We're back (kind of) with a bonus episode covering David Foster Wallace—his life, his work, and why you should (or shouldn't) read his work. Joining us in this conversation is our friend and fellow DFW enthusiast, Johan Harstad.

We'll be back in a couple of weeks to get back into Against the Day, so stay tuned weirdos!

As always, thanks so much for listening!

Email: ⁠mappingthezonepod@gmail.com⁠

Bluesky: https://bsky.app/profile/mappingthezone.bsky.social

Twitter: https://twitter.com/pynchonpod

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/mappingthezonepodcast/

Show art by Brad Wetzel: @bradspersecond (on IG and Reddit) bradspersecond.com

In this inaugural episode of Mapping the Zone, our hosts introduce themselves and discuss a few topics to provide some insight into who they are and what they love about the subject of this podcast, Thomas Pynchon. Also discussed is what listeners can expect of the show going forward and which of Pynchon's books they will discuss first.

If you like what we're doing and want to support the show, please consider making a donation on Ko-Fi. Funds we receive will be used to upgrade equipment, pay hosting fees, and help make the show better.

https://ko-fi.com/mappingthezone

As always, thanks so much for listening!

Email: ⁠mappingthezonepod@gmail.com⁠

Bluesky: https://bsky.app/profile/mappingthezone.bsky.social

Twitter: https://twitter.com/pynchonpod

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/mappingthezonepodcast/

Show art by Brad Wetzel: @bradspersecond (on IG and Reddit) bradspersecond.com

We're going to be covering the short stories in Slow Learner after each section of Against the Day, as we are going through that. This episode we discuss The Small Rain, Pynchon's first published short story. What we liked, what we didn't like, and how Pynchon has grown as a writer are all topics of conversation and we hope you'll enjoy listening to our ramblings. We'll return to Against the Day in the next episode.

As always, thanks so much for listening!

Email: ⁠mappingthezonepod@gmail.com⁠

Bluesky: https://bsky.app/profile/mappingthezone.bsky.social

Twitter: https://twitter.com/pynchonpod

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/mappingthezonepodcast/

Show art by Brad Wetzel: @bradspersecond (on IG and Reddit) bradspersecond.com