Really True Fiction
117 episodes - English - Latest episode: 2 months ago - ★★★★ - 8 ratingsReally True Fiction is a podcast scouring famous works of fiction to swim through the real life lessons, thoughts, wisdoms, insights and ideas therein.
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Episodes
Ep. 86 - That's Totally My Book - (Harry Potter and The Half Blood Prince)
February 17, 2024 16:47 - 2 hours - 136 MBWelcome to the first foursome for Really True Fiction! A big thanks to Dan, Lydia and Graham for joining me to chat about the (best?) sixth Harry Potter book. In our conversation we cover such ground as: Relationships as status vs feeling, the monster in the chest, Ginny's subtle art of not giving a fuck, being blinded by bias, humanized villains, evil downstream of fear, what happens when you refuse a tyrant, Malfoy starting in pride, standing up to optics and propaganda, scapegoating, so...
Ep. 85 - Kafka's Wet Dream - (Harry Potter and The Order Of The Phoenix)
January 14, 2024 19:20 - 2 hours - 111 MBJump on the Hogwart's Express! We are going to back school! I'm very pleased to be joined by Dan Holder (who joined me on the Master and Commander episode) and Lydia Rollinson to talk about the fifth Harry Potter book. It was a total blast to have two Brits on to talk about a very British, as well as very archetypal, story. Talking about Order of the Phoenix we discuss the clash between Harry Potter and Evangelical Christianity in the 90s, avoiding hard problems, anxiety in regards t...
Ep. 84 - Spiral Of Uncertainty - (The Orphan Master's Son)
December 27, 2023 17:08 - 2 hours - 111 MBFor this episode of Really True Fiction I am pleased to have Stuart Kaija and Graham King on as guests to discuss the 2013 novel The Orphan Master's Son by Adam Johnson (winner of the Pulitzer prize). I had never heard of this book before it being introduced to me for this episode and I thorougly enjoyed it. It is, broadly speaking, about the experiences of a young North Korean man through his rise, and fall, and rise again, and fall again in the North Korean's state apparatus. In this ep...
Ep. 83 - Two Weevils - (Master & Commander)
November 12, 2023 18:05 - 1 hour - 61.6 MBWelcome back! In the first new episode in over a year, I was very happy and enlightened with sit down and chat with my friend Dan Holder. When I asked Dan what story he would be most interested in talking about for RTF he quickly replied Master and Commander. As I learned, Master and Commander is a 20+ book series on the adventures of Jack Aubrey and Stephen Maturin. As such, we condensed the series down to watching the 2003 film Master and Commander: The Far Side of the World; s...
Ep. 82 - What Did I Do? - (The Trial)
October 22, 2022 16:43 - 1 hour - 65.1 MBIn this episode we are discussing Franz Kafka's The Trial; written in 1914 but not published until 1925. This is an incredible and seminal work in modern literature and should be read by everyone. In this episode we talk about: - The style of a story that puts the audience in touch with the feelings of a character - If you don't know what you have done wrong than everything comes to mind and it is paralyzing and demoralizing - Bureaucracy as modern tyranny - The importance of trust i...
Ep. 81 - Hats Off To Conformity - (This Side Of Paradise)
May 01, 2022 17:57 - 1 hour - 65.6 MBWelcome to our second foray into the world of F. Scott Fitzgerald. In this episode we discuss his first novel This Side Of Paradise. We talk about: - How it might feel to have peers die on mass, Eros and Thanatos, egoism vs. narrcacism, the resentment of educated people towards those who make more money than them, hedgehogs vs foxes, butthurtedness, definite optimism and pragmatism, speed and velocity, conformity, personality vs personage, the flywheel life, and cynicism. Thank you ...
Ep. 80 - Bull In A Hedge Maze - (The Shining)
April 24, 2022 17:53 - 1 hour - 95.2 MBFor this eigthieth episode of RTF I am pleased to be joined by Alex Cormier to talk about the Kubrick film The Shining. Alex and I co-host a radio show called Full Spectrum Cinema, and you can find the link for that posted below. In this episode we discuss: - Stephen Kings horror is better shown in his human monsters vs his supernatural ones - The different ways Wendy and Jack fail as parents, and how Danny is scared to misbehave - Jack's substance abuse, "how did it get to this Jack?"...
RTF Update
March 04, 2022 19:14 - 10 minutes - 9.44 MBA update minisode for RTF. This is all about why there haven't been as many new episodes and what the future will be. Part of the reason are the new creative projects David and I have embarked on. Please see links for those projects. The Canadian Story https://www.thecanadianstory.com/ The Liberal Soul https://theliberalsoul87.libsyn.com/ Nothing To Fear https://anchor.fm/nothingtofear Full Spectrum Cinema https://www.mixcloud.com/Lexacorm/
Ep. 79 - Icarus Revived - (It's A Wonderful Life)
December 25, 2021 18:48 - 1 hour - 64.7 MBWelcome to our only tradition at RTF: a Christmas episode. For our third foray into traditional Christmas tales we tackle the Frank Capra classic It's A Wonderful Life. Additionally, as per our prerogative of doing a classic cartoon as well, we wax our thoughts on the Frosty the Snowman animation. In this episode we talk about imagination coming back to help us in hard moments, shifting perspective, defeating solipsism, the limits of markets to combat consumerism, how hard it can be to see w...
Ep. 78 - In Need Of A Good Mealiorism - (The Three Body Problem)
December 05, 2021 01:50 - 1 hour - 79.3 MBThanks for joining us into our first foray in Chinese Sci Fi. The Three Body Problem is a 2005 novel by Cixin Liu. It is the first part of a trilogy; which we will do eventually. This novel is partially about the three body problem in physics, and partially about many other things. Some of the things we chat about in this episode are: how cool it is to read a Chinese take on Sci Fi, what the ethos of science is, what physics could be like in other places, the weird optimism of science and hu...
Ep. 77 - What The Fudge Man!? - (Harry Potter And The Goblet Of Fire)
November 14, 2021 16:56 - 2 hours - 122 MBWelcome back once again to the fourth installment in the Harry Potter franchise. We all grow up a bit with this one. In this episode we talk about things existent and varied such as: the first time you travel and being to get over some of your inborn solipsism, the uncomfortability in knowing someone's fate when they don't, not needing universal popularity, finding the similarities between ourselves and not the differences, classic rights arguments, self-aggrandizement vs. actually helping s...
Bonus 2: Bene And The Gesserits - (Dune 2021 Film)
November 10, 2021 18:59 - 1 hour - 79.9 MBWelcome to a very special bonus episode of Really True Fiction. This bonus is a follow up to episode 73 where we talked about the novel Dune. With the release of the massive Denis Villeneuve film last month, we got the gang back together to give our thoughts on the movie as well as a few more broad perspectives on the story. David and Luke are super pleased to be joined once again by friend of the podcast Josiah Martinoski to talk all things Dune. Hilariously, we attempted a recording the we...
Ep. 76 - What's A Meta For Anyway? - (The Matrix)
October 10, 2021 15:54 - 1 hour - 83.7 MBWe're back baby! After a lengthy hiatus we are super pumped to be bring you a new episode of Really True Fiction. In honour of the fact that The Matrix 4 is coming out this December, and also of the fact that this movie is just made for RTF, we are doing the 1999 film The Matrix. In this episode we discuss the importance of archetypal stories and the somewhat inscrutable human need to know things, The Matrix as a version of Plato's cave, the point of the Matrix as choice, the impossibility o...
Ep. 20 - Prometheus - The OG Liberal Soul
August 29, 2021 20:25 - 1 hour - 65.6 MBThis episode is a little bit more personal than most of the previous solo ones. In this episode, I discuss the Greek myth of Prometheus. I subsequently talk about my concept of a Promethean and how they relate to the liberal soul. After, I relay a few honorable mentions, plus my top five Prometheans that have given me fire in my life. There is no source text for this episode (other than the myth itself), so it's a little bit more spontaneous than most of the solo episodes. I hope you enjoy i...
Ep. 19 - Movies As Great Art - (With Alex Cormier)
August 22, 2021 20:09 - 1 hour - 85.7 MBWelcome back to another episode of The Liberal Soul. For todays episode I was happy to be joined by Alex Cormier. Alex and I cohost a show on local radio called Full Spectrum Cinema; and in every episode we choose a movie and talk about it for an hour. Naturally, Alex seemed like a perfect guest for the podcast. We talk all about movies; why we love them and what they have meant for us in our lives. Some of the specific things we discuss are: - Some of the early films in our lives that wer...
Ep. 18 - Pragmatically Speaking
August 15, 2021 16:12 - 38 minutes - 35.9 MBIn this episode I give a very introductory opening to the idea of Pragmatism; the first American philosophy. I have come to think about Pragmatism and it's relationship to Liberalism by its adherence to reality and practical, real world effects. For this introduction, I discuss some of the lectures of Pragmatism by the great psychologist and philosopher William James. Some of the points I discuss in this episode are: - How Pragmatism was the first philosophy given to the world by American ...
Ep. 17 - All Downhill From Here (With Russ Fountain and Eric Wahn)
July 31, 2021 20:02 - 1 hour - 75.1 MBI was pleased to be joined by some friends from high school, Russ Fountain and Eric Wahn, to discuss their love and affinity for all things mountain biking. We talk about how they first came to love mountain biking, some of the influences on that passion, the love/hate relationships they have with trail building, how mountain biking allowed them to go to Germany to help out with some trails there, and how the relationship with the bikes and nature affects their feelings about it all. Just...
Ep. 16 - The Open Society And Its Enemies - Pt. 4
July 28, 2021 15:57 - 1 hour - 72.2 MBHere is the conclusion of my four part series on the book The Open Society And Its Enemies by Karl Popper. This episode finishes up Popper's observations on Marx as well as his general overview on how we should best think about history. In this episode I discuss Popper's thoughts on: - How upon success revolutionary leaders become the new ruling class - and how there are many different classes; not just two. - How modern democracies are not what Marx knew as capitalism - political interv...
Ep. 15 - The Open Society And Its Enemies Pt. 3
July 21, 2021 18:21 - 1 hour - 58 MB*Mild spoilers for season two of House of Cards in this episode* Welcome to part three of a four part series on the book The Open Society And Its Enemies by Karl Popper. If you haven't listened to the first two parts yet I would highly recommend that you do, as the book builds through the parts and I will make references in todays episode that will have more context if you are familiar with the previous two episodes. In part three, I discuss Popper's take on how Aristotle and Hegel have in...
Ep. 14 - May The Force Be With You (With Alex Wan and Billie Schultz)
July 18, 2021 16:01 - 2 hours - 125 MBJust a couple of rebels sitting around trying to take down the Empire. In this episode of The Liberal Soul I am so pleased to be joined by my wonderful friends Alex Wan and Billie Schultz. The three of us also do the Nothing To Fear podcast where every week we watch a scary movie and talk about it so you don't have to! However, in today's episode we go back to our roots: Star Wars. The saga is one of the first things that bonded us and was one of the first movies that made us fall in love ...
Ep. 13 - The Open Society And Its Enemies Pt. 2
July 14, 2021 15:56 - 1 hour - 73.1 MBThis episode is part two of a four part series on the book The Open Society And Its Enemies by Karl Popper. Please listen to episode one before this as it will give context for this episode. In this episode I discuss: - Plato's formulation about who should rule is a useless question - rather we should ask how we can make institutions that prevent bad rulers from doing too much harm, as many to most rulers are below average in real life. - Shortcomings in a democratic state are the respon...
Ep. 12 - My Orwell Life (With Danica Weager)
July 11, 2021 16:50 - 1 hour - 67 MBFirst episode on George Orwell. My guest for this episode is my great friend Danica Weager. We take as our launchpad the Orwell essay Politics and the English Language. It's been a goal of this podcast to also talk about language and how we use it. Orwell is the perfect writer in this regard. In todays episode we talk about: - The ease of invoking names without understanding the underlying principles - The Liberal ethos "yes things are bad, but we can improve them" - What we mean by th...
Ep. 11 - The Open Society And Its Enemies - Pt. 1
July 07, 2021 18:54 - 59 minutes - 54.9 MBWelcome to part one of a four part mini-series on the book The Open Society And Its Enemies by Karl Popper. This book is a Promethean level of fresh air intellectually when it comes to understanding how a free society can operate; and what are the kind of mentalities that are opposed to that. Even though it is mentioned as unknowing in the episode, this book was published in 1945. It comes in two volumes, and for this episode I will be talking about the first half of volume one. In today's e...
Ep.10 - The Righteous Mind
July 04, 2021 20:36 - 37 minutes - 35.1 MBWelcome to double digits of The Liberal Soul! For today's episode I will be talking about Jonathon Haidt's book from 2012: The Righteous Mind (Why good people are divided by politics and religion). I wanted to do this episode to draw in some moral psychology into political and religious philosophy. Haidt's careful consideration of why people believe different things and his analogies for how the mind has different default settings is really fascinating and useful for navigating a world wi...
Ep. 9 - Self-Reliance
June 30, 2021 15:58 - 47 minutes - 44 MBIn this solo episode I talk about the 1841 essay Self-Reliance by Ralph Waldo Emerson. This essay had a profound effect on my life when I first read it, and I still go back to it every year or so for inspiration. Emerson talks about the psychological importance of non-conformity, of trusting your own mind, and being the author of your own creations and endeavors. Here is a link to the essay if you are interested in reading it: https://archive.vcu.edu/english/engweb/transcendentalism/authors...
Ep. 8 - May You Ever Hear The Music (With Zach Gerber)
June 27, 2021 15:33 - 1 hour - 68.9 MBIn this episode of The Liberal Soul, I speak with musician, sound engineer, and my cousin Zach Gerber. Zach lives in Ontario and has been involved professionally in music for the last decade. Zach is a touring musician with the Canadian band Walk Off The Earth, so he has lots of great stories about festivals and concerts. Music being my first love, I wanted to have an episode talking to Zach about music and how it has shaped our lives. Some of the things we talk about are: - Zach's beginni...
Ep.7 - Individualism Vs. Egoism
June 23, 2021 16:04 - 30 minutes - 28.3 MBIn this episode of The Liberal Soul I take a little detour down a Karl Popper path and discuss a section from his book The Open Society And Its Enemies. There is an incredible section of that book where Popper dissects the difference between individualism and egoism; and how Plato conflated them for his own propaganda. By equating individualism with egoism, Plato made it easy to dismiss as uncaring, selfish, and without interest in altruism. Popper points out a simple logic in error from Pla...
Ep. 6 - The Beautiful Game (With David Harris)
June 20, 2021 15:58 - 1 hour - 62.3 MBAnnyeong! In this episode of The Liberal Soul I talk to my good friend David Harris. David lives in England and we met each other while living in Gwangju, South Korea. It was a real pleasure having Dave on the podcast; he is a ton of fun to talk to. We spend most of this episode talking about football (soccer) and what it means often to people living in England. Some of the things we talk about are: - How we met and what a Hash is - The Tottenham Hotspurs and how there are many profess...
Ep. 5 - A Thousand Small Sanities - Pt. 2
June 16, 2021 16:32 - 47 minutes - 44 MBThis episode is the second in a two-parter talking about the book A Thousand Small Sanities by Adam Gopnik. In part two, I'll be talking about Gopnik's observations of why the Right and Left politically dislike liberals. Some of the things I talk about are: - Liberals and Conservatives having different temperaments - and that they both share a tragic view of life but the liberal believes in the possibility of incremental improvement over time - Strong man politics is the norm in the h...
Ep. 4 - Losing Our Religion (With Cole Kander)
June 13, 2021 15:53 - 1 hour - 78.4 MBIn this episode of The Liberal Soul I talk with my friend Cole Kander. I wanted to talk to Cole because he and I have had a very similar life trajectory. We were both born and raised in a very Protestant house and church culture, and we both have decided that kind of life isn't for us. I know this can be a really hard thing to talk about for many people, so I'm really proud of Cole being able to put himself out there like this. Some of the things we talk about are: - Our religious upbrin...
Ep. 3 A Thousand Small Sanities - Part 1
June 09, 2021 16:07 - 39 minutes - 37 MBThis episode of The Liberal Soul is part one of a two part reflection on the 2019 book A Thousand Small Sanities by Adam Gopnik. I have mentioned this book a couple times in the first couple episodes, so I wanted to give it its due here. This book was the proximate impetus for this podcast as I recall being quite inspired and educated when I first read it. In part one I talk about: - Liberalism being an emergent philosophy with the discovery that other people have a moral conscience as wel...
2. On Liberty (With David Parker)
June 06, 2021 15:30 - 1 hour - 74.1 MBHello RTF listeners. Here is the second episode from my new podcast The Liberal Soul. For the second episode of The Liberal Soul I'm very pleased to be joined by my cousin and cohost of our other podcast Really True Fiction: David Parker. In this episode, David and I chat about the seminal and foundational liberal essay On Liberty (1859) by John Stuart Mill. Here is a link if you want to read it: https://www.gutenberg.org/files/34901/34901-h/34901-h.htm In our chat, David and I discus...
You've Found The Liberal Soul
June 02, 2021 23:56 - 1 hour - 59.2 MBHey RTF Listeners! I recently started a new podcast called The Liberal Soul. This is the first episode and I'm including it on this show because it was directly inspired by many things David and I talked about on RTF. This podcast is going to be about what it's like to be a person open to the world and curious about the passions of others. Also, it's a podcast where I will be talking about famous works (both fiction and non) in the history of liberal philosophy. Cheers!
Ep. 75 - American Troubadours - (Into The Wild)
January 17, 2021 16:21 - 1 hour - 83.7 MBFor our 75th episode, we do a film that is sort of fiction? 2007's Into The Wild is a treasured film for both David and Luke. In this episode we talk about avoiding sanctimony, not jumping down others throats, camaraderie and hard work, the dichotomy of Los Angeles, homelessness, being hardwired for cross purposes, tragedy as emergent instead of super imposed, becoming a person worthy of others and the incredibleness that is Eddie Vedder. Hope you enjoy this episode in the big hard world. ...
Ep. 74 - Inattention Unto Death - (American Beauty)
January 10, 2021 16:06 - 1 hour - 109 MBA return to the wonderful and bizarre year of culture that was 1999. In this episode we are joined by my friend Danica Weager as a guest for our considerations on American Beauty: The greatest movie about nothing. We contemplate the slow sliding into personal hell that is unconscious living, finding meaning in life while still caring for others, vital masculinity, perfectionism/achievement, becoming what you pursue, the scourge of solipsism, worshipping others, the cult of self-help, and the...
Ep. 73 - Space Witches - (Dune)
January 03, 2021 17:25 - 1 hour - 103 MBWhat a pain in the Arrakis! David and I want to say a big thank you to our guest Josiah Martinoski for this episode on the novel Dune. We dive into the Frank Herbert 1965 Sci/Fi classic. We talk about leadership, management, subterfuge, religion, competence, the macro vs micro world, and all the lore in between. Hope you enjoy it! Additional Spoilers: Monsters Inc - 1:03:12 The Island - 1:17:08 The Matrix - 1:17:24 Foundation - 1:18:50 Captain America: Civil War - 1:33:10 Term...
Ep. 72 - God Bless Us, Every One! - (A Christmas Carol)
December 25, 2020 16:11 - 1 hour - 76.9 MBA very Merry Christmas to everyone! This has been an extremely difficult year, and we hope you all can find a meaningful way to spend these holidays. In the meantime, sit back and enjoy our take on the classic 1843 Christmas tale: A Christmas Carol. Additionally, we also recorded a bonus intro on our thoughts on the modern classic from 1965: Merry Christmas Charlie Brown. We talk about all things Christmas (and a few things Yuletide) in this. So grab your stockings and hot chocolate, and sta...
Ep. 71 - A Patronus Chorus - (Harry Potter And The Prisoner Of Azkaban)
December 20, 2020 18:00 - 2 hours - 110 MBWe return with the third book. In this episode, we are pleased to be joined by our friend Alex Wan as a guest. Alex is one of three cohosts (along with Luke and Billie, whom you can hear on episode 62) of the Nothing to Fear podcast. Alex joins us remotely to talk about the third Harry Potter novel The Prisoner of Azkaban (the darkest entry yet!). In this episode we hit many topics including: -Exposure to the bigger world as a crucial component of the heroes journey - Being 13 - The ...
Ep. 70 - Perspective On The Fly - (Stranger Things Season One - Pt. 2)
December 13, 2020 17:19 - 1 hour - 71.8 MBIn this episode we conclude (for now) our thoughts on Hawkins, Indiana. We talk about Joyce, Hopper, Nancy, Jonathan, Steve and stuff about the show and 80s culture in general. We discuss being committed to your own eyes and ears, having the strength of your own opinion, being pulled by the truth over self-interest, the importance of being able to triage, and being able to see into the lives of people. Hope you enjoy! Here is the link to the Christopher Hitchens speech: https://www.youtu...
Ep. 69 - Human First - (Stranger Things Season One - Pt. 1)
December 06, 2020 17:02 - 1 hour - 67.6 MBWe are back with our foray into Hawkins Indiana. We are starting with season one of the great nostalgic show! In this episode we talk about the kids of Hawkins (Will, Mike, Dustin, Lucas and Eleven) and all their travails. We talk about really listening when a person presents new information, being a young hero, the vitality of being a kid and not equivocating on ethical standards, the goofball facade, being a realist and nobly responding to the world after trauma. Hope you enjoy!
Ep. 68 - Almost Perfect - (Harry Potter And The Chamber Of Secrets)
November 15, 2020 01:37 - 1 hour - 101 MBIn this episode we dive into the second novel in the Harry Potter franchise: the nearly flawless Chamber of Secrets. In this episode we talk about initiating kindness, gossip, loneliness and betrayal, Enlightenment stuff, carrying on a vision, Harry's choice, rebirth, not being serious about reality, and intent vs. impact. Hope you enjoy this episode as much as we enjoyed reading this book. Additional Spoilers: True Detective 34:10
Ep. 67 - Tragedy Vs. Utopia - (Foundation)
November 08, 2020 17:46 - 1 hour - 89.1 MBIn this episode of Really True Fiction we talk about the 1951 Isaac Asimov novel Foundation. We discuss the Noble Lie vs. Noble Truth, Science as problem solving vs. ultimate truth, the tragic vs. utopian sense of life, and the importance of engaging with physical reality. We hope you enjoy! Additional Spoilers: The Social Network 23:50 The Matrix 28:18 Star Trek Beyond (major spoiler) 1:07:30 Watchmen 1:07:45 Breaking Bad Season 4 (major spoiler) Death of Stalin 1:29:50
Bonus 1: Common Decency & Existential Despair - (South Park Pandemic Special)
October 31, 2020 16:08 - 1 hour - 63.7 MBOur first bonus! In this episode we discuss the South Park Pandemic Special (but really this is another meditation on the corona virus and the lockdown). This episode is also a first in RTF's attempt at remote recording (Luke was in Alberta and David was in Ontario). David was not at a location with a decent microphone, which is why you will hear a discrepancy in audio quality between our voices. However, we plan on rectifying that for the next actual episode, so fear not!
Ep. 66 - Gryffin And The Doors - (Harry Potter And The Philosophers Stone)
October 25, 2020 15:44 - 1 hour - 101 MBWe begin the great journey! We have decided to do the Harry Potter books (though not all in a row). In this episode we talk about being born with fame and how that would make a person feel, the inability to let sarcasm go, the importance of naming things, the depression of incuriousity, the gross nature of superiorism, deeper truths, and how to organically be a team. Reading this book was a real treat and we are quite excited to do all of them. Additional Spoilers: Hysteria 1:00:10 19...
Ep. 65 - Real Boys Rage Against The Big Empty - (Blade Runner 2049)
October 18, 2020 15:45 - 1 hour - 71.6 MBIn this episode we discuss the sequel to the 1982 classic. We talk about how, even though he is a replicant, K shows more subtle humanity than any other character in the movie. We also talk about the desire for relationship, Niander Wallace's desire to bring back slavery, Ryan Goslings acting, and the humans prejudice against the replicants (who are like them in basically ever manner). Additional Spoilers: The Expanse 43:55
Ep. 64 - Ariadne's Thread - (Blade Runner)
October 11, 2020 15:41 - 1 hour - 88.8 MBIn this episode we dive into the 1982 Ridley Scott classic Blade Runner (based on the Philip K. Dyck novel Do Androids Dream Of Electric Sheep?). We talk about the nature of personhood, the Turing Test, where we think Plato got things wrong, and what it means to treat another being as a person. This is one of our more philosophically heavy episodes; so be forewarned! Enjoy! Additional Spoilers: There are several spoilers for the movie Ex Machina and the show Westworld in this episode.
Ep. 63 - Missing Everybody - (The Catcher In The Rye)
October 04, 2020 15:33 - 2 hours - 117 MBWe dive into everyone's favorite high school assigned reading and the Salinger classic. Both David and Luke were pleasantly surprised at how much they enjoyed this book. We talk about insecurities, depression, rage, theological whimsies, gift giving and receiving, a Promethean vs. a hero, and much more. Hope you enjoy!
Ep. 62 - The Civilizational Impulse - (The Stand)
September 27, 2020 14:39 - 2 hours - 161 MBAn RTF first! We welcome our friend Billie as our first ever guest on Really True Fiction! We discuss the Stephen King novel The Stand in this episode. We discuss the world of The Stand, and how it might be similar and different from our COVID world. We also discuss leadership, reflected decision making, remember the world before a tragedy, learning and growing from a global catastrophe, goodness being small but persistent, the dangers of teleology, how propaganda works in this world, and ho...
Ep. 61 - or: How I Failed Twitter And Learned To Forego The Mob - (Dr. Strangelove)
September 20, 2020 14:42 - 1 hour - 82.9 MBWe embark into our first Kubrick film. In this episode we discuss the fallout of bad leadership, the difficulty of maintaining good leaders, contemporary American issues, the challenge of moral psychology, and how older films don't really float our boats so much. Enjoy! Additional Spoilers: 2001: A Space Odyssey - 4:45 Being There - 8:55 Arrested Development Season 3 - 9:50 A Tale Of Two Cities - 49:17 Rope - 1:27:35 *Corrections* - At one point David says the band Straylight...
Ep. 60 - Life Before Death - (Infinite Jest)
September 13, 2020 16:29 - 2 hours - 139 MBWe take the plunge. In this episode we attempt to do justice to the 1996 masterpiece Infinite Jest; written by David Foster Wallace. This novel is massive and thorough, so it would be impossible to cover everything in it. However, we talk about the three main themes/critiques (as far as we see them) which are: achievement, entertainment, and pleasure/addiction. Enjoy! Additional Spoiler: Brave New World 1:23:55 *Correction* Luke says David Foster Wallace was born in 1965. He was actu...