BABEL ...magical translation & colonization

BABEL ...magical translation & colonization

From Quarantined Comics by Quarantined Comics

November 15, 2025 · 60 min · Season 7 · Episode 174

About this episode

The episode discusses the themes of translation and colonization in the context of the book 'Babel: Or the Necessity of Violence' by R.F. Kuang.

“Translation — it's listening and understanding. It's trying to understand each other, trying to find some common ground, but understanding that there is a gap and that's okay, because we're all different.” There’s this really good book about a kid in England who gets into an elite school to learn the magic that can literally change the world. There’s friendship, betrayal, enchanted objects, and the fate of the world hanging in the balance. But we’re not talking about Hogwarts - this is Oxford. Babel: Or the Necessity of Violence by R.F. Kuang — might just be the most important story you’ll read this year. It’s what happens when a coming-of-age fantasy grows up — when instead of asking who gets to wield magic, it asks who built it, who profits from it, and who gets burned by it. By page 100, you'll start to hear the opening lines of Rage Against the Machine. It’s Harry Potter meets Uncle Tom’s Cabin, and so much more. Joining is longtime FrieMMd of the pod, and comic-book partner-in-crime Paresh Jha. LEARN MORE: BABEL (RF Kuang): goodreads.com/book/show/57945316-babel ARTICLE (New Yorker): The Otherworldly Ambitions of R. F. Kuang…

People in this episode

Guest: Paresh Jha

Topics covered

  • translation
  • colonization
  • fantasy
  • friendship
  • betrayal

Keywords

  • Babel
  • R.F. Kuang
  • magic
  • Oxford
  • coming-of-age

Mentioned in this episode

Products: Empire S1 British East India Co, Revolutions S12, Babel: Or the Necessity of Violence

Books & works: Babel: Or, the Necessity of Violence, Rage Against the Machine, Uncle Tom’s Cabin, The Otherworldly Ambitions of R. F. Kuang, Revolutions Pod, The Devil’s Advocate, Fight Club, Equilibrium

Places: England

More episodes of Quarantined Comics

Explore listener stats, chart rankings, contacts and more on the Quarantined Comics podcast page.