Erections of the Mind

Slow Lerners

Thu, 07 May 2026 20:02:58 GMT

There was a gas leak in the podcasting studio. Luckily the boys have made a full recovery. Please enjoy what semblance of a coherent train of thought on Ben Lerner's oeuvre is discernible in this inchoate conversation.

Music is John Hiatt's "Book Lovers"

Two Paths for the Podcast

Tue, 14 Apr 2026 01:12:42 GMT

The boys are back to discuss Tom McCarthy's "Remainder", Zadie Smith's "Two Paths for the Novel", the possibility (or impossibility) of authenticity, MFAs, the people who complain about MFAs, whether Jacob's beard augments his already conspicuously semitic features, and more.

Music is John Hiatt's "Book Lovers"

Podcasting Scoundrels

Mon, 09 Mar 2026 19:57:21 GMT

Jeffrey Aspern didn't kill himself. Henry James was sexually frustrated. People who burn their writing are melodramatic. The kids can't read. "Lost Lambs" is a real book. Aseem encourages Jacob to commit suicide. Jacob encourages Liam to convert. All this and more!

Music is John Hiatt's "Book Lovers"

Prostate Farmer

Sun, 01 Feb 2026 17:45:46 GMT

One episode recorded near the end of January in a squalid Brooklyn apartment in which three gentlemen discuss, in a meandering fashion, the novel Satantango by Nobel laureate László Krasznahorkai, the sloppy editorial oversight of New Directions Publishing, the distinctions between modernism and post-modernism, the superficialities and pseudo-seriousness of dense prose, the critical tendencies of today's male readership, whether Jonathan Franzen is television-adaptable, and other desultory topics that may fail to enthrall even the most committed of listeners.

Music is John Hiatt's "Book Lovers"

Lyrical Movements

Fri, 02 Jan 2026 02:31:41 GMT

How many semicolons are too many? Does an Empire State Building made of doughnuts countermand the innate beauty of the world? Is Warren Zevon's "The Envoy" an overlooked masterpiece? Join us and find out in our freewheeling discussion of Gustave Flaubert's timeless classic, "Sentimental Education".

Music is John Hiatt's "Book Lovers"