Cracking into the first two parts of Dostoevsky's 1866 classic Crime and Punishment.

The first surprising thing is that this is a conservative/reactionary book: it mocks the fancy new ideas of the youth, the spirit of revolution, naive utilitarianism, etc. Jordan Peterson laps this shit up. But did the moral panic over materialism hold up? Does modern society in any way compare with the turmoil of Dostoevsky's Russia, or are we at the end of history? How relevant are Dostoevsky's concerns today?

We argue quite a bit about that but we're more aligned on the brilliance of Dostoevsky as psychologist, and especially the character of Rodya 'mister schiz' Raskolnikov: what causes his mind to fracture so spectacularly? What motivates him to do the deed? why does Rich kinda relate to him?

plus a masterclass on freestyle rap. and much more

CHAPTERS

• (00:00:00) opening rap
• (00:04:23) history class with professor chugg
• (00:12:13) Part 1 summary and reactions
• (00:23:25) what motivates Rodya ’ mister schizo’ Raskolnikov?
• (00:28:50) Dosto subtweets bentham and SBF
• (00:40:46) Part 2 summary
• (00:52:00) Parallels between Raskolnikov and Marmeladov
• (00:56:08) Rodya’s amorality
• (01:05:02) Arguing whether we live in tumultuous times comparable to Dosto’s era
• (01:14:05) Moral panic over materialism
• (01:21:45) Rodya’s altruism

SHARE YOUR THOUGHTS:

We wanna start reading listener feedback out on the pod, so send us a note at douevenlit@gmail.com to correct our bad takes or share your own.

NEXT ON THE READING LIST:

Crime and Punishment - parts 3 and 4, then parts 5 and 6

Candide, by Voltaire

The beauty of this book is immeasurable, and its kindness is infinite.

We all love Susanna Clarke's 2012 metaphysical thriller, which feels like a mashup of Borges/C.S. Lewis/Gone Girl.

Venture deeper into the labyrinth with us:

Piranesi as amateur scientist: On indigenous knowledge, the dangers of naïve empiricism, achieving dominion over nature, and whether the Other kind of had a point.

Metaphysics of the House: Are abstractions real, revisiting Plato's world of perfect forms, and whether the world is fundamentally Good.

Identity and mental illness: The illusion of stable personhood over time, repressed memories as trauma response, and how a person with dementia or psychosis can maintain a consistent internal worldview.

CHAPTERS

• (00:00:00) meet the Beloved Child of the House
• (00:09:55) Piranesi as amateur scientist
• (00:19:48) metaphysics of the House and Plato’s theory of forms
• (00:38:13) C.S. Lewis allusions
• (00:41:21) The BIG REVEAL (spoilers)
• (00:46:30) The illusion of stable personhood
• (00:55:02) Internal consistency of dementia or psychosis patients
• (01:02:30) Piranesi’s escape and reintegration
• (01:09:11) Is the world (or the House) fundamentally Good?

SHARE YOUR THOUGHTS:

We wanna start reading listener feedback out on the pod, so send us a note at douevenlit@gmail.com to correct our bad takes or share your own.

NEXT ON THE READING LIST:

Crime and Punishment - Dostoyevsky (reading in three parts over six weeks)

holy shit this was hard. Our first attempt at shakespeare and it was a doozy!

Rich struggled through the original text and only had the vaguest idea what was going on. Cam watched every single movie adaptation and studied for two weeks but still got casually mogged by his girlfriend.

By the time we got done with the discussion we were all actually hyped to read more shakespeare so something must have gone right.

Covering such topics as:

The impenetrability of Shakespearean english, whether it's better to read modern translations or the original text, our favourite lines and soliloquies, shitting on the Freudian reading, connections to David Foster Wallace's Infinite Jest, and Hamlet as the archetypal annoying theatre kid.

CHAPTERS

• (00:00:00) intro
• (00:03:53) ye olde Shakesperean english vs modern translations
• (00:14:52) Cam’s film corner segment
• (00:18:07) Hamlet’s pathological indecisiveness
• (00:23:27) To be, or not to be?
• (00:25:34) shitting on the Freudian/oedipal reading
• (00:32:12) Ophelia and Gertrude’s motivations
• (00:34:06) protestant heaven loophole
• (00:42:15) favourite lines and famous quotes
• (00:45:05) Influence on DFW and other theatre kids
• (00:48:12) There is nothing either good or bad, but thinking makes it so
• (00:51:44) we rescue the freudian/oedipal reading!
• (00:53:08) what does the clusterfuck of an ending signify
• (00:58:07) will we engage with W. Shakespeare again in future
• (01:03:37) Terrence Howard penis size analysis

SHARE YOUR THOUGHTS:

THE ADDRESS I SAID IN THE RECORDING IS WRONG! it has since been changed to douevenlit@gmail.com

NEXT ON THE READING LIST:

Piranesi - Susanna Clarke

Crime and Punishment - Dostoyevsky