Unseen Academicals: A Discworld and Terry Pratchett Podcast

Joshua Bulleid
  • 3.7 (7)
  • BOOKS

An intermittent examination of Terry Pratchett's Discworld book series from an academic perspective, hosted by Joshua Bulleid. Contact: unseenacademicalspod@gmail.com Support: patreon.com/unseenacademicals

  1. 15B - Small Gods, Part 2 - Books and New Sons

    09/17/2024

    15B - Small Gods, Part 2 - Books and New Sons

    The second episode examining Terry Pratchett's 1992's Discworld novel, Small Gods, examining the role of books and memory in fantasy fiction, comparisons to Gene Wolfe's Book of the New Sun sequence, contemplations of genre and what it means to be a "comedy", and seriously considering whether I even want to do the show anymore.

    1h 51m
  2. 15A - Small Gods, Part 1: Consider the Tortoise

    05/26/2024

    15A - Small Gods, Part 1: Consider the Tortoise

    The first episode on Terry Pratchett's thirteenth (and best) Discworld novel Small Gods (1992), looking at religious and folkloric depictions of tortoises, the idea that gods need belief to survive as a trope of fantasy literature through influential works like those of Fritz Leiber and the Epic of Gilgamesh, as well as the early Dungeons and Dragons handbooks, the use of explicitly religious language in fantasy, comparisons to Philip Pulman's His Dark Materials series and, finally, an examination of religious animal ethics.

    2h 17m
  3. 14C – Pyramids, Part 2b: Egyptian Representations

    04/04/2024

    14C – Pyramids, Part 2b: Egyptian Representations

    The third and final episode tangentially related to Terry Pratchett's 1989 Discworld novel Pyramids, providing a crash course in Egyptian fantasy and science fiction—as in written by Egyptians, rather than simply about them. We go all the way back to the beginning, talking about traditional fantasy precursors and the origins of the modern Egyptian science fiction tradition, talking about its development throughout the later part of the twentieth century and providing some (overly) close analysis of Mustafā Mahmūd's The Spider (1965) and Nihād Sharīf's The Conqueror of Time (1972), before jumping forward to the allegedly more "authentic" post-2011 Egyptian Revolution era and the currently available English translations by Ahmed Khaled Tawfik, Mohammad Rabie and Ahmed Naji, among others. Contact: unseenacademicalspod@gmail.com

    1h 45m
  4. 14B – Pyramids, Part 2a: Mummy Madness

    03/07/2024

    14B – Pyramids, Part 2a: Mummy Madness

    Tangential mini(ish) episode, inspired by Pyramids (1989), examining mummy fiction and Western representations of Egypt from their nineteenth-century literary origins through twentieth-century film renditions and ultimate assimilation by stupid sexy vampires.

    1h 3m
  5. 14A – Pyramids, Part 1: Progress and Prejudice

    02/17/2024

    14A – Pyramids, Part 1: Progress and Prejudice

    We push the pop-filter to the limit this week, ptalking about Pterry Pratchett's seventh, unaffiliated, Discworld novel, Pyramids (1989), discussing the novel's critical reception along with its portrayals of plumbing, progress, pupils, personal identity, pyramids and polders, among other pthings.

    1h 26m
  6. Best Books in 2023

    01/11/2024 · BONUS

    Best Books in 2023

    Josh counts down the best books he read for the first time in 2023.

    1h 4m
  7. Best Albums of 2023

    01/11/2024 · BONUS

    Best Albums of 2023

    Josh, Eden and Karlo from Heavy Blog is Heavy count down their favourite albums of 2023.

    2h 23m
  8. 13C – Good Omens, Part 3: Faithful Adaptations

    01/02/2024

    13C – Good Omens, Part 3: Faithful Adaptations

    A somewhat off-the-cuff conclusion to our Good Omens coverage, loosely discussing canonicity, adaptation theory and adaptations themselves, including the 2014 BBC radio adaptation and 2019 adaptation of Good Omens, along with its recent second season continuation.

    1h 46m
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An intermittent examination of Terry Pratchett's Discworld book series from an academic perspective, hosted by Joshua Bulleid. Contact: unseenacademicalspod@gmail.com Support: patreon.com/unseenacademicals

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