Pynchon Pals
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Podcast Overview
<p>Pynchon Pals is a podcast about finally reading Thomas Pynchon. </p><p>Join co-hosts and good friends Patrick Fiorilli, Andrew Tillett, and Duri Long as they talk through, break down, and identify exciting new recipes from the works of one of American literature's foremost figures.</p><p>Just saw One Battle After Another? Picked up Shadow Ticket? Had Gravity's Rainbow on your shelf for a decade? Or just a longtime fan looking to revisit your favorites? Everyone's welcome to be a Pynchon Pal!</p><p>Support us at <a href="http://patreon.com/pynchonpals" rel="nofollow">patreon.com/pynchonpals</a> for additional bonus episodes, and follow us <a href="https://bsky.app/profile/pynchonpals.bsky.social" rel="nofollow">@pynchonpals.bsky.social</a>. </p>
Language
🇺🇲
Publishing Since
9/24/2025
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Recent Episodes
June 3, 2026
19: In which this book is sort of like The History Channel meets The Great Mouse Detective meets Severance meets Riverdale meets Dumb and Dumber (Gravity’s Rainbow Episodes 2.3-2.5)
<p>Debauchery. Grotesquerie. Eschatology. Showtunes. That’s Thomas Pynchon, for ya! </p><p>Next time, Gravity’s Rainbow Episodes 2.6, 2.7, and 2.8, or pp. 247-282 in the U.S. Penguin Classics Deluxe Edition. </p><p>Support the show and get access to monthly bonus episodes at <a href="http://patreon.com/pynchonpals" rel="nofollow">patreon.com/pynchonpals</a> and follow us <a href="https://bsky.app/profile/pynchonpals.bsky.social" rel="nofollow">@pynchonpals.bsky.social</a>. </p><p>For the month of May’s Patreon-exclusive bonus episode we watched Hitler's Secret Weapon: The V-2 Rocket at Peenemunde (1977) (<a href="https://archive.org/details/HitlersSecretWeapon" rel="nofollow">link via </a><a href="http://archive.org" rel="nofollow">Archive.org</a>), V2: Nazi Rocket a.k.a. Hitler's Space Rocket (2016) (there seems to be a couple cuts or versions of this one across streaming platforms and maybe international distributors—but here’s a <a href="https://youtu.be/1R_VosHA9W8" rel="nofollow">link to one version on YouTube</a>), and “V2 Assembling and Launching” (1947) (<a href="https://youtu.be/amL3CnZNCb0" rel="nofollow">link via YouTube</a>).</p><p><strong>Show Notes:</strong></p><p>“The Great Mouse Detective - The world's greatest criminal mind (lyrics)” via YouTube (<a href="https://youtu.be/8UQg4zb9dsA" rel="nofollow">https://youtu.be/8UQg4zb9dsA</a>) </p><p>An open-access article that very probably contains spoilers beyond where we are in the book, but which goes deep on Pynchon’s sources for the equation we talk about in this episode and others: Engelhardt, N. & Engelhardt, H., (2018) “The Momentum of Pynchon's Secret Formula: Gravity’s Rainbow’s Second Equation between Archival Sources and Fiction”, Orbit: A Journal of American Literature 6(1). (<a href="https://doi.org/10.16995/orbit.486" rel="nofollow">https://doi.org/10.16995/orbit.486</a>)</p><p>Songfacts interview with Devo that mentions “Whip It”’s Pynchon inspiration (<a href="https://www.songfacts.com/blog/interviews/devo" rel="nofollow">https://www.songfacts.com/blog/interviews/devo</a>)</p><p>Content warnings: strong language, physical and sexual violence, racism, misogyny.</p><p>---</p><p>Featuring Patrick Fiorilli, Andrew Tillett, and Duri Long.</p><p>Produced and edited by Patrick Fiorilli (<a href="http://www.patf.io" rel="nofollow">www.patf.io</a> and<a href="https://bsky.app/profile/patfio.bsky.social" rel="nofollow"> @patfio.bsky.social</a>).</p><p>Our theme music is “Horology,” by King Gizzard and the Lizard Wizard, released under a Creative Commons Attribution-NoDerivatives license on the album<a href="https://kinggizzard.bandcamp.com/album/polygondwanaland" rel="nofollow"> Polygondwanaland</a>. </p>
May 20, 2026
18: In which Patrick finally finds an excuse to do his Jimmy Stewart impression (Gravity’s Rainbow Episodes 2.1-2.2)
<p>Ah, now this is what we’ve been missing! The sun, the sea, the songs! This episode’s all escapades along the esplanade. At least until the paranoia sets in. </p><p>Next time, Gravity’s Rainbow Episodes 2.3 through 2.5, or pp. 208-247 in the U.S. Penguin Classics Deluxe Edition. </p><p>Support the show and get access to monthly bonus episodes at <a href="http://patreon.com/pynchonpals" rel="nofollow">patreon.com/pynchonpals</a> and follow us <a href="https://bsky.app/profile/pynchonpals.bsky.social" rel="nofollow">@pynchonpals.bsky.social</a>. </p><p>For the month of May’s Patreon-exclusive bonus episode we’ll be watching Hitler's Secret Weapon: The V-2 Rocket at Peenemunde (1977) (<a href="https://archive.org/details/HitlersSecretWeapon" rel="nofollow">link via </a><a href="http://archive.org" rel="nofollow">Archive.org</a>), V2: Nazi Rocket a.k.a. Hitler's Space Rocket (2016) (there seems to be a couple cuts or versions of this one across streaming platforms and maybe international distributors—but here’s a <a href="https://youtu.be/1R_VosHA9W8" rel="nofollow">link to one version on YouTube</a>), and “V2 Assembling and Launching” (1947) (<a href="https://youtu.be/amL3CnZNCb0" rel="nofollow">link via YouTube</a>).</p><p><strong>Show Notes:</strong></p><p>“Weather Station Kurt,” the secret Nazi weather station in Labrador, via Wikipedia (<a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Weather_Station_Kurt" rel="nofollow">https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Weather_Station_Kurt</a>) </p><p>“Pynchonesque” film series at the Brooklyn Academy of Music, programmed by Jesse Trussell (<a href="https://www.bam.org/film/2026/pynchonesque" rel="nofollow">https://www.bam.org/film/2026/pynchonesque</a>) </p><p>“Spray of Glory: The Seltzer Bottle,” by Anthony Balducci (<a href="https://anthonybalducci.blogspot.com/2021/07/spray-of-glory-seltzer-bottle.html" rel="nofollow">https://anthonybalducci.blogspot.com/2021/07/spray-of-glory-seltzer-bottle.html</a>) </p><p>Chuck Jones’ Wile E. Coyote Rules via Wikipedia (<a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wile_E._Coyote_and_the_Road_Runner#Laws_and_rules" rel="nofollow">https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wile_E._Coyote_and_the_Road_Runner#Laws_and_rules</a>) </p><p>Content warnings: strong language, physical and sexual violence, racism, misogyny, xenophobia, genocide, animal abuse.</p><p>---</p><p>Featuring Patrick Fiorilli, Andrew Tillett, and Duri Long.</p><p>Produced and edited by Patrick Fiorilli (<a href="http://www.patf.io" rel="nofollow">www.patf.io</a> and<a href="https://bsky.app/profile/patfio.bsky.social" rel="nofollow"> @patfio.bsky.social</a>).</p><p>Our theme music is “Horology,” by King Gizzard and the Lizard Wizard, released under a Creative Commons Attribution-NoDerivatives license on the album<a href="https://kinggizzard.bandcamp.com/album/polygondwanaland" rel="nofollow"> Polygondwanaland</a>. </p>
May 6, 2026
17: In which we tour Mr. Pynchon’s Mysterious Society for Peculiarly Gifted Bureaucrats (Gravity’s Rainbow Episodes 1.17-1.21)
<p>Do we dare go beyond “Beyond the Zero”? Well, first we’ve got to meet a bunch of characters who will surely—surely—be important later. Then, this book heard you liked the occult, so it put a séance in its séance so you can speak to the dead while you speak to the dead. Finally, Roger and Jessica just keep breaking our hearts. </p><p>Next time, Gravity’s Rainbow Episodes 2.1 and 2.2, or pp. 181-208 in the U.S. Penguin Classics Deluxe Edition. </p><p>Support the show and get access to monthly bonus episodes at <a href="http://patreon.com/pynchonpals" rel="nofollow">patreon.com/pynchonpals</a> and follow us <a href="https://bsky.app/profile/pynchonpals.bsky.social" rel="nofollow">@pynchonpals.bsky.social</a>. </p><p><span>For the month of May’s bonus episode, we’ll be watching </span>Hitler's Secret Weapon: The V-2 Rocket at Peenemunde <span>(1977) (</span><a href="https://archive.org/details/HitlersSecretWeapon" rel="nofollow">link via </a><a href="http://archive.org" rel="nofollow">Archive.org</a><span>), </span>V2: Nazi Rocket <span>a.k.a. </span>Hitler's Space Rocket <span>(2016) (there seems to be a couple cuts or versions of this one across streaming platforms and maybe international distributors—but here’s a </span><a href="https://youtu.be/1R_VosHA9W8" rel="nofollow">link to one version on YouTube</a><span>), and “V2 Assembling and Launching” (1947) (</span><a href="https://youtu.be/amL3CnZNCb0" rel="nofollow">link via YouTube</a><span>).</span></p><p><strong>Show Notes:</strong></p><p><a href="https://library.unc.edu/music/unc-school-songs/" rel="nofollow">“Hark the Sound,” by William Starr Myers</a>, a.k.a. “Far Above Cayuga's Waters,” a.k.a. “Annie Lisle,” a.k.a. the Yoyodyne “Hymn” via the UNC Library </p><p><a href="http://web.guggenheim.org/exhibitions/picasso/artworks/maids_of_honor" rel="nofollow">Picasso’s “Las Meninas,</a> or one of 58 anyways, via the Guggenheim Museum</p><p><a href="https://youtu.be/PuLaUYQFIwg" rel="nofollow">“Is Time Real? The Physics Behind the Illusion of Time”</a> with Carlo Rovelli, via Quanta Magazine</p><p><a href="https://www.cbr.com/revisiting-mcduffies-six-degrees-of-st-elsewhere/" rel="nofollow">“Six Degrees of St. Elsewhere,” by Dwayne McDuffie</a>, the origin of the Tommy Westphall Theory, via CBR </p><p><a href="https://pynchoname.com/" rel="nofollow">Thomas Pynchon Name Generator</a> (spoiler alert?)</p><p><a href="https://drunkpynchon.com/2018/04/09/gwenhidwys-drink/" rel="nofollow">Gwenhidwy’s Drink</a>, via Thomas Pynchon’s Liquor Cabinet</p><p>Content warnings: strong language, physical and sexual violence, racism, misogyny, xenophobia, genocide, albeism, antisemitism.</p><p>---</p><p>Featuring Patrick Fiorilli, Andrew Tillett, and Duri Long.</p><p>Produced and edited by Patrick Fiorilli (<a href="http://www.patf.io" rel="nofollow">www.patf.io</a> and<a href="https://bsky.app/profile/patfio.bsky.social" rel="nofollow"> @patfio.bsky.social</a>).</p><p>Our theme music is “Horology,” by King Gizzard and the Lizard Wizard, released under a Creative Commons Attribution-NoDerivatives license on the album<a href="https://kinggizzard.bandcamp.com/album/polygondwanaland" rel="nofollow"> Polygondwanaland</a>. </p>
19 total episodes available
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Frequently asked questions
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- What is Pynchon Pals?
<p>Pynchon Pals is a podcast about finally reading Thomas Pynchon. </p><p>Join co-hosts and good friends Patrick Fiorilli, Andrew Tillett, and Duri Long as they talk through, break down, and identify exciting new recipes from the works of one of American literature's foremost figures.</p><p>Just saw One Battle After Another? Picked up Shadow Ticket? Had Gravity's Rainbow on your shelf for a decade? Or just a longtime fan looking to revisit your favorites? Everyone's welcome to be a Pynchon Pal!</p><p>Support us at <a href="http://patreon.com/pynchonpals" rel="nofollow">patreon.com/pynchonpals</a> for additional bonus episodes, and follow us <a href="https://bsky.app/profile/pynchonpals.bsky.social" rel="nofollow">@pynchonpals.bsky.social</a>. </p> - How often does this podcast release new episodes?
This podcast updates daily.
- Where can I listen to this podcast?
This podcast is available on 4 platforms including Apple Podcasts, Spotify, and more. You can also use the RSS feed directly.
- Does this podcast accept guests?
No, this podcast does not typically feature guests.
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