Neither your primary nor secondary source for news, culture, and critical thinking: Meet Tertiary, a podcast from two people you’ve never heard of—Heaven-Leigh and Justin—who went to grad school together and can’t shake the feeling that talking it out is better than doomscrolling.
Join us every other week to laugh, cry, and digest whatever we’re watching, reading, and thinking about. No degree necessary.
In his 2017 acceptance speech for the Nobel Prize in literature, Kazuo Ishiguro said that stories “communicate feelings, that they appeal to what we share as human beings across our borders and divides.” We started this podcast because we believe sharing stories, making deep connections, and bridging divides all appear to be going out of style.
For this week’s episode, your favorite Tertiary hosts ask a few simple questions: Why are books important? What kinds of stories leave impressions on us? Why does that matter? We also shared some of our all-time favorite passages, writers and books with you. Find them below:
Heaven-Leigh’s Reading List
“The Two-Headed Calf” by Laura Gilpen (read it here)
I am Legend by Richard Matheson (get it here)
Justin’s Reading List
The Garden of Eden by Ernest Hemingway (get it here)
The Rings of Saturn by W. G. Sebald (get it here)
Julea’s Reading List
The Bell Jar by Sylvia Plath (get it here)
Letters to a Young Poet by Rainer Maria Rilke (get it here)
Want to be a part of the Tertiary community? Follow us on Instagram, send us an email at tertpod@gmail.com or fill out our Google Form to submit a question that we’ll answer in a future episode.
Assigned Reading
Listen to Kazuo Ishiguro’s Nobel Prize here.
Find George Monbiot’s Out of the Wreckage: A New Politics for an Age of Crisis here.
Read @adamtots’ comic for “Two-Headed Calf” on Tumblr here.
Find Pachinko by Min Jin Lee here.
Our intro and outro music comes from “Cloud Dancer” by Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com). Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 4.0.
22 Sept 2026
EP15: The Emmys, “Does TV Suck,” Walter Benjamin
The 78th Primetime Emmy Awards have come and gone, but we’re still glued to our TVs—“binge watching” is a year-round affair, after all. For this week’s podcast, your favorite Tertiary hosts Heaven-Leigh and Justin respond to Emily Kirkpatrick’s recent Substack, “Does TV Actually Suck Now?”
Whether or not you think TV sucks, we’re interested in what today’s lauded series can teach us about ourselves. We explore the golden age of “bad TV,” the emergence of the star-studded limited series, virtue signalling and representation, as well as the complex task of holding Gen Zers’ attention. Don’t worry, we also make plenty of pit stops along the way, unpacking the Ed Sheeran/Macklemore debacle and, of course, paying homage to “car people.”
Want to be a part of the Tertiary community? Follow us on Instagram, send us an email at tertpod@gmail.com or fill out our Google Form to submit a question that we’ll answer in a future episode.
Assigned Reading
Read “Does TV Actually Suck Now?” by Emily Kirkpatrick on Substack here.
Read “The Work of Art in the Age of Mechanical Reproduction” by Walter Benjamin, courtesy of MIT, here.
Read “Home From College, 2 Weeks Later” by Paula Mejía on The New York Times here.
Assigned Watching
“Avatar: the Last Airbender” (Netflix)
“Bluey” (Disney+)
“Firefly” (Hulu)
Our intro and outro music comes from “Cloud Dancer” by Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com). Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 4.0.
9 Sept 2026
EP14: Anthony Bourdain, Travel, Open-mindedness
Is “travel” a requirement on the road to being a well-rounded, empathetic person? And if so, is there a correct way to travel? This week, your Tertiary hosts, Heaven-Leigh and Justin, take inspiration from the late, great Anthony Bourdain to discuss the ways travel and new experiences can change your life.
If traveling brings a little extra humility, empathy and openness to your life, listening to this episode will have you questioning your go-to drink order and the real definition of “peruse” (hint: it’s not what you think). Tune in and tag along for another week of rabbit holes and side convos with the Tertiary crew!
Want to be a part of the Tertiary community? Follow us on Instagram, send us an email at tertpod@gmail.com or fill out our Google Form to submit a question that we’ll answer in a future episode.
Assigned Reading
Read Kitchen Confidential: Adventures in the Culinary Underbelly by Anthony Bourdain, linked here.
Watch any or all episodes of Anthony Bourdain: Parts Unknown wherever you watch your TV.
Our intro and outro music comes from “Cloud Dancer” by Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com). Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 4.0.
Reach and audience
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Apple Podcasts (US)
5.0 / 5
1 ratings
Spotify
5.0 / 5
8 ratings
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