15: In which a real live rocket launches (Gravity’s Rainbow Episodes 1.8-1.13)

About this episode

The episode discusses themes from Gravity’s Rainbow, including conspiracy and domesticity, while referencing various related works and studies.

Discussions of Pavlov bookend interdepartmental conspiracy and pseudo-domesticity. Meanwhile Slothrop, like Benny Profane and Herbert Stencil before him, ventures into the sewer. Makes you miss the alligators! Next time—I misspoke in the episode!— Gravity’s Rainbow Episodes 1.14-1.16 (not through 1.17), or pp. 94-139 in the U.S. Penguin Classics Deluxe Edition. Support the show and get access to monthly bonus episodes at patreon.com/pynchonpals and follow us @pynchonpals.bsky.social . Show Notes: “Lavarand,” the physical cryptographically secure pseudorandom number generator I couldn’t remember in the episode. It’s lavalamps! Related, “Generating Random Numbers With A Fish Tank,” by Tom Nardi via Hackaday . Scans of “The Kenosha Kid,” by Forbes Parkhill via Archive.org. Our previous episode on “Mondaugen’s Story” in V. “How to pay for genocide: Namibian victims of German colonialism want a say,” by Shola Lawal via Al Jazeera . “Namibia’s Blue Book of record: Part one,” by Catherine Sofianos via Mail & Guardian . “Little Albert study,” entry by Ronna F. Dillon, PhD and Amber D. Dillon via Ebsco Ariadne entry via the Encyclopedia Britannica Content warnings: strong language…

People in this episode

Host: Patrick Fiorilli

Guests: Andrew Tillett, Duri Long

Topics covered

• Pavlov
• interdepartmental conspiracy
• pseudo-domesticity
• Gravity’s Rainbow
• literary analysis
• cultural commentary

Keywords

• Gravity’s Rainbow
• Pavlov
• interdepartmental conspiracy
• literary analysis
• cultural commentary
• strong language
• violence
• racism
• misogyny

Mentioned in this episode

Organizations: patreon.com, Hackaday, Al Jazeera, Mail & Guardian, Encyclopedia Britannica

Products: Lavarand, Horology

Books & works: Gravity’s Rainbow

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