Concavity Show: Recent Episodes
Matt Bucher & Dave Laird
A podcast about literary fiction and the world of books, with hosts Matt Bucher and Dave Laird. [Logo by Chris Ayers]
In Episode 91, we're joined by Kevin Moffett, author of Only Son, a 2025 McSweeney's release which was longlisted for the National Book Award. Rush out and get this book; it's fantastic.
Buy it from the McSweeney's store.
Jonathan Lethem's review of Only Son.
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In Episode 90, Matt talks to Steve about his 2025 memoir, Mailman: My Wild Ride Delivering the Mail in Appalachia and Finally Finding Home, which documents his becoming a rural mail carrier for the US Postal Service during the pandemic. The episode explores additional topics like Steve's time at the Iowa Writer's Workshop and the writing of David Foster Wallace, among many others.
Visit Stephen's Website
Visit Stephen's Instagram
Order Mailman here
Contact Concavity Show:
Email us at concavityshow@gmail.com
Patreon
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In Part 2 of our annual best-of-the-year show, Dave and Matt talk about their favorite reads of the year. As usual, it comes with a playlist:
Apple Music: https://music.apple.com/ca/playlist/best-of-2025/pl.u-55D6zM5h8VMBkG
Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/playlist/2Tzs7v76kjU0IFjsOfVw4N?si=9BjOJdkTR9mXIZmAnKrD-A
Stay tuned for our bonus episode in which we discuss some of the music featured above, along with movies, TV, podcasts, and other gems from the year.
Contact Concavity Show:
Email us at concavityshow@gmail.com
Patreon
Threadless Merch Store
YouTube
In Episode 89, Dave and Matt have the insane privilege of talking to PUP's remarkably well-read frontman, Stefan Babcock, whose year-end reading list hit PUP's Substack on December 28th, and is full of great books.
In addition to talking about Stefan's year in reading, we delve into the literary influences and qualities of PUP's discography, discuss skateboarding in mid-life, and manifest a Tim Robinson/PUP collaboration for 2026.
Dave and Matt will be back soon with a Part 2, talking about their year in reading, and you can look forward to 30 more bonus minutes with Stefan through our Patreon, coming in about two weeks' time.
N.B. this episode probably breaks our record for most swearing, as expected. đ€
Show Notes:
Stefanâs Substack post
Stefanâs Instagram
PUP's Instagram
PUP's Substack
PUP's website
PUP's Tour Dates (go see them live, pronto)
Contact Concavity Show:
Email us at concavityshow@gmail.com
Patreon
Threadless Merch Store
YouTube
In Episode 88, we welcome Brandon back to the show to talk about his new novel, The Devil Is a Southpaw, out now from HarperCollins. We discuss things like metafiction, abjection, doppelgÀngers, alt-country, and much more.
You can buy the novel here or here online, or ideally at your local independent bookstore.
Brandon's website
Brandon's Instagram
Contact Dave & Matt:
Email - concavityshow@gmail.com
Patreon - https://www.patreon.com/concavityshow
Instagram - https://www.instagram.com/concavityshow/
Threadless Merch Store - https://concavityshow.threadless.com/
YouTube - https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLbt2QjzmrwakXQtH08WZ6-rSaeEVcSknI
For Episode 87, Matt and Dave are joined by the Jonathan Lethem, who has a new short story collection out on September 23rd, A Different Kind of Tension. We discuss it, many of his novels and his non-fiction writing, his committment to craft, teaching, bookselling, and much more.
You can order his new book here, or at your friendly local bookseller.
Visit Jonathan's website.
Visit Jonathan's Instagram.
Contact Dave & Matt:
Email - concavityshow@gmail.com
Patreon - https://www.patreon.com/concavityshow
Instagram - https://www.instagram.com/concavityshow/
Threadless Merch Store - https://concavityshow.threadless.com/
Twitter - https://twitter.com/ConcavityShow
In Episode 86, Matt Bucher not only co-hosts, but guests as the author of interest, whose new novel, a follow-up to The Belan Deck, has just recently released. Matt's latest book is a Marksonian treatise on the marking, measuring, and allocation of time, and is sure to delight listeners of our show.
You can purchase Matt's excellent sophomore release here:
Bookshop.org
Barnes & Noble
Alienated Majesty Bookstore (Austin, TX)
Book People (Austin, TX)
Matt's Websites:
mattbucher.com
simpleranger.net
buchrtumblr.com
Contact Dave & Matt:
Email - concavityshow@gmail.com
Patreon - https://www.patreon.com/concavityshow
Instagram - https://www.instagram.com/concavityshow/
Threadless Merch Store - https://concavityshow.threadless.com/
Twitter - https://twitter.com/ConcavityShow
In Episode 85, we're joined by Camille Bordas, whose recent novel The Material explores what a fictionalized MFA program in stand-up comedy might look like. It's funny (as you might imagine) and philosophical, exploring some of the great cultural questions of our (and just about any other) time.
You can find out more about Camille on her website, where eight of her New Yorker short stories are linked.
Her English language novels are both available on bookshop.org.
Camille's Chicago piece we mention on the 2024 Democratic National Convention is here.
Camille is on Instagram a little bit here.
Contact Dave & Matt:
Email - concavityshow@gmail.com
Patreon - https://www.patreon.com/concavityshow
Instagram - https://www.instagram.com/concavityshow/
Threadless Merch Store - https://concavityshow.threadless.com/
Twitter - https://twitter.com/ConcavityShow
In Episode 84, the incredible Sergio De La Pava joins Dave and Matt to talk about his latest novel, Every Arc Bends Its Radian, out now from Simon & Schuster. We also discuss David Lynch and his recent passing, deep sea life, and haunted hotels, among many other things.
You can find Sergio's website here.
Contact Dave & Matt:
Email - concavityshow@gmail.com
Twitter - https://twitter.com/ConcavityShow
Instagram - https://www.instagram.com/concavityshow/
Patreon - https://www.patreon.com/concavityshow
Threadless Merch Store - https://concavityshow.threadless.com/
Join Matt and Dave as they look back at the best of their year in reading during 2024, each with a list of ten(ish) books they found compelling and noteworthy.
Dave's top 10:
Dayspring by Anthony Oliveira
Small Things Like These by Claire Keegan
Martyr! by Kaveh Akbar
Prophet Song by Paul Lynch
The Bee Sting by Paul Murray
Fortress of Solitude by Jonathan Lethem
Coexistence by Billy-Rae Belcourt
What Remains of Elsie Jane by Chelsea Wakelyn
Same Bed Different Dreams by Ed Park
Assembly by Natasha Brown
Matt's top 10:
SUNDAY by Olivier Schrauwen
Blood of the Virgin by Sammy Harkham
The Horse by Willy Vlautin
Caged by Brandon Lamson
The Book of Losman by KE Semmel
Avid Reader by Robert Gottlieb
You'll Like it Here by Ashton Politanoff
A Primer for Forgetting by Lewis Hyde
The Notebook by Roland Allen
Al rio / To the River by Zoe Leonard
Stay tuned for the Patreon bonus episode in two weeks that covers all other things we liked this year in pop-culture.
As always, this episode comes with a playlist of our favorite songs of 2024:
Apple Music - https://music.apple.com/ca/playlist/concavity-show-best-of-2024/pl.u-pMylAeRi4KoErM
Spotify - https://open.spotify.com/playlist/5fVLMtsQSVBCLQUbDxhUFM?si=FaHzQsz8ThCZLMtAWO81tg
Contact Dave & Matt:
Email - concavityshow@gmail.com
Twitter - https://twitter.com/ConcavityShow
Instagram - https://www.instagram.com/concavityshow/
Patreon - https://www.patreon.com/concavityshow
Threadless Merch Store - https://concavityshow.threadless.com/
In this episode, Matt speaks with Lauren Elkin about her new novel, Scaffolding. They discuss Lacan, marriage, and why Paris is so damn literary, among other things.
Lauren Elkin is a French and American writer and translator, most recently the author of the novel Scaffolding (FSG), a New York Times Editor's Choice which the Observer called both "erudite" and "horny."
Previous books include Art Monsters: Unruly Bodies in Feminist Art, No. 91/92: Notes on a Parisian Commute, and FlĂąneuse: Women Walk the City, which was a finalist for the 2018 PEN/Diamonstein-Spielvogel Award for the Art of the Essay, a New York Times Editorâs Choice and a Notable Books of 2017, a Radio 4 Book of the Week, and a best book of 2016 by the Guardian, the Financial Times, the New Statesman, and the Observer. Her writings on books, art, and culture have appeared in a variety of publications including the London Review of Books, the New York Times, Granta, Harperâs, Le Monde, the Times Literary Supplement, Les Inrockuptibles, and Frieze, and her essay "This is the Beginning of Writing," published in the Sewanee Review, was awarded notable distinction in the Best American Essays of 2019, edited by Rebecca Solnit.
Her website is: https://www.laurenelkin.com/
You can find her on BlueSky here: https://bsky.app/profile/laurenelkin.bsky.social
The Spotify playlist she created for the novel is here: https://open.spotify.com/playlist/3saYDj2BSKyCFWGXsUhCTZ?si=f7a471a0e77e45bc
Contact Dave & Matt:
Email - concavityshow@gmail.com
Instagram - https://www.instagram.com/concavityshow/
Twitter - https://twitter.com/ConcavityShow
Patreon - https://www.patreon.com/concavityshow
Threadless Merch Store - https://concavityshow.threadless.com/
We're delighted to present our conversation with the remarkable BenjamĂn Labatut for Episode 81, in which we primarily discuss his 2023 non-fiction novel The MANIAC, its primary figure John von Neumann, the madness and magic of fiction, and the limits and future of science and the human mind.
Run, don't walk to buy BenjamĂn's two English-language books:
When We Cease to Understand the World
The MANIAC
Extra special thanks to Cameron Waller of Penguin Random House Canada (@cameronsbookshelf) for (a) putting us onto BenjamĂn's work in a personal way, and (b) making this conversation with BenjamĂn possible.
Contact Dave & Matt:
Email - concavityshow@gmail.com
Instagram - https://www.instagram.com/concavityshow/
Twitter - https://twitter.com/ConcavityShow
Patreon - https://www.patreon.com/concavityshow
Threadless Merch Store - https://concavityshow.threadless.com/
For episode 80, we welcome Jessica Anthony back to the show. She has long been one of our favorite writers and she returns this month with a new novel titled The Most (out July 30 from Little Brown).
Jessica Anthony is the author of three books of fiction, most recently the novel Enter the Aardvark, a finalist for the New England Book Award in Fiction. Her debut, The Convalescent, wonthe inaugural McSweeneyâs Amanda Davis Highwire Fiction Award in 2004. A recipient of the Creative Capital Award in Literature, Anthony wrote The Most while guarding the MĂĄria ValĂ©ria Bridge in Ć tĂșrovo, Slovakia. She lives in Portland, Maine.
Preorder the book on Bookshop: https://bookshop.org/p/books/the-most-jessica-anthony/20862156?ean=9780316576376
You can see some of the upcoming events for the novel here: https://www.hachettebookgroup.com/contributor/jessica-anthony/
Contact Dave & Matt:
Email - concavityshow@gmail.com
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Instagram - https://www.instagram.com/concavityshow/
Patreon - https://www.patreon.com/concavityshow
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In this episode, Matt Bucher interviews Matt Lowell of the band Lo Moon.
They discuss the genesis of Lo Moon's new hit song, "Water." Lowell shares how he discovered David Foster Wallace's writing and he also breaks down his collaborative writing process. Later, he digs into some of his literary influences and the two Matts discuss Salinger, Fitzgerald, Knausgaard, and more.
You can order the new album on vinyl here: https://www.lomoonofficial.com/ and there you can learn more about Lo Moonâs 2024 tour schedule here: https://lomoon.komi.io/.
Check out their private fan community, Raincoat Chronicles.
You can keep up with Lo Moon on X: https://twitter.com/lomoon
Contact Dave & Matt:
Email - concavityshow@gmail.com
Twitter - https://twitter.com/ConcavityShow
Instagram - https://www.instagram.com/concavityshow/
Patreon - https://www.patreon.com/concavityshow
Threadless Merch Store - https://concavityshow.threadless.com/
In this episode, Matt interviews Don Hough. Don is the author of a collection of short stories titled The Funeral Girl, a collection of essays called The Exact Right Word, and a new correspondence collection called All the Best. They discuss how The Funeral Girl is influenced by David Foster Wallaceâs work, how Don discovered DFW, James Cameronâs Titanic, Labuteâs In the Company of Men, Alexander Theroux, Jonathan Franzen, Taylor Swift, and much much more.
You can follow Don on Twitter here: https://twitter.com/DHSayer
His blog is here: http://donhoughauthor.blogspot.com
And be sure to order his books:
The Funeral Girl: https://www.amazon.com/Funeral-Girl-Don-Hough/dp/1541008553
All The Best: https://www.amazon.com/All-Best-Correspondence-Don-Hough/dp/B0D251Q6NK
Contact Dave & Matt:
Email - concavityshow@gmail.com
Twitter - https://twitter.com/ConcavityShow
Instagram - https://www.instagram.com/concavityshow/
Patreon - https://www.patreon.com/concavityshow
Threadless Merch Store - https://concavityshow.threadless.com/
In this episode, Dave and Matt sit down with Adam Levin to discuss the publication of the Bar Mitzvah edition of that great novel, The Instructions. They discuss growing up in the land of Bar Mitzvahs, the writing process, and what happens to Gurion, among other things.
Adam Levin's website is: https://www.adamlevinadamlevin.com/
You can order the new edition of the book direct from McSweeney's here: https://store.mcsweeneys.net/products/the-instructions-bar-mitzvah-edition?taxon_id=1
And here's a friends-and-family discount code for 25% off: mazeltov The Material is the new novel from Camille Bordas. Adam Levin is the author of the novels The Instructions, Bubblegum, and Mount Chicago, as well as the story collection, Hot Pink. His writing has appeared in numerous publications, including The New Yorker, McSweeneyâs, and Playboy. He has been a New York Public Library Young Lions Fiction Award winner, a recipient of a National Endowment for the Arts fellowship, and a National Jewish Book Award finalist. He lives in Chicago.
Contact Dave & Matt:
Email - concavityshow@gmail.com
Twitter - https://twitter.com/ConcavityShow
Instagram - https://www.instagram.com/concavityshow/
Patreon - https://www.patreon.com/concavityshow
Threadless Merch Store - https://concavityshow.threadless.com/
It's our favorite annual episode on the show, when we get to look back at the best of our year in reading with someone else who has read cool stuff. This time it's with Ben Diamond, a very keen listener and patron from London, who for three years running has sent us an annual best of his year recording, always full of interesting books, shows, music, and films. We had an awesome conversation with Ben that we hope you'll enjoy.
Stay tuned for the Patreon bonus episode in two weeks that covers all other things we liked this year in pop-culture.
As always, this episode comes with a playlist of our favorite songs of 2023:
Apple Music - https://music.apple.com/ca/playlist/best-of-2023/pl.u-yZyVDNACYq2akv
Spotify - https://open.spotify.com/playlist/6Uq1526MP5mLBVI4zM0e5j?si=59d0bc52f08e41aa
Quick reference Top Fives
Ben:
-
The Instructions by Adam Levin
-
Something Happened by Joseph Heller
-
Small Things Like These by Claire Keegan
-
Porn: An Oral History by Polly Barton
-
Anything that Moves by Jamie Stewart
Dave:
-
THE MANIAC by BenjamĂn Labatut
-
The Netanyahusby Joshua Cohen
-
The Rabbit Hutch by Tess Gunty
-
Magnetic Fields by Ron Loewinsohn
-
The Passenger & Stella Maris by Cormac McCarthy
Matt:
- Dayswork by Chris Bachelder and Jennifer Habel2. Chaotic Good by Lee Klein3. Diana: My Graphic Obsession by Sivan Piatigorsky-Roth4. The Deluge by Stephen Markley5. America Fantastica by Tim O'Brien Contact Ben Diamond: ben.diamond@gmail.com
Contact Dave & Matt:
Email - concavityshow@gmail.com
Twitter - https://twitter.com/ConcavityShow
Instagram - https://www.instagram.com/concavityshow/
Patreon - https://www.patreon.com/concavityshow
Threadless Merch Store - https://concavityshow.threadless.com/
In Episode 75 we welcome poet Diego Båez back onto the show, to discuss his fantastic forthcoming book of poetry, Yaguareté White, which releases from University of Arizona Press on February 20, 2024.
You can pre-order it directly from the publisher
or from Bookshop.org
Follow Diego on Twitter
Contact Dave & Matt:
Email - concavityshow@gmail.com
Twitter - https://twitter.com/ConcavityShow
Instagram - https://www.instagram.com/concavityshow/
Patreon - https://www.patreon.com/concavityshow
Threadless Merch Store - https://concavityshow.threadless.com/
In this episode with speak with bestselling writer and journalist David Lipsky. To David Foster Wallace fans, Lipsky is, of course, familiar as the author of Although Of Course You End Up Becoming Yourself which was the basis of the 2015 film The End of the Tour.
David Lipsky is a contributing editor at Rolling Stone. His fiction and nonfiction have appeared in The New Yorker, Harper's, The Best American Short Stories, The Best American Magazine Writing, The New York Times, The New York Times Book Review, and many others. He contributes to NPR's All Things Considered, and is the recipient of a Lambert Fellowship, a Media Award from GLAAD, and a National Magazine Award. He's the author of the novel The Art Fair; a collection, Three Thousand Dollars; and the bestselling nonfiction book Absolutely American, which was a Time magazine Best Book of the Year.
His new book, The Parrot and the Igloo: Climate and the Science of Denialis out now from Norton. The book examines the roots of climate change in popular thought, reaching back to the invention of electricity and the global impacts of technology. Lipsky profiles the scientists and characters who have taken up climate science and those who work to deny the effects of carbon and warming.
The New York Times described the book, saying Lipsky "spins top-flight climate literature into cliffhanger entertainment."
The extensive notes to the book, which he mentions in this episode, can be found at https://www.theparrotandtheigloo.com/
(Thank you to Kory Hill for technical assistance.)
In this bonus episode, we have a special audio production from British literary scholar Saul Leslie and American writer Wendy Liu.
What do you think David Foster Wallace was really like in a tennis match? You are invited to listen to a tennis commentary of a fictional match played between David Foster Wallace and Martin Amis. This audio piece was part of DFW2023, held in Gettysburg, Pennsylvania. It was written and presented by Saul Leslie, and features commentary by fictional Wimbledon champion and writer Elsa Canetti (voiced by Wendy Liu), and a guest 'courtside' appearance from literary academic Beci Carver. Hopefully this gives you a sense of what it would be like if Amis and Wallace really did play against one another. As for who is ultimately triumphant, youâll have to listen to find out!
Be sure to check out this pamphlet for more details about the tennis match and the audio production.
Follow Saul:
Email - sileslie@liverpool.ac.uk.
Twitter - @postpost_its
Follow Wendy:
Twitter - @dellsystem
Website - https://dellsystem.me/
In Episode 73, Dave welcomes special guest Matt Bucher on the show to discuss his debut novel, The Belan Deck.
Buy Matt's book here: https://bookshop.org/p/books/the-belan-deck-matt-bucher/19943822?ean=9798888623428
Biblioklept review: https://biblioklept.org/2023/06/02/matt-buchers-the-belan-deck-is-an-unexpectedly-moving-argument-for-humanity-and-serious-triviality/
The Belan Deck on Goodreads (featuring reviews by many of our amazing listeners, like Phillip Freedenberg, Jack Waters, and Richie Speiser): https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/128126023-the-belan-deck
Erick Eckel review - https://erikeckel.com/2023/06/18/the-belan-deck-hints-of-microserfs-in-an-ai-age/
Jay Innis Murray review/interview - https://www.thevisionarycompany.net/blog/the-afterlife-of-anecdotes-a-review-of-the-belan-deck-by-matt-bucher
Contact Dave & Matt:
Email - concavityshow@gmail.com
Twitter - https://twitter.com/ConcavityShow
Instagram - https://www.instagram.com/concavityshow/
Patreon - https://www.patreon.com/concavityshow
Threadless Merch Store - https://concavityshow.threadless.com/
In Episode 72, we welcome friend of the show, Edith Wharton scholar, accordion/bagpiper extraordinaire, and prolific writer, Sheila Liming on to talk about her new book Hanging Out, delving into the myriad ways that unstructured hang time is a radical, life-affirming act that resists capitalist commodification.
The New York Times article on Sheila and the book: https://www.nytimes.com/2023/02/16/style/sheila-liming-hanging-out-interview.html
Sheila on Twitter here: https://twitter.com/seeshespeak
Buy the book here: https://www.penguinrandomhouse.com/books/717263/hanging-out-by-sheila-liming/ and here https://bookshop.org/p/books/hanging-out-the-radical-power-of-killing-time-sheila-liming/18462992?ean=9781685890056
Information about the 2023 DFW Conference in Gettysburg, June 22-24: https://dfwsociety.org/conference/
Contact Matt and Dave:
Email - concavityshow@gmail.com
Twitter - https://twitter.com/ConcavityShow
Instagram - https://www.instagram.com/concavityshow/
Patreon - https://www.patreon.com/concavityshow
Threadless Merch Store - https://concavityshow.threadless.com/
In this episode, we talk with prolific reader and accomplished musician Evan Stephens Hall from the band Pinegrove. We discuss his top books of the year and go through a few of our own favorite reading experiences from 2022.
Here is the David Foster Wallace & Richard Powers Q&A we mention.
And here is the reading poriton of that event that begins with DFW talking about the âbrickâ in his pocket.
The Pinegrove songs featured in this episode are Alaska and Habitat.
Thank you to Rough Trade Records, Pinegrove and Evan Stephens Hall for permission.
Here are our Concavity Show Best Songs of 2022 playlists:
iTunes: https://music.apple.com/ca/playlist/best-of-2022/pl.u-EdAVv5dCaMJB7j
Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/playlist/1BwuTDJq2LoU8ZzdSDXSK5?si=052f5d25ed514b43
Evan, top books mentioned:
A Gathering of Old Men by Ernest J. Gaines (Gaines stamp!)
Morality Play by Barry Unsworth
Breakfast of Champions by Kurt Vonnegut
Public Library by Ali Smith (and Autumn!)
Breaking and Entering by Joy WIlliams
Leave Society by Tao Lin
Dave, top books mentioned:
Transcendent Kingdom by Yaa Gyaasi
Intimacies by Katie Kitamura
The Overstory by Richard Powers
Autoportrait by Jesse Ball
Liberation Day by George Saunders
Matt, top books read this year:
Robert Crews by Thomas Berger
Literary Alchemist by Steve Paul
We Keep the Dead Close by Becky Cooper
Airport Music by Mark Tardi
Zol by REYoung
Evan on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/evanstephenshall/
Pinegrove website: https://pinegroveband.com/
Contact Dave & Matt:
Email - concavityshow@gmail.com
Twitter - https://twitter.com/ConcavityShow
Instagram - https://www.instagram.com/concavityshow/
Patreon - https://www.patreon.com/concavityshow
Threadless Merch Store - https://concavityshow.threadless.com/
In episode 70, we talk to our friend Peyton Thomas, a DFW, Louisa May Alcott, and American Girl doll enthusiast. His recent YA novel, Both Sides Now, was published in 2021, and his writing has appeared in Vanity Fair, Pitchfork, and Billboard, and many other places.
Peyton is currently at work on his second novel, a contemporary interpretation of Little Women. You can read more about this forthcoming book in Oprah Daily. Peyton also hosts a podcast about Little Women called Jo's Boys.
Peyton's website - https://peytonthomas.ca/
Buy Both Sides Now - https://www.penguinrandomhouse.com/books/652876/both-sides-now-by-peyton-thomas/
Jo's Boys Podcast - https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/jos-boys-a-little-women-podcast/id1610742792
Peyton's Pitchfork reviews - https://pitchfork.com/staff/peyton-thomas/albumreviews/
Peyton on Twitter - https://twitter.com/peytonology
Infinite Jest Fanfiction on Archive of Our Own - https://archiveofourown.org/tags/Infinite%20Jest%20-%20David%20Foster%20Wallace/works
Contact Dave & Matt:
Email - concavityshow@gmail.com
Twitter - https://twitter.com/ConcavityShow
Instagram - https://www.instagram.com/concavityshow/
Patreon - https://www.patreon.com/concavityshow
Threadless Merch Store - https://concavityshow.threadless.com/
In Episode 69, we talk to our friend Mike O'Connell about his recent collection from University of Mississippi Press, Conversations with George Saunders, and discuss Mike's background, the origins of the collection, particulars of the interviews in the book, the trajectory and flavor of Saunders' literary career, and where it all might go.
Buy the Conversations book here - https://www.upress.state.ms.us/Books/C/Conversations-with-George-Saunders
Buy George's brand new book, Liberation Day here - https://www.penguinrandomhouse.com/books/564990/liberation-day-by-george-saunders/
You can find Michael online in these places:
Twitter - https://twitter.com/moc
Academia.edu - https://sienaheights.academia.edu/MichaelOConnell
Instagram - https://www.instagram.com/books_in_2022/
Contact Dave & Matt:
Email - concavityshow@gmail.com
Twitter - https://twitter.com/ConcavityShow
Instagram - https://www.instagram.com/concavityshow/
Facebook - https://www.facebook.com/concavityshow/
Patreon - https://www.patreon.com/concavityshow
Threadless Merch Store - https://concavityshow.threadless.com/
In Episode 69, we talk to our friend Mike O'Connell about his recent collection from University of Mississippi Press, Conversations with George Saunders, and discuss Mike's background, the origins of the collection, particulars of the interviews in the book, the trajectory and flavor of Saunders' literary career, and where it all might go.
Buy the Conversations book here - https://www.upress.state.ms.us/Books/C/Conversations-with-George-Saunders
Buy George's brand new book, Liberation Day here - https://www.penguinrandomhouse.com/books/564990/liberation-day-by-george-saunders/
You can find Michael online in these places:
Twitter - https://twitter.com/moc
Academia.edu - https://sienaheights.academia.edu/MichaelOConnell
Instagram - https://www.instagram.com/books_in_2022/
Contact Dave & Matt:
Email - concavityshow@gmail.com
Twitter - https://twitter.com/ConcavityShow
Instagram - https://www.instagram.com/concavityshow/
Facebook - https://www.facebook.com/concavityshow/
Patreon - https://www.patreon.com/concavityshow
Threadless Merch Store - https://concavityshow.threadless.com/
In Adam's second appearance on the show, we discuss his brand new novel, Mount Chicago, which follows a handful of characters living in the shadow of a "terrestrial anomaly" that befalls Chicago's downtown. Both hilarious and tragic, the book shows off Levin's great versatility as a storyteller, metafictionist, humorist, and, maybe to some extent, autobiographer. We also talk about birds (again).
Buy Adam's new book here: https://www.penguinrandomhouse.com/books/695826/mount-chicago-by-adam-levin/ or here: https://bookshop.org/books/mount-chicago/9780385548243
Adam's website: https://www.adamlevinadamlevin.com/
Seminary Co-op Virtual Event on August 10th (registration required) - https://www.semcoop.com/event/adam-levin-mount-chicago
"A Lot of Things Have Happened" by Adam Levin - The New Yorker https://www.newyorker.com/magazine/2021/12/27/a-lot-of-things-have-happened
Recent New York Times piece on Mount Chicago - https://www.nytimes.com/2022/05/21/books/summer-books-writers.html
Contact Dave & Matt:
Email - concavityshow@gmail.com
Twitter - https://twitter.com/ConcavityShow
Instagram - https://www.instagram.com/concavityshow/
Facebook - https://www.facebook.com/concavityshow/
Patreon - https://www.patreon.com/concavityshow
Threadless Merch Store - https://concavityshow.threadless.com/
In Episode 67, we welcome Christian TeBordo back to the show to discuss his new novel, The Apology, as well as get a rundown of the recent David Foster Wallace conference in Austin, with overall reflections from Matt.Â
Christian on Twitter - https://twitter.com/xtebordo
Buy The Apology here - https://www.astrophilpress.com/the-apology
Contact Dave & Matt:Â
Email -Â concavityshow@gmail.com
Twitter -Â https://twitter.com/ConcavityShow
Instagram -Â https://www.instagram.com/concavityshow/
Facebook -Â https://www.facebook.com/concavityshow/
Patreon -Â https://www.patreon.com/concavityshow
Threadless Merch Store -Â https://concavityshow.threadless.com/
In Episode 66, we welcome Dario Diofebi, the mind behind one of our favorite books of 2021, Paradise, Nevada, from Bloomsbury Publishing.Â
You can buy the book here: https://www.bloomsbury.com/ca/paradise-nevada-9781635576207/
Stay tuned for the bonus episode, dropping about two weeks from this launch. Check out our Patreon for access details: https://www.patreon.com/concavityshow
Contact Matt and Dave:Â
Email -Â concavityshow@gmail.com
Twitter -Â https://twitter.com/ConcavityShow
Instagram -Â https://www.instagram.com/concavityshow/
Facebook -Â https://www.facebook.com/concavityshow/
Patreon -Â https://www.patreon.com/concavityshow
Threadless Merch Store -Â https://concavityshow.threadless.com/
In Episode 65, we bear witness to the glorious return of Kyle Beachy to the show, to discuss his new book on skateboarding (and marriage, architecture, literature, etc.), The Most Fun Thing: Dispatches from a Skateboard Life, out now from Grand Central Publishing!
You can buy the book from your friendly local book store, or online, here: https://bookshop.org/books/the-most-fun-thing-dispatches-from-a-skateboard-life-9781549166969/9781538754115
Find Kyle on Twitter: https://twitter.com/kylebeachy
And here: https://twitter.com/TheMostFunThing
Kyle's Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/themostfunthing/?hl=en
Kyle's Podcast, Vent City: https://soundcloud.com/ventcity
Read and check out more or Kyle's writing, interviews, and videos here: https://linktr.ee/kbeachy
Contact Matt and Dave:
Email - concavityshow@gmail.com
Twitter - https://twitter.com/ConcavityShow
Instagram - https://www.instagram.com/concavityshow/
Facebook - https://www.facebook.com/concavityshow/
Patreon - https://www.patreon.com/concavityshow
Threadless Merch Store - https://concavityshow.threadless.com/
In Episode 64, we recount our year in reading, noting our highlights along the way. Stay tuned for Film, TV, and Music in the Patreon bonus episode!
Apple Music Year End Playlist - https://music.apple.com/ca/playlist/concavity-show-best-of-2021/pl.u-r2yBJmEIPj5rYl
Spotify Year End Playlist - https://open.spotify.com/playlist/39OGzFZKMCQGSoZIQGudL6?si=366545dd4e93492d
Show Notes:
Robyn O'Neil Cards - https://www.robynoneil.com/cardsandstickers
Rob Rahmier's Instagram - https://www.instagram.com/rdeezy84/
Jacob Rahier's Instagram - https://www.instagram.com/jrahmier/
Contact Matt and Dave:
Email - concavityshow@gmail.com
Twitter - https://twitter.com/ConcavityShow
Instagram - https://www.instagram.com/concavityshow/
Facebook - https://www.facebook.com/concavityshow/
Patreon - https://www.patreon.com/concavityshow
Threadless Merch Store - https://concavityshow.threadless.com/
In Episode 63, Matt and Dave talk to Deb Olin Unferthâauthor of the fantastic novels Barn 8 and Vacation, short story collections Wait Till You See Me Dance and Minor Robberies, and the memoir Revolutionâabout her writing, research, and creative writing teaching.Â
Contact Deb about Pen-City - pencitywriters@gmail.com
Deb's Instagram -https://www.instagram.com/debolinunferth
Deb's Shipman Agency page - https://www.theshipmanagency.com/deb-olin-unferth
Wikipedia - https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Deb_Olin_Unferth
Contact Matt and Dave:Â
Email -Â concavityshow@gmail.com
Twitter -Â https://twitter.com/ConcavityShow
Instagram -Â https://www.instagram.com/concavityshow/
Facebook -Â https://www.facebook.com/concavityshow/
Patreon -Â https://www.patreon.com/concavityshow
Threadless Merch Store -Â https://concavityshow.threadless.com/
In Episode 62, Dave and Matt talk to the author and illustrator of the cryptic meganovel sensation, America and the Cult of the Cactus Boots: A Diagnostic, out now from Corona/Samizdat Press.
Audio recording featuring thunder!
Show Notes:
Buy the book: 20⏠+ Shipping, Send email to (rick.harsch@gmail.com), pay through PayPal (same email address)
Leaf by Leaf video review by Chris Via: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=f2HKsvOU5mM
Everyone Who Reads It Must Converse preview interview w/ Phill and Jeff: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=m6AP66P9bBQ
Off the Wall Novels video review by Daniel Backer: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DBA4s8Vv_lM
Cactus book official page on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/cultofthecactusboots/?hl=en
Phill's Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/eraserheaddad/?hl=en
Jeff's Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/matter_interacting/?hl=en
Corona/samizdat Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/corona_samizdat/?hl=en
Dave and Matt on 30 Mins +/- w/ Maestro and the Doc â https://m.soundcloud.com/user-404883881/episode-15-30-minutes-with-the-maestro-and-the-doc-final-epsidoe
Contact Matt and Dave:
Email - concavityshow@gmail.com
Twitter - https://twitter.com/ConcavityShow
Instagram - https://www.instagram.com/concavityshow/
Facebook - https://www.facebook.com/concavityshow/
Patreon - https://www.patreon.com/concavityshow
Threadless Merch Store - https://concavityshow.threadless.com/
In Episode 61, we welcome the highly celebrated, multi award-winning American writer Steve Erickson, author of Shadowbahn, Tours of the Black Clock, These Dreams of You, and a host of other novels and non-fiction.
To help celebrate the release of Conversations with Steve Erickson, out now from University of Mississippi Press, we're joined by the book's editors, familiar faces on the show, Matt Luter and Mike Miley, who talk with Steve about the book itself, his body of work, his latest online piece "American Stutter," music, film, and lots more.
Stay tuned for the Patreon bonus episode in two weeks, where Matt and Dave talk to Steve about his favorite novels of all-time.
Show Notes:
Conversations with Steve Erickson: https://www.upress.state.ms.us/Books/C/Conversations-with-Steve-Erickson
Literary Conversations Series: https://www.upress.state.ms.us/Series/L/Literary-Conversations-Series
"American Stutter" by Steve Erickson (from Journal of the Plague Years): https://www.journaloftheplagueyears.ink/long-player-special-edition
Steve Erickson Official Website: https://www.steveerickson.org/
Steve Erickson Wikipedia: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Steve_Erickson
Matt Luter Website: https://matthewluter.com/
Matt Luter Twitter: https://twitter.com/matthewjluter
Mike Miley Website: https://www.mikemiley.com/
Mike Miley Twitter: https://twitter.com/mikecmiley
Housekeeping:
Matt's appearance on the Beyond the Zero podcast: https://open.spotify.com/episode/5v3OcB0IPDcvzpydFH8x2s?si=Ap5clHZESWCmJskwwUzZNg&utm_source=copy-link&dl_branch=1&nd=1
David Jensen's Society 6 store: https://society6.com/infinitejensen
David Jensen on Twitter: https://twitter.com/infinitejensen?lang=en
David Jensen on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/infinitejensen/?hl=en
Howling Fanbot on Twitter: https://twitter.com/howlingfanbot?lang=en
DFW Amsterdam Conference 2021: https://www.dfwsociety.org/dfw2021/
DFW Masterclass with Allard den Dulk: https://www.nica-institute.com/event-masterclass-metamodernism-new-sincerity-post-critique-25-years-after-wallaces-infinite-jest/
DFW Austin Conference 2022: http://www.dfwsociety.org/dfw22/
Contact Matt and Dave:
Email - concavityshow@gmail.com
Twitter - https://twitter.com/ConcavityShow
Instagram - https://www.instagram.com/concavityshow/
Facebook - https://www.facebook.com/concavityshow/
Patreon - https://www.patreon.com/concavityshow
Threadless Merch Store - https://concavityshow.threadless.com/
In Episode 60, Dave and Matt are joined by National Book Award Finalist, Brandon Hobson, to discuss his brand new novel, The Removed, as well as his other tremendous fiction.
Notable links:
Order The Removed - https://www.harpercollins.com/products/the-removed-brandon-hobson?variant=32126575837218
Healer of the Water Monster by Brian Young (Heartdrum imprint) - htthttps://www.harpercollins.com/products/healer-of-the-water-monster-brian-young?variant=32269101989922
Brandon's Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/brandon.hobson.7/?hl=en
Brandon's Twitter: https://twitter.com/bwhobson
The Mother and the Whore (La Maman et la Putain) film - https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Mother_and_the_Whore
*Sorry for the barking dog near the end and a couple of Zoom glitch sounds.
Contact Matt and Dave:
Email - concavityshow@gmail.com
Twitter - https://twitter.com/ConcavityShow
Instagram - https://www.instagram.com/concavityshow/
Facebook - https://www.facebook.com/concavityshow/
Patreon - https://www.patreon.com/concavityshow
Threadless Merch Store - https://concavityshow.threadless.com/
In Episode 59, Dave and Matt make a special announcement about the podcast, and outline a host of exciting changes!
There is also a Jessica Anthony Enter the Aardvark giveaway contest, so hang in til the end. You have until the end of July 15th to email us your entry!
Check out our Patreon page with a fresh $5 per month tier, offering an exciting new reward: https://www.patreon.com/concavityshow
We now have a Threadless merch store! Get your Concavity Show wares here: https://concavityshow.threadless.com/
(Note that at time of episode launch, some products are not quite formatting the logo image correctly [notebooks, mugs, stickers, magnets], but we're working through this with their support people)
*Due to some technical issues, you'll notice a shift in audio sound around the 14:20 mark, so sorry for the jarring change. You'll get used to it in no time!
Contact Dave and Matt:
Email - concavityshow@gmail.com
Twitter - https://twitter.com/ConcavityShow
Instagram - https://www.instagram.com/concavityshow/
Facebook - https://www.facebook.com/concavityshow/
Patreon - https://www.patreon.com/concavityshow
Threadless Merch Store - https://concavityshow.threadless.com/
In Episode 58, Dave and Matt are joined by YouTube creator Chris Via of the Leaf by Leaf book review/discussion channel. A special surprise guest also makes an appearance that was about impossible to seamlessly edit out!
We discuss Chris' excellent book channel's origins, primary preoccupations, Chris' recent re-read of Infinite Jest, the joy of reading, and a host of other great books and authors.
Show Notes:
Leaf by Leaf Homepage: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCZAGMLh7Gh38MjmHeHDTnzw
Chris' Infinite Jest video review: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cOcMmriW0xQ&t=2403s
Leaf by Leaf Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/leafbyleaf_official/?hl=en
Leaf by Leaf Twitter - https://twitter.com/leafbyleafvlog?lang=en
Growing Sentences with David Foster Wallace - https://kottke.org/09/03/growing-sentences-with-david-foster-wallace
Contact Matt and Dave:
Twitter - https://twitter.com/ConcavityShow
Instagram - https://www.instagram.com/concavityshow/
Email - concavityshow@gmail.com
Patreon - https://www.patreon.com/concavityshow
Facebook - https://www.facebook.com/concavityshow/
In the third and final installment of our 2020 Year in Review episode, Dr. Grace Chipperfield joins us to talk about her Ph.D. thesis on Wallace, and the music and board/video games that stood out this year.
Show Notes:
TGC's Best of 2020 Music Playlist:
Spotify - https://open.spotify.com/playlist/54cVYaPoAuOOCRFygJjYH9?si=_JT7ZtK6Su63rd_2DOMYoQ
Apple - https://music.apple.com/ca/playlist/best-of-2020/pl.u-zPyLLE5tZxBPNl
Grace's Playlist - https://open.spotify.com/playlist/7qHeOMoSBTHdMRV9nM5VQP?si=1tFzStCITkuS80d6v_g3og
Aidan Knight "Veni Vidi Vici" - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Lmw64PXdJ9g
Contact Grace: grace.chipperfield@flinders.edu.au
Contact Dave and Matt:
Twitter - https://twitter.com/ConcavityShow
Instagram - https://www.instagram.com/concavityshow/
Email - concavityshow@gmail.com
Patreon - https://www.patreon.com/concavityshow
Facebook - https://www.facebook.com/concavityshow/
In Part 2 of our 2020 Year in Review, we talk to old friend of the show, Chris Ayers, our resident film and TV specialist, about the year in screen-based entertainment.
Part 3 with Grace Chipperfield coming soon!
Find Chris' amazing Wallace-related and design work here:
Poor Yorick - https://pooryorickentertainment.tumblr.com/
Professional - http://www.chrisayerscreative.com/
Redbubble - https://www.redbubble.com/people/cwayers/shop/?collections=999954
Instagram - https://www.instagram.com/chrisayerscreative/
Twitter - https://twitter.com/chrisAcreative
Connect with Dave and Matt:
Twitter - https://twitter.com/ConcavityShow
Instagram - https://www.instagram.com/concavityshow/
Email - concavityshow@gmail.com
Patreon - https://www.patreon.com/concavityshow
Facebook - https://www.facebook.com/concavityshow/
Given our Year of Collective Quarantine, we had so much to talk about w/r/t our literary and pop-cultural consumption, that we have a three-parter for our 2020 recap.
In Part 1 here, we talk to old friend and recurring guest of the show, Matt Luter, about his productive year in reading, and ours. We hope you find a slew of new books to add to your stack.
Part 2 coming in January.
Happy New Year to our wonderful listeners, and ode to a much better 2021!
Find Matt Luter on Twitter: https://twitter.com/matthewjluter
Contact Dave and Matt:Â
Twitter -Â https://twitter.com/ConcavityShow
Instagram -Â https://www.instagram.com/concavityshow/
Email -Â concavityshow@gmail.com
Patreon -Â https://www.patreon.com/concavityshow
Facebook -Â https://www.facebook.com/concavityshow/
In Episode 56, we have the great pleasure of talking to Jessica Anthony about her exceptional new book, Enter the Aardvark, as well as our classic favorite, The Convalescent, which you've no doubt heard us mention over the years. Jess unpacks for us her views on the imaginate power of fiction, 19th century British taxidermy, and some of the most expensive luxury goods on the planet.
Show Notes:
AndrĂ© Breton âManifesto of Surrealism - http://www2.hawaii.edu/~freeman/courses/phil330/MANIFESTO%20OF%20SURREALISM.pdf
Zadie Smith â âFascinated to Presume: In Defense of Fictionâ - https://www.nybooks.com/articles/2019/10/24/zadie-smith-in-defense-of-fiction/
Buy Enter the Aardvark (Little, Brown) - https://www.littlebrown.com/titles/jessica-anthony/enter-the-aardvark/9780316536134/
Buy The Convalescent (McSweeney's) - https://store.mcsweeneys.net/products/the-convalescent
Jessica on Instagram - @entertheanthony
Contact Dave and Matt:
Twitter - https://twitter.com/ConcavityShow
Instagram - https://www.instagram.com/concavityshow/
Email - concavityshow@gmail.com
Patreon - https://www.patreon.com/concavityshow
Facebook - https://www.facebook.com/concavityshow/
In Episode 55, we're joined by writer Christian TeBordo, author of the recent short story collection Ghost Engine, and novel Toughlahoma. He's the director of the creative writing program at Roosevelt University in Chicago, and a colleague and friend of recent guests Adam Levin and Kyle Beachy.
You can buy his excellent books here:
Ghost Engine - bookshop.org/books/ghost-engine-stories/9781732366732
Toughlahoma - bookshop.org/books/toughlahoma/9780986086908
You can read some of his short fiction here:
"The Star Thrower-Thrower" https://www.alwayscrashing.com/current/2018/3/26/the-star-thrower-thrower
&
"How We Lived on Mainstreet" https://vol1brooklyn.com/2018/12/02/sunday-stories-how-we-lived-on-main-street/
Christian on Twitter: https://twitter.com/xtebordo
Connect with The Great Concavity here:
Twitter - https://twitter.com/ConcavityShow
Instagram - https://www.instagram.com/concavityshow/
Email - concavityshow@gmail.com
Patreon - https://www.patreon.com/concavityshow
Facebook - https://www.facebook.com/concavityshow/
In Episode 54, we talk to Martina Testa, Editor at Edizioni SUR, and one of Wallace's Italian translators and interpreters. The conversation explores her background with discovering Wallace's writing, getting contracts to translate his work, the Italian fervour surrounding him, and her friendship with Wallace.Â
You can find Martina online in these places:
Twitter:Â https://twitter.com/martinatesta
Edizioni SUR Website -Â https://www.edizionisur.it/chi-siamo/
Connect with The Great Concavity here:
Twitter -Â https://twitter.com/ConcavityShow
Instagram -Â https://www.instagram.com/concavityshow/
Email -Â concavityshow@gmail.com
Patreon -Â https://www.patreon.com/concavityshow
Facebook -Â https://www.facebook.com/concavityshow/
In Episode 53, we're joined by the writer Adam Levin, author of The Instructions, Hot Pink, and the incredible forthcoming novel Bubblegum, which releases April 14, 2020. In our conversation, we talk a good deal about the new novel, Adam's experience reading/thinking about Wallace, swearing, parrots, swearing & parrots, metafiction, and other fun topics.
Show notes:
Adam's website: https://www.adamlevinadamlevin.com/
Order Bubblegum - https://www.indiebound.org/book/9780385544962
Guernica excerpt of Bubblegum - https://www.guernicamag.com/bubblegum/?fbclid=IwAR39CVIwDGSW9KZm7rrzGA7DaMEAG4sLpf7lxjHVZq4wEvtYZpo2LJW7s58
Order The Instructions - https://store.mcsweeneys.net/products/the-instructions
Order Hot Pink - https://store.mcsweeneys.net/products/hot-pink?taxon_id=1
"Kid Positive" The New Yorker - https://www.newyorker.com/magazine/2020/03/02/kid-positive
"Kid Positive" interview, The New Yorker - https://www.newyorker.com/books/this-week-in-fiction/adam-levin-03-02-20
Contact Us:
Twitter - https://twitter.com/ConcavityShow
Instagram - https://www.instagram.com/concavityshow/
Email - concavityshow@gmail.com
Patreon - https://www.patreon.com/concavityshow
Facebook - https://www.facebook.com/concavityshow/
In Episode 52, we talk to Jon Baskin, author of the exciting new book Ordinary Unhappiness: The Therapeutic Fiction of David Foster Wallace. Topics of exploration in the conversation include Freud, Wittgenstein, and hating Ben Lerner (or not).
You can find out more details and buy Jon's book here, through Stanford University Press: https://www.sup.org/books/title/?id=29316
Jonâs Twitter: https://twitter.com/BaskinJon
The Point Twitter and website: https://twitter.com/the_point_mag & https://t.co/QV9prYnta5?amp=1
On The Hatred of Literature - https://thepointmag.com/letter/on-the-hatred-of-literature/
Contact Us:
Twitter - https://twitter.com/ConcavityShow
Instagram - https://www.instagram.com/concavityshow/
Email - concavityshow@gmail.com
Patreon - https://www.patreon.com/concavityshow
Facebook - https://www.facebook.com/concavityshow/
In Episode 51, we bring on our resident film expert and Episode 38 guest Mike Miley to talk about our year in books, movies, music, TV, and games.
Show Notes:
Link to Jeff Tweedy & George Saunders interview: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kWlKCB1JCG0
2019 Playlist (iTunes): https://music.apple.com/ca/playlist/the-great-concavitys-best-of-2019/pl.u-yZyVVY3tYq2akv
2019 Playlist (Spotify): https://open.spotify.com/playlist/6blJyhTb9QdKFB1qdyc9ug
Mike's Book: https://www.upress.state.ms.us/Books/T/Truth-and-Consequences
Mike's Twitter: https://twitter.com/mikecmiley?lang=en
Approaches to Teaching Wallace: https://www.mla.org/Publications/Bookstore/Approaches-to-Teaching-World-Literature/Approaches-to-Teaching-the-Works-of-David-Foster-Wallace
Contact Dave & Matt
Twitter - https://twitter.com/ConcavityShow
Instagram - https://www.instagram.com/concavityshow/
Email - concavityshow@gmail.com
Patreon - https://www.patreon.com/concavityshow
Facebook - https://www.facebook.com/concavityshow/
In Episode 50, we talk to Michael McGowan and Martin Brick, the editors of David Foster Wallace and Religion: Essays on Faith and Fiction, out now from Bloomsbury Academic: https://www.bloomsbury.com/us/david-foster-wallace-and-religion-9781501345289/
Contact our guests:Â
Michael McGowan:Â prof.mcgowan@gmail.com
Martin Brick:Â brickm@ohiodominican.edu
Contact Dave & Matt
Twitter -Â https://twitter.com/ConcavityShow
Instagram -Â https://www.instagram.com/concavityshow/
Email -Â concavityshow@gmail.com
Patreon -Â https://www.patreon.com/concavityshow
Facebook -Â https://www.facebook.com/concavityshow/
This is the second and final episode covering Wallace and DeLillo's correspondence, housed at the Ransom Center Archive in Austin, Texas.
Show notes:
1996 Leonard Lopate interview: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UZ4AeIRKbfwhttps://www.wnyc.org/story/56878-david-foster-wallace/
1996 David Streitfeld piece: https://craigfehrman.com/2010/05/05/details-1996-profile-of-david-foster-wallace/
Robyn O'Neil's show at The Modern, WE, THE MASSES: https://www.themodern.org/exhibition/upcoming/robyn-oneil-we-the-masses-/5115
Robyn O'Neil pop-up shop at The Modern: https://shop.themodern.org/collections/robyn-oneil
Contact Dave and Matt:
Twitter - https://twitter.com/ConcavityShow
Instagram - https://www.instagram.com/concavityshow/
Email - concavityshow@gmail.com
Patreon - https://www.patreon.com/concavityshow
Facebook - https://www.facebook.com/concavityshow/
After a very busy summer, Dave and Matt reconvene to discuss the Wallace/DeLillo correspondence housed at the Ransom Center in Austin, Texas. This will be the first instalment of a several-part episode, as there's a lot here to cover!
Five Dials, David Foster Wallace Memorial -Â https://fivedials.com/files/fivedials_no10.pdf
Contact Dave and Matt:
Twitter -Â https://twitter.com/ConcavityShow
Instagram -Â https://www.instagram.com/concavityshow/
Email -Â concavityshow@gmail.com
Patreon -Â https://www.patreon.com/concavityshow
Facebook -Â https://www.facebook.com/concavityshow/
In Episode 48, we're joined by Yonina Hoffman. Yonina is PhD student at the Ohio State University. Her work centers around, you guessed it, David Foster Wallace.
In this discussion, we cover a range of topics around DFW's work and Yonina's dissertation. We discuss voice, narrative, voice, humor and other issues that track across Wallace's career. Yonina has also presented on Updike and New Sincerity so we ask her about that.
You can find Yonina on Twitter: @yonina. She also has this nifty website:Â http://www.yoninahoffman.com/
Contact Dave and Matt:
Twitter -Â https://twitter.com/ConcavityShow
Instagram -Â https://www.instagram.com/concavityshow/
Email -Â concavityshow@gmail.com
Patreon -Â https://www.patreon.com/concavityshow
Facebook -Â https://www.facebook.com/concavityshow/
In Episode 47, we're joined by Jim Gauer, author of the excellent Novel Explosives, a book you've no doubt heard us mention in recent conversations. Jim is a mathematician, published poet, and self-described as the world's only Marxist venture capitalist.
In this discussion, we cover a range of topics around Jim's book, it's relation to Wallace's sensibilities and Infinite Jest, the dangers of hyper-capitalism, the anxiety of influence, lethality enhancement, and a host of others.
Jim's book can be purchased through your local bookstore (which he most encourages), with the backup plan of online sales (though he implores you to avoid giving Jeff Bezos more money to fuel his space colony dystopia, if possible) - http://zerogrampress.com/2016/10/08/novel-explosives/
Links discussed:
Jim's interview with Michael Silverblatt on Bookworm: https://www.kcrw.com/culture/shows/bookworm/jim-gauer-novel-explosives
Jim's interview on Eye 94: https://www.mixcloud.com/lumpenradio/eye-94-4-15-2018-jim-gauer/
Jim's Paris Review poetry: https://www.theparisreview.org/poetry/2778/will-this-thought-do-jim-gauer
Contact Dave and Matt:
Twitter - https://twitter.com/ConcavityShow
Instagram - https://www.instagram.com/concavityshow/
Email - concavityshow@gmail.com
Patreon - https://www.patreon.com/concavityshow
Facebook - https://www.facebook.com/concavityshow/
In Episode 46 we talk to Rhodes College professor and O.G. Wallace scholar Marshall Boswell about his new book The Wallace Effect: David Foster Wallace and the Contemporary Literary Imagination, out now from Bloomsbury Press!
As usual, we bash Franzen a bit, get some overview of the central novels addressed in Marshall's book, and discuss the recent trend of "Wallace Snark" online.Â
Contact Dave and Matt:
Twitter -Â https://twitter.com/ConcavityShow
Instagram -Â https://www.instagram.com/concavityshow/
Email -Â concavityshow@gmail.com
Patreon -Â https://www.patreon.com/concavityshow
Facebook -Â https://www.facebook.com/concavityshow/
In Episode 45, we get to talk to Kyle Beachy, Associate Professor of English and Creative Writing at Roosevelt U in Chicago, and author of the novel The Slide. In it, we discuss his extensive teaching of Wallace's work to creative writing students, his novel and writing on skateboarding, and get some great book recommendations from him (Kyle being one of the most well-read people Matt knows, which is saying a lot).
Things we said we'd link to:
Growing Sentences with David Foster Wallace - https://kottke.org/09/03/growing-sentences-with-david-foster-wallace
Kyle's "The Deep Seams: A Search for Fun in David Foster Wallace's Peoria" - http://theclassical.org/articles/the-deep-seams
Dave's skate video part (from around 2002) - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=o-4BV-tbwMk
Kyle Beachy's (apparently outdated) website - http://kylebeachy.com/
Kyle Beachy Twitter - https://twitter.com/kylebeachy
Kyle Beachy Tumblr - http://themostfunthing.tumblr.com/
James Dahl Memorial Harry Ransom Donation - https://utdirect.utexas.edu/apps/utgiving/online/nlogon/?menu1=HR**
Contact us:
The Great Concavity on Twitter - https://twitter.com/ConcavityShow
The Great Concavity on Instagram - https://www.instagram.com/concavityshow/
Email us - concavityshow@gmail.com
Patreon - https://www.patreon.com/concavityshow
In this episode, Dave and Matt talk about their favorite literary and pop-cultural artifacts from the past year. This episode offers a contest as well, associated with the following music playlist. Good luck!
TGC's Favorite Music of 2018 (iTunes) -Â https://itunes.apple.com/ca/playlist/the-great-concavitys-favorite-songs-of-2018/pl.u-pMyll2jh4KoErM
TGC's Favorite Music of 2018 (Spotify) - https://open.spotify.com/user/concavityshow/playlist/6Gkdv29x9bpXIIzmmlWolO?si=V2aBBNKASm-70W12xwfn0g
Show Notes:
Correctional note - When Matt was talking about Robert Coover in Marfa, he meant Robert Creeley.
Dante Society -Â https://www.dantesociety.org/
The Great Concavity on Twitter -Â https://twitter.com/ConcavityShow
The Great Concavity on Instagram -Â https://www.instagram.com/concavityshow/?hl=en
Email us -Â concavityshow@gmail.com
Patreon -Â https://www.patreon.com/concavityshow
In Episode 43 we meet our nemesis Bo Butler of Pynchon in Public for the inevitable postmodern fiction podcast throwdown. Join us as we discuss the history of our beefing over literary turf and all related topics!
In Episode 42 we talk to Chicago-based journalist and teacher Esther J. Cepeda about her love of Wallace, annual Infinite Jest reads, and other related literature and pop culture. A huge thank you to our Patrons as well on #ThankYouPatrons day today!Â
Show notes:Â
Esther's favourite cards - Art of Play -Â https://www.artofplay.com/collections/playing-cardsÂ
Esther's Twitter -Â https://twitter.com/estherjcepeda
Great Concavity on Twitter -Â https://twitter.com/ConcavityShow
Great Concavity on Instagram -Â https://www.instagram.com/concavityshow/?hl=en
Email us - concavityshow@gmail.com
Patreon -Â https://www.patreon.com/concavityshow
In Episode 41, we talk to Dr. Tim Personn (in person!) from the University of Victoria about his recently-defended dissertation, "Fictions of Proximity: The Wallace Nexus in Contemporary Literature." Buckle up for a philosophical discussion, as Tim takes us on a ride through the work of Wittgenstein, Derrida, and other thinkers whose work informed Wallace's fiction and influence on the modern literary landscape. Other topics include tacos, seeing Parquet Courts live, and potential future podcast beefs!
Show Notes:
Shazia Hafiz Ramji's book Port of Being - https://invisiblepublishing.com/product/port-of-being/
Kieran Setiya's Midlife - http://www.ksetiya.net/midlife.html
Tim's website - timpersonn.com
Post 45 "The Dave Show" - http://post45.research.yale.edu/2011/11/the-dave-show/
Medium/Just Words "How David Lipsky Captures the Spirit of David Foster Wallace" - https://medium.com/just-words/the-dave-show-5f07c1f83a86
Tim's Twitter - https://twitter.com/timpersonn
Contact The Great Concavity:
- Twitter: https://twitter.com/ConcavityShow
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/concavityshow
- Email: concavityshow@gmail.com
- Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/concavityshow
In Episode 40, we welcome Greg Carlisle, author of the Infinite Jest commentary, Elegant Complexity, and Nature's Nightmare, an analysis of Wallace's Oblivion collection.Â
Greg's books here:Â http://www.sideshowmediagroup.com/books/
Contact Greg: g.carlisle@moreheadstate.edu
We're joined by repeat guest Matt Luter to talk about all the fun Dave missed out on at the recent Illinois State University Wallace conference, held June 7-9, 2018. Topics covered include panel recaps, anagram alter egos, karaoke highlights, and all other manner of conference scoops. Almost as good as having been there!Â
In Episode 38 we talk again with Mike Miley, Vice President of the International David Foster Wallace Society and quiz kid extraordinaire. Topics include film, game shows, Oliver Stone, JFK assassination scoops, and hanging out with Michael Silverblatt.Â
Show Notes:Â
Smart Set â âReading Wallace Readingâ
https://thesmartset.com/article08181401/
Medium â âCaught in the Bandana Trapâ
https://medium.com/just-words/caught-in-the-9fa2c864b76d
Medium â âThe Eye of Sauronâ
https://medium.com/just-words/the-eye-of-sauron-d454ed83377a
Critique â ââŠAnd Starring David Foster Wallace as Himself: Performance and Persona in The Pale Kingâ
https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/pdf/10.1080/00111619.2015.1028611?needAccess=true
Mikeâs Twitter: twitter.com/MikeCMiley
In Episode 37 we welcome the Diversity Committee Coordinators from the International David Foster Wallace Society to talk about issues of representation in the writing of Wallace, and within the Wallace community itself.
Relevant links:Â
-
Diversity Announcement - https://www.dfwsociety.org/2017/05/27/introducing-the-diversity-committee/
-
Diversity Blog Posts - https://www.dfwsociety.org/category/diversity/
-
Sean Gandert's âA Short Meditation on the Whiteness of David Foster Wallaceâs Writingâ -Â Â https://www.dfwsociety.org/2017/07/15/a-short-meditation-on-the-whiteness-of-david-foster-wallaces-writing/
-
âCat Personâ by Kristen Roupenian, from The New Yorker - https://www.newyorker.com/magazine/2017/12/11/cat-person
-
Andreaâs Twitter: https://twitter.com/nmn80418
-
Diegoâs Twitter: https://twitter.com/diego_baez
As always, you can reach Dave and Matt via email at Concavityshow@gmail.com and on Twitter and Instagram @ConcavityShowÂ
In Episode 36 we have not one, but two special guests(!), both experts in the cartography of Infinite Jest's Boston (and beyond). William Beutler is the creative mind behind the staggeringly glorious Infinite Map (among other things), and Bill Lattanzi has led a series of walking tours in the Boston area tracing the locations of Wallace's opus, so you can see the emerging theme of the episode here.
List of links to pertinent discussion points in the episode:
Infinite Atlas: http://infiniteatlas.com/
LA Review of Books article by Bill L: https://lareviewofbooks.org/article/messing-maps-walking-david-foster-wallaces-boston/
Bloomington-Normal City website: David Foster Wallace tour: http://www.visitbn.org/visit/6171/david-foster-wallace/
Bloomington-Normal DFW sites map: http://www.visitbn.org/wp-content/uploads/2015/09/David-Foster-Wallace-Map-1.pdf
Engl 3001: "Walking Infinite Jest" at Boston College: http://www.walkinginfinitejest.com/
Infinite Atlas shop: https://shop.beutlerink.com/ ENTER CODE "CONCAVITY" FOR 20% DISCOUNT ON ALL PRODUCTS!
Infinite Map: https://shop.beutlerink.com/products/infinite-map
Great Seal of O.N.A.N.: https://shop.beutlerink.com/collections/posters/products/great-seal-of-o-n-a-n
O.N.A.N. Stickers: https://shop.beutlerink.com/products/seal-of-onan-sticker
Infinite Jest tote bag: https://shop.beutlerink.com/collections/other/products/hfb-tote-bag
Granada House website: https://granadahouse.org/ ("An Ex-Resident's Story" by Wallace: https://granadahouse.org/testimonials/an-ex-residents-story/)
Madras Press Fogle Novella: https://gumroad.com/l/advancedtax
Aaron Swartz's Infinite Jest ending explanation: http://www.aaronsw.com/weblog/ijend
Bill Lattanzi's Twitter: https://twitter.com/blattanzi
William Beutler's Twitter: https://twitter.com/WilliamBeutler
Bill Lattanzi's WBUR piece on Derek Walcott: http://www.wbur.org/cognoscenti/2017/03/20/remembering-poet-derek-walcott-bill-lattanzi
William Beutler's podcast, Enter the Void: Website: http://enterthevoid.fm/ & Twitter: https://twitter.com/enterthepod?lang=en
William Beutler's other podcast, KubrickCast: Website: http://kubrickcast.com/ & Twitter: https://twitter.com/KubrickCast
Matt and Dave can be reached at the following places:
Email: concavityshow@gmail.com
Twitter: @concavityshow
Instagram: @concavityshow
Matt Twitter: @mattbucher
Dave Twitter: @dave__laird
In this episode, we stray a bit off our usual Wallacian course (but not too far) to discuss our literary and pop-culture highlights from the last solar revolution.Â
Links we said we'd share:
Robyn O'Neil's 20 Years of Drawings: https://www.archonprojects.com/shop/robyn-oneil-20-years-of-drawings
Me Reading Stuff podcast by Robyn O'Neil: https://www.robynoneil.com/me-reading-stuff
George Saunders' "Sea Oak":Â http://www.barcelonareview.com/20/e_gs.htm
The Great Concavity's Best Music of 2017 playlists:Â
- iTunes:Â https://itunes.apple.com/ca/playlist/the-great-concavitys-best-of-2017/pl.u-pMyllebf4KoErM
- Spotify:Â https://open.spotify.com/user/concavityshow/playlist/0blqF0L6gfYA7jI2Am3l0x
Bottom's Dream Twitter page:Â https://twitter.com/BottomsMeme
In post-production, Dave realizes he'd mentioned we'd discuss video games we liked this year, but we forgot to do this, so games we played and liked include:
- The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild (Nintendo Switch)
- Super Mario Odyssey (Nintendo Switch)
- Mario Kart 8 Deluxe (Nintendo Switch)
- Mario + Rabbids Kingdom Battle (Nintendo Switch)
- Shovel Knight (Nintendo Switch, etc.)
- Cuphead (Xbox One)
- Horizon Zero Dawn (PS4)
- Overwatch (PS4)
- Nuclear Throne (PS4)
- Crawl (PS4, etc.)
- Darkest Dungeon (PS4, etc.)
- Nidhogg 2Â (PS4)
In this episode we're joined by friends Nick and Tony to discuss Australia's first ever David Foster Wallace conference, which was held in Melbourne during September 1-3, 2017. Following a discussion of the conference proceedings, join auxillary Concavityite Nick Maniatis as he interviews a host of presenters live from the conference weekend. Huge thanks go to Nick for towing his microphone around and getting all the juicy details for those of us who couldn't attend, and to Tony for organizing the conference!
Nick Maniatis' DFW website, The Howling Fantods: http://www.thehowlingfantods.com/dfw/ (with day-by-day conference recaps)
Conference Abstracts and presenter bios: https://tinyurl.com/y9n8hu79
Conference Schedule: https://tinyurl.com/yc5mjclc
Facebook page: https://www.facebook.com/OzWallace2017/
Samatha Wallace's new podcast, Circulating Spaces: https://pages.shanti.virginia.edu/Circulating_Spaces/podcasts/
TGC listener Scarlett Sims defeating Austin Rogers on Jeopardy!: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nck0RW1AbFU
Contact The Great Concavity:
Email - concavityshow@gmail.com
Twitter - @concavityshow (https://twitter.com/concavityshow)
Instagram - @concavityshow (https://www.instagram.com/concavityshow)
In this episode we talk with Allard about philosophy and film in relation to the work of Wallace, and to lesser extent, Dave Eggers and Jonathan Safran Foer. Dr. Allard den Dulk is Lecturer in Philosophy, Literature and Film at Amsterdam University College, and Research Fellow at the Faculty of Humanities of the VU University Amsterdam, The Netherlands. He is the author of Existentialist Engagement in Wallace, Eggers and Foer, which is a significant topic of our conversation as well. Other topics include what it's like to show up unannounced at J.S. Foer's personal residence, and DFW cosplay.
Allard's website is:Â http://www.allarddendulk.nl/
His book, published by Bloomsbury, is available here:Â https://www.bloomsbury.com/us/existentialist-engagement-in-wallace-eggers-and-foer-9781501322679/
In this episode we talk to award-winning Vancouver poet and writer Shazia Hafiz Ramji about her three consecutive stints as a guide for Infinite Jest online community reads (Poor Yorick's Summer, Sacred Jest, and the recent Ennet House), as well as her own writing and the influence of DFW.
You can find her on Twitter at @Shazi_R
Her chapbook is Prosopopoeia
Poor Yorick's Summer on Twitter at @poor_summer
Sacred Jest on Twitter at @SacredJest
Ennet House on Twitter at @infinitejestyvrÂ
In this episode we speak with Matthew Luter, DFW scholar and author of Understanding Jonathan Lethem. https://www.sc.edu/uscpress/books/2015/7512.html
We discuss the state of DFW studies, academia, and Matt's paper at this year's DFW Conference. Matt's paper deals with, among other things, Rita Felski's work and Kevin Birmingham's book on Ulysses, "The Most Dangerous Book."
We also make mention of Sidney Peterson's 1947 experimental film "The Cage" which you can watch on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CXEW_ZCqWsc
You can follow Matt on Twitter at @matthewjluter.
In this episode we are joined by Australian Wallace scholar Grace Chipperfield of Flinders University, whose recent work on Wallace deals with the concepts of protracted adolescence and political landscape in Wallace's writing. The recent DFW17 conference and her experience there is also discussed, as is the possible vampireness of Australian politicians (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BmqKSKDfSSQ).Â
On our first live episode (recorded in front of conference attendees at the fourth annual DFW conference at Illinois State University) we talk to Charlie Harris and Jim Plath about the life and legacy of Wallace, give some prizes away, and feature live music for the very first time on the show.Â
You can also watch the Facebook live video stream, which is archived for posterity, at the top of the page here:Â https://www.facebook.com/concavityshow/
In this episode we are joined by Wallace scholar Lucas Thompson.Â
Lucas Thompson is the author of the new book Global Wallace (Bloomsbury) which is the first volume in a new series called "David Foster Wallace Studies" edited by Stephen Burn. Global Wallace centers around the often overlooked sources of influence on Wallace's work. Thompson explores Wallace's connection and borrowing from Manuel Puig, Dostoevsky, hip hop culture, and many others.
Thompson is a Research Fellow at the United States Studies Centre at the University of Sydney, Australia. He has published articles in Texas Studies in Literature and Language, Journal of American Studies, The Cormac McCarthy Journal, and Critique: Studies in Contemporary Fiction. Forthcoming book chapters appear in The Cambridge Companion to David Foster Wallace, MLA Approaches to Teaching: David Foster Wallace, and MLA Approaches to Teaching: Jewish American Fiction. His reviews have appeared in US Studies Online, The European Legacy, and Philament, and he has also written for The LA Review of Books.
This time we talk to our friend Jill Braithwaite, a Wallace scholar who wrote her Masters thesis on Infinite Jest and its connections to the ideas of theologian Paul Tillich and Unitarian Universalism. She is on Twitter here.Â
Jill mentions a sermon she gave (in which Wallace's Kenyon speech makes a sigificant appearance), which can be found here.Â
In this episode, we talk with Jeff Severs, author of the excellent new book David Foster Wallaceâs Balancing Books: Fictions of Value, published by Columbia University Press. Severs is associate professor of English at the University of British Columbia, Canada, Convexity.
Severs is also a noted Pynchon scholar, author of a number of scholarly articles and co-editor of a book about Against the Day.
His website can be found at https://jeffreysevers.wordpress.com/
Show Notes
1:00 - Introductions
2:40 - Austinites
3:34 - James Manguson
5:00 - MFA programs
6:10 - Mary Carter - the name Matt was trying to think of
7:50 - Overview of the book
9:05 - Balance in general
10:05 - Axiology - study of valuation
13:06 - Heidegger defines axios
17:18 - A Tripartite writer
26:26 - A biographical approach
34:15 - Juxtaposing hard labor with a dissolute consumerist society
40:31 - GQ, Obama, rhetoric, 2008
46:53 - The civic vision of the Pale King
1:35:40 - Jeff correctly picks Moonlight as the Best Picture winner!
This time, we talk to our friend Lee Konstantinou, a contemporary US literature scholar who has published significantly on Wallace. His new book Cool Characters is available now from Harvard University Press.
As is the tradition, Dave and Matt take a minor detour (at times) from the usual topic of David Foster Wallace to discuss their personal highlights and favorite literary and pop cultural items of 2016.
Show notes:
00:27 - The Nightmare: 2016
02:08 - Matt knows books, Dave knows everything else
03:29 - Phone addiction
04:02 - Personal years in review
09:52 - Go to the 2017 David Foster Wallace Conference
11:15 - Sports, or lack thereof
14:59 - The International DFW Literary Society (dfwsociety.org)
21:20 - Mattâs favorite books of 2016
30:54 -Daveâs favorite books of 2016
38:04 - Netrunner Worlds and Daveâs appearance on Boards Alive - (starts 1:24:39)
38:59 - More of Mattâs favorite books (and a footnote about Bill Gates)
41:54 - The proliferation of monographs on DFW
42:40 - Daveâs favorite music of 2016 with Great Concavity bonus playlist
53:44 - Our favorite films of 2016
59:02 - More of Mattâs favorite books of the year (mostly biographies)
1:09:03 - 2016, the 20th Anniversary of Infinite Jest
1:12:50 - Television in 2016
1:22:53 - Board games in 2016
1:27:48 - Passing over video games
1:28:03 - Wrap up
Matt Bucher contact
Twitter & Instagram: @mattbucher
Website: mattbucher.com
Dave Laird contact
Twitter: @dave__laird
Instagram: @davelaird
Email us: concavityshow@gmail.com
In this episode we speak with the multi-talented writer and musician Andrew Savage of the band Parquet Courts. Their song âInstant Disassemblyâ opens and closes each episode of our podcast, but more importantly, Andrew is a super-literate dude who is capable of expounding on almost any topic.
Here is the video that Dave mentions of George Saundersâ appearance on The Charlie Rose show: https://charlierose.com/videos/23703 (DFW discussion starts at 40:54).
Check out Parquet Courts on Spotify or Apple Music or YouTube or just shout their name out the nearest window.
Their official website is https://parquetcourts.wordpress.com/
_____________
Show notes
01:54 - Why Dave chose âInstant Disassemblyâ as our intro song
01:55 - Thematic relation between DFWâs writing and âInstant Disassemblyâ
01:56 - Thereâs ennui but itâs also a really bitchinâ song
02:45 - Madonnaâs âLike a Prayerâ
03:46 - Bookwormâs theme song
08:35 - Growing up in Denton, Texas
09:53 - Austin Brown
13:30 - The Marked Men
14:40 - The Parking Lot set in Charlottesville
16:53 - Where did we play in Vancouver
18:49 - Parquet courts in The Garden and basketball
20:08 - Influenced by fiction
22:14 - Coming to Wallace, an intro thereto
23:52 - IJ/DFW influences everything
25:31 - The anxiety of influence, nah
29:56 - What to hold back
32:12 - Trump is a germaphobe
33:23 - The labor issues of being a musician
36:08 - New Sincerity discussion
39:13 - Parquet Courts and the Irony of Blah Blah Blah
43:45 - What makes a good performance
44:41 - Smaller venues
46:13 - Dealing with cynicism
48:12 - Favorite Wallace stuff
51:30 - The Depressed Person: parody or not?
55:30 - The existential angst of the modern condition
57:03 - Weâve all got holes to fill
58:40 - In search of lost time
1:02:00 - Listening to music the way we read
1:03:49 - The Big Ship on repeat
1:05:00 - Cate Le Bon
1:06:01 - Opposite Sex from New Zealand & Hamlet
1:07:40 - Glasgow has a grid system
1:08:56 - Favorite books & movies - Knausgaard
1:10:43 - Eva Hesseâs diaries
1:13:01 - A movie discussion ensues
1:14:19 - The song North Dakota
1:17:23 - How to finish things
1:28:30 - Easter egg
In this episode with talk with Academy-Award winning screenwriter and DFW fan Nicolås Giacobone. Nico is best known as the co-writer of Iñarritu's Birdman and Biutiful, but he's also a writer of fiction and a serious reader.
If you have not seen the movie Birdman, it is strongly advised that you do so.
In this episode we discuss his grandfather's filmography, literary influences, Manu Ginobli, and many other things.
Books and writers mentioned include Alberto Laiseca, John Updike, Don DeLillo, George Saunders, and Michael Ondaatje's Coming Through Slaughter among others.
Contact us: concavityshow@gmail.com
Show notes:
00:042 - background and introductions
02:16 - writing for television is painful
03:41 - Like Ed Wood, he was his own extra
09:08 - Homer and Dostoevsky and Cervantes
22:22 - movie writing is collaborative by nature
28:19 - San Antonio Spurs and ego
32:20 - In Latin America, everything is sold with a handshake
33:40 - Treating writing like work
35:08 - Ruth Reichl and DFW
43:40 - Never wrote another novel
49:00 - Six minute takes
53:01 - Tortured artist whose biggest obstacle is himself
54:00 - Free time and they write bullshit
57:07 - Aaron Swartz's theory of IJ
1:04:26 - We can't do math
1:08:11 - Plenty of good books are forgotten
1:12:01 - The 160-page version of CivilWarLand in Bad Decline
1:15:19 - Sergio de la Pava
1:22:06 - The Internet as a tool
1:28:00 - Mario Bellatin
1:32:32 - Moving past Bolaño's influence
1:36:46 - Make fun of Shakespeare
1:37:59 - Comparing Birdman and Infinite Jest
1:39:56 - IJ is impossible to film
1:45:55 - Easter egg: technical difficulties
In this episode we talk with Wallace scholar Clare Hayes-Brady about her new book The Unspeakable Failures of David Foster Wallace.
http://www.bloomsbury.com/us/the-unspeakable-failures-of-david-foster-wallace-9781501313530/
She is Lecturer in American Literature at University College, Dublin.
We discuss a variety of issues in this episode including bad endings, DFW Studies, Ricoeur, love, Their Eyes Were Watching God, and assorted other things.
You can find her on Twitter https://twitter.com/ClareHayesBrady
Show notes
00:30 - Byzantine Erotica right off the bat
01:30 - Spelling of Quebecois
02:30 - UCD vs TCD
04:01 - The Unspeakable Failures
05:01 - Noncompletion, the lack of closure
05:45 - A Failed Entertainment
08:30 - Short Story Theory, resistance to closure
10:39 - We donât have neat narratives
13:00 - How can you be done with something?
14:26 - Starting IJ again
15:20 - The peripheral stuff
16:27 - Was IJ/DFW narcissistic?
19:10 - The empathetic connection with readers
20:38 - Incoherent need to communicate
22:21 - The problem with romantic relationships--and Anne Geddes
25:21 - Misogyny from a place of fear
26:36 - The Granola Cruncher
30:53 - The silencing of female characters
31:02 - The Lionel Shriver issue
35:18 - A poorly disguised avatar
35:45 - Hungerford piece
37:02 - The Joycean Boys Club
39:59 - The C-word
44:42 - Inhabiting other minds
45:29 - Hurston not explaining things
47:26 - White male protagonists. . . groan
48:46 - VIDA count and the equivalent awareness
50:01 - Separating the artist from the art
51:29 - Ferrante & Knausgaard
55:36 - Writing beyond his own perspective
56:20 - Hardcore Theory Weenies
58:41 - Conflating a couple of paradoxes
59:59 - A fascinating disaster of a book
1:01:54 - The conclusions of the failures
1:04:40 - First attempt in Learning
1:05:08 - Post on Poor Yorickâs Summer
1:05:30 - Honest Ulsterman and motherhood
1:08:40 - Easter Egg
In this episode we talk with John Mango. John is a teacher and a scholar but in this episode we talk a lot about recovery, AA membership, depression, and alcoholism--perennial DFW subjects all around.
01:07 - Twenty episodes in a year
02:02 - Introducing John Mango
04:01 - John Grisham paperbacks
05:05 - Joseph Heller, Thomas Pynchon, Cormac McCarthy
06:30 - A comforting loss and depression
08:30 - Terry Eagleton & the role of literature
11:22 - Discovering Wallace after death
13:15 - We feel like we know him
14:14 - Can you even talk about AA?
15:25 - Hiding stuff all the time
16:29 - Humility
17:30 - Separating the biography from the writing?
18:20 - Alcohol & Poetry, John Berryman
19:48 - Sharing and honesty and irony
21:11 - The Big Book is IJ
22:14 - William James, Religious Experience
25:39 - AA and agnosticism
26:02 - G.O.D. = Group of Drunks
26:25 - It all comes down to pragmatism
27:15 - Gately saving Randy Lenz, a program of action
29:04 - The gift of desperation
31:30 - St. Anselm
33:00 - Gately enjoys riding with the crocodiles
37:31 - Big Craig
38:10 - Interview with Deb Larson-Venable, the real Pat Montesian
39:43 - How John came in
41:09 - Gratitude? Seriously?
44:58 - A giant love letter to AA
48:44 - It sounds like a cliche
51:20 - A favorite part of Infinite Jest
54:05 - Fleeting mention of Trump, sorry
54:44 - Fake cliche motto
57:40 - Burlington, Vermont & Hebron, Connecticut
59:01 - Norwalk virus
1:00:11 - The Joke in Infinite Jest
1:02:13 - Vocabulary of emotional literacy
1:03:56 - The problem of solipsism
1:07:07 - @callmejohnmango, Facebook, The Blog - https://hazardsofthecourse.wordpress.com/
1:10:23 - Destigmatizing the disease
1:11:13 - Android Netrunner
In this episode, Dave and Matt start by catching up about the recent photo caption contest winner and entries, Dairy Queen, Flannery O'Connor conferences, and the distinguished list of famous writers Matt has met. Then, our guests Amy and Rachel talk to Dave about their recent experiences reading Infinite Jest for the first time.
In this episode we speak with audiobook narrator extraordinaire, Sean Pratt. Sean is the narrator of the 56-hour-long audiobook of Infinite Jest. He has also narrated over 800 other books. Believe it or not, Infinite Jest is not even the longest book Sean has narrated! We discuss the mechanics of recording, the different voices in the book, the endnotes issue, what it takes to become an audiobook narrator, and many other things
You can find Sean on Twitter at @SPPresents and his website http://www.SeanPrattPresents.com
Show Notes
2:06 - Sean Prattâs background & how he got the part
7:04 - So you want to be an audiobook narrator
10:01 - The economics of recording an audiobook
13:30 - A state of âflowâ
16:24 - How many hours did this really take?
20:51 - When we first meet Ken Erdedy
24:30 - Acting vs. Reading: Tom Robbins
28:04 - A silk purse out of a sowâs ear
32:01 - Reading the paratext & The Four Voices of Nonfiction
35:10 - Just skip the endnotes: a debate
41:50 - No really, how to do the endnotes?
44:02 - Blood Sister: One Tough Nun & comedy
47:50 - Do you listen to yourself?
50:38 - Always Be Entertaining
52:52 - How to navigate all the voices
58:10 - Donât do it like a puppet show
59:15 - Hal watching a video cartridge
1:01:15 - Some of Seanâs best audiobooks
1:06:25 - Speed vs. Tempo
1:12:20 - To honor the text
1:16:15 - Easter egg
In Part 2 of this episode we look back at the 3rd Annual David Foster Wallace Conference, held at Illinois State University July 28-30. We talk with a number of DFW scholars and conference attendees.Â
In this episode are interviews with Melissa Holton, Jane Carman, Emily Spalding & Josh Katz, Tony McMahon, Ryan Marnane, and Rob Short & Chris Ayers.Â
Last day for photo caption contest entries is end of day Aug 31st, so post on Twitter, Facebook, or Instagram! Winner to be determined shortly thereafter.
Show Notes:
00:00:55 - Melissa Holton - @maccalisa17 00:12:27 - Jane Carman - festivalwriter.org 00:21:40 - Josh Katz & Emily Spalding - @ewspalding 00:41:17 - Tony McMahon - @tony_mcmahon2 00:59:57 - Ryan Marnane - @ryanmarnane 1:20:00 - Chris Ayers & Rob Short - @chrisAcreative pooryorickentertainment.tumblr.com & @vismeainlabore
In Part 1 of this two-part episode we look back at the 3rd Annual David Foster Wallace Conference, held at Illinois State University. We talk with a number of DFW scholars and conference attendees.Â
In this episode are interviews with keynote speaker Marshall Boswell, Michael O'Connell, Jeff Severs, Corrie Baldauf, Matt Luter, Mike Miley, and Samantha Wallace.Â
Show notes: 00:00:45 - Recap of our respective summers 00:05:30 - The Inkiest Black 00:06:55 - Online communities 00:10:30 - 4th Annual Conference 00:15:01 - photo caption contest 00:17:18 - Interview with Michael O'Connell 00:27:51 - Interview with Marshall Boswell 00:29:00 - Cambridge Companion to David Foster Wallace, edited by Ralph Clare 00:38:20 - Interview with Jeff Severs 00:50:57 - Interview with Corrie Baldauf 01:04:37 - Interview with Matt Luter 01:17:03 - Interview with Mike Miley 01:30:53 - Interview with Samantha 'No Relation' Wallace
People notes: Michael O'Connell, Siena Heights University âYour temple is self and sentimentâ: David Foster Wallaceâs diagnostic novels
Marshall Boswell, author of Understanding David Foster Wallace
Jeff Severs, author of David Foster Wallace's Balancing Books https://jeffreysevers.wordpress.com/
Corrie Baldauf https://twitter.com/CorrieBaldauf http://greatconcavity.podbean.com/e/episode-4-discussing-david-foster-wallace-with-corrie-baldauf/Â
Matt Luter, author of Understanding Jonathan Lethem
St. Andrewâs Episcopal School Twitter:Â @matthewjluter
Mike Miley https://twitter.com/MikeCMiley
Samantha Wallace, University of Virginia
In this episode, we talk with Pater Edmund Waldstein.Â
He is a Cistercian monk at a monastery in Austria and a David Foster Wallace scholar.Â
We talk about religion and morals and a number of other related issues in Wallace's work.Â
His blog is an excellent resource for his writing about Wallace and other topics:Â https://sancrucensis.wordpress.com/
Pater Edmund is on Twitter @sancrucensis
In this episode, we talk with Krzys Piekarski, PhD. Krzys is a DFW scholar who has written extensively on DFW and Buddhism. He also runs a wisdom program in Austin called Character by Design: https://characterbydesign.org/
We cover a variety of topics in this show, from parables to stress and boredom to the basics of Buddhism and how it manifests in Wallaceâs writing.
The book Krzys mentions is at the end of the show is called Zen Mind, Beginnerâs Mind, and we talk about the books of Steven Batchelor - Buddhism without Beliefs.
His podcast, with author Sunni Brown is called Sunni & Wise. http://sunniandwise.com / @sunniandwise
There are some weird booming sounds in this episode. Sorry about that!
Show Notes
01:46 - Introduction Krzys & his teaching background
03:00 - Teaching in prison
04:24 - Krzysâs dissertation on Buddhism, Philosophy, and David Foster Wallace
06:48 - Can Wallace be considered a Buddhist thinker?
08:30 - Krzysâs path to Buddhism
11:00 - DFWâs undergrad years at Amherst & Wittgenstein
12:08 - Wittgensteinian zen parable
14:14 - The limits of language
14:25 - Buddhism 101
15:15 - Suffering
18:59 - How we can gain freedom
21:50 - George Saunders calls Wallace a great Buddhist writer
23:57 - Wallace and meditation
25:38 - The boredom thing
29:11 - Flow state
35:49 - What is the purpose of life?
36:00 - David Foster Wallace and the Velveteen Rabbit
38:30 - Escape from the self
43:10 - Zen Mind, Beginnerâs Mind
44:20 - Mario Incandenza
47:00 - Disgust and addicts
52:00 - Trying to express inexpressible truths
53:20 - Double binds
57:20 - Stepping in to a monastery
1:00:30 - Sincere curiosity
1:02:15 - There is nothing missing in you
1:07:00 - Show wrap-up, thanks, and links
In this special episode we talk with Professor Josh Roiland and his class at the University of Maine. Roiland is Assistant Professor + CLAS-Honors Preceptor of Journalism in the Department of Communication and Journalism + Honors College. Roilandâs class this semester was called âConsider David Foster Wallaceâ and they read a TON of DFW work. As part of their class project, the students also created a really useful website about IJ called Consider Infinite Jest https://considerinfinitejest.wordpress.com/
Josh has written a lot about Wallace and here are a few of his pieces we mention in this episode:
· "Getting Away from It All: The Literary Journalism of David Foster Wallace and Nietzsche's Concept of 'Oblivion'"Literary Journalism Studies, Vol. 1, No. 2, Fall 2009, 89-105. (Revised and reprinted in The Legacy of David Foster Wallace, University of Iowa Press).
· "The Fine Print: Uncovering the True Story of David Foster Wallace and the 'Reality Boundary'" Literary Journalism Studies, Vol. 5, No. 2, Fall 2013, 148-161. (Reprinted by Longreads; 10 Most Popular Exclusives of 2014).
· "Spiritually Midwestern: What Middle America Meant to David Foster Wallace" published (w/essential footnotes maddeningly located on the side of the text) by A24 Film Studios "Just Words" site in conjunction w/the release of The End of The Tour.
You can follow Josh Roiland on Twitter @JoshRoiland or check out his website: www.joshroiland.com
SPECIAL THANKS are due to Justin Harlan-Haughey for his audio expertise.Thanks also to Robyn OâNeil, Parquet Courts, Josh Roiland, Derrek Schrader, Alex Abrahams, Emily McNair, Atticus Dennis, and Taylor Cunningham.
SHOW NOTES
03:00 â Joshâs writing on Wallace
04:38 â Joshâs email intro to the class
06:34 â Class syllabus and reading list
08:38 â Reconciling Wallaceâs death with his writing
10:21 â Starting the class with a discussion onsuicide
13:52 â Is Wallaceâs writing autobiographical?
16:55 â The class on Twitter
18:20 â The Wallace community on Twitter
19:51 â When the class read Infinite Jest
21:35 â Meeting in different spaces
22:45 â The ending of Infinite Jest
24:35 â Is the graveyard scene real? Whatâs going onthere?
27:49 â Waiting for plotlines to converge
30:30 â Reading IJ in public
31:07 â The clichĂ© of dudes/bros reading Infinite Jest
37:38 â The marginalization of journalism in Englishdepartments
39:06 â DFWâs exaggerations in non-fiction
40:25 â Your favorite Wallace piece?
48:24 â Your least favorite Wallace piece?
53:33 â How to teach Infinite Jest
55:25 â Class-created website about IJ
1:01:32 â What to read after Wallace?
1:05:15 â Your favorite Wallace character?
1:09:52 â Any huge takeaways from this experience?
Contact us at concavityshow@gmail.comor @concavityshow
In this episode we talk with Wallace scholar Rob Short. We discuss everything from AA & recovery to William James and summer camp.
You can follow Rob on twitter and academia.edu here:
https://twitter.com/vismeainlabore
http://florida.academia.edu/RobShort
Show Notes
Urine trouble? Youâre in luck! - 00:49
Robâs academic background â 1:09
Wallaceâs interview with SPEAK magazine â 3:15
Robâs paper at the 2014 DFW Conference â 5:26
The idea of âworshippingâ â 6:30
Readers at academic conferences â 8:42
The obtuseness of Derrida â 10:24
Glenn K. â 11:30
âTo impress people when you are 24â â 12:19
Teaching Wallace - 15:18
DFWâs early publishing history & audience â 29:00
David Markson â 30:26
Wallaceâs inter-novel period â 34:00
Robâs dissertationâs structure â 37:27
William James â 41:26
The rhetoric of AA â 46:33
How Don Gately goes straight â 50:30
Zadie Smith on DFW â 52:29
Catholics by Brian Moore â 56:33
Personal religion stuff â 57:45
United Church of Canada and atheismâ 1:01:21
Post-secular society â 1:03:36
A spectrum of salvation/hope - 1:05:47
Addicts are throwaway people â 1:08:15
âUseâ and usefulness - 1:09:55
Rote discipline and routine â 1:12:35
Wallace at Le Conversazioni http://robshort.org/files/Le_Conversazioni_2006.mp4 - 1:15:48
Eternal thanks to Parquet Courts, David C. Jensen, and Robyn OâNeil ⊠and You of course.
In this episode we talk with DFW scholar David Hering. Hering is the author of the forthcoming book David Foster Wallace: Fiction + Form. He's also a Lecturer at the University of Liverpool and editor of the book Consider David Foster Wallace. You can follow him on Twitter at @hering_david
THE Q&A EPISODE
In this episode, we finally get around to answering the questions you submitted in February. Listen to find out if we answered yours!
We also mention this clip of Wallace talking about traveling to Italy:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mVzhhvCRTCoÂ
If you haven't read Wallace on Federer, it's here:Â http://www.nytimes.com/2006/08/20/sports/playmagazine/20federer.html?pagewanted=all
And be sure to follow our show on Twitter over yonder ---->Â @ConcavityShow
In this episode, we talk with Nick Maniatis, proprietor and webmaster of the invaluable website, The Howling Fantods.
http://www.thehowlingfantods.com/dfw/Â
If you are a DFW fan, Nick probably needs no introduction, but we do ask him how the site came to be and how it has evolved over the years.Â
Be sure to follow him on Twitter here:@nick_maniatis or on Facebook here: https://www.facebook.com/and.but.so/
In this episode, we talk about Infinite Jest (and lots of other things) with Jenni B. Baker, Editor-in-Chief of The Found Poetry Review and creator of the Erasing Infinite project.Â
Jenni is also one of the guides of the current Infinite Winter project. You can follow Jenni on Twitter @erasinginfinite and @jennibbaker.
In this episode we talk with Wallace biographer D.T. Max. Max is the author of Every Love Story is a Ghost Story. We also mention his latest piece in the New Yorker about a pioneering surgery for paraplegics. If you don't follow him already, he's @dtmax on Twitter. Also, here is a WBUR radio interview with David Foster Wallace from 1996, which we mention in this episode: http://radioopensource.org/david-foster-wallace-chris-lydon/
Chris Ayers designed a number of movie posters from James Incandenza's filmography. He posts his art and designs at http://pooryorickentertainment.tumblr.com
In this episode we discuss the upcoming 20th anniversary edition of Infinite Jest and the cover design contest. Head on over to Poor Yorick Entertainment to see the winning design and some other entrants.
You can follow Chris on Twitter at @chrisAcreative
In this episode we go almost completely OFF TOPIC and wrap up 2015 by discussing our favorite books, movies, music, TV shows, and games of the year. We've collected some of the music recommended in this episode into this playlist on Apple Music. One artist who didn't make it on the playlist is Joanna Newsom, who doesn't license her music to most streaming services. But she does get Paul Thomas Anderson to direct her new music video!https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=48xlgXqQKLA At the end of this episode we request that listeners send us questions. We will be collecting listener questions about DFW & his work through the end of January. We'll answer those questions in an episode in February. Email us at concavityshow@gmail.com or hit us on Twitter @ConcavityShow.
In this episode with talk with Irish scholar Tim Groenland, who has written extensively about Wallace and The Pale King. Groenland's doctoral work is concerned with authorship and the way Michael Pietsch molded The Pale King after Wallace's death. We also discuss Gordon Lish's editorial relationship with Raymond Carver. You can follow Tim on Twitter @groenbot.
In this episode we talk with artist Corrie Baldauf. If you haven't seen her Infinite Jest project, check it out here: http://hyperallergic.com/178866/reading-david-foster-wallace-for-the-colors/ And follow her on Twitter! https://twitter.com/CorrieBaldauf
Show notes courtesy of Jordan Tibbett.Show Notes
(00:00) - Intro
(00:30) - Guest Corrie Baldauf
(01:50) - Corrieâs Infinite Jest Project
(03:50) - Pale King Cover Design
(06:51) - Corrieâs Introduction to Infinite Jest
(08:20) - Color References in The Book
(12:00) - An Excerpt of Color Usage
(13:30) - Jenni Bakerâs Erasing Infinite Jest
(15:05) - Mattâs Entry in The Found Poetry Review (http://www.foundpoetryreview.com/wrt-david-foster-wallace/david-foster-wallace-titles-roughly-translated-into-other-languages-and-roughly-translated-back-into-english/)
(16:19) - Various Narrative Threads in Infinite Jest
(20:50) - Corrieâs Profile in Hyperallergic (http://hyperallergic.com/178866/reading-david-foster-wallace-for-the-colors/)
(20:50) - Corrieâs Cover Art on Unspeakable Failures: David Foster Wallace
(25:15) - The Literary Community and Twitter
(28:38) - Infinite Jestâs 20th Anniversary Cover Redesign
(33:14) - Imagery of âThe Cageâ
(38:30) - Karen Greenâs Bough Down
(42:28) - Corrieâs Experience Reading Infinite Jest
(45:04) - Autism and Wallace
(48:20) - Characters in The Pale King linked to Characters in Infinite Jest
(50:36) - Corrieâs Optimism Project
(53:50) - Corrieâs New Book
(55:40) - Wallace in The Classroom
(57:45) - Final Thoughts
(59:30) - Outro
People Mentioned
Corrie Baldauf (http://corriebaldauf.com/home.html)
David Foster Wallace (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/David_Foster_Wallace)
Karen Green (http://www.theguardian.com/books/2011/apr/10/karen-green-david-foster-wallace-interview)
Jenni B. Baker (http://www.jennibbaker.com)
Clare Hayes-Brady (http://www.amazon.com/Unspeakable-Failures-David-Foster-Wallace/dp/1501313525)
Sarah Rose Sharp (http://hyperallergic.com/author/sarah-rose-sharp/)
Sidney Peterson (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sidney_Peterson)
Matt Tresco
In this episode we talk with artist Robyn O'Neil. Her artwork titled These final hours embrace at last; this is our ending, this is our past is the logo for our podcast. See more of her work at http://robynoneil.com/ or listen to her reading stuff on her own podcast called "Me Reading Stuff" - http://robynoneil.com/me-reading-stuff/ She's @Robyn_ONeil on Twitter.Our podcast is @ConcavityShow on Twitter. Show Notes
(00:00) - Intro
(00:39) - Guest Robyn Oâneil
(02:00) - Robynâs Image For the Podcast (http://www.themodern.org/programs/Past/Robyn-ONeil/1464)
(02:40) - Modern Art Museum of Fort Worth
(04:38) - The Believer Interview with Wallace (http://www.believermag.com/issues/200311/?read=interview_wallace)
(04:38) - The Believer Interview with Robyn (http://www.believermag.com/issues/200811/?read=interview_oneil)
(05:05) - Robynâs Style of Work
(07:50) - An Obsession with Oprah
(11:08) - Robynâs Background with Wallace
(11:25) - Reluctance to Read Contemporary Literature
(14:28) - Vladimir Nabokov and A Passion for Writers
(17:24) - Nabokovâs Connection to Updike
(17:40) - The Obsession with Writers
(18:40) - Steeply/Marathe and The Idea of Attachment
(18:55) - The Connection Between Self-Obsession and Creation
(21:38) - This is Water Commencement Speech (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8CrOL-ydFMI)
(22:20) - Finding Meaning in Art vs. A Higher Power
(23:49) - Art and Transcendence
(28:30) - Pop Cultureâs Dominance in Society
(33:10) - Robynâs Podcast (https://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/me-reading-stuff/id1010827465?mt=2)
(37:29) - A Radically Condensed History of Postindustrial Life and Self-Awareness
(44:20) - Handling a Public Profile
(48:38) - âMidwesternâ Politeness
(49:15) - Robynâs Influences
(55:00) - Hurricane Sandy
(56:48) - Final Thoughts on Obsession and Ambition
(57:00) - Robyn Reading From Infinite Jest
(01:03:12) - Outro
People Mentioned
Robyn O'Neil (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Robyn_O%27Neil)
David Foster Wallace (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/David_Foster_Wallace)
Oprah Winfrey (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Oprah_Winfrey)
E. Tyler Lindvall (http://etylerlindvall.blogspot.com)
Cormac Mcarthy (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cormac_McCarthy)
Donna Tartt (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Donna_Tartt)
Donald Barthelme (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Donald_Barthelme)
Vladimir Nabokov (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vladimir_Nabokov)
Jeffrey Eugenides (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jeffrey_Eugenides)
John Updike (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_Updike)
Hugh/Helen Steeply (http://infinitesummer.org/characters)
Remy Marathe (http://infinitesummer.org/characters)
Elena Ferrante (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Elena_Ferrante)
Howard Stern (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Howard_Stern)
Wallace Stevens (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wallace_Stevens)
Kevin Christy
Nick Youssef
In this episode, we spend most of the show discussing James Ponsoldt's film "The End of the Tour." If you have not seen the movie yet, there are spoilers of a sort. Thanks again to Robyn O'Neil for her artwork, Parquet Courts for the intro song, and Jordan Tibbett for the transcript and show notes. Show Notes
(00:00) - Intro
(00:30) - End of the Tour (http://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/the_end_of_the_tour_2015/)
(02:39) - James Ponsoldt
(04:20) - Jason Segelâs Performance
(07:42) - Faithfulness to The Book
(08:00) - David Lipsky
(09:54) - Jesse Eisenbergâs Performance
(10:53) - Lipsky and Wallaceâs Relationship
(13:33) - The Facade of Fame vs. Authenticity
(15:00) - Success, Fulfillment, and Happiness
(17:25) - Todayâs Relevance
(19:30) - Self-Promotion in Writing
(22:00) - Should It Exist (http://biblioklept.org/2013/12/13/although-of-course-you-end-up-riffing-obliquely-on-how-a-david-foster-wallace-road-trip-movie-is-a-terrible-idea/)
(23:47) - The Denunciation from Wallaceâs Estate
(24:52) - âSaintâ Dave
(28:39) - Wallaceâs Portrayal Too Happy/Sad?
(36:45) - DFWâs Cultural Relevance
(37:26) - Other Adaptations
(41:30) - The Novelâs Cultural Relevance
(43:19) - 20th Anniversary of Infinite Jest
(46:49) - Wallace and Feminism
(48:08) - Final Thoughts on The Movie
(51:37) - The Director James Ponsoldt
(54:44) - Outro
People Mentioned
David Foster Wallace (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/David_Foster_Wallace)
David Lipsky (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/David_Lipsky)
James Ponsoldt (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/James_Ponsoldt)
Jason Segel (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jason_Segel)
Jesse Eisenberg (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jesse_Eisenberg)
Don DeLillo (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Don_DeLillo)
Cormac McCarthy (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cormac_McCarthy)
Thomas Pynchon (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Thomas_Pynchon)
Edwin Turner (Biblioklept) (https://twitter.com/biblioklept)
Brian Eno (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Brian_Eno)
Bonnie Nadell
D.T. Max (http://dtmax.com)
Michael Schur (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Michael_Schur)
John Krasinski (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_Krasinski)
Chris Ayers (Poor Yorick Ent.) (http://pooryorickentertainment.tumblr.com)
Mary K. Holland (https://faculty.newpaltz.edu/maryholland/index.php/cv/)
Robyn OâNeil (robynoneil.com)
Parquet Courts (https://parquetcourts.wordpress.com)
The Great Concavity is inspired by the debate in David Foster Wallace's Infinite Jest. In this initial episode, we introduce ourselves and talk a little about what a DFW podcast might entail. Artwork courtesy of Robyn O'Neil. Intro song courtesy of Parquet Courts. UPDATE: Below are show notes courtesy of Jordan Tibbett. A transcript of episode 1, also by Jordan is available here: https://www.scribd.com/doc/286341051/Great-Concavity-podcast-Ep-1-Show-Notes-Transcript Show Notes
(00:00) - Intro
(01:08) - Mattâs Background
(01:10) - wallace-l (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Thomas_Pynchon)
(01:55) - Howling Fantods (http://www.thehowlingfantods.com/dfw/)
(02:50) - Thomas Pynchon (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Thomas_Pynchon)
(05:04) - Sideshow Media Group (http://sideshowmediagroup.com)
(05:12) - Elegant Complexity (http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/1655890.Elegant_Complexity)
(05:12) - Natureâs Nightmare (http://www.amazon.com/Natures-Nightmare-Analyzing-Wallaces-Oblivion/dp/098893051X/)
(13:02) - Academic Papers
(14:21) - Daveâs Background
(14:55) - The Ogopogo (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ogopogo)
(15:10) - Infinite Jest/Molly Notkin/Joelle van Dyne
(17.30) - Roberto Bolano (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Roberto_Bolaño)
(18:51) - Don DeLillo (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Don_DeLillo)
(20:00) - Chris Adrian/McSweeneyâs (http://www.mcsweeneys.net)
(21:45) - Cormac McCarthy (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cormac_McCarthy)
(24:00) - The Pale King/ Chris Fogel
(26:48) - Jonathan Lethem (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jonathan_Lethem)
(29:34) - First Annual DFW conference
(36:48) - Special Thanks
People Mentioned
David Foster Wallace (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/David_Foster_Wallace)
Nick Maniatis (https://twitter.com/nick_maniatis)
Thomas Pynchon (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Thomas_Pynchon)
John Bucher (http://johnbucher.org/)
Greg Carlisle (http://www.amazon.com/Natures-Nightmare-Analyzing-Wallaces-Oblivion/dp/098893051X/)
David Hering (http://www.amazon.com/Consider-David-Foster-Wallace-Critical/dp/0976146576/)
Cormac Mcarthy (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cormac_McCarthy)
Don DeLillo (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Don_DeLillo)
Roberto Bolano (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Roberto_Bolaño)
Jonathan Franzen (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jonathan_Franzen)
George Saunders (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/George_Saunders)
Jeffrey Eugenides (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jeffrey_Eugenides)
William T. Vollmann (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/William_T._Vollmann)
Rick Moody (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rick_Moody)
Chris Adrian (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chris_Adrian)
Adam Levin (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Adam_Levin)
Beth Nugent (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Beth_Nugent)
Larry McCaffery (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Larry_McCaffery)
Jonathan Lethem (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jonathan_Lethem)
William Faulkner (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/William_Faulkner)
John Updike (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_Updike)
