48 episodes

Unreliable Narrators is a podcast where we discuss media, literature, and the arts and how they relate to Christ, the self, and the world.

Unreliable Narrators Raymond Dokupil and Sophie Klomparens

    • Arts
    • 4.6 • 22 Ratings

Unreliable Narrators is a podcast where we discuss media, literature, and the arts and how they relate to Christ, the self, and the world.

    The Farewell

    The Farewell

    In this episode, Sophie and Raymond discuss themes of suffering, loss, and death in Lulu Wang's 2019 film The Farewell. What are the differences between the western and eastern perspectives on death? What does it mean for the collective to carry the burden of suffering for the individual? And how much longer can Sophie keep coming up with excuses to talk about Fyodor Dostoevsky?? All this and more in the SEASON 3 FINALE.

    Register for camp! https://form.jotform.com/241565531242047

    Support us on Patreon! https://www.patreon.com/UnreliableNarratorsPodcast

    Questions? Comments? E-mail us at unreliablepodcasters@gmail.com, visit our website at unreliablenarratorspodcast.wordpress.com, or say hi on Instagram @unreliablenarratorspodcast.

    Theme music is "New Moon" by Caleb Klomparens. Check out his music athttps://soundcloud.com/kappamuse

    Access the 2024-2025 Stoa Mars Hill list here: https://stoausa.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/06/Mars-Hill-Topics-2024-2025.pdf

    • 1 hr 2 min
    The Rime of the Ancient Mariner

    The Rime of the Ancient Mariner

    In Samuel Taylor Coleridge's "Rime of the Ancient Mariner", the mariner shoots an albatross...and must spend the rest of his life paying penance for his sin. What on earth does this albatross represent? Civilization? Tradition? Christendom? Or is it, as Coleridge would probably insist, just an albatross? In this episode, Sophie and Raymond discuss the Romantic poets' role in the history of art, thought, society, and Christian culture, as well as their special influence C.S. Lewis. We haven't totally come to a consensus on this, but we're pretty sure that Coleridge doesn't want us to kill albatrosses.

    In our next episode, we’ll be discussing the Lulu Wang's 2019 The Farewell, a comedy-drama about and young Chinese-American woman who struggles with the ethical dilemma of whether she should tell her grandmother about her terminal cancer diagnosis.


    Support us on Patreon! https://www.patreon.com/UnreliableNarratorsPodcast

    Questions? Comments? E-mail us at unreliablenarratorsstoa@gmail.com, visit our website at unreliablenarratorspodcast.wordpress.com, or say hi on Instagram @unreliablenarratorspodcast.

    Theme music is "New Moon" by Caleb Klomparens. Check out his music athttps://soundcloud.com/kappamuse

    Access the 2022-2023 Stoa Mars Hill list here: https://stoausa.org/wp-content/uploads/2022/06/Mars-Hill-Topics-2022-2023-1.pdf

    • 1 hr 5 min
    The Persistence of Memory

    The Persistence of Memory

    Sophie and Raymond are rejoined by special guest Anna Mason as they tackle the topic of surrealism through the lens of Salvador Dali's famous painting "The Persistence of Memory." Was Dali actually a surrealist? Why do all the clerks and navvies in the railway trains look so sad and tired? And is not being sick really the most poetical thing in the world? All this and more in this episode!

    Support us on Patreon! https://www.patreon.com/UnreliableNarratorsPodcast

    Questions? Comments? E-mail us at unreliablenarratorsstoa@gmail.com, visit our website at unreliablenarratorspodcast.wordpress.com, or say hi on Instagram @unreliablenarratorspodcast.

    Theme music is "New Moon" by Caleb Klomparens. Check out his music athttps://soundcloud.com/kappamuse

    Access the 2023-2024 Stoa Mars Hill list here:https://stoausa.org/wp-content/uploads/2023/05/Mars-Hill-Topics-2023-2024-1.pdf

    • 1 hr 4 min
    The Magic Shop (1903) by H.G. Wells

    The Magic Shop (1903) by H.G. Wells

    In H.G. Wells' classic short story, a father and his son Gip wander into an antique shop run by a curious man who claims to be a magician. But the father feels something is not right. This magician seems he can make anything disappear...even Gip!

    In this episode, Sophie and Raymond discuss science, magic, hypnotism, and what it means to have childlike (or childish) faith. Along the way, we compare Wells' short story with Christopher Nolan's film The Prestige, as well as a few notable events in the Bible that could be considered magic as well...

    In our next episode, we'll be discussing the art piece "The Persistence of Memory" by Spanish surrealist artist Salvador Dali. Stay tuned.****

    Support us on Patreon! https://www.patreon.com/UnreliableNarratorsPodcast
    Questions? Comments? E-mail us at unreliablenarratorsstoa@gmail.com, visit our website at unreliablenarratorspodcast.wordpress.com, or say hi on Instagram @unreliablenarratorspodcast.
    Theme music is "New Moon" by Caleb Klomparens. Check out his music athttps://soundcloud.com/kappamuse
    Access the 2022-2023 Stoa Mars Hill list here: https://stoausa.org/wp-content/uploads/2022/06/Mars-Hill-Topics-2022-2023-1.pdf

    • 1 hr 7 min
    A Charlie Brown Christmas

    A Charlie Brown Christmas

    Isn't there anyone who knows what Christmas is all about? Sophie and Raymond do! In this VERY BELATED Christmas episode (listen, nobody ever said we were reliable), your hosts discuss the 1965 short film, A Charlie Brown Christmas. What makes Charlie Brown a hero for the masses? What is the difference between a real tree and a poor tree? Can Sophie ever be trusted to edit an episode on time? All this and more in the first episode of 2024!

    Support us on Patreon! https://www.patreon.com/UnreliableNarratorsPodcast

    Questions? Comments? E-mail us at unreliablenarratorsstoa@gmail.com, visit our website at unreliablenarratorspodcast.wordpress.com, or say hi on Instagram @unreliablenarratorspodcast.

    Theme music is "New Moon" by Caleb Klomparens. Check out his music athttps://soundcloud.com/kappamuse

    Access the 2023-2024 Stoa Mars Hill list here:https://stoausa.org/wp-content/uploads/2023/05/Mars-Hill-Topics-2023-2024-1.pdf

    • 1 hr 2 min
    West Side Story

    West Side Story

    Raymond may be doubtful about the reality of love at first sight, but it's nonetheless a story that has captured the imagination of people for generations. In this episode, Sophie and Raymond dive into a diverse discussion about the roots of rivalry, racism, and romance in Steven Sondheim's retelling of Shakespeare's Romeo and Juliet.

    Support us on Patreon! https://www.patreon.com/UnreliableNarratorsPodcast
    Questions? Comments? E-mail us at unreliablenarratorsstoa@gmail.com, visit our website at unreliablenarratorspodcast.wordpress.com, or say hi on Instagram @unreliablenarratorspodcast.
    Theme music is "New Moon" by Caleb Klomparens. Check out his music athttps://soundcloud.com/kappamuse
    Access the 2022-2023 Stoa Mars Hill list here: https://stoausa.org/wp-content/uploads/2022/06/Mars-Hill-Topics-2022-2023-1.pdf

    • 1 hr 4 min

Customer Reviews

4.6 out of 5
22 Ratings

22 Ratings

gammamuse ,

Reliable Podcasters

My sister’s way smarter than me, and so is her friend. Hope you like the theme song!

Masayahin ,

I really love this

Sometimes I listen to this while I draw :)

TooIllOrEase ,

Row row row a boat

When searching for 'intellectuals' unashamed to bow to CurrentYear social reorientation while scraping the pool bottom for topics from Billie Eilish lyrics and the low end of TED Talks (egads), Unreliable Narrators is the place for the discerning autoflagellist. Recommend in such cases.

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