ursulakleguin

Let's get to it EP.59. We are a little leaner this epsiode. For whatever reason I had a few less things to discuss. Perhaps a sign I need to crank up the adventure in my life. No biggy. I'll do it. That doesn't mean though what is here was not worth the talk. I have been reading and I have been watching a lot of great media recently which informed a lot of what comes up in this episode. Particularly a book called 'the name of the wind' known for being foundational as some of the best fantasy ever written and endorsed by Ursula K Leguin herself. More contempoarily I have watched 'The Shrink Next Door' starring Will Ferrel and Paul Rudd, an absolute master class in great story, suspense and art. To go back in time a little we finish the podcast on the topic of Don Bluth the director I've discovered who directed all of the major dark animations I enjoyed as a child. We turn over some rocks and we find some fascinating things.

Taylor tells Josie about the controversial "sequel" to Harper Lee's classic novel, To Kill a Mockingbird. Plus: a trip to the Gates of Hell, Turkmenistan's ever-burning fire pit.

The Open Sea -- in which Sparrowhawk confronts his shadow

WARNING: These episodes are intended as a supplement to the reading. Anything revealed in a section is subject to a "what we know so far" discussion, with a greater than 0% chance of related speculation. We always avoid spoilers, BUT, if a close-reading reveals secrets left obscure to a casual reader... be warned. 

Please, keep comments relevant to the current episode. 

We'd like to encourage you to "like" the podcast if you do. Subscribe, tell your friends and leave us friendly or constructive comments. All of these help us grow and learn. 

Patreon -- This option is for those who love what we're doing and just can't live without us. Your contributions will help us cover the costs of the RSS feed, logo design, hardware upgrades, etc. https://www.patreon.com/user?u=47998540

Instagram -- Follow SFFRA for episode announcements and general podcast info @scifi_fantasy_read_along 

If you'd like to contact us directly, use the following email: scifiandfantasyreadalong@gmail.com 

Thank you to Setuniman for letting us use his beautiful piano loop. https://freesound.org/people/Setuniman/ 

The cover art from the novel used in our thumbnail is by Dominic Harman. ISBN: 978-0-547-72202-3 Welcome! 

We're so happy you found us. Keep reading everyone.        

Iffish -- in which Sparrowhawk pursuit of an enemy leads him to an old friend.

WARNING: These episodes are intended as a supplement to the reading. Anything revealed in a section is subject to a "what we know so far" discussion, with a greater than 0% chance of related speculation. We always avoid spoilers, BUT, if a close-reading reveals secrets left obscure to a casual reader... be warned. 

Please, keep comments relevant to the current episode. 

We'd like to encourage you to "like" the podcast if you do. Subscribe, tell your friends and leave us friendly or constructive comments. All of these help us grow and learn. 

Patreon -- This option is for those who love what we're doing and just can't live without us. Your contributions will help us cover the costs of the RSS feed, logo design, hardware upgrades, etc. https://www.patreon.com/user?u=47998540

Instagram -- Follow SFFRA for episode announcements and general podcast info @scifi_fantasy_read_along 

If you'd like to contact us directly, use the following email: scifiandfantasyreadalong@gmail.com 

Thank you to Setuniman for letting us use his beautiful piano loop. https://freesound.org/people/Setuniman/ 

The cover art from the novel used in our thumbnail is by Dominic Harman. ISBN: 978-0-547-72202-3 Welcome! 

We're so happy you found us. Keep reading everyone.       

Hunting -- in which Sparrowhawk faces his fears and the Shadow.

WARNING: These episodes are intended as a supplement to the reading. Anything revealed in a section is subject to a "what we know so far" discussion, with a greater than 0% chance of related speculation. We always avoid spoilers, BUT, if a close-reading reveals secrets left obscure to a casual reader... be warned. 

Please, keep comments relevant to the current episode. 

We'd like to encourage you to "like" the podcast if you do. Subscribe, tell your friends and leave us friendly or constructive comments. All of these help us grow and learn. 

Patreon -- This option is for those who love what we're doing and just can't live without us. Your contributions will help us cover the costs of the RSS feed, logo design, hardware upgrades, etc. https://www.patreon.com/user?u=47998540

Instagram -- Follow SFFRA for episode announcements and general podcast info @scifi_fantasy_read_along 

If you'd like to contact us directly, use the following email: scifiandfantasyreadalong@gmail.com 

Thank you to Setuniman for letting us use his beautiful piano loop. https://freesound.org/people/Setuniman/ 

The cover art from the novel used in our thumbnail is by Dominic Harman. ISBN: 978-0-547-72202-3 Welcome! 

We're so happy you found us. Keep reading everyone.      

The Hawk's Flight, in which Sparrowhawk is snared within the Court of Terranon.

WARNING: These episodes are intended as a supplement to the reading. Anything revealed in a section is subject to a "what we know so far" discussion, with a greater than 0% chance of related speculation. We always avoid spoilers, BUT, if a close-reading reveals secrets left obscure to a casual reader... be warned. 

Please, keep comments relevant to the current episode. 

We'd like to encourage you to "like" the podcast if you do. Subscribe, tell your friends and leave us friendly or constructive comments. All of these help us grow and learn. 

Patreon -- This option is for those who love what we're doing and just can't live without us. Your contributions will help us cover the costs of the RSS feed, logo design, hardware upgrades, etc. https://www.patreon.com/user?u=47998540

Instagram -- Follow SFFRA for episode announcements and general podcast info @scifi_fantasy_read_along 

If you'd like to contact us directly, use the following email: scifiandfantasyreadalong@gmail.com 

Thank you to Setuniman for letting us use his beautiful piano loop. https://freesound.org/people/Setuniman/ 

The cover art from the novel used in our thumbnail is by Dominic Harman. ISBN: 978-0-547-72202-3 Welcome! 

We're so happy you found us. Keep reading everyone.     

In this episode: despite some celebrity, Sparrowhawk is rebuffed by Roke...in the chapter titled Hunted.

WARNING: These episodes are intended as a supplement to the reading. Anything revealed in a section is subject to a "what we know so far" discussion, with a greater than 0% chance of related speculation. We always avoid spoilers, BUT, if a close-reading reveals secrets left obscure to a casual reader... be warned. 

Please, keep comments relevant to the current episode. 

We'd like to encourage you to "like" the podcast if you do. Subscribe, tell your friends and leave us friendly or constructive comments. All of these help us grow and learn. 

Patreon -- This option is for those who love what we're doing and just can't live without us. Your contributions will help us cover the costs of the RSS feed, logo design, hardware upgrades, etc. https://www.patreon.com/user?u=47998540

Instagram -- Follow SFFRA for episode announcements and general podcast info @scifi_fantasy_read_along 

If you'd like to contact us directly, use the following email: scifiandfantasyreadalong@gmail.com 

Thank you to Setuniman for letting us use his beautiful piano loop. https://freesound.org/people/Setuniman/ 

The cover art from the novel used in our thumbnail is by Dominic Harman. ISBN: 978-0-547-72202-3 Welcome! 

We're so happy you found us. Keep reading everyone.    

  In this episode: Sparrowhawk negotiates with a dragon!

WARNING: These episodes are intended as a supplement to the reading. Anything revealed in a section is subject to a "what we know so far" discussion, with a greater than 0% chance of related speculation. We always avoid spoilers, BUT, if a close-reading reveals secrets left obscure to a casual reader... be warned. 

Please, keep comments relevant to the current episode. 

We'd like to encourage you to "like" the podcast if you do. Subscribe, tell your friends and leave us friendly or constructive comments. All of these help us grow and learn. 

Patreon -- This option is for those who love what we're doing and just can't live without us. Your contributions will help us cover the costs of the RSS feed, logo design, hardware upgrades, etc. https://www.patreon.com/user?u=47998540

Instagram -- Follow SFFRA for episode announcements and general podcast info @scifi_fantasy_read_along 

If you'd like to contact us directly, use the following email: scifiandfantasyreadalong@gmail.com 

Thank you to Setuniman for letting us use his beautiful piano loop. https://freesound.org/people/Setuniman/ 

The cover art from the novel used in our thumbnail is by Dominic Harman. ISBN: 978-0-547-72202-3 Welcome! 

We're so happy you found us. Keep reading everyone.   

In this episode: Sparrowhawk has had enough of Jasper, and a great wizard pays the price.

WARNING: These episodes are intended as a supplement to the reading. Anything revealed in a section is subject to a "what we know so far" discussion, with a greater than 0% chance of related speculation. We always avoid spoilers, BUT, if a close-reading reveals secrets left obscure to a casual reader... be warned. 

Please, keep comments relevant to the current episode. 

We'd like to encourage you to "like" the podcast if you do. Subscribe, tell your friends and leave us friendly or constructive comments. All of these help us grow and learn. 

Patreon -- This option is for those who love what we're doing and just can't live without us. Your contributions will help us cover the costs of the RSS feed, logo design, hardware upgrades, etc. https://www.patreon.com/user?u=47998540

Instagram -- Follow SFFRA for episode announcements and general podcast info @scifi_fantasy_read_along 

If you'd like to contact us directly, use the following email: scifiandfantasyreadalong@gmail.com 

Thank you to Setuniman for letting us use his beautiful piano loop. https://freesound.org/people/Setuniman/ 

The cover art from the novel used in our thumbnail is by Dominic Harman. ISBN: 978-0-547-72202-3 Welcome! 

We're so happy you found us. Keep reading everyone.  

 In this episode: Sparrowhawk is admitted to the School for Wizards on Roke Island and finally meets his peers.

WARNING: These episodes are intended as a supplement to the reading. Anything revealed in a section is subject to a "what we know so far" discussion, with a greater than 0% chance of related speculation. We always avoid spoilers, BUT, if a close-reading reveals secrets left obscure to a casual reader... be warned. 

Please, keep comments relevant to the current episode. 

We'd like to encourage you to "like" the podcast if you do. Subscribe, tell your friends and leave us friendly or constructive comments. All of these help us grow and learn. 

Patreon -- This option is for those who love what we're doing and just can't live without us. Your contributions will help us cover the costs of the RSS feed, logo design, hardware upgrades, etc. https://www.patreon.com/user?u=47998540

Instagram -- Follow SFFRA for episode announcements and general podcast info @scifi_fantasy_read_along 

If you'd like to contact us directly, use the following email: scifiandfantasyreadalong@gmail.com 

Thank you to Setuniman for letting us use his beautiful piano loop. https://freesound.org/people/Setuniman/ 

The cover art from the novel used in our thumbnail is by Dominic Harman. ISBN: 978-0-547-72202-3 Welcome! 

We're so happy you found us. Keep reading everyone. 

 In this episode: Sparrowhawk explores his new environment and discovers he and Master Ogion aren't the best fit.

WARNING: These episodes are intended as a supplement to the reading. Anything revealed in a section is subject to a "what we know so far" discussion, with a greater than 0% chance of related speculation. We always avoid spoilers, BUT, if a close-reading reveals secrets left obscure to a casual reader... be warned.

We'd like to encourage you to "like" the podcast if you do. Subscribe, tell your friends and leave us friendly or constructive comments. All of these help us grow and learn.

Patreon -- This option is for those who love what we're doing and just can't live without us. Your contributions will help us cover the costs of the RSS feed, logo design, hardware upgrades, etc. 
https://www.patreon.com/user?u=47998540

Instagram -- Follow SFFRA for episode announcements and general podcast info @scifi_fantasy_read_along

If you'd like to contact us directly, use the following email: 
scifiandfantasyreadalong@gmail.com 

Thank you to Setuniman for letting us use his beautiful piano loop.
https://freesound.org/people/Setuniman/ 

The cover art from the novel used in our thumbnail is by Dominic Harman.
ISBN: 978-0-547-72202-3

Welcome! We're so happy you found us. Keep reading everyone. 

In this episode Gab and Blab begin discussing a high-water mark in the fantasy genre. This novel put Ursula K. Le Guin on the map in 1968, and the release of The Left Hand of Darkness, a sci-fi masterwork, the following year settled her comfortably among the pantheon.

WARNING: These episodes are intended as a supplement to the reading. Anything revealed in a section is subject to a "what we know so far" discussion, with a greater than 0% chance of related speculation. We always avoid spoilers, BUT, if a close-reading reveals secrets left obscure to a casual reader... be warned.

Please, keep comments relevant to the current episode.

We'd like to encourage you to "like" the podcast if you do. Subscribe, tell your friends and leave us friendly or constructive comments. All of these help us grow and learn.

Patreon -- This option is for those who love what we're doing and just can't live without us. Your contributions will help us cover the costs of the RSS feed, logo design, hardware upgrades, etc. 
https://www.patreon.com/user?u=47998540

Instagram -- Follow SFFRA for episode announcements and general podcast info @scifi_fantasy_read_along

If you'd like to contact us directly, use the following email: 
scifiandfantasyreadalong@gmail.com 

Thank you to Setuniman for letting us use his beautiful piano loop.
https://freesound.org/people/Setuniman/ 

The cover art from the novel used in our thumbnail is by Dominic Harman.
ISBN: 978-0-547-72202-3

Welcome! We're so happy you found us. Keep reading everyone.

On today's pod-meal, Myq discusses vaccinations (he just became eligible! are you? do you know? can you help other folks find out if they are eligible?), the wonderful writing of Ursula K Le Guin (discussing her writing about oral traditions out loud), the Incredible Hulk (what can we do to make this Hulk more credible?), information (mis-, dis-, and this!), and memory (he thinks).

Honestly, this is probably one of my Top 5 favorite Coffee with Comrades episodes so you should probably stop reading this description and just listen. 

No, seriously. 

You sure? 

Okay, then. 

This week, I had the pleasure of sitting down with Carla Bergman, one of the authors of Joyful Militancy and co-host of Silver Threads and Grounded Futures, to discuss militant joy. This conversation lead us on a whirlwind of topics. We discussed unschooling, ridiculed rigid radicalism, analyzed Joyful Militancy and The Dispossessed, geeked out over Ursula K. Le Guin's rendition of the Tao Te Ching, talked about Breaking Bad, and generally just shot the shit. 

Truly, it was a lovely time. 

• Follow Carla on Twitter and Instagram. 
• Pick up a copy of Joyful Militancy from AK Press. 
• Check out Silver Threads and Grounded Futures wherever you get your podcasts. 
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Music:

• Intro: “I Ain’t Got No Home in this World” by Woody Guthrie
• Interlude: "Whirring" by the Joy Formidable
• Outro: "Joy Will Find a Way (A Song About Dying" by Bruce Cockburn

David and Tamler are pulled into Ursula K. Le Guin's "The Ones Who Walk Away from Omelas." Omelas is a truly happy city, except for one child who lives in abominable misery. Is that too high a moral cost? Why do some people walk away from the city? Why does no one help the child? Why does Le Guin make us create the city with her? Plus, we talk about our listener meetup in Vancouver, and a new edition of [dramatic music] GUILTY CONFESSIONS. Note: if this episode strikes you as too puritanical, then please add an orgy.

Support Very Bad Wizards

Links:

• The Ones Who Walk Away From Omelas - YouTube
• The Ones Who Walk Away from Omelas - Wikipedia
• The Ones Who Walk Away from Omelas (Full Text)
• The Wind's Twelve Quarters by Ursula K. Le Guin [amazon.com affiliate link]

The world lost one of the greats on Monday, January 22nd. Ursula K. Le Guin passed away at the age of 88 and left a hole in many hearts around the world.

"The Ones Who Walk Away from Omelas." We use this short, short story as a jumping off point to discuss our mutual love of Ursula K. Le Guin, science fiction/fantasy, and how reading shaped our lives. Omelas is the city of happiness, what does it mean to travel to the city of happiness? Why doesn't everyone live there? Why would you walk away? What is the social contract? What will we do with no more words from the great Le Guin?

Featuring: Aubrey Hicks (@AubreyHi), Lisa Schweitzer (@drschweitzer), and David Sloane (@dcsloane53)

@BedrosianCenter

To listen to the Bedrosian Book Club discussion of the "Ursuala K. Le Guin and the walk away from Omelas" episode click the arrow in the player on this post. Or you can download it and subscribe through ApplePodcasts, Soundcloud, Google Play, Stitcher or your favorite podcasting app!

Links & further immersion:

Shirley Jackson, "The Lottery"

"The Influence Of Ursula K. Le Guin," Petra Mayer for NPR

Cities in Flight, James Blish

"The fantasy and science fiction community pays tribute to Ursula K. Le Guin," Andrew Liptack for The Verge

The Work of Le Guin

"Behind the Lens: The Town That Had No Library," David Kidd in Governing

"R.I.P. Ursula K. Le Guin, Author of One of the Greatest Novels About Freedom Ever Written: How libertarians learned to stop worrying and love The Dispossessed," Victoria Varga for Reason

"The Category-Defying Genius of Ursula K. Le Guin," John Wray in The New York Times

"Ten Things I Learned from Ursula K. Le Guin," Karen Jay Fowler in The Paris Review 

Next Month …

We'll discuss David Grann's Killers of the Flower Moon: The Osage Murders and the Birth of the FBI.

Grann, documents the story of the Osage being forced to relocate to a region which later was discovered to be rich in oil. Learn how the U.S. and local governmental agencies and individuals took advantage by manipulating the "laws," creating polices, and murder to control both the Osage and the wealth created by the oil discovery. We learn about the local investigation and how the newly formed FBI took over the investigation.

Read along with us! Let us know what you think of the book & our podcasts on Facebook or Twitter.

This podcast was produced by Aubrey Hicks and Jonathan Schwartz, recorded and mixed by The Brothers Hedden, Ryan and Corey Hedden.