Peter Coviello (Vineland Reread) joins Kaija, Brian, and Chad to talk about the ending of Vineland, how it compares to One Battle After Another, what the Thanatoids are, the sheer joy of reading Thomas Pynchon, and more. A very lively way to end the season filled with laughs and Coviello’s wonderful insights. Up next, for Season 29 is . . . you’ll have to wait and see. Announcement coming soon, but in the meantime, be on the lookout for a one-off episode about Pynchon’s new book, Shadow Ticket.This week’s music is “Maybelline” by Chuck Berry. You can subscribe to this podcast on Apple, Spotify, YouTube, or wherever you get your podcasts.Follow Open Letter, Two Month Review, Chad W. Post, Kaija Straumanis, and Brian Wood for random thoughts and information about upcoming guests. And subscribe to the Three Percent substack for information about Open Letter Books and literature in translation writ large.Also consider subscribing to the Mining the Dalkey Archive substack and its respective podcast (Apple, Spotify) about all things Dalkey Archive. 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
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1:14:26
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1:14:26
TMR 28.5: "Is This The Start of a Cheap Romance" [Vineland]
For the penultimate episode of this season, Andrew Merritt of the Life on Books podcast joined Chad and Kaija to talk about the original arrangment between Vond, Frenesi, and Zoyd, about how, once again, this book is too prophetic in delineating our current situation, about misoneism, about postpartum depression, untested forms of therapy, etc. But the highlight is probably “Pynchon Character or Baseball Player?” featuring some of the wackiest names in all of . . . baseball? Pynchon? Both?This week’s music is “Pynchon Character or Baseball Player?,” which was fully made by AI as a joke.Next week we’ll be talking about the final section of Vineland and will be joined by a mystery guest . . . You can subscribe to this podcast on Apple, Spotify, YouTube, or wherever you get your podcasts.Follow Open Letter, Two Month Review, Chad W. Post, Kaija Straumanis, and Brian Wood for random thoughts and information about upcoming guests. And subscribe to the Three Percent substack for information about Open Letter Books and literature in translation writ large.Also consider subscribing to the Mining the Dalkey Archive substack and its respective podcast (Apple, Spotify) about all things Dalkey Archive. 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
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1:11:11
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1:11:11
TMR 28.4: "The People's Republic of Rock and Roll" [Vineland]
Chad, Brian, and Kaija try to start out on a light note—goofing on the Phoenix children’s names—but things get deadly serious (pun intended) when they get into talking about Weed Atman’s murder on a college campus and how it’s brought into being thanks to our Big Bad, Brock Vond, and the government’s strategy of shutting down leftest hippies. They talk about forms of revolution, what works and doesn’t seem to, sneaking in political awareness via sit-com level humor, and more. It’s an odd episode given the chilling reality of life in September 2025, but they make the best of it. On a fun note, tune in next week for “Pynchon Character or Baseball Player?," America’s favorite new game show.This week’s music is “Summertime Blues” by Blue Cheer.Next week we’ll be reading through page 322 (chapters 13 & 14, full schedule here).You can subscribe to this podcast on Apple, Spotify, YouTube, or wherever you get your podcasts.Follow Open Letter, Two Month Review, Chad W. Post, Kaija Straumanis, and Brian Wood for random thoughts and information about upcoming guests. And subscribe to the Three Percent substack for information about Open Letter Books and literature in translation writ large.Also consider subscribing to the Mining the Dalkey Archive substack and its respective podcast (Apple, Spotify) about all things Dalkey Archive. 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
A bit of a digressive episode in which Brian, Kaija, and Chad discuss expectations and excitement, why Vineland is considered a “lesser” book of Pynchon’s, the inversion of cause and effect in Pynchon’s narratives, Thanatoids, Karmic grifting, DL’s adventures, the goofy sit-com logic and setups behind much of this book, and more.This week’s music is “Ghostbusters” by Ray Parker, Jr.Next week we’ll be reading through page 267 (chapters 11 & 12), where we will learn more about Frenesi and the downfall of the 24fps, and will be forced, once again, to look at how Vineland mirrors our current climate. You can subscribe to this podcast on Apple, Spotify, YouTube, or wherever you get your podcasts.Follow Open Letter, Two Month Review, Chad W. Post, Kaija Straumanis, and Brian Wood for random thoughts and information about upcoming guests. And subscribe to the Three Percent substack for information about Open Letter Books and literature in translation writ large.Also consider subscribing to the Mining the Dalkey Archive substack and its respective podcast (Apple, Spotify) about all things Dalkey Archive. 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
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59:49
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59:49
TMR 28.2: "A Sort of Esalen Institute for Lady Asskickers" [Vineland]
On this week’s episode, Chad, Kaija, and Brian discuss chapters 6–8 of Pynchon’s Vineland, three very episodic chapters featuring Frenesi and her family history, an Italian wedding in which Deleuze & Guatari get name-checked, and a visit to the Sisterhood of Kunoichi Attentives. Lots of fun and hijinks, some anti-binary, anti-computer sentiments, more fetishization of weapons, and some random (?) coincidences that start linking up our various characters.This week’s music is “Frenesi” by Artie Shaw.Next week we’ll be reading through page 191 (chapter 9) and getting deeper into Pynchon’s vision of the 60s and 80s and the never-ending conflict between the counterculture and The Man.You can subscribe to this podcast on Apple, Spotify, YouTube, or wherever you get your podcasts.Follow Open Letter, Two Month Review, Chad W. Post, Kaija Straumanis, and Brian Wood for random thoughts and information about upcoming guests. And subscribe to the Three Percent substack for information about Open Letter Books and literature in translation writ large.Also consider subscribing to the Mining the Dalkey Archive substack and its respective podcast (Apple, Spotify) about all things Dalkey Archive. 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
Each “season” of Two Month Review highlights a different new and amazing work of world literature, reading it slowly over the course of eight to nine episodes. Featuring a rotating set of literary guests—from authors to booksellers, critics, and translators—the individual episodes recap a short section of the book and use that as a springboard for a fun (and often irreverent) discussion about literature in a general sense, pop culture, reading approaches, and much more. Talking about great books doesn't need to be deadly serious, and the levity of 2MR makes it accessible to everyone (even if you’re not reading along). threepercentproblem.substack.com
Ireland