Mapping the Zone: A Thomas Pynchon discussion podcast

Thomas Pynchon books discussed here!
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Each episode, we take a deep-dive into the book we are focusing on—we explore the references, characters, plot, and everything in between from a non-scholarly point of view. We are just four fans who love these books and can talk about them endlessly.

  1. Shadow Ticket (for real this time)

    3 DAYS AGO

    Shadow Ticket (for real this time)

    Quit your scratching and bleeding and put down the rosary, the cure of all your anxieties has arrived! At long last, the Mapping the Zone Review of Shadow Ticket, Spoilerful Edition, has been released, and it's packed with more hot takes and thrilling twists than any diehard fans of the storied Spoiler-free episode could have imagined. The hype is NOT TOO HIGH! 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 If you enjoyed our discussion, please check out the following media that relates to these chapters: Books: Moby-Dick by Herman Melville, Ulysses by James Joyce Music: The Third Man (OST) by Anton Karas, Green Street, Grant’s First Stand, Idle Moments, Nigeria by Grant Green TV/Film: Brazil (dir. Terry Gilliam, 1985), The Third Man (dir. Carol Reed, 1949), The Long Goodbye (dir. Robert Altman, 1973) 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/ Merch: mapping-the-zone.myspreadshop.com Show art by Brad Wetzel: @bradspersecond (on IG and Reddit)bradspersecond.com

    2h 9m
  2. Shadow Ticket: Spoiler Free review

    25 OCT

    Shadow Ticket: Spoiler Free review

    It's finally here and we got to read it! Shadow Ticket, the newest (and perhaps final) novel by Thomas Pynchon is out in the wild and we are here with a spoiler-free review for those who may not have had a chance to read it as of yet. We will have a longer, more in-depth review episode out on 31 October 2025, so stay tuned for that if you wanted a more nuanced discussion of our thoughts on the novel. 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 If you enjoyed our discussion, please check out the following media that relates to these chapters: Music: Béla Bartók 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/ Merch: mapping-the-zone.myspreadshop.com Show art by Brad Wetzel: @bradspersecond (on IG and Reddit)bradspersecond.com

    1h 8m
  3. Against the Day: Chapter 21

    17 OCT

    Against the Day: Chapter 21

    Wid'ya lookit that! It's been a hundred pages since our paths last crossed the Chums' of Chance, and here they are, in Venice. That ain't the only coincidence at hand, no, far too many'a them... Something's wrong. Still, hoping to keep with the patriotic aeronauts, and the history presented, our crew resorts to conspiratorial means of tracking the plot. Those mirrors 'n lenses had better help with that map, eh? 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/ Merch: mapping-the-zone.myspreadshop.com Show art by Brad Wetzel: @bradspersecond (on IG and Reddit)bradspersecond.com

    2h 40m
  4. Bonus Episode - One Battle After Another

    3 OCT

    Bonus Episode - One Battle After Another

    Once in a lifetime, a moment comes around, and one has with the latest film from auteur director Paul Thomas Anderson! We take that moment to assess the film on its own merit, but not without respect to the weight of its primary credited influence, Vineland. Is Sean Penn the next Christian Bale? Just how Pynchonian has PTA gotten lately? Will anyone even need to read the old crank again, with adaptations like these? Answers to these questions, and more, await the listeners of our definitive, and complete, review of One Battle After Another. 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/ Merch: mapping-the-zone.myspreadshop.com Show art by Brad Wetzel: @bradspersecond (on IG and Reddit)bradspersecond.com

    1h 49m
  5. Against the Day: Chapter 20

    19 SEPT

    Against the Day: Chapter 20

    A spot of smoky rooms and heavy drapes suits us as finely as they do Lew, and somehow the more obscure the corner of history referred to by the couple-three iconoclasts he meets, the more our hosts find to discuss. There's plenty of room left in the shadows, as these dialogues reveal their purposes unorthodox even by the TWIT's standard! From the cricket...arenas...of Australia to bathtubs of Condy's fluid, it's no wonder we take a few missteps (e.g. Raimi) from the line of firm tracks this chapter joins them by. Next episode: Ch. 21 (pg. 242-259) ending on “‘Bells are the most ancient objects. They call to us out of eternity.’” 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 If you enjoyed our discussion, please check out the following media that relates to these chapters: Music: The Pod - Ween Film/TV: Love Liza (2002; d. Todd Louiso), Spider-Man (2002; d. Sam Raimi), Community (2009-2015) 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/ Merch: mapping-the-zone.myspreadshop.com Show art by Brad Wetzel: @bradspersecond (on IG and Reddit)bradspersecond.com

    2h 8m
  6. Against the Day: Chapter 19

    5 SEPT

    Against the Day: Chapter 19

    With how things have gotten so real these past few eps, it's time to see what Lew's been up to in cheery old Inglund! These chaps, Nigel and Nuisance or whatbeit, who've already brung him across the world just have not said quite enough about this infinite tetrangle! Even the demonstrably stable Grand Cohen's powerful rhetoric can not convince our thoroughly skeptic troupe of the TWIT's wisdom. And just so, what more fitting a background to divine the sources of the oncoming strife upon the mainland? If Madame Eskimoff's recordings did not suffice our listeners, they might find a digestif in order while contemplating this episode of Mapping the Zone. 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 If you enjoyed our discussion, please check out the following media that relates to these chapters: The Avenger: An Allegorical War Map for 1877 by Fred W. Rose (1877) https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Russo-Turkish_War_(1877%E2%80%931878)#/media/File:Fred._W._Rose_The_Avenger_An_Allegorical_War_Map_for_1877_1877_Cornell_CUL_PJM_1080_01.jpg Books: The Book of the Sacred Magic of Abramelin the Mage; Bare-faced Messiah by Russell Miller, Cryptonomicon by Neal Stephenson 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

    3h 29m
  7. Against the Day: Chapter 18

    22 AUG

    Against the Day: Chapter 18

    This week we wander through Jeshimon and track Reef as he rescues his father's harried remains from the just yet supernatural decay they'd have suffered in the desecrate airs of the town. Though Webb may rest his children and Mayva shall not and like them we wrestle with grief and legacy in our discussion. Those distressed by the forestalling of our chapter 19 discussion are recommended to contemplate the tetractys for fifteen minutes each morning and come back in two weeks. 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 If you enjoyed our discussion, please check out the following media that relates to these chapters: Books: The Dark Tower (series) by Stephen King Films/TV: Animaniacs Music: Hermanos Gutierrez (https://tidal.com/browse/artist/9835680?u) 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

    1h 57m
  8. Against the Day: Chapters 16-17

    18 JUL

    Against the Day: Chapters 16-17

    Checking in on the Traverse household, things are looking ... somber. As happy as the hosts are to all be present and accountable, the mood is somewhat dampened by the final ties breaking between Lake and her father, and where that leads Webb. Thankfully, the romantic backdrop of Nochecita cushions things a bit, even if Frank and Reef's glimpse at peace is cut short. It's not all a loss, though! We do, at least, meet a few new friends along the way to Jeshimon. 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 If you enjoyed our discussion, please check out the following media that relates to these chapters: Films/TV: The Killer (2023; d. David Fincher), The Matador (2005; d. Richard Shepard) 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

    2h 1m
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Each episode, we take a deep-dive into the book we are focusing on—we explore the references, characters, plot, and everything in between from a non-scholarly point of view. We are just four fans who love these books and can talk about them endlessly.

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