our internet module is nearing its end, and today we’re talking about we had to remove this post by hanna bervoets. we talk about the value of reading literature in translation, the weird position that reading novellas puts shreds in, and the current state of social media (and content moderation). we discuss how we had to remove this post reframes long-term exposure to horrific things, how it compares to dave eggers’ the circle, and how it leaves characters’ beliefs open to interpretation. we talk about motormouths and “brand suitability.” the honorable judge matt erdely returns to judge a book by its cover — and to recommend the swashbuckling adventures of cassian andor. reading list for season three a touch of jen by beth morgan the shore by katie runde literally show me a healthy person by darcie wilder amygdalatropolis by b r yeager shitstorm by fernando sdrigotti liveblog by megan boyle 17776 by jon bois snow crash by neal stephenson no one is talking about this by patricia lockwood aesthetica by allie rowbottom things have gotten worse since we last spoke by eric larocca neuromancer by william gibson we had to remove this post by hanna bervoets fake accounts by lauren oyler

our mini sci-fi module (maybe not really a thing) within our broader internet module continues with neuromancer by william gibson. after checking in on our new year’s resolutions (for the second time this module? but first [maybe?] time-appropriate instance) and setting new ones for 2023, we offer a disclaimer for neuromancer superfans. we compare neuromancer to snow crash, talk about ridley scott’s blade runner, and the evolution and cultural osmosis of science fiction narratives and plot elements. we share shreds’s tip to “unlock” the novel, discuss neuromancer as yet another book about language, and america’s concept of futurism. we praise our main man chappie. shreds wonders if he’s “just getting stupider and stupider.” we talk about how to best adapt neuromancer. shreds talks about why the first sentence does a perfect job setting the tone for the entire book. joey tries to link neuromancer to liveblog. reading list for season three a touch of jen by beth morgan the shore by katie runde literally show me a healthy person by darcie wilder amygdalatropolis by b r yeager shitstorm by fernando sdrigotti liveblog by megan boyle 17776 by jon bois snow crash by neal stephenson no one is talking about this by patricia lockwood aesthetica by allie rowbottom things have gotten worse since we last spoke by eric larocca neuromancer by william gibson we had to remove this post by hanna bervoets fake accounts by lauren oyler

recorded in spooky season, releasing in the most wonderful time of the year (according to that one song), our internet module continues with things have gotten worse since we last spoke and other misfortunes by eric larocca. we talk about the different ways the titular story can be consumed, discuss why the narrative might be set in the year 2000, and lament the lack of variation in its epistolary style. we talk about how framing “things have gotten worse since we last spoke” as an internet story may be unfair to how we read it, then use egg’s email to guide our discussions about “the enchantment” and “you’ll find it’s like that all over.” shreds talks about the mcrib and being “pork drunk.” reading list for season three a touch of jen by beth morgan the shore by katie runde literally show me a healthy person by darcie wilder amygdalatropolis by b r yeager shitstorm by fernando sdrigotti liveblog by megan boyle 17776 by jon bois snow crash by neal stephenson no one is talking about this by patricia lockwood aesthetica by allie rowbottom things have gotten worse since we last spoke by eric larocca neuromancer by william gibson we had to remove this post by hanna bervoets fake accounts by lauren oyler

after covering her work last week, we spoke with allie rowbottom, author of aesthetica and jell-o girls. joey and allie share some memories about her book’s launch party/reading before we talk about the publishing world being separate from this type of content, how allie focused on the deep emotional underpinnings of the characters and the world, and how it’s more than just an “internet novel.” joey delivers another non-question that leads to a compliment before we discuss whether there was more story to tell toward the end, how the novel could be adapted into a three-season tv series, and who would play anna in the adaptation. we talk about a weird thing in allie’s wiki. she shares picks for a mini-module. we discuss the risk of recommending media to other people and give allie an award. we discuss the weirdness inherent in instagram comments sections, @paigeuncaged and @dudesinthedm, and lana del rey. allie’s mini-module: body high by jon lindsey heartbroke and godshot by chelsea bieker long live the tribe of fatherless girls by t kira madden a year without a name by cyrus dunham boys of alabama by genevieve hudson a cigarette lit backwards and life of the party by tea hacic-vlahovic reading list for season three a touch of jen by beth morgan the shore by katie runde literally show me a healthy person by darcie wilder amygdalatropolis by b r yeager shitstorm by fernando sdrigotti liveblog by megan boyle 17776 by jon bois snow crash by neal stephenson no one is talking about this by patricia lockwood aesthetica by allie rowbottom things have gotten worse since we last spoke by eric larocca neuromancer by william gibson we had to remove this post by hanna bervoets fake accounts by lauren oyler

the newest episode of lotto pod is also the newest book we’ll cover this season: aesthetica by allie rowbottom. first, some news: shreds is dead; long live tulsa, who shares his thoughts on saying “happy birthday.” we then talk about how the internet has changed over the course of this season, how “the real world” keeps popping up in our conversations, and how phones have changed the ways we socialize. we wonder if surgery will ever become obsolete. tulsa shares the research he did for the episode (and describes some tiktok memes) before he accidentally engages in self-harm, gets vulnerable, and shows his age. reading list for season three a touch of jen by beth morgan the shore by katie runde literally show me a healthy person by darcie wilder amygdalatropolis by b r yeager shitstorm by fernando sdrigotti liveblog by megan boyle 17776 by jon bois snow crash by neal stephenson no one is talking about this by patricia lockwood aesthetica by allie rowbottom things have gotten worse since we last spoke by eric larocca neuromancer by william gibson we had to remove this post by hanna bervoets fake accounts by lauren oyler

can a dog be twins? our next stop in our internet module is no one is talking about this by patricia lockwood. we talk about how the novel’s content (at least in the first-half) relies on existing (and somewhat inexplicable) scaffolding around internet humor as well as the way that it captures how fast trends happen and how the internet has an ability to change language forever. we compare it to darcie wilder’s literally show me a healthy person and talk about how lockwood’s priestdaddy informs this narrative. we also talk about the “stomach-dropping” moment midway through the novel, how that ties into the internet, and how the overall narrative reminds people there’s more to life than twitter. joey talks about delilah before bob re-affirms a pledge and teaches us all about juridical postulates (?). reading list for season three a touch of jen by beth morgan the shore by katie runde literally show me a healthy person by darcie wilder amygdalatropolis by b r yeager shitstorm by fernando sdrigotti liveblog by megan boyle 17776 by jon bois snow crash by neal stephenson no one is talking about this by patricia lockwood things have gotten worse since we last spoke by eric larocca neuromancer by william gibson we had to remove this post by hanna bervoets fake accounts by lauren oyler

we’re headed back in time (?) to go forward in time (maybe?) to the metaverse (definitely) to talk about snow crash by neal stephenson. we talk about science-fiction being an unusual genre for the pod, trying to balance prescience and ingenuity with problematic plot points, and the pros and cons of writing dystopian futures based on current events. bob gets flabbergasted by neal stephenson’s turn toward a dean koontz mainstay, joey stumbles through a plot summary, and bob shares his issue with the ending. we talk about snow crash‘s influence and potential adaptation, the chicken-and-egg nerd interest conundrum of snow crash‘s content, and the importance of getting your narrative’s jargon right. joey shouts out amelia gray. bob finds himself surrounded by nerds. reading list for season three a touch of jen by beth morgan the shore by katie runde literally show me a healthy person by darcie wilder amygdalatropolis by b r yeager shitstorm by fernando sdrigotti liveblog by megan boyle 17776 by jon bois snow crash by neal stephenson no one is talking about this by patricia lockwood things have gotten worse since we last spoke by eric larocca neuromancer by william gibson we had to remove this post by hanna bervoets fake accounts by lauren oyler

our internet module continues as we talk about 17776 by jon bois. is it a book? what defines a book? we get into it. after shreds kickflip mctwists his way back onto the podcast, we talk about what we love about bois's work and discuss "the ichiro moment." we break down the sci-fi future presented by bois, the work's unusual intersection of science-fiction and sports, and using the internet to tell a story in a way only the internet can tell a story. joey tries to get literate. bob swats him down. reading list for season three a touch of jen by beth morgan the shore by katie runde literally show me a healthy person by darcie wilder amygdalatropolis by b r yeager shitstorm by fernando sdrigotti liveblog by megan boyle 17776 by jon bois snow crash by neal stephenson no one is talking about this by patricia lockwood things have gotten worse since we last spoke by eric larocca neuromancer by william gibson fake accounts by lauren oyler we had to remove this post by hanna bervoets

megan boyle swung by the ol’ lottery pod treehouse to talk with us about her book liveblog (and a whole lot more). after briefly pivoting to a bob-centric interview, we talk about liveblog existing in a different era of the internet, how her intentions in writing liveblog aligned (or didn’t) with how it played out, and whether the word “autofiction” makes her cringe. we talk about what liveblog would have been like if she thought about making it a book from the start, the process of adapting this from a tumblr into a book, and her transition away from a public persona online. bob pitches his return to liveblog idea; megan talks about her 2020 return to the liveblog format. joey reads some of megan’s writing to her. megan explains the thought process behind the 37-hour livestream reading. bob likens megan to david blaine. we get answers about megan’s parents’ sleep patterns. we talk about asmr (and kind of give each other asmr). we introduce megan to the idea of the quadrant. megan offers some stone cold nba locks. megan’s mini-module #1: “autofiction-y stuff that is a little more ambitious/creative than regular ‘autofiction'”: empty words and the luminous novel by mario levrero torpor, i love dick, and all other books by chris kraus seven samurai swept away in a river and a contrived world by jung young moon plus, a note from megan: “probably not ‘supposed to,’ but i read all david foster wallace as autobiographical (recommend everything but broom of the system & the pale king, which i haven’t read, but given what i know i feel like i’d probably recommend pk over bots). i actually read most fiction as autobiographical in some capacity; it feels farsighted to me when people act as though their imagination isn’t part of who they are.) megan’s mini-module #2: “psychologically-minded memoirs that helped me on path i’m currently on”: the words to say it by marie cardinal juliet the maniac by juliet escoria memories, dreams, reflections by c.g. jung reading list for season three a touch of jen by beth morgan the shore by katie runde literally show me a healthy person by darcie wilder amygdalatropolis by b r yeager shitstorm by fernando sdrigotti liveblog by megan boyle 17776 by jon bois snow crash by neal stephenson no one is talking about this by patricia lockwood things have gotten worse since we last spoke by eric larocca neuromancer by william gibson fake accounts by lauren oyler we had to remove this post by hanna bervoets

our internet module continues with our longest book this season (and one of our favorites we’ve covered so far): liveblog by megan boyle. (our interview with megan will drop next week.) this episode begins with a return to everyone’s favorite segment (schedule talk) before we talk about our poor planning re: podcast preparation. we explore the “scaffolding” of liveblog, megan boyle’s bravery (and her trust in her audience), and how relatable so much of this novel is. joey likens liveblog to the avengers. bob has a stretch of saying words in a strange way. we talk about how liveblog simultaneously enforces and unplugs drug stereotypes, whether or not work like this is imitable, and how it (like seemingly every other book we’ve covered) winds up being about language. we praise megan boyle for her ability to recount dreams. “trout : that’s the fish.” joey breaks the podcast’s one rule. egg sends in an email. bob has an idea for a return to liveblog. reading list for season three a touch of jen by beth morgan the shore by katie runde literally show me a healthy person by darcie wilder amygdalatropolis by b r yeager shitstorm by fernando sdrigotti liveblog by megan boyle 17776 by jon bois snow crash by neal stephenson no one is talking about this by patricia lockwood things have gotten worse since we last spoke by eric larocca neuromancer by william gibson fake accounts by lauren oyler we had to remove this post by hanna bervoets