be as spies)!

For the second installment of their Moon Knight deep dive, John and Danielle think together about what the MCU is trying to do with this episode, since the series seems much less connected to other MCU properties than Loki. John and Danielle diverge on their level of enjoyment, but can both get on board with exclusively calling each other ‘Bruv’ from now until the end of time. Your hosts meet Layla for the first time (!), react to the utopian community and the view of the police the episode offers, and John asks some solid questions in Marvelsplaining. To cap it off, John offers a stellar gloss of NK Jemisin and Ursula Le Guin in The Cave.
 
Music by Lesfm from Pixabay

John and Danielle are joined by their friend, feminist theorist, professor, and co-host of the Stuck in Stoneybrook podcast Emily Crandall to discuss The Americans Season 2 Episode 7, “ARPANET.” Together, they organize their main discussion around the question of human attempts to exert control over technology, using this frame to tackle polygraphs, bugging the internet (um, what?), and even the Lucia/Elizabeth/Nicaragua plotline, not to mention giving Henry more attention than his parents or the show. It’s a very active Danielle Dossier, when Emily adds her own theories and John asks whether Katie or Claudia is more sus. In the Cave, Emily offers an expert gloss of Donna Haraway, and then provides a breakdown of where The Americans and The Baby-Sitters Club most readily overlap (with a little help from Danielle). Enjoy!
 
Music by Lesfm from Pixabay

Fresh off their Loki bonus run, John and Danielle tackle a new MCU series, Moon Knight. Danielle is still (sort-of) in the MCU driver’s seat, with John bringing his more "critical" eye to the project. Together, they consider Steven Grant’s role as storyteller, Egyptian cosmology and the broader colonialist vibes of the property, and whether this is a successful first ep of a series (read: will John enjoy this more of less than Loki?). They bring back some of their regular MCU segments, change up the Easter Egg hunt a bit, and hang with Deleuze and Guattari in the Cave. Of course, there’s some Oscar Isaac/Ethan Hawke talk, and some bonus theory-chat sprinkled in too.
 
Music by Lesfm from Pixabay

In this week’s episode, John and Danielle ask how desire impacts the characters and the plot in The Americans Season 2 Episode 6, “The Red Door.” They tackle the ~interesting~ dynamics between Elizabeth and Philip, the complicated question of desire when it comes to missions, and they meet Larrick, who they suspect will be with us for a few more episodes. But it’s not just desire this week: Claudia makes another appearance in Danielle Dossier, and Gaad tells Stan he’s bad at his job (just like we’ve been saying this whole time!). And in the Cave, John and Danielle return to the ur-thinker of their friendship when they consider the emotional economy and circulation of desire with Sara Ahmed, with a bit of the Frankfurt school and Marx sprinkled in!

They did it (or, rather, John made it!). Back together for the season finale of Loki, “For All Time, Always”, and ready to ask some big questions. They consider the stakes of the decisions that Loki and Sylvie face, and how Kang’s (ok, ok, He Who Remains) entry into the series impacts time, space, and the Politics of the MCU. Danielle asks John what he would change in order to enjoy this more, and John even completes his first Marvelsplain to date! Like Kang looming over the series from the start, your hosts meet Hobbes in the Cave, who has been lurking in the shadows for most of their discussions from the get-go. Come for the banter, but stay to find out if John ends the season with a winning record in the Easter Egg Hunt!
 
Music by Lesfm from Pixabay

This week, John and Danielle dig into Season 2 Episode 5 of The Americans, “The Deal” by considering the different deals that confront our characters in the episode. They tackle the geopolitical and interpersonal stakes of the deals between the USSR and Israel, Yossi and Philip, and even Martha and Elizabeth’s wig-happy Jennifer. They ask how these different deals ultimately impact Philip and Elizabeth’s relationship before a trip into the 80s nostalgia fueled by cigarettes and Kenny Rogers refs. Your hosts take a page out of Baklanov’s book by meeting Hannah Arendt in the Cave to think about her work on Eichmann and the broader questions of judgment such a dig raises. Don’t worry, this episode also has a lot of Danielle yelling in Hebrew to balance some of the more serious conversations and weighty topics!
 
Music by Lesfm from Pixabay

John and Danielle are joined by the incomparable Lilly Goren to discuss Episode 5, “Journey into Mystery”. Together they offer a power ranking of Loki variants, revisit the query of what makes a Loki a Loki, and dig into the chaos of the Loki gang and Alioth alike. Lilly offers an eye-opening parallel with the Wizard of Oz, and then dazzles our hosts with a description of her forthcoming co-edited volume Politics and the Marvel Cinematic Universe in the segment with a similar name!
 
Music by Lesfm from Pixabay

Back on their own this week, Danielle and John wade into Season 2 Episode 4 of The Americans, “A Little Night Music.” This episode is full of religious imagery, and John makes sure to exploit Danielle’s discomfort at this at every turn (in good fun!). Together, they wade through the youth group, Paige’s lying, Stan and Philip’s relationship, and of course, the return of Claudia (much to Danielle’s chagrin). There’s a lot of nostalgia for the unremembered 80s this week, and Danielle’s Dossier is overflowing. Your hosts are joined by Augustine in the Cave to help them parse the overwhelming presence of religion. Come for their takes on Philip’s academic disguise, stay for the deeper discussion on Elizabeth’s difficult mission.
 
Music by Lesfm from Pixabay