John and Regan have some reservations about Episode Three of The New Pope. Not included in those questions?: millipedes are godly – on that there is no doubt. This may be a plot-mover more than a great episode of TV, but such venal sins have never stopped NQGB before.

There is exploration of more than just millipedes in this episode, however. Your humble hosts tackle the new Pope’s three speeches, how parent-driven self-abnegation paired with a sense of grandiosity brings John Brannox and Lenny Belardo together, and, yes, the skeezy men and problematic depictions of disability circling around Esther in this episode. The segments find us querying nun politics before we lust after plum overcoats, celebrate patron saint trivia, and assign NQGB impresario Danielle Hanley’s 2022 article on choral politics to characters on the show.

Grab your silver pope hammer and turn on this ep.

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Regan and John lay about the English manor of their collective mind as they journey with Team Vatican Dream Blunt Rotation to Sir John Brannox’s estate. Mysteries, Lenny apparitions, purple suits, white rooms, mysterious boxes, and depression abound. Can the dream team convince Sir John to become Pope? What do the different characters project onto Lenny? Have we broken new ground in the cravat + guyliner space? What is the Middle Way? Can your trusty hosts shoehorn in a Saltburn reference?

Of course, it wouldn’t be a Popecast without a Hot Confessor Summer check-in, replete this week with Sofia’s kinky marriage and the increasingly sexed-up opening credits at Club Cloister. This and more if you join us in the NQGB conspiracy lair of this episode.

PopeCast aka Hot Confessor Summer is BACK on Not Quite Great Books! Regan and John are reunited to begin their pilgrimage through The New Pope, the follow-up mini-series to their blessed The Young Pope.

Lenny may be the structuring absence of this episode and this season of TV, but there is plenty to ponder. After your hosts reflect on their interactions with Catholicism since last summer, they explore the relation of corruption and piety, what the cardinals seek from god and the pope, Silvio Orlando’s Lindsay Lohan turn, the wealth of the Church, and our queen Strega Nona (among other items).

Your favorite segments are back, some staying the same (Pope-pourri, Regan Rectory, Aquinas SZN in The Cave), while others adapt to the times (stay tuned for the replacement for Hot Priest Rating). Also back? This bizarre and wondrous and horny and contemplative show, and your hosts are here to work through it all.

Time for a check-in! John and Danielle look back on Season 4 of The Americans in its entirety! They dig into some of the big themes from the season, from Glanders, to Paige’s spy development, to the changes in Philip and Elizabeth’s relationship. With the help of previous guest Mike Rensink, they tackle all the different deaths and departures that occurred throughout the season, and John makes a game out of it for Danielle. Of course, they go through the biggest Ls from the Dossier, but touch on the wins too. It wouldn’t be a NQGB ep without Danielle complaining about Pastor Tim’s seeming immortality. And, for good measure, your hosts do some meta convo on the production of the show and throw in one final Plato SZN in The Cave.

Somehow there was also House of the Dragon (light spoilers for S2E1) and Game of Thrones chat, a Marx jaunt (more explicable), and a wide-ranging convo on storytelling arcs considering TV as an industry.

It’s a fun one!

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Music by Lesfm from Pixabay

While William battles the Lassa virus, Danielle and John contend with the season 4 finale, “Persona Non Grata.” They consider the episode through the lens of endings that lack resolution, digging into the relationships between Philip and Elizabeth, Paige and her parents, as well as the state of affairs with the FBI, Arkadii, and of course, William. Danielle logs a number of losses (and one key win) in the Dossier, and offers some Season 5 predictions. In Glas, your hosts check in with Oleg, chat about Mischa, and John comments on the architecture and filmmaking regarding the quarantine room. After a quick jaunt to Borrowed Nostalgia to log the 80s references, your hosts head to the Cave to complete Plato SZN by turning to the Phaedo. They then wrap up the season with a round of TheoryShips. Join us as we pour one out for William and toast to Season 4!

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Music by Lesfm from Pixabay

Danielle and John are back once again, and not only do they have questions about The Americans S4E12, "A Roy Rogers in Franconia," they have questions about questions. What happens in the aftermath of William's questions about his duty, Paige's questions about Elizabeth, and Oleg's questions about the USSR, and how do those questions reorient other characters? As we delve into these matters (and much more), there's still plenty of time to discuss first-kiss fish lips, a surprising Oleg-David Byrne connection, Dossier conspiracies, and (naturally) Plato SZN.

Sorry for the delay on this episode! The Americans Season 4 finale episode coming your way on June 6.

Danielle and John are joined by one of John’s best friends, Jordan Cass, to chat all things The Americans 4x11, “Dinner for Seven.” Jordan proves himself to be an impressively prepared co-host, and helps guide us through the key points in this episode around various characters’ experiences of guilt. Together, your three hosts consider how guilt informs Elizabeth’s decisions, relationships with Pastor Tim and Alice, as well as the interaction between Stan and Oleg. In the Dossier, Danielle touches on Gabriel’s sex life, and Jordan and John ask a few leading questions. Jordan offers his insights about Paige’s character development in Glas before your hosts run through some silly stuff and camera angles. PLATO SZN returns to the Republic before a solid set of TheoryShips from all three co-hosts. Come for Jordan’s awesome insights, stay for Danielle’s complaints about how Pastor Tim is still not a ghost. Enjoy!

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Music by Lesfm from Pixabay

Despite its name, this is not an episode about the Lollipop guild - it's The Americans 4x10, “Munchkins.” John and Danielle work through the different plot elements through the lens of entrapment: Stan & Aderholt, Alice & the Jennings, Elizabeth & Don, Gaad & the Munchkins. Danielle laments how Pastor Tim was snatched from his impending death and your hosts laud Keri Russel’s ‘are you kidding me’ face, which makes many-an-appearance this week. In Glas, they chat about Oleg and Tatiana (after Danielle makes a Dossier prediction), and touch on the significance of Kimmy’s return. In Borrowed Nostalgia, they analyze Alice’s fashion choices, Henry’s walkman, and Paige’s coffee choices. It’s still PLATO SZN, but this time your hosts turn to the Phaedo for some fitting insights about death from our favorite Platonic main character, Socrates. Come to this ep for the discussion of the bumbling Russian trio, stay for John’s TheoryShip of Honig to both Paige and Reagan!

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Music by Lesfm from Pixabay