The UMBers tackle Ray Bradburys 1950s classic novella and are impressed by how much influence this book has had on other writers and the intellectual landscape. The lads rattle off at least five or s

The lads marvel at Margaret Atwoods delicate prose and lighter than air narrative, in which sparse poetic writing conveys an alternative future vividly. But is the ending a bit of a deus ex machina

The Handmaids Tale is set in a speculative near future that feels disturbingly familiar. The lads marvel at Atwoods ability to vividly describe a speculative world without any obvious expository pas

Bagg and Dukes finally get around to reading Toni Morrison's The Bluest Eye, and both are impressed by Morrison's craft, purpose, and ability to keep both functioning at a high level while delivering

We spend a few final minutes with Steve Zaillian's Ripley, wondering if the resemblance between Inspector Ravini and Peter Seller's Inspector Clouseau is intentional, and considering what the overall

Dukes and Bagg wonder if Tom Ripleys disguise (as himself) is meant to be as clumsy as it appears and if the show is wandering too close to the (admittedly wonderful) Pink Panther series. Nonethele

Bagg and Dukes return to the source material that launched Upper Middle Brow, in the production of Ripley, directed by Steve Zaillian and (quixotically) available on Netflix. The mini-series is unspea

Dukes and Bagg are taking a break from books to talk about Netflixs Ripley created by Steve Zailian. Having watched the first episode, its obvious the series is beautiful, and stark. Its NOT a rema

Arionne Nettles joins to talk about her new book We Are The Culture: Black Chicago's Influence On Everything, as well as to recommend a couple of novels she thinks Upper Middlebrow listeners would par

On our FOURTH EVER episode, Dukes and Bagg explore why they have different emotional responses to Tom Ripley, and how Patricia Highsmith might have raised the stakes more effectively in the second hal