Ranked #1
Episode 10 - Ta-Nehisi Coates, James Baldwin & Richard Wright in "Between The World & Me"
Episode 10 - Ta-Nehisi Coates, James Baldwin & Richard Wright in "Between The World & Me"
We are happy to bring you our 10th episode on Ta-Nehisi Coates' "Between The World And Me." Alex is joined by returning... Read more
4 Sep 2016
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1hr 17mins
Ranked #2
Episode 16 - The Poetics of Suspension in "The Rings of Saturn" and the Greatness of W.G. Sebald
Episode 16 - The Poetics of Suspension in "The Rings of Saturn" and the Greatness of W.G. Sebald
On our 16th episode, we fall at the feet of W.G. Sebald, a German writer and academic whose work "The Rings of Saturn" b... Read more
23 Jan 2017
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1hr 19mins
Ranked #3
Episode 12 - The World, The Fiction & The Philosophy of Thomas Ligotti
Episode 12 - The World, The Fiction & The Philosophy of Thomas Ligotti
We are back with our first full episode of Horror Month, and equally proud to present the FIRST podcast episode dedicate... Read more
20 Oct 2016
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1hr 1min
Ranked #4
Episode 4 - Narrative Pathways & Alternate Histories in Jorge Luis Borges' "Fictions"
Episode 4 - Narrative Pathways & Alternate Histories in Jorge Luis Borges' "Fictions"
On this episode, we discuss various stories found in Jorge Luis Borges' "Fictions," and in the process might have create... Read more
10 Apr 2016
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1hr 1min
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Ranked #5
Episode 29 - Memory, Perception & Fairytales in Tatyana Tolstaya's "White Walls"
Episode 29 - Memory, Perception & Fairytales in Tatyana Tolstaya's "White Walls"
In this episode, we marvel at Tatyana Tolstaya's collection of stories, "White Walls," and focus our discussion on topi... Read more
10 Apr 2018
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1hr 9mins
Ranked #6
Episode 3 - Saudade & Memory in Ernest Hemingway's "A Moveable Feast"
Episode 3 - Saudade & Memory in Ernest Hemingway's "A Moveable Feast"
In our third episode, we take on Ernest Hemingway's memoir in a conversation about the genre of memoir, saudade and the ... Read more
3 Apr 2016
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1hr 14mins
Ranked #7
Episode 27(Pt.1)- Southern Gothic Limits, Low Modernism & Politics in "The Heart is a Lonely Hunter"
Episode 27(Pt.1)- Southern Gothic Limits, Low Modernism & Politics in "The Heart is a Lonely Hunter"
On our 27th episode, Alex talks with returning guest Zak Breckenridge about Carson McCullers' 1940 novel "The Heart is a... Read more
14 Feb 2018
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43mins
Ranked #8
Aside #14 - Lit Hub, Environmental Humanities & an Intro Discussion on "The Handmaid's Tale"
Aside #14 - Lit Hub, Environmental Humanities & an Intro Discussion on "The Handmaid's Tale"
On our new Aside, Zak Breckenridge is back on the show with us to talk about getting featured on LitHub, the emerging ac... Read more
17 May 2017
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20mins
Ranked #9
Aside #18 - Argentine Literature, Borges & an Intro to Adolfo Bioy Casares' "The Invention of Morel"
Aside #18 - Argentine Literature, Borges & an Intro to Adolfo Bioy Casares' "The Invention of Morel"
TCA is back in full gear! On this Aside, we introduce one of our favorite recent reads, Adolfo Bioy Casares' "The Invent... Read more
9 Oct 2017
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21mins
Ranked #10
Episode 24 - R.L. Stevenson, Plotting & Immortality in Adolfo Bioy Casares' "The Invention of Morel"
Episode 24 - R.L. Stevenson, Plotting & Immortality in Adolfo Bioy Casares' "The Invention of Morel"
Hello! We are very excited to present our full-length episode on Adolfo Bioy Casares' beloved novella "The Invention of ... Read more
24 Oct 2017
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57mins
Ranked #11
Aside #20 - Separating Art from Artist and looking ahead to V.S. Naipaul & "The Enigma of Arrival"
Aside #20 - Separating Art from Artist and looking ahead to V.S. Naipaul & "The Enigma of Arrival"
In light of current events, on this Aside we talk about if we are capable of separating art from the artist, and which m... Read more
28 Nov 2017
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20mins
Ranked #12
Episode 21 - Speculative Fiction, Language and Survival in Margaret Atwood's "The Handmaid's Tale"
Episode 21 - Speculative Fiction, Language and Survival in Margaret Atwood's "The Handmaid's Tale"
In this episode, special guest Zak Breckenridge joins us to talk about Margaret Atwood's "The Handmaid's Tale." We disc... Read more
30 May 2017
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59mins
Ranked #13
Episode 19 - Narrative Techniques & The Thing Itself in Clarice Lispector's "Near to the Wild Heart"
Episode 19 - Narrative Techniques & The Thing Itself in Clarice Lispector's "Near to the Wild Heart"
Brazilian Literature Month at The Casual Academic is in full swing! On this episode, we discuss the debut novel of Clar... Read more
5 Apr 2017
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48mins
Ranked #14
Episode 26 (Pt. 1) - 'Jack's Garden' & 'The Journey' in V.S. Naipaul's "The Enigma of Arrival"
Episode 26 (Pt. 1) - 'Jack's Garden' & 'The Journey' in V.S. Naipaul's "The Enigma of Arrival"
In Part 1 of the two part extravaganza on V.S. Naipaul's "The Enigma of Arrival," Jacob and Alex compare Naipaul and W.G... Read more
12 Dec 2017
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39mins
Ranked #15
Episode 11 - Semiotics, Sublimation and Inter-Textuality in Umberto Eco's "The Name of the Rose"
Episode 11 - Semiotics, Sublimation and Inter-Textuality in Umberto Eco's "The Name of the Rose"
We are joined by our returning guest Zak Breckenridge in a conversation about the theories, ideas, and books behind Umbe... Read more
3 Oct 2016
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1hr 1min
Ranked #16
Episode 6 - Borderlands, Self-Other and the Failure of Language in J.M. Coetzee's "Disgrace"
Episode 6 - Borderlands, Self-Other and the Failure of Language in J.M. Coetzee's "Disgrace"
In this episode, Jake and Alex discuss J.M. Coetzee's controversial book "Disgrace," which won him the Man Booker Prize ... Read more
9 May 2016
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1hr 21mins
Ranked #17
Episode 27 (Pt. 2) - Gender, Sexuality & Race in Carson McCullers' "The Heart Is A Lonely Hunter"
Episode 27 (Pt. 2) - Gender, Sexuality & Race in Carson McCullers' "The Heart Is A Lonely Hunter"
On Part II of our 27th episode, Alex and guest Zak Breckenridge continue their discussion on Carson McCullers' 1940 nove... Read more
27 Feb 2018
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31mins
Ranked #18
Episode 18 - Love, Violent Sexuality, and Western Influence in Yukio Mishima's Confessions of a Mask
Episode 18 - Love, Violent Sexuality, and Western Influence in Yukio Mishima's Confessions of a Mask
On our 18th episode Clay Oppenhuizen joins us for a heady discussion of Yukio Mishima's 1949 novel Confessions of a Mask... Read more
9 Mar 2017
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1hr
Ranked #19
Episode 17 - Female Gothic, Neurosis & Humor in Shirley Jackson's We Have Always Lived in the Castle
Episode 17 - Female Gothic, Neurosis & Humor in Shirley Jackson's We Have Always Lived in the Castle
On this episode we discuss Shirley Jackson's unsettlingly masterpiece in light of a general renewed interest in her work... Read more
15 Feb 2017
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1hr 7mins
Ranked #20
Aside #23 - Overlooked Authors Series with NYRB Classics
Aside #23 - Overlooked Authors Series with NYRB Classics
On Aside #23, we discuss our upcoming series on overlooked authors! The next four episodes will feature:Samskara: A Rite... Read more
6 Mar 2018
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17mins
