Not Quite Great Books: a TV podcast

The titular girls go through coming of age rites of passage both holy and profane, sneaking away to an escapade-laden concert in Belfast and navigating one wedding and a pot-scone-fueled wake. And yet, your hosts are split on these episodes and the series as a whole as one of them (guess who) concern trolls whether these are characters or props delivering jokes and shenanigans. Regan and John are united, however, in their interest in the travellers, gratefulness of The Cranberries drops, appreciation of Da Gerry, and having been too goody two-shoes as teens to pull off Derry girls-level deception and subterfuge. Plus, Sister Michael outside of school, twice! -- Music by Lesfm from Pixabay

The second series of Derry Girls (second season for the Yanks) is here, and what if anything about the show has changed? 80s classic The Breakfast Club and Dead Poets Society help Regan and John frame their discussion of mission: ride some Prod lads and the questions about social separation the mission raises, and of the pedagogy (or lack thereof) of one Ms. De Brún. A real heyday for Sister Michael in these episodes sparks the segments, which also include your share of lad culture, music recommendations, and, of course, our guy the Child of Prague. -- Music by Lesfm from Pixabay

These are the episodes where the girls truly do become children of the crossfire. A run-in with the Orange Order prompts a roadtrip gone wrong and a consideration of our new favorite (?) Provo, whale some classic school newspaper mechanics prompt a coming out for one of the main characters. Regan and John discuss how these episodes and particularly the cross-cutting final scene may fundamentally alter the show and consider an absent Madonna (the pop superstar this time), step aerobics, The Cranberries, Saint Anthony, and Le Tigre among many other subjects.  -- Music by Lesfm from Pixabay

Regan and John connect to podcasts past (Pope-verse, anyone?) as they explore the ways Catholicism is woven into the fabric of everyday life for the titular Derry girls as they confront the mysteries of the Virgin Mary, dead, resurrected, or absconded dogs, history exams, and visitors from Ukraine. After questioning whether Erin can become more than trope-ic comic relief, they dive into the segments to appreciate Sister Michael, recommend PJ Harvey (guess who), talk about Chernobyl Children International, and much more.  There’s even a hot priest! -- Music by Lesfm from Pixabay

Regan Levitte is BACK for some more NQGB podcasting, this time initiating John into the world of Derry Girls. Exploring identity-making, the pair situate themselves in the world of Derry, Northern Ireland and of the five main characters, Erin, Clare, Michelle, Orla, and James. Which character does each of your trusty hosts most resemble (whether they like ir or not)? What new and alliterative segments have been devised for this jaunt to the serious and silly sitcom set amid The Troubles, circa 1990s? What theory season is it (spoiler: Sara Ahmed SZN…but this time The Cave contains more than just theory.) Does John like this show? -- Music by Lesfm from Pixabay

Ooooh boy! Back after a brief hiatus, Jon Keller makes his triumphant return for another finale episode, joining Danielle and John to talk all The Americans Season 5 Episode 13, “Soviet Division.” Together, all three unpack the situation with Pasha and the Morozovs, including disentangling some of the complicated family dynamics between the Jennings and Tuan as well as the Morozovs. The family dynamic chat continues with a look at Paige and Henry, before turning their attention to the intense vibes between Philip and Elizabeth over their fates and futures. In the Dossier, we check in on Martha, add an alternative take on Renee, and John offers his own entry as well. Glas sees the return of Kimmy (some real throwbacks in this episode!), some more hot takes about Martha, a chat about camera work, and of course RACQUETBALL BACK, though this time with Renee supplanting Philip as MVP. Your hosts are happy that their third chair is here to guide them through actual - not borrowed - nostalgia, and even more excited for him to make the descent with them into the Cave for more Marx SZN. This time, they dig into Marx’s Critique of the Gotha Program to reflect on the state of affairs in The Americans at the close of Season 5.  Is there Reptile Talk? Fam, there is Reptile Talk.  -- Music by Lesfm from Pixabay

On their own this week, John and Danielle are ready to tackle The Americans Season 5 Episode 12 “The World Council of Churches.” Will Danielle’s dream of the end (of a sort) of Pastor Tim finally come true? It looks like it! Organizing their conversation around the concept of resignation, your hosts take up what Oleg, Stan and Aderholt, Paige, Philip and Elizabeth, and even Tuan are resigned to in their situations, missions, and lives more generally. They consider how Pastor Tim’s new assignment shines a light on what the different members of the Jennings family are resigned to, and how Henry complicates their potential options. Before moving on to the segments, they take up Tuan’s behavior and the cliffhanger end of the episode. In the Dossier, Danielle offers some thoughts on Pasha, the return to Russia, and Oleg before Glas sees a brief chat on Mischa, among some further thoughts on Henry as well as Pastor Tim (Danielle cannot wait for this to be done). In the Cave, John offers some solid takes on The Civil War in France, the latest entry for Marx SZN, and your hosts give you some solid TheoryShips. Come for (Danielle hopes) the last Pastor Tim sighting, stay for John’s stellar TheoryShips. -- Music by Lesfm from Pixabay

Danielle and John are joined by friend of the pod Michaela Rife to discuss The Americans Season 5 Episode 11, “Dyatkovo” (a word Danielle is definitely great at pronouncing, and a word John is actually great at pronouncing). Michaela offers up homecoming and the relationship to home as a banger of a theme, and together your hosts consider Henry’s HOMEwork, Philip’s reveries of home, the question of defending a homeland, and what it really means to have a home to go back to - a recurring question for MANY of our characters. Danielle offers some Stan-centric tinfoil hat theories in the Dossier, and in Glas, your hosts give Michaela some runway to give her thoughts on the wedding from the previous episode, and to show off her art historian expertise at breaking down the tableaux of the dramatic final scene. They also check in on Tuan’s sad McDonalds scene and ask whether Henry’s "investigative" "journalism" "skills" are priming a future FBI career. After a few comments on different 80s ‘fits and Henry’s handwritten report, it’s time to descend back into the Cave for more Marx SZN - this time with (drumroll please) The 18th Brumaire of Louis Bonaparte. Come for the solid thematic discussion but stay for the Theoryships and another installment of everyone’s favorite, Marx SZN! -- Music by Lesfm from Pixabay

Back on their own this week, Danielle and John descend into the basement to talk about The Americans Season 5 Episode 10, “Darkroom,” and BOY, is THIS an EPISODE!?! Your hosts unpack a series of scenes that center Paige, from her snooping to her interactions with her parents to the final darkroom scene. Don’t worry, it’s not all-Paige-all-the-time - they sprinkle in time to chat about the orthodox marriage ceremony and the Morozovs. From there, Danielle offers some wild tinfoil hat theories in the Dossier, including reflecting on whether or not anyone actually got Pastor Tim a job (!). In Glas, John reflects on some of the smaller choices including the handwriting situation over at EST, and of course some camerawork quips. Your hosts touch on what’s going on with Oleg as well as what Stan and Aderholt are up to with regards to Sofia before lightening the mood by talking about the 80s fits that we get in this episode. And of course, the episode ends with a descent into the Cave for more Marx SZN - this time, featuring Class Struggles in France. It’s a double-descent kind of episode.  -- Music by Lesfm from Pixabay

This week, John and Danielle are joined by one of their favorite recurring guests in the NQGB (Zencastr) studio, Lilly Goren! Together, they tackle The Americans 5x9, “IHOP.” They consider the developments in this ep and the season more generally through the idea of ‘the return of the repressed’ - this helps highlight the connections between Henry’s demands, Martha’s encounter with Gabriel, everything with Tuan, and more. Your hosts unpack who is the repressed and what the implications of their return are in each of the different beats of the ep. Of course, Danielle dons her tinfoil hat in the Dossier to chat about Tuan, and Lilly and John indulge her here. In Glas, there’s a lot of spycraft, some set design notes about Martha’s Moskva apartment, and Father Andrei. Lilly gets her first dose of Marx SZN with the Communist Manifesto, and offers some awesome anecdotes to accompany the trip into the Cave. Your hosts end with a robust round of TheoryShips. Enjoy! (We lost a few minutes of Lilly's audio and brilliant thoughts early in the episode, but only in the very beginning). -- Music by Lesfm from Pixabay  

Amy Schiller is back with John for a wide-ranging conversation about economies both sacred and profane. Together, they consider the May election of Pope Leo XIV as a pop culture phenomenon (2:36), the amor fati, unresolved moodiness, and audience responses to the third season of The White Lotus (13:34), and in true dialectical fashion strongly disagree about Celine Song's new film Materialists and its engagement with love, money, and height surgery (1:00:55).  Can you have a little materialism as a treat? How *would* you structure a shady AF $5 million cover-up transaction? Is being a Mike White simp a defensible lifestyle? Tune in to find out.    Amy's book The Price of Humanity: How Philanthropy Went Wrong and How to Fix It is available at Bookshop.org among other venues, and she writes The Schill newsletter on Substack. -- Music by Lesfm from Pixabay  

Danielle and John are back to chat all things The Americans 5x8, “Immersion”! Even though Philip and Elizabeth defiantly claim "We know what to think," your hosts ask whether ANY of the characters ACTUALLY know what to think. Unpacking the return of Claudia, Elizabeth training Paige, and the ongoing faux(?)-romantic entanglements with Ben and Deirdre, as well as checking in with Evgeniya, Tuan, and Oleg, John and Danielle do their best to evaluate if any of these characters actually knows what to think (or do) as their realities shift amidst an ever-changing political landscape. Of course, Danielle takes up Claudia's reappearance in the Dossier with the help of some probing questions from John (she literally couldn't resist), and in Glas, your hosts consider the FBI's museum antics and Renee's general vibes. Marx SZN continues in the Cave as John guides us through another dip into Capital. Your hosts have some fun with their TheoryShips this week - TL:DR, Hobbes is also back in action. Come for the Marx, but stay for your hosts *maybe* using Ben's correct name! -- Music by Lesfm from Pixabay

Making his triumphant return, Jordan Cass is BACK, joining Danielle and John to chat all things The Americans 5x7, “Committee on Human Rights”! Once again impeccably prepared, Jordan guides the trio through an analysis of the episode around the theme of ‘enmeshment’. Together, they consider Gabriel’s final conversation with Philip, Paige’s search for autonomy and her break-up with Matthew, and the various attachment structures of the Jennings family. The trio questions what enmeshments are required in the life of a spy. But the real mark of triumph in this episode is when Jordan schools John and Danielle on the fact that Brad-not-Brent’s name is NOT Brad, but BEN. This reveal is an all-timer, and with it, Jordan cements his case for permanent third-chair on the pod. Somehow, your hosts recover, and journey together into the segments, with some questions in the Dossier, scrutiny over Paige’s bookshelf, and checking in about Renee and Stan. Your hosts return to Capital for another installment of Marx SZN, and round things out with another set of TheoryShips. Come for Jordan’s superb insights, stay for how he absolutely roasts your hosts, for everyone’s enjoyment! -- Music by Lesfm from Pixabay

Gabriel might be leaving, but John and Danielle are here to stay, this week taking on The Americans 5x6, “Crossbreed.” They frame their discussion around ‘disclosure’, starting with Gabriel’s decision to leave (don’t worry, Danielle has THOUGHTS on this in the Dossier) before moving onto the lack of disclosure when it comes to Philip, and wrapping up with some musings on Oleg burning the tape. They consider what it means to introduce Paige to Gabriel in the broader context of the show, as well as in relation to the question of disclosure. In Glas, your hosts cannot help but overanalyze Elizabeth’s newly found mode of relaxation, Tai-Chi, and the parallels between Gabriel in DC and Oleg in Moscow. John and Danielle consider the 80s-ness of psychiatrist culture before meeting Marx once again in the Cave - this time chatting all things Capital! They make a case for the show hiring them as Marx-consultants (derogatory), which, of course, would make things much smoother for all involved! This would rectify some of the missteps - which are all still obviously Pastor Tim’s fault. Your hosts end the episode with some TheoryShips of Robyn Marasco and Foucault (sorry-not-sorry) to our beloved characters. Enjoy! -- Music by Lesfm from Pixabay

John and Danielle are back to dig into The Americans 5x5, “Lotus 1-2-3,” and they are DISSOCIATING as they do so! With that theme, your hosts consider how this approach helps Philip and Elizabeth cope with their various missions and their less-than-ideal reality. John highlights the age-old Eros-Thanatos double whammy for not only Philip and Elizabeth (and their respective marks/partners), but Stan as well! Perhaps, dissociation is what one needs in order to maintain a double life, or overlook the cracks and fissures in that life. Turning to the segments, Danielle claims a win in the Dossier due to Philip’s suspicions about Renee, which John reluctantly allows, but doesn’t give any confirmation one way or another (no surprise there!). In Glas, we get the depressing return of Mischa, a check-in with Oleg, and debrief about Tuan along with some quips about camerawork and costumes to round out the analysis. In Borrowed Nostalgia, your hosts can’t let the styrofoam McDonald’s boxes go unnoticed, or Renee’s general hyper-80s persona. In the Cave, Marx SZN thunders on with John guiding us through the German Ideology. Come for the comparisons between the sex scenes, stay for the TheoryShips! -- Music by Lesfm from Pixabay

Your hosts break out the maps to tackle The Americans 5x4, “What’s the Matter with Kansas?” Does Danielle know where Kansas is on a map? Great question. Together, John and Danielle use the notion of logistics to analyze the main moves of the episode, turning quickly from Gabriel to Paige (TIM BACK!) to the seduction gambits of our two main characters. While Elizabeth has to do a lot of planning to seduce Ben (Mr. Spontaneous), Philip’s hand at logistics almost goes awry. We learn that Alexei is a logistics guy, and even Stan gets in on the logistics fun! In the Dossier, Danielle re-ups her Renee suspicions, and we get some more Philip/Stan paralleling in Glas. Your hosts laugh about Henry, Oleg’s dueling plotlines, and even the Mischa of it all, which has a lot of guys being dudes packed into a few short scenes. In Borrowed Nostalgia, 80s alarm bells go off for carob, health food stores in general, and of course everyone’s gym attire. It’s definitely still MARX SZN in the Cave - John dazzles with Theses on Feuerbach this week before your hosts take up a serious matter: Marx continuity errors in the Americans (ofc it’s Pastor Tim’s fault). Enjoy! -- Music by Lesfm from Pixabay

This week, John and Danielle are joined by their friend and fellow political theorist Kennan Ferguson! Together, these three dig into Danielle’s take on Season 5 Episode 3, “The Midges,” using the frame of ‘family’ - inspired by some of Kennan’s work (!) - to structure their discussion.  They start with the bowling scene with Tuan and the Morozovs and then consider its mirror with Paige later on. They tackle Philip and Elizabeth’s dance in the hotel room and the final scene before moving onto the segments, which of course starts with Danielle’s reactions to MARTHA BACK. What a jumpscare! In Glas, they consider Oleg and the supermarket worker, and Stan and Aderholt’s attempts at Soviet recruitment before some solid musical discussion in Borrowed Nostalgia. They welcome Kennan to MARX SZN in the Cave with a quick trip into the 1844 Manuscripts on Estranged Labor, and John celebrates Kennan’s work in his TheoryShip. Your hosts leave no proverbial stone unturned with this one.  -- Music by Lesfm from Pixabay

Oh boy. John and Danielle are back at it for The Americans Season 5 Episode 2, “Pests.” Framing their discussion around “unofficial rules,” they consider how unwritten and unofficial rules structure the lives of our favorite spies, in particular how these dictate what to do with the grain situation and Gabriel, Tuan, and the Morozovs. Your hosts also consider the unwritten rules of teenagers when it comes to Paige and all her angst, as well as the relationship between Stan and Oleg. In the Dossier, Danielle introduces some suspicions about Renee, which John (as usual) ‘no-comments’ - stay tuned for Renee check-ins in later episodes. Glas has the usual spycraft round-up and Philip-Stan relationship appraisal, and we are treated to a relatively deep-dive about Bennigans and chain restaurants in Borrowed Nostalgia. There’s another installment of MARX SZN in the Cave, with the added bonus of some creative TheoryShips too. Enjoy! -- Music by Lesfm from Pixabay

WE ARE SO BACK! Back from an extended break in the Soviet Union, Danielle and John dive into Season 5 of The Americans! They take on Season 5 Episode 1, “Amber Waves,” by focusing in on the multiple manifestations of mothering that drive the episode. Together, they unpack the introduction of Tuan, pour one out for Hans (RIP), and ask after Claudia too. Danielle makes an (inappropriate) violent mothers joke before the head into the segments, which she follows up with some tinfoil-hat-theorizing about Mischa and Gabriel in the Dossier. John guides the pair through an in-depth analysis of William’s death in Glas and puts his musical analysis on display in Borrowed Nostalgia. PLATO SZN is over, but Season 5 marks the beginning of MARX SZN in the Cave! Your hosts introduce some Marx-inspired awards: Most Bourgeois and Champion of the Workers they will inevitably forget to give out at least half the time! Don’t worry, there’s also plenty of predictions, 80s Olympic Games, and late night missions. Come for the quips about parenting from your favorite non-parents, stay for the TheoryShips! -- Music by Lesfm from Pixabay

Danielle and John are back together, and to transition out of (brat?) summer and into another fall of teaching and The Americans podcasting, they reunited to perform a silly, cringe AF, ultra-frivolous exercise. After receiving a crucial Producer Amy primer, they power rank The Americans characters to determine who is the most Brat. Surprises abound. Because that is somehow not enough, they also place characters on the meme Kamala Harris political alignment chart. Who just fell out of a coconut tree? Your hosts? Tune in and find out.  We also managed to shoehorn in some Oasis chatter, and if you stick around to the end, you'll find out two crucial pieces of news about the NQGB plans for The Americans S5!  Check out the NQGB twitter feed for the final rankings and alignment if you find this extremely-well-planned episode somewhat hard to follow.  -- Music by Lesfm from Pixabay