Against the Day: Chapters 16-17

Against the Day: Chapters 16-17

Author: Thomas Pynchon books discussed here! July 18, 2025 Duration: 2:01:22

Checking in on the Traverse household, things are looking ... somber. As happy as the hosts are to all be present and accountable, the mood is somewhat dampened by the final ties breaking between Lake and her father, and where that leads Webb. Thankfully, the romantic backdrop of Nochecita cushions things a bit, even if Frank and Reef's glimpse at peace is cut short. It's not all a loss, though! We do, at least, meet a few new friends along the way to Jeshimon.

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If you enjoyed our discussion, please check out the following media that relates to these chapters:

Films/TV: The Killer (2023; d. David Fincher), The Matador (2005; d. Richard Shepard)

As always, thanks so much for listening!

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Dense, sprawling, and endlessly rewarding, the novels of Thomas Pynchon invite the kind of conversation that can last for hours. That’s precisely what you’ll find on Mapping the Zone: A Thomas Pynchon discussion podcast. Instead of dry literary analysis, this series offers the lively, sometimes meandering, talk of four dedicated fans unpacking these complex texts together. They approach each book as an adventure, tracing its winding plots, deciphering its historical and pop culture references, and debating the fate of its many peculiar characters. The tone is accessible and enthusiastic, driven by a genuine love for the material rather than an academic agenda. You’re essentially listening in on a great, ongoing book club discussion where the jokes are as welcome as the insights. Whether you’re a seasoned Pynchon veteran looking to compare notes or a curious newcomer daunted by the sheer scale of the work, this podcast provides a companionable guide through the zones of paranoia, coincidence, and profound humanity that define the author’s world. It’s a space where the pleasure of the text is taken seriously, one deep-dive episode at a time.
Author: Language: English Episodes: 50

Mapping the Zone: A Thomas Pynchon discussion podcast
Podcast Episodes
Against the Day: Chapters 22-23 [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 3:42:31
In hindsight, it may appear unfair to have just been gallivanting about in Europe, as we return this episode to circle the Colorado Traverses. Lake gets in too deep, while Frank scopes the surface of his enemies, and our…
Shadow Ticket (for real this time) [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 2:08:37
Quit your scratching and bleeding and put down the rosary, the cure of all your anxieties has arrived! At long last, the Mapping the Zone Review of Shadow Ticket, Spoilerful Edition, has been released, and it's packed wi…
Shadow Ticket: Spoiler Free review [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 1:08:27
It's finally here and we got to read it! Shadow Ticket, the newest (and perhaps final) novel by Thomas Pynchon is out in the wild and we are here with a spoiler-free review for those who may not have had a chance to read…
Against the Day: Chapter 21 [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 2:40:00
Wid'ya lookit that! It's been a hundred pages since our paths last crossed the Chums' of Chance, and here they are, in Venice. That ain't the only coincidence at hand, no, far too many'a them... Something's wrong. Still,…
Bonus Episode - One Battle After Another [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 1:49:21
Once in a lifetime, a moment comes around, and one has with the latest film from auteur director Paul Thomas Anderson! We take that moment to assess the film on its own merit, but not without respect to the weight of its…
Against the Day: Chapter 20 [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 2:08:29
A spot of smoky rooms and heavy drapes suits us as finely as they do Lew, and somehow the more obscure the corner of history referred to by the couple-three iconoclasts he meets, the more our hosts find to discuss. There…
Against the Day: Chapter 19 [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 3:29:06
With how things have gotten so real these past few eps, it's time to see what Lew's been up to in cheery old Inglund! These chaps, Nigel and Nuisance or whatbeit, who've already brung him across the world just have not s…
Against the Day: Chapter 18 [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 1:56:48
This week we wander through Jeshimon and track Reef as he rescues his father's harried remains from the just yet supernatural decay they'd have suffered in the desecrate airs of the town. Though Webb may rest his childre…
Against the Day: Chapters 14-15 [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 3:16:20
The Harvard-Yale game brings us by vector analysis to rearrive upon the scraggly isthmus of Long Island. The tales of Vibes are much rehearsed, wooing Kit between Dittany eyelashes and forms seen lonesome in the hallways…
Against the Day: Chapters 12-13 [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 2:16:16
As with the Chums from the center of the Earth, we return from temporary distraction, and yea, what hath time wrought? What did this planet itself cradle slumbering beneath its frozen extremities? What idols have we foun…