73 episodes

An ever-growing collection of conversations and presentations about literature, humor, and history in America, produced by the premier source for programming and funding scholarship on Mark Twain's life and legacy.

The American Vandal Matt Seybold, Center For Mark Twain Studies

    • Arts
    • 4.8 • 21 Ratings

An ever-growing collection of conversations and presentations about literature, humor, and history in America, produced by the premier source for programming and funding scholarship on Mark Twain's life and legacy.

    Criticism LTD: Continuing The Dialogue (A Project Narrative Event)

    Criticism LTD: Continuing The Dialogue (A Project Narrative Event)

    Recorded at The Ohio State University, as part of the Project Narrative series, Matt Seybold reflects on the making of "Criticism LTD" [3:15], as well as ongoing Ponzi austerity, reassessment of close reading, and AI speculative euphoria since its conclusion [14:30]. James Phelan (Director of Project Narrative) argues for narrative theory's contributions to literary studies as a discipline [35:30] and they take questions from the audience [47:50].

    Theme Song: "A Little Bit Strange To Begin With" by Redd Holt & The Heptet

    Cast (in order of appearance): Matt Seybold, James Phelan, Amanpal Garcha, Sandra Macpherson, Brian McHale, Christine Tulley

    For a bibliography of this episode, please visit MarkTwainStudies.com/AfterCriticismLTD or subscribe to Matt Seybold's substack at TheAmericanVandal.Substack.com

    • 1 hr 26 min
    Close Reading Feudalism(s) in Adventures of Huckleberry Finn with James Phelan (A Project Narrative Crossover Episode)

    Close Reading Feudalism(s) in Adventures of Huckleberry Finn with James Phelan (A Project Narrative Crossover Episode)

    From the production studios of Ohio State University, American Vandal host, Matt Seybold, and James Phelan, the Director of Project Narrative, read aloud Chapter 18 of "Adventures of Huckleberry Finn" by Mark Twain [3:40], then discuss it [30:00] with emphases on the opportunities the chapter presents for types of close reading.

    This episode is a crossover with the Project Narrative podcast, which you can learn more about at ProjectNarrative.osu.edu.

    For our episode bibliography, please visit MarkTwainStudies.com/ProjectNarrative or subscribe to Matt Seybold's newsletter at TheAmericanVandal.Substack.com

    • 1 hr 16 min
    2024 with Anna Kornbluh & J.D. Connor

    2024 with Anna Kornbluh & J.D. Connor

    The finale episode of our miniseries on corporate allegory was recorded the day after the publication of Anna Kornbluh's "Immediacy, or The Style of Too Late Capitalism" by Verso. With numerous allusions to the book, Matt Seybold asks Kornbluh and "City of Industry" blogger J. D. Connor to consider the potential "perfect storm" of media disruption in 2024. Among the topics they cover are the enshittification of social, search, & and streaming, the investor-led rush to profitability justifiying downsizing across media sectors, the speculative euphoria associated with AI-generated art, and the eroding boundaries between media forms.

    Theme Song: "This Year" by The Steel Wheels

    For more about this episode, please visit MarkTwainStudies.com/TwentyTwentyFour or subscribe to Matt Seybold's newsletter at TheAmericanVandal.Substack.com

    • 1 hr 23 min
    iLiberalism, The Morning Show, & The Sheeny Blandness of AppleTV+ with Anna Shechtman & Michael Szalay

    iLiberalism, The Morning Show, & The Sheeny Blandness of AppleTV+ with Anna Shechtman & Michael Szalay

    Our series on corporate allegory continues with an extended discussion of Apple TV+, both its film and television offerings, as well as the relationship between such "content" and the corporation's primary business: selling iPhones and other hardware. Among the specific works discussed are "Severance," "Killers Of The Flower Moon," "Lessons In Chemistry," "Fingernails," "Gutsy," "The Foundation," "Silo," "Ted Lasso," "The Last Thing He Told Me," and, most extensively, "The Morning Show."

    Theme Song: "This Year" by The Steel Wheels

    For more about this episode, please visit MarkTwainStudies.com/AppleTV or subscribe to Matt Seybold's newsletter at TheAmericanVandal.Substack.com

    • 1 hr 12 min
    Close Reading, Conglomerate Authorship, & Qween Danielle Steel with Dan Sinykin & Johanna Winant

    Close Reading, Conglomerate Authorship, & Qween Danielle Steel with Dan Sinykin & Johanna Winant

    In an episode which operates as both coda to "Criticism LTD" and herald of 2024, Matt Seybold is joined by two scholars working on the complex history and sometimes conflicting methods of close reading. They also discuss the reception of Big Fiction: How Conglomeration Changed The Publishing Industry (Columbia UP, 2023) [31:00] and a bevy of novels by Danielle Steel, including The Promise (1978), Happiness (2023), and Worthy Opponents (2023) [39:00].

    Theme Song: "This Year" by The Steel Wheels

    For more about this episode, please visit MarkTwainStudies.com/Steel or subscribe to Matt Seybold's newsletter at TheAmericanVandal.Substack.com

    • 1 hr 33 min
    Netflix Necrocapitalism & The House of Usher with Jane Hu & Phillip Maciak

    Netflix Necrocapitalism & The House of Usher with Jane Hu & Phillip Maciak

    A new season on corporate allegory, business melodrama, and new releases from academic presses kicks off with a discussion of the recent Mike Flanagan adaptation of Edgar Allen Poe's "The Fall Of The House of Usher" for Netflix.

    For more about this episode, please visit MarkTwainStudies.com/Usher or TheAmericanVandal.Substack.com

    • 1 hr 20 min

Customer Reviews

4.8 out of 5
21 Ratings

21 Ratings

WanderAll ,

Excellent

I’m excited for the new season

agenbiter ,

thoroughly good

great show, consistently impressive coordination of culture and current events, and equally impressive wrangling of knowledgeable and charismatic guests; it always feels a little sad to say that listening to a good podcast is like listening to your smart friends on their best day, these people don’t know me, but this podcast is like listening to my smart friends on their best day. also: as of S4, extremely good intro music

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