Episode 36 features Valeria Luiselli's "Faces in the Crowd," a novella we loved and can't recommend enough. Our discussion includes a bit of her non-fiction, especially her essay "Relingos," as well as various interviews in which she shares he

Episode 35 - Memory, Self & La Revolución in Carlos Fuentes' "The Death of Artemio Cruz"

Sep 6th, 2019 51m 12s

Rising out of the depths of a busy summer and unreliable internet, we're back to finally put out a miniseries on Mexican literature that's been long in the making. We hope you all have had a wonderful past couple months, and that you've been ab

Traveler, Writer, Soldier, Spy: Lit & Context in Patrick L. Fermor's "The Violins of Saint-Jacques"

Mar 26th, 2019 47m

After several editing and technical hiccups, we're happy to present episode 34 on beloved travel writer Patrick Leigh Fermor and his only novel. A soldier who led the resistance in Crete during WWII, a spy posing as a shepherd who captured a G

Episode 33 - Disembodiment, Structure & Millennial Existentialism in Sylvia Plath's "The Bell Jar"

Feb 19th, 2019 53m 15s

Good evening from Spain! Allow us to present the 2nd episode of our "Books Casually Left on the Shelf" series on Sylvia Plath's only and much-celebrated novel. Take a listen for some talk on the relevance of existential crises of the 1950's,

The Arabesque, Orientalism & Unholy Trinities in Jan Potocki's "The Manuscript Found in Saragossa"

Feb 5th, 2019 52m 20s

Episode 32 inaugurates our new episode series "Books Casually Left on the Shelf" (working title). This book was a hidden gem for us, and we hope you enjoy as much as we did diving into the arabesque and unholy trinities with Jan Potocki's "The

Aside #24 - Patreon Launch & Our Next Episode Series

Nov 13th, 2018 21m 18s

We are VERY excited to announce that our Patreon page has launched about....24 minutes ago! On this quick Aside we talk about Patreon membership, why we're starting on the website and what you'll get when you become a Casual Academic! Also, li

Episode 31 - Gender Binaries, Identity & Interiority in Qiu Miaojin's "Notes of a Crocodile"

Nov 6th, 2018 56m 39s

In the final episode of our Overlooked Authors Series, we discuss Qiu Miaojin's cult classic, "Notes of a Crocodile." We talk about Miaojin's rejection of gender binaries as well as just about any choice between two things. There is also some

Episode 30 - Imposters, Doppelgängers & Duplicates in Silvina Ocampo's "Thus Were Their Faces"

Oct 23rd, 2018 58m 51s

We're back! On this episode, we discuss the Argentine author Silvina Ocampo. Although she spent her life in the shadow of J.L. Borges, Adolfo Bioy Casares (her husband)and her sister Victoria, Ms. Ocampo deserves her own spotlight. We talk ab

Episode 29 - Memory, Perception & Fairytales in Tatyana Tolstaya's "White Walls"

Apr 10th, 2018 1h 9m

In this episode, we marvel at Tatyana Tolstaya's collection of stories, "White Walls," and focus our discussion on topics such as memory, time, perception, art and fairytales (just to name a few). We also, shamelessly, heap relentless praise

Episode 28 - Untouchability, Inaction and "The Seventh Seal" in U.R. Ananthamurthy's "Samskara"

Mar 20th, 2018 52m 54s

Overlooked Authors on The Casual Academic has begun! We discuss our first featured book, U.R. Ananthamurthy's classic "Samskara: A Rite for a Dead Man," translated by A.K. Ramanujan. Our conversation centers on the binary Ananthamurthy sets be

Aside #23 - Overlooked Authors Series with NYRB Classics

Mar 6th, 2018 17m 35s

On Aside #23, we discuss our upcoming series on overlooked authors! The next four episodes will feature:Samskara: A Rite for a Dead Man - U.R. AnanthamurthyWhite Walls - Tatyana TolstayaThus Were Their Faces - Silvina OcampoNotes of a Croc

Episode 27 (Pt. 2) - Gender, Sexuality & Race in Carson McCullers' "The Heart Is A Lonely Hunter"

Feb 27th, 2018 31m 23s

On Part II of our 27th episode, Alex and guest Zak Breckenridge continue their discussion on Carson McCullers' 1940 novel "The Heart is a Lonely Hunter," focusing on how gender, sexuality and race are presented in the book and through its chara

Episode 27(Pt.1)- Southern Gothic Limits, Low Modernism & Politics in "The Heart is a Lonely Hunter"

Feb 14th, 2018 43m 53s

On our 27th episode, Alex talks with returning guest Zak Breckenridge about Carson McCullers' 1940 novel "The Heart is a Lonely Hunter". We had to divide the episode into two parts because, well, we got so into the conversation that it ran for

Aside #22 - Environmental Humanities & an intro to Carson McCullers' "The Heart is a Lonely Hunter"

Feb 1st, 2018 19m 37s

On this Aside, returning guest Zak Breckenridge joins Alex in a conversation on the emerging academic field of Environmental Humanities, and their first reactions to our new featured book "The Heart is a Lonely Hunter" by Carson McCullers. Man

Episode 26 (Pt. 2) - Postcolonial Problems, Decay & Flux in V.S. Naipaul's "The Enigma of Arrival"

Jan 23rd, 2018 48m 38s

On this episode, we focus on the last three sections of Naipaul's novel, "Ivy," "Rooks," and "A Ceremony of Farewell." Within these three sections, we explore the controversy surrounding Naipaul's status as a postcolonial writer, and how such

Aside #21 - Xmas Holidays and Our Favorite Reads of 2017

Dec 30th, 2017 20m 26s

Merry Christmas from The Casual Academic! Well...more like Happy New Year! We're just in time with our top reads from 2017 - eight books (four from each of us) that come highly recommended, six of which come with full-length episodes and Asid

Episode 26 (Pt. 1) - 'Jack's Garden' & 'The Journey' in V.S. Naipaul's "The Enigma of Arrival"

Dec 12th, 2017 39m

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. Sebald in their style, substance and techniques. They then give their first impressions of parts one and two of the novel

Aside #20 - Separating Art from Artist and looking ahead to V.S. Naipaul & "The Enigma of Arrival"

Nov 28th, 2017 20m 29s

In light of current events, on this Aside we talk about if we are capable of separating art from the artist, and which mediums allow for an easier (or more difficult) disassociation of a work of art from its creator. We also look head to our n

Episode 25 (Pt.2) - Critical Interpretations of Henry James' "The Turn of the Screw"

Nov 15th, 2017 38m 45s

We are back for Part II of our episode on Henry James' "The Turn of the Screw," and as promised we discuss the good, the bad and the ugly of the literary criticism on James' novella. Listen for the many branches of the infamous Freudian readin

Episode 25 (Pt.1) - Some Changes, Narrative Games & Our First Impressions of "The Turn of the Screw"

Nov 7th, 2017 35m 4s

On our 25th episode, we are inaugurating a structural change to The Casual Academic. Think of it as an experiment with the goal of making your listening experience the best it can be. We've decided to divide our episodes on our featured books

Aside #19 - An Intro to Henry James & Our Top Creepy Tales

Nov 1st, 2017 19m 23s

On our newest Aside, we introduce our new featured author Henry James, whose infamous novella "The Turn of the Screw" we'll be reading for our next episode. After that, we have a bit of a guessing game as to what are our respective top three c

Episode 24 - R.L. Stevenson, Plotting & Immortality in Adolfo Bioy Casares' "The Invention of Morel"

Oct 24th, 2017 57m 22s

Hello! We are very excited to present our full-length episode on Adolfo Bioy Casares' beloved novella "The Invention of Morel." Apart from our blatant enthusiasm over his writing, we talk about the influence of Robert Louis Stevenson on Casare

Aside #18 - Argentine Literature, Borges & an Intro to Adolfo Bioy Casares' "The Invention of Morel"

Oct 9th, 2017 21m 50s

TCA is back in full gear! On this Aside, we introduce one of our favorite recent reads, Adolfo Bioy Casares' "The Invention of Morel." Listen for a discussion on Argentine literary history and its relationship to politics & identity; Casares'

Aside #17 - Summer Reads, The Return of the Serial & Electric Lit's "Star Witness"

Sep 25th, 2017 30m 11s

And we're back! The light in august has faded, and that means a return to work and, better news, the return of The Causal Academic. We catch up on our summers, what we read, and warn fellow travelers of the pitfalls of flying with Air Canada.

Episode 23 - Belief, Con Artists & The American Soul in Neil Gaiman's "American Gods"

Jul 31st, 2017 58m 38s

We're back with a brand new episode, after some delay caused by the ever-dreaded summer camp schedule - just kidding, we love escaping the big city, but it's good to be back and talking about Neil Gaiman's "American Gods," a novel loved by many