Tapestry Radio Network: Recent Episodes
Michael & Ethan in a Room with Scotch
Join Michael & Ethan each month as they drink Scotch and talk about books, movies, pop culture, and everything under the sun, everything but Scotch. Join the conversation!
Michael, Ethan, and special guest Jacob discuss Way Station, by Clifford D. Simak, while drinking Glenlivet 12.
In this episode:
The witness is treated as hostile
Finding the Hodag where the Way Station is in the Driftless region
The dispelling of illusions
The CIA defeated by a conversation
Bible as metaphor for technology vs. technology as metaphor for Bible
Science fiction basllica!
Rat assassin! (Ratsassin?)
Next time Michael and Ethan will discuss Way Station, by Clifford Simak! Join the discussion! Go to the Contact page and put "Scotch Talk" in the Subject line. We'd love to hear from you! And submit your homework at the Michael & Ethan in a Room with Scotch page.
Join us on GoodReads!
Get on our Substack!
Donate to our Patreon!
MUSIC & SFX:
"Kessy Swings Endless - (ID 349)" by Lobo Loco. Used by permission.
"The Grim Reaper - II Presto" by Aitua. Used under an Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike License.
"Thinking It Over" by Lee Rosevere. Used under an Attribution License.
(Links to books & products are affiliate links.)
In this episode:
Language, Migration, Faith, Treachery, Faith, and the Great River: a Star Trek analogy that only Michael caused to happen
English as a “grabby” language
Lots of talk about God and faith and vulnerability, a lot of it not very fun to be sassy about in a bullet point (thanks guys)
De-validating pedantry (for perhaps the first time in this podcast’s history)
Deeply uneasy fart-based transitions
The Battle of Waterloo, by William McGonagall
For context, because the boys fail to give ANY, McGonagall was a Victorian poet who is often considered the worst poet in the English language
Also, McGonagall IS Cthulu
Midwest Immigration Bond Fund
Next time Michael and Ethan will discuss Way Station, by Clifford Simak! Join the discussion! Go to the Contact page and put "Scotch Talk" in the Subject line. We'd love to hear from you! And submit your homework at the Michael & Ethan in a Room with Scotch page.
Join us on GoodReads!
Get on our Substack!
Donate to our Patreon!
MUSIC & SFX:
"Kessy Swings Endless - (ID 349)" by Lobo Loco. Used by permission.
"The Grim Reaper - II Presto" by Aitua. Used under an Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike License.
"Thinking It Over" by Lee Rosevere. Used under an Attribution License.
(Links to books & products are affiliate links.)
We made some new friends with the Pints with Jack podcast! Listen in to our interview on their Half-pint special!
Michael and Ethan finish their discussion of Rivermouth, by Alejandra Oliva, while drinking Smokehead Twisted.
In this episode:
Language, Migration, Faith, Treachery, Faith, and the Great River: a Star Trek analogy that only Michael caused to happen
English as a “grabby” language
Lots of talk about God and faith and vulnerability, a lot of it not very fun to be sassy about in a bullet point (thanks guys)
De-validating pedantry (for perhaps the first time in this podcast’s history)
Deeply uneasy fart-based transitions
The Battle of Waterloo, by William McGonagall
For context, because the boys fail to give ANY, McGonagall was a Victorian poet who is often considered the worst poet in the English language
Also, McGonagall IS Cthulu
Midwest Immigration Bond Fund
Next time Michael and Ethan will discuss Way Station, by Clifford Simak! Join the discussion! Go to the Contact page and put "Scotch Talk" in the Subject line. We'd love to hear from you! And submit your homework at the Michael & Ethan in a Room with Scotch page.
Join us on GoodReads!
Get on our Substack!
Donate to our Patreon!
MUSIC & SFX:
"Kessy Swings Endless - (ID 349)" by Lobo Loco. Used by permission.
"The Grim Reaper - II Presto" by Aitua. Used under an Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike License.
"Thinking It Over" by Lee Rosevere. Used under an Attribution License.
(Links to books & products are affiliate links.)
Michael and Ethan discuss Rivermouth, by Alejandra Oliva, while drinking Smokehead Twisted.
In this episode:
Interrogating Michael, linguistically and in other ways
The Michael’s Translation Soapbox Podcast: a temptation
Blindly table-setting
Book baggage
Crowds as statistics vs crowds as groups of actual humans
The hermenutical principle of honesty, honestly
Cantankerous faith
The paradox of lack of description vs depth of described humanity
Next time Michael and Ethan will continue to discuss Rivermouth, by Alejandra Oliva! Join the discussion! Go to the Contact page and put "Scotch Talk" in the Subject line. We'd love to hear from you! And submit your homework at the Michael & Ethan in a Room with Scotch page.
Join us on GoodReads!
Get on our Substack!
Donate to our Patreon!
MUSIC & SFX:
"Kessy Swings Endless - (ID 349)" by Lobo Loco. Used by permission.
"The Grim Reaper - II Presto" by Aitua. Used under an Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike License.
"Thinking It Over" by Lee Rosevere. Used under an Attribution License.
(Links to books & products are affiliate links.)
Michael and Ethan and special guest Nick conclude their discussion of Stuart Turton’s third novel, The Last Murder at the End of the World.
In this episode:
The ten commandments of detective fiction
Topics in Turtonology
Schrodinger’s locked room mystery
If you bend any genre too far, horror leaks out
Pixar Extended Universe teasing
Thinking about thinking about The Tempest
DO THE WORK
Detective fiction lightning round
Names With Michael lightning round
Next time Michael and Ethan will discuss Rivermouth, by Alejandra Oliva! Join the discussion! Go to the Contact page and put "Scotch Talk" in the Subject line. We'd love to hear from you! And submit your homework at the Michael & Ethan in a Room with Scotch page.
Join us on GoodReads!
Get on our Substack!
Donate to our Patreon!
MUSIC & SFX:
"Kessy Swings Endless - (ID 349)" by Lobo Loco. Used by permission.
"The Grim Reaper - II Presto" by Aitua. Used under an Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike License.
"Thinking It Over" by Lee Rosevere. Used under an Attribution License.
(Links to books & products are affiliate links.)
Michael and Ethan and special guest Nick begin their discussion of Stuart Turton’s third novel, The Last Murder at the End of the World.
In this episode:
Thanks to Jared
The ten commandments of detective fiction
Murder plots versus murder mysteries
But like, what even is human, anyway, right?
And what is supernatural, even?
Clarke’s Third Law: “Any sufficiently advanced technology is indistinguishable from magic”
We must imagine Prometheus happy
Some bad news about ambiguity in novels
Next time Michael, Ethan, and special guest Nick will continue to discuss The Last Murder at the End of the World, by Stuart Turton! Join the discussion! Go to the Contact page and put "Scotch Talk" in the Subject line. We'd love to hear from you! And submit your homework at the Michael & Ethan in a Room with Scotch page.
Join us on GoodReads!
Get on our Substack!
Donate to our Patreon!
MUSIC & SFX:
"Kessy Swings Endless - (ID 349)" by Lobo Loco. Used by permission.
"The Grim Reaper - II Presto" by Aitua. Used under an Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike License.
"Thinking It Over" by Lee Rosevere. Used under an Attribution License.
(Links to books & products are affiliate links.)
Michael and Ethan continue discussing Nobber, by Oisin Fagan, while drinking The Midnight Silkie (Michael) and Red Locks (Ethan) Irish whiskeys.
In this episode:
Michael forgets, for the second time in four episodes, to call for Karen to read the rules. Rude. Good thing Karen just came in and started reading them
A real SCAREcrow, or, a murdered murder
Who is the greater fool, the fool or the fool who calls the fool a fool?
Pinning down the black box that is the murder of crows
Nobber is hell (?)
Nobber is colonialism (and colonialism is also hell, so…)
Palimpsests of colonialism, how’s that for some English-major talk?
Ethan gets to say vampire words a bunch of times
“The Terrific Cyclone of 1893,” by William McGonagall
Next time Michael and Ethan will discuss The Last Murder at the End of the World, by Stuart Turton! Join the discussion! Go to the Contact page and put "Scotch Talk" in the Subject line. We'd love to hear from you! And submit your homework at the Michael & Ethan in a Room with Scotch page.
Join us on GoodReads!
Donate to our Patreon!
BUY A NIHILIST BLANKET!
Your Hosts: Michael G. Lilienthal (@mglilienthal) and
Ethan Bartlett (@bjartlett)
MUSIC & SFX:
"Kessy Swings Endless - (ID 349)" by Lobo Loco. Used by permission.
"The Grim Reaper - II Presto" by Aitua. Used under an Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike License.
"Thinking It Over" by Lee Rosevere. Used under an Attribution License.
(Links to books & products are affiliate links.)
Michael and Ethan begin their discussion of Nobber, by Oisin Fagan, while drinking The Midnight Silkie (Michael) and Red Locks (Ethan) Irish whiskeys.
In this episode:
The question and the answer is “WTF?”
Bafflement loves company
Nihilism (question mark?)
Plague books
Michael says “plague-ground” and Ethan completely fails to call him on it
Very relevant and very pointed
Acquisitiveness so strong it breaks the fourth wall
A clumsy trap for Michael
Bestiality!
Scientific reasons are sometimes bestial, and bestial reasons are sometimes scientific
Is this book trying to make us, the reader, into the Christ figure?
Alchemical hermaphrodite, a possibly or possibly-not Ethan-only joint
Nebuchadnezzar!
Dueling heresies/heresies all the way down
Next time Michael and Ethan will discuss Nobber, by Oisin Fagan! Join the discussion! Go to the Contact page and put "Scotch Talk" in the Subject line. We'd love to hear from you! And submit your homework at the Michael & Ethan in a Room with Scotch page.
Join us on GoodReads!
Donate to our Patreon!
BUY A NIHILIST BLANKET!
Your Hosts: Michael G. Lilienthal (@mglilienthal) and
Ethan Bartlett (@bjartlett)
MUSIC & SFX:
"Kessy Swings Endless - (ID 349)" by Lobo Loco. Used by permission.
"The Grim Reaper - II Presto" by Aitua. Used under an Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike License.
"Thinking It Over" by Lee Rosevere. Used under an Attribution License.
(Links to books & products are affiliate links.)
Michael and Ethan continue discussing Glorious Exploits, by Ferdia Lennon, while drinking The Midnight Silkie (Michael) and Red Locks (Ethan) Irish whiskeys.
In this episode:
Jokes (get better the more you tell them)
Spoilers for Downton Abbey series 3 (2012)
If you haven’t watched every example of German Expressionist silent cinema, do you even lift?
Nostalgia for a time when plays could induce riots
Slouching toward assigning a graduate thesis
Multiple “Gift of the Magi” situations humanly complicate multiple characters
What is art?
Next time Michael and Ethan will discuss Nobber, by Oisin Fagan! Join the discussion! Go to the Contact page and put "Scotch Talk" in the Subject line. We'd love to hear from you! And submit your homework at the Michael & Ethan in a Room with Scotch page.
Join us on GoodReads!
Donate to our Patreon!
BUY A NIHILIST BLANKET!
Your Hosts: Michael G. Lilienthal (@mglilienthal) and
Ethan Bartlett (@bjartlett)
MUSIC & SFX:
"Kessy Swings Endless - (ID 349)" by Lobo Loco. Used by permission.
"The Grim Reaper - II Presto" by Aitua. Used under an Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike License.
"Thinking It Over" by Lee Rosevere. Used under an Attribution License.
(Links to books & products are affiliate links.)
Michael and Ethan begin discussing Glorious Exploits, by Ferdia Lennon, while drinking The Midnight Silkie (Michael) and Red Locks (Ethan) Irish whiskeys.
In this episode:
Don’t worry about why Karen reading the rules happens so suddenly
This book is The Producers, the Great Escape, AND the Gift of the Magi
Sometimes the real story is the anachronisms we met along the way
“Version” is fine
Obligatory Shakespeare digression
Technically not a history podcast
King Offa’s Arabic coin
Euripedes’ Deus is not quite as ex machina as you might expect
Michael and Ethan: rabbit holes all the way down
Next time Michael and Ethan will continue to discuss Glorious Exploits, by Ferdia Lennon! Join the discussion! Go to the Contact page and put "Scotch Talk" in the Subject line. We'd love to hear from you! And submit your homework at the Michael & Ethan in a Room with Scotch page.
Join us on GoodReads!
Donate to our Patreon!
BUY A NIHILIST BLANKET!
Your Hosts: Michael G. Lilienthal (@mglilienthal) and
Ethan Bartlett (@bjartlett)
MUSIC & SFX:
"Kessy Swings Endless - (ID 349)" by Lobo Loco. Used by permission.
"The Grim Reaper - II Presto" by Aitua. Used under an Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike License.
"Thinking It Over" by Lee Rosevere. Used under an Attribution License.
Michael and Ethan, finally alone, finish the discussion of their Mondo Book for the year: Persuasion, by Jane Austen.
In this episode:
Finally alone except for a dog and cat
Persuasion Chapter 53
Persuasion is either Much Ado About Nothing or Parks and Rec or both
Our highest aim on this podcast is “possible legitimacy”
Jane Austen can’t have anybody naked, even in the 1990s
People have been really gross and done really gross stuff for a long time
Did Lee Harvey Oswald kill Kennedy using the butterfly effect?
Novel + satire + socialist(?) class critique = Jane Austen is a genius
Mrs Smith and Zombies
Community comes out through conversation
How much of community is persuasion?
We still need each other whether we like it or not
No community has ever flourished without the possibility of people you don’t like
Michael brag brag brags
Next time Michael and Ethan will discuss Glorious Exploits, by Ferdia Lennon! Join the discussion! Go to the Contact page and put "Scotch Talk" in the Subject line. We'd love to hear from you! And submit your homework at the Michael & Ethan in a Room with Scotch page.
Join us on GoodReads!
Donate to our Patreon!
BUY A NIHILIST BLANKET!
Your Hosts: Michael G. Lilienthal (@mglilienthal) and
Ethan Bartlett (@bjartlett)
MUSIC & SFX:
"Kessy Swings Endless - (ID 349)" by Lobo Loco. Used by permission.
"The Grim Reaper - II Presto" by Aitua. Used under an Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike License.
"Thinking It Over" by Lee Rosevere. Used under an Attribution License.
Michael and Ethan, with special wife guests Karen and Sarah, discuss their (somewhat slimmer than usual) Mondo Book for the year: Persuasion, by Jane Austen.
In this episode:
Again making use of our intern-generated, wonderful, thoughtful, very serious discussion guide
Karen definitely makes multiple references to to Mrs Jennings, a character from Sense and Sensibility and NOT this novel
A block of wood would be a better father than Anne’s actual father
Meanwhile, Ethan says “verb” when he clearly means “adjective” so I guess everyone’s a sinner
The wives get in some pretty good burns on Sir Walter, including:
Sir Walter is so obsessed with himself that he takes the opening of the novel away from Anne
Sir Walter is a toddler
From the beginning of The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn:
NOTICE.
Persons attempting to find a motive in this narrative will be prosecuted; persons attempting to find a moral in it will be banished; persons attempting to find a plot in it will be shot.
BY ORDER OF THE AUTHOR
PER G. G., CHIEF OF ORDNANCE.
Is Anne a real character with agency or just sort of a wavy balloon guy for the wind to blow around?
Karen is Anne, Anne is Emma, Sarah is the walrus, coo coo ca choo
Coming soon:
Persuasion and the Alien Invasion
Persuasion and Psirens
Next time Michael and Ethan will continue the discussion of their Mondo Book for the year: Persuasion, by Jane Austen! Join the discussion! Go to the Contact page and put "Scotch Talk" in the Subject line. We'd love to hear from you! And submit your homework at the Michael & Ethan in a Room with Scotch page.
Join us on GoodReads!
Donate to our Patreon!
BUY A NIHILIST BLANKET!
Your Hosts: Michael G. Lilienthal (@mglilienthal) and
Ethan Bartlett (@bjartlett)
MUSIC & SFX:
"Kessy Swings Endless - (ID 349)" by Lobo Loco. Used by permission.
"The Grim Reaper - II Presto" by Aitua. Used under an Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike License.
"Thinking It Over" by Lee Rosevere. Used under an Attribution License.
In this episode:
What an excellent rule (sorry, Risha)
An unpopular opinion that captures several important things
Austen as a writer who maybe should be listened to at least as much as read?
Reading novels was basically the 19th-century version of Gameboy
JANE DID A CLIFFHANGER
Is Persuasion unfilmable?
VERY EXCITING DICTION DISCUSSION
Jane Austen: all sarcasm all the time maybe?
The Keira Knightley one, the one with the Dashwood Sisters, the one with the name we can’t say…
One very simple blockage: the miscommunication trope
The blockage is always the title of the book
Next time Michael and Ethan will continue the discussion of their Mondo Book for the year: Persuasion, by Jane Austen! Join the discussion! Go to the Contact page and put "Scotch Talk" in the Subject line. We'd love to hear from you! And submit your homework at the Michael & Ethan in a Room with Scotch page.
Join us on GoodReads!
Donate to our Patreon!
BUY A NIHILIST BLANKET!
Your Hosts: Michael G. Lilienthal (@mglilienthal) and
Ethan Bartlett (@bjartlett)
MUSIC & SFX:
"Kessy Swings Endless - (ID 349)" by Lobo Loco. Used by permission.
"The Grim Reaper - II Presto" by Aitua. Used under an Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike License.
"Thinking It Over" by Lee Rosevere. Used under an Attribution License.
On this “special” episode, Michael forces Ethan to play his weird game, smooch/marry/kill, but with books. If it’s a bad episode, it should be emphasized, it IS Michael’s fault.
In this episode:
It almost turns into the Dune/Lawrence of Arabia show ALMOST IMMEDIATELY and that’s Michael’s fault
Michael references a “summer evening” which is relevant to when we recorded this episode but not to when it’s coming out, sorry
It also almost becomes a cocktail episode which is also Michael’s fault, and these bullet points are even before we get to the actual premise of the episode which Ethan is VERY salty about
Ethan and Psyche rout Michael’s little death trick
We don’t know what the MPA rating standards are for podcasts
Japanese cats make the most enticing smooches because you have to work for them
This podcast’s next t-shirt and also tagline: “Low demand, high fun”
EVERYONE BE COOL AND IMAGINE ROUND TWO IN WISHBONE TERMS
WE DON’T CONDONE NASTINESS
Hendiadys: one through two, and we love it
Old armchair smooch: a very real thing that people do say and have said
Tom Jones expected to be killed one of these days
Next time Michael and Ethan will continue the discussion of their Mondo Book for the year: Persuasion, by Jane Austen! Join the discussion! Go to the Contact page and put "Scotch Talk" in the Subject line. We'd love to hear from you! And submit your homework at the Michael & Ethan in a Room with Scotch page.
Join us on GoodReads!
Donate to our Patreon!
BUY A NIHILIST BLANKET!
Your Hosts: Michael G. Lilienthal (@mglilienthal) and
Ethan Bartlett (@bjartlett)
MUSIC & SFX:
"Kessy Swings Endless - (ID 349)" by Lobo Loco. Used by permission.
"The Grim Reaper - II Presto" by Aitua. Used under an Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike License.
"Thinking It Over" by Lee Rosevere. Used under an Attribution License.
Michael and Ethan, with special guests Lydia and Christina (aka Stiners), discuss their (somewhat slimmer than usual) Mondo Book for the year: Persuasion, by Jane Austen.
In this episode:
Our intern wrote us this very thorough, very thoughtful, and overall excellent discussion guide
A sort of Damocles
True gnosis will lead you to a binary choice
Christina’s Walter Elliot thoughts
Captain Wentworth: a hot blank canvas
Lydia would maybe have to bully Wentworth
There aren’t any examples of persuasion in this book other than like 75 examples
Jane Austen: Unionize! (because it’s about marriage but also class solidarity)
We will be producing “Persuasion but it’s the Blair Witch Project” soon
Coming soon: Lydia’s Ramblings (maybe)
Next time Michael and Ethan will continue the discussion of their Mondo Book for the year: Persuasion, by Jane Austen! Join the discussion! Go to the Contact page and put "Scotch Talk" in the Subject line. We'd love to hear from you! And submit your homework at the Michael & Ethan in a Room with Scotch page.
Join us on GoodReads!
Donate to our Patreon!
BUY A NIHILIST BLANKET!
Your Hosts: Michael G. Lilienthal (@mglilienthal) and
Ethan Bartlett (@bjartlett)
MUSIC & SFX:
"Kessy Swings Endless - (ID 349)" by Lobo Loco. Used by permission.
"The Grim Reaper - II Presto" by Aitua. Used under an Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike License.
"Thinking It Over" by Lee Rosevere. Used under an Attribution License.
Michael and Ethan, with special guests Erin and Risha, inaugurate their discussion of their (somewhat slimmer than usual) Mondo Book for the year: Persuasion, by Jane Austen.
In this episode:
What an excellent rule (sorry, Risha)
An unpopular opinion that captures several important things
Austen as a writer who maybe should be listened to at least as much as read?
Reading novels was basically the 19th-century version of Gameboy
JANE DID A CLIFFHANGER
Is Persuasion unfilmable?
VERY EXCITING DICTION DISCUSSION
Jane Austen: all sarcasm all the time maybe?
The Keira Knightley one, the one with the Dashwood Sisters, the one with the name we can’t say…
One very simple blockage: the miscommunication trope
The blockage is always the title of the book
Next time Michael and Ethan will continue the discussion of their Mondo Book for the year: Persuasion, by Jane Austen! Join the discussion! Go to the Contact page and put "Scotch Talk" in the Subject line. We'd love to hear from you! And submit your homework at the Michael & Ethan in a Room with Scotch page.
Join us on GoodReads!
Donate to our Patreon!
BUY A NIHILIST BLANKET!
Your Hosts: Michael G. Lilienthal (@mglilienthal) and
Ethan Bartlett (@bjartlett)
MUSIC & SFX:
"Kessy Swings Endless - (ID 349)" by Lobo Loco. Used by permission.
"The Grim Reaper - II Presto" by Aitua. Used under an Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike License.
"Thinking It Over" by Lee Rosevere. Used under an Attribution License.
CONTENT WARNING: Discussion of suicide.
Michael and Ethan continue their discussion of Stella Maris, by Cormac McCarthy, while drinking Bunnahabhain 12yo single malt.
In this episode:
Michael is mean
As Likely to End the World as to Save it: Knowledge and Science in Cormac McCarthy, by Philip Bunn (this bullet point happened a few eps ago, but it deserves repeating)
Unconscious/subconscious, and what the difference is, and whether it matters
Trying to be the smartest person in the world, and also have companionship
The dangers of language, or, words are bad
Lotsa Gnosticism
William Blake, and a little bit Lovecraft, but mostly Blake
A memory of a stupid review
Like The Passenger, this book is secretly about the atomic bomb
Anaximander, who thought existence is a wrong done to the universe
Hurtfully, this book is Catcher in the Rye
Ethan gets the name of Pokemon Rollout deeply wrong right at the end, lol
Next time Michael and Ethan will the discussion of their Mondo Book for the year: Persuasion, by Jane Austen! Join the discussion! Go to the Contact page and put "Scotch Talk" in the Subject line. We'd love to hear from you! And submit your homework at the Michael & Ethan in a Room with Scotch page.
Join us on GoodReads!
Donate to our Patreon!
BUY A NIHILIST BLANKET!
Your Hosts: Michael G. Lilienthal (@mglilienthal) and
Ethan Bartlett (@bjartlett)
MUSIC & SFX:
"Kessy Swings Endless - (ID 349)" by Lobo Loco. Used by permission.
"The Grim Reaper - II Presto" by Aitua. Used under an Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike License.
"Thinking It Over" by Lee Rosevere. Used under an Attribution License.
CONTENT WARNING: Discussion of suicide.
Michael and Ethan begin their discussion of Stella Maris, by Cormac McCarthy, while drinking Bunnahabhain 12yo single malt.
In this episode:
We’re sleeping together on the couch/futon tonight
Cover blurbs, or, the marketing materials are contributing to the discussion of what these books are
Hot takes on Pynchon cover blurbs, with a side-route into conspiracy
Is Stella Maris a coda?
If you stretch, and stretch, and stretch, and bring in GK Chesterton, maybe anything can be repaired
Why do Bobby and the Thalamide Kid both have flippers replacing certain digits?
Is the story a Socratic dialogue, a Platonic dialogue, or a story where the character Alicia is constructing a Socratic/Platonic dialogue?
Mathematics vs. philosophy vs. the looney bin
Next time Michael and Ethan will continue to discuss Stella Maris, by Cormac McCarthy! Join the discussion! Go to the Contact page and put "Scotch Talk" in the Subject line. We'd love to hear from you! And submit your homework at the Michael & Ethan in a Room with Scotch page.
Join us on GoodReads!
Donate to our Patreon!
BUY A NIHILIST BLANKET!
Your Hosts: Michael G. Lilienthal (@mglilienthal) and
Ethan Bartlett (@bjartlett)
MUSIC & SFX:
"Kessy Swings Endless - (ID 349)" by Lobo Loco. Used by permission.
"The Grim Reaper - II Presto" by Aitua. Used under an Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike License.
"Thinking It Over" by Lee Rosevere. Used under an Attribution License.
CONTENT WARNING: Discussion of suicide.
Michael and Ethan continue their discussion of The Passenger, by Cormac McCarthy, while drinking Bunnahabhain 12yo single malt.
In this episode:
Concise answers, reining it in, etc
Is this book JD Salinger’s (incest) Franny and Zooey?
Is McCarthy’s body of work just him taking previous works and adding greater shock value?
Are these books Catcher in the Rye? If so, can Ethan deal?
Is Bobby socially inept or socially VERY ept?
Is Bobby Oedipus Rex?
Is Alicia the Virgin Mary, or Medea, or both?
Will Ethan get distracted by how overrated he finds Oppenheimer?
How did you get here?
Are you the passenger? Are we all the passenger?
Did Oswald kill JFK? And whether he did or not, why do we spend 30 pages of this book discussing it?
Does the climax of this book occur 100+ pages before the end of the text?
Is The Thalamide Kid a hallucination, an alien, a quantum agent of some kind, an angel, a demon, or a broken-off shard of Alicia’s consciousness?
Given every single thing these books are about, why are they such a delight?
Next time Michael and Ethan will begin to discuss Stella Maris, by Cormac McCarthy! Join the discussion! Go to the Contact page and put "Scotch Talk" in the Subject line. We'd love to hear from you! And submit your homework at the Michael & Ethan in a Room with Scotch page.
Join us on GoodReads!
Donate to our Patreon!
BUY A NIHILIST BLANKET!
Your Hosts: Michael G. Lilienthal (@mglilienthal) and
Ethan Bartlett (@bjartlett)
MUSIC & SFX:
"Kessy Swings Endless - (ID 349)" by Lobo Loco. Used by permission.
"The Grim Reaper - II Presto" by Aitua. Used under an Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike License.
"Thinking It Over" by Lee Rosevere. Used under an Attribution License.
CONTENT WARNING: Discussion of suicide.
Michael and Ethan begin their discussion of The Passenger, by Cormac McCarthy, while drinking Bunnahabhain 12yo single malt.
In this episode:
Some hot takes on The Road to start us off
A reading group guide
It takes a really long time to answer the extremely simple question of who the title character is
Heisenberg’s Uncertainty Principle in a work of fiction (also, obligatory Gene Wolfe reference)
As Likely to End the World as to Save it: Knowledge and Science in Cormac McCarthy, by Philip Bunn
Shifting and fuzzy definitions, somewhat intentionally
The Passenger of this book is literally this book
Is this book an 18th-century novel?
A NEW THING: Join us on GoodReads!
Next time Michael and Ethan will begin to discuss The Passenger, by Cormac McCarthy! Join the discussion! Go to the Contact page and put "Scotch Talk" in the Subject line. We'd love to hear from you! And submit your homework at the Michael & Ethan in a Room with Scotch page.
Join us on GoodReads!
Donate to our Patreon!
BUY A NIHILIST BLANKET!
Your Hosts: Michael G. Lilienthal (@mglilienthal) and
Ethan Bartlett (@bjartlett)
MUSIC & SFX:
"Kessy Swings Endless - (ID 349)" by Lobo Loco. Used by permission.
"The Grim Reaper - II Presto" by Aitua. Used under an Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike License.
"Thinking It Over" by Lee Rosevere. Used under an Attribution License.
Michael and Ethan continue their discussion of Beloved, by Toni Morrison, while drinking Jura 12yo single malt.
In this episode:
The essay under discussion at the beginning is “Literary Conjure Woman,” by Stanley Crouch, which still doesn’t seem to be online, but is maybe in one or more of his essay collections?
Definitely see American Fiction if you’re like, at all interested in the things on this podcast
What are we if not self-deprecating?
Is the meta-narrative of this podcast “doing criticism in a way that is fair and not stupid”?
Listen, in the middle of this ep we say a lot of things about sex and trauma and whatnot that is all relevant, but not funny to make a bullet point about
Bamboozled, also very much worth watching
Next time Michael and Ethan will begin to discuss The Passenger, by Cormac McCarthy! Join the discussion! Go to the Contact page and put "Scotch Talk" in the Subject line. We'd love to hear from you! And submit your homework at the Michael & Ethan in a Room with Scotch page.
Donate to our Patreon!
BUY A NIHILIST BLANKET!
Your Hosts: Michael G. Lilienthal (@mglilienthal) and
Ethan Bartlett (@bjartlett)
MUSIC & SFX:
"Kessy Swings Endless - (ID 349)" by Lobo Loco. Used by permission.
"The Grim Reaper - II Presto" by Aitua. Used under an Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike License.
"Thinking It Over" by Lee Rosevere. Used under an Attribution License.
Michael and Ethan begin their discussion of Beloved, by Toni Morrison, while drinking Jura 12yo single malt.
In this episode:
Immediately the ghosts/vampires thing again, we promise we’re not Vamps and Mers
Michael said “The ghosts have business to do” and Ethan didn’t even chortle—the boys are growing up
The seeds of vampires (but not like that)
Main characfter vs central character—a potentially not very interesting debate (which we have eventually anyway, sort of)
Ghost stories as modern incarnations of classical tragedy
Pulp stories as reckoning with the unexpurgated guilt of the culture that produces them
What Viking history has to do with vengeance, what vengeance has to do with justuce, and what any of this has to do with Beloved (hopefully)
Beloved as whirlpool vs Denver as Odysseus
Michael names with Michael
Why are Americans taught so little about history between the end of the Civil War and the start of WWI?
Next time Michael and Ethan will begin to discuss Beloved, by Toni Morrison! Join the discussion! Go to the Contact page and put "Scotch Talk" in the Subject line. We'd love to hear from you! And submit your homework at the Michael & Ethan in a Room with Scotch page.
Donate to our Patreon!
BUY A NIHILIST BLANKET!
Your Hosts: Michael G. Lilienthal (@mglilienthal) and
Ethan Bartlett (@bjartlett)
MUSIC & SFX:
"Kessy Swings Endless - (ID 349)" by Lobo Loco. Used by permission.
"The Grim Reaper - II Presto" by Aitua. Used under an Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike License.
"Thinking It Over" by Lee Rosevere. Used under an Attribution License.
Michael and Ethan continue their discussion of The Sentence, by Louise Erdrich, while drinking Jura 12yo single malt.
In this episode:
Who is the real fool: the fool or the fool who edits him?
A bespoke toast, or, the most work anyone has ever done to prep for this podcast
Does the adjective “ghost” actually indicate simply the inclusion of a ghost, or does it mean something more?
Is a ghost actually a vampire? Are novels vampires? Is COVID a vampire? Is COVID a ghost? Is a novel a ghost? Is this podcast a ghost? Will Michael slip and say “vampire”? If he does, will Ethan notice?
Parameters of author self-insert technique
Paradoxes of being essential
Unparsability: a definitely real word
Obligatory Hamlet reference (but this one’s pretty good)
Ghosts as political actors
Next time Michael and Ethan will begin to discuss Beloved, by Toni Morrison! Join the discussion! Go to the Contact page and put "Scotch Talk" in the Subject line. We'd love to hear from you! And submit your homework at the Michael & Ethan in a Room with Scotch page.
Donate to our Patreon!
BUY A NIHILIST BLANKET!
Your Hosts: Michael G. Lilienthal (@mglilienthal) and
Ethan Bartlett (@bjartlett)
MUSIC & SFX:
"Kessy Swings Endless - (ID 349)" by Lobo Loco. Used by permission.
"The Grim Reaper - II Presto" by Aitua. Used under an Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike License.
"Thinking It Over" by Lee Rosevere. Used under an Attribution License.
Michael and Ethan begin their discussion of The Sentence, by Louise Erdrich, while drinking Jura 12yo single malt.
In this episode:
This podcast is a haunting
Other covid novels:
Sea of Tranquility
America Fantastica
Sentence Sentencing Sentences
Ethan is unprepared to answer a basic question about the text, but he affirms that there IS an answer
The grace of babies
Please tell us that Ethan is wrong
Michael does a bad thing right at the end
Next time Michael and Ethan will continue to discuss The Sentence, by Louise Erdrich! Join the discussion! Go to the Contact page and put "Scotch Talk" in the Subject line. We'd love to hear from you! And submit your homework at the Michael & Ethan in a Room with Scotch page.
Donate to our Patreon!
BUY A NIHILIST BLANKET!
Your Hosts: Michael G. Lilienthal (@mglilienthal) and
Ethan Bartlett (@bjartlett)
MUSIC & SFX:
"Kessy Swings Endless - (ID 349)" by Lobo Loco. Used by permission.
"The Grim Reaper - II Presto" by Aitua. Used under an Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike License.
"Thinking It Over" by Lee Rosevere. Used under an Attribution License.
Ethan and special guests Risha and Erin of the Vampires and Mermaids podcast, and also Michael, discuss ‘Salem’s Lot, by Stephen King, while drinking Auchentoshan 12.
In this episode:
Sometimes sharp places are filled with dark objects (shoutout to Gillian Flynn)
Also, bamboozlement
At some point the plot is discussed, eventually
A deep and very important dive into ranking the scariness of bugs
This book is existentialist Dracula, including:
Kierkegaard, symbology, and Lutheran vs Catholic theology
ex opera operato
nihil est sacrementum extra usus
Iconoclasm
TULIP: if you know you know
Luther on the Titanic, a fanfiction challenge
…and other things Stephen King was definitely thinking about when he wrote this book.
We all grow up and get old
Vampires and Mermaids is already classier than this show, until anyone drinks one-handed
Revisionist vampire novels, a Bingo Card Special
Ethan does lose a second time, but by the end that loss gets lost, soooo…
Mark: the best boy
Canines!
Michael both loses and, worse, gets his historical analogy backwards
An extra-unlistenable Poe race
Next time Michael and Ethan will discuss The Sentence, by Louise Erdrich! Join the discussion! Go to the Contact page and put "Scotch Talk" in the Subject line. We'd love to hear from you! And submit your homework at the Michael & Ethan in a Room with Scotch page.
Donate to our Patreon!
BUY A NIHILIST BLANKET!
Your Hosts: Michael G. Lilienthal (@mglilienthal) and
Ethan Bartlett (@bjartlett)
MUSIC & SFX:
"Kessy Swings Endless - (ID 349)" by Lobo Loco. Used by permission.
"The Grim Reaper - II Presto" by Aitua. Used under an Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike License.
"Thinking It Over" by Lee Rosevere. Used under an Attribution License.
Ethan and special guests Risha and Erin of the Vampires and Mermaids podcast, and also Michael, discuss ‘Salem’s Lot, by Stephen King, while drinking Auchentoshan 12.
In this episode:
Special guests! Who have a show! That involves vampires and mermaids OR mermaids and vampires!
The introduction of what proves to be possibly the most chaotic rule in the history of the podcast
Followed by THE FASTEST LOSS(ES) IN PODCAST HISTORY
Like, so much of this episode is not about the book OR the scotch, sorry
THIS IS A FAMILY PODCAST
Some stuff about Stephen King’s psychology, which is at least LIKE discussing the book
MOMMY ISSUES
Sisterly traps
The/a comfort creep(s) (but get consent first)
Erin brings the “science nerd” heat, an unusual treat for this normally humanities-pilled podcast
You can intentionally titillate (a perfectly PG-rated word), or you can be punched in the face by a clown walking down the midway
Ethan’s punishment
Next time Ethan and Erin and Risha and also Michael will continue to discuss ‘Salem’s Lot, by Stephen King! Join the discussion! Go to the Contact page and put "Scotch Talk" in the Subject line. We'd love to hear from you! And submit your homework at the Michael & Ethan in a Room with Scotch page.
Donate to our Patreon!
BUY A NIHILIST BLANKET!
Your Hosts: Michael G. Lilienthal (@mglilienthal) and
Ethan Bartlett (@bjartlett)
MUSIC & SFX:
"Kessy Swings Endless - (ID 349)" by Lobo Loco. Used by permission.
"The Grim Reaper - II Presto" by Aitua. Used under an Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike License.
"Thinking It Over" by Lee Rosevere. Used under an Attribution License.
Michael and Ethan conclude their discussion of the first book of the new season, Sayaka Murata’s Convenience Store Woman.
In this episode:
You know how deeply uncomfortable experiences can be deeply uncomfortable?
A human is someone who looks other humans in the eyes
A Krispy Kreme donut dunked in a cup of tea
The Underdark: A Modified Craftalk, by Brandon Taylor
Glib pull-quotes often assert an incredibly debatable interpretation
If we didn’t talk about Shiraha, we would need to
The cave(person) mythological complex
The Beckett play Ethan references is, as Michael suggested, “Endgame”
This book might be a symphony
Next time Michael and Ethan will continue to discuss Convenience Store Woman, by Sayaka Murata! Join the discussion! Go to the Contact page and put "Scotch Talk" in the Subject line. We'd love to hear from you! And submit your homework at the Michael & Ethan in a Room with Scotch page.
Donate to our Patreon!
BUY A NIHILIST BLANKET!
Your Hosts: Michael G. Lilienthal (@mglilienthal) and
Ethan Bartlett (@bjartlett)
MUSIC & SFX:
"Kessy Swings Endless - (ID 349)" by Lobo Loco. Used by permission.
"The Grim Reaper - II Presto" by Aitua. Used under an Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike License.
"Thinking It Over" by Lee Rosevere. Used under an Attribution License.
Michael and Ethan begin their discussion of the first book of the new season, Sayaka Murata’s Convenience Store Woman.
In this episode:
The finest wood
Sherlock Holmes, or, coffee shop brags from Ethan, or, amusement park brags from Michael
A paean to Japanese convenience stores
Irasshaimase!
Ethan invents a new segment: doing background research during the show
What is normal? What is the purpose of humanity? What is an exception to “normal”? This book asks very easy questions.
Almost a loss, but obligatory Shakespeare reference instead
The human body as a cog in the machine that is society, society as a human body
The world needs ditch-diggers and convenience store workers
We’re encouraging Kwik Trip to be better
Next time Michael and Ethan will continue to discuss Convenience Store Woman, by Sayaka Murata! Join the discussion! Go to the Contact page and put "Scotch Talk" in the Subject line. We'd love to hear from you! And submit your homework at the Michael & Ethan in a Room with Scotch page.
Donate to our Patreon!
BUY A NIHILIST BLANKET!
Your Hosts: Michael G. Lilienthal (@mglilienthal) and
Ethan Bartlett (@bjartlett)
MUSIC & SFX:
"Kessy Swings Endless - (ID 349)" by Lobo Loco. Used by permission.
"The Grim Reaper - II Presto" by Aitua. Used under an Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike License.
"Thinking It Over" by Lee Rosevere. Used under an Attribution License.
Michael and Ethan conclude their discussion of this year’s extra-mondo mondo book, Leo Tolstoy’s War and Peace.
In this episode:
Ethan is surprise-attacked about his love of Natasha
The Thackery T. Lambshead Pocket Guide to Eccentric and Discredited Diseases
Conventions of marriage, or, everyone loves Natasha (not just Ethan)
Romanticism! The zeitgeist of the 19th century! Other topics the hosts are somewhat unqualified to discuss!
People are shocked, SHOCKED to find that there is humor in this novel
Mysteries, sacraments, sacraments, and mysteries
The annual mondo book, forever and ever amen
Deep, deep, deep apologies to any speakers of French
Next time Michael and Ethan will discuss Convenience Store Woman, by Sayaka Murata! Join the discussion! Go to the Contact page and put "Scotch Talk" in the Subject line. We'd love to hear from you! And submit your homework at the Michael & Ethan in a Room with Scotch page.
Donate to our Patreon!
BUY A NIHILIST BLANKET!
Your Hosts: Michael G. Lilienthal (@mglilienthal) and
Ethan Bartlett (@bjartlett)
MUSIC & SFX:
"Kessy Swings Endless - (ID 349)" by Lobo Loco. Used by permission.
"The Grim Reaper - II Presto" by Aitua. Used under an Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike License.
"Thinking It Over" by Lee Rosevere. Used under an Attribution License.
Michael and Ethan continue their discussion of this year’s extra-mondo mondo book, Leo Tolstoy’s War and Peace.
In this episode:
Remember a couple notes ago when we apologized for all of our French pronunciation? cf. Ethan’s pronunciation of “Dubonnet”
Some real in-depth stuff about chance, fate, free will, and faith—not super good material for sassy or funny footnotes
The infinite sky (also not funny)
Talk of John Newton (super not funny)
Life is NOT over at 31
One-degree turns
Next time Michael and Ethan will conclude their discussion of Tolstoy’s War and Peace! Join the discussion! Go to the Contact page and put "Scotch Talk" in the Subject line. We'd love to hear from you! And submit your homework at the Michael & Ethan in a Room with Scotch page.
Donate to our Patreon!
BUY A NIHILIST BLANKET!
Your Hosts: Michael G. Lilienthal (@mglilienthal) and
Ethan Bartlett (@bjartlett)
MUSIC & SFX:
"Kessy Swings Endless - (ID 349)" by Lobo Loco. Used by permission.
"The Grim Reaper - II Presto" by Aitua. Used under an Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike License.
"Thinking It Over" by Lee Rosevere. Used under an Attribution License.
Michael and Ethan continue their discussion of this year’s extra-mondo mondo book, Leo Tolstoy’s War and Peace.
In this episode:
Tolstoyan compliments
Things Tolstoy thinks are impossible to know
War and Peace is funny, we promise
Tolstoy’s biography is WILD
ANARCHISM YUSSSS
Natasha, Pierre, and a Bunch of Distracting Side Plots
In Tolstoy, no two horses are the same
Tolstoy does us dirty
We will duel him
Next time Michael and Ethan will continue reading Tolstoy’s War and Peace! Join the discussion! Go to the Contact page and put "Scotch Talk" in the Subject line. We'd love to hear from you! And submit your homework at the Michael & Ethan in a Room with Scotch page.
Donate to our Patreon!
BUY A NIHILIST BLANKET!
Your Hosts: Michael G. Lilienthal (@mglilienthal) and
Ethan Bartlett (@bjartlett)
MUSIC & SFX:
"Kessy Swings Endless - (ID 349)" by Lobo Loco. Used by permission.
"The Grim Reaper - II Presto" by Aitua. Used under an Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike License.
"Thinking It Over" by Lee Rosevere. Used under an Attribution License.
SORRY FOR OUR ABSENCE, LEO TOLSTOY ALMOST KILLED US. ALMOST.
Today, FINALLY, Michael and Ethan have finished reading and begin discussing this year’s extra-mondo mondo book, Leo Tolstoy’s War and Peace.
In this episode:
Controversial Audrey Hepburn hot-takes
Butt comparisons
Translation comparisons, everyone try to contain your excitement
We would like to formally apologize for all the French pronounced in this podcast
Both in this episode and all other episodes, really
Tolstoy does a lot of weird stuff
Why is Napoleon the Antichrist?
Numerology
Pierre is pretty harmless, except for the two murders
Next time Michael and Ethan will continue reading Tolstoy’s War and Peace! Join the discussion! Go to the Contact page and put "Scotch Talk" in the Subject line. We'd love to hear from you! And submit your homework at the Michael & Ethan in a Room with Scotch page.
Donate to our Patreon!
BUY A NIHILIST BLANKET!
Your Hosts: Michael G. Lilienthal (@mglilienthal) and
Ethan Bartlett (@bjartlett)
MUSIC & SFX:
"Kessy Swings Endless - (ID 349)" by Lobo Loco. Used by permission.
"The Grim Reaper - II Presto" by Aitua. Used under an Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike License.
"Thinking It Over" by Lee Rosevere. Used under an Attribution License.
In this special episode, Michael and Ethan work their way in to Russian literature by discussing The Seagull, by Anton Chekhov. It was supposed to be a one-episode special, but there was too much! Chekhov was too good! So stay tuned for part 2.
CONTENT WARNING: The Seagull deals explicitly with the topic of suicide. If that’s not something you want to hear discussed, it might be best to skip these episodes.
In this episode:
Setting the stage, har har
Nothing happens, and everything happens
Rabelais references that we are very proud of
On the nose commentary, also off the nose
A lot of yelling at the void, like it’s the void’s fault
The folly of youth
Like all plays, this play is Hamlet
The play within a play, and the MST3K within that
Next time Michael and Ethan will finish discussing The Seagull. After that they’ll finally begin their giant mondo book for the year: Tolstoy’s War and Peace! Join the discussiTaon! Go to the Contact page and put "Scotch Talk" in the Subject line. We'd love to hear from you! And submit your homework at the Michael & Ethan in a Room with Scotch page.
Donate to our Patreon!
BUY A NIHILIST BLANKET!
Your Hosts: Michael G. Lilienthal (@mglilienthal) and
Ethan Bartlett (@bjartlett)
MUSIC & SFX:
"Kessy Swings Endless - (ID 349)" by Lobo Loco. Used by permission.
"The Grim Reaper - II Presto" by Aitua. Used under an Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike License.
"Thinking It Over" by Lee Rosevere. Used under an Attribution License.
In this special episode, Michael and Ethan work their way in to Russian literature by discussing The Seagull, by Anton Chekhov. It was supposed to be a one-episode special, but there was too much! Chekhov was too good! So stay tuned for part 2.
CONTENT WARNING: The Seagull deals explicitly with the topic of suicide. If that’s not something you want to hear discussed, it might be best to skip these episodes.
In this episode:
Setting the stage, har har
Nothing happens, and everything happens
Rabelais references that we are very proud of
On the nose commentary, also off the nose
A lot of yelling at the void, like it’s the void’s fault
The folly of youth
Like all plays, this play is Hamlet
The play within a play, and the MST3K within that
Next time Michael and Ethan will finish discussing The Seagull. After that they’ll finally begin their giant mondo book for the year: Tolstoy’s War and Peace! Join the discussiTaon! Go to the Contact page and put "Scotch Talk" in the Subject line. We'd love to hear from you! And submit your homework at the Michael & Ethan in a Room with Scotch page.
Donate to our Patreon!
BUY A NIHILIST BLANKET!
Your Hosts: Michael G. Lilienthal (@mglilienthal) and
Ethan Bartlett (@bjartlett)
MUSIC & SFX:
"Kessy Swings Endless - (ID 349)" by Lobo Loco. Used by permission.
"The Grim Reaper - II Presto" by Aitua. Used under an Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike License.
"Thinking It Over" by Lee Rosevere. Used under an Attribution License.
In this special episode, Michael and Ethan check in about what books they’ve read for reasons other than the podcast, like work and fun!
In this episode:
Being very wrong and owning it
It’s Crazy to Stay Chinese in Minnesota, by Eleanor Wong Telemaque
What blogs are
Lavie Tidhar is actually a collective cult
Tim Powers is master of the Strange Middle
Kaye Gibbons is the ruler of the first line, and (it bears reiterating) Ellen Foster could beat up Huckleberry Finn
Next time Michael and Ethan will begin their giant mondo book for the year: Tolstoy’s War and Peace! Join the discussiTaon! Go to the Contact page and put "Scotch Talk" in the Subject line. We'd love to hear from you! And submit your homework at the Michael & Ethan in a Room with Scotch page.
Donate to our Patreon!
BUY A NIHILIST BLANKET!
Your Hosts: Michael G. Lilienthal (@mglilienthal) and
Ethan Bartlett (@bjartlett)
MUSIC & SFX:
"Kessy Swings Endless - (ID 349)" by Lobo Loco. Used by permission.
"The Grim Reaper - II Presto" by Aitua. Used under an Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike License.
"Thinking It Over" by Lee Rosevere. Used under an Attribution License.
Michael and Ethan conclude their discussion of Where the Light Fell, by Philip Yancey, while drinking Shieldaig 12.
In this episode:
Letting problematic be neutral
Do we contradict ourselves?
Mountains out of molehills, one way or another
Fractals again (and again and…)
Throwing spaghetti at Michael
Thankfully no one cries
Next time Michael and Ethan will begin their giant mondo book for the year: Tolstoy’s War and Peace! Join the discussiTaon! Go to the Contact page and put "Scotch Talk" in the Subject line. We'd love to hear from you! And submit your homework at the Michael & Ethan in a Room with Scotch page.
Donate to our Patreon!
BUY A NIHILIST BLANKET!
Your Hosts: Michael G. Lilienthal (@mglilienthal) and
Ethan Bartlett (@bjartlett)
MUSIC & SFX:
"Kessy Swings Endless - (ID 349)" by Lobo Loco. Used by permission.
"The Grim Reaper - II Presto" by Aitua. Used under an Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike License.
"Thinking It Over" by Lee Rosevere. Used under an Attribution License.
Michael and Ethan begin their discussion of Where the Light Fell, by Philip Yancey, while drinking Shieldaig 12.
In this episode:
Family drama and family trauma
Leaning into the darkness
A very boring debate we could have
A long edition of a non-segment
We Are Too Many, by Hannah Pittard
People don’t die when they’re supposed to
Where the light fell but with a question mark
Ethan’s dad says “where the light fell” is a reference to a quote from Augustine. We also can’t find that, but Ethan’s dad is usually right about these sorts of things.
Next time Michael and Ethan will conclude their discussion of Where the Light Fell, by Philip Yancey. Join the discussiTaon! Go to the Contact page and put "Scotch Talk" in the Subject line. We'd love to hear from you! And submit your homework at the Michael & Ethan in a Room with Scotch page.
Donate to our Patreon!
BUY A NIHILIST BLANKET!
Your Hosts: Michael G. Lilienthal (@mglilienthal) and
Ethan Bartlett (@bjartlett)
MUSIC & SFX:
"Kessy Swings Endless - (ID 349)" by Lobo Loco. Used by permission.
"The Grim Reaper - II Presto" by Aitua. Used under an Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike License.
"Thinking It Over" by Lee Rosevere. Used under an Attribution License.
In this episode, Michael and Ethan are joined by two very special guests: Risha Lilienthal, host of Tapestry’s newest addition, Shakespeare in the Village, and Lydia Grabau, friend of the show and Shakespeare afficianado!
In this episode:
Cut Medieval Brian
This play slaps
Abandonment issues vs. intelligence issues
A short digression
Don John: interestingly uninteresting
Beatrice slaps
Hero is a rock, perhaps THE Rock?
As You Like It, or, Everyone Messes Around in the Woods for Four Acts and then the Climax Happens Off-Stage
This play still slaps
Sorry about all the Joss Whedon talk, Ethan does actually dislike him
The most Midwestern ending
Next time Michael and Ethan will discuss Where the Light Fell, by Philip Yancey. Join the discussion! Go to the Contact page and put "Scotch Talk" in the Subject line. We'd love to hear from you! And submit your homework at the Michael & Ethan in a Room with Scotch page.
Donate to our Patreon!
BUY A NIHILIST BLANKET!
Your Hosts: Michael G. Lilienthal (@mglilienthal) and
Ethan Bartlett (@bjartlett)
MUSIC & SFX:
"Kessy Swings Endless - (ID 349)" by Lobo Loco. Used by permission.
"The Grim Reaper - II Presto" by Aitua. Used under an Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike License.
"Thinking It Over" by Lee Rosevere. Used under an Attribution License.
Michael and Ethan continue their discussion of Nobody’s Angel, by Thomas McGuane, while drinking Shieldaig 12.
In this episode:
Michael says “gentle” multiple times
Tattoo reveal!
Ethan says “Madonna-virgin” complex when he obviously means “Madonna-whore” complex
Prose! Including some exciting phrases like “3rd person limited” and “omniscient narrator” and “close reading”
Inferences from Kevin’s Dad
“MFA-bait”
Requiem for Tio
Aspersions cast on Kevin’s Dad
Next time Michael and Ethan will discuss Where the Light Fell, by Philip Yancey. Join the discussiTaon! Go to the Contact page and put "Scotch Talk" in the Subject line. We'd love to hear from you! And submit your homework at the Michael & Ethan in a Room with Scotch page.
Donate to our Patreon!
BUY A NIHILIST BLANKET!
Your Hosts: Michael G. Lilienthal (@mglilienthal) and
Ethan Bartlett (@bjartlett)
MUSIC & SFX:
"Kessy Swings Endless - (ID 349)" by Lobo Loco. Used by permission.
"The Grim Reaper - II Presto" by Aitua. Used under an Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike License.
"Thinking It Over" by Lee Rosevere. Used under an Attribution License.
Michael and Ethan begin their discussion of Nobody’s Angel, by Thomas McGuane, while drinking Shieldaig 12.
In this episode:
Introducing our new mascot, Bobblehead Polonius
Huck Finn manages to come up, of course
We define what a classic is, it’s easy!
Michael and Ethan refuse to answer each other’s questions
What we know about Patrick’s father,
or, the inevitable The Empire Strikes Back comparison
Catholicness vs. Catholicism
Some exciting teasers for next time!
Next time Michael and Ethan will continue to discuss Nobody’s Angel, by Thomas Mcguane. Join the discussion! Go to the Contact page and put "Scotch Talk" in the Subject line. We'd love to hear from you! And submit your homework at the Michael & Ethan in a Room with Scotch page.
Donate to our Patreon!
BUY A NIHILIST BLANKET!
Your Hosts: Michael G. Lilienthal (@mglilienthal) and
Ethan Bartlett (@bjartlett)
MUSIC & SFX:
"Kessy Swings Endless - (ID 349)" by Lobo Loco. Used by permission.
"The Grim Reaper - II Presto" by Aitua. Used under an Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike License.
"Thinking It Over" by Lee Rosevere. Used under an Attribution License.
In this special, Michael and Ethan do a very serious job (without jokes or sarcasm) of analyzing Lord of the Flies, a commonly assigned AP English/college intro-level text, so that if you are assigned it, but don’t want to read it, you can just go ahead and use our very good analyses!
In this episode:
Some pretty good discussion of The Count of Monte Cristo, you’re welcome
New whiskey toys
Turns out, you can assign different names to different things
The surprising literary inspiration for various Disney and Pixar projects
Science involves words
We won’t stand OR sit for laziness, just to be clear
From Freud to Jung via borderline insults
Playground bully tactics of the ancient world
The obvious Atlantis connection
The two great teachers of our time: Ethan and Walt Disney Corp.
Next time Michael and Ethan will discuss Nobody’s Angel, by Thomas Mcguane. Join the discussion! Go to the Contact page and put "Scotch Talk" in the Subject line. We'd love to hear from you! And submit your homework at the Michael & Ethan in a Room with Scotch page.
Donate to our Patreon!
BUY A NIHILIST BLANKET!
Your Hosts: Michael G. Lilienthal (@mglilienthal) and
Ethan Bartlett (@bjartlett)
MUSIC & SFX:
"Kessy Swings Endless - (ID 349)" by Lobo Loco. Used by permission.
"The Grim Reaper - II Presto" by Aitua. Used under an Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike License.
"Thinking It Over" by Lee Rosevere. Used under an Attribution License.
Michael and Ethan continue their discussion of The Haunting of Hill House, by Shirley Jackson, while drinking Glenmorangie 10.
In this episode:
Gaslighting Eleanor
Present-tense mothers who are dead
The real journey is the puzzle boxes we met along the way
SO MANY ATMOSPHERES
Secret fan fiction segment
Sudden Shakespeare, almost as a matter of chance
Love triangle arrows
Next time Michael and Ethan will discuss Nobody’s Angel, by Thomas Mcguane. Join the discussion! Go to the Contact page and put "Scotch Talk" in the Subject line. We'd love to hear from you! And submit your homework at the Michael & Ethan in a Room with Scotch page.
Donate to our Patreon!
BUY A NIHILIST BLANKET!
Your Hosts: Michael G. Lilienthal (@mglilienthal) and
Ethan Bartlett (@bjartlett)
MUSIC & SFX:
"Kessy Swings Endless - (ID 349)" by Lobo Loco. Used by permission.
"The Grim Reaper - II Presto" by Aitua. Used under an Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike License.
"Thinking It Over" by Lee Rosevere. Used under an Attribution License.
Michael and Ethan begin their discussion of The Haunting of Hill House, by Shirley Jackson, while drinking Glenmorangie 10.
In this episode:
SPOOKY TIMES
A girl can be a red herring
A house can be a character
Subjective genitive, objective genitive, or plenary genitive? The debate is definitely scintillating
Ethan talks about the Ghormengast trilogy for some reason
Is someone/who is gaslighting Eleanor?
A lot about waiting, like you all will do for the next episode (this is a good joke if you’ve listened to the end of this one)
Next time Michael and Ethan will discuss matters related to The Midnight Library, by Matt Haig. Join the discussion! Go to the Contact page and put "Scotch Talk" in the Subject line. We'd love to hear from you! And submit your homework at the Michael & Ethan in a Room with Scotch page.
Donate to our Patreon!
BUY A NIHILIST BLANKET!
Your Hosts: Michael G. Lilienthal (@mglilienthal) and
Ethan Bartlett (@bjartlett)
MUSIC & SFX:
"Kessy Swings Endless - (ID 349)" by Lobo Loco. Used by permission.
"The Grim Reaper - II Presto" by Aitua. Used under an Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike License.
"Thinking It Over" by Lee Rosevere. Used under an Attribution License.
Michael and Ethan continue their discussion of The Midnight Library, by Matt Haig, while drinking Glenmorangie 10.
In this episode:
Ethan leads with some very specific brags
Michael follows a rule
Unofficially taboo topics that are nebulous, endless, and very important
The word Ethan was looking for around 16:00 was “counterfactual”
So much table-setting, but for a purpose?
IT’S A WONDERFUL LIFE IS AN ADAPTATION OF A CHRISTMAS CAROL, AND THIS PODCAST WILL DIE ON THAT HILL
Like this podcast, this book has a lot of rules
The word Ethan was looking for around 38:00 was probably “diagetic”
Eventually the plot is discussed… um, talked about… um, mentioned…
Next time Michael and Ethan will discuss matters related to The Midnight Library, by Matt Haig. Join the discussion! Go to the Contact page and put "Scotch Talk" in the Subject line. We'd love to hear from you! And submit your homework at the Michael & Ethan in a Room with Scotch page.
Donate to our Patreon!
BUY A NIHILIST BLANKET!
Your Hosts: Michael G. Lilienthal (@mglilienthal) and
Ethan Bartlett (@bjartlett)
MUSIC & SFX:
"Kessy Swings Endless - (ID 349)" by Lobo Loco. Used by permission.
"The Grim Reaper - II Presto" by Aitua. Used under an Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike License.
"Thinking It Over" by Lee Rosevere. Used under an Attribution License.
CONTENT WARNING: this episode contains brief discussion of suicide. The discussion begins a little past the 45:30 mark, and concludes by the 50:00 mark.
If you or someone you know is struggling or in crisis, help is available. Call or text 988 or chat 988lifeline.org anytime, 24/7.
—
Michael and Ethan begin their discussion of The Midnight Library, by Matt Haig, while drinking Glenmorangie 10.
In this episode:
Apologies to Matt Haig, but not to the British people
Is the Multiverse Where Originality Goes to Die?, by Stephanie Burt
Woof, Ethan squeaks past losing toward the start of the discussion
Smoothness as aesthetic
Vignettes and/or not vignettes, a Schrodinger’s Cat joint
Next time Michael and Ethan will discuss matters related to The Midnight Library, by Matt Haig. Join the discussion! Go to the Contact page and put "Scotch Talk" in the Subject line. We'd love to hear from you! And submit your homework at the Michael & Ethan in a Room with Scotch page.
Donate to our Patreon!
BUY A NIHILIST BLANKET!
Your Hosts: Michael G. Lilienthal (@mglilienthal) and
Ethan Bartlett (@bjartlett)
MUSIC & SFX:
"Kessy Swings Endless - (ID 349)" by Lobo Loco. Used by permission.
"The Grim Reaper - II Presto" by Aitua. Used under an Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike License.
"Thinking It Over" by Lee Rosevere. Used under an Attribution License.
To prepare for their episodes discussing The Midnight Library, by Matt Haig, Michael and Ethan spend a very special episode discussing the idea of multiverses and going over some (SOME) examples of the idea in fiction.
In this episode:
The book Ethan can’t remember is The Waldorf-Astoria Bar Book
Launches into a discussion of quantum physics in which this podcast is deeply unqualified to engage
“Entanglements,” by David Gerrold, a story half of this podcast read
“All the Myriad Ways,” by Larry Niven
“Through Road No Whither,” by Greg Bear
It’s just the science… soft science tho
“Is the Multiverse Where Originality Goes to Die?” by Stephanie Burt
Next time Michael and Ethan will discuss matters related to The Midnight Library, by Matt Haig. Join the discussion! Go to the Contact page and put "Scotch Talk" in the Subject line. We'd love to hear from you! And submit your homework at the Michael & Ethan in a Room with Scotch page.
Donate to our Patreon!
BUY A NIHILIST BLANKET!
Your Hosts: Michael G. Lilienthal (@mglilienthal) and
Ethan Bartlett (@bjartlett)
MUSIC & SFX:
"Kessy Swings Endless - (ID 349)" by Lobo Loco. Used by permission.
"The Grim Reaper - II Presto" by Aitua. Used under an Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike License.
"Thinking It Over" by Lee Rosevere. Used under an Attribution License.
Michael and Ethan begin their discussion of the graphic novel The Sherriff of Babylon, by Tom King, while drinking the Glenlivet Nadurra cask-strength bottling.
In this episode:
The August referenced in the opening is a friend of Michael and Ethan’s. This is not properly set up because Ethan didn’t know he was telling this anecdote for an audience (ie, it’s Michael’s fault).
Spoilers for Tom King’s graphic novel The Omega Men (sorry)
Ethan is allowed to talk about film noir (sorry again)
The cowboy to detective to sherriff ancestral connection
We are fully aware that The Maltese Falcon came out pre-WWII, don’t @ us
Ambiguous ambiguites
Confrontations that fizzle magnificently
A teaser! Actually a few
You can tell at least how much earlier this episode was recorded vs released because the hosts still talk about Twitter like it’s a real thing
Next time Michael and Ethan will continue discussion of The Sherriff of Babylon, by Tom King. Join the discussion! Go to the Contact page and put "Scotch Talk" in the Subject line. We'd love to hear from you! And submit your homework at the Michael & Ethan in a Room with Scotch page.
Donate to our Patreon!
BUY A NIHILIST BLANKET!
Your Hosts: Michael G. Lilienthal (@mglilienthal) and
Ethan Bartlett (@bjartlett)
MUSIC & SFX:
"Kessy Swings Endless - (ID 349)" by Lobo Loco. Used by permission.
"The Grim Reaper - II Presto" by Aitua. Used under an Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike License.
"Thinking It Over" by Lee Rosevere. Used under an Attribution License.
Michael and Ethan begin their discussion of the graphic novel The Sherriff of Babylon, by Tom King, while drinking the Glenlivet Nadurra cask-strength bottling.
In this episode:
The August referenced in the opening is a friend of Michael and Ethan’s. This is not properly set up because Ethan didn’t know he was telling this anecdote for an audience (ie, it’s Michael’s fault).
Spoilers for Tom King’s graphic novel The Omega Men (sorry)
Ethan is allowed to talk about film noir (sorry again)
The cowboy to detective to sherriff ancestral connection
We are fully aware that The Maltese Falcon came out pre-WWII, don’t @ us
Ambiguous ambiguites
Confrontations that fizzle magnificently
A teaser! Actually a few
You can tell at least how much earlier this episode was recorded vs released because the hosts still talk about Twitter like it’s a real thing
Next time Michael and Ethan will continue discussion of The Sherriff of Babylon, by Tom King. Join the discussion! Go to the Contact page and put "Scotch Talk" in the Subject line. We'd love to hear from you! And submit your homework at the Michael & Ethan in a Room with Scotch page.
Donate to our Patreon!
BUY A NIHILIST BLANKET!
Your Hosts: Michael G. Lilienthal (@mglilienthal) and
Ethan Bartlett (@bjartlett)
MUSIC & SFX:
"Kessy Swings Endless - (ID 349)" by Lobo Loco. Used by permission.
"The Grim Reaper - II Presto" by Aitua. Used under an Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike License.
"Thinking It Over" by Lee Rosevere. Used under an Attribution License.
Michael and Ethan conclude their discussion of The House on Vesper Sands, by Paraic O’Donnell, while drinking the Glenlivet Nadurra cask-strength bottling.
In this episode:
There must be no change
Ethan loses! Michael fails to notice, or at least to call it out. Will Ethan confess in the future?
Good thing Ethan avoids sounding pedantic, now or ever
The unmooring of the book
Good thing Michael avoids sounding pedantic, now or ever
Either a mystery, or just vibes
Thankfully the section vs. book vs. part discussion gets resolved
Again with the Gene Wolfe, sorry
We have to rage against the cage in which we have bound ourselves
“It” is an ambiguous pronoun
Next time Michael and Ethan will continue discussion of Gargantua and Pantagruel, by Francois Rabelais. Join the discussion! Go to the Contact page and put "Scotch Talk" in the Subject line. We'd love to hear from you! And submit your homework at the Michael & Ethan in a Room with Scotch page.
Donate to our Patreon!
BUY A NIHILIST BLANKET!
Your Hosts: Michael G. Lilienthal (@mglilienthal) and
Ethan Bartlett (@bjartlett)
MUSIC & SFX:
"Kessy Swings Endless - (ID 349)" by Lobo Loco. Used by permission.
"The Grim Reaper - II Presto" by Aitua. Used under an Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike License.
"Thinking It Over" by Lee Rosevere. Used under an Attribution License.
Michael and Ethan begin their discussion of The House on Vesper Sands, by Paraic O’Donnell, while drinking the Glenlivet Nadurra cask-strength bottling.
In this episode:
A fearful Scotch
Some deeply inside jokes
The Gothic Genre: A TEDm&e Talk
The term “sensibility” is used a lot of times for a podcast not discussing Jane Austen
The term “vibes” is used a lot of times for a podcast run by two millenials
Sorry Bronte fans, Wuthering Heights and Jane Eyre don’t count as Gothic
Sorry to Bram Stoker and Wilkie Collins fans too, we guess?
It had to be noted at some point: YES there is a massive The Shining reference in this novel, and NO we never think to discuss it
Next time Michael and Ethan will continue discussion of Gargantua and Pantagruel, by Francois Rabelais. Join the discussion! Go to the Contact page and put "Scotch Talk" in the Subject line. We'd love to hear from you! And submit your homework at the Michael & Ethan in a Room with Scotch page.
Donate to our Patreon!
BUY A NIHILIST BLANKET!
Your Hosts: Michael G. Lilienthal (@mglilienthal) and
Ethan Bartlett (@bjartlett)
MUSIC & SFX:
"Kessy Swings Endless - (ID 349)" by Lobo Loco. Used by permission.
"The Grim Reaper - II Presto" by Aitua. Used under an Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike License.
"Thinking It Over" by Lee Rosevere. Used under an Attribution License.
Michael and Ethan conclude their discussion of Gargantua and Pantagruel, by Francois Rabelais, as translated in one case by Thomas Urquhart and Peter Motteaux and in the other by M.A. Screech, while drinking Benriach distilliery’s The Smoky Twelve.
In this episode:
Ethan tried to research “here’s mud in your eye” while writing these notes but the internet is full of obvious nonsense on the subject and Ethan didn’t feel like dealing with it. Um, sorry
I mean, none of the explanations seem racist, so maybe that’s good?
A hempen question
A marriage question (again)
More specifically, a codpiece question (among others)
Voyages! Of Discovery! Not of bad things!
Crypto-names-with-Michael
IBS: A Novel
AKA: a choice wind
Rabelais either is playing the accordion with literature, or putting it all in a cauldron
Sorry about this punishment for everyone
RACHEL BARRIE WE LOVE YOU
When Ethan says Tom King did a run of Flash comics, he means Vision. Sorry
Next time Michael and Ethan will continue discussion of Gargantua and Pantagruel, by Francois Rabelais. Join the discussion! Go to the Contact page and put "Scotch Talk" in the Subject line. We'd love to hear from you! And submit your homework at the Michael & Ethan in a Room with Scotch page.
Donate to our Patreon!
BUY A NIHILIST BLANKET!
Your Hosts: Michael G. Lilienthal (@mglilienthal) and
Ethan Bartlett (@bjartlett)
MUSIC & SFX:
"Kessy Swings Endless - (ID 349)" by Lobo Loco. Used by permission.
"The Grim Reaper - II Presto" by Aitua. Used under an Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike License.
"Thinking It Over" by Lee Rosevere. Used under an Attribution License.
Michael and Ethan continue their discussion of Gargantua and Pantagruel, by Francois Rabelais, as translated in one case by Thomas Urquhart and Peter Motteaux and in the other by M.A. Screech, while drinking Benriach distilliery’s The Smoky Twelve.
In this episode:
Yes, we implied Rachel Barrie was a demi-god last time, so godmother may seem like a demotion, but consider this: we love her.
Three hours of waiting
Obligatory digression into Diogenes:
Ethan gets it wrong, Oscar the Grouch is (OF COURSE) the one based on Diogenes
This podcast stans Diogenes, just in case that’s unclear
Some close reading, which is always exciting
Rabelais is both marvelous and infuriating
Nothing is delightful
If the observer wants there to be causation, then there’s causation
A late-episode Coen Bros digression
Someone please write the paper about Rabelais fools vs. Shakespeare fools
Next time Michael and Ethan will continue discussion of Gargantua and Pantagruel, by Francois Rabelais. Join the discussion! Go to the Contact page and put "Scotch Talk" in the Subject line. We'd love to hear from you! And submit your homework at the Michael & Ethan in a Room with Scotch page.
Donate to our Patreon!
BUY A NIHILIST BLANKET!
Your Hosts: Michael G. Lilienthal (@mglilienthal) and
Ethan Bartlett (@bjartlett)
MUSIC & SFX:
"Kessy Swings Endless - (ID 349)" by Lobo Loco. Used by permission.
"The Grim Reaper - II Presto" by Aitua. Used under an Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike License.
"Thinking It Over" by Lee Rosevere. Used under an Attribution License.
Michael and Ethan begin their discussion of Gargantua and Pantagruel, by Francois Rabelais, as translated in one case by Thomas Urquhart and Peter Motteaux and in the other by M.A. Screech, while drinking Benriach distilliery’s The Smoky Twelve.
In this episode:
Now listen. This episode starts with some pretty esoteric humor, even for us, but:
To our Calvinist listeners: sorry.
To everyone else: also sorry, but this DOES actually foreshadow some themes and later inside jokes and stuff, so… Michael forced it to be included
Novels: a novel discussion of novelty
Don’t worry, Ethan also isn’t sure if he did that “fruitful” pun on purpose
Sancho Panza content
An AIM reference! Relevance!
Also relevant: BLOGS!
Ethan dances around the edges of Marshall McLuhan
Pamphlet wars cage match!
Next time Michael and Ethan will continue discussion of Gargantua and Pantagruel, by Francois Rabelais. Join the discussion! Go to the Contact page and put "Scotch Talk" in the Subject line. We'd love to hear from you! And submit your homework at the Michael & Ethan in a Room with Scotch page.
Donate to our Patreon!
BUY A NIHILIST BLANKET!
Your Hosts: Michael G. Lilienthal (@mglilienthal) and
Ethan Bartlett (@bjartlett)
MUSIC & SFX:
"Kessy Swings Endless - (ID 349)" by Lobo Loco. Used by permission.
"The Grim Reaper - II Presto" by Aitua. Used under an Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike License.
"Thinking It Over" by Lee Rosevere. Used under an Attribution License.
Michael and Ethan begin their discussion of Gargantua and Pantagruel, by Francois Rabelais, as translated in one case by Thomas Urquhart and Peter Motteaux and in the other by M.A. Screech, while drinking Benriach distilliery’s The Smoky Twelve.
In this episode:
Now listen. This episode starts with some pretty esoteric humor, even for us, but:
To our Calvinist listeners: sorry.
To everyone else: also sorry, but this DOES actually foreshadow some themes and later inside jokes and stuff, so… Michael forced it to be included
Novels: a novel discussion of novelty
Don’t worry, Ethan also isn’t sure if he did that “fruitful” pun on purpose
Sancho Panza content
An AIM reference! Relevance!
Also relevant: BLOGS!
Ethan dances around the edges of Marshall McLuhan
Pamphlet wars cage match!
Next time Michael and Ethan will continue discussion of Gargantua and Pantagruel, by Francois Rabelais. Join the discussion! Go to the Contact page and put "Scotch Talk" in the Subject line. We'd love to hear from you! And submit your homework at the Michael & Ethan in a Room with Scotch page.
Donate to our Patreon!
BUY A NIHILIST BLANKET!
Your Hosts: Michael G. Lilienthal (@mglilienthal) and
Ethan Bartlett (@bjartlett)
MUSIC & SFX:
"Kessy Swings Endless - (ID 349)" by Lobo Loco. Used by permission.
"The Grim Reaper - II Presto" by Aitua. Used under an Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike License.
"Thinking It Over" by Lee Rosevere. Used under an Attribution License.
Another special, in which Michael and Ethan set the table for the discussion of one of the books in literature which itself has perhaps some of the most tables set within it: this is the world of Francois Rabelais, and his Great (dirty) Book, Gargantua and Pantagruel.
In this episode:
Rabelais as Dirty Book
Ethan has one page of notes
Michael gets put on a Diet of Worms
Michael’s wife is the main character of this episode, really
We ram our heads into our time. Which is hardly a surprise
Distilling the zeitgeist into predicting the future
Putting a pin in Melancthon
Aphorisms. Ethan is trying to think of Aphorisms. Sorry this took so long
Next time Michael and Ethan will begin discussion of our next Mongo Book: Gargantua and Pantagruel, by Francois Rabelais. Join the discussion! Go to the Contact page and put "Scotch Talk" in the Subject line. We'd love to hear from you! And submit your homework at the Michael & Ethan in a Room with Scotch page.
Donate to our Patreon!
BUY A NIHILIST BLANKET!
Your Hosts: Michael G. Lilienthal (@mglilienthal) and
Ethan Bartlett (@bjartlett)
MUSIC & SFX:
"Kessy Swings Endless - (ID 349)" by Lobo Loco. Used by permission.
"The Grim Reaper - II Presto" by Aitua. Used under an Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike License.
"Thinking It Over" by Lee Rosevere. Used under an Attribution License.
An Ethan-only special episode (sorry) in which Ethan gives us just a taster of the massive medieval Japanese novel The Tale of Genji, by Murasaki Shikibu, and makes his case that a Japanese woman may have written the first “true” novel.
Next time Michael and Ethan will begin discussion of our next Mongo Book: Gargantua and Pantagruel, by Francois Rabelais. Join the discussion! Go to the Contact page and put "Scotch Talk" in the Subject line. We'd love to hear from you! And submit your homework at the Michael & Ethan in a Room with Scotch page.
Donate to our Patreon!
BUY A NIHILIST BLANKET!
Your Hosts: Michael G. Lilienthal (@mglilienthal) and
Ethan Bartlett (@bjartlett)
MUSIC & SFX:
"Kessy Swings Endless - (ID 349)" by Lobo Loco. Used by permission.
"The Grim Reaper - II Presto" by Aitua. Used under an Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike License.
"Thinking It Over" by Lee Rosevere. Used under an Attribution License.
Michael and Ethan continue their discussion of The Fishermen, by Chigozie Obioma, while drinking Benriach distilliery’s The Twelve.
In this episode:
The payoff to a secret joke
Obligatory D&D discussion, sorry
Sorry also to our Morning DJ audience
Maybe more pointing out than usual of things we don’t understand. shrug At least we’re honest
Leaping Christ figures
MaEiaRwS: avoiding the easy interpretation since 2016
Oh yeah, there should probably be a bullet point about animals
If we don’t incriminate ourselves one way, we’ll do it another way
Next time Michael and Ethan will begin discussion of our next Mongo Book: Gargantua and Pantagruel, by Francois Rabelais. Join the discussion! Go to the Contact page and put "Scotch Talk" in the Subject line. We'd love to hear from you! And submit your homework at the Michael & Ethan in a Room with Scotch page.
Donate to our Patreon!
BUY A NIHILIST BLANKET!
Your Hosts: Michael G. Lilienthal (@mglilienthal) and
Ethan Bartlett (@bjartlett)
MUSIC & SFX:
"Kessy Swings Endless - (ID 349)" by Lobo Loco. Used by permission.
"The Grim Reaper - II Presto" by Aitua. Used under an Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike License.
"Thinking It Over" by Lee Rosevere. Used under an Attribution License.
Michael and Ethan begin their discussion of The Fishermen, by Chigozie Obioma, while drinking Benriach distilliery’s The Twelve.
In this episode:
Michael Prophesies
Ethan deconstructs
The Scotch… is
The Biblical allusions aren’t even trying to hide
This book is either a defense testimony, a gospel, a Kafka-esque absurdist novel, an apologetic, or none of those things
(The metaphors keep escaping)
The end contains a teasing question, and the setup to a future secret joke
Next time Michael and Ethan will continue discussing The Fishermen, by Chigozie Obioma. Join the discussion! Go to the Contact page and put "Scotch Talk" in the Subject line. We'd love to hear from you! And submit your homework at the Michael & Ethan in a Room with Scotch page.
Donate to our Patreon!
BUY A NIHILIST BLANKET!
Your Hosts: Michael G. Lilienthal (@mglilienthal) and
Ethan Bartlett (@bjartlett)
MUSIC & SFX:
"Kessy Swings Endless - (ID 349)" by Lobo Loco. Used by permission.
"The Grim Reaper - II Presto" by Aitua. Used under an Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike License.
"Thinking It Over" by Lee Rosevere. Used under an Attribution License.
Michael, Ethan, and special guest Nick continue their discussion of The Devil and the Dark Water, by Stuart Turton, while two of the three of them drink Benriach distilliery’s The Twelve.
In this episode:
Michael does an unfair thought experiment, but at least it has a key
After an initial pledge not to discuss morality, most of the episode is about morality
Digression into D&D alignment types, obviously
Having ground his Lawful Neutral axe hard, Ethan also goes into his obsession with Victorian follys. Ugh
Ethan solves the genre mystery, thereby solving this series pair of episodes
Spoilers for Mysteries of Udolpho, but you’ve had over 200 years to read that one
Yet another entry in our series Fun With the Reading Group Guide!
Michael finally admits that Ethan is very clever
Nevertheless, Ethan mispronounces Chigozie Obioma’s last name right at the end, sorry
Next time Michael, Ethan, and Nick will continue discussing The Devil and the Dark Water, by Stuart Turton. Join the discussion! Go to the Contact page and put "Scotch Talk" in the Subject line. We'd love to hear from you! And submit your homework at the Michael & Ethan in a Room with Scotch page.
Donate to our Patreon!
BUY A NIHILIST BLANKET!
Your Hosts: Michael G. Lilienthal (@mglilienthal) and
Ethan Bartlett (@bjartlett)
MUSIC & SFX:
"Kessy Swings Endless - (ID 349)" by Lobo Loco. Used by permission.
"The Grim Reaper - II Presto" by Aitua. Used under an Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike License.
"Thinking It Over" by Lee Rosevere. Used under an Attribution License.
Michael, Ethan, and special guest Nick begin their discussion of The Devil and the Dark Water, by Stuart Turton, while two of the three of them drink Benriach distilliery’s The Twelve.
In this episode:
Nick makes a very good rule
Michael is provoked into asking a bad question and then the rest of the episode is about that
Ethan says “fantasy” a bunch of times when he probably should have said “speculative fiction,” feel free to sue him
This book is full of filth
Spoilers for the Murder of Roger Ackroyd, the Hound of the Baskervilles, and a bunch of other stuff you’ve had 100 years to read
Fun old-timey ocean stories! Also, pretty violent.
Next time Michael, Ethan, and Nick will continue discussing The Devil and the Dark Water, by Stuart Turton. Join the discussion! Go to the Contact page and put "Scotch Talk" in the Subject line. We'd love to hear from you! And submit your homework at the Michael & Ethan in a Room with Scotch page.
Donate to our Patreon!
BUY A NIHILIST BLANKET!
Your Hosts: Michael G. Lilienthal (@mglilienthal) and
Ethan Bartlett (@bjartlett)
MUSIC & SFX:
"Kessy Swings Endless - (ID 349)" by Lobo Loco. Used by permission.
"The Grim Reaper - II Presto" by Aitua. Used under an Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike License.
"Thinking It Over" by Lee Rosevere. Used under an Attribution License.
Michael and Ethan continue their discussion of Filthy Animals, by Brandon Taylor, while drinking slightly different iterations of Redbreast Irish whiskey in sherry cask finishes.
In this episode:
MaEiaRwS: the podcast where nothing gets done
Ethan fishes a book with a chair (scintillating audio that the editor chose to leave in)
Trawling for references
The Case Against the Trauma Plot, by Parul Sehgal
Emotional Support Trauma Plot, by Brandon Taylor
We talk about what we talk abot
What is love?
The Queen’s Visit to the Exhibition, by William McGonagall
Next time Michael and Ethan will begin discussing The Devil and the Dark Water, by Stuart Turton. Join the discussion! Go to the Contact page and put "Scotch Talk" in the Subject line. We'd love to hear from you! And submit your homework at the Michael & Ethan in a Room with Scotch page.
Donate to our Patreon!
BUY A NIHILIST BLANKET!
Your Hosts: Michael G. Lilienthal (@mglilienthal) and
Ethan Bartlett (@bjartlett)
MUSIC & SFX:
"Kessy Swings Endless - (ID 349)" by Lobo Loco. Used by permission.
"The Grim Reaper - II Presto" by Aitua. Used under an Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike License.
"Thinking It Over" by Lee Rosevere. Used under an Attribution License.
Michael and Ethan begin their discussion of Filthy Animals, by Brandon Taylor, while drinking slightly different iterations of Redbreast Irish whiskey in sherry cask finishes.
In this episode:
Ethan admits to torturing a co-worker
This was a very trying episode for Michael
Esoteric rants (surprise!)
Yes, Ethan has been playing a lot of chess lately
Some real digs at true crime
Next time Michael and Ethan will begin discussing Filthy Animals, by Brandon Taylor. Join the discussion! Go to the Contact page and put "Scotch Talk" in the Subject line. We'd love to hear from you! And submit your homework at the Michael & Ethan in a Room with Scotch page.
Donate to our Patreon!
BUY A NIHILIST BLANKET!
Your Hosts: Michael G. Lilienthal (@mglilienthal) and
Ethan Bartlett (@bjartlett)
MUSIC & SFX:
"Kessy Swings Endless - (ID 349)" by Lobo Loco. Used by permission.
"The Grim Reaper - II Presto" by Aitua. Used under an Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike License.
"Thinking It Over" by Lee Rosevere. Used under an Attribution License.
Michael and Ethan continue their discussion of Jude the Obscure, by Thomas Hardy, while drinking slightly different iterations of Redbreast 12yo Irish whiskey in sherry cask finishes.
In this episode:
A messy beginning. (Also messy in the middle, and at the end)
Some Walker Percy, some Apostle Paul, and a bunch of the Apocrypha
A slight foray into Names With Michael
Extremely counterfactual counterfactuals
The BHT, and whether it’s bad
Next time Michael and Ethan will begin discussing Filthy Animals, by Brandon Taylor. Join the discussion! Go to the Contact page and put "Scotch Talk" in the Subject line. We'd love to hear from you! And submit your homework at the Michael & Ethan in a Room with Scotch page.
Donate to our Patreon!
BUY A NIHILIST BLANKET!
Your Hosts: Michael G. Lilienthal (@mglilienthal) and
Ethan Bartlett (@bjartlett)
MUSIC & SFX:
"Kessy Swings Endless - (ID 349)" by Lobo Loco. Used by permission.
"The Grim Reaper - II Presto" by Aitua. Used under an Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike License.
"Thinking It Over" by Lee Rosevere. Used under an Attribution License.
Michael and Ethan begin their discussion of Jude the Obscure, by Thomas Hardy, while drinking slightly different iterations of Redbreast 12yo Irish whiskey in sherry cask finishes.
In this episode:
Improv that goes great!
Multiple instances of Wikipedia research in real time!
Gaslighting future podcast historians!
Thomas Hardy shade!
Shades of Thomas Hardy! And Shakespeare!
Ethan does a bad job talking about Lady Audley’s Secret!
Ethan misquotes Gene Wolfe—it was “contemporaries of Herodotus and Mark Twain”!
I felt like I needed one more bullet point with an exclamation!
Next time Michael and Ethan will continue their discussion of Jude the Obscure, by Thomas Hardy. Join the discussion! Go to the Contact page and put "Scotch Talk" in the Subject line. We'd love to hear from you! And submit your homework at the Michael & Ethan in a Room with Scotch page.
Donate to our Patreon!
BUY A NIHILIST BLANKET!
Your Hosts: Michael G. Lilienthal (@mglilienthal) and
Ethan Bartlett (@bjartlett)
MUSIC & SFX:
"Kessy Swings Endless - (ID 349)" by Lobo Loco. Used by permission.
"The Grim Reaper - II Presto" by Aitua. Used under an Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike License.
"Thinking It Over" by Lee Rosevere. Used under an Attribution License.
An extra-special, extra-troublesome-for-Ethan, First Paragraph Challenge, featuring Karen, the Voice of the Rules.
In this episode:
A special, pretty troublesome, guest!
Disclaimers from Ethan: Collect all 3!
They’re guessing what the title of the book is based on the first paragraph. Ethan at no point makes this explicit. Sorry.
Sorry to Neil Gaiman yet again
Michael, Ethan needs you
Karen undercuts Ethan by doing things like being right, being reasonable, and being good at math
Take that, Michael!
Karen gets the pronunciation of “Gloucester” deeply wrong, sorry to all our British listeners
Ethan does technically win, but he has the good sense not to mention that on the podcast
Next time Michael and Ethan will begin their discussion of Jude the Obscure, by Thomas Hardy. Join the discussion! Go to the Contact page and put "Scotch Talk" in the Subject line. We'd love to hear from you! And submit your homework at the Michael & Ethan in a Room with Scotch page.
Donate to our Patreon!
BUY A NIHILIST BLANKET!
Your Hosts: Michael G. Lilienthal (@mglilienthal) and
Ethan Bartlett (@bjartlett)
MUSIC & SFX:
"Kessy Swings Endless - (ID 349)" by Lobo Loco. Used by permission.
"The Grim Reaper - II Presto" by Aitua. Used under an Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike License.
"Thinking It Over" by Lee Rosevere. Used under an Attribution License.
An extremely special episode where, after a 5-year ban, Michael finally gets to talk about vampires.
In this episode:
Michael is or is not a vampire
Michael finds vampires everywhere
Ethan knows how lists work
Ethan compares Michael to Einstein, but only by accident
Florence and the Machine and Vampires
Vampires everywhere!
Some ill-advised digressions in the middle of the episode, sorry
Much place-setting, as usual
To be clear, Ethan is deeply ashamed of everything Twilight-related that comes up in this episode, including his own writing, which will not be linked to now or ever
Next time Michael and Ethan will begin their discussion of Jude the Obscure, by Thomas Hardy. Join the discussion! Go to the Contact page and put "Scotch Talk" in the Subject line. We'd love to hear from you! And submit your homework at the Michael & Ethan in a Room with Scotch page.
Donate to our Patreon!
BUY A NIHILIST BLANKET!
Your Hosts: Michael G. Lilienthal (@mglilienthal) and
Ethan Bartlett (@bjartlett)
MUSIC & SFX:
"Kessy Swings Endless - (ID 349)" by Lobo Loco. Used by permission.
"The Grim Reaper - II Presto" by Aitua. Used under an Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike License.
"Thinking It Over" by Lee Rosevere. Used under an Attribution License.
Michael and Ethan continue their discussion of The End of the Affair, by Graham Greene. while continuing to drink Highland Park 12 Year Old Viking Honour Edition. BUT THERE’S A TWIST!
In this episode:
Ethan explains this up top, but he had a glitch that caused him to record not with Michael, but several weeks in the future from Michael. Thus, Ethan is VERY SORRY THAT:
-
This podcast is probably somewhat disjointed.
-
There are probably audio issues in it.
-
It is probably at least somewhat incoherent.
HOWEVER! It MIGHT be entertaining! No one knows!
Next time Michael and Ethan will begin their discussion of Jude the Obscure, by Thomas Hardy. The audio experience will be better! Hopefully! Join the discussion! Go to the Contact page and put "Scotch Talk" in the Subject line. We'd love to hear from you! And submit your homework at the Michael & Ethan in a Room with Scotch page.
Donate to our Patreon!
BUY A NIHILIST BLANKET!
Your Hosts: Michael G. Lilienthal (@mglilienthal) and
Ethan Bartlett (@bjartlett)
MUSIC & SFX:
"Kessy Swings Endless - (ID 349)" by Lobo Loco. Used by permission.
"The Grim Reaper - II Presto" by Aitua. Used under an Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike License.
"Thinking It Over" by Lee Rosevere. Used under an Attribution License.
Michael and Ethan Begin their discussion of The End of the Affair, by Graham Greene. while continuing to drink Highland Park 12 Year Old Viking Honour Edition.
In this episode:
Everything is arbitrary
Bladder perspectives
The broad drunk history strokes
We prove we read the book
Excursions within excursions
A teaser for next time!
Next time Michael and Ethan will continue their discussion of The End of the Affair, by Graham Greene.. Join the discussion! Go to the Contact page and put "Scotch Talk" in the Subject line. We'd love to hear from you! And submit your homework at the Michael & Ethan in a Room with Scotch page.
Donate to our Patreon!
BUY A NIHILIST BLANKET!
Your Hosts: Michael G. Lilienthal (@mglilienthal) and
Ethan Bartlett (@bjartlett)
MUSIC & SFX:
"Kessy Swings Endless - (ID 349)" by Lobo Loco. Used by permission.
"The Grim Reaper - II Presto" by Aitua. Used under an Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike License.
"Thinking It Over" by Lee Rosevere. Used under an Attribution License.
WHAAAATTTT?
It’s an extra-big, extra-in-the-sense-of-you-get-three-episodes-this-month, extra in the way Michael and Ethan are always extra, VERY SPECIAL EVENT PODCAST!
Our first episode came out on December 23rd, 2016. So here, today, December 23rd, 2021 [plus a few days because Ethan has NEVER been good with meeting actual deadlines] we offer you a thorough, comprehensive retrospective, in which we discuss literally every single thing we covered in the first five years. So really, you could listen to this and then skip to season six.
Also, future Ethan realizes that a tone poem is originally a musical genre and not a cinematic one, don’t @ him about that. (@ him about other stuff.)
Next time Michael and Ethan will begin their discussion of The End of the Affair, by Graham Greene.. Join the discussion! Go to the Contact page and put "Scotch Talk" in the Subject line. We'd love to hear from you! And submit your homework at the Michael & Ethan in a Room with Scotch page.
Donate to our Patreon!
BUY A NIHILIST BLANKET!
Your Hosts: Michael G. Lilienthal (@mglilienthal) and
Ethan Bartlett (@bjartlett)
MUSIC & SFX:
"Kessy Swings Endless - (ID 349)" by Lobo Loco. Used by permission.
"The Grim Reaper - II Presto" by Aitua. Used under an Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike License.
"Thinking It Over" by Lee Rosevere. Used under an Attribution License.
Michael and Ethan continue their discussion of Snow Flower and the Secret Fan, by Lisa See while drinking Highland Park 12 Year Old Viking Honour Edition.
In this episode:
What’s a plot?
Misunderstanding misunderstandings
Michael says “duty” a bunch of times and Ethan doesn’t even giggle. That’s maturity
Just some fanboy moments about Lisa See (to balance out the s*** we talked last time)
Michael would like everyone to know that Ethan’s words are his own and not MIchael’s
Excursus into the impossibility of historiographed personality insertion
Ethan knows his limits (hopefully)
Not the worst reading group guide of all time
Next time Michael and Ethan will begin their discussion of The End of the Affair, by Graham Greene.. Join the discussion! Go to the Contact page and put "Scotch Talk" in the Subject line. We'd love to hear from you! And submit your homework at the Michael & Ethan in a Room with Scotch page.
Donate to our Patreon!
BUY A NIHILIST BLANKET!
Your Hosts: Michael G. Lilienthal (@mglilienthal) and
Ethan Bartlett (@bjartlett)
MUSIC & SFX:
"Kessy Swings Endless - (ID 349)" by Lobo Loco. Used by permission.
"The Grim Reaper - II Presto" by Aitua. Used under an Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike License.
"Thinking It Over" by Lee Rosevere. Used under an Attribution License.
Michael and Ethan begin their discussion of Snow Flower and the Secret Fan, by Lisa See while drinking Highland Park 12 Year Old Viking Honour Edition.
In this episode:
Dark self-reflection
Some clarifications
Excursus into Cormac McCarthy (sorry)
A lot of time discussing the word “for”
The SF version of Henrik Ibsen
It Doesn’t Have to be Intentional for a Grad Student to Analyze It: A Thesis
Next time Michael and Ethan will begin their discussion of Snow Flower and the Secret Fan, by Lisa See.. Join the discussion! Go to the Contact page and put "Scotch Talk" in the Subject line. We'd love to hear from you! And submit your homework at the Michael & Ethan in a Room with Scotch page.
Donate to our Patreon!
BUY A NIHILIST BLANKET!
Your Hosts: Michael G. Lilienthal (@mglilienthal) and
Ethan Bartlett (@bjartlett)
MUSIC & SFX:
"Kessy Swings Endless - (ID 349)" by Lobo Loco. Used by permission.
"The Grim Reaper - II Presto" by Aitua. Used under an Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike License.
"Thinking It Over" by Lee Rosevere. Used under an Attribution License.
Michael and Ethan have their first Very Special, a competition in which they try to stump each other with the openings of books. Don’t worry, there are stakes. (But not steaks.)
In this episode:
There are special rules, which Michael and Ethan do manage to break without acknowledging it (4 = 3, apparently)
Some really scintillating discourse about The Lake House starring Keanu Reeves
Believe it or not, and despite jokes made in this episode, the editor DID actually cut out a lot of silences
The article Ethan mentioned, where Gaiman starts off with a signature M&E catchphrase?
The badness of the content at the end is objectively Michael’s fault. That should just be on the record.
Next time Michael and Ethan will begin their discussion of Snow Flower and the Secret Fan, by Lisa See.. Join the discussion! Go to the Contact page and put "Scotch Talk" in the Subject line. We'd love to hear from you! And submit your homework at the Michael & Ethan in a Room with Scotch page.
Donate to our Patreon!
BUY A NIHILIST BLANKET!
Your Hosts: Michael G. Lilienthal (@mglilienthal) and
Ethan Bartlett (@bjartlett)
MUSIC & SFX:
"Kessy Swings Endless - (ID 349)" by Lobo Loco. Used by permission.
"The Grim Reaper - II Presto" by Aitua. Used under an Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike License.
"Thinking It Over" by Lee Rosevere. Used under an Attribution License.
Michael and Ethan continue their discussion of I Am A Cat, by Soseki Natsume
In this episode:
A rubber seal of waxy approval
Like real men, instead of feeling our feelings we drink our whiskey
(If the audio seems jumpy in a couple places it’s because Ethan’s software was glitching + Ethan is bad at editing)
The cat is an Every Man
THE REFERENCE IS TO “ANTONY AND CLEOPATRA” OF COURSE
Modern Major General lyrics, for reference.
Next time Michael and Ethan will begin their discussion of Snow Flower and the Secret Fan, by Lisa See.. Join the discussion! Go to the Contact page and put "Scotch Talk" in the Subject line. We'd love to hear from you! And submit your homework at the Michael & Ethan in a Room with Scotch page.
Donate to our Patreon!
BUY A NIHILIST BLANKET!
Your Hosts: Michael G. Lilienthal (@mglilienthal) and
Ethan Bartlett (@bjartlett)
MUSIC & SFX:
"Kessy Swings Endless - (ID 349)" by Lobo Loco. Used by permission.
"The Grim Reaper - II Presto" by Aitua. Used under an Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike License.
"Thinking It Over" by Lee Rosevere. Used under an Attribution License.
Michael and Ethan continue their discussion of I Am A Cat, by Soseki Natsume
In this episode:
Ethan maybe loses right away? But Michael didn’t catch it, so…
DECLINE and Fall, duhhh
Some really good info about Prince Arthur of Connaught
Time travel speculation
Michael admits Ethan is right about everything
Also, communication is impossible
Next time Michael and Ethan will continue to discuss I Am a Cat, by Soseki Natsume. Join the discussion! Go to the Contact page and put "Scotch Talk" in the Subject line. We'd love to hear from you! And submit your homework at the Michael & Ethan in a Room with Scotch page.
Donate to our Patreon!
BUY A NIHILIST BLANKET!
Your Hosts: Michael G. Lilienthal (@mglilienthal) and
Ethan Bartlett (@bjartlett)
MUSIC & SFX:
"Kessy Swings Endless - (ID 349)" by Lobo Loco. Used by permission.
"The Grim Reaper - II Presto" by Aitua. Used under an Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike License.
"Thinking It Over" by Lee Rosevere. Used under an Attribution License.
Michael and Ethan begin their discussion of I Am A Cat, by Soseki Natsume
In this episode:
Immediate digression into Irish stouts, sorry
For the record, the line Ethan butchers is “…torment/Of love unsatisfied/The greater torment/Of love satisfied
Soseki wrote Lost in the Cosmos 80 years early?
We are all burglars and detectives
Kids these days
Saw, But You’re Chained to a Bear Trap and the Instructions to get out Are in Cursive
Good homework boy
All narrators are cats
Next time Michael and Ethan will continue to discuss I Am a Cat, by Soseki Natsume. Join the discussion! Go to the Contact page and put "Scotch Talk" in the Subject line. We'd love to hear from you! And submit your homework at the Michael & Ethan in a Room with Scotch page.
Donate to our Patreon!
BUY A NIHILIST BLANKET!
Your Hosts: Michael G. Lilienthal (@mglilienthal) and
Ethan Bartlett (@bjartlett)
MUSIC & SFX:
"Kessy Swings Endless - (ID 349)" by Lobo Loco. Used by permission.
"The Grim Reaper - II Presto" by Aitua. Used under an Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike License.
"Thinking It Over" by Lee Rosevere. Used under an Attribution License.
Michael and Ethan begin their discussion of I Am A Cat, by Soseki Natsume
In this episode:
Politics and current events, obviously
Seduction books vs bonding books
The Sordid Histories of Wives and Books
Violence
Arguing
The Truth of Cats
Mistakes
Next time Michael and Ethan will continue to discuss I Am a Cat, by Soseki Natsume. Join the discussion! Go to the Contact page and put "Scotch Talk" in the Subject line. We'd love to hear from you! And submit your homework at the Michael & Ethan in a Room with Scotch page.
Donate to our Patreon!
BUY A NIHILIST BLANKET!
Your Hosts: Michael G. Lilienthal (@mglilienthal) and
Ethan Bartlett (@bjartlett)
MUSIC & SFX:
"Kessy Swings Endless - (ID 349)" by Lobo Loco. Used by permission.
"The Grim Reaper - II Presto" by Aitua. Used under an Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike License.
"Thinking It Over" by Lee Rosevere. Used under an Attribution License.
In one of their patented specials, Michael and Ethan discuss informal poetry, or as anyone other than us might call it, Free Verse.
Poems discussed:
“The Leaves,” by Austin Smith
“The Second Coming,” by William Butler Yeats
In this episode:
Protestant Whiskey
Leaves, but not leaves, if you know what I mean
Form, but not form, y’see
A possibly imaginary sonnet
Punctuation
Ethan says “most people” when he means “most people reading poetry in English,” sorry
Either we do Yeats dirty or he does us dirty, or both
We know Ethan’s had enough Bushmills when he goes on a history rant
The next book is Michael and Ethan’s Annual Mondo Book, which we will spend four episodes on. This year’s Mondo Book is I Am a Cat, by Soseki Natsume. Join the discussion! Go to the Contact page and put "Scotch Talk" in the Subject line. We'd love to hear from you! And submit your homework at the Michael & Ethan in a Room with Scotch page.
Donate to our Patreon!
BUY A NIHILIST BLANKET!
Your Hosts: Michael G. Lilienthal (@mglilienthal) and
Ethan Bartlett (@bjartlett)
MUSIC & SFX:
"Kessy Swings Endless - (ID 349)" by Lobo Loco. Used by permission.
"The Grim Reaper - II Presto" by Aitua. Used under an Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike License.
"Thinking It Over" by Lee Rosevere. Used under an Attribution License.
In one of their patented specials, Michael and Ethan discuss formal poetry—why is it? How is it?
Poems discussed:
“If We Must Die,” by Claude McKay
“Sestina of the Tramp-Royal,” by Rudyard Kipling
“On Claude McKay’s ‘If We Must Die,’” by Tonya Foster
In this episode:
The hosts are ANCIENT
We only do one cool thing on this podcast
Discussion of definitions, speaking of cool
To be clear, Ethan is trying to say he taught the sonnet wrong the first time he did it
Ethan tried for literally dozens of minutes to find the origin of the “One man’s terrorist” phrase, and Google had nothing. If you know it, go ahead and let us know and we will… be really grateful
Michael means “aleph,” which to be fair, seems very close to the Greek letter “alpha”
Sestinas probably make sense to somebody
Some very slight (a lot of) Kipling ambivalence
The next book is Michael and Ethan’s Annual Mondo Book, which we will spend four episodes on. This year’s Mondo Book is I Am a Cat, by Soseki Natsume. Join the discussion! Go to the Contact page and put "Scotch Talk" in the Subject line. We'd love to hear from you! And submit your homework at the Michael & Ethan in a Room with Scotch page.
Donate to our Patreon!
BUY A NIHILIST BLANKET!
Your Hosts: Michael G. Lilienthal (@mglilienthal) and
Ethan Bartlett (@bjartlett)
MUSIC & SFX:
"Kessy Swings Endless - (ID 349)" by Lobo Loco. Used by permission.
"The Grim Reaper - II Presto" by Aitua. Used under an Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike License.
"Thinking It Over" by Lee Rosevere. Used under an Attribution License.
Michael and Ethan continue their discussion of Despair, by Vladimir Nabokov.
In this episode:
A shocklingly concise start
If two people look like each other, they can be mistaken for one another
The triumphant return of Names With Michael
A special guest
An amazing race
Quite frankly, Ethan forgot to take any notes while editing so he probably missed some stuff
The next book is Michael and Ethan’s Annual Mondo Book, which we will spend four episodes on. This year’s Mondo Book is I Am a Cat, by Soseki Natsume. Join the discussion! Go to the Contact page and put "Scotch Talk" in the Subject line. We'd love to hear from you! And submit your homework at the Michael & Ethan in a Room with Scotch page.
Donate to our Patreon!
BUY A NIHILIST BLANKET!
Your Hosts: Michael G. Lilienthal (@mglilienthal) and
Ethan Bartlett (@bjartlett)
MUSIC & SFX:
"Kessy Swings Endless - (ID 349)" by Lobo Loco. Used by permission.
"The Grim Reaper - II Presto" by Aitua. Used under an Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike License.
"Thinking It Over" by Lee Rosevere. Used under an Attribution License.
Michael and Ethan begin their discussion of Despair, by Vladimir Nabokov.
In this episode:
We always pluck the low-hanging fruit, and the high-hanging fruit
Scotch noises
Very interesting pronunciation discussion
Yeah, Ethan voices suspicions about some stuff that is apparently just true
Michael says “maybe” and Ethan says “he never” put on the podcast a theory that Ethan definitely floated, like, 3-4 episodes ago
Shockingly, there is discussion of Tristram Shandy
Nasal passages (thank you)
Michael doesn’t take one for the team
Next episode Michael and Ethan will continue to discuss Despair, by Vladimir Nabokov. Join the discussion! Go to the Contact page and put "Scotch Talk" in the Subject line. We'd love to hear from you! And submit your homework at the Michael & Ethan in a Room with Scotch page.
Donate to our Patreon!
BUY A NIHILIST BLANKET!
Your Hosts: Michael G. Lilienthal (@mglilienthal) and
Ethan Bartlett (@bjartlett)
MUSIC & SFX:
"Kessy Swings Endless - (ID 349)" by Lobo Loco. Used by permission.
"The Grim Reaper - II Presto" by Aitua. Used under an Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike License.
"Thinking It Over" by Lee Rosevere. Used under an Attribution License.
Michael and Ethan continue to discuss Wide Sargasso Sea, by Jean Rhys.
In this episode:
A third host joins the podcast, but not like THAT
Michael is generous, or is he?
Ethan was definitely trying to think of “Knockin’ On Heaven’s Door”
The discussion goes pretty deep pretty quickly and it’s kind of hard to say sarcastic things about it?
Most of the episode is spent on three pages of the book, sorry
But at least the previous point is acknowledged so you’re not allowed to be mad?
Ethan accuses Jane Eyre of having warts
Michael finally reveals his true motivation for making the entire podcast
This is the “Michael making his high school teachers mad” show (not the same as the previous point)
Next episode Michael and Ethan will discuss Despair, by Vladimir Nabokov. Join the discussion! Go to the Contact page and put "Scotch Talk" in the Subject line. We'd love to hear from you! And submit your homework at the Michael & Ethan in a Room with Scotch page.
Donate to our Patreon!
BUY A NIHILIST BLANKET!
Your Hosts: Michael G. Lilienthal (@mglilienthal) and
Ethan Bartlett (@bjartlett)
MUSIC & SFX:
"Kessy Swings Endless - (ID 349)" by Lobo Loco. Used by permission.
"The Grim Reaper - II Presto" by Aitua. Used under an Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike License.
"Thinking It Over" by Lee Rosevere. Used under an Attribution License.
Michael and Ethan begin to discuss Wide Sargasso Sea, by Jean Rhys.
In this episode:
The hosts are even more underqualified than usual.
Star Wars: like Star Trek but the science is better.
The terms “revisionist” and “revisionary” are used interchangeably, sorry.
Also sorry for the crunching noises Ethan contributes, geez
Having promised not to talk much about the additional material, the boys obviously talk a LOT about that material
Ethan does manage to mention Ireland, however briefly
This is not actually a history podcast
Next episode Michael and Ethan will continue to discuss Wide Sargasso Sea, by Jean Rhys. Join the discussion! Go to the Contact page and put "Scotch Talk" in the Subject line. We'd love to hear from you! And submit your homework at the Michael & Ethan in a Room with Scotch page.
Donate to our Patreon!
BUY A NIHILIST BLANKET!
Your Hosts: Michael G. Lilienthal (@mglilienthal) and
Ethan Bartlett (@bjartlett)
MUSIC & SFX:
"Kessy Swings Endless - (ID 349)" by Lobo Loco. Used by permission.
"The Grim Reaper - II Presto" by Aitua. Used under an Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike License.
"Thinking It Over" by Lee Rosevere. Used under an Attribution License.
Michael. Ethan, and special guest Jacob Kempfert continue to discuss Babbitt, by Sinclair Lewis. They basically do the secret third episode in this one, sorry/you’re welcome.
In this episode:
Spaghetti spray, and other types of spray
A concept for the worst Marvel crossover event of all time
Probably Jacob is referencing William Morris
Babbitt is a fantasy novel—in fact, it’s multiple fantasy novels
A new improv game: Babbitt and…
Confusing status for love, and stuff for status
A pretty upsetting digression into The Office
Kip doesn’t take one for the team
Ethan will definitely say things like “As we wrap up” at timestamps that you, the listener, know are wildly inaccurate
Michael and Ethan trap Jacob into trapping them, and therefore surrender the show to Jacob
This here is what they would have turned up regarding 25-year Prohibition, upon doing ANY research—turns out the specific town this Scotch is from had its own.
Just a LOT of power struggles on the back end of this one
We had the Secret Third Episode, so we threaten to have the Secret Fourth, Fifth, and Sixth episodes.
Ethan as tyrant (that was true the whole time, but forgot to include that note before)
Ethan also gets wrong where Bertha is from—he says Jamaica but it’s Dominica
ELBOHOPWMIARWSAAJSHMMELB
FICTIONSHARK
Kati Lattari (Twitter link with links to novel releases)
Next episode Michael and Ethan will discuss Wide Sargasso Sea, by Jean Rhys. Join the discussion! Go to the Contact page and put "Scotch Talk" in the Subject line. We'd love to hear from you! And submit your homework at the Michael & Ethan in a Room with Scotch page.
Donate to our Patreon!
BUY A NIHILIST BLANKET!
Your Hosts: Michael G. Lilienthal (@mglilienthal) and
Ethan Bartlett (@bjartlett)
MUSIC & SFX:
"Kessy Swings Endless - (ID 349)" by Lobo Loco. Used by permission.
"The Grim Reaper - II Presto" by Aitua. Used under an Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike License.
"Thinking It Over" by Lee Rosevere. Used under an Attribution License.
Michael. Ethan, and special guest Jacob Kempfert discuss Babbitt, by Sinclair Lewis.
In this episode:
Ethan is mean to Michael, but then he pays the price
Perhaps the most fraught rule anyone has introduced
A lot of talk about Azar Nafisi
Sinclair Lewis says the bad thing is bad, but maybe him saying so is also bad
Traps are a good thing
Thinking about thinking, and then thinking about that
Campbell’s Pea Soup
Next episode will be a Patented Special Episode, then they’ll begin talking about Babbitt, by Sinclair Lewis. Join the discussion! Go to the Contact page and put "Scotch Talk" in the Subject line. We'd love to hear from you! And submit your homework at the Michael & Ethan in a Room with Scotch page.
Donate to our Patreon!
BUY A NIHILIST BLANKET!
Your Hosts: Michael G. Lilienthal (@mglilienthal) and
Ethan Bartlett (@bjartlett)
MUSIC & SFX:
"Kessy Swings Endless - (ID 349)" by Lobo Loco. Used by permission.
"The Grim Reaper - II Presto" by Aitua. Used under an Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike License.
"Thinking It Over" by Lee Rosevere. Used under an Attribution License.
Michael and Ethan present extremely good theories regarding The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn, by Mark Twain.
In this episode:
Plagiarism encouraged
Prosecuted, banished, and shot
A wife’s theory shamefully rejected
Is Mary real?
Is Huck Don Quixote?
Or is Huck… much more sinister still?
Tom Sawyer is both a jock and a cop
Sorry we assassinated Huck’s character. Or, not sorry
Next episode Michael and Ethan will begin talking about Babbitt, by Sinclair Lewis. Join the discussion! Go to the Contact page and put "Scotch Talk" in the Subject line. We'd love to hear from you! And submit your homework at the Michael & Ethan in a Room with Scotch page.
Donate to our Patreon!
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Your Hosts: Michael G. Lilienthal (@mglilienthal) and
Ethan Bartlett (@bjartlett)
MUSIC & SFX:
"Kessy Swings Endless - (ID 349)" by Lobo Loco. Used by permission.
"The Grim Reaper - II Presto" by Aitua. Used under an Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike License.
"Thinking It Over" by Lee Rosevere. Used under an Attribution License.
Michael and Ethan continue their discussion of By Force Alone, by Lavie Tidhar.
In this episode:
Very important distinctions
Stalker and God and how they relate to this podcast or something?
The wildly offensive Matter of Britain
Does Ethan technically lose?
At least we acknowledge that Stalker wasn’t the point
It both is and is not always about power
For the third time this episode, we’re NOT the religion podcast
Semantics, but also syntax
Next episode will be a Patented Special Episode, then they’ll begin talking about Babbitt, by Sinclair Lewis. Join the discussion! Go to the Contact page and put "Scotch Talk" in the Subject line. We'd love to hear from you! And submit your homework at the Michael & Ethan in a Room with Scotch page.
Donate to our Patreon!
BUY A NIHILIST BLANKET!
Your Hosts: Michael G. Lilienthal (@mglilienthal) and
Ethan Bartlett (@bjartlett)
MUSIC & SFX:
"Kessy Swings Endless - (ID 349)" by Lobo Loco. Used by permission.
"The Grim Reaper - II Presto" by Aitua. Used under an Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike License.
"Thinking It Over" by Lee Rosevere. Used under an Attribution License.
Michael and Ethan begin their discussion of By Force Alone, by Lavie Tidhar.
In this episode:
We’re not making an Ireland rule
There’s only very large OR very small
Some pretty troubling talk featuring the verb “goad”
Wishbone references. Get on our level.
How Me Evaluate
Surprised by Maguffin
The Choir of Charlie’s Angels
Michael’s titles are/are not the point
Stalker is Southern Reach is The Inferno is The Odyssey is Orpheus and Eurydice
Next episode they’ll continue talking about By Force Alone, by Lavie Tidhar. Join the discussion! Go to the Contact page and put "Scotch Talk" in the Subject line. We'd love to hear from you! And submit your homework at the Michael & Ethan in a Room with Scotch page.
Donate to our Patreon!
BUY A NIHILIST BLANKET!
Your Hosts: Michael G. Lilienthal (@mglilienthal) and
Ethan Bartlett (@bjartlett)
MUSIC & SFX:
"Kessy Swings Endless - (ID 349)" by Lobo Loco. Used by permission.
"The Grim Reaper - II Presto" by Aitua. Used under an Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike License.
"Thinking It Over" by Lee Rosevere. Used under an Attribution License.
Michael and Ethan take a no rules, no kings, anarchy special and explore “The Tay Bridge Disaster,” the most famous poem by William McGonagall, widely considered the worst poet in the English Language.
In this episode:
The podcast very nearly turns into a very different, wasabi-based podcast
Ethan does some puns, but they might not be intentional
McGonagall Online is a great website, honestly.
Michael drops out for a second reading the first stanza, sorry, but you should probably read this for yourself anyway: The Tay Bridge Disaster.
Michael tries really hard to redeem McGonagall.
Bridges, man. You know?
McGonagall is very relatable, honestly
Ethan shares little-known but very true facts about classic Christmas movie “It’s A Wonderful Life”
This poem is a newspaper article
Next episode they’ll begin talking about By Force Alone, by Lavie Tidhar. Join the discussion! Go to the Contact page and put "Scotch Talk" in the Subject line. We'd love to hear from you! And submit your homework at the Michael & Ethan in a Room with Scotch page.
Donate to our Patreon!
BUY A NIHILIST BLANKET!
Your Hosts: Michael G. Lilienthal (@mglilienthal) and
Ethan Bartlett (@bjartlett)
MUSIC & SFX:
"Kessy Swings Endless - (ID 349)" by Lobo Loco. Used by permission.
"The Grim Reaper - II Presto" by Aitua. Used under an Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike License.
"Thinking It Over" by Lee Rosevere. Used under an Attribution License.
Michael and Ethan continue their discussion of Ball Lightning, by Cixin Liu.
In this episode:
Michael could take ‘em
Ethan is a tease
How to fit Ireland into China, by way of Kansas
God, aliens, or not aliens
The real friends are the ideas you met along the way
A wild Nat appears!
Poor Emily Dickinson
It was A Dream of Perpetual Motion, duhhhh
Next episode will be one of Michael and Ethan’s patented Specials, then they’ll begin talking about By Force Alone, by Lavie Tidhar. Join the discussion! Go to the Contact page and put "Scotch Talk" in the Subject line. We'd love to hear from you! And submit your homework at the Michael & Ethan in a Room with Scotch page.
Donate to our Patreon!
BUY A NIHILIST BLANKET!
Your Hosts: Michael G. Lilienthal (@mglilienthal) and
Ethan Bartlett (@bjartlett)
MUSIC & SFX:
"Kessy Swings Endless - (ID 349)" by Lobo Loco. Used by permission.
"The Grim Reaper - II Presto" by Aitua. Used under an Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike License.
"Thinking It Over" by Lee Rosevere. Used under an Attribution License.
Michael and Ethan begin their discussion of Ball Lightning, by Cixin Liu.
In this episode:
Segues drive us over the edge
We come up with a bad SF novel
There is laziness
Ethan knows nothing about China. Well, he knows 2 things.
The idea is the main character, but also the main character is the idea
Michael would be mad at himself, but he’s intentional (I think)
Next episode they’ll begin talking about Ball Lightning, by Cixin Liu. Join the discussion! Go to the Contact page and put "Scotch Talk" in the Subject line. We'd love to hear from you! And submit your homework at the Michael & Ethan in a Room with Scotch page.
Donate to our Patreon!
BUY A NIHILIST BLANKET!
Your Hosts: Michael G. Lilienthal (@mglilienthal) and
Ethan Bartlett (@bjartlett)
MUSIC & SFX:
"Kessy Swings Endless - (ID 349)" by Lobo Loco. Used by permission.
"The Grim Reaper - II Presto" by Aitua. Used under an Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike License.
"Thinking It Over" by Lee Rosevere. Used under an Attribution License.
Michael and Ethan continue their discussion of The Playboy of the Western World, by JM Synge, with supplemental excursions into Synge’s Complete Works.
In this episode:
A lot of seething
The real drama is in the footnotes (again)
We do talk about the plot, I think?
A possibly baseless Names With Michael
This podcast is just… shooting the breeze… in the wind…
Michael declines
Ethan goes after Rachels and Karens for some reason
Ibsen… or whatever
Next episode they’ll begin talking about Ball Lightning, by Cixin Liu. Join the discussion! Go to the Contact page and put "Scotch Talk" in the Subject line. We'd love to hear from you! And submit your homework at the Michael & Ethan in a Room with Scotch page.
Donate to our Patreon!
BUY A NIHILIST BLANKET!
Your Hosts: Michael G. Lilienthal (@mglilienthal) and
Ethan Bartlett (@bjartlett)
MUSIC & SFX:
"Kessy Swings Endless - (ID 349)" by Lobo Loco. Used by permission.
"The Grim Reaper - II Presto" by Aitua. Used under an Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike License.
"Thinking It Over" by Lee Rosevere. Used under an Attribution License.
Michael and Ethan discuss The Playboy of the Western World, by JM Synge, with supplemental excursions into Synge’s Complete Works.
In this episode:
How much we listen to our wives
If you’re going to be pedantic, at least know why
Siobhan: not pronounced “sie-oh-ban”
Film version not available streaming. Maybe try your local library?
Literature on fire!
Wildly speculating about things we barely remember!
(That Victor Hugo thing WAS a thing, though.)
1000 years of context
Really it’s just a sexy peasant murder play
Next episode they’ll continue to talk about The Playboy of the Western World, by JM Synge, while also being unable to stop themselves from excursions into Synge’s Complete Works. Join the discussion! Go to the Contact page and put "Scotch Talk" in the Subject line. We'd love to hear from you! And submit your homework at the Michael & Ethan in a Room with Scotch page.
Donate to our Patreon!
BUY A NIHILIST BLANKET!
Your Hosts: Michael G. Lilienthal (@mglilienthal) and
Ethan Bartlett (@bjartlett)
MUSIC & SFX:
"Kessy Swings Endless - (ID 349)" by Lobo Loco. Used by permission.
"The Grim Reaper - II Presto" by Aitua. Used under an Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike License.
"Thinking It Over" by Lee Rosevere. Used under an Attribution License.
In a special episode for the middle of winter, Michael and Ethan discuss A Midsummer Night’s Dream, but not the Shakespeare one!
In this episode:
Michael makes sacrifices for his art
We’re talking about the comic book, but not about the comic book
We pair our drinks with meat
There’s a lot of talk about Richard Burbage. Where else can you get that?
Stories are real.
This podcast is the highest form of comment.
A very long man. (And this is the other hill figure Ethan failed to find in real time.)
Ethan makes it grim at the end, but he does successfully rein it in.
Neil Gaiman’s brilliant “Make Good Art” speech.
Next episode they’ll talk about The Playboy of the Western World, by JM Synge. (Also worthwhile: Synge’s Complete Works.) Join the discussion! Go to the Contact page and put "Scotch Talk" in the Subject line. We'd love to hear from you! And submit your homework at the Michael & Ethan in a Room with Scotch page.
Donate to our Patreon!
BUY A NIHILIST BLANKET!
Your Hosts: Michael G. Lilienthal (@mglilienthal) and
Ethan Bartlett (@bjartlett)
MUSIC & SFX:
"Kessy Swings Endless - (ID 349)" by Lobo Loco. Used by permission.
"The Grim Reaper - II Presto" by Aitua. Used under an Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike License.
"Thinking It Over" by Lee Rosevere. Used under an Attribution License.
Michael and Ethan conclude their discussion of The Life and Opinions of Tristram Shandy, Gentleman, by Laurence Sterne. They punish each other, but this one isn’t explicit.
In this episode:
The show must go on… I feel like we’ve had this bullet point before
We find out the moral of the show
There is emotional whiplash
There is talk about modeling, but not in an exciting way
We flirt with it being the Us Arguing Words podcast
Instead, it’s the Uncle Toby Podcast, and that is a VERY GOOD THING that WE ALL WANT
Ethan says “inversely parallel” and Michael lets him get away with it
But to be fair, Michael called the Ring of Power a Mcguffin
Advice for newlyweds
Ethan (mistakenly) cites Pavel’s The Lives of the Novel but then paraphrases Schmidt’s The Novel: A Biography. Both are worth reading.
Michael does, like, a weird… late night DJ thing? That Ethan didn’t get to hear until the edit? Sorry for leaving that in.
For reference: An Irish Airman Foresees His Death, by WB Yeats.
Next episode they’ll talk about The Playboy of the Western World, by JM Synge. (Also worthwhile/the volume Ethan gave Michael: Synge’s Complete Works.) Join the discussion! Go to the Contact page and put "Scotch Talk" in the Subject line. We'd love to hear from you! And submit your homework at the Michael & Ethan in a Room with Scotch page.
Donate to our Patreon!
BUY A NIHILIST BLANKET!
Your Hosts: Michael G. Lilienthal (@mglilienthal) and
Ethan Bartlett (@bjartlett)
MUSIC & SFX:
"Kessy Swings Endless - (ID 349)" by Lobo Loco. Used by permission.
"The Grim Reaper - II Presto" by Aitua. Used under an Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike License.
"Thinking It Over" by Lee Rosevere. Used under an Attribution License.
In what might be their most coherent episode ever, Michael & Ethan continue to discuss The Life and Opinions of Tristram Shandy, Gentleman, by Laurence Sterne. Keep in mind, that’s a pretty low bar.
In this episode:
We awaken from Michael’s dream
An actually good reading group guide???
No one on this podcast is a butt
Context!
When you try to talk about everything, you might end up with nothing
Ethan says “Ophelia” when he means “Cordelia,” and Michael LETS HIM GET AWAY WITH IT
Everything includes Uncle Toby (thankfully)
EVERYTHING IS SEX (sorry)
Everything is censorship, too
Gets real self-congratulatory right at the end, even though maybe we cheated
Next episode they’ll continue to talk about The Life and Opinions of Tristram Shandy, Gentleman, by Laurence Sterne. Join the discussion! Go to the Contact page and put "Scotch Talk" in the Subject line. We'd love to hear from you! And submit your homework at the Michael & Ethan in a Room with Scotch page.
Donate to our Patreon!
BUY A NIHILIST BLANKET!
Your Hosts: Michael G. Lilienthal (@mglilienthal) and
Ethan Bartlett (@bjartlett)
MUSIC & SFX:
"Kessy Swings Endless - (ID 349)" by Lobo Loco. Used by permission.
"The Grim Reaper - II Presto" by Aitua. Used under an Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike License.
"Thinking It Over" by Lee Rosevere. Used under an Attribution License.
It’s a special episode, in which Michael & Ethan are joined by Josiah Willitz to discuss the first book in the Freddy the Pig series by Walter R. Brooks: Freddy Goes to Florida. This also serves as the pilot episode in the brand-new Tapestry Radio show, Freddy Goes to a Podcast!
Next episode they’ll continue to talk about The Life and Opinions of Tristram Shandy, Gentleman, by Laurence Sterne. Join the discussion! Go to the Contact page and put "Scotch Talk" in the Subject line. We'd love to hear from you! And submit your homework at the Michael & Ethan in a Room with Scotch page.
Donate to our Patreon!
BUY A NIHILIST BLANKET!
Your Hosts: Michael G. Lilienthal (@mglilienthal) and
Ethan Bartlett (@bjartlett)
MUSIC & SFX:
"Kessy Swings Endless - (ID 349)" by Lobo Loco. Used by permission.
Freddy Goes to a Podcast theme composed by Josiah Willitz, lyrics by Walter R. Brooks.
Welcome back to whatever this is. Michael & Ethan do continue to discuss The Life and Opinions of Tristram Shandy, Gentleman, by Laurence Sterne. The next one will be normal, we promise.
In this episode:
A tour of oddities
A moment of silence
Why Shakespeare was a socialist (according to Marx)
Some finger-pointing
Irrelevant is not the same as immaterial
The preacher rides a hobby-horse
You might be an agelast if…
Next time will be “normal”
Next episode they’ll continue to talk about The Life and Opinions of Tristram Shandy, Gentleman, by Laurence Sterne. Join the discussion! Go to the Contact page and put "Scotch Talk" in the Subject line. We'd love to hear from you! And submit your homework at the Michael & Ethan in a Room with Scotch page.
Donate to our Patreon!
BUY A NIHILIST BLANKET!
Your Hosts: Michael G. Lilienthal (@mglilienthal) and
Ethan Bartlett (@bjartlett)
MUSIC & SFX:
"Kessy Swings Endless - (ID 349)" by Lobo Loco. Used by permission.
"The Grim Reaper - II Presto" by Aitua. Used under an Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike License.
"Thinking It Over" by Lee Rosevere. Used under an Attribution License.
Michael & Ethan discuss The Life and Opinions of Tristram Shandy, Gentleman, by Laurence Sterne. The explicit tag is Michael's fault, but it's not VERY explicit.
In this episode:
This is Michael’s dream
A postmodern book, from 1760
Much talk of punctuation
It’s not VERY explicit, promise
The COOLEST references (Krysten Ritter, btw)
This book is poetry. Sort of.
No one is being conditioned.
Michael makes a point, asks a question, or both
Ethan’s revenge is complete/just begun
LSTSFNEWFN
Next episode they’ll continue to talk about The Life and Opinions of Tristram Shandy, Gentleman, by Laurence Sterne. Join the discussion! Go to the Contact page and put "Scotch Talk" in the Subject line. We'd love to hear from you! And submit your homework at the Michael & Ethan in a Room with Scotch page.
Donate to our Patreon!
BUY A NIHILIST BLANKET!
Your Hosts: Michael G. Lilienthal (@mglilienthal) and
Ethan Bartlett (@bjartlett)
MUSIC & SFX:
"Kessy Swings Endless - (ID 349)" by Lobo Loco. Used by permission.
"The Grim Reaper - II Presto" by Aitua. Used under an Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike License.
"Thinking It Over" by Lee Rosevere. Used under an Attribution License.
Michael & Ethan continue to discuss Shotgun Lovesongs, by Nickolas Butler.
In this episode:
Michael continues his trend of troubling episode openings with maybe the darkest one yet
How to rate something 2 on a scale of 1-2 on a scale of 1-10
Ethan is sorry his prediction came true
Bon Iver is not pronounced Bon Iver
It’s the secret 3rd episode, but shorter!
Spoiler: everybody loses
Michael knows he will be corrected
Next episode they’ll talk about this year’s Mondo Book! That’s The Life and Opinions of Tristram Shandy, Gentleman, by Laurence Sterne. Join the discussion! Go to the Contact page and put "Scotch Talk" in the Subject line. We'd love to hear from you! And submit your homework at the Michael & Ethan in a Room with Scotch page.
Donate to our Patreon!
BUY A NIHILIST BLANKET!
Your Hosts: Michael G. Lilienthal (@mglilienthal) and
Ethan Bartlett (@bjartlett)
MUSIC & SFX:
"Kessy Swings Endless - (ID 349)" by Lobo Loco. Used by permission.
"The Grim Reaper - II Presto" by Aitua. Used under an Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike License.
"Thinking It Over" by Lee Rosevere. Used under an Attribution License.
Michael & Ethan discuss Shotgun Lovesongs, by Nickolas Butler.
In this episode:
This is not the Maybeline Podcast!
Michael makes some VERY DARK JOKES
The definition of “explicit” is made very implicit
This note just says “shame,” and I forgot why
Michael complains
Ethan has tech issues, but they’re secret ones
Ethan tries to make this the Jane Austen podcast, and succeeds pretty well
We love Ronny, and so should you
Next episode they’ll continue to talk about Shotgun Lovesongs, by Nickolas Butler. Join the discussion! Go to the Contact page and put "Scotch Talk" in the Subject line. We'd love to hear from you! And submit your homework at the Michael & Ethan in a Room with Scotch page.
Donate to our Patreon!
BUY A NIHILIST BLANKET!
Your Hosts: Michael G. Lilienthal (@mglilienthal) and
Ethan Bartlett (@bjartlett)
MUSIC & SFX:
"Kessy Swings Endless - (ID 349)" by Lobo Loco. Used by permission.
"The Grim Reaper - II Presto" by Aitua. Used under an Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike License.
"Thinking It Over" by Lee Rosevere. Used under an Attribution License.
Michael & Ethan continue to discuss The Orchardist, by Amanda Coplin.
In this episode:'
Ethan is Pinnochio, or Pinnochio is on fire, but not both?
Michael took some wooden nickels.
Michael is friendly for the first time.
Some real solid burns
Amanda Coplin is very gracious
Shakespeare-baiting!
The rest is silence
New concept, right here at the end
Next episode they’ll talk about Shotgun Lovesongs, by Nickolas Butler. Join the discussion! Go to the Contact page and put "Scotch Talk" in the Subject line. We'd love to hear from you! And submit your homework at the Michael & Ethan in a Room with Scotch page.
Donate to our Patreon!
BUY A NIHILIST BLANKET!
Your Hosts: Michael G. Lilienthal (@mglilienthal) and
Ethan Bartlett (@bjartlett)
MUSIC & SFX:
"Kessy Swings Endless - (ID 349)" by Lobo Loco. Used by permission.
"The Grim Reaper - II Presto" by Aitua. Used under an Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike License.
"Thinking It Over" by Lee Rosevere. Used under an Attribution License.
Michael & Ethan discuss The Orchardist, by Amanda Coplin.
In this episode:
Amanda Coplin is a great film director
This is not the Citizen Kane, Alfred Hitchock, or Outlaw King podcast
Michael lays traps. Actually like, a bunch of traps
Ethan is too clever for Michael’s traps
Haha!
They do talk about the book, though, promise
Michael and Ethan’s opinions are very mysterious
Next episode they’ll continue talking about The Orchardist, by Amanda Coplin. Join the discussion! Go to the Contact page and put "Scotch Talk" in the Subject line. We'd love to hear from you! And submit your homework at the Michael & Ethan in a Room with Scotch page.
Donate to our Patreon!
BUY A NIHILIST BLANKET!
Your Hosts: Michael G. Lilienthal (@mglilienthal) and
Ethan Bartlett (@bjartlett)
MUSIC & SFX:
"Kessy Swings Endless - (ID 349)" by Lobo Loco. Used by permission.
"The Grim Reaper - II Presto" by Aitua. Used under an Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike License.
"Thinking It Over" by Lee Rosevere. Used under an Attribution License.
In this episode, Michael & Ethan discuss The Dream of Perpetual Motion, by Dexter Palmer.
In this episode:
Scripts are always to be followed exactly
Ethan is the tease this time
This book is the Tempest, but also The Sea and the Mirror, which is also the Tempest
But like, we’re obsessed with The Tempest
Like, seriously obsessed. But, so is Dexter Palmer. And Prospero.
Things go better for Michael than one might hope
Next episode they’ll talk about The Orchardist, by Amanda Coplin. Join the discussion! Go to the Contact page and put "Scotch Talk" in the Subject line. We'd love to hear from you! And submit your homework at the Michael & Ethan in a Room with Scotch page.
Donate to our Patreon!
BUY A NIHILIST BLANKET!
Your Hosts: Michael G. Lilienthal (@mglilienthal) and
Ethan Bartlett (@bjartlett)
MUSIC & SFX:
"Kessy Swings Endless - (ID 349)" by Lobo Loco. Used by permission.
"The Grim Reaper - II Presto" by Aitua. Used under an Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike License.
"Thinking It Over" by Lee Rosevere. Used under an Attribution License.
In this episode, Michael & Ethan discuss The Dream of Perpetual Motion, by Dexter Palmer.
In this episode:
Ethan makes editing promises we all know he won’t keep
They discuss exactly what years they went to college, very interesting
It briefly becomes a true-crime podcast
It almost becomes Citizen Kane Cast (Kast?)
There’s an ambiance
Spoilers for Ender’s Game?
Michael wants more than novel
Next episode they’ll continue to talk about The Dream of Perpetual Motion, by Dexter Palmer. Join the discussion! Go to the Contact page and put "Scotch Talk" in the Subject line. We'd love to hear from you! And submit your homework at the Michael & Ethan in a Room with Scotch page.
Donate to our Patreon!
BUY A NIHILIST BLANKET!
Your Hosts: Michael G. Lilienthal (@mglilienthal) and
Ethan Bartlett (@bjartlett)
MUSIC & SFX:
"Kessy Swings Endless - (ID 349)" by Lobo Loco. Used by permission.
"The Grim Reaper - II Presto" by Aitua. Used under an Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike License.
"Thinking It Over" by Lee Rosevere. Used under an Attribution License.
In this episode, Michael & Ethan discuss The Light Between Oceans, by ML Stedman.
Ethan’s audio is better this time than last time, but it’s still a little fishbowl-y. Maybe it’s just his voice? We’re pretty sure next time will be better still.
In this episode:
Ethan is sure Syd Field exists, or did
This book is not a book (again)
Ethan only complains for 1/3rd of this one!
Michael is a mythology tease
This book has it both ways
Ethan puts his foot in a door that Michael was already opening
Next episode they’ll talk about The Dream of Perpetual Motion, by Dexter Palmer. Join the discussion! Go to the Contact page and put "Scotch Talk" in the Subject line. We'd love to hear from you! And submit your homework at the Michael & Ethan in a Room with Scotch page.
Donate to our Patreon!
BUY A NIHILIST BLANKET!
Your Hosts: Michael G. Lilienthal (@mglilienthal) and
Ethan Bartlett (@bjartlett)
MUSIC & SFX:
"Kessy Swings Endless - (ID 349)" by Lobo Loco. Used by permission.
"The Grim Reaper - II Presto" by Aitua. Used under an Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike License.
"Thinking It Over" by Lee Rosevere. Used under an Attribution License.
In this episode, Michael & Ethan discuss The Light Between Oceans, by ML Stedman.
In this episode:
This book is dense
This book is a taco
Ethan is a hostile witness
Ethan also can’t keep character names straight, and at some point it seems he stops trying to
Michael doesn’t want to say Chiclet
Ethan tries, and fails, to be humble
Michael posits the hypothetical
Pretty sure it’s an E, not a D
Michael is, of course, a tease
Next episode they’ll continue to talk about The Light Between Oceans, by ML Stedman. Join the discussion! Go to the Contact page and put "Scotch Talk" in the Subject line. We'd love to hear from you! And submit your homework at the Michael & Ethan in a Room with Scotch page.
Donate to our Patreon!
BUY A NIHILIST BLANKET!
Your Hosts: Michael G. Lilienthal (@mglilienthal) and
Ethan Bartlett (@bjartlett)
MUSIC & SFX:
"Kessy Swings Endless - (ID 349)" by Lobo Loco. Used by permission.
"The Grim Reaper - II Presto" by Aitua. Used under an Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike License.
"Thinking It Over" by Lee Rosevere. Used under an Attribution License.
In this special episode, Michael & Ethan discuss Oscar Wilde’s short story “The Canterville Ghost.”
This one was recorded in the very early days of American Quarantine, so please pardon us for spelling out some stuff that constitutes just the basic facts of reality now. At least we get most of the quarantine stuff out of the way at the beginning.
In this episode:
Ethan forgets the nation of Ireland, but also he will always talk about it
Ethan also forgets the name of Merrion Square Park
Michael is warm
Interacting with people is weird
Get this version
Ethan has never been happier to be wrong
The ghost is haunted
Hylo-idealism! Hylo-idealism! Hylo-idealism!
This story is either a teen movie, or Beauty and the Beast
Michael loses, but it doesn’t matter, dangit
Everything is self-referential
Next episode they’ll talk about The Light Between Oceans, by ML Stedman. Join the discussion! Go to the Contact page and put "Scotch Talk" in the Subject line. We'd love to hear from you! And submit your homework at the Michael & Ethan in a Room with Scotch page.
Donate to our Patreon!
BUY A NIHILIST BLANKET!
Your Hosts: Michael G. Lilienthal (@mglilienthal) and
Ethan Bartlett (@bjartlett)
MUSIC & SFX:
"Kessy Swings Endless - (ID 349)" by Lobo Loco. Used by permission.
"The Grim Reaper - II Presto" by Aitua. Used under an Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike License.
"Thinking It Over" by Lee Rosevere. Used under an Attribution License.
In this episode, Michael & Ethan discuss Okla Hannali, by R.A. Lafferty.
This was recorded forever ago, so there is a recommendation for guerrilla marketing our podcast that we now know is DEEPLY UNSANITARY. So don’t do that one. Sorry.
In this episode:
Michael and Ethan are definitely human.
There are stories in this story.
Michael isn’t touching Names With Michael.
Michael gets the last laugh.
We’re not telling the secret.
Next episode they’ll talk about The Light Between Oceans, by ML Stedman. Join the discussion! Go to the Contact page and put "Scotch Talk" in the Subject line. We'd love to hear from you! And submit your homework at the Michael & Ethan in a Room with Scotch page.
Donate to our Patreon!
BUY A NIHILIST BLANKET!
Your Hosts: Michael G. Lilienthal (@mglilienthal) and
Ethan Bartlett (@bjartlett)
MUSIC & SFX:
"Kessy Swings Endless - (ID 349)" by Lobo Loco. Used by permission.
"The Grim Reaper - II Presto" by Aitua. Used under an Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike License.
"Thinking It Over" by Lee Rosevere. Used under an Attribution License.
In this episode, Michael & Ethan discuss Okla Hannali, by R.A. Lafferty.
This was recorded forever ago, so there is a recommendation for guerrilla marketing our podcast that we now know is DEEPLY UNSANITARY. So don’t do that one. Sorry.
In this episode:
In a show about a book you’re supposed to read, Ethan starts by giving you several other books to read.
We’re NOT TALKING ABOUT GENRE.
Here, punch this pillow.
This book is dense. That’s a compliment.
All RIGHT, we’re talking about genre, but we’re not happy about it.
Names are a problem.
Next episode they’ll continue talking about Okla Hannali by R. A. Lafferty. Join the discussion! Go to the Contact page and put "Scotch Talk" in the Subject line. We'd love to hear from you! And submit your homework at the Michael & Ethan in a Room with Scotch page.
Donate to our Patreon!
BUY A NIHILIST BLANKET!
Your Hosts: Michael G. Lilienthal (@mglilienthal) and
Ethan Bartlett (@bjartlett)
MUSIC & SFX:
"Kessy Swings Endless - (ID 349)" by Lobo Loco. Used by permission.
"The Grim Reaper - II Presto" by Aitua. Used under an Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike License.
"Thinking It Over" by Lee Rosevere. Used under an Attribution License.
In this episode, Michael & Ethan discuss the modern classic The Underground Railroad by Colson Whitehead.
This was recorded forever ago, so there is a recommendation for guerrilla marketing our podcast that we now know is DEEPLY UNSANITARY. So don’t do that one. Sorry.
In this episode:
They do the “part 2” joke again
Names With Michael But Ethan Ended Up Editing This One and Didn’t Put in the High-Value Editing Stuff so THERE
This book is about Minotaurs
Ethan brings up Noam Chomsky, because he is a radical
Michael gets angry
We’re still not talking about genre. Promise.
Michael breaks the rules. Not the podcast rules, just ALL rules.
Next episode they’ll talk about Okla Hannali by R. A. Lafferty. Join the discussion! Go to the Contact page and put "Scotch Talk" in the Subject line. We'd love to hear from you! And submit your homework at the Michael & Ethan in a Room with Scotch page.
Donate to our Patreon!
BUY A NIHILIST BLANKET!
Your Hosts: Michael G. Lilienthal (@mglilienthal) and
Ethan Bartlett (@bjartlett)
MUSIC & SFX:
"Kessy Swings Endless - (ID 349)" by Lobo Loco. Used by permission.
"The Grim Reaper - II Presto" by Aitua. Used under an Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike License.
"Thinking It Over" by Lee Rosevere. Used under an Attribution License.
In this episode, Michael & Ethan discuss the modern classic The Underground Railroad by Colson Whitehead. Note: there were some technical difficulties, but there IS a full episode here. And they talk about it very well, I think.
In this episode:
All technology is bad.
Ethan hates stories.
Usually, they prefer to power through elephants.
Probably they’ll never check their privilege enough.
Ethan violates Michael’s requests.
The childishness of it is part of what is brilliant.
Ethan spends a lot of time staring at everything Michael owns.
Sometimes soil is slippery.
Next episode they’ll talk about Okla Hannali by R. A. Lafferty. Join the discussion! Go to the Contact page and put "Scotch Talk" in the Subject line. We'd love to hear from you! And submit your homework at the Michael & Ethan in a Room with Scotch page.
Donate to our Patreon!
BUY A NIHILIST BLANKET!
Your Hosts: Michael G. Lilienthal (@mglilienthal) and
Ethan Bartlett (@bjartlett)
MUSIC & SFX:
"Kessy Swings Endless - (ID 349)" by Lobo Loco. Used by permission.
"The Grim Reaper - II Presto" by Aitua. Used under an Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike License.
"Thinking It Over" by Lee Rosevere. Used under an Attribution License.
Well, they finally finish talking about Of Human Bondage. Have Ethan’s tastes changed? Is Michael that influential? Can he find Ethan’s emotional core? Find out in this episode!
In this episode:
Ethan drinks scotch by himself.
“guest” “Michael Lilienthal”
Michael problematizes it, as he does.
Michael viciously punches the microphone.
As undergrads, we always read each novel at least twice if not thrice.
Michael takes the podcast into the ditch.
Ethan hopes to sneakily get the 50 Shades of Gray audience.
No offense to the Mildreds out there.
Ethan would be smart if he could remember that name.
Next episode they’ll talk about The Underground Railroad by Colson Whitehead. Join the discussion! Go to the Contact page and put "Scotch Talk" in the Subject line. We'd love to hear from you! And submit your homework at the Michael & Ethan in a Room with Scotch page.
Donate to our Patreon!
BUY A NIHILIST BLANKET!
Your Hosts: Michael G. Lilienthal (@mglilienthal) and
Ethan Bartlett (@bjartlett)
MUSIC & SFX:
"Kessy Swings Endless - (ID 349)" by Lobo Loco. Used by permission.
"The Grim Reaper - II Presto" by Aitua. Used under an Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike License.
"Thinking It Over" by Lee Rosevere. Used under an Attribution License.
Yes, Michael & Ethan are still talking about Of Human Bondage, by W. Somerset Maugham, and Ethan doesn’t know how he feels. Stay tuned for this emotional roller coaster!
In this episode:
Ethan tries to make this podcast intellectual.
It’s like The Gift of the Magi with traps.
Freedom - ?
The nature of experience is finite!
Ethan buys himself time. But gives up.
Never hit on someone in a service position, and other relationship advice.
Ethan vastly oversimplifies the Christian tradition.
Next episode will be the groundbreaking finale of Of Human Bondage! Join the discussion! Go to the Contact page and put "Scotch Talk" in the Subject line. We'd love to hear from you! And submit your homework at the Michael & Ethan in a Room with Scotch page.
Donate to our Patreon!
BUY A NIHILIST BLANKET!
Your Hosts: Michael G. Lilienthal (@mglilienthal) and
Ethan Bartlett (@bjartlett)
MUSIC & SFX:
"Kessy Swings Endless - (ID 349)" by Lobo Loco. Used by permission.
"The Grim Reaper - II Presto" by Aitua. Used under an Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike License.
"Thinking It Over" by Lee Rosevere. Used under an Attribution License.
Michael & Ethan take a brief break from their discussion of Of Human Bondage, by W. Somerset Maugham, and pursue an island vacation with William Shakespeare’s The Tempest. Ethan drinks a Pimm’s Cup, and Michael a Brandy Cocktail.
In this episode:
Live and in person, Michael mixes a drink.
He also makes up a pop song on the spot.
The play is made up and the plot doesn’t matter.
Ethan uses the (real) word “nounal.”
John Dee was a wizard.
Prospero: Christ-figure or antichrist?
Next: The Sunday School Podcast!
Ethan almost tells a joke, then does.
Ethan recommends Approaching Shakespeare (which is the correct way to say it).
Ethan uses the past tense of “teacher.”
This isn’t the Christopher Marlowe podcast special.
They might write a book. Probably not.
Reductive things are stupid.
Was Shakespeare a postmodernist?
How real was the stuff happening onstage?
Lots of theatre history fits into this episode.
At the end, they talk Caliban.
Michael reveals how he’s going to scare his daughter’s boyfriends.
Next episode, Michael & Ethan will keep talking The Tempest, but specifically in the context of W. H. Auden’s poem, The Sea and the Mirror! After that, it’s back to Of Human Bondage! Join the discussion! Go to the Contact page and put "Scotch Talk" in the Subject line. We'd love to hear from you! And submit your homework at the Michael & Ethan in a Room with Scotch page.
Donate to our Patreon!
BUY A NIHILIST BLANKET!
Your Hosts: Michael G. Lilienthal (@mglilienthal) and
Ethan Bartlett (@bjartlett)
MUSIC & SFX:
"Kessy Swings Endless - (ID 349)" by Lobo Loco. Used by permission.
"Thinking It Over" by Lee Rosevere. Used under an Attribution License.
Continuing their Mongo book Of Human Bondage, by W. Somerset Maugham, Michael and Ethan get into the nitty gritty.
In this episode:
Our funny is all edited in.
Michael deletes all Ethan’s tail-related jokes.
They throw shade at Barnes & Noble.
Michael tries to go on a Nabokov parade. Ethan douses him.
They start out continuing the chronological order, then skip to the end.
Ethan says something that sounds very incestual.
Michael went ahead without Ethan, as per frickin’ usual.
SPOILERS for Up in the Air.
All female names look alike to Ethan.
The key to the podcast is in The Life and Opinions of Tristram Shandy.
Ethan references this song by accident.
The nude report will follow the episode.
Next episode will be a Shakespeare Special discussing The Tempest! Join the discussion! Go to the Contact page and put "Scotch Talk" in the Subject line. We'd love to hear from you! And submit your homework at the Michael & Ethan in a Room with Scotch page.
Donate to our Patreon!
BUY A NIHILIST BLANKET!
Your Hosts: Michael G. Lilienthal (@mglilienthal) and
Ethan Bartlett (@bjartlett)
MUSIC & SFX:
"Kessy Swings Endless - (ID 349)" by Lobo Loco. Used by permission.
"The Grim Reaper - II Presto" by Aitua. Used under an Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike License.
"Thinking It Over" by Lee Rosevere. Used under an Attribution License.
Season 4 begins in style, with the delectable Lagavulin 16yo single malt! The season kickoff Mongo book this time around is Of Human Bondage, by W. Somerset Maugham, and it’s a truly hot topic. Which of our hosts loved the book, and which one hated it? Find out exclusively on this episode!
In this episode:
Oedipal admissions and fantasies.
New rules!
Michael forgot his copy.
Ethan conducts an interrogation.
They keep pronouncing the author’s name in different ways.
They start at the very beginning. A very good place to start.
Ethan gets hung up on mother-figures. But it’s a thin line, so he didn’t lose over it.
Pop-psychology-cast!
The Oedipal Foundation isn’t real. But apparently this is.
They have their signature longer-than-necessary Harry Potter digression.
Ethan cites Hezekiah 11:17.
The whole book is about economics.
Michael turns out the lights.
Join the discussion! Go to the Contact page and put "Scotch Talk" in the Subject line. We'd love to hear from you! And submit your homework at the Michael & Ethan in a Room with Scotch page.
Donate to our Patreon!
Buy a Nihilism Blanket!
Your Hosts: Michael G. Lilienthal (@mglilienthal) and
Ethan Bartlett (@bjartlett)
MUSIC & SFX:
"Kessy Swings Endless - (ID 349)" by Lobo Loco. Used by permission.
"The Grim Reaper - II Presto" by Aitua. Used under an Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike License.
"Thinking It Over" by Lee Rosevere. Used under an Attribution License.
“Intermission” by Unthunk. Used under an Attribution-NonCommercial License.
In the final episode of Season 3, Michael & Ethan dive into some creative nonfiction, sipping on this taste of the Midwest in essays by Bill Holm. Specifically: “The Grand Tour,” “Singing Latin in New Ulm,” and “The Music of Failure: Variations on an Idea.”
In this episode:
Michael is Queen Elizabeth I.
Michael planted a beer seed in Minnesota.
We are nothing if not willing to compromise everything about this show for profit.
We read to feel dumb.
Nihilism or something?
Ethan knows people like that.
We object to morals.
Ethan eventually makes his point.
We weren’t going to read theology. Oh well.
We debate about the Mississippi.
Their Mongo book kicking off Season 4 will be Of Human Bondage, by W. Somerset Maugham. Join the discussion! Go to the Contact page and put "Scotch Talk" in the Subject line. We'd love to hear from you! And submit your homework at the Michael & Ethan in a Room with Scotch page.
Donate to our Patreon!
Your Hosts: Michael G. Lilienthal (@mglilienthal) and
Ethan Bartlett (@bjartlett)
MUSIC & SFX:
"Kessy Swings Endless - (ID 349)" by Lobo Loco. Used by permission.
"The Grim Reaper - II Presto" by Aitua. Used under an Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike License.
"Thinking It Over" by Lee Rosevere. Used under an Attribution License.
“Intermission” by Unthunk. Used under an Attribution-NonCommercial License.
As they converse about Jacques the Fatalist, by Denis Diderot, Michael & Ethan learn about themselves, and about each other. But most importantly, they learn about themselves.
In this episode:
Ethan renounces Michael. Michael kicks him out.
The word “dumb” gets used a lot.
Ethan giggles at the gutter his mind is in.
They spend a lot of words on what they picture in this book.
They’re not worried about the plot.
All 18th-century Frenchmen are apparently alcoholics.
Morals!
They talk the finer points of robotics.
Ethan goes to Middle School, then tries to bring it back intellectual.
Jacques marries the author again.
They wrap up, and keep talking.
Their next book will be Of Human Bondage, by W. Somerset Maugam. Join the discussion! Go to the Contact page and put "Scotch Talk" in the Subject line. We'd love to hear from you! And submit your homework at the Michael & Ethan in a Room with Scotch page.
Donate to our Patreon!
Your Hosts: Michael G. Lilienthal (@mglilienthal) and
Ethan Bartlett (@bjartlett)
MUSIC & SFX:
"Kessy Swings Endless - (ID 349)" by Lobo Loco. Used by permission.
"The Grim Reaper - II Presto" by Aitua. Used under an Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike License.
"Thinking It Over" by Lee Rosevere. Used under an Attribution License.
“Intermission” by Unthunk. Used under an Attribution-NonCommercial License.
Now they’re reading Don Quixote again, but actually, it’s Tristram Shandy, or maybe, for real, it’s Jacques the Fatalist, by Denis Diderot.
In this episode:
Michael stuns Ethan into silence.
Ethan translates Michael.
Ethan baby steps forward in technology.
The curtain is pulled back.
Ethan doesn’t throw shade, or at least he claims not to.
Some translation theory creeps in. But neither one knows enough French.
Ethan’s theory get’s super meta.
Michael & Ethan might not agree!
Michael ignores Ethan making fun of him, and is a total nerd.
They make fun of the editor of Michael’s copy.
Robots in the 18th century!?
Luther is mentioned, but not dwelt on.
Their next book will be Of Human Bondage, by W. Somerset Maugam. Join the discussion! Go to the Contact page and put "Scotch Talk" in the Subject line. We'd love to hear from you! And submit your homework at the Michael & Ethan in a Room with Scotch page.
Donate to our Patreon!
Your Hosts: Michael G. Lilienthal (@mglilienthal) and
Ethan Bartlett (@bjartlett)
MUSIC & SFX:
"Kessy Swings Endless - (ID 349)" by Lobo Loco. Used by permission.
"The Grim Reaper - II Presto" by Aitua. Used under an Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike License.
"Thinking It Over" by Lee Rosevere. Used under an Attribution License.
“Intermission” by Unthunk. Used under an Attribution-NonCommercial License.
In honor of the Death of the Author, Michael & Ethan thought it fitting to read one of the great stories by the man himself, and to talk about it. Come along on this journey of great appreciation for a writer who will prove to be a foundation for a generation to come. Let’s discuss “The Death of Dr. Island,” by Gene Wolfe.
In this episode:
Michael closes a curtain and gets the lighting right for the podcast episode.
Ethan masks the sadness by humor.
Michael makes Ethan mad.
This is not the “Duck-Duck-Grey-Duck/Goose” Podcast.
How can a third-person narrator be unreliable?
They talk about women.
Ethan almost takes over the entire podcast to talk about alchemy.
Birds and eggs: connected. Whooda thunk?
They end with the beginning.
Ethan uses his grumpy old dumb professor voice.
Michael gets onto words.
Gene Wolfe is to be reread, and reread, and reread.
Their next book will be Jacques the Fatalist, by Denis Diderot. Join the discussion! Go to the Contact page and put "Scotch Talk" in the Subject line. We'd love to hear from you! And submit your homework at the Michael & Ethan in a Room with Scotch page.
Donate to our Patreon!
Your Hosts: Michael G. Lilienthal (@mglilienthal) and
Ethan Bartlett (@bjartlett)
And Special Guest: Nicholas Lilienthal (@PokeRollNick)
MUSIC & SFX:
"Kessy Swings Endless - (ID 349)" by Lobo Loco. Used by permission.
"The Grim Reaper - II Presto" by Aitua. Used under an Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike License.
"Thinking It Over" by Lee Rosevere. Used under an Attribution License.
“Intermission” by Unthunk. Used under an Attribution-NonCommercial License.
They’re still talking about The 7 1/2 Deaths of Evelyn Hardcastle, by Stuart Turton. In fact, they can’t stop talking about it, until they solve it and report to the lake by…. Wait, we’re going meta again. How is it that we always get trapped in the books we read? Maybe that’s a commentary on the reality created by our minds, and whether we should allow that to control us or not. Or maybe it’s just fun. Anyway….
In this episode:
Michael starts off in a confusing way.
Ethan threatens to bring Poitin as either the drink or a punishment, or perhaps the book.
Nick tries to segue us. It is not appreciated.
They try really hard to figure out what “7 1/2” means.
Michael points out the color of the cover, and Ethan hates it.
They bring up The Hunger Games AGAIN!
They get super theological in this episode.
Linear time does exist!
They are not debating about sandwiches.
They do the Reading Group Guide!
Ethan concludes: This book doesn’t make any sense.
How does time even work?
The Reading Group Guide scores -11,000,000,007,281.
Nick rates the Scotch: “Smoother than I expected it to be.”
Their next book will be Jacques the Fatalist, by Denis Diderot. Join the discussion! Go to the Contact page and put "Scotch Talk" in the Subject line. We'd love to hear from you! And submit your homework at the Michael & Ethan in a Room with Scotch page.
Donate to our Patreon!
Your Hosts: Michael G. Lilienthal (@mglilienthal) and
Ethan Bartlett (@bjartlett)
And Special Guest: Nicholas Lilienthal (@PokeRollNick)
MUSIC & SFX:
"Kessy Swings Endless - (ID 349)" by Lobo Loco. Used by permission.
"The Grim Reaper - II Presto" by Aitua. Used under an Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike License.
"Thinking It Over" by Lee Rosevere. Used under an Attribution License.
“March” by Yakov Golman. Used under an Attribution License.
Michael & Ethan are joined by Michael’s brother, Nick, to discuss The 7 1/2 Deaths of Evelyn Hardcastle, by Stuart Turton.
In this episode:
Michael breaks the Scotch.
Ethan is proven thoroughly wrong by our new Patron, Alexis!
The podcast turns into a hostage situation.
Alexis recommends: Caitlin R. Kiernan.
Ethan gets in a wrestling match over two cups.
They see just a shadow of a shadow of Plato’s cave and its shadows.
Michael fits this novel into the Hunger Games universe.
Ethan recommends LatinDIctionary.net.
Michael gets Schroedinger’s Cat shoehorned in.
Shout-out to the History of Philosophy without any gaps podcast.
Ethan ties it back to Gerald Murnane. Again.
Their next book will be Jacques the Fatalist, by Denis Diderot. Join the discussion! Go to the Contact page and put "Scotch Talk" in the Subject line. We'd love to hear from you! And submit your homework at the Michael & Ethan in a Room with Scotch page.
Donate to our Patreon!
Your Hosts: Michael G. Lilienthal (@mglilienthal) and
Ethan Bartlett (@bjartlett)
And Special Guest: Nicholas Lilienthal (@PokeRollNick)
Music & SFX:
"Kessy Swings Endless - (ID 349)" by Lobo Loco. Used by permission.
"The Grim Reaper - II Presto" by Aitua. Used under an Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike License.
"Thinking It Over" by Lee Rosevere. Used under an Attribution License.
“Intermission” by Unthunk. Used under an Attribution-NonCommercial License.
They finish their analysis of Soulless, by Gail Carriger, and of course are very mature about it. One listener has lovingly said that it is our fault that he read this, the trashiest book he has ever read. We can’t disagree. It’s pretty fantastic.
In this episode:
Michael declares war on Naboo.
They both have glasses on their face.
Ethan brings the discussion back to genre.
He also taunts Michael by talking about Anno Dracula, by Kim Newman.
Michael acknowledges what this book is doing, about vampires and minorities.
We have a “Names with Michael” segment!
Ethan digresses on Oscar Wilde.
This is the Luther that Michael quotes.
If you listen closely, about 28:19 in, Michael loses, but Ethan doesn’t catch it. (I doubt Michael even noticed.)
The hotness of the protagonist makes Michael mad.
Ms. Carriger, you don’t deserve the comparison Ethan makes.
Ethan explains why he read all of Twilight.
Ethan’s favorite Gothic novelist is Charles Robert Maturin.
Everyone is wrong.
Yes, they recorded this in March.
Their next book will be The 7 1/2 Deaths of Evelyn Hardcastle, by Stuart Turton, and rumor has it there will be a guest on! Join the discussion! Go to the Contact page and put "Scotch Talk" in the Subject line. We'd love to hear from you! And submit your homework at the Michael & Ethan in a Room with Scotch page.
Donate to our Patreon!
Your Hosts: Michael G. Lilienthal (@mglilienthal) and
Ethan Bartlett (@bjartlett)
"Kessy Swings Endless - (ID 349)" by Lobo Loco. Used by permission.
"The Grim Reaper - II Presto" by Aitua. Used under an Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike License.
"Thinking It Over" by Lee Rosevere. Used under an Attribution License.
Now Michael & Ethan are talking about Soulless by Gail Carriger, with lots of frills and dresses and other dangerous things. It’s a challenge for Michael especially, because the subtitle of the book is literally against the rules for him to mention. Let’s see how he does.
In this episode:
They almost talk more about The Plains.
They talk about stupid dog faces.
They drink a human person.
They attempt to be relevant.
Apologies abound to Neil Gaiman and Gail Carriger.
Michael & Ethan read themselves their Miranda rights.
A lot of discussion is occupied with a brilliant blend of weird genres and worldbuilding.
Ethan talks a lot to support his own uber theory.
Pretty much this whole episode is them figuring out how to talk about this book.
This is the book Michael mentions.
Ethan makes predictions about the sequel, Changeless.
Ethan spoils Captain Marvel for Michael.
Next time: they stop teasing. They promise.
Their next book will be The 7 1/2 Deaths of Evelyn Hardcastle, by Stuart Turton, and rumor has it there will be a guest on! Join the discussion! Go to the Contact page and put "Scotch Talk" in the Subject line. We'd love to hear from you! And submit your homework at the Michael & Ethan in a Room with Scotch page.
Donate to our Patreon!
Your Hosts: Michael G. Lilienthal (@mglilienthal) and
Ethan Bartlett (@bjartlett)
"Kessy Swings Endless - (ID 349)" by Lobo Loco. Used by permission.
"The Grim Reaper - II Presto" by Aitua. Used under an Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike License.
"Thinking It Over" by Lee Rosevere. Used under an Attribution License.
“Intermission” by Unthunk. Used under an Attribution-NonCommercial License.
They will never not be talking about The Plains by Gerald Murnane. That’s because, The Plains is life, which means everything and nothing all at once.
In this episode:
Ethan is not a 14-year-old girl waiting for her date. Well, he’s not one of those things.
They take the “No Girls” sign down from the door.
With Ethan’s wife, they all get very dramatic.
Michael gives Ethan an epiphany about the book’s religion(?)
They talk about The Rules of the Game, which they talked about before.
If we create a revolution, we didn’t mean to. (But seriously, Michael has no qualms with the psychological field.)
Everyone knows how slot machines work. But they digress from slot machines to talk about women.
They delete their 1/2-hour conversation on “Library of Babel.”
Michael doesn’t want to talk about this book anymore.
(The book mentioned at about 52:45 is Other Kingdoms by Richard Matheson.)
(It’s Arthur, not Richard: Arthur Lessac. And yes, Michael knows he modified this exercise.)
Their next book will be Soulless by Gail Carriger. Join the discussion! Go to the Contact page and put "Scotch Talk" in the Subject line. We'd love to hear from you! And submit your homework at the Michael & Ethan in a Room with Scotch page.
Donate to our Patreon!
Your Hosts: Michael G. Lilienthal (@mglilienthal) and
Ethan Bartlett (@bjartlett)
"Kessy Swings Endless - (ID 349)" by Lobo Loco. Used by permission.
"The Grim Reaper - II Presto" by Aitua. Used under an Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike License.
"Thinking It Over" by Lee Rosevere. Used under an Attribution License.
“Old Knight” by Unthunk. Used under an Attribution-NonCommercial License.
Check out what Michael & Ethan think of The Plains by Gerald Murnane. There is actually a lot to be said about this book, although to look at its cover, you wouldn’t think so.
In this episode:
Michael pushes a button in the air.
They’ve been writing/performing an absurdist play for the last 3 years.
They get sidetracked by the Strange Planet comic strip.
Ethan starts them off on a very biographical note, but it’s not necessary. Then he asks a very bad question.
Someone needs to play a Michael & Ethan in a Room with Scotch drinking game.
Ethan discovers how weird the world of homeschooling is.
Michael invents a word, something about the opposite of nihilism.
They talk about the finer points of geometry, in the differences between arcs and slides.
It’s Midwestern, and Downton Abbey, and something else, all rolled together.
Their next book will be Soulless by Gail Carriger. Join the discussion! Go to the Contact page and put "Scotch Talk" in the Subject line. We'd love to hear from you! And submit your homework at the Michael & Ethan in a Room with Scotch page.
Donate to our Patreon!
Your Hosts: Michael G. Lilienthal (@mglilienthal) and
Ethan Bartlett (@bjartlett)
"Kessy Swings Endless - (ID 349)" by Lobo Loco. Used by permission.
"The Grim Reaper - II Presto" by Aitua. Used under an Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike License.
"Thinking It Over" by Lee Rosevere. Used under an Attribution License.
“Intermission” by Unthunk. Used under an Attribution-NonCommercial License.
They were given a homework assignment by Nathaniel Rhein:
Book/Story/Poem/Essay Assigned: Tobias Wolff’s short story “Smokers”
available online at
https://www.theatlantic.com/magazine/archive/1976/12/smokers/306060/
Homework Assignment: What really happens in the story? Is the narrator reliable?
(Context: This is an assignment I was given many years ago in an undergraduate logic/English class. In the ensuing debate, I disagreed with my professor (and his favorite student), and he gave me a poor grade as a result. I want to see if you guys come up with my answer or my professor's answer.)
The guys come up with about 84 different interpretations, but read and let them know what you think! At the end of the episode, they respond to some more listener feedback, also from Nat.
In this episode:
They pretend to know what the Purge is.
Michael’s drink is wrong.
They analyze the professor and assignment before they do the assignment.
Ethan doesn’t read books.
Ethan talks about dogs, from experience.
Michael gives a principle of literary interpretation.
Ethan brings up Schroedinger’s Cat.
As usual, Ethan isn’t willing to be tied down.
Ethan gives us A’s on the homework.
Michael quotes Aladdin.
GameofThronesCast
Surprise, surprise, Michael & Ethan are basically the same person.
Their next book will be The Plains by Gerald Murnane. Join the discussion! Go to the Contact page and put "Scotch Talk" in the Subject line. We'd love to hear from you! And submit your homework at the Michael & Ethan in a Room with Scotch page.
Donate to our Patreon!
Your Hosts: Michael G. Lilienthal (@mglilienthal) and
Ethan Bartlett (@bjartlett)
"Kessy Swings Endless - (ID 349)" by Lobo Loco. Used by permission.
“Intermission” by Unthunk. Used under an Attribution-NonCommercial License.
The pair finishes they’re discussion of Things not Seen by Andrew Clements. Ethan threatans to take his toys and go home, but he can’t quit the podcast, Michael, or you, the gentle listener. So he sticks it out to give you his thoughts on this YA Sci-Fi adventure.
Bonus: at the end, they talk about Jonathan Franzen’s “10 Rules for Novelists.”
In this episode:
Nothing of value is said in the first 5 minutes.
They debate the finer points of interrogatives and declaratives.
There’s also a long debate about the classic dilemma: Invisibility or Flight?
Michael wants to make things as ambiguous as possible.
Spoilers for The Fault in Our Stars.
They have abundant theories about why antiquated internet technologies failed.
They prove they’re as hip as the cool kids….
Michael shows his age.
There is a wife-intrusion, and they don’t talk about MBMBaM.
We learn why it took Ethan so long to read Harry Potter.
Ethan mangles the Bible, and Michael fixes it. Hebrews 11:1.
Look up Sean Patrick Little.
Ignore the 10 Rules for Novelists.
Their next book will be The Plains by Gerald Murnane. Join the discussion! Go to the Contact page and put "Scotch Talk" in the Subject line. We'd love to hear from you! And submit your homework at the Michael & Ethan in a Room with Scotch page.
Donate to our Patreon!
Your Hosts: Michael G. Lilienthal (@mglilienthal) and
Ethan Bartlett (@bjartlett)
"Kessy Swings Endless - (ID 349)" by Lobo Loco. Used by permission.
"The Grim Reaper - II Presto" by Aitua. Used under an Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike License.
"Thinking It Over" by Lee Rosevere. Used under an Attribution License.
“Intermission” by Unthunk. Used under an Attribution-NonCommercial License.
Take a break from Things not Seen by Andrew Clements, and listen to Michael & Ethan responding to the responses of the listeners! Thanks for sending your feedback, and as always, you’re encouraged to give more! In this episode:
Michael makes up a word, probably.
They’re not sponsored by The Bitter Truth.
Write-Only Memory
What makes a villain? What makes an anti-hero? What makes a feminist? Ethan knows.
SPOILERS - - - but you don’t know what for….
We all can’t forgive George Lucas.
We could almost spend another hour on Station Eleven.
After Things Not Seen, their next book will be The Plains by Gerald Murnane. Join the discussion! Go to the Contact page and put "Scotch Talk" in the Subject line. We'd love to hear from you! And submit your homework at the Michael & Ethan in a Room with Scotch page.
Donate to our Patreon!
Your Hosts: Michael G. Lilienthal (@mglilienthal) and
Ethan Bartlett (@bjartlett)
"Kessy Swings Endless - (ID 349)" by Lobo Loco. Used by permission.
"The Grim Reaper - II Presto" by Aitua. Used under an Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike License.
When you distill meanness down into a glass, what do you get? We’re discussing Things not Seen by Andrew Clements, a classic from Michael’s youth.
Michael tells only some of the listeners to go suck an egg. That’s not you.
Ethan quotes Hezekiah 16:4.
Michael makes an Alzabo Soup transition.
Michael confesses, he hasn’t finished this book.
Ethan whispers secrets, while Michael goes to get books.
How many horrible ways can Ethan mispronounce “Sophocles”?
They talk about a stack of other books.
Ethan offends Andrew Clements.
This is what Ethan was trying to pronounce.
Their next book will be The Plains by Gerald Murnane. Join the discussion! Go to the Contact page and put "Scotch Talk" in the Subject line. We'd love to hear from you! And submit your homework at the Michael & Ethan in a Room with Scotch page.
Donate to our Patreon!
Your Hosts: Michael G. Lilienthal (@mglilienthal) and
Ethan Bartlett (@bjartlett)
"Kessy Swings Endless - (ID 349)" by Lobo Loco. Used by permission.
"The Grim Reaper - II Presto" by Aitua. Used under an Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike License.
"Thinking It Over" by Lee Rosevere. Used under an Attribution License.
“Intermission” by Unthunk. Used under an Attribution-NonCommercial License.
Michael & Ethan continue in their discussion of Station Eleven by Emily St. John Mandel, really getting into the nitty-gritty of why anything even matters. But is that inherently nihilist? Find out today on Michael & Ethan in a Room with Scotch! In this episode:
It will inevitably turn into a Dadaist digression on the environment and the solipsistic nature of man.
This book is both Shakespearean and American.
They confuse characters.
They talk too much (is that possible) about Shakespeare.
Both of them agree, “It’s not Sartre.”
Michael asks impossible questions.
Ethan brags.
Find out which letter is the most skeptical of the entire alphabet, according to Michael.
There is no fourth wall.
Lydia is a butt.
Michael blows wide the paradigm.
Michael gets real, full of the paranoid shakes.
Ethan challenges us to look up Love Story. Maybe this is it?
Their next book will be Things not Seen by Andrew Clements. Join the discussion! Go to the Contact page and put "Scotch Talk" in the Subject line. We'd love to hear from you! And submit your homework at the Michael & Ethan in a Room with Scotch page.
Donate to our Patreon!
Your Hosts: Michael G. Lilienthal (@mglilienthal) and
Ethan Bartlett (@bjartlett)
"Kessy Swings Endless - (ID 349)" by Lobo Loco. Used by permission.
"The Grim Reaper - II Presto" by Aitua. Used under an Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike License.
"Thinking It Over" by Lee Rosevere. Used under an Attribution License.
In literature, as in life, sometimes you find yourself in a post-apocalyptic wasteland, where if you’ve survived the pandemic, there’s probably a reason - and that reason may be that the prophet of the new age needs you to be his wife. Or maybe you’re destined to be something else entirely. Or maybe destiny’s got nothing to do with it, and you’re just going to build a museum to your own definition of humanity. Let’s see what Michael & Ethan think of Station Eleven by Emily St. John Mandel. In this episode:
Michael digs to get at Ethan’s true feelings.
Ethan don’t need no man.
Ethan forgot everything.
Civilization or Death! Or both!
Michael gets all the hosting points and is winning.
This is gonna be the Shakespeare podcast!
Ethan reminds us that fictional characters are fictional.
Ethan brings it back to Don Quixote.
Also Lolita.
Michael brags about how smart he is.
Ethan stops talking about literary terms and starts talking about salsa.
Michael connects it to The Last Man on Earth.
Michael gives a preview to the next book.
If you’re annoyed, what if that’s the point?
After they finish this gigantic beast of a book, they'll next be reading and discussing Things not Seen by Andrew Clements. Join the discussion! Go to the Contact page and put "Scotch Talk" in the Subject line. We'd love to hear from you! And submit your homework at the Michael & Ethan in a Room with Scotch page.
Donate to our Patreon!
Your Hosts: Michael G. Lilienthal (@mglilienthal) and
Ethan Bartlett (@bjartlett)
"Kessy Swings Endless - (ID 349)" by Lobo Loco. Used by permission.
"The Grim Reaper - II Presto" by Aitua. Used under an Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike License.
"Thinking It Over" by Lee Rosevere. Used under an Attribution License.
"Intermission" and “Intent” by Unthunk. Used under an Attribution-NonCommercial License.
They finally reach the end of Part II of Don Quixote by Miguel de Cervantes! Michael & Ethan are super excited about it, and have a rip-roaring time. In between the laughter, they manage to do a little literary analysis, too. In this episode:
Don Quixote hosts this one, but which Don Quixhote?
Tricked You!
Michael & Ethan speak a little French. Probably poorly.
A brief aside about Hamilton.
Harry Potter comes into the discussion.
Ethan sounds paranoid about Google.
Michael is a talking bust.
Math & Science Corner with Ethan!
Michael doesn’t want to put forth the effort to make them sound smart.
Don Quixote saves marriages.
Ethan reads some Milan Kundera.
Analysis Tally This Episode: 6
After they finish this gigantic beast of a book, they'll next be reading and discussing Station Eleven by Emily St. John Mandel. Join the discussion! Go to the Contact page and put "Scotch Talk" in the Subject line. We'd love to hear from you! And submit your homework at the Michael & Ethan in a Room with Scotch page.
Donate to our Patreon!
Your Hosts: Michael G. Lilienthal (@mglilienthal) and
Ethan Bartlett (@bjartlett)
"Kessy Swings Endless - (ID 349)" by Lobo Loco. Used by permission.
"The Grim Reaper - II Presto" by Aitua. Used under an Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike License.
"Thinking It Over" by Lee Rosevere. Used under an Attribution License.
Having completed their analysis of Part I, the duo takes on Part II of Don Quixote by Miguel de Cervantes, and having crested the hill, it’s all headed downward from here. In this episode:
The Priest and the Barber in a Room with Scotch
Ethan claims “we” sound sluggish, but it’s really just him.
Ethan will just say words.
This is the most lethargic they have ever been.
Michael reads Ethan’s mind.
This is the most mellow they’ve been. It’s a good place.
Lots of spoilers.
Michael coughs up a hairball.
Ethan proves he’s an idiot.
So does Michael.
Michael is totally confused.
It’s all fake.
Ethan can enunciate.
There are a lot of reasons this maybe should have gotten the “Explicit” tag…. Nah.
Both the hosts are teachers’ pets.
Analysis Tally This Episode: 12
After they finish this gigantic beast of a book, they'll next be reading and discussing Station Eleven by Emily St. John Mandel. Join the discussion! Go to the Contact page and put "Scotch Talk" in the Subject line. We'd love to hear from you! And submit your homework at the Michael & Ethan in a Room with Scotch page.
Donate to our Patreon!
Your Hosts: Michael G. Lilienthal (@mglilienthal) and
Ethan Bartlett (@bjartlett)
"Kessy Swings Endless - (ID 349)" by Lobo Loco. Used by permission.
"The Grim Reaper - II Presto" by Aitua. Used under an Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike License.
"Thinking It Over" by Lee Rosevere. Used under an Attribution License.
"Intermission" and “Intent” by Unthunk. Used under an Attribution-NonCommercial License.
With their guests Justin & Larry from the Here’s Johnny!horror review podcast, Michael & Ethan discuss Edgar Allen Poe’s classic short story: “The Tell-Tale Heart”. In this episode:
The guests bite quickly at the opportunity to impose a new rule on Michael & Ethan.
Ethan dumps on his wife - but what else is new?
Michael & Justin in a Room, but We’re Not Mentioning What They’re Drinking
Ethan makes a Freudian but not necessarily Freudian analysis.
When you protest something loudly enough, it makes it that much more believable.
They’re all crazy and it all takes place in a mental institution.
We analyze the Simpsons a bit.
Our guests pick up on the rules-game frighteningly quickly.
The word “copyright” occurs to Ethan.
Larry has a few things in common with Mr. Poe, we discover….
Larry brings up a touchy subject from the last episode of Here’s Johnny!
Ars gratia artis without being given the right.
Michael manages to get Schroedinger’s Cat in there.
Next time, Michael & Ethan will continue their discussion of the gargantuan Don Quixote, this time diving into Volume II. Join the discussion! Go to the Contact page and put "Scotch Talk" in the Subject line. We'd love to hear from you! And submit your homework at the Michael & Ethan in a Room with Scotch page.
On Halloween, Michael & Ethan will be guests on the special Halloween episode of Here’s Johnny! discussing the film, Trick ‘r Treat.
Donate to our Patreon!
Your Hosts: Michael G. Lilienthal (@mglilienthal) and
Ethan Bartlett (@bjartlett)
Your Special Guests: Larry (@beaverla) and
Justing (@picklething)
of the Here’s Johnny! podcast!
"Kessy Swings Endless - (ID 349)" by Lobo Loco. Used by permission.
"The Grim Reaper - II Presto" by Aitua. Used under an Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike License.
"Thinking It Over" by Lee Rosevere. Used under an Attribution License.
“Intent” and “Old Knight” by Unthunk. Used under an Attribution-NonCommercial License.
It’s the Second Sally of Part I of Don Quixote by Miguel de Cervantes. Michael & Ethan deny everything, admit nothing, and analyze the heck out of this book, while making fun of each other and drinking scotch. But hey, what else is new? In this episode:
We’re specific with our terms so that no one is confused.
Michael gets Ethan with some harsh tsk-ing.
This episode is dedicated to all of Ethan’s relatives.
Ethan loses his Ny-Quil.
Ethan is literally sorry to everyone.
They talk genre theory, and then just about what “novel” even means. Ethan concludes that it’s a cocktail.
We should all be glad that Ethan is not a judge.
Ethan brings Schroedinger’s Cat into the discussion.
Michael is a birch.
Michael slaps the “Explicit” tag on Ethan.
We don’t fact-check anything. Nothing is of quality.
Ethan will only read this novel again after he has thoroughly researched the Spanish Inquisition.
Analysis Tally This Episode: 6
After they finish this gigantic beast of a book, they'll next be reading and discussing Station Eleven by Emily St. John Mandel. Join the discussion! Go to the Contact page and put "Scotch Talk" in the Subject line. We'd love to hear from you! And submit your homework at the Michael & Ethan in a Room with Scotch page.
Donate to our Patreon!
Your Hosts: Michael G. Lilienthal (@mglilienthal) and
Ethan Bartlett (@bjartlett)
"Kessy Swings Endless - (ID 349)" by Lobo Loco. Used by permission.
"The Grim Reaper - II Presto" by Aitua. Used under an Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike License.
"Thinking It Over" by Lee Rosevere. Used under an Attribution License.
“Spooky Outro” by transient. Used under an Attribution-Noncommercial-Share Alike 3.0 United States License.
“Intent” by Unthunk. Used under an Attribution-NonCommercial License.
Michael & Ethan dive into the large and daunting Part I of Don Quixote by Miguel de Cervantes. In this episode:
Ethan has a heat-stricken brain.
Michael clicks only the French “explicit” tag.
Ethan decided not to be a jerk, but won’t make that mistake again.
Michael is really determined to talk about Nabokov.
They don’t let anyone else talk.
This isn’t going to become the How I Met Your Mother podcast.
They talk about “hot chicks” for far too long.
Picture them in bathrobes reading Don Quixote to one another while their wives drink beer and play Madden.
Michael resists defenestration.
Mass judging a bunch of people without qualification since 2016.
Ethan says the most arrogant thing.
Michael loses, but Ethan doesn’t notice. Shh, don’t tell him.
Ethan forgets the author’s name.
Shout out to Pete Bloedel.
They both hold a book together, and it’s very precious.
They don’t care about this podcast; they just do it.
Analysis Tally This Episode: 16
After they finish this gigantic beast of a book, they'll next be reading and discussing Station Eleven by Emily St. John Mandel. Join the discussion! Go to the Contact page and put "Scotch Talk" in the Subject line. We'd love to hear from you! And submit your homework at the Michael & Ethan in a Room with Scotch page.
Donate to our Patreon!
Your Hosts: Michael G. Lilienthal (@mglilienthal) and
Ethan Bartlett (@bjartlett)
"Kessy Swings Endless - (ID 349)" by Lobo Loco. Used by permission.
"The Grim Reaper - II Presto" by Aitua. Used under an Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike License.
"Thinking It Over" by Lee Rosevere. Used under an Attribution License.
"Intermission" and “Intent” by Unthunk. Used under an Attribution-NonCommercial License.
Michael comes with an announcement regarding the upcoming episodes of the show, which will officially kick off Season 3! In the middle of his announcement, he accidentally receives some strange trans-dimensional transmissions. Why yes, they do both listen to Hello from the Magic Tavern. Why do you ask? In this episode:
Ethan tries to trap Michael with logic, which is the Devil's plaything.
The Right Reverend is not drinking anything. Honestly. He promises.
They're both unmarried vergings.
Ethan is not going to publicly humiliate or assassinate Michael.
Emotions are truest when you're explicitly told how to feel.
"Names with Ethan"
You don't need logic. You just need words.
Ethan doesn't explain jokes.
Someone knocks on Michael's door.
In 2 weeks they'll be reading and discussing Don Quixote by Miguel de Cervantes. Join the discussion! Go to the Contact page and put "Scotch Talk" in the Subject line. We'd love to hear from you! And submit your homework at the Michael & Ethan in a Room with Scotch page.
Your Hosts: Michael G. Lilienthal (@mglilienthal) and
Ethan Bartlett (@bjartlett)
"Kessy Swings Endless - (ID 349)" by Lobo Loco. Used by permission.
"Cheap Cafe" by Dee Yan-Key. Used under an Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike License.
Other SFX by julius_galla and urupin. Used by permission.
Michael & Ethan present themselves as co-teachers of an Advanced Creative Writing Course, in which their promising (but potentially troubled) student Daniel Brown has offered them his thriller novel. They take out their red pens and give writing advice. In this episode:
Alternate titles are offered, such as, "Everything Michael & Ethan Know About Physics," "Hyperbole Cast," "Suck-It, Podcast!" "Just Good Advice with Michael & Ethan," and "Bad Podcast Ideas."
Trigger warning: Michael & Ethan don't like The Da Vinci Code.
If Michael dies, arrest Ethan.
They talk about the concept of a prologue. It takes up a good chunk of the episode.
They don't talk about the text of the book for half an hour.
They help someone.
They've been reading Don Quixote for...a long time.
They offer a general apology, but Ethan specifically apologizes to the French.
Next month they'll be reading and discussing Don Quixote by Miguel de Cervantes. Join the discussion! Go to the Contact page and put "Scotch Talk" in the Subject line. We'd love to hear from you! And submit your homework at the Michael & Ethan in a Room with Scotch page.
Your Hosts: Michael G. Lilienthal (@mglilienthal) and
Ethan Bartlett (@bjartlett)
"Kessy Swings Endless - (ID 349)" by Lobo Loco. Used by permission.
"The Grim Reaper - II Presto" by Aitua. Used under an Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike License.
They keep discussing Ellen Foster by Kaye Gibbons, a book both of the guys hate [love]. Their minds are literarily blown by the wonder of this book, and they must read it again. Will you read along? In this episode:
We reach the opposite of an apotheosis.
We're coasting on the grace of the breezes.
We play more Literary Matchmaker.
We give a nod to Lars (@_larsj) regarding the #larseffect.
We find a connection between this book and the Epistle of James.
Michael makes a list of things to watch for in his second read.
Michael says Ethan is right.
Ethan hates the Transcendentalists, which is a surprise to no one.
We argue over who's smarter.
We have alf-hassed it all.
Next month they'll be reading and discussing Don Quixote by Miguel de Cervantes. Join the discussion! Go to the Contact page and put "Scotch Talk" in the Subject line. We'd love to hear from you! And submit your homework at the Michael & Ethan in a Room with Scotch page.
Your Hosts: Michael G. Lilienthal (@mglilienthal) and
Ethan Bartlett (@bjartlett)
"Kessy Swings Endless - (ID 349)" by Lobo Loco. Used by permission.
"The Grim Reaper - II Presto" by Aitua. Used under an Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike License.
"Thinking It Over" by Lee Rosevere. Used under an Attribution License.
Maybe they've discussed this book before, but maybe they haven't. Maybe they've found Huck Finn's dream girl and the nemesis of Holden Caulfield: It's Ellen Foster by Kaye Gibbons. In this episode:
Ethan thinks Michael's butt is very good.
Ethan is so angry.
Michael controls your narrative.
Michael & Ethan have been flipping a coin since episode 1.
Michael & Ethan Create Fanfiction out of American Letters: The Best Podcast.
They take turns complicating things.
We never do anything out of order or rational structure.
Our Authors, our Leaders, our Listeners: you are the unreliable narrator creating us.
Next month they'll be reading and discussing Don Quixote by Miguel de Cervantes. Join the discussion! Go to the Contact page and put "Scotch Talk" in the Subject line. We'd love to hear from you! And submit your homework at the Michael & Ethan in a Room with Scotch page.
Your Hosts: Michael G. Lilienthal (@mglilienthal) and
Ethan Bartlett (@bjartlett)
"Kessy Swings Endless - (ID 349)" by Lobo Loco. Used by permission.
"The Grim Reaper - II Presto" by Aitua. Used under an Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike License.
"Thinking It Over" by Lee Rosevere. Used under an Attribution License.
"Intermission" by Unthunk. Used under an Attribution-NonCommercial License.
Finding more to discuss about The Ocean at the End of the Lane by @neilhimself, Michael & Ethan break the barriers of sound in their excitement. In this episode:
Ethan is a very lovely lady.
This podcast is a rip-roaring thing.
What is "popular mythology"?
Everything is concluded at 16:30.
Ethan takes his Maiden, Mother, and Crone and goes home.
This is a clean, family-friendly podcast.
Ethan equivocates.
They explain marriage.
Words don't exist, but also they do.
Ethan calls Michael an adult.
Next month they'll be reading and discussing Ellen Foster by Kaye Gibbons. Join the discussion! Go to the Contact page and put "Scotch Talk" in the Subject line. We'd love to hear from you! And submit your homework at the Michael & Ethan in a Room with Scotch page.
Your Hosts: Michael G. Lilienthal (@mglilienthal) and
Ethan Bartlett (@bjartlett)
"Kessy Swings Endless - (ID 349)" by Lobo Loco. Used by permission.
"The Grim Reaper - II Presto" by Aitua. Used under an Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike License.
The boys are very, very excited to talk about this one, one of their mutually favorite books by one of their mutually favorite authors: it's The Ocean at the End of the Lane by @neilhimself. In this episode:
They're in a room they've never recorded in before.
Someone's lying, and Ethan thinks it's this bottle of scotch.
Michael is definitely a plebe.
Neil Gaiman has probably read every book.
They're both right, and they're both wrong. <--don't open the box!
Ethan hates Michael, and he loves him (especially for this comment).
Chapter 13 is their favorite. Because of course it is.
Ethan isn't all on board with the Gnosticism.
Check out #wifequotes.
Next month they'll be reading and discussing Ellen Foster by Kaye Gibbons. Join the discussion! Go to the Contact page and put "Scotch Talk" in the Subject line. We'd love to hear from you! And submit your homework at the Michael & Ethan in a Room with Scotch page.
Your Hosts: Michael G. Lilienthal (@mglilienthal) and
Ethan Bartlett (@bjartlett)
"Kessy Swings Endless - (ID 349)" by Lobo Loco. Used by permission.
"The Grim Reaper - II Presto" by Aitua. Used under an Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike License.
"Thinking It Over" by Lee Rosevere. Used under an Attribution License.
"Intermission" by Unthunk. Used under an Attribution-NonCommercial License.
Michael & Ethan are still doing homework! (Hopefully in time for finals...) Submit yours on the website! This week's homework assignment was "The Love Song of J. Alfred Prufrock" by T. S. Eliot. So, drinking some beer, they discuss how much they don't know how to say.
In this episode:
Michael causes problems in Ethan's life.
Sit down, shut up, stop making out with each other, and listen to me talk about my beer.
Ethan translates some Dante.
Michael doesn't actually hate our listeners.
Michael also doesn't claim to be a good poet.
Ethan answers his own question from the beginning.
Here's the solution: "This poem is the theme of this poem" - Ethan J. M. Bartlett.
We hate all of our listeners, but none so much as those who give us money. But really, that's #onlyMichael.
How about Mahler's 2nd?
Next time, the pair will be in a room again, drinking Scotch, and discussing The Ocean at the End of the Lane by Neil Gaiman. Read along! Join the discussion! Go to the Contact page and put "Scotch Talk" in the Subject line. Or head over to the Homework Submission Form and give us your assignment. We'd love to hear from you!
Your Hosts: Michael G. Lilienthal (@mglilienthal) and
Ethan Bartlett (@bjartlett) - & check out pinporterdetective.com!
"Kessy Swings Endless - (ID 349)" by Lobo Loco. Used by permission.
"The Grim Reaper - II Presto" by Aitua. Used under an Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike License.
Michael & Ethan are doing homework! Submit yours on the website! Also, Michael is moving, so they couldn't get together to talk about their regularly scheduled book. That's coming, don't worry! But the podcast is going through changes, passing through puberty, growing up. So, this episode, they're going to help you with your English class by discussing some of Shakespeare's Sonnets!
Sonnet #18 - 20:17
Sonnet #130 - 33:23
Sonnet #138 - 43:02
Sonnet #141 - 55:44
Love's Labour's Lost, IV.iii - 1:03:46
In this episode:
Welcome to MaEiaRwSEtMWBiTSRaWNDS!
We reset around 3:40.
Ethan doesn't want to get into Gnostic crap.
This is the special where Michael & Ethan rag on their wives and sleep on their couches for ages (as if that isn't the norm).
We make no promises, therefore we disappoint no one.
Michael aspirates his H's, or his W's?
Shakespeare is like Three Days Grace.
Ultimate literary theory on the Sonnets: It's all a dream.
Ethan blames Shakespeare, not his own faults.
For the next Homework Special, your instructors will be analyzing "The Love Song of J. Alfred Prufrock" by T. S. Eliot. Read along! Join the discussion! Go to the Contact page and put "Scotch Talk" in the Subject line. Or head over to the Homework Submission Form and give us your assignment. We'd love to hear from you!
Your Hosts: Michael G. Lilienthal (@mglilienthal) and
Ethan Bartlett (@bjartlett)
"Kessy Swings Endless - (ID 349)" by Lobo Loco. Used by permission.
"The Grim Reaper - II Presto" by Aitua. Used under an Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike License.
Michael & Ethan eventually finish discussing A Wrinkle in Time by Madeleine L'Engle. Karen left, because she hates us (but also has to work in the morning), but mostly because she hates us. In this episode:
Several people have Ethan's apartment bugged.
New podcast title: "Ethan in a Room Drinking Scotch that Michael Is Also in but Not Drinking the Scotch with Him."
We're pretty much always honest.
Ethan's CPR certification is out of date. Michael failed his certification test.
New podcast title: "Karen and Sarah in a Room with Italian Sunsets (and Crocheting, and No Talking)"
Ethan says, "What was I saying?" a lot.
Michael is a cheesy Hamlet.
Michael isn't going to talk about Patripassianism or Modalism
SPOILER WARNING for Pete's Dragon around 1:02:00.
Michael says just one teaser sentence.
Next month they'll be reading and discussing A Wrinkle in Time by Madeleine L'Engle. Join the discussion! Go to the Contact page and put "Scotch Talk" in the Subject line. We'd love to hear from you!
Your Hosts: Michael G. Lilienthal (@mglilienthal) and
Ethan Bartlett (@bjartlett)
"Kessy Swings Endless - (ID 349)" by Lobo Loco. Used by permission.
"The Grim Reaper - II Presto" by Aitua. Used under an Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike License.
Michael & Ethan begin discussing a favorite of Michael's: A Wrinkle in Time by Madeleine L'Engle. Also, they have a very special guest! Ethan's wife - I mean, Michael's wife, er, Ethan's.... It's all very confusing. It's Karen Bartlett! (Don't worry, everything is definitely on the up-and-up, as far as you can tell.) In this episode:
All kinds of wrinkles (get it?)
This podcast is a road-trip, and everyone's dad is a quantum physicist.
Michael wrote an essay.
There's an interruption.
Ethan's head hurts.
Karen brings down the quality of the podcast, but she owns it now.
You don't have to enunciate and you're right.
Ethan talks about Deadpool.
Michael is a Hamlet sandwich.
Next month they'll be reading and discussing A Wrinkle in Time by Madeleine L'Engle. Join the discussion! Go to the Contact page and put "Scotch Talk" in the Subject line. We'd love to hear from you!
Your Hosts: Michael G. Lilienthal (@mglilienthal) and
Ethan Bartlett (@bjartlett)
"Kessy Swings Endless - (ID 349)" by Lobo Loco. Used by permission.
"The Grim Reaper - II Presto" by Aitua. Used under an Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike License.
Michael & Ethan continue talking about A Borrowed Man by Gene Wolfe while drinking a Highland single malt. Ethan promised to answer all your questions. Does he? In this episode:
Ethan pilots the podcast alone.
Karen doesn't get credit.
Ethan gives Michael a giant bubble. Michael pokes holes in it.
Ethan wants to be Alzabo Soup.
Michael issues a public challenge to Alzabo Soup.
They discuss next month's book already.
As promised, you can read the Neil Gaiman article they mentioned here.
Next month they'll be reading and discussing A Wrinkle in Time by Madeleine L'Engle. Join the discussion! Go to the Contact page and put "Scotch Talk" in the Subject line. We'd love to hear from you!
Your Hosts: Michael G. Lilienthal (@mglilienthal) and
Ethan Bartlett (@bjartlett)
"Kessy Swings Endless - (ID 349)" by Lobo Loco. Used by permission.
"The Grim Reaper - II Presto" by Aitua. Used under an Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike License.
Michael & Ethan crack into A Borrowed Man by Gene Wolfe while drinking a Highland single malt. None of it's not pretty. In this episode:
They slow down, as requested.
A couple alternate titles for the podcast are thrown around.
Ethan is a completionist most of the time.
Ethan agrees but disagrees. Michael disagrees but agrees.
Gene Wolfe treats us like dogs.
Michael makes Ethan hate him.
Michael dies.
Next time: Ethan maybe solves some of the actual mystery.
As promised, you can read the Neil Gaiman article they mentioned here.
In two weeks they'll conclude their analysis of A Borrowed Man, and next month they'll be reading and discussing A Wrinkle in Time by Madeleine L'Engle. Join the discussion! Go to the Contact page and put "Scotch Talk" in the Subject line. We'd love to hear from you!
Next month, we'll read and discuss . Read along, and tell us what you think!
Your Hosts: Michael G. Lilienthal (@mglilienthal) and
Ethan Bartlett (@bjartlett)
"Kessy Swings Endless - (ID 349)" by Lobo Loco. Used by permission.
"The Grim Reaper - II Presto" by Aitua. Used under an Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike License.
Michael & Ethan & special guest Sarah continue discussing The House of Special Purpose by John Boyne while enjoying a couple tasty Rittenhouse Rye cocktails made by your host, Ethan Bartlett. Look below for the recipes! In this episode:
Ethan & Sarah in a Room with Scotch.
Michael fused with the book (again?).
Michael rocks your world.
Sarah undercuts the basis of the entire podcast.
Ethan & Michael protest too much.
Chewbacca makes a guest appearance.
The whole podcast is pure speculation.
We end with a dejected Michael.
The Cocktails:
Old-Fashioned:
1 tsp simple syrup
4 dashes bitters
4 oz rye
Add syrup and bitters; stir; add rye; add ice.
Manhattan:
2 oz rye
1 oz sweet vermouth
1 dash bitters
Mix in a bar glass; stir; strain into a rocks glass; add ice.
The Mankato:
2 oz rye
1 oz sweet vermouth
1/2 oz elderflower liqueur
1/4 oz campari
Mix in a bar glass; stir; strain into a rocks glass; add ice.
Next month they read and discuss A Borrowed Man by Gene Wolfe. Join the discussion! Go to the Contact page and put "Scotch Talk" in the Subject line. We'd love to hear from you!
Next month, we'll read and discuss . Read along, and tell us what you think!
Your Hosts: Michael G. Lilienthal (@mglilienthal) and
Ethan Bartlett (@bjartlett)
"Kessy Swings Endless - (ID 349)" by Lobo Loco. Used by permission.
Season 2 begins, amid the anarchy and chaos! But the Michael & Ethan in a Room with Scotch Tower stands tall. And for the inaugural episode of a season, they have a special guest, the most special of all special guests that could guest specially! Who could it be?
The crew gets around to discussing The House of Special Purpose by John Boyne while enjoying a couple tasty Rittenhouse Rye cocktails made by your host, Ethan Bartlett. Look below for the recipes! In this episode:
There's no such thing as better judgment in this podcast.
The show where Michael & Ethan back themselves into a corner and desperately try to talk themselves out of it.
Karen, listen to this episode.
Sarah doesn't think we're hilarious.
Just calm down.
Ethan ruins the animated movie Anastasia.
Sarah renders us speechless and ends the podcast forever.
Michael & Ethan duel.
Don't think about it too hard, that's our job.
The Cocktails:
Old-Fashioned:
1 tsp simple syrup
4 dashes bitters
4 oz rye
Add syrup and bitters; stir; add rye; add ice.
Manhattan:
2 oz rye
1 oz sweet vermouth
1 dash bitters
Mix in a bar glass; stir; strain into a rocks glass; add ice.
The Mankato:
2 oz rye
1 oz sweet vermouth
1/2 oz elderflower liqueur
1/4 oz campari
Mix in a bar glass; stir; strain into a rocks glass; add ice.
Join the discussion! Go to the Contact page and put "Scotch Talk" in the Subject line. We'd love to hear from you!
Next month, we'll read and discuss . Read along, and tell us what you think!
Your Hosts: Michael G. Lilienthal (@mglilienthal) and
Ethan Bartlett (@bjartlett)
"Kessy Swings Endless - (ID 349)" by Lobo Loco. Used by permission.
Chaos! No Rules! Anarchy! It's a Michael & Ethan in a Room with Scotch Special! We're going to once again read the first paragraph of two different books and discuss them as if we'd read the whole book! English professors, assign us to your classes.
Ethan's book is The Confidence Man by Herman Melville, an oldy but a goody.
Michael is a little more with-the-times, bringing The Silent Wife by A. S. A. Harrison, the most popular book of the moment.
And this episode's punishment:"Lines in Reply to the Beautiful Poet who Welcomed News of McGonagall’s Departure from Dundee" by William McGonagall.
Join the discussion! Go to the Contact page and put "Scotch Talk" in the Subject line. We'd love to hear from you!
Coming in one week, season 2, beginning with the discussion of The House of Special Purpose by John Boyne - Read along!
Your Hosts: Michael G. Lilienthal (@mglilienthal) and
Ethan Bartlett (@bjartlett)
"Kessy Swings Endless - (ID 349)" by Lobo Loco. Used by permission.
As you wait for the discussion of The House of Special Purpose by John Boyne, we didn't want to leave you totally hanging, so here's a bonus episode, in which we break all the rules! Rather than read and discuss a whole book, we're going to read the first paragraph of two different books and discuss them as if we'd read the whole book! Take these episodes to your English teachers.
Michael brings the first paragraph of The Eustace Diamonds by Anthony Trollope. Delightful Victorian tomfoolery!
Ethan hopes to talk about the first paragraph of Gravity's Rainbow by Thomas Pynchon. Light in a post-apocalyptic World War II waste!
And this episode's punishment: "The Capture of Havana" by William McGonagall.
Join the discussion! Go to the Contact page and put "Scotch Talk" in the Subject line. We'd love to hear from you!
Coming soon, season 2, beginning with the discussion of The House of Special Purpose by John Boyne - Read along!
Your Hosts: Michael G. Lilienthal (@mglilienthal) and
Ethan Bartlett (@bjartlett)
"Kessy Swings Endless - (ID 349)" by Lobo Loco. Used by permission.
After drinking Bruichladdich Scottish Barley: The Classic Laddie for two weeks, Michael & Ethan lose most of their diction. But they keep talking about Plainsong by Kent Haruf, a very good book.
In this episode:
Ethan's personality is a mixed bag
ItsAWordNow
A car gets onto the podcast Ethan is not surprised that Michael goes to Nestorianism Sub rants, sub-sub rants, and sub-sub-sub rants Women are not cows You're welcome, three people Next month's book is The House of Special Purpose by John Boyne - Read along!
Join the discussion! Go to the Contact page and put "Scotch Talk" in the Subject line. We'd love to hear from you!
Next month, we'll read and discuss . Read along, and tell us what you think!
Your Hosts: Michael G. Lilienthal (@mglilienthal) and
Ethan Bartlett (@bjartlett)
"Kessy Swings Endless - (ID 349)" by Lobo Loco. Used by permission.
Michael & Ethan take up discussion of the Great-Plains epic Plainsong by Kent Haruf, while they enjoy a dram of the Classic Laddie: Bruichladdich Scottish Barley. It's all quite delicious.
In this episode:
It's retro! Michael makes Ethan work for the Scotch. The podcast gets political. Learn everything you ever wanted to know about Ethan. There's a ghost cooking chicken in Michael's house. Ethan could, but doesn't want to. Michael tests Ethan's hypothesis. Names with Ethan! (43:15) Names with Michael! (45:20) We're not misogynists on this podcast. Next month's book is The House of Special Purpose by John Boyne - Read along!
Join the discussion! Go to the Contact page and put "Scotch Talk" in the Subject line. We'd love to hear from you!
Next month, we'll read and discuss . Read along, and tell us what you think!
Your Hosts: Michael G. Lilienthal (@mglilienthal) and
Ethan Bartlett (@bjartlett)
"Kessy Swings Endless - (ID 349)" by Lobo Loco. Used by permission.
It's the Tapestry Radio Network Shakespeare Festival! Enjoy Michael & Ethan's discussion of Shakespeare's As You Like It, even if the episode doesn't live up to the name of the podcast.
In this episode:
They're not in a room, or with scotch. :( Michael raises controversial opinions about this play, and their opposites. Ethan lists possible subtitles for the play. Ethan is not a Shakespeare scholar. We get the reference for "To be or not to be" wrong.... Sorry. The plot is unnecessary. Michael didn't want to regurgitate anybody. Ethan's wife is far superior to him. Michael's analysis: This is the Adult Swim of Shakespeare plays. There's a little bit of high-pitched giggling. Ethan apologizes for technology, his wife, and himself. Ratings at 1:09:27.
Join the discussion! Go to the Contact page and put "Scotch Talk" in the Subject line. We'd love to hear from you!
Next month, we'll read and discuss Plainsong by Kent Haruf. Read along, and tell us what you think!
Your Hosts: Michael G. Lilienthal (@mglilienthal) and
Ethan Bartlett (@bjartlett)
"Kessy Swings Endless - (ID 349)" by Lobo Loco. Used by permission.
“Camille Saint Saens – Carnaval des animaux – XII Fossiles” by Aitua. Used under an Attribution-ShareAlike License.
Continuing the discussion of And the Mountains Echoed by Khaled Hosseini, Michael & Ethan come out of their two-week drink-and-fight to give you their analysis.
In this episode:
Ethan blames the podcast on the state of late capitalism. Michael tries to keep the "Explicit" tag off the show. Ethan does not. One of them is a puppet. Everyone listening to this podcast is a very beautiful person. "Bbbbbbb'lh!" Michael is not a misogynist. The podcast is a war between valid points and digression. They get lost on the 2700-year-trek to Plato. Ethan is a Grecian. Michael won the fight. This is the "Ethan-making-outlandish-analogies" episode. Michael officially is the worst. A new rule is established for future episodes. Ratings at 1:13:00.
Join the discussion! Go to the Contact page and put "Scotch Talk" in the Subject line. We'd love to hear from you!
Next month, we'll read and discuss Plainsong by Kent Haruf. Read along, and tell us what you think!
Your Hosts: Michael G. Lilienthal (@mglilienthal) and
Ethan Bartlett (@bjartlett)
"Kessy Swings Endless - (ID 349)" by Lobo Loco. Used by permission.
Michael & Ethan enter their discussion of And the Mountains Echoed by Khaled Hosseini, drinking a unique Longrow single malt.
In this episode:
Ethan stalls. Michael is primed for a career in politics, or childcare. Ethan has a bull session in his mind. Michael & Ethan proffer dime-version analyses. That's totally a real thing. Ethan tracks the increasing population of the human race. Ethan analyzes this 21st-century Afghan-American book based on an 18th-century Irish novel. You have good reason to doubt what Ethan says. Aliens listen to this podcast. So should you. Michael & Ethan begin a hunt for Shakespeare's skull. They start a two-week fight. Join the discussion! Go to the Contact page and put "Scotch Talk" in the Subject line. We'd love to hear from you!
Next month, we'll read and discuss Plainsong by Kent Haruf. Read along, and tell us what you think!
Your Hosts: Michael G. Lilienthal (@mglilienthal) and
Ethan Bartlett (@bjartlett)
"Kessy Swings Endless - (ID 349)" by Lobo Loco. Used by permission.
Michael & Ethan continue discussing Lost in the Cosmos: The Last Self-Help Book, by Walker Percy, drinking Great Northern Distillery's Wisconsin Whiskey.
In this episode: Meet the newest Batman villain: The Giggler! There is one English major in Michael & Ethan. New segment: Stripping with Michael! Don't worry, it's PG. Remember when Michael & Ethan were on Dancing with the Stars? They abandon the podcast and surf on their smartphones. it's an illustration. Honest. There's no wrong way to say things. Michael giggles about John Calvin. They're bad at math. They have advanced degrees. Michael covers an intermission with some scat. They have reentry problems when they talk to their wives. They talk about their weddings. Michael provides a recipe. It's garbage. There's lots of Pig-Latin. Ratings at 1:09:30.
Judge Judy's Shortest Case at 1:23:23.
Join the discussion! Go to the Contact page and put "Scotch Talk" in the Subject line. We'd love to hear from you!
Next month, we'll read and discuss And the Mountains Echoed by Khaled Hosseini. Read along, and tell us what you think!
Your Hosts: Michael G. Lilienthal (@mglilienthal) and
Ethan Bartlett (@bjartlett)
"Kessy Swings Endless - (ID 349)" by Lobo Loco. Used by permission.
Michael & Ethan are in a room, but no Scotch! Instead, they drink a unique Wisconsin Bourbon while discussing Lost in the Cosmos: The Last Self-Help Book, by Walker Percy.
In this episode:
Ethan reads the book while Michael is in the bathroom. Michael sets out to break the podcast. The book is ironic. The podcast breaks Michael. Michael is pleased with himself. They yell at the listeners. An historical or a historical? They rhyme words with "think." Ethan gave Walker Percy the idea for the book. Join the discussion! Go to the Contact page and put "Scotch Talk" in the Subject line. We'd love to hear from you!
Come back in two weeks to hear the conclusion of this discussion!
Next month, we'll read and discuss And the Mountains Echoed by Khaled Hosseini. Read along, and tell us what you think!
Your Hosts: Michael G. Lilienthal (@mglilienthal) and
Ethan Bartlett (@bjartlett)
"Kessy Swings Endless - (ID 349)" by Lobo Loco. Used by permission.
The discussion of Saul Bellow's Ravelstein concludes in this episode, while Michael & Ethan finish their Glenmorangie Quinta Ruban. And they have a lot to say about both....
In this episode: Ethan confuses himself with Michael. It's the worst intro ever. A clarification of the rules makes Michael laugh maniacally. They can't pretend. There's heated debate about the rules. Ethan imports Kierkegaard. Michael finds a loophole. Michael alienates the entire Hoosier audience. Ethan loses Minnesota. Michael gets it back. Michael loses Wisconsin. Ethan gets it back. Indiana is definitely gone. There's even more debate about rules. Michael says civil war is okay. Join the discussion! Go to the Contact page and put "Scotch Talk" in the Subject line. We'd love to hear from you!
Next month, the discussion will be on Lost in the Cosmos: The Last Self-Help Book, by Walker Percy. Read along, and tell us what you think!
Your Hosts: Michael G. Lilienthal (@mglilienthal) and
Ethan Bartlett (@bjartlett)
"Kessy Swings Endless - (ID 349)" by Lobo Loco. Used by permission.
Michael & Ethan, sipping on some ruby red Glenmorangie Quinta Ruban, discuss Saul Bellow's last novel Ravelstein, surprising themselves and one another with all of their thoughts and insights and stupidities.
In this episode:
Ethan solves Michael's crisis of identity. Ethan tries his hand at "Names with Michael." Guess how that goes. Their analysis of Ravelstein boils down to: "Seymour: An Introduction, longer and Jewish." Michael has a childish epiphany. Michael & Ethan are dumb. Ethan gets into trouble with his wife. So does Michael. Michael's wife, Sarah, wins the episode. Michael says a sentence that makes Ethan hate him. Ethan gives Michael more work to do. Join the discussion! Go to the Contact page and put "Scotch Talk" in the Subject line. We'd love to hear from you!
Come back in two weeks to hear the conclusion of this discussion!
Next month, the discussion will be on Lost in the Cosmos: The Last Self-Help Book, by Walker Percy. Read along, and tell us what you think!
Your Hosts: Michael G. Lilienthal (@mglilienthal) and
Ethan Bartlett (@bjartlett)
"Kessy Swings Endless - (ID 349)" by Lobo Loco. Used by permission.
Michael & Ethan, after two weeks, conclude their discussion of J. D. Salinger's Raise High the Roof Beam, Carpenters, and Seymour: an Introduction.
In this episode:
The show starts before Ethan knows it. Ethan explains synecdoche. Michael says “literally” a lot. It’s embarrassing, really. They read listener feedback, which includes a game of Date/Marry/Murder. They discuss their wives’ plans to start a sitcom without them. Ethan suffers out of humility. Ethan is right. Join the discussion! Go to the Contact page and put "Scotch Talk" in the Subject line. We'd love to hear from you!
IsThisScotch?
BetterThanMouthmallows
IsOneSecondWorthIt?
Next month, the pair will discuss Ravelstein by Saul Bellow. Read along!
Your Hosts: Michael G. Lilienthal (@mglilienthal) and
Ethan Bartlett (@bjartlett)
"Kessy Swings Endless - (ID 349)" by Lobo Loco. Used by permission.
Other SFX:
News 2 by IthacaAudio, edited for this podcast, used under a Creative Commons Attribution 3.0 Unported License.
acclivity, used under an Attribution Noncommercial License.
One of Ethan's favorite authors comes under the scalpel in this episode, as the pair discusses J. D. Salinger's Raise High the Roof Beam, Carpenters, and Seymour: an Introduction. This is part one of that discussion, part two will come in two weeks! In this episode: Michael & Ethan play Calvinball and Whose Line Is It, Anyway? simultaneously. The loss comes sooner than ever. Michael & Ethan decide not to be rational. A new regular segment: "Names with Michael"! Ethan disagrees with Michael a lot (sort of). Michael & Ethan are very mysterious. The dog is a good girl. Join the discussion! Go to the Contact page and put "Scotch Talk" in the Subject line. We'd love to hear from you! Come back in two weeks to hear the conclusion of this discussion! Next month, the pair will discuss Ravelstein by Saul Bellow. Read along! Special thanks to Cody Hardin! Your Hosts: Michael G. Lilienthal (@mglilienthal) and Ethan Bartlett (@bjartlett) "Kessy Swings Endless - (ID 349)" by Lobo Loco. Used by permission.
In the podcast that critics are calling "Shroedinger's podcast" and "a sad version of Blue's Clues," Michael & Ethan & Josiah continue their discussion of C. S. Lewis's Till We Have Faces and finish off a bottle of Old Pulteney 12yo. The shenanigans get worse, with more scotch, more punishments, and more...Nutcrackers? In this episode: We apologize to C. S. Lewis. A lot, actually. Ethan declares himself a heretic. Michael doesn't let Josiah finish. A few times. We change the name of the podcast to Boom Delta Laser-Gun Nutcracker and are now an anime podcast. Josiah is our anchor. Michael doesn't say "vampire." Kinda. Actually, he does. Josiah dies. Michael also dies, but like a fairy. Josiah is a communist. We don't talk about love. Dangit. Join the discussion! Go to the Contact page and put "Scotch Talk" in the Subject line. We'd love to hear from you! Don't forget to tweet about the show, using #Ethans1stGF with your comments on the Lewisian Multiverse. Next month, the pair will discuss Raise High the Roofbeam, Carpenters, and Seymour: an Introduction by J. D. Salinger. Read along! Your Hosts: Michael G. Lilienthal (@mglilienthal) and Ethan Bartlett (@bjartlett) "Kessy Swings Endless - (ID 349)" by Lobo Loco. Used by permission.
The rules are changing yet again. Michael & Ethan have decided to split their book discussion in half, so that you don't have to sit and listen to our podcast for two hours straight. Instead, this week we bring you part 1 of our discussion, and in two weeks' time we'll bring you part 2! Michael & Ethan have a very special guest with them this month, to help them discuss C. S. Lewis's Till We Have Faces and finish off a bottle of Old Pulteney 12yo. In this episode: The rules are broken before they are established. Ethan forgets the glasses. Michael nearly dies. Ethan looks a little beaverish. Their special guest proves to be a sadist. They desecrate Shakespeare's grave. Come back in two weeks to hear Part 2 of the conversation about Till We Have Faces, including ratings, next month's book, and more punishments! Join the discussion! Go to the Contact page and put "Scotch Talk" in the Subject line. We'd love to hear from you! Next month, the pair will discuss Raise High the Roofbeam, Carpenters, and Seymour: an Introduction by J. D. Salinger. Read along! Your Hosts: Michael G. Lilienthal (@mglilienthal) and Ethan Bartlett (@bjartlett) "Kessy Swings Endless - (ID 349)" by Lobo Loco. Used by permission.
Michael & Ethan discuss Joshua Ferris's Then We Came to the End while sipping the U.S. Exclusive batch of Glenfiddich 14yo. In this episode: Michael gives Ethan a grade. Ethan says things out loud. The guys take a pee break. They talk about Star Trek. Michael invents a word. Ethan debuts his operatic career. Michael becomes a Jane Austen heroine. Join the discussion! Go to the Contact page and put "Scotch Talk" in the Subject line. We'd love to hear from you! Next month, the pair will discuss Till We Have Faces by C. S. Lewis. Read along! Your Hosts: Michael G. Lilienthal (@mglilienthal) and Ethan Bartlett (@bjartlett) "Queen of the Night" aria from Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart Die Zauberflöte, sung by Diana Damrau. All copyrighted content remains property of their respective owners. "Kessy Swings Endless - (ID 349)" by Lobo Loco. Used by permission.
Michael & Ethan discuss East of Eden by John Steinbeck, while sipping Craigellachie 13-year. Join the discussion! Go to the Contact page and put "Scotch Talk" in the Subject line. We'd love to hear from you! Next month, the pair will discuss Then We Came to the End by Joshua Ferris. Read along! "Kessy Swings Endless - (ID 349)" by Lobo Loco. Used by permission.
Michael & Ethan discuss South of the Border, West of the Sun by Haruki Murakami, while sipping Jura Superstition. Join the discussion! Go to the Contact page and put "Scotch Talk" in the Subject line. We'd love to hear from you! Next month, the pair will discuss East of Eden by John Steinbeck. Read along! "Kessy Swings Endless - (ID 349)" by Lobo Loco. Used by permission.
Get a hint of what our upcoming podcast will be all about. Join the discussion! Visit our website and read the book.