The Spouter-Inn
@thespouterinn.bsky.social
A podcast about “great books” that isn’t entirely sure what that phrase means. Hosted by @wordgarbler.bsky.social and @sakbari.bsky.social and available on your podcast app or at https://megaphonic.fm/spouter/
In our new episode, we read some travel literature! @sakbari.bsky.social revisits The Travels of John Mandeville, and @wordgarbler.bsky.social joins Xavier de Maistre on his Voyage Around My Room.
Listen on your podcast app — and let us know your favourite odd bit of travel writing!
Listen on your podcast app — and let us know your favourite odd bit of travel writing!
89. The Travels of Sir John Mandeville / Voyage Around My Room. | The Spouter-Inn
We look at some old travel literature, with The Travels of Sir John Mandeville and Xavier de Maistre’s Voyage Around My Room.
megaphonic.fm
February 14, 2026 at 5:14 PM
In our new episode, we read some travel literature! @sakbari.bsky.social revisits The Travels of John Mandeville, and @wordgarbler.bsky.social joins Xavier de Maistre on his Voyage Around My Room.
Listen on your podcast app — and let us know your favourite odd bit of travel writing!
Listen on your podcast app — and let us know your favourite odd bit of travel writing!
Reposted by The Spouter-Inn
Yesterday was my late grandfather CLR James's birthday! I have two things to share, to honor his memory.
The first is a recommendation! To help you understand our current political moment, you should grab his book on Moby-Dick. It's a remarkable treatise on American xenophobic authoritarianism.
The first is a recommendation! To help you understand our current political moment, you should grab his book on Moby-Dick. It's a remarkable treatise on American xenophobic authoritarianism.
Mariners, Renegades and Castaways
Political theorist and cultural critic, novelist and cricket enthusiast, C. L. R. James (1901 - 1989) was a brilliant polymath who has been described by Edward Said as "a centrally important 20th-cent...
brandeisuniversitypress.com
January 5, 2026 at 5:25 PM
Yesterday was my late grandfather CLR James's birthday! I have two things to share, to honor his memory.
The first is a recommendation! To help you understand our current political moment, you should grab his book on Moby-Dick. It's a remarkable treatise on American xenophobic authoritarianism.
The first is a recommendation! To help you understand our current political moment, you should grab his book on Moby-Dick. It's a remarkable treatise on American xenophobic authoritarianism.
Reposted by The Spouter-Inn
oh wow!! two of the coolest people in the literature game talking DAYSPRING and Milton’s best non PL poem! Can’t wait to listen!!!
We wrap up the year by looking at a few texts about Jesus. @wordgarbler.bsky.social explores the Gospel According to Mark (and Geoff Ryman's Him and @meakoopa.bsky.social's Dayspring), and @sakbari.bsky.social revisits John Milton's poem On the Morning of Christ's Nativity.
megaphonic.fm/spouter/88
megaphonic.fm/spouter/88
88. The Gospel According to Mark / On the Morning of Christ’s Nativity. | The Spouter-Inn
The Gospel According to Mark (and some recent queer retellings of Jesus’ life story), and John Milton’s poem On the Morning of Christ’s Nativity.
megaphonic.fm
December 30, 2025 at 6:40 PM
oh wow!! two of the coolest people in the literature game talking DAYSPRING and Milton’s best non PL poem! Can’t wait to listen!!!
We wrap up the year by looking at a few texts about Jesus. @wordgarbler.bsky.social explores the Gospel According to Mark (and Geoff Ryman's Him and @meakoopa.bsky.social's Dayspring), and @sakbari.bsky.social revisits John Milton's poem On the Morning of Christ's Nativity.
megaphonic.fm/spouter/88
megaphonic.fm/spouter/88
88. The Gospel According to Mark / On the Morning of Christ’s Nativity. | The Spouter-Inn
The Gospel According to Mark (and some recent queer retellings of Jesus’ life story), and John Milton’s poem On the Morning of Christ’s Nativity.
megaphonic.fm
December 30, 2025 at 5:05 PM
We wrap up the year by looking at a few texts about Jesus. @wordgarbler.bsky.social explores the Gospel According to Mark (and Geoff Ryman's Him and @meakoopa.bsky.social's Dayspring), and @sakbari.bsky.social revisits John Milton's poem On the Morning of Christ's Nativity.
megaphonic.fm/spouter/88
megaphonic.fm/spouter/88
Let’s start a Read A Play In December Challenge!
Listening to @thespouterinn.bsky.social's latest episode, I was reminded that there was a time in my life when I read plays a LOT, just for fun. I remember spending hours with the annual compilations of best plays in the school library.
December 3, 2025 at 2:12 AM
Let’s start a Read A Play In December Challenge!
New! @wordgarbler.bsky.social revisits an old favourite with Samuel Beckett's Waiting for Godot, and @sakbari.bsky.social is excited about Leanne Betasamosake Simpson’s new book Theory of Water: Nishnaabe Maps to the Times Ahead.
Listen at megaphonic.fm/spouter/87 or on your podcast app.
Listen at megaphonic.fm/spouter/87 or on your podcast app.
87. Waiting for Godot / Theory of Water. | The Spouter-Inn
Samuel Beckett’s play Waiting for Godot and Leanne Betasamosake Simpson’s new book Theory of Water: Nishnaabe Maps to the Times Ahead.
megaphonic.fm
December 1, 2025 at 12:11 AM
New! @wordgarbler.bsky.social revisits an old favourite with Samuel Beckett's Waiting for Godot, and @sakbari.bsky.social is excited about Leanne Betasamosake Simpson’s new book Theory of Water: Nishnaabe Maps to the Times Ahead.
Listen at megaphonic.fm/spouter/87 or on your podcast app.
Listen at megaphonic.fm/spouter/87 or on your podcast app.
Our bonus episodes are back! This time @sakbari.bsky.social spoke with John Nicholas (Munsee-Delaware Nation), whose parents Grey Owl and Little Pigeon wrote Cry of the Ancients back in 1974.
Listen at megaphonic.fm/spouter/86b or on your podcast app.
Listen at megaphonic.fm/spouter/86b or on your podcast app.
86b. Bonus: John Nicholas on Cry of the Ancients. | The Spouter-Inn
Suzanne talks with John Nicholas, whose parents Grey Owl and Little Pigeon wrote Cry of the Ancients (1974).
megaphonic.fm
November 28, 2025 at 6:50 PM
Our bonus episodes are back! This time @sakbari.bsky.social spoke with John Nicholas (Munsee-Delaware Nation), whose parents Grey Owl and Little Pigeon wrote Cry of the Ancients back in 1974.
Listen at megaphonic.fm/spouter/86b or on your podcast app.
Listen at megaphonic.fm/spouter/86b or on your podcast app.
Reposted by The Spouter-Inn
"I'm afraid the award has really been completely overshadowed. The eviction of the encampment was such a trauma." - Maggie Helwig on winning the City of Toronto Book Award less than 24 hours before the city cleared the encampment she writes about in the book.
podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/m...
podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/m...
Maggie Helwig
Podcast Episode · What Happened Next: a podcast about newish books · 11/17/2025 · 26m
podcasts.apple.com
November 18, 2025 at 11:37 PM
"I'm afraid the award has really been completely overshadowed. The eviction of the encampment was such a trauma." - Maggie Helwig on winning the City of Toronto Book Award less than 24 hours before the city cleared the encampment she writes about in the book.
podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/m...
podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/m...
With her 250th birthday just around the corner, we revisit two of Jane Austen's novels: Pride and Prejudice (at last!) and Northanger Abbey.
Yes, we also talk about Colin Firth. It's a fun episode!
Listen at the link below or on your podcast app.
Yes, we also talk about Colin Firth. It's a fun episode!
Listen at the link below or on your podcast app.
86. Pride and Prejudice / Northanger Abbey. | The Spouter-Inn
For Jane Austen’s 250th birthday, we’re rereading Pride and Prejudice and Northanger Abbey.
megaphonic.fm
November 1, 2025 at 4:14 PM
With her 250th birthday just around the corner, we revisit two of Jane Austen's novels: Pride and Prejudice (at last!) and Northanger Abbey.
Yes, we also talk about Colin Firth. It's a fun episode!
Listen at the link below or on your podcast app.
Yes, we also talk about Colin Firth. It's a fun episode!
Listen at the link below or on your podcast app.
Reposted by The Spouter-Inn
New! @wordgarbler.bsky.social finally reads Wuthering Heights, and @sakbari.bsky.social revisits Laurie Colwin's essay collection Home Cooking. And we admit to a few canonical books that we didn't get on with.
Listen on your podcast app or at megaphonic.fm/spouter/85
Listen on your podcast app or at megaphonic.fm/spouter/85
85. Wuthering Heights / Home Cooking. | The Spouter-Inn
Emily Brontë’s novel Wuthering Heights and Laurie Colwin’s essay collection Home Cooking.
megaphonic.fm
September 24, 2025 at 4:14 PM
New! @wordgarbler.bsky.social finally reads Wuthering Heights, and @sakbari.bsky.social revisits Laurie Colwin's essay collection Home Cooking. And we admit to a few canonical books that we didn't get on with.
Listen on your podcast app or at megaphonic.fm/spouter/85
Listen on your podcast app or at megaphonic.fm/spouter/85
Reposted by The Spouter-Inn
Finally catching up on this episode, I LOVED hearing Chris and Suzanne on Gatsby and its EXTRAORDINARY STRUCTURE..
In our new episode, @sakbari.bsky.social celebrates the 100th anniversary of The Great Gatsby, and @wordgarbler.bsky.social talks about Stanisław Lem's novel Solaris (and more). Also, happy Pride!
Listen on your podcast app or at megaphonic.fm/spouter/82
Listen on your podcast app or at megaphonic.fm/spouter/82
82. The Great Gatsby / Solaris. | The Spouter-Inn
F. Scott Fitzgerald’s The Great Gatsby on its 100th birthday, and Stanisław Lem’s science fiction classic Solaris.
megaphonic.fm
August 20, 2025 at 6:31 PM
Finally catching up on this episode, I LOVED hearing Chris and Suzanne on Gatsby and its EXTRAORDINARY STRUCTURE..
It's a big special birthday episode over at The Spouter-Inn, and we're reading some old favourites. @sakbari.bsky.social revisits the poetry of Wallace Stevens, and @wordgarbler.bsky.social goes back to James Joyce's Finnegans Wake.
Listen at megaphonic.fm/spouter/84 or on your podcast app.
Listen at megaphonic.fm/spouter/84 or on your podcast app.
84. The Collected Poems of Wallace Stevens / Finnegans Wake. | The Spouter-Inn
The poetry of Wallace Stevens and James Joyce’s experimental novel Finnegans Wake.
megaphonic.fm
August 15, 2025 at 4:15 PM
It's a big special birthday episode over at The Spouter-Inn, and we're reading some old favourites. @sakbari.bsky.social revisits the poetry of Wallace Stevens, and @wordgarbler.bsky.social goes back to James Joyce's Finnegans Wake.
Listen at megaphonic.fm/spouter/84 or on your podcast app.
Listen at megaphonic.fm/spouter/84 or on your podcast app.
Chris has been working on a little something…
The new songs, the new songs, the new songs...
The Minor Thirds' first full album of new songs in 18 years is out, and here's the video for its title track, The New Songs. Enjoy.
The Minor Thirds' first full album of new songs in 18 years is out, and here's the video for its title track, The New Songs. Enjoy.
The Minor Thirds - The New Songs (Official Music Video)
YouTube video by The Minor Thirds
www.youtube.com
August 2, 2025 at 10:00 PM
Chris has been working on a little something…
Reposted by The Spouter-Inn
Many months after having my curiosity piqued by @thespouterinn.bsky.social 's ep on Rings of Saturn by Sebald, I finally read it and found it one of the most moving books I've ever read, despite not quite ... knowing what it's about? Well. Time to rellisten to the episode... megaphonic.fm/spouter/54
54. The Rings of Saturn. | The Spouter-Inn
W.G. Sebald's curious book The Rings of Saturn.
megaphonic.fm
July 30, 2025 at 11:30 PM
Many months after having my curiosity piqued by @thespouterinn.bsky.social 's ep on Rings of Saturn by Sebald, I finally read it and found it one of the most moving books I've ever read, despite not quite ... knowing what it's about? Well. Time to rellisten to the episode... megaphonic.fm/spouter/54
Is it more fun if we give a hint about our upcoming episode?
I may have just gotten to the end of the book I’m bringing to the table (spoiler: “the”) and I may be very excited to try to talk about it.
(Of course I’m also excited to hear @sakbari.bsky.social talk about one of her favourite poets!)
I may have just gotten to the end of the book I’m bringing to the table (spoiler: “the”) and I may be very excited to try to talk about it.
(Of course I’m also excited to hear @sakbari.bsky.social talk about one of her favourite poets!)
July 30, 2025 at 10:56 PM
Is it more fun if we give a hint about our upcoming episode?
I may have just gotten to the end of the book I’m bringing to the table (spoiler: “the”) and I may be very excited to try to talk about it.
(Of course I’m also excited to hear @sakbari.bsky.social talk about one of her favourite poets!)
I may have just gotten to the end of the book I’m bringing to the table (spoiler: “the”) and I may be very excited to try to talk about it.
(Of course I’m also excited to hear @sakbari.bsky.social talk about one of her favourite poets!)
Tonight at 7 Eastern! Chris will be solving a series of crossword puzzles by @bewilderingly.bsky.social, each devoted to one of James Joyce's major works (plus one for Virginia Woolf, because why not).
Join the fun at twitch.tv/MegaphonicFM (and solve the puzzles first if that's your jam).
Join the fun at twitch.tv/MegaphonicFM (and solve the puzzles first if that's your jam).
July 22, 2025 at 9:35 PM
Tonight at 7 Eastern! Chris will be solving a series of crossword puzzles by @bewilderingly.bsky.social, each devoted to one of James Joyce's major works (plus one for Virginia Woolf, because why not).
Join the fun at twitch.tv/MegaphonicFM (and solve the puzzles first if that's your jam).
Join the fun at twitch.tv/MegaphonicFM (and solve the puzzles first if that's your jam).
Reposted by The Spouter-Inn
"Why," @sakbari.bsky.social asks, "why on earth did you pick Peter Rabbit to talk about this month?"
Oh, I had a reason, don't worry. Even beyond it being an important and charming and influential book!
Oh, I had a reason, don't worry. Even beyond it being an important and charming and influential book!
New episode! @wordgarbler.bsky.social takes a poke at Beatrix Potter's The Tale of Peter Rabbit, and @sakbari.bsky.social pays tribute to the late Edmund White by revisiting his first novel, Forgetting Elena.
Listen on your podcast app or at megaphonic.fm/spouter/83
Listen on your podcast app or at megaphonic.fm/spouter/83
83. The Tale of Peter Rabbit / Forgetting Elena. | The Spouter-Inn
Beatrix Potter’s charming children’s book The Tale of Peter Rabbit and Edmund White’s novel Forgetting Elena.
megaphonic.fm
July 14, 2025 at 4:40 PM
"Why," @sakbari.bsky.social asks, "why on earth did you pick Peter Rabbit to talk about this month?"
Oh, I had a reason, don't worry. Even beyond it being an important and charming and influential book!
Oh, I had a reason, don't worry. Even beyond it being an important and charming and influential book!
New episode! @wordgarbler.bsky.social takes a poke at Beatrix Potter's The Tale of Peter Rabbit, and @sakbari.bsky.social pays tribute to the late Edmund White by revisiting his first novel, Forgetting Elena.
Listen on your podcast app or at megaphonic.fm/spouter/83
Listen on your podcast app or at megaphonic.fm/spouter/83
83. The Tale of Peter Rabbit / Forgetting Elena. | The Spouter-Inn
Beatrix Potter’s charming children’s book The Tale of Peter Rabbit and Edmund White’s novel Forgetting Elena.
megaphonic.fm
July 14, 2025 at 4:37 PM
New episode! @wordgarbler.bsky.social takes a poke at Beatrix Potter's The Tale of Peter Rabbit, and @sakbari.bsky.social pays tribute to the late Edmund White by revisiting his first novel, Forgetting Elena.
Listen on your podcast app or at megaphonic.fm/spouter/83
Listen on your podcast app or at megaphonic.fm/spouter/83
Reposted by The Spouter-Inn
In our new episode, @sakbari.bsky.social celebrates the 100th anniversary of The Great Gatsby, and @wordgarbler.bsky.social talks about Stanisław Lem's novel Solaris (and more). Also, happy Pride!
Listen on your podcast app or at megaphonic.fm/spouter/82
Listen on your podcast app or at megaphonic.fm/spouter/82
82. The Great Gatsby / Solaris. | The Spouter-Inn
F. Scott Fitzgerald’s The Great Gatsby on its 100th birthday, and Stanisław Lem’s science fiction classic Solaris.
megaphonic.fm
June 24, 2025 at 4:20 PM
In our new episode, @sakbari.bsky.social celebrates the 100th anniversary of The Great Gatsby, and @wordgarbler.bsky.social talks about Stanisław Lem's novel Solaris (and more). Also, happy Pride!
Listen on your podcast app or at megaphonic.fm/spouter/82
Listen on your podcast app or at megaphonic.fm/spouter/82
In our new episode, @sakbari.bsky.social celebrates the 100th anniversary of The Great Gatsby, and @wordgarbler.bsky.social talks about Stanisław Lem's novel Solaris (and more). Also, happy Pride!
Listen on your podcast app or at megaphonic.fm/spouter/82
Listen on your podcast app or at megaphonic.fm/spouter/82
82. The Great Gatsby / Solaris. | The Spouter-Inn
F. Scott Fitzgerald’s The Great Gatsby on its 100th birthday, and Stanisław Lem’s science fiction classic Solaris.
megaphonic.fm
June 24, 2025 at 4:20 PM
In our new episode, @sakbari.bsky.social celebrates the 100th anniversary of The Great Gatsby, and @wordgarbler.bsky.social talks about Stanisław Lem's novel Solaris (and more). Also, happy Pride!
Listen on your podcast app or at megaphonic.fm/spouter/82
Listen on your podcast app or at megaphonic.fm/spouter/82
Reposted by The Spouter-Inn
Edmund White has left the room. A brilliant novelist, memoirist and biographer, and one of the seven gay writers who founded the influential Violet Quill circle in 1980, he will live on through his remarkable body of work and in the memories of those of us who were lucky enough to meet him.
June 4, 2025 at 11:32 AM
Edmund White has left the room. A brilliant novelist, memoirist and biographer, and one of the seven gay writers who founded the influential Violet Quill circle in 1980, he will live on through his remarkable body of work and in the memories of those of us who were lucky enough to meet him.
NEW! Chris rereads L. Frank Baum's The Wonderful Wizard of Oz, and Suzanne considers Margareta von Oswald's study Working Through Colonial Collections: An Ethnography of the Ethnological Museum in Berlin.
So yeah, the tone of the conversation might change halfway through…
megaphonic.fm/spouter/81
So yeah, the tone of the conversation might change halfway through…
megaphonic.fm/spouter/81
May 26, 2025 at 5:11 PM
NEW! Chris rereads L. Frank Baum's The Wonderful Wizard of Oz, and Suzanne considers Margareta von Oswald's study Working Through Colonial Collections: An Ethnography of the Ethnological Museum in Berlin.
So yeah, the tone of the conversation might change halfway through…
megaphonic.fm/spouter/81
So yeah, the tone of the conversation might change halfway through…
megaphonic.fm/spouter/81
Reposted by The Spouter-Inn
Mrs. Dalloway turned 100 yesterday. To celebrate I read @markhussey.bsky.social’s Mrs. Dalloway: Biography of a Novel, a fascinating exploration of the novel’s creation, reception, and lasting impact, just out from @manchesterup.bsky.social. I loved it! mookseandgripes.com/reviews/2025...
Mark Hussey: Mrs. Dalloway: Biography of a Novel - The Mookse and the Gripes
Mrs. Dalloway turns 100 this year, and to celebrate, I had the opportunity to read Mark Hussey’s Mrs. Dalloway: Biography of a Novel, a fascinating exploration of the novel’s creation, reception, and ...
mookseandgripes.com
May 15, 2025 at 7:48 PM
Mrs. Dalloway turned 100 yesterday. To celebrate I read @markhussey.bsky.social’s Mrs. Dalloway: Biography of a Novel, a fascinating exploration of the novel’s creation, reception, and lasting impact, just out from @manchesterup.bsky.social. I loved it! mookseandgripes.com/reviews/2025...
Reposted by The Spouter-Inn
My beloved friend and mentor David Townsend has started a newsletter to explore the world of Julian of Norwich, in conjunction with his forthcoming novel, The Ram in the Thicket. Please share! 🕯️ #medievalsky
davidrtownsend.substack.com/p/imagining-...
davidrtownsend.substack.com/p/imagining-...
Imagining the World of Julian of Norwich: The Ram in the Thicket
In 1373, a thirty-year-old woman had a near-death experience.
davidrtownsend.substack.com
May 15, 2025 at 11:47 PM
My beloved friend and mentor David Townsend has started a newsletter to explore the world of Julian of Norwich, in conjunction with his forthcoming novel, The Ram in the Thicket. Please share! 🕯️ #medievalsky
davidrtownsend.substack.com/p/imagining-...
davidrtownsend.substack.com/p/imagining-...