In this first part of a two part episode, Derick is joined by Mason Kerr to discuss the political implications of the fiction of Gene Wolfe, who passed away earlier this year, as part of a series of episodes honoring Wolfe's life and work. They discuss The Fifth Head of Cerberus, The Book of the New Sun, and Wolfe's treatment of women and gender politics, along with some diversions into Marxist aesthetics and issues in the current American left milieu."