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On this ep' Tom and Don chat about p. 36 to p. 68 in The Magic Mountain by Thomas Mann. Next episode we'll talk about up to p. 108. We also chat about other stuff like Alphaville towards the end.

The first episode in our read-along of The Magic Mountain by Thomas Mann. We are using the Vintage edition, translated by John E. Woods. Our first section is up to page 36 and then next episode will be up to page 68. At about 45 minutes we chat about some news to close out the episode. Tom also mentions the new William Vollmann book "A Table for Fortune." The Marx quote Don couldn't remember is from Marx's Eighteenth Brumaire: Men make their own history, but they do not make it as they please; they do not make it under self-selected circumstances, but under circumstances existing already, given and transmitted from the past. The tradition of all dead generations weighs like a nightmare on the brains of the living. And just as they seem to be occupied with revolutionizing themselves and things, creating something that did not exist before, precisely in such epochs of revolutionary crisis they anxiously conjure up the spirits of the past to their service, borrowing from them names, battle slogans, and costumes in order to present this new scene in world history in time-honored disguise and borrowed language.

We catch up after a summer hiatus and talk about plans for another read-along or two, probably The Magic Mountain by Thomas Mann. Some bird noise and light editing on this one because it's still summer.

We wrap up the final sections of Aesthetics of Resistance Volume III by Peter Weiss, from p. 209 to the end. Socialists fight over culture as the basis of a free Germany but no one can agree with what that means as the liberating armies advance.

Art, class and reliability... individual destiny and history... weighty stuff as the notes from the anti-fascist underground during the Second World War come to a climax. This Aesthetics of Resistance Volume 3 by Peter Weiss episode covers part II up to p. 209. Next AOR episode we will finish the book.

We chat about our fairly boring Springs, including Toronto sports, and Tom does an update on his recent reading, including Dostoevsky and Jameson. Mentioned: The Brothers Karamazov by Fyodor Dostoevsky An Essay on Man by Ernst Cassirer The Following Story by Cees Nooteboom Molloy by Samuel Beckett Malone Dies by Samuel Beckett The Unnamable by Samuel Beckett Marxism and Form by Fredric Jameson AOR3 read-along next time is up to p. 209.

Our fourth episode in our read-along for The Aesthetics of Resistance: Volume III, up to page 164 (Part II). Next AOR episode will be up to page 209. The war enters a new phase and there's some cinematic intrigue plus some discussion about art.

We check in about Tom's trip to Mexico, minor life updates and the news. Tom is still a bit sick so we had to cut this one somewhat short but we'll be back soon. Next Aesthetics of Resistance Volume 3 episode should be within the next week or two, up to end of Part I of the book.

We talk about pp 90 to 131 of Aesthetics of Resistance Volume 3 by Peter Weiss. The resistance to German fascism enters a new stage as isolated Communists struggle to find ways to be helpful. The art from AOR is available here: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Works_of_art_in_The_Aesthetics_of_Resistance Next time (in a few weeks) we will read up to Section II (p. 164).

We chat about Ramadan and Lent, fitness and travel, investing in leftist coin Avi Lewis, and a mini-review of NTBTSTM.

We talk about up to page 90 in Aesthetics of Resistance Volume 3 by Peter Weiss in our read-along group. Then at about 57 minutes we chat about the Epstein debates and a few mini-reviews. Next read-along in a few weeks we will get to page 131. Mentioned: The Wild Pear Tree (2018) dir. Nuri Bilge Ceylan The American by Henry James Zeno's Conscience by Italo Svevo Concrete by Thomas Bernhard The Imperative to Write by Jeff Fort Blog post that discusses The Imperative to Write: https://this-space.blogspot.com/2015/08/the-imperative-to-write-destitutions-of.html

We talk about Tom leaving his job, the schizophrenia of Long 2026 and frustration over how politics works, trolling by competing in good deeds, and some mini reviews. Mentioned: The Time that Remains. The Worst Person in the World. Fistful of Dollars. Following. Eephus. This is Spinal Tap. Ralph Waldo Emerson essays. Masnavi by Rumi. Me & Rumi by Shams Tabrizi.

After our resolutions we jump into Aesthetics of Resistance by Peter Weiss, volume 3, a novel about art and fighting fascism in Europe during 1930s and 40s. We get up to page 44 in our first episode in this series. Next time (in a few weeks) we will do up to page 90. Book talk starts at 16m48s.

We chat about our favourite movies, podcasts, games, moments and books of 2025 as we get ready to say goodbye to a pretty bad year. Tom's Top Five Books: 5 Poetry of Rilke (Ed Snow trans.) 4 Aesthetics of Resistance vol II by Peter Weiss 3 Autobiography by John Cowper Powys 2 Terra Nostra by Carlos Fuentes 1 Lieutenant-Colonel de Maumort by Roger Martin du Gard Don's favourites were Aesthetics of Resistance Vol I and II by Peter Weiss and Correction by Thomas Bernhard.

We chat about whether prediction markets are forbidden, Herbert McCabe on the goodness of God, some Mubis and some books. Faith Within Reason by Herbert McCabe, OP. Oslo, August 31st. Wendy and Lucy. Bring them Down. The Smashing Machine.  Frost by Thomas Bernhard. Austerlitz by WG Sebald. Selected Writings of Walter Benjamin, Vol 2, Part One. What Maisie Knew by Henry James. Don also briefly mentions the podcasts Age of Napoleon and The Siècle.