Never Let Me Go: Why Does Our Existence Matter?

Never Let Me Go: Why Does Our Existence Matter?

Has there ever been a more urgent moment to ask ourselves what it means to be human? And how can a novel help us ask that question better? (Hint: there may be clones...) Thankfully, my guest has all of the right questions and interpretations for the book that made him: Kazuo Ishiguro's Never Let Me Go [https://bookshop.org/a/121418/9781400078776]. Jinwoo Park is a Korean Canadian writer and literary translator based in Montreal. Born in Seoul, he has lived across North America and the UK since age 11. He earned his master's in Creative Writing from the University of Oxford in 2015. He won the Jim Wong-Chu Emerging Writers' Award in 2021 and the Emerging Translator Award from LTI Korea in 2023. His debut novel, Oxford Soju Club, was longlisted for Canada Reads 2026. You can find his insightful social media posts—about books, writing, Korean and American culture, and more—at the link below, as well as his official, authorial website. https://www.instagram.com/jinwoopark0721/ [https://www.instagram.com/jinwoopark0721/] jinwoo-park.com [http://jinwoo-park.com/] And as always, you can find more about the podcast at our Instagram [https://www.instagram.com/thisbookmademe/], or contact us directly at ThisBookMadeMe@gmail.com

The Deep: Making Myths with Trauma and Triumph

Black mermaids?! Say what?! That's just the hook! Join my guest for a deep dive (get it?) into Rivers Solomon's The Deep—a novel that makes a new myth from an American atrocity. Jasmyne Gilbert (she/her/hers) studies the beliefs and stories that shape society. She believes stories are sources of power and tools for critique and transformation, and amplifies those that imagine deliciously, irresistibly free futures, especially for Black folks. Merging myth, depth psychology, speculative imagination (what-if thinking), and cultural analysis, her research examines the hidden potential of stories to inspire community-building and systemic change. She holds a degree in English from Tuskegee University and is currently pursuing a PhD in Mythological Studies from Pacifica Graduate Institute. You can follow her public research at jasmynegilbert.com [http://jasmynegilbert.com/] https://substack.com/@jasmynegilbert [https://substack.com/@jasmynegilbert] | https://www.instagram.com/jasmynegilbert/ [https://www.instagram.com/jasmynegilbert/] Our musical inspiration this month comes from the two audioscapes that spawned The Deep's mythology. Drexciya's Afrofuturist techno album Journey of the Deep Sea Dweller [https://youtu.be/VBEKAtRskn8?si=tHZyRC3Q91Ko4Qk3], and clipping's song The Deep [https://youtu.be/5EnPFsk4lOo?si=ZqvgYWTcPe0TgCDD]. And as always, you can find more about the podcast at our Instagram [https://www.instagram.com/thisbookmademe/], or contact us directly at ThisBookMadeMe@gmail.com

The Plague: Living with Hope During The Horrors

Everything is terrible! How do we wake up every morning and keep going? My guest makes the very compelling case for an answer in Albert Camus's existential absurdist classic The Plague (La Peste). Kevin Gannon is the director of faculty development and a professor of history at Queens University in Charlotte, NC. He's spent almost 30 years in higher education, yet still maintains hope for the future through both rage and love, as Paulo Freire put it. When he's not reading existential literature, you can most likely find him at a baseball game. He's the co-editor of the book The Campus Crisis Toolkit [https://sunypress.edu/Books/T/The-Campus-Crisis-Toolkit], and you can find him on social media as The Tattooed Prof. [https://bsky.app/profile/thetattooedprof.bsky.social] To get you in the mood, check out DJ/curator Diego Dela Rosa mixtape Trust [https://open.spotify.com/playlist/6tO1GvXuKkUhAyuuzOdrG0?si=HI3XxEr1SkWjBiiEiO29Fg]. And as always, you can find more about the podcast at our Instagram [https://www.instagram.com/thisbookmademe/], or contact us directly at ThisBookMadeMe@gmail.com

The Unexpected Mrs. Pollifax: Be Curious and Trust Yourself

If you've ever dreamed of doing the extraordinary, but thought it was too late, this episode is for you. Meet Dorothy Gilman's The Unexpected Mrs. Pollifax, who decides, in her 60s, to pursue a life-long dream of becoming a spy. In addition to digging into the life lessons of the novel, my guests tell us what it's like to have a book shared across a family, and with the person you love. Sara Scrimshaw has proudly used her liberal arts degrees in history and dance, working in historic house museums/gardens and as a dancer. Sara currently oversees programs at Greystone Mansion & Gardens and performs with Deborah Rosen & Dancers, and she recently co-executive produced the independent film DEAD MEDIA. Despite doing a report on Albania in 5th grade after reading The Unexpected Mrs. Pollifax, she has yet to visit the country in person. You can find her as @scrimstreet at Bluesky and Instagram. Joseph Scrimshaw is a filmmaker based in Los Angeles, originally from Minneapolis, Minnesota. He has many years of experience as a writer, director, actor, comedian, and producer in multiple mediums. He's written for Adult Swim's fantasy comedy TV show, Tigtone, the movie-riffing group, RiffTrax, the scripted podcast, Getting On With James Urbaniak, and more. Joseph's plays Adventures in Mating, An Inconvenient Squirrel, and My Monster (written with Bill Corbett) have been performed worldwide. He's also the co-host of the popular Star Wars podcast, ForceCenter. His first feature film, the horror movie Dead Media, is currently playing in film festivals and planning future screenings. Learn more about Joseph at josephscrimshaw.com [http://josephscrimshaw.com/] The Scrimshaws are Angelenos, but Minnesotans at heart. Don't forget to check out standwithminnesota.com [http://standwithminnesota.com/] to support the ongoing work in Minneapolis and environs. And finally: DJ Diego Dela Rosa has their patented Mixtape, inspired by Mrs. Pollifax over at Spotify. Give This Mixtape Made Me: Fortify [https://open.spotify.com/playlist/1xKCF3Dh5v7LPuo6bx9rSE?si=8XIWVVtfRsaviAsO_CRPfQ] a listen! As always, you can send feedback and ideas via our Instagram [https://www.instagram.com/thisbookmademe/] or via email at ThisBookMadeMe@gmail.com [ThisBookMadeMe@gmail.com].

Wuthering Heights: This Book Made Us...Better Readers, with some caveats

Wuthering Heights is coming! The movie, anyway. What do you need to know about the book, and why has it become such a cultural touchstone? Lucky for us, my friend Dr. Julie Townsend joins me for a re-read of Emily Brontë's 1847 novel. We dig into the book itself, and puzzle over the continued popularity of Wuthering Heights as a romance, in anticipation of Emerald Fennell's upcoming movie. Julie Townsend is Professor of Interdisciplinary Humanities in the Johnston Center for Integrative Studies [https://www.redlands.edu/academics/colleges-and-schools/college-of-arts-and-sciences/johnston-center-for-integrative-studies] at the University of Redlands. She is author of The Choreography of Modernism in France and currently experiments with performance art practices in the humanities classroom. She is also the co-founder of Best College Path [https://www.bestcollegepath.com/], which offers students personalized guidance through the college admissions process. Meanwhile, to get you in the mood, DJ/curator Diego Dela Rosa has put together a very special, Wuthering Heights-inspired playlist [https://open.spotify.com/playlist/2ARrEjj6b3sYlHvzhxoQj0?si=b2_B2OI8RaO24WF5om6zVg], for your tempestuous, romantical listening needs. And as always, you can find more about the podcast at our Instagram [https://www.instagram.com/thisbookmademe/], or contact us directly at ThisBookMadeMe@gmail.com