Upper Middlebrow
Episodes
Episode 10: “Underlying Math Skeleton” or Neal Stephenson’s Cryptonomicon, Part I
17 Feb 2023
Contributed by Lukas
Bagg and Dukes are…a little tired of Neal Stephenson, but our two codebreaking huffduff operators soldier on into Stephenson’s large 1999 novel Cr...
Episode 9: “Underwater Burning Man,” or Neal Stephenson’s The Diamond Age, Part II
07 Feb 2023
Contributed by Lukas
Dukes and Bagg talk scruffiness and the virtues of whiskers more broadly. Then they complain about Stephenson’s propensity to want to write three bo...
Episode 8: “Stephenson’s a flame-kindling kind of guy,” or Upper Middle Brow Phones a Friend
24 Jan 2023
Contributed by Lukas
We hit pause on recapping, and talk the intersection of education and technology with a genuine educational technologist, Professor Justin Reich (and ...
Episode 7: Neal Stephenson’s The Diamond Age, Part One, or “Nitrates, Nitrites, Nitrotes, and Nitrutes”
13 Jan 2023
Contributed by Lukas
Bagg proposes Dukes would live in Dovetail in this scenario, and the UMBs set off to untangle this ambitious and elaborate neo-nano-steampunk plot. We...
Episode 6: Neal Stephenson’s Zodiac, Part Two, or “Cran-Razz with your Deus ex Machina?”
03 Jan 2023
Contributed by Lukas
After blowing off steam about the pronunciation of “Natick” in the audio book, Dukes and Bagg reflect on the challenges of reigning in Stephenson’...
Episode 5: Neal Stephenson’s Zodiac, or “Poorly Foreshadowed Dorking”
20 Dec 2022
Contributed by Lukas
Chris and Jesse try to figure out where Zodiac sits in the upper-middlebrow spectrum. Dukes wishes he could have commuted around Chicago a la Sangamon...
Episode 4: Patricia Highsmith’s The Talented Mr. Ripley, Part Two, or “Coach Class on the White Boat”
06 Dec 2022
Contributed by Lukas
Bagg and Dukes dive into the second half of Highsmith’s “mystery in reverse.” They discuss whether it should have been harder for Tom to get awa...
Episode 3: Patricia Highsmith’s The Talented Mr. Ripley, Part One
29 Nov 2022
Contributed by Lukas
Chris and Jesse talk salt pigs and the Queen Mary ocean liner before getting down to business, diving into Patricia Highsmith’s disturbing and keenl...
Episode 2: Neal Stephenson’s Snow Crash, Part Two
22 Nov 2022
Contributed by Lukas
Chris and Jesse pick up mostly where we left off (although “leaving off” suggests we’re keeping track of what we’re doing—spoiler alert: we’...
Episode 1: Neal Stephenson’s Snow Crash, Part One
22 Nov 2022
Contributed by Lukas
Released in 1992, Snow Crash is Neal Stephenson’s second major novel, but certainly his first breakaway hit. Snow Crash follows the exploits of Hiro...
Trailer: Upper Middle Brow LIVE Tomorrow
21 Nov 2022
Contributed by Lukas
Upper Middle Brow launches TOMORROW! Yes, that's right, tomorrow, November 22nd, as we celebrate the 30th anniversary of Neal Stephenson's Snow Crash ...