Lauren Olamina leaves her ruined home in the second half of Octavia E. Butler’s 1993 novel/theology document/allegory/philosophical text, heading for the mysterious utopia of Branscombe first and then…the stars? Bagg and Dukes try to locate the climax of this work, discuss the figurative vs. denotative nature of the novel, and close things out with some Muppets impersonations.

If you have a bookstore, writing workshop center (or fully fledged MFA program), a lit zine, or something similar, share Upper Middlebrow with your audience, and we’ll bake in an on-air promo spot for your thing. Just send a screencap to hello@uppermiddlebrow.com and some information about your thing.

Summer is coming! We’d love to hear your summer reading books. Shoot us a voice memo to hello@uppermiddlebrow.com and give us your name and what you’ll be reading this summer.