Episode 32: Thomas Pynchon's Shadow Ticket
From Don DeLillo Should Win the Nobel Prize by Jeffrey Severs & Michael Streit
December 12, 2025 · 2h 42m · Episode 32
About this episode
In this episode, the hosts discuss Thomas Pynchon's 'Shadow Ticket' and its connections to historical themes and literary influences, particularly in relation to Don DeLillo.
We do have our favorite but surely wouldn’t mind if Thomas Pynchon won the Nobel Prize too . . . and in Episode 32 we finish off 2025 by considering Shadow Ticket, the noir detective take on the 1930s by a writer who was surely a key influence on the early DeLillo (we read from an unpublished DeLillo letter summarizing that relationship) but who also seems to have been reading works like Running Dog over the years (or so we imagine in unpacking Shadow Ticket scenes invoking Chaplin and a “German Political Celebrity” named Hitler). We try to understand how Pynchon’s latest examination of historical and potential fascism works in its 1932 setting, ranging from Milwaukee to Hungary, where reluctant protagonist and “sentimental ape” and “sap” Hicks McTaggart keeps adding on to his P.I. “tickets” in a strange search for a Wisconsin heiress and her Jewish musician lover but also what might ultimately be justice (a far from simple thing). Shadow Ticket is loads of serious fun, where Pynchon manages to examine the direst of turning points amidst scenes of bowling alley and motorcycle lore, dairy strikes, Prohibition’s black markets, dance hall and speakeasy glamour, and something called…
People in this episode
Hosts: Jeffrey Severs, Michael Streit
Topics covered
- Thomas Pynchon
- Nobel Prize
- noir detective
- historical fascism
- literary influence
- 1930s
- cultural commentary
Keywords
- Thomas Pynchon
- Shadow Ticket
- Nobel Prize
- noir
- historical fascism
- literary analysis
- 1930s
- cultural references
- Hicks McTaggart
- Jeffrey Severs
Mentioned in this episode
Books & works: Shadow Ticket, Running Dog
More episodes of Don DeLillo Should Win the Nobel Prize
- Episode 36: Ratnerama · June 7, 2026 · 2h 15m
- Episode 35: "Creation" · April 26, 2026 · 1h 24m
- Episode 34: An Interview with Tom LeClair · March 11, 2026 · 1h 48m
- Episode 33: Mao II · February 2, 2026 · 2h 60m
- Episode 31: An Interview with Gerald Howard · November 20, 2025 · 1h 13m
- Episode 30: "So What?" · October 16, 2025 · 1h 15m
Explore listener stats, chart rankings, contacts and more on the Don DeLillo Should Win the Nobel Prize podcast page.