Three Percent Podcast

On this episode, special guest Aryan Omar Hassan talks about Henar Press and their first publications: Gābor by Seyed Qader Hedayati, translated from the Kurdish by Chiya Parvizpur & Hourieh Maleki Qouzloo; I Am Going to Kill Somebody by Firat Ceweri, translated from the Kurdish by Jeannette Okur; and Who’s Afraid of Kurdistan?: An Anthology of Contemporary Plays, edited by Aryan himself. He also discusses the Kurdish Literary Database he built and maintains, along with discussing the element of suppression (of language, of the people) in Kurdish literature and some other common tropes, and makes a number of recommendations.This episode’s music is “Damascus” by Gorillaz.You can subscribe to the Three Percent Podcast at Apple, Spotify, or wherever you get your podcasts.And be sure to follow our sister podcasts: Two Month Review (Apple, Spotify) and Mining the Dalkey Archive (Apple, Spotify) for more book and industry talk! This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit threepercentproblem.substack.com

Arunava Sinha—professor, journalist, translator of over 100 works, including The Laboratory by Rabindranath Tagore—discusses his new venture, Chowringhee Press, his career in translation, the literary scene in India writ large, and provides a list of books to check out if you’re looking for entryways into South Asia’s diverse literary scene (see below). Books published by Chowringhee Press:I Murdered Mine, Subhadra Kumari Chauhan, translated from the Hindi by Sakshi AgarwalPremchand X Ray + Sen, Munshi Premchand aka Dhanpat Rai Shrivastava, translated from the Hindi by Sayari DebnathWriting Death—Ego: A Novel, Rajalekshmi, translated from the Malayalam by Dhiya SonyThe Laboratory, Rabindranath Tagore, translated from the Bengali by Arunava SinhaFinalists for the JCB Prize for Literature:Jasmine Days, Benyamin, translated from the Malayalam by Shahnaz HabibThe One Legged, Sakyajit Bhattacharya, translated from the Bengali by Rituparna MukherjeeImaan, Manoranjan Byapari, translated from the Bengali by Arunava SinhaThe Nemesis, Manoranjan Byapari, translated from the Bengali by V. RamaswamyThere’s Gunpowder in the Air, Manoranjan Byapari, translated from the Bengali by Arunava SinhaMoustache, S. Hareesh, translated from the Malayalam by Jayasree KalathilAnti-Clock, V.J. James, translated from the Malayalam by Ministhy S.The Paradise of Food, Khalid Jawed, translated from the Urdu by Baran FarooqiSong of the Soil, Chuden Kabimo, translated from the Nepali by Ajit BaralSanatan, Sharankumar Limable, translated from the Marathi (via Hindi) by Paromita SenguptaMaria, Just Maria, Sandhya Mary, translated from the Malayalam by Jayasree KalathilDelhi: A Soliloquy, M. Mukundan, translated from the Malayalam by Fathima E.V. & Nandakumar K.Fire Bird, Perumal Murugan, translated from the Tamil by Janani KannanA Lonely Harvest‌, Perumal Murugan, translated from the Tamil by Aniruddhan VasudevanThe Story of a Goat, Perumal Murugan, translated from the Tamil by N. Kalyan RamanTrial by Silence‌, Perumal Murugan, translated from the Tamil by Aniruddhan VasudevanI Named My Sister Silence, Manoj Rupda, translated from the Hindi by Hansda Sowvendra ShekharTomb of Sand, Geetanjali Shree, translated from the Hindi by Daisy Rockwell (also featured on the Two Month Review)Valli, Sheela Tomy, translated from the Malayalam by Jayasree KalathilThis episode’s music is “Looking for a Ghazal” by Sarathy Korwar.You can subscribe to the Three Percent Podcast at Apple, Spotify, or wherever you get your podcasts.And be sure to follow our sister podcasts: Two Month Review (Apple, Spotify) and Mining the Dalkey Archive (Apple, Spotify) for more book and industry talk! This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit threepercentproblem.substack.com

Jeffrey Angles (translator of Godzilla and Godzilla Raids Again and many non-Kaiju related titles) joins Chad and special guest Joanne Bernardi (Writing in Light: The Silent Scenario and the Japanese Pure Film Movement, Provenance and Early Cinema (ed.), Routledge Handbook of Japanese Cinema (ed.), and the multimedia resource, ReEnvisioning Japan) to talk about the recent release of The Luminous Fairies and Mothra by Shin’ichiro Nakamura, Takehiko Fukunaga, and Yoshie Hotta, recently released by University of Minnesota Press. They discuss how this project came about, the relationship between the books and the films, the political ideas evident in Mothra, the gender of Godzilla and Mothra in the original texts, and how Mothra is related to Doctor Doolittle. A very interesting, lively conversation about “monster studies,” translation, and cultural representation from two experts, who are also big Godzilla-verse fans!This episode’s music is “Mothra’s Song.”You can subscribe to the Three Percent Podcast at Apple, Spotify, or wherever you get your podcasts.And be sure to follow our sister podcasts: Two Month Review (Apple, Spotify) and Mining the Dalkey Archive (Apple, Spotify) for more book and industry talk! This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit threepercentproblem.substack.com

On this episode of the Three Percent Podcast, French translator and University of Rochester MALTS grad, Allison Charette, joins Chad to discuss her most recent translation: Return by Raharimanana (Seagull Books). A structurally complex, evocative work about memory, trauma, family, and beauty, Return is also a great introduction to the modern history of Madagascar—a history filled with political upheaval and division. From translation issues and the lack of Malagasy works in English, to comparisons between Raharimanana and António Lobo Antunes, this episode goes deep into a number of issues surrounding the publication and presentation of world literature.This episode’s music is “Window to Your World” by Mammal Hands.You can subscribe to the Three Percent Podcast at Apple, Spotify, or wherever you get your podcasts.And be sure to follow our sister podcasts: Two Month Review (Apple, Spotify) and Mining the Dalkey Archive (Apple, Spotify) for more book and industry talk! This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit threepercentproblem.substack.com

Leif Høghaug (who is currently translating Finnegans Wake into Norwegian) and David M. Smith join Chad and Kyle Semmel to talk about The Calf, one of the strangest books to come out in 2025. They provide curious readers with some guideposts to approaching this book, talk about influences and specific Norwegian dialects, David’s choice to write this in the Appalachian dialect his dad speaks, deciding to “write like an idiot” and enjoy the play and music of language, and much more. If you’re at all curious about this unique book, this episode may well convince you to pick up a copy.This episode’s music is “Idiot Box” by Sharon Van Etten & The Attachment Theory. You can subscribe to the Three Percent Podcast at Apple, Spotify, or wherever you get your podcasts.And be sure to follow our sister podcasts: Two Month Review (Apple, Spotify) and Mining the Dalkey Archive (Apple, Spotify) for more book and industry talk! This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit threepercentproblem.substack.com

George Henson (Pitol’s translator) and Mark Haber (Lesser Ruins, Ada) join Chad to celebrate the recent release in English of the third volume in Sergio Pitol’s “Carnival Triptych,” Married Life. They talk about that book, but also spend a lot of time discussing The Art of Flight and the “Trilogy of Memory,” which propelled Pitol into the global spotlight both when it came out in the original Spanish, and in George’s translation. There’s also talk of translation theory and finding a voice, editing practices and intertextuality, and much more. This episode’s music is “Marriage” by Gold Panda.You can subscribe to the Three Percent Podcast at Apple, Spotify, or wherever you get your podcasts.And be sure to follow our sister podcasts: Two Month Review (Apple, Spotify) and Mining the Dalkey Archive (Apple, Spotify) for more book and industry talk! This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit threepercentproblem.substack.com

Dropping on the same day that Hagfish’s first publication—To Smithereens by Rosalyn Drexler—was named as one of the New York Times’s “100 Notable Books of 2025,” this podcast explores the Hagfish business model with its cofounders, Julia Ringo and Naomi Huffman. They discuss how the press came to be, what draws them to particular titles, the difficulty of distribution, why they’re only doing two titles a year, and much more. The conversation also focuses on their second title, Man Hating Psycho by Iphgenia Baal, a brilliant collection of stories that’s raucous, well-crafted, and, like what Dylan Thomas said about At Swim-Two-Birds, “just the sort of book to give your sister if she’s a loud, dirty, boozy girl!” (It really would make a great holiday present . . . just saying.)This is part of a new thread of Three Percent Podcasts in which an indie press discusses the inner workings of publishing, through the lens of one of their recent publications. This episode on World Editions and The Cracks We Bear by Catalina Infante & Michelle Mirabella was a sort of soft launch for this, and we do have several episodes lined up for the next few months . . . This week’s music is “The Bitter End” from Molly Nilsson.You can subscribe to the Three Percent Podcast at Apple, Spotify, or wherever you get your podcasts.And be sure to follow our sister podcasts: Two Month Review (Apple, Spotify) and Mining the Dalkey Archive (Apple, Spotify) for more book and industry talk! This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit threepercentproblem.substack.com

Christine Swedowsky, the newest publisher of World Editions, and Michelle Mirabella, translator of Catalina Infante’s The Cracks We Bear join Chad to discuss the various eras of World Editions and how an indie press can evolve over time, and a few upcoming titles. The conversation focuses on Mirabella & Infante’s forthcoming novel, discussing how the book is much more than another book about motherhood, the difficulty of translating certain titles for the American market, and how valuable a collaborative experience with your publisher can be. This week’s music is “Burn This Atlas Down (2 of Clubs)” from Hallelujah the Hills.You can subscribe to the Three Percent Podcast at Apple, Spotify, or wherever you get your podcasts.You can also find the Mining the Dalkey Archive podcast at Apple, Spotify, or wherever you get your podcasts, and watch us on YouTube.And be sure to follow our sister podcasts: Two Month Review (Apple, Spotify) and Mining the Dalkey Archive (Apple, Spotify) for more book and industry talk! This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit threepercentproblem.substack.com

Quick Reminder: All Open Letter books either written or translated by women are on sale for 40% off to celebrate Women in Translation Month through August 31st! Shop the whole collection here!Jen Calleja, translator, author, musician, recent PhD recipient, joins Chad to talk about her recent book, Fair: The Life-Art of Translation. They discuss the origins of the book, the various types of “translation” books out there, Fair’s unique structure, the translator as storyteller, Jen’s writing voice, the role performance has played in her life, and much more.Three songs from Calleja on this podcast: “Transmitters” and “The Bridge” open and close the episode, with a bit of “Erase” popping up where appropriate.You can subscribe to the Three Percent Podcast at Apple, Spotify, or wherever you get your podcasts.You can also find the Mining the Dalkey Archive podcast at Apple, Spotify, or wherever you get your podcasts, and watch us on YouTube.And be sure to follow our sister podcasts: Two Month Review (Apple, Spotify) and Mining the Dalkey Archive (Apple, Spotify) for more book and industry talk! This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit threepercentproblem.substack.com

In our ongoing celebration of Women in Translation Month, Chad talked to Suzanne Jill Levine about Unfaithful: A Translator’s Memoir, recently released by Bloomsbury Academic. They discuss her life as a translator who was there during “The Boom” and her work with Manuel Puig (who deserves another rediscovery), Adolfo Bioy Casares (Chad relates his Lost story about The Invention of Morel), Severo Sarduy (Cobra is now available as a Dalkey Essential), G. Cabrera Infante, Emir Rodríguez Monegal, intimacy and translation, and more. This episode’s music is “Lightning” by Arcade Fire, a problematic band for sure, but, given the storm that disrupted this recording, a song that sort of fits. (And isn’t Imagine Dragons.) Also, for the month of August, all Open Letter books either written or translated by women are on sale for 40% off to celebrate Women in Translation Month. Shop the whole collection here!You can subscribe to the Three Percent Podcast at Apple, Spotify, or wherever you get your podcasts.You can also find the Mining the Dalkey Archive podcast at Apple, Spotify, or wherever you get your podcasts, and watch us on YouTube.And be sure to follow our sister podcasts: Two Month Review (Apple, Spotify) and Mining the Dalkey Archive (Apple, Spotify) for more book and industry talk! This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit threepercentproblem.substack.com

On this special 200th episode of the Three Percent Podcast, Tom Roberge—original co-host, former publicist for New Directions, co-founder of Riffraff Books, and current head of residencies at the Jan Michalski Foundation—returns to talk about life in Switzerland, his media diet, Swiss support for culture, how he no longer follows the Mets very closely, and much more. A number of books and authors are mentioned on the podcast, but special attention should be drawn to After 8 Books and A Forest Petrifies: Diamond Feedback by Félicia Atkinson.This episode’s music is “Box Elder” by Pavement.Also, for the month of August, all Open Letter books either written or translated by women are on sale for 40% off to celebrate Women in Translation Month. Shop the whole collection here!You can subscribe to the Three Percent Podcast at Apple, Spotify, or wherever you get your podcasts.You can also find the Mining the Dalkey Archive podcast at Apple, Spotify, or wherever you get your podcasts, and watch us on YouTube.And be sure to follow our sister podcasts: Two Month Review (Apple, Spotify) and Mining the Dalkey Archive (Apple, Spotify) for more book and industry talk! This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit threepercentproblem.substack.com

On this episode, Blake Butler (Molly, Void Corporation, Uxa.Gov, the Dividual Substack) joins Chad to discuss his recent piece, “What I Want In an Ideal Publisher.” They discuss various disconnects in publishing, what makes a great indie publisher, the possibility of doing things in a new way, financial transparency and editorial vision, and much more. Intro and outro music is “Couldn’t Get Ahead” by The Fall.Also, for the month of August, all Open Letter books either written or translated by women are on sale for 40% off to celebrate Women in Translation Month. Shop the whole collection here!You can subscribe to the Three Percent Podcast at Apple, Spotify, or wherever you get your podcasts.You can also find Mining the Dalkey Archive podcast at Apple, Spotify, or wherever you get your podcasts, and watch us on YouTube.And be sure to follow our sister podcasts: Two Month Review (Apple, Spotify) and Mining the Dalkey Archive (Apple, Spotify) for more book and industry talk! This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit threepercentproblem.substack.com

In this episode, Tom Comitta (The Nature Book, Patchwork) joins Chad to talk about their book(s) People’s Choice Literature: The Most Wanted and Unwanted Novels, for which they used survey results, The Bestseller Code, various best-selling novels, and the OpenAI Playground to write two very entertaining novels: one using everything people want in a book, the other doing the exact opposite. The result is a wildly compelling reading experience that opens up ideas about aesthetics, readerly desires, the future of “collage literature,” and, naturally, a little bit of baseball talk.You may want to watch this episode on YouTube, since there are graphs, charts, data, and other images that Comitta refers to in explaining their process.The music on this episode is “The Most Wanted Song” and “The Most Unwanted Song.” (The latter of which is far far far more interesting!)You can subscribe to the Three Percent Podcast at Apple, Spotify, or wherever you get your podcasts.You can also find Mining the Dalkey Archive podcast at Apple, Spotify, or wherever you get your podcasts, and watch us on YouTube.And be sure to follow our sister podcasts: Two Month Review (Apple, Spotify) and Mining the Dalkey Archive (Apple, Spotify) for more book and industry talk! This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit threepercentproblem.substack.com

In the final entry in this series of podcasts on the NEA (for now . . . there may be a return to industry-based Three Percent episodes in the near future), Chad welcomes Hilary Plum (Cleveland State University Poetry Center, Rescue Press, author of State Champ) and Lissie Jaquette (executive director of Words Without Borders, translator from the Arabic of Minor Detail, Thirteen Months of Sunrise, The Queue, among others) to discuss the way in which nonprofit literary presses distinguish themselves from their for-profit counterparts, and what makes a convincing narrative to attract public and private funding. Specifically: what value can a nonprofit press provide to culture that goes beyond the transactional nature of producing and selling books?Part One of this series is available here and is a scripted presentation on the history of the NEA and various attacks it has suffered over the years. (Possibly the most professional Three Percent Podcast episode ever?) And Part Two is a conversation with three literary organizations and presses about the immediate impact of these lost grants.The music for these NEA episodes is the Matmos version of “Stars and Stripes Forever,” which deconstructs John Philip Sousa’s patriotic march.If you want to support Open Letter’s publications and all related activities—such as this podcast, reading tours, etc.—consider contributing to Deep Vellum Publishing, the nonprofit organization subsidizing and supporting OL’s operations.You can subscribe to the Three Percent Podcast at Apple, Spotify, or wherever you get your podcasts.Mining the Dalkey Archive podcast at Apple, Spotify, or wherever you get your podcasts, and watch us on YouTube.And be sure to follow our sister podcasts: Two Month Review (Apple, Spotify) and Mining the Dalkey Archive (Apple, Spotify) for more book and industry talk! This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit threepercentproblem.substack.com

Our series on the National Endowment for the Arts continues by talking with three organizations and publishers about both the specific impact of the May 2nd “termination/withdrawal” emails, and the broader impact the shuttering of the NEA could have on the literary arts in the long term. Featured on this episode are: Michael Holtmann of the Center for the Art of Translation, Adam Levy of Transit Books, and, Mary Gannon of the Community for Literary Magazines and Presses.Part One of this series is available here and is a scripted presentation on the history of the NEA and various attacks it has suffered over the years. (Possibly the most professional Three Percent Podcast episode ever?) The music for both these episodes is the Matmos version of “Stars and Stripes Forever,” which deconstructs John Philip Sousa’s patriotic march.If you want to support Open Letter’s publications and all related activities—such as this podcast, reading tours, etc.—consider contributing to Deep Vellum Publishing, the nonprofit organization subsidizing and supporting OL’s operations.You can subscribe to the Three Percent Podcast at Apple, Spotify, or wherever you get your podcasts.Mining the Dalkey Archive podcast at Apple, Spotify, or wherever you get your podcasts, and watch us on YouTube.And be sure to follow our sister podcasts: Two Month Review (Apple, Spotify) and Mining the Dalkey Archive (Apple, Spotify) for more book and industry talk! This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit threepercentproblem.substack.com

This is part one of a two part series (for now) on the National Endowment for the Arts and the, by now, much reported on letters that NEA grantees received on May 2nd, 2025 terminating or withdrawing their approved funding. In this scripted episode, Chad goes over much of the history of the founding of the NEA, its core mission, the “Culture Wars” in the 1990s, trying to articulate how things are different today, and essentially providing a primer on what the NEA is, what nonprofit publishing is, and what the termination of this funds and possible dissolution of the agency might mean. Again, and for the first time, this is a scripted podcast loaded with information for anyone curious about this particular government organization—much more professional than the usual episode. That said, he’s joined by Kaija Straumanis (The River, High Tide), Tom Flynn (Paratext Publicity), and Brian Wood (Joytime Killbox) to comment on this history and reflect on where we are now with arts in America.Stay tuned for part two, which will be a conversation with three organizations impacted by this letters and how this will impact both their orgs—and the field of literary as a whole.The music for these episodes is the Matmos version of “Stars and Stripes Forever,” which deconstructs John Philip Sousa’s patriotic march.If you want to support Open Letter’s publications and all related activities—such as this podcast, reading tours, etc.—consider contributing to Deep Vellum Publishing, the nonprofit organization subsidizing OL’s operations. You can subscribe to the Three Percent Podcast at Apple, Spotify, or wherever you get your podcasts. Mining the Dalkey Archive podcast at Apple, Spotify, or wherever you get your podcasts, and watch us on YouTube.And be sure to follow our sister podcasts: Two Month Review (Apple, Spotify) and Mining the Dalkey Archive (Apple, Spotify) for more book and industry talk! This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit threepercentproblem.substack.com

As a special episode of the Three Percent Podcast, Kaija Straumanis (curator of the Latvian Triptych, translator of The River by Laura Vinogradova) discussed language, literature, art, life, and guilt with the two other translators who contributed to the triptych: Ian Gwin, who translated Berlin by Andris Kuprišs, and Uldis Balodis, who did Birthday by Jana Egle. It’s a fun, illuminating conversation, and one that will hopefully inspire you to read these Latvian books or, you never know, learn some Latvian?The music on this episode is “Visi gali ūdenī” by Jana Egle.If you don’t already subscribe to the Three Percent Podcast you can find us on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, and wherever you get your podcasts. And follow Open Letter and Chad W. Post on Bluesky for more info about upcoming episodes and guests. This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit threepercentproblem.substack.com

Every spring, I teach a “World Literature & Translation” class in which I select 10 translations from 10 languages and 10 different translators—most of which I also haven’t read (but which have been on my “to read” shelves)—and force my students to choose one to receive the “Best Translated Book of the Class” prize.And every spring, I want to share our excitement about these various titles, either in the form of interviews with the translators, or by writing something about them. So, over the next few months, I’ll do my best to promote each of these titles—and, when the time comes, let you know which one the class selected to be the winner. A full list of the included titles is below (and yes, I know there are 11, with one overlap language, but we’ve all got to swerve sometimes, right?) and if you’d like to debate which books you loved or disliked, which ones deserve more attention, praise, and, possible, the class prize, please check out the Substack chat, which can serve as a sort of forum for all of these posts and podcasts.Today’s guest is Emyr Wallace Humphreys, who started his translation career working from Brazilian Portuguese before returning to his native tongue, Welsh, to translate one of the most interesting works of Welsh science-fiction ever written. The Last Day came out in 1976 and predicts a future in which human beings give themselves over to a sort of AI computer . . .On this podcast—recorded with my class at the University of Rochester—we talk about the novel, Emyr’s journey as a translator, Welsh literature as a whole, working from a “small” language, Welsh music (shouts to Gwenno and Los Campesinos!), and much more. The music on this episode is “Y Dydd Olaf” by Gwenno.If you don’t already subscribe to the Three Percent Podcast you can find us on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, and wherever you get your podcasts. And follow Open Letter and Chad W. Post on Bluesky for more info about upcoming episodes and guests. This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit threepercentproblem.substack.com

In the penultimate episode of this season, there’s a lot of talk about Melville’s relationship with Nathaniel Hawthorne as we get more of Melville’s life as he bounces through time, writes Moby-Dick and the creation of “its own kind of reader: an inexhaustible reader. A reader that didn’t yet exist . . .” The "Grifters Gonna Grift" t-shirt is still available and still sexy. Next episode will be next week at the regularly scheduled time and will cover the end of Rodrigo Fresán's Melvill. You can find the full reading schedule here. This week's music is "Vertigo" by FM Belfast. You can find all previous seasons of TMR on our YouTube channel and on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, etc. Please rate and review! It helps more than you know. Follow Open Letter, Two Month Review, Chad Post, Kaija Straumanis, and Brian Wood for random thoughts and information about upcoming guests.   This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit threepercentproblem.substack.com

[Note: If you subscribe on Apple Podcasts, please resubscribe to this feed. And this one if you listen on Spotify. The others will be going away in the near future.] On the final episode of 2024, Chad, Brian, and Kaija talk about Nico C. and being unmoored from time, last words, footnotes and ellipses, some highlights from the past year, ice, and more. The "Grifters Gonna Grift" t-shirt is still available and still sexy. Next episode will be next week at the regularly scheduled time and will cover pages 189-245 of Rodrigo Fresán's Melvill. You can find the full reading schedule here. This week's music is "Water" by Ra Ra Riot. You can find all previous seasons of TMR on our YouTube channel and on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, etc. Please rate and review! It helps more than you know. Follow Open Letter, Two Month Review, Chad Post, Kaija Straumanis, and Brian Wood for random thoughts and information about upcoming guests. This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit threepercentproblem.substack.com

[Note: If you subscribe on Apple Podcasts, please subscribe to this feed.] Lori Feathers (Across the Pond podcast, Involutions of the Seashell, Interabang Books, and Republic of Consciousness Prize USA) joins Chad and Kaija to talk about prizes—Melvill is longlisted for the NBCC Greg Barrios Prize for Translated Literature!—the narrative structure of Melvill, Nico C., and vampires. A lot of fun is had along the way. The "Grifters Gonna Grift" t-shirt is still available and still sexy. Next episode will be in TWO WEEKS and will cover pages 123-188 of Rodrigo Fresán's Melvill. You can find the full reading schedule here. This week's music is "WHALE" by Yellow Ostrich. You can find all previous seasons of TMR on our YouTube channel and on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, etc. Please rate and review! It helps more than you know. Follow Open Letter, Two Month Review, Chad Post, Kaija Straumanis, and Brian Wood for random thoughts and information about upcoming guests. The large image associated with this post is AI generated. This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit threepercentproblem.substack.com

[Note: If you subscribe on Apple Podcasts, please resubscribe to this feed. The other one will be going away in the near future.] With Melville's Fidèle receding into the dark distance, we turn our attention to Rodrigo Fresán's Melvill, a bombastic book about Alan Melvill and Herman and the passing down of stories from one generation to the next. On this special episode, translator Will Vanderhyden joins Brian, Chad, and Kaija to talk about translating Fresán, about the style and word play found in his books, about the footnotes, about what's to come. They also talk about the line connecting this to Confidence-Man, and how to read footnotes. And about the interplay between two narratorial voices in this first part. Also mentioned are this interview with Fresán on Between the Covers, this one with Will Vanderhyden on Beyond the Zero, and this new Fresán story ("Music to Destroy Worlds" (An Exoeriment)") in Southwest Review.  And here's where you can get your own "Grifters Gonna Grift" t-shirt mentioned in this episode. Next episode will cover pages 62-123 of Rodrigo Fresán's Melvill. You can find the full reading schedule here. This week's music is "Sink or Swim" by Young Fathers. You can find all previous seasons of TMR on our YouTube channel and on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, etc. Please rate and review! It helps more than you know. Follow Open Letter, Two Month Review, Chad Post, Kaija Straumanis, and Brian Wood for random thoughts and information about upcoming guests. This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit threepercentproblem.substack.com

[Note: If you subscribe on Apple Podcasts, please resubscribe to this feed. The other one will be going away in the near future.] Chad, Brian, and Kaija venture into the darkness and turn off the light on Melville's The Confidence-Man: His Masquerade, one of the oddest, most slippery books to be included in the Two Month Review. They talk about transcendentalism, self-reliance, Melville's interludes, Jean Giono's Melville, and more.  And here's the "Grifters Gonna Grift" t-shirt mentioned in this episode. Next episode will cover pages 1-61 of Rodrigo Fresán's Melvill. You can find the full reading schedule here. This week's music is "The System Only Dreams in Total Darkness" by The National.  You can find all previous seasons of TMR on our YouTube channel and on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, etc. Please rate and review! It helps more than you know. Follow Open Letter, Two Month Review, Chad Post, Kaija Straumanis, and Brian Wood for random thoughts and information about upcoming guests.   This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit threepercentproblem.substack.com

[Note: If you subscribe on Apple Podcasts, please resubscribe to this feed. The other one will be going away in the near future.] Opening with a couple of rants, this week's podcast is spicy and also tries to make sense of a few of the more perplexing parts of the book. There's a wonderful interlude in this section from the narrator themselves, and, apparently, nine jokes? And a magic trick involving coins. You'll have to listen to understand. And here's the "Grifters Gonna Grift" t-shirt mentioned in this episode. This week's music is "Jealousy" by Phantogram. Next episode will cover all of of The Confidence-Man. You can find the full reading schedule here. You can find all previous seasons of TMR on our YouTube channel and on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, etc. Please rate and review! It helps more than you know. Follow Open Letter, Two Month Review, Chad Post, Kaija Straumanis, and Brian Wood for random thoughts and information about upcoming guests.   This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit threepercentproblem.substack.com

[Note: If you subscribe on Apple Podcasts, please resubscribe to this feed. The other one will be going away in the near future.] "Grifters Gonna Grift" merchandise coming soon! This episode exposes just how useful footnotes can be as we transition from dusk to darkness, with the confidence-men being replaced by the Cosmopolitan. Under Discussion: The WWE, how nothing ever changes, the New Adam, land ownership, stripping people of their "humanity," cognative fallacies, peace pipes, and more. This week's music is "The Ballad of the Costa Concordia" by Car Seat Headrest. Next episode will cover Chapters 27-38 of The Confidence-Man. You can find the full reading schedule here. You can find all previous seasons of TMR on our YouTube channel and on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, etc. Please rate and review! It helps more than you know. Follow Open Letter, Two Month Review, Chad Post, Kaija Straumanis, and Brian Wood for random thoughts and information about upcoming guests.     This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit threepercentproblem.substack.com

[Note: If you subscribe on Apple Podcasts, please resubscribe to this feed. The other one will be going away in the near future.] Chad and Kaija go it alone this week, talking about some of the more uncomfortable parts of the book to read in 2024, the Goneril story and the "evil touch," how almost every beat in this novel has a counterpart, the wonderful authorial intrusion discussing the "consistency" of characters, and, with glee in their hearts, the Herb-Doctor. This week's music is "Is This What I Have Missed?" by Jerome Blazé. Next episode will cover Chapters 20-26 of The Confidence-Man. You can find the full reading schedule here. You can find all previous seasons of TMR on our YouTube channel and on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, etc. Please rate and review! It helps more than you know. Follow Open Letter, Two Month Review, Chad Post, Kaija Straumanis, and Brian Wood for random thoughts and information about upcoming guests. This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit threepercentproblem.substack.com

Not the happiest day in which to record a podcast, but Chad, Brian, and Kaija speak their fears and then dive into Melville's Confidence-Man, talking about grifters, the value of footnotes, and just how modern and amazing Melville's prose is. They guess at who the "confidence man" might be, the burnt over district of western New York, Mormons, and a lot more. This week's music is "All Bets Are Off" by Japandroids. Next episode will cover Chapters 10-19 of The Confidence-Man. You can find the full reading schedule here. You can find all previous seasons of TMR on our YouTube channel and on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, etc. Please rate and review! It helps more than you know. Follow Open Letter, Two Month Review, Chad Post, Kaija Straumanis, and Brian Wood for random thoughts and information about upcoming guests. This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit threepercentproblem.substack.com

After referencing Joytime Killbox on hundreds of TMR episodes, we finally break it down with the author himself! Conversation includes ideas about short stories and how they function, the nature of endings, and how Brian has grown as a writer since this collection first came out, while also examining the intent behind a number of the stories, and how they work. This week's music is "All My Friends" by Broken Social Scene. You can find all previous seasons of TMR on our YouTube channel and on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, etc. Please rate and review! It helps more than you know. Starting next week we'll kick of Season 24, which will include both Confidence-Man by Hermann Melville and then Melvill by Rodrigo Fresán. Full reading schedule available here. Follow Open Letter, Two Month Review, Chad W. Post, Kaija Straumanis, and Brian Wood for random thoughts and information about upcoming guests. This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit threepercentproblem.substack.com

This week, Lori Feathers joins Chad to talk about "Involutions of the Seashell," a Substack project dedicated to reading and talking about Marguerite Young's Miss MacIntosh, My Darling. They discuss the nature of the Substack, anecdotes about Young, how to get people engaged with such an intimidating work, reading fast and slow, and much more. You can also hear more from Lori on the "Across the Pond" podcast (Apple, Spotify). The music on this episode is "Circles" by Colourmusic. If you don’t already subscribe to the Three Percent Podcast you can find us on iTunes, Spotify, and other places. And follow Open Letter and Chad W. Post on Twitter/X for more info about upcoming episodes and guests. This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit threepercentproblem.substack.com

On the first ever one-off episode of the Two Month Review, Chad breaks down Virginie Despentes's Dear Dickhead for Kaija and Brian, a novel about . . . well, just listen. (It'll be more fun if you don't know what's coming.) This new format really digs into the book in a way that you can't in (to quote Zoé Katana) "lamestream media," and, simply put, rocks. This week's music is "Cannonball" by Grouplove. You can find all previous seasons of TMR on our YouTube channel and you can support us at Patreon and get bonus content before anyone else, along with other rewards, the opportunity to easily communicate with the hosts, etc. And please subscribe and rate us on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or wherever you get your podcasts. In two weeks, we'll be back with a singular podcast on Joytime Killbox, and then in November-December, we'll be talking about Confidence-Man by Hermann Melville and Melvill by Rodrigo Fresán. Follow Open Letter, Two Month Review, Chad Post, Kaija Straumanis, and Brian Wood for random thoughts and information about upcoming guests. This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit threepercentproblem.substack.com

Today's episode features Mark Haber talking about his brand new novel, Lesser Ruins, his influence, the Bernhard thing, going from bookselling to publishing, and much more. It's a fun conversation that goes deep into the book, but also explains the publishing landscape to some degree—in part because this conversation was recorded as part of Chad's "Intro to Literary Publishing" class.  Couple other notes about this episode: In addition to Lesser Ruins, Mark talks about Melvill by Rodrigo Fresán, and True Failure by Alex Higley. And for anyone who'd like to listen to "Marcel's Mix" while reading Lesser Ruins, you can find it here. The music on this episode is "Momma, It's a Long Journey" by Felipe Gordon. (Also found on Marcel's Mix.) If you don’t already subscribe to the Three Percent Podcast you can find us on iTunes, Spotify, and other places. And follow Open Letter and Chad W. Post on Twitter/X for more info about upcoming episodes and guests. This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit threepercentproblem.substack.com

On this week's podcast, Kyle Semmel—translator from the Danish and author of Book of Losman—discusses his debut novel, life as a translator, articles he wrote on Tourette's Syndrome and Author-Transaltors, how he tried to promote his book with Justin Murphy (Your Children Are Very Greatly in Danger) and Chad W. Post.  The music on this episode is "Wav" by Rich Aucoin. (Would've chosen a Bob Dylan song in Kyle's honor, but not after he told me how much Dylan's people wanted to charge him for using a line or two as an epigraph. I can not afford a lawsuit.) If you don’t already subscribe to the Three Percent Podcast you can find us on iTunes, Spotify, and other places. And follow Open Letter and Chad W. Post on Twitter/X for more info about upcoming episodes and guests. This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit threepercentproblem.substack.com

In this special edition of the podcast, Chad talks with Pilar Adón about the forthcoming Of Beasts and Fowls (translated by Katie Whittemore), her general writing life, two movies he thought she might have seen that resonate with the book (spoiler: she's never heard of either), her publishing company Editorial Impedimenta, and more!  As a special promo for Three Percent Podcast fans, use the code PILAR at check out and get 20% off Of Beasts and Fowls.  The music on this episode is "Choreomania" by Florence + The Machine. If you don’t already subscribe to the Three Percent Podcast you can find us on iTunes, Spotify, and other places. And follow Open Letter and Chad W. Post on Twitter/X for more info about upcoming episodes and guests. This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit threepercentproblem.substack.com

It all gets wrapped up with a "Catastrophe,." "Explanation," an "End," and a "Tailpiece." Chad, Brian, and Kaija discuss global capitalism, the fight for love and the be human, AI, the Bardo, and much more on this final episode of Season 23. Listen to the end for an announcement about changes to the podcast and what to look for going forward! This week's music is "When I Was Dying" by Dan Deacon. You can find all previous seasons of TMR on our YouTube channel and you can support us at Patreon and get bonus content before anyone else, along with other rewards, the opportunity to easily communicate with the hosts, etc. And please subcribe and rate us on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or wherever you get your podcasts. Tune in next week for more banter and analysis live on YouTube. Stay tuned for announcements about forthcoming episodes! Follow Open Letter, Two Month Review, Chad Post, Kaija Straumanis, and Brian Wood for random thoughts and information about upcoming guests. This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit threepercentproblem.substack.com

From the Olympics to the most meta moment of the whole of Lanark, this week's podcast has you covered! Brian, Chad, and Kaija banter about divorce, plagiarisms versus influences, and how to read this book as a whole. There are a ton of amazing lines throughout this section of the novel, making this one of the most fun episodes of the season. This week's music is "Entropy" by El Ten Eleven. You can find all previous seasons of TMR on our YouTube channel and you can support us at Patreon and get bonus content before anyone else, along with other rewards, the opportunity to easily communicate with the hosts, etc. And please subcribe and rate us on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or wherever you get your podcasts. Tune in next week for more banter and analysis live on YouTube where we will be discussing the last section of Lanark by Alasdair Gray. Follow Open Letter, Two Month Review, Chad Post, Kaija Straumanis, and Brian Wood for random thoughts and information about upcoming guests. This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit threepercentproblem.substack.com

The reviews were right: Once you hit page 410, the Unthank sections of Lanark snap into place. Chad, Brian, and Kaija discuss that, capitalism, how terrible advertisements are, jobs, J.D. Vance and his proclivities, politics, unintended consequences, and how Deadpool & Wolverine is the Kamala Harris of film. This week's music is "Hollywood" by Car Seat Headrest. You can find all previous seasons of TMR on our YouTube channel and you can support us at Patreon and get bonus content before anyone else, along with other rewards, the opportunity to easily communicate with the hosts, etc. And please subcribe and rate us on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or wherever you get your podcasts. Tune in next week for more banter and analysis live on YouTube where we will be discussing pages 455-518 of Lanark by Alasdair Gray. Follow Open Letter, Two Month Review, Chad Post, Kaija Straumanis, and Brian Wood for random thoughts and information about upcoming guests. This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit threepercentproblem.substack.com

If you want to send Chad through the roof, simple crap on his conceptual publishing project five years in the making . . . To that end, everyone reading this should preorder Attila by Javier Serena and Attila by Aliocha Coll and prove our distributor wrong. And then, after you do that, listen to this discussion about art and audience, the frontispiece for Book 4 of Lanark, parallax views expressed in the novel, the pull (or non-pull) of the Unthank sections, and much more. This week's music is "I Touch" by Jockstrap. You can find all previous seasons of TMR on our YouTube channel and you can support us at Patreon and get bonus content before anyone else, along with other rewards, the opportunity to easily communicate with the hosts, etc. And please subcribe and rate us on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or wherever you get your podcasts. Tune in next week for more banter and analysis live on YouTube where we will be discussing pages 398-454 of Lanark by Alasdair Gray. Follow Open Letter, Two Month Review, Chad Post, Kaija Straumanis, and Brian Wood for random thoughts and information about upcoming guests.   This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit threepercentproblem.substack.com

Duncan Thaw feels like he's on the brink in this week's episode which includes conversations about incels, kind fathers, painting and art, perfection and Aliocha Coll, and much more. This week's music is "Here's Your Future" by The Thermals. You can find all previous seasons of TMR on our YouTube channel and you can support us at Patreon and get bonus content before anyone else, along with other rewards, the opportunity to easily communicate with the hosts, etc. And please subcribe and rate us on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or wherever you get your podcasts. Tune in next week for more banter and analysis live on YouTube where we will be discussing pages 335-397 of Lanark by Alasdair Gray. Follow Open Letter, Two Month Review, Chad Post, Kaija Straumanis, and Brian Wood for random thoughts and information about upcoming guests. This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit threepercentproblem.substack.com

Chad and Brian break down the loss of Duncan Thaw's mother, his entrance into art school, his reasons for creating art, religious imagery throughout the book, fathers who are better than Bandit, mispronounciations, the "engine" that drive the two distinct parts of this novel, and much more. This week's music is "It's All Gonna Break" by Broken Social Scene. You can find all previous seasons of TMR on our YouTube channel and you can support us at Patreon and get bonus content before anyone else, along with other rewards, the opportunity to easily communicate with the hosts, etc. And please subcribe and rate us on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or wherever you get your podcasts. Tune in next week for more banter and analysis live on YouTube where we will be discussing pages 268-334 of Lanark by Alasdair Gray. Follow Open Letter, Two Month Review, Chad Post, Kaija Straumanis, and Brian Wood for random thoughts and information about upcoming guests. All our large images are AI generated. This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit threepercentproblem.substack.com

Come for the book discussion, stay for Thaw's unproven remedies for asthma! One of the most fun, and conventional, sections of the book so far, Chad, Kaija, and Brian follow Duncan Thaw through his childhood, discussing his reasonable dad, why math sucks, school journals, and a tinge of sinister violence that might presage things to come. This week's music is "Isimo" by Bleachers. You can find all previous seasons of TMR on our YouTube channel and you can support us at Patreon and get bonus content before anyone else, along with other rewards, the opportunity to easily communicate with the hosts, etc. And please subcribe and rate us on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or wherever you get your podcasts. Tune in next week for more banter and analysis live on YouTube where we will be discussing pages 71-129 of Lanark by Alasdair Gray. Follow Open Letter, Two Month Review, Chad Post, Kaija Straumanis, and Brian Wood for random thoughts and information about upcoming guests. This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit threepercentproblem.substack.com

As mentioned from the top, we had severe technical difficulties, so the sound quality on this is janky. (Mostly Chad's voice is quiet, which, for many, is likely to be a relief.) Nevertheless Chad and Kaija power on, talking about "The Institute" as a metaphor, the allusions to Duncan Thaw, dragons, dragon scales as metaphor, the prologue and stories within stories, and then the opening "quest" of "Book One."  This week's music is "Holy Moly" by Young Fathers.  You can find all previous seasons of TMR on our YouTube channel and you can support us at Patreon and get bonus content before anyone else, along with other rewards, the opportunity to easily communicate with the hosts, etc. And please subcribe and rate us on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or wherever you get your podcasts. Tune in next week for more banter and analysis live on YouTube where we will be discussing pages 130-189 of Lanark by Alasdair Gray. Follow Open Letter, Two Month Review, Chad Post, Kaija Straumanis, and Brian Wood for random thoughts and information about upcoming guests. This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit threepercentproblem.substack.com

Mostly a set-up episode about Alasdair Gray and Lanark, in which Chad, Kaija, and Brian discuss the introduction (weird), the start of the novel (which opens with "Book 3"), the influence of Dante's Divine Comedy and Kafka, and much more. There are some good laughs, a bit of insight into where we are, all building toward next week's episode, which will finish Book Three, cover the Prologue, and start Book One. You can find all previous seasons of TMR on our YouTube channel and you can support us at Patreon and get bonus content before anyone else, along with other rewards, the opportunity to easily communicate with the hosts, etc. And please subcribe and rate us on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or wherever you get your podcasts. Tune in next week for more banter and analysis live on YouTube where we will be discussing pages 71-129 of Lanark by Alasdair Gray. Follow Open Letter, Two Month Review, Chad Post, Kaija Straumanis, and Brian Wood for random thoughts and information about upcoming guests. This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit threepercentproblem.substack.com

Praiseworthy ends with some praise, a bit of exhaustion, questions about satire and the ending, and a dirty phrase Chad can't quit competing. Then there's the TMR Class Draft in which Chad, Kaija, and Brian each selected five previous TMR titles to create imaginary classes: "Dismal Lady Stuff," "Let the Bodies Hit the Floor," and "Laying Brick." Now it's up to you to choose which class "wins." Fill out this survey and we'll analyze the results in June when we return for Season 23, Lanark by Alasdair Gray. This week's music is "One Milkali (One Blood)" from Electric Fields, Australia's entrant in Eurovision 2024. (How is Australia part of Eurovision? Who knows!) You can find all previous seasons of TMR on our YouTube channel and you can support us at Patreon and get bonus content before anyone else, along with other rewards, the opportunity to easily communicate with the hosts, etc. And please subcribe and rate us on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or wherever you get your podcasts. Tune in in June for more banter and analysis live on YouTube where we will be discussing Lanark by Alasdair Gray. Follow Open Letter, Two Month Review, Chad Post, Kaija Straumanis, and Brian Wood for random thoughts and information about upcoming guests.   This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit threepercentproblem.substack.com

Like a first time marathon runner, Chad, Brian, and Kaija are losing steam this season, but persist in talking about the book and their mixed feelings. They do learn some things about donkeys and mules though! And they set up next week's game: each co-host will draft five books from the twenty-two seasons of the podcast which would constitute a reading list (and listening list) for a college class. Then, y'all get to vote on which class you'd be most excited to take. Tune in live next week—it's going to be wild. This week's music is "B.I.N.G.O. (Sound System Remix)" from Australia's worst gift to the world—The Wiggles! You can find all previous seasons of TMR on our YouTube channel and you can support us at Patreon and get bonus content before anyone else, along with other rewards, the opportunity to easily communicate with the hosts, etc. And please subcribe and rate us on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or wherever you get your podcasts. Tune in next week for more banter and analysis live on YouTube where we will finish this book. Follow Open Letter, Two Month Review, Chad Post, Kaija Straumanis, and Brian Wood for random thoughts and information about upcoming guests.   This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit threepercentproblem.substack.com

Little discussion of Priaseworthy in this episode. Instead there's a longer discussion about publishing, art, sales, how do these books get made?, favorite lines, future games, and much more. It's a 20,000 foot view of book culture with an emphasis on success, investment, and more. Enjoy! This week's music is "Pedestrian at Best" from Aussie musical savant Courtney Barnett. You can find all previous seasons of TMR on our YouTube channel and you can support us at Patreon and get bonus content before anyone else, along with other rewards, the opportunity to easily communicate with the hosts, etc. And please subcribe and rate us on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or wherever you get your podcasts. Tune in next week for more banter and analysis live on YouTube where we will be covering pages 526-591. (Up to "Holy Donkey Business.") Follow Open Letter, Two Month Review, Chad Post, Kaija Straumanis, and Brian Wood for random thoughts and information about upcoming guests. This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit threepercentproblem.substack.com

Talk of Australian cartoons—and not just Bluey—morphs into a look at several specific passages in Wright's Praiseworthy, discussion what makes the book "difficult" to read, the style of humor, what pushes us away from the text and then re-grabs out attention, and much more. This week's music is "Frontier Psychiatrist" from The Avalanches. You can find all previous seasons of TMR on our YouTube channel and you can support us at Patreon and get bonus content before anyone else, along with other rewards, the opportunity to easily communicate with the hosts, etc. And please subcribe and rate us on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or wherever you get your podcasts. Tune in next week for more banter and analysis live on YouTube where we will be covering pages 463-525. (Up to chapter 5 in "Cargo Shifter.") Follow Open Letter, Two Month Review, Chad Post, Kaija Straumanis, and Brian Wood for random thoughts and information about upcoming guests. This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit threepercentproblem.substack.com

Chad and Kaija make up this week's panel as they play the "Slang Game," then discuss the elliptical meta-structure of the book and how this impacts their reading and the book's effectiveness. They also discuss Sam Rutter's New York Times review of the novel, addressing the difficulties of discussing the workings of the text itself given the burden of having to contextualize so much for a foreign audience. This week's music is "Under the Milky Way" from The Church, one of Australia's most widely known bands. You can find all previous seasons of TMR on our YouTube channel and you can support us at Patreon and get bonus content before anyone else, along with other rewards, the opportunity to easily communicate with the hosts, etc. And please subcribe and rate us on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or wherever you get your podcasts. Tune in next week for more banter and analysis live on YouTube where we will be covering pages 400-463. (Up to chapter 12 in "Sitting in the Bones.") Follow Open Letter, Two Month Review, Chad Post, Kaija Straumanis, and Brian Wood for random thoughts and information about upcoming guests. This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit threepercentproblem.substack.com

"Who's Stronger?" is the game of the week in this episode about the Maximum Superhero Cop-God's arrival in Praiseworthy to quell the frantic search for Aboriginal Sovereignty. There are lots of moths, discussion about acknowledging the land which we occupy as a good first step, and more about the difficult reality of life in this part of the country even without government interventions. This week's music is "Punching in a Dream" from the New Zealand band The Naked and Famous. (I thought they were Australian!) And if you want to see the Norm Macdonald bit, you can find it here. You can find all previous seasons of TMR on our YouTube channel and you can support us at Patreon and get bonus content before anyone else, along with other rewards, the opportunity to easily communicate with the hosts, etc. And please subcribe and rate us on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or wherever you get your podcasts. Tune in next week for more banter and analysis live on YouTube where we will be covering pages 265-336. Follow Open Letter, Two Month Review, Chad Post, and Brian Wood for random thoughts and information about upcoming guests. This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit threepercentproblem.substack.com

Emmett Stinson (Murnane) joins Chad W. Post and Kaija Straumanis this week to educate us about Australian culture and literature and things we should keep in mind while reading Praiseworthy. He also participates in a round of the world-famous trivia game: "Australian Baseball Player or Indigenous Australian Writer?" There is, of course, Bluey talk and cuck jokes, along with analysis of the end of "The Censer." This week's music is "Pinball Lez," the original intro music to Bluey, by Custard, fronted by David McCormack who you might know as the voice of Bandit. For more of Emmett, check out this episode of Beyond the Zero. If you want to see a truly horrible "Australian influenced" recipe from someone whose Instagram might be a cry for help, click here. You can find all previous seasons of TMR on our YouTube channel and you can support us at Patreon and get bonus content before anyone else, along with other rewards, the opportunity to easily communicate with the hosts, etc. And please subcribe and rate us on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or wherever you get your podcasts. Tune in next week for more banter and analysis live on YouTube where we will be covering pages 265-336. Follow Open Letter, Two Month Review, Chad Post, and Brian Wood for random thoughts and information about upcoming guests. This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit threepercentproblem.substack.com

This episode could be titled, "Dead Bodies in Water," as Chad and Brian talk about the unfortunate situation in Rochester and the juxtaposition of Absolute Sovereignity trying to drown himself while his brother, Tommyhawk!, watches, doing nothing to save him. There's also more talk about Bluey, but also the tone of the book, the nature of the life challenges Tommyhawk! and First Nations children face, his perceptions and the influence of media on that, and much more.   This week's music is "Stacking Chairs" by Australian band, Middle Kids. You can find all previous seasons of TMR on our YouTube channel and you can support us at Patreon and get bonus content before anyone else, along with other rewards, the opportunity to easily communicate with the hosts, etc. And please subcribe and rate us on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or wherever you get your podcasts. Tune in next week for more banter and analysis live on YouTube where we will be covering pages 198-264. Follow Open Letter, Two Month Review, Chad Post, and Brian Wood for random thoughts and information about upcoming guests. This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit threepercentproblem.substack.com