Mason & Dixon: Chapters 31-35
Explicit content warning
07/07/23 • 163 min
We had quite a lot to discuss in these chapters, so prepare for a longer than usual episode. The brutality and senselessness of the Paxton boys (and American colonialism in general), talking watches that shapeshift into vegetables, westward expansion and the impact of capitalistic real estate, and so much more.
We invite you to share your thoughts with us about the book, these chapters, or anything else we discussed so we can bring it up in a future episode. We can be reached at any of the social media links below.
Regarding the discussion about the unique horror of the American colonists violence toward indigenous peoples as mentioned in this episode, we failed to mention another instance of this type of history which should have been brought up. The Herero and Namaqua genocide was an awful event in history which, like the atrocities brought up in Mason & Dixon and our discussion, should not be forgotten or dismissed.
Order Brett Biebel's Mason & Dixon Companion: https://ugapress.org/book/9780820365831/a-mason-and-dixon-companion/
Here is the link mentioned by Brett. Please be advised, it is paywalled, but the episode can be found on any of the major podcast platforms: https://www.nytimes.com/2021/10/19/opinion/ezra-klein-podcast-woody-holton.html
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: [email protected]
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 had quite a lot to discuss in these chapters, so prepare for a longer than usual episode. The brutality and senselessness of the Paxton boys (and American colonialism in general), talking watches that shapeshift into vegetables, westward expansion and the impact of capitalistic real estate, and so much more.
We invite you to share your thoughts with us about the book, these chapters, or anything else we discussed so we can bring it up in a future episode. We can be reached at any of the social media links below.
Regarding the discussion about the unique horror of the American colonists violence toward indigenous peoples as mentioned in this episode, we failed to mention another instance of this type of history which should have been brought up. The Herero and Namaqua genocide was an awful event in history which, like the atrocities brought up in Mason & Dixon and our discussion, should not be forgotten or dismissed.
Order Brett Biebel's Mason & Dixon Companion: https://ugapress.org/book/9780820365831/a-mason-and-dixon-companion/
Here is the link mentioned by Brett. Please be advised, it is paywalled, but the episode can be found on any of the major podcast platforms: https://www.nytimes.com/2021/10/19/opinion/ezra-klein-podcast-woody-holton.html
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: [email protected]
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
Previous Episode
Mason & Dixon: Chapters 26-30
After landing in Philadelphia, Mason & Dixon are greeted with a bounty of new experiences and faces: street hawkers, founding fathers, secret societies, dreadfully lifelike wax figures. They discuss various topics with Benjamin Franklin, get high with George Washington, and witness the aforementioned Franklin’s electric performance. It was a wild five chapters and we had a great time discussing them.
We have decided to tack on some non-Pynchon discussion we had during our recording, which can be found after our sign off. If you like the extra topics of conversation, let us know as we are exploring the possibility of doing some non-Pynchon bonus content and would like to get an idea of how much interest there would be in that.
Order Brett Biebel's Mason & Dixon Companion: https://ugapress.org/book/9780820365831/a-mason-and-dixon-companion/
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: [email protected]
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
Next Episode
Mason & Dixon: Chapters 36-40
Gastronomy, astronomy, an automaton duck with a vengeance against chefs, discussions about sandwiches, the eucharist, democratic representation, beavers as a pest and food source, and so much more is crammed into these five chapters. We had a great time talking about them and hope you enjoy our conversation.
Order Brett Biebel's Mason & Dixon Companion: https://ugapress.org/book/9780820365831/a-mason-and-dixon-companion/
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: [email protected]
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
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