PODCAST · arts
Books are Good, Actually
by Angela and Jimmy
A monthly-ish book club podcast! Get a beverage and listen to us ramble about a book!
Episodes
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Ordinary Monsters
For September, we read Ordinary Monsters by J.M. Miro! We discuss our favorite characters and moments, what the world lacked and Angela slowly poisoning the well on Jimmy's enjoyment. Upcoming Books - October: Murderland: Crime and Bloodlust in the Time of Serial Killers by Caroline Fraser
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Frankenstein
For August, we read Mary Shelley's Frankenstein! We discussed our history with Frankenstein's media, the Ao3 connection, we analyze if it truly captured critiqued capitalists or was it about stupid men, and finally the incest. Upcoming Books - September: Ordinary Monsters by J.M. Miro October:...
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Blood in the Machine
A very late July episode of Books are Good Actually! We read Blood in the Machine by Brian Merchant. We discuss our history with Luddites (very little), Andrew Yang, parallels to the modern world and who is a modern Ned Ludd. Upcoming Books - August: Frankenstein by Mary Shelley September…
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How to Sell a Genocide
For June, we read How to Sell a Genocide by Adam H. Johnson. We discussed our relationship with mainstream media, surprising facts of the book, how we can counter biased media and how to inform our friends and family about it. July: Blood in the Machine by Brian Merchant
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Black Jacobins
For May, we read Black Jacobins by C.L.R. James. We discussed Toussaint's leadership style and failures, Napoleon is a bastard, Haiti and what we can learn from their revolution. June: How to Sell a Genocide by Adam H. Johnson July: Blood in the Machine by Brian Merchant
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Up In Arms
For April, we read Up in Arms by John Temple. We discuss the timeline of the Bundy saga, how the FBI went wrong, the Patriot movement and militas and also Ammon Bundy's current status. May: The Black Jacobins by C. L. R. JamesJune: How to Sell a Genocide by Adam H. JohnsonJuly: Blood in the…
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Between Two Fires
For March, we capped off our 14th Century French tour with Between Two Fires by Christopher Buehlman! We discuss how much we enjoyed the story, characters and moments. Also Angela missing a major plot point and how it is essentially Dark Souls in book form! April - Up In Arms: How The Bundy…
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A Distant Mirror Part 2
We finish up A Distant Mirror and the end of Enguerrand de Coucy's bizarre adventure. We discuss France's missteps, the potential if they weren't so bullheaded about their tactics and also if the distant mirror is so distant! March - Between Two Fires by Christopher Buehlman April - Up In Arms…
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A Distant Mirror Part 1
New year, new two parter! We start off with A Distant Mirror by Barbara W. Tuchman. We discuss our history of 14th century (spoilers: we don't have much), Angela mispronouncing the Enguerrand and surprising facts! February - A Distant Mirror Part Two by Barbara W. Tuchman March - Between Two…
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The Spanish Civil War
To close out the year, we read the Spanish Civil War by Helen Graham. We discuss the conflict, the differences between women in Republican and Franco society, the international brigades, and how the international community royally screwed up everything! Video game mentioned -...
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The Fort Bragg Cartel
We are finally back with The Fort Bragg Cartel by Seth Harp! We discussed a very meandering way of our experiences with special forces through different media, Iraq War, the murder of Lavigne and Dumas, and loads more! December: The Spanish Civil War by Helen Graham
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If We Burn
For September, we read If We Burn by Vincent Bevins! We discussed our knowledge of these various protests, vanguardism vs horizontalism, social media influence on protests, and tactics! For October, we are taking a break but we'll be back in November! November: The Fort Bragg Cartel by Seth...
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All the Shah's Men
We maybe late but we did read the book All the Shah's Men by Stephen Kinzer! We discussed our knowledge of Iran, the British empire being a bunch of bastards, and why it's important to read books. September - If We Burn by Vincent Bevins
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Conspiracy
For July's book we read Conspiracy by Ryan Holiday! We go over our histories with Hulk Hogan, discuss Hulk Hogan's lies, Gawker's horrible lawyers and Peter Thiel being an idiot! Also Jimmy's cat conspired against him and tried to bite him. A thrilling episode! August: All the Shah's Men by…
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Log Off by Katherine Cross
For the month of June we read Log Off by Katherine Cross! We discussed our relationship with social media, social media and the revolution, using platforms for organizing and why fandom is not politics. July: Conspiracy by Ryan HolidayAugust: All the Shah's Men by Stephen KinzerSeptember: If We...
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We Will Shoot Back Part 2
A little late but we completed We Will Shoot Back by Akinyele Umoja! We discussed lesson's learned with organizing and self-defense, Jimmy apparently discovered that he did read about Mississippi civil rights history, and our lack of knowledge of Nation of Islam. June - Log Off Why Posting and...
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We Will Shoot Back Part 1
For April, we read the first four chapters of We Will Shoot Back by Akinyele Umoja. We discussed our knowledge of civil rights movement, non violence vs self defense, surprising new things we learned and also who we would be in the foxhole with! May - Finish up We Will Shoot Back June - Log Off…
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On Tyranny
For March, we read On Tyranny by Timothy Snyder. We did...not like this book and why it didn't work for us, the shallow communist history examples, we had an anime corner, and if this book really is for anyone. April - We Will Shoot Back by Akinyele Omowale UmojaMay - Log Off Why Posting and...
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In Case You Get Hit by a Bus: How to Organize Your Life Now for When You're Not Around Later
For the month of February, we read In Case You Get Hit by a Bus: How to Organize Your Life Now for When You're Not Around Later by Abby Schneiderman, Adam Seifer, Gene Newman! We discussed what levels we have accomplished, how we may engage our family about their wills and other important items,...
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Red Star
For the start of the new year, we read Red Star by Alexander Bogdanov! We discussed if we enjoyed Red Star or Engineer Menni, Bogdanov's view of women, if the book is effective socialist education, and if we would go to a Martian utopia! February - In Case You Get Hit by a Bus: How to Organize…
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Babel: An Arcane History
For December, we ready Babel by R.F. Kuang! We discussed favorite characters, unexpected climaxes, Harry Potter comparison and our favorite ship! January - Red Star by Alexander Bogdanov February - In Case You Get Hit by a Bus: How to Organize Your Life Now for When You're Not Around Later by…
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Play Nice
For November, we read Play Nice by Jason Schrier! We discussed our history with Blizzard, surprising facts and uncovering misconceptions, the difference between iD and Blizzard and brainstorming how we could solve Blizzard's problem forever! December - Babel, or the Necessity of Violence by R.F....
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The Witch
For October, we read The Witch by Ronald Hutton. We discussed our knowledge of witches and witchcraft, how this books differs from The Calaban and the Witch, shamanism and how the Catholic church turned out to be reasonable! November - Play Nice: The Rise, Fall, and Future Of Blizzard…
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Technopoly
For September, we read Technopoly by Neil Postman and boy howdy...we had some thoughts and feels about this book. We discussed some Postman's war against social science, US a technopoly hellscape?, industries that have surrendered to technology and some Warhammer 40k! October - The Witch: A…
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Don't Look Up
For August, we watched Don't Look Up directed by Adam McKay. We discussed our favorite characters and moments, what worked and didn't work, we answered the question about was this really an allegory to climate change and so much more! Articles referenced:...
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The Murderbot Diaries: Artificial Condition
For July, we read The Murderbot Diaries: Artificial Condition by Martha Wells! We discuss our favorite characters and moments, revelations made or not made in the book, and if we are AI if we took questions from Reddit. For August, we are going to watch "Don't Look Up!" available on Netflix.…
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Slow Down
For the month of June, we read Slow Down by Kohei Saito! We discussed the life long pursuit of studying and reinterpreting Marx, Saito's four outcomes and futures, disaster capitalism, another rant on vegetarianism by Angela, and a very bad attempt to end on a more hopeful note. July:…
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Midnight in Chernobyl
For May, we read Midnight in Chernobyl by Adam Higginbotham! We discussed the little town around the little nuclear plant, the big explosion, who's at fault, and if we would even visit. June: Slow Down by Kohei Saito July: Artificial Condition: The Murderbot Diaries by Martha Wells
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Socialist States and the Environment Lessons for Eco-Socialist Futures
For April, we read Socialist States and the Environment Lessons for Eco-Socialist Futures by Salvatore Engel-Di Mauro! We discussed things we have learned from the examples of socialist states, what was missing from the book, comparison to Half-Earth Socialism, and degrowth policies....
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King Richard
For March, we read King Richard by Michael Dobbs! We discussed our knowledge about Watergate, interesting tidbits gleamed from the book, what critical mistakes were made and the structure of the book. Upcoming: April - Socialist States and the Environment Lessons for Eco-Socialist Futures by...
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Neuromancer
For February, we read Neuromancer by William Gibson! We discussed our favorite characters and scenes, vocabulary/language, comparing Neuromancer with its contemporaries, Gibson's vision of the future and would we live in that world! Angela wrongly misidentified the comic Transmetropolitian as...
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How to Read Lacan
New year, new book! For January, we read How to Read Lacan and we sort of understand it now. We discuss the regrettable choice of reading Less than Nothing first, looking at horror movies through Lacian lens, how dating can also be looked at in a Lacian lens and even Kingdom Hearts! Upcoming…
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Half-Earth Socialism
Our last book of the year, we read Half-Earth Socialism! We discussed that this is actually our third eco-socialist book, interrogated the solutions provided, veganism (again...Angela's fault), and the critique's!...
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Ten Myths about Israel
For November, we discuss Ten Myths about Israel by Ilan Pappe! We discuss our own misconceptions and myths we have about Israel and Palestine, socialism and Zionism, an interesting discussion about Hamas, one state solution and how we can support the Pro-Palestinian side. December - Half-Earth...
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Men, Women and Chainsaws
Another late one but we managed, for our October book we read Men,Women and Chainsaws! We discussed the surprising analysis of possession films, could we apply the same analysis to contagion movies, grouping of horror movies, horror movies and race, and a side chat about Resident Evil movies and...
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Hegemony and Socialist Strategy
For September, we read Hegemony and Socialist Strategy by Ernesto Laclau and Chantal Mouffe! Although we were late we did finish the book, we discussed the definitions, post-marxism, direct democracy, and starting compounds in minecraft. Youtube summary…
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Weird Scenes Inside the Canyon
For August, we read Weird Scenes inside the Canyon and it was a doozy. We discussed the author's thesis, the evidence presented, debunked a misconception about Jim Morrison, the CIA, and most importantly Charles Manson! September - Hegemony and Socialist Strategy
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How to Blowup a Pipeline - Movie
For July, instead of reading a book we watched a movie - How to Blowup a Pipeline! We discussed our favorite characters, how those character's motivations worked for us, opsec corner, FBI's portrayal, the trolley problem and much more. Next month, we are back to reading! Upcoming: August - Weird...
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Blood in my Eye
For June, we read Blood in my Eye by George Jackson! We discussed Jackson's historical view and definition of fascism, Frankenstein's monster as capitalism, dogmatism in revolutionary theory and tactics, our favorite passages, and revolutionary violence. Question sources:...
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Jesus and John Wayne: How White Evangelicals Corrupted a Faith and Fractured a Nation
For May, we read Jesus and John Wayne by Kristen Kobes du Mez! We discuss muscular christianity, the tenets of evangelicalism, the myth of the cowboy and John Wayne, evangelicals obsession with sex and being very angry! Questions from…
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Rules for Radicals
For April, we read Rules for Radicals by Saul Alinsky! We discussed some of our misgivings with the tactics Alinksy described, the two people who recommended this book (surprising but at the same time...unsurprising), the categorization of haves and have-nots, means to an end, big tent...
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State and Revolution
For March, we read State and Revolution by Vladimir Lenin! We discussed our history with him, Kautsky, opportunists and what their goals are, how we can/cannot wither away the state, the problem with the dictatorship step and Sonic the hedgehog! Liberation School Questions -...
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The Dawn of Everything Part 2
For the month of February, we finished up (well in the case for Jimmy...) The Dawn of Everything! In this episode we discussed why Angela didn't finish and the elusive chapter 11.5, how we felt the book defined states and other aspects of political power, bird chirping, cheesecake making, and...
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The Dawn of Everything
For the month of January we started The Dawn of Everything by David Graeber and David Wengrow! We discussed our history with pre-history and anthropology, failing of high school history, trying to define freedom, misconceptions of "tribal" life and a side bar about Guns,Germs and Steel. February…
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Revolutionary Suicide
New year, late start but we read in December Revolutionary Suicide by Huey P. Newton! We discussed our very tepid background on the author, Black Panther Party, the concept of revolutionary suicide and reactionary suicide, solitary confinement, cults, and the legacy of Black Panther Party itself....
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Reform or Revolution
For November, we read Reform or Revolution by Rosa Luxemburg! We discussed Bernstein's and Luxemburg's position, just shitting on Bernstein, had a lot of side bars about vanguard parties and revolutions in history, pre-mature revolutions and changing our outro! Resources:...
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Chaos: Charles Manson, the CIA, and the Secret History of the Sixties
For spooky October, we read Chaos: Charles Manson, the CIA, and the Secret History of the Sixties by Tom O'Neill. We discussed changing narratives, our previous knowledge of the time period of the book, what we think is the connection between the CIA and Manson, and remind everyone to not do…
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Braiding Sweetgrass
For September we read Braiding Sweetgrass by Robin Kimmerer. We discussed our initial thoughts and impressions, how the book approached science and spirituality, reciprocity and gift economy, vibing with verbs, and potentially smoking peyote. Discussion questions from:...
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Abolish Silicon Valley
For August, we read Abolish Silicon Valley by Wendy Liu! We discussed our parallels with the author's journey, the naivety of the Cathedral and the Bazaar, we review her steps and how we think they didn't go far enough, and if we would join a start up and more! Wendy Liu on Trash Future -...
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Settlers
For July, we read and discuss Settlers by J. Sakai. We go over our impressions of the book, how this compares to People's History, failure of leftist organizations, J. Sakai's thesis, criticism and how to try to scam our way to a history master's program. We had a guest commentary from Angela's...
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Frequently Asked Questions
How many episodes does Books are Good, Actually have?
Books are Good, Actually currently has 86 episodes available on PodParley. New episodes are automatically indexed when they're published to the podcast feed.
What is Books are Good, Actually about?
A monthly-ish book club podcast! Get a beverage and listen to us ramble about a book!
How often does Books are Good, Actually release new episodes?
Books are Good, Actually has 86 episodes. Check the episode list to see recent publication dates and frequency.
Where can I listen to Books are Good, Actually?
You can listen to Books are Good, Actually on PodParley by clicking any episode. We provide an embedded audio player for direct listening, and you can also subscribe via your preferred podcast app using the RSS feed.
Who hosts Books are Good, Actually?
Books are Good, Actually is created and hosted by Angela and Jimmy.
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