American Writers (One Hundred Pages at a Time)

Episode 318: The First Year of the Civil War (Writings of Abraham Lincoln 1861)

20 Jun 2019

Contributed by Lukas

In this episode, I look at the writings of Abraham Lincoln during his trip to Washington and the first year of the Civil War. Here the major issues in...

Episode 317: Election of 1860 and Secession: (Writings of Abraham Lincoln 1860)

17 Jun 2019

Contributed by Lukas

In this episode I look at the writings of Abraham Lincoln from 1860. This was the year of the election that won Lincoln the presidency and saw the fir...

Episode 316: Cooper Union Speech and More: Abraham Lincoln's 1859 Writings

12 Jun 2019

Contributed by Lukas

In this episode, I look at the writings and speeches of Abraham Lincoln from 1859. The most notable document is the "Cooper Union" speech Lincoln gave...

Episode 315: The Moral Argument (Lincoln-Douglas Debates 5-6-7)

08 Jun 2019

Contributed by Lukas

In this episode, we see how Abraham Lincoln lifted his 1858 debates with Stephen Douglas to a new level by pursuing the moral argument against slavery...

Philip K. Dick Book Club: Future Plans

01 Jun 2019

Contributed by Lukas

The Philip K. Dick Book Club will be on hiatus for a while, but here are my future plans. Let me know if you have any additional ideas.

Philip K. Dick Book Club: Episode 150: When the Rough Draft is Better than the Final Product: Radio Free Albemuth

01 Jun 2019

Contributed by Lukas

In this "finale" of the Philip K. Dick Book Club, I look at RADIO FREE ALBEMUTH. This novel is far superior to the re-write (VALIS). I love the look a...

Episode 314: Lincoln Douglas Debates 3 & 4

30 May 2019

Contributed by Lukas

In this episode, I look at the third and fourth of the great Lincoln-Douglas debates. It seems to me that Lincoln was on the defensive in these two de...

Philip K. Dick Book Club: Episode 149: The Transmigration of Timothy Archer

29 May 2019

Contributed by Lukas

The best of Philip K. Dick's later novels is THE TRANSMIGRATION OF TIMOTHY ARCHER. It explores the religious culture of California during Dick's own l...

Episode 313: Lincoln-Douglas Debates 1 and 2

25 May 2019

Contributed by Lukas

This podcast is the first of three episodes exploring the 1858 Lincoln-Douglas debates. In addition to reading them I watched the reenactments aired b...

Philip K. Dick Book Club: Episode 148: God Help Me!: The Divine Invasion

25 May 2019

Contributed by Lukas

We have come all this way in order to read Philip K. Dick's most disappointing book. It is an opaque novel that betrays much of what Dick established ...

Philip K. Dick Book Club: Episode 147: VALIS

22 May 2019

Contributed by Lukas

Philip K. Dick's "VALIS Trilogy" begins with a little novel called VALIS. A fan favorite, but not one I care for very much. Let me know what you think...

Philip K. Dick Book Club: Episode 146: Dick's Last Story (The Alien Mind)

18 May 2019

Contributed by Lukas

"The Alien Mind" was Philip K. Dick's last published story, appearing in The Yuba City High Times in February 1981. Next up, we will look at the VALI...

Philip K. Dick Book Club: Episode 145: I Will Just Never Understand You (Rautavaara's Case)

18 May 2019

Contributed by Lukas

"Rautavaara's Case" by Philip K. Dick is one of his last stories. It uses an interstellar dispute over a man's remains to explore the limits of unders...

Episode 312: Lincoln's Return to Public Life (Writings 1855 to summer of 1858)

15 May 2019

Contributed by Lukas

This episode examines Lincoln's writings from the aftermath of the Kansas-Nebraska Act to his nomination by the Illinois Republican Party to the Senat...

Philip K. Dick Book Club: Episode 144: Memories if Nothing Else (I Hope I Shall Arrive Soon)

15 May 2019

Contributed by Lukas

In "I Hope I Shall Arrive Soon" (published in PLAYBOY) Philip K. Dick wrote a nice story about change, how we do not trust memories, and how memories ...

Philip K. Dick Book Club: Episode 143: Philip K. Dick Writes about Crazy Neighbors (Strange Memories of Death)

12 May 2019

Contributed by Lukas

Philip K. Dick wrote with brilliance about mental illness and institutionalization throughout his career. Check out this story (the first work of his ...

Philip K. Dick Book Club: Episode 142: The Exit Door Leads In

12 May 2019

Contributed by Lukas

What did Philip K. Dick think of Watergate and state secrets and the military-industrial complex? I think we know, but if you have any doubt read "The...

Episode 311: The Beginning of the Sectional Conflict (Abraham Lincoln's Writings 1849-1854)

08 May 2019

Contributed by Lukas

In this episode, I take a close look at the writings and speeches of Abraham Lincoln during the years after the Mexican War, as the sectional conflict...

Philip K. Dick Book Club: Episode 141: The Day Mr. Computer Fell Out of Its Tree

07 May 2019

Contributed by Lukas

Now we get to some of the strange late Philip K. Dick stories. The first of these is "The Day Mr. Computer Fell Out of Its Tree", in which Dick takes ...

Philip K. Dick Book Club: Episode 140.5: The Cycle of Death (A Scanner Darkly, Part 5)

06 May 2019

Contributed by Lukas

In the finale of my review of A SCANNER DARKLY by Philip K. Dick we see the ultimate fate of Bob Arctor and his friends, as well as possibly the fate ...

Episode 310: An Illinois Lawyer Goes to Washington (Lincoln Writings 1845-1848)

04 May 2019

Contributed by Lukas

The years 1845 to 1848 see Lincoln engaged in local Whig politics and then moving onto national politics by serving on the House of Representatives wh...

Philip K. Dick Book Club: Episode 140.4: This Is Your Brain on Death (A Scanner Darkly Part 4)

04 May 2019

Contributed by Lukas

Bob Arctor learns that working undercover is not all it is cracked up to be as he hits rock bottom, loses his sense of identity, and ends up being put...

Philip K. Dick Book Club: Episode 140.3: I'll Be Watching You....I Mean Me (A Scanner Darkly Part 3)

28 Apr 2019

Contributed by Lukas

In part 3 of my review of Philip K. Dick's A SCANNER DARKLY we follow Bob Arctor as he descends into the ultimate of paranoia and addiction by investi...

Episode 309: Young Politician Lincoln (to 1844)

28 Apr 2019

Contributed by Lukas

A new series and a new phase in American political thought. In this episode we meet Abraham Lincoln as a young Whig politician in the 1830s and early ...

Philip K. Dick Book Club: Episode 140.2: Paranoia and the Police State (A Scanner Darkly, Part 2)

26 Apr 2019

Contributed by Lukas

As we get deeper into Philip K. Dick's A SCANNER DARKLY we see just how deeply paranoia runs in a world governed by the police state. But just how muc...

Episode 308: Tocqueville Finale (Democracy in America, Part 8)

26 Apr 2019

Contributed by Lukas

The finale to my extended review of Alexis de Tocqueville's DEMOCRACY IN AMERICA.

Philip K. Dick Book Club: Episode 140.1: California Dreaming of Death (A Scanner Darkly, Part 1)

22 Apr 2019

Contributed by Lukas

The first of five episodes covering Philip K. Dick's A SCANNER DARKLY. This novel has some of his most bleak and powerful images of life in late capit...

Episode 307: Democratic Mores (Democracy in America, Part 7)

22 Apr 2019

Contributed by Lukas

In part 7 of my review of Alexis de Tocqueville's DEMOCRACY IN AMERICA we get to the heart of the argument about social relations, gender, family, and...

Episode 306: Tocqueville on American Individualism (Democracy in America, Part 6)

17 Apr 2019

Contributed by Lukas

In part 6 of my review of Alexis de Tocqueville's DEMOCRACY IN AMERICA we look at his views on egoism and individualism as well as their impact on Ame...

Philip K. Dick Club: Episode 139: Science Fiction Writer or an Oracle? (The Eye of the Sibyl)

17 Apr 2019

Contributed by Lukas

In the 1975 short story (unpublished in his life) "The Eye of the Sibyl", Philip K. Dick writes about himself and his fiction and the Roman oracle. A ...

Episode 305: Tocqueville on Democracy's Intellectual Culture (Democracy in America, Part 5)

14 Apr 2019

Contributed by Lukas

We jump into volume 2 of Alexis de Tocqueville's DEMOCRACY IN AMERICA, where he begins to look at the mind of a democracy. He starts with its intellec...

Philip K. Dick Book Club: Episode 138.2: A Pilgrimage at the End of Days (Deus Irae, Part 2)

14 Apr 2019

Contributed by Lukas

I complete my look at the odd novel DEUS IRAE by Philip K. Dick and Roger Zelazny in this episode. The core idea of a religious pilgrimage in a shatte...

Episode 304: Tocqueville on Slavery in America (Democracy in America, Part 4)

10 Apr 2019

Contributed by Lukas

As we continue our push through Alexis de Tocqueville's DEMOCRACY IN AMERICA and come to the end of volume 1, we explore what he had to say about the ...

Philip K Dick Book Club: Episode 138.1: Post-Apocalyptic Gnostics (Deus Irae, Part 1)

10 Apr 2019

Contributed by Lukas

In this episode, I take on the first half of DEUS IRAE by Philip K. Dick and Roger Zelanzy. It is an odd novel that has a host of narrative and tone i...

Episode 303: Tocqueville on Parties and Threats to Democracy (Democracy in America, Part 3)

07 Apr 2019

Contributed by Lukas

Part three of my review of Alexis de Tocqueville's DEMOCRACY IN AMERICA. In this part, he begins looking at federalism and its benefits to the America...

Philip K. Dick Book Club: Episode 137.4: Better a Crap Artist Conspiracy Theorist than Married (Confessions of a Crap Artist, Part 4)

07 Apr 2019

Contributed by Lukas

Is is better to be married or a "crap artist" a bit off his rocker? Dick tries to answer this question in his splendid mainstream novel CONFESSIONS OF...

Episode 302: Tocqueville on American Local Government (Democracy in America, Part 2)

03 Apr 2019

Contributed by Lukas

Part two of my review of Alexis de Tocqueville's DEMOCRACY IN AMERICA. Here we focus on his views of local and state governments in American democracy...

Philip K. Dick Book Club: Episode 137.3: The Family is Dead, Long Live the Family (Confessions of a Crap Artist, Part 3)

03 Apr 2019

Contributed by Lukas

In part 3 of my review of CONFESSIONS OF A CRAP ARTIST, we watch was one family collapses and another emerges in its wake. The horror of the eternal r...

Philip K. Dick Book Club: Episode 137.2: Not a Crappy Novel: Confessions of a Crap Artist (2)

31 Mar 2019

Contributed by Lukas

This novel (CONFESSIONS OF A CRAP ARTIST) is so good. Prove me wrong. Philip K. Dick is at his best when he is writing about marriage and the stranger...

Episode 301: Equality of Conditions: Democracy in America, Part 1

31 Mar 2019

Contributed by Lukas

In this episode, I start an eight-part series on Alexis de Tocqueville's DEMOCRACY IN AMERICA. What is the importance of the general equality of condi...

Episode 300: Bye bye Jefferson (Jefferson's Letters 1816-1816)

26 Mar 2019

Contributed by Lukas

We come to the end of this series on the writings of Thomas Jefferson with the letters written during the last decade of his life. His lack of growth ...

Philip K. Dick Book Club: Episode 137.1: Philip K. Dick's Mainstream Novel (Confessions of a Crap Artist, Part 1)

26 Mar 2019

Contributed by Lukas

In this episode we start to look at Philip K. Dick's CONFESSIONS OF A CRAP ARTIST, written in the late 1950s. It was a mainstream novel that explores ...

Philip K. Dick Book Club: Episode 136: Abortion and Malthus (The Pre-Persons)

24 Mar 2019

Contributed by Lukas

Philip K. Dick has been writing obliquely about Malthus since some of his earliest stories. In the "Pre-Persons" Dick takes on these issues again, and...

Episode 299: Jefferson and Adams Friends Again (Jefferson Letters 1813-1815)

24 Mar 2019

Contributed by Lukas

The highlight of Thomas Jefferson's retirement letters are those he wrote to John Adams. In this episode, we look at some of those and some other impo...

Episode 298: Jefferson Retired (Jefferson Letters 1807-1812)

20 Mar 2019

Contributed by Lukas

In this set of letters, I look at Jefferson's last years in public life and the interests he pursued after retirement. Much of his work in this period...

Philip K. Dick Book Club: Episode 135: The Ennui of Space Travel (A Little Something For Us Tempunauts)

20 Mar 2019

Contributed by Lukas

In this wonderful little story ("A Little Something for Us Tempunauts") Philip K. Dick explores the tedious repeatability of space exploration, both f...

Philip K. Dick Book Club: Episode 134: Gated Communities and Police States (Flow My Tears, the Policeman Said)

17 Mar 2019

Contributed by Lukas

In this lengthy episode, I take a detailed look at FLOW MY TEARS, THE POLICEMAN SAID by Philip K. Dick. It presents a detailed police state, examines ...

Episode 297: The Revolution of 1800 (Jefferson's Letters 1800-1806)

16 Mar 2019

Contributed by Lukas

In this selection of the letters of Thomas Jefferson we explore the "Revolution of 1800" and Jefferson's first term as president. The achievements of ...

Philip K. Dick Book Club: Episode 133.4: We Are All Mentally Ill (We Can Build You, Part 4)

16 Mar 2019

Contributed by Lukas

In the conclusion of WE CAN BUILD YOU by Philip K. Dick, we find ourselves in a very different novel. After a mental breakdown Louis Rosen is institut...

Jefferson Unhinged (Thomas Jefferson Letters 1790-1799)

11 Mar 2019

Contributed by Lukas

Thomas Jefferson comes back from Paris to become Secretary of State. Fights with everyone. Decides to do it himself and runs for president. Let's watc...

Philip K. Dick Book Club: Episode 133.3: An Android Company Divided Against Itself Cannot Stand (We Can Build You, Part 3)

11 Mar 2019

Contributed by Lukas

Well, they got an Abe Lincoln bot and all was going well, but they lost their designer and engineer. How can our little startup survive against the bi...

Episode 295: Jefferson's Letters from Paris, 1785-1789

09 Mar 2019

Contributed by Lukas

While Jefferson was in Paris he started having sex with Sally Hemmings, commented on the Constitution, and saw the spread of revolution in Paris. We l...

Philip K. Dick Book Club: Episode 133.2: What To Do With Civil War Bots? (We Can Build You, Part 2)

09 Mar 2019

Contributed by Lukas

So they built a Edwin Stanton android, but what can they do with it. And what happens when you fall for your crazy underage co-worker? Find out in par...

Philip K. Dick Book Club: Episode 133.1: Just Your Small Town Android Dealer (We Can Build You, Part 1)

07 Mar 2019

Contributed by Lukas

In this episode I begin my look at WE CAN BUILD YOU. This novel by Philip K. Dick was written in the early 1960s and feels like one of his conventiona...

Episode 294: Jefferson's Revolutionary Letters

07 Mar 2019

Contributed by Lukas

This episode covers Thomas Jefferson's letters written from his youth to the mid-1780s, when he was sent to Paris.

Episode 293: Assorted Jefferson Writings

28 Feb 2019

Contributed by Lukas

In this episode I take on some assorted writings by Thomas Jefferson. Maybe the most important are the collected memoirs called the "Anas".

Philip K. Dick Book Club: Episode 132: Yeah. Marriage Still Sucks (Cadbury, The Beaver Who Lacked)

28 Feb 2019

Contributed by Lukas

Back to a Philip K. Dick short story with the posthumously published "Cadbury, the Beaver Who Lacked". Is it his final word on marriage? Not quite, bu...

Episode 292: Jefferson as Empire Builder (Jefferson's Speeches)

24 Feb 2019

Contributed by Lukas

In this episode, I look at some of Thomas Jefferson's speeches and examine how he envisioned the place of Indians in the American empire. Of particula...

Philip K. Dick Book Club: Episode 131.4: Equality or the End of Human Progress? (Our Friends from Frolix 8, Part 4)

24 Feb 2019

Contributed by Lukas

In the final part of my review of OUR FRIENDS FROM FROLIX 8 we see the brutal way that equality can be restored in a world where the elite are superio...

Philip K. Dick Book Club: Episode 131.3: Change from Within or From Without (Our Friends from Frolix 8, Part 3)

21 Feb 2019

Contributed by Lukas

In part 3 of my review of "Our Friends from Frolix 8" we see the nature of the friendship offered by aliens and need to wonder what is the best path t...

Philip K. Dick Book Club: Episode 131.2: A Movement Culture of Resistance or Drug Dealing (Our Friends from Frolix 8)

18 Feb 2019

Contributed by Lukas

In part two of my review of OUR FRIENDS FROM FROLIX 8, we get a closer look at the movement culture that emerged to resist the posthumans in power, co...

Episode 292: Jefferson and the Party System (Public Papers 1791-1826)

18 Feb 2019

Contributed by Lukas

In this episode I look at the public papers Jefferson produced while Secretary of State, when he developed his opposition to Hamilton's policies. I al...

Episode 291: Jefferson the Legislator (TJ's Public Papers 1775-1790)

15 Feb 2019

Contributed by Lukas

In this episode I look at Thomas Jefferson's public papers from the time before he became Secretary of State, when he was mostly working in Virginia p...

Philip K. Dick Book Club: Episode 131.1: The Posthuman Meritocracy (Our Friends from Frolix 8)

15 Feb 2019

Contributed by Lukas

In part one of my review of OUR FRIENDS FROM FROLIX 8, I examine how meritocracy and posthumanism leads to a pretty interesting dystopia.

Philip K. Dick Book Club: Episode 130.4: A Maze of Death, Part 4

13 Feb 2019

Contributed by Lukas

The finale of my look at Philip K. Dick's A MAZE OF DEATH. Tell me, is this book the antithesis of GALACTIC POT-HEALER?

Episode 290: Thomas Jefferson, "Notes on the State of Virginia" (Part 2)

10 Feb 2019

Contributed by Lukas

The conclusion to my brief series on Jefferson's important text "Notes on the State of Virginia". In this episode we take a look at Jefferson's views ...

Philip K. Dick Book Club: Episode 130.3: A Maze of Death, Part 3

10 Feb 2019

Contributed by Lukas

During a quest to find out where they are, the unfortunate pioneers on Delmak-O begin to learn that their subjectivities are coming true. The results ...

Episode 289: Thomas Jefferson: "Summary of the Rights of British America"/"Notes on the State of Virginia" (Part 1)

08 Feb 2019

Contributed by Lukas

In this episode, I look at "Summary of the Rights of British America" by Thomas Jefferson. I also jump into the first half of "Notes on the State of V...

Philip K. Dick Book Club: Episode 130.2: A Maze of Death, Part 2

07 Feb 2019

Contributed by Lukas

Part two of my thoughts on "A Maze of Death" by Philip K. Dick. Things start to get dark quickly.

Episode 288: Thomas Jefferson, "Autobiography"

03 Feb 2019

Contributed by Lukas

The autobiography of Thomas Jefferson was written in 1821 and covers his life from the 1760s to his return from Paris. It has some interesting things ...

Philip K. Dick Book Club: Episode 130.1: A Maze of Death

03 Feb 2019

Contributed by Lukas

Now for the antithesis to "Galactic Pot-Healer". "A Maze of Death" by Philip K. Dick asks some of the same questions as GPH but comes to very differen...

Philip K. Dick Book Club: Episode 129: The Electric Ant

01 Feb 2019

Contributed by Lukas

In Philip K. Dick's final story from the 1960s, "The Electric Ant" we get a mixture of reality bending metaphysics and android anxt.

Philip K. Dick Book Club: Episode 128.4: Galactic Pot-Healer, 4

29 Jan 2019

Contributed by Lukas

The conclusion of my thoughts on Philip K. Dick's greatest novel "Galactic Pot-Healer". We are coming to the end of this very long series on Dick's pu...

Philip K. Dick Book Club: Episode 128.3: Galactic Pot-Healer, 3

28 Jan 2019

Contributed by Lukas

This podcast is the third in my series on "Galactic Pot-Healer" by Philip K. Dick. In this part of the novel, we explore the theme of entropy. What do...

Philip K. Dick Book Club: Episode 128.2: Galactic Pot-Healer, 2

24 Jan 2019

Contributed by Lukas

Part 2 of my review of my favorite Philip K. Dick novel "Galactic Pot-healer". Joe Fernwright is guided by the Glimmung to a new life with an actual p...

Episode 287: Herman Melville: Billy Budd

24 Jan 2019

Contributed by Lukas

We get to the end of Herman Melville's prose writing with our look at "Billy Budd", published in 1924. It is a great little novel on power, the law, a...

Philip K. Dick Book Club: Episode 128.1: Galactic Pot-Healer

21 Jan 2019

Contributed by Lukas

Let's raise Heldscalla! "Galactic Pot-Healer" is my favorite Philip K. Dick novel. Let me tell you why.

Episode 286: Herman Melville: The Confidence Man, Part 2

21 Jan 2019

Contributed by Lukas

Part two of my review of "The Confidence Man" by Herman Melville. Maybe we will get the final answer to the age old question: should you trust your ne...

Episode 285: Herman Melville: The Confidence Man, Part 1

16 Jan 2019

Contributed by Lukas

Part one of Herman Melville's exploration of America's market economy, "The Confidence Man." Can the economy work without confidence and charity? We w...

Philip K. Dick Book Club: Episode 127.4: Ubik, Part 4

16 Jan 2019

Contributed by Lukas

The quite bleak finale of "Ubik" by Philip K. Dick. It is not entirely clear what is going on as this novel closes. You will either love it or hate it...

Philip K. Dick Book Club: Episode 127.3: Ubik, Part 3

13 Jan 2019

Contributed by Lukas

Joe Chip, our story's hero, tries to make sense of a world in which everything decays and even technologies revert to earlier forms, in part three of ...

Episode 284: Herman Melville: Assorted Short Fiction

13 Jan 2019

Contributed by Lukas

We finish up looking at Herman Melville's short fiction in this episode. Some great tales about class, family, and technology. These may not all be kn...

Episode 283: Herman Melville: Essays and Early Short Fiction

09 Jan 2019

Contributed by Lukas

In this episode, I look at an assortment of Herman Melville's assorted short prose: some book reviews and short stories. Part one of a two part series...

Philip K. Dick Book Club: Episode 127.2: Ubik, Part 2

09 Jan 2019

Contributed by Lukas

This is part two of my review of "Ubik" by Philip K. Dick. With an android bomb, the posthuman industrial spying plot winds down as we find our charac...

Philip K. Dick Book Club: Episode 127.1: Ubik, Part 1

07 Jan 2019

Contributed by Lukas

The first part of my review of Philip K. Dick's "Ubik". This novel would have been great it if was just about industrial espionage and post-humanism, ...

Philip K. Dick Book Club: Episode 126: Not By Its Cover

07 Jan 2019

Contributed by Lukas

"Not By Its Cover" by Philip K. Dick looks at religious texts, preservation, reproduction and authenticity. It is a nice story that is firmly in Dick'...

Episode 282: Herman Melville: The Piazza Tales (The Lightening-Road Man, The Encantadas, The Bell-Tower)

03 Jan 2019

Contributed by Lukas

This episode is the second in my review of Herman Melville's "The Piazza Tales". Two of these stories are quite strange, but "The Encantadas" is a bri...

Philip K. Dick Book Club: Episode 125.5; Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep?, Part 5

03 Jan 2019

Contributed by Lukas

Poor Deckard. Doomed to be kipple, but maybe he can find some meaning in an electronic frog. Let's read the final chapters of "Do Androids Dream of El...

Philip K. Dick Book Club: Episode 125.4; Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep?, Part 4

31 Dec 2018

Contributed by Lukas

We reach the climax of "Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep?". How will Deckard do his job when he realizes that he has developed empathy for androids...

Episode 281: Herman Melville: The Piazza Tales (The Piazza, Bartleby, Benito Cereno)

31 Dec 2018

Contributed by Lukas

A few of Melville's most famous tales are "Benito Cereno" and "Bartleby the Scrivener". They make up the first half of the collection, "The Piazza Tal...

Philip K. Dick Book Club: Episode 125.3; Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep?, Part 3

24 Dec 2018

Contributed by Lukas

In this part of "Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep?" our bounty hunter Deckard runs into a fake police station and learns something important about ...

Episode 280: Herman Melville: Israel Potter, Part 2

24 Dec 2018

Contributed by Lukas

Part two of my review of Herman Melville's "Israel Potter", in which we experience most of his 50 years of exile.

Episode 279: Herman Melville: Israel Potter, Part 1

20 Dec 2018

Contributed by Lukas

Another Herman Melville novel. This one is much more conventional than "Pierre". but it is still a valuable read. "Israel Potter" looks at the life of...

Philip K. Dick Book Club: Episode 125.2; Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep?, Part 2

20 Dec 2018

Contributed by Lukas

Part two of my review of "Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep?" gives us a chance to explore the empathy test as we watch Deckard begin his mission to...

Philip K. Dick Book Club: Episode 125.1; Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep?, Part 1

17 Dec 2018

Contributed by Lukas

The opening chapters of Philip K. Dick's great novel "Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep?" puts us in a bleak world of mood organs, empathy boxes, le...

Episode 278: Herman Melville: Pierre, Part 4

17 Dec 2018

Contributed by Lukas

The finale of my review of "Pierre" by Herman Melville.

Episode 277: Herman Melville: Pierre, Part 3

13 Dec 2018

Contributed by Lukas

So, after deciding to get married to his (maybe) sister, things start to get even stranger for Pierre. Listen to my thoughts on this in part three of ...

Philip K. Dick Book Club: Episode 124: Faith of Our Fathers

13 Dec 2018

Contributed by Lukas

Philip K. Dick's contribution to "Dangerous Visions" was "Faith of Our Fathers", one of his most important stories on false fronts and the prison of s...

Philip K. Dick Book Club: Episode 123: Retreat Match

09 Dec 2018

Contributed by Lukas

"Retreat Match" by Philip K. Dick is a really good story on false memories, shifting realities, and the politics of empire.

Episode 276: Herman Melville: Pierre, Part 2

09 Dec 2018

Contributed by Lukas

In the second hundred pages of "Pierre" by Herman Melville our hero comes to believe he has what he always wanted, a sister. What will be the cost of ...