Upper Middlebrow

Upper Middlebrow


Latest Episodes

Episode 32: “Keeping up with the Jetsons,” or Phillip K. Dick’s Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep?, Part I
October 05, 2023

Fill out our LISTENER SURVEY!! Dicks famous novel begins weird. And the weirdness continues. Dick orients his readers to a world in which fallout is everywhere, most animals have died, many human

Episode 31: “Frogmarched to the Head,” or William Gibson’s Neuromancer, Part II
September 25, 2023

Chris and Jesse are in the same meatspace in Maine, but still talking about cyberspace inspace. As the two microphone jockeys wrap up William Gibsons Neuromancer, we do TWO close readings (one for a

DIGRESSION I: Pas de Joie de Neuromancer
September 18, 2023

Our friend Lindsay Lajoie saw that we were considering William Gibsons Neuromancer on the podcast, and admitted on her Instagram that its one of the very few books she attempted and could get throug

Episode 29: “Blind Animal Panic,” or William Gibson’s Neuromancer, Part I
September 11, 2023

Dukes and Bagg return to William Gibsons groundbreaking 1984 novel, that popularized the cyberpunk genre. The reviews are mixed. There are moments of brilliance, but does the young Gibsons drive to

Episode 28: “Tales of Teachers,” with Educator Justin Reich
August 28, 2023

As students, parents, and teachers happily (or wrenchingly) return to school, we invite our resident education specialist, Justin Reich, to talk about stories with teachers. We identify many examples

Episode 27: “Don’t Believe your Eyes,” or Colson Whitehead’s The Intuitionist, Part II
August 14, 2023

Whiteheads neo-noir crashes to a climax, but does it stick the landing? In the end, the Dukes and Bagg wonder if the weight of the the authors allegory overloads the elevator car laden with plot and

Episode 26: “Uplift!” or Colson Whitehead’s The Intuitionist
July 31, 2023

The lads are quite impressed with Colson Whiteheads debut novel, which packs an allegory about race, class, and futurism into a unique take on hard-boiled noir. Bagg challenges Dukes to unpack exactl

Episode 25: “Deus Ex Rockina,” or N.K. Jemisin’s The Fifth Season, Part II
July 17, 2023

Jemisin weaves three major threads into one in the second half of The Fifth Season, but the lads take issue with some of the convenient plot wrapping. Dukes + Bagg remained blown away by the power of

Episode 24: “How to Make a Pangea Omelette,” or N.K. Jemisin’s The Fifth Season
July 06, 2023

The Fifth Season is a lot. Fantasy? Sure. Sci-fi? Maybe. Allegory? Definitely. The first half introduces us to three apparently different protagonists, with action in an uncertain number of timeline

Episode 23: “In Search of the Perfect Read, Part III,” or “Baseball, Massholes, and Interspecies Dorking”
June 26, 2023

We hear from you! We share listener summer read recommendations in the form of voicemails and texts. Dukes + Bagg each share a summer reading recommendation, and somehow, the conversations keeps getti