Upper Middlebrow

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A podcast in which we discuss high-craft works of popular culture

2 Listeners

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Top 10 Upper Middlebrow Episodes

Goodpods has curated a list of the 10 best Upper Middlebrow episodes, ranked by the number of listens and likes each episode have garnered from our listeners. If you are listening to Upper Middlebrow for the first time, there's no better place to start than with one of these standout episodes. If you are a fan of the show, vote for your favorite Upper Middlebrow episode by adding your comments to the episode page.

Episode 10: “Underlying Math Skeleton” or Neal Stephenson’s Cryptonomicon, Part I

Upper Middlebrow

02/17/23 • 70 min

Bagg and Dukes are...a little tired of Neal Stephenson, but our two codebreaking huffduff operators soldier on into Stephenson’s large 1999 novel Cryptonomicon. Haiku-composing marines, lots of math via bicycle chains and other analog metaphors, passive-aggressive academic tracts about beards, and Stephenson’s solving of an earlier problem of his: simply write two books but connect them via plot.

1 Listener

Digression II: Foodie Films Preview with Chewing host Monica Eng

Upper Middlebrow

11/16/23 • 51 min

The UMBers sit down with Monica Eng, co-host of the podcast Chewing, to discuss our upcoming "Foodie Films" series. Monica and Jesse educate Chris about the Jibarito sandwich, and Monica impresses us by having seen 7 out of 7 of the works in this series.

1 Listener

Episode 24: “How to Make a Pangea Omelette,” or N.K. Jemisin’s The Fifth Season

Upper Middlebrow

07/06/23 • 78 min

The Fifth Season is... a lot. Fantasy? Sure. Sci-fi? Maybe. Allegory? Definitely. The first half introduces us to three apparently different protagonists, with action in an uncertain number of timelines, and the sense that this particular world is about the be transformed. But why? And how?

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Episode 2: Neal Stephenson’s Snow Crash, Part Two

Upper Middlebrow

11/22/22 • -1 min

Chris and Jesse pick up mostly where we left off (although “leaving off” suggests we’re keeping track of what we’re doing—spoiler alert: we’re not), as Hiro and Y.T. infiltrate the decommissioned USS Enterprise (the aircraft carrier, that is—all you trekkies put your hearts back in your chest cavities), searching for the Nam Shub of Enki and trying to get anyone to listen to Reason.

1 Listener

Episode 1: Neal Stephenson’s Snow Crash, Part One

Upper Middlebrow

11/22/22 • -1 min

Released in 1992, Snow Crash is Neal Stephenson’s second major novel, but certainly his first breakaway hit. Snow Crash follows the exploits of Hiro Protagonist (yes, you read that right) and his partner Y.T., as they try to save the world from an "infocalypse," delving into the differences and similarities between viruses biological, spiritual, and informational.

1 Listener

Trailer: Upper Middle Brow LIVE Tomorrow

Upper Middlebrow

11/21/22 • 3 min

Upper Middle Brow launches TOMORROW! Yes, that's right, tomorrow, November 22nd, as we celebrate the 30th anniversary of Neal Stephenson's Snow Crash with our very first episode. We're excited, and we hope you are, too. Our trailer is below, and you can also find it where you download or listen to all fine podcasts. Thanks for listening, and we'll see you tomorrow.

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Episode 13: “Time the Ravager” or Jennifer Egan’s 2010 A Visit From the Goon Squad, Part I

Upper Middlebrow

03/13/23 • 97 min

After a camel cricket update (!), Jesse and Chris try to untangle the conga line of affection and destruction that forms the structure of Egan's remarkable 2010 Pulitzer Prize-winning novel. Bagg plays the babyface/fanboy while Dukes combines admiration for Egan’s craft with a deep sense of discomfort with the characters' circumstances. We wrap it up with some trivia about titans of tech and shoplifting spin.

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Episode 14: “The Impervious Battleship Egan,” or A Visit From the Goon Squad, Part II

Upper Middlebrow

03/23/23 • 91 min

In the second half of Goon Squad, many of the characters end up...surprisingly OK, especially when you consider their struggles and self-destructive capacity displayed in the first half. Bagg and Dukes talk about whether the happy-ish outcomes are earned, and meditate on Proust’s epigram about memory. They wonder if the opposite of time as a ravager would be "Time, The Accepted Force that Propels Our Life Forward for Better or Worse?"

1 Listener

Episode 12: “Hitler’s Springtime + Ziegfried’s Follies,” or Neal Stephenson’s Cryptonomicon, Part III

Upper Middlebrow

03/03/23 • 90 min

Play along with Dukes and Bagg as we play Neal Stephenson Bingo. We find that the final third does pick up a bit, with Goto Dengo’s story in particular providing a satisfying character arc. There are moments of DENSE AND BEAUTIFUL PROSE and descriptions of MATH EMBODIED, but we also find that too often, PLOT IS GREATER THAN CHARACTER DEVELOPMENT, leaving both UMBs a bit frustrated (and many characters suddenly dead).

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Episode 9: “Underwater Burning Man,” or Neal Stephenson’s The Diamond Age, Part II

Upper Middlebrow

02/07/23 • -1 min

Dukes and Bagg talk scruffiness and the virtues of whiskers more broadly. Then they complain about Stephenson’s propensity to want to write three books into every book, his tendency to orphan MacGuffin’s and the challenge of sorting out whether the reader’s disorientation is intended, or the result of sloppiness. But for it all, the UMBs agree this is Stephenson’s most ambitious and thoughtful work of this career thus far.

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FAQ

How many episodes does Upper Middlebrow have?

Upper Middlebrow currently has 76 episodes available.

What topics does Upper Middlebrow cover?

The podcast is about Fiction, Podcasts, Books and Arts.

What is the most popular episode on Upper Middlebrow?

The episode title 'Episode 23: “In Search of the Perfect Read, Part III,” or “Baseball, Massholes, and Interspecies Dorking”' is the most popular.

What is the average episode length on Upper Middlebrow?

The average episode length on Upper Middlebrow is 67 minutes.

How often are episodes of Upper Middlebrow released?

Episodes of Upper Middlebrow are typically released every 10 days.

When was the first episode of Upper Middlebrow?

The first episode of Upper Middlebrow was released on Nov 21, 2022.

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