Not Quite Great Books: a TV podcast

120. The Americans 6x3, "Urban Transport Planning", with Michaela Rife

This week, John and Danielle are joined by their friend and returning guest Michaela Rife! Together, these three dig into Season 6 Episode 3, “Urban Transport Planning,” using the frame of nostalgia to structure their discussion. They start with their takes on the Soviet cooking club as a key entry point into the topic and then consider Philip’s return to spying later on to flesh out their discussion. They tackle how Stan is fighting counterintelligence nostalgia and the construction of the final scene before moving onto the segments, where Michaela interrogates Danielle on her takes to everyone’s enjoyment! In Glas, Michaela treats everyone to an analysis of art in the season thus far, and it turns out an actual art historian is more useful than your trusty hosts. Together they all consider whether Paige is a nepo baby before some music drops and an EST revamp in Borrowed Nostalgia. They welcome Michaela to TRAGEDY SZN in the Cave with a quick trip into Euripides’ Electra, and Michaela gives us a lot to think about with her reference to Svetlana Boym in TheoryShip.  -- Music by Lesfm [https://pixabay.com/users/lesfm-22579021/] from Pixabay

119. Heated Rivalry, with Ray Carman, Amy Schiller, and Regan Levitte

Lace up those skates, prepare your tuna melt, and lock in for an open skate through the show Heated Rivalry with THREE special guests joining John: Ray Carman makes his NQGB debut while stalwarts Amy Schiller and Regan Levitte make their triumphant returns to the show.  The team examines the show’s eroticism, queerness, gender politics, and more, in addition to of course covering the main characters/character pairings. HR’s style is discussed from the music drops to the phallic logos to everything in between, while the show’s engagement with romance and fannish tropes becomes a consistent touchpoint as the squad debates how safe (or not) the show is.  In our version of a penalty box, one of the four (guess who) couldn’t resist strident criticism of the narrative structure and editing, depiction of masculinity, and more. Finally, The Cave brings Foucault, Vito Russo, and Lauren Berlant and Michael Warner, among others, to HR, with about the results you’d expect.  Happy Pride! -- Music by Lesfm [https://pixabay.com/users/lesfm-22579021/] from Pixabay

118. The Americans 6x2, "Tchaikovsky"

Well, well, well - look what happens when your chickens come home to roost. John and Danielle are back at it for The Americans Season 6 Episode 2, “Tchaikovsky.” Tackling the ways past decisions and events shape the present conditions for different characters, they begin with some meta-reflections on what it means to be in the sixth and final season of the show. They then unpack the different chickens that Elizabeth, Philip, and Stan must contend with over the course of the episode. They touch on Elizabeth’s lies, Paige’s existence as a spy, and Sofia and Gennadi. In the Dossier, Danielle once again beats the drum of Renee as a spy, which John (as usual) ‘no-comments’ - stay tuned for more Renee check-ins in later episodes. Glas has Claudia and Erica, and of course, MAIL ROBOT BACK! We are treated to a chat about Reagan’s dementia and Jack Kevorkian in Borrowed Nostalgia. There’s another installment of TRAGEDY SZN in the Cave as Danielle guides us on an exploration of Aeschylus’ Libation Bearers, with the added bonus of some creative TheoryShips too. Enjoy! -- Music by Lesfm [https://pixabay.com/users/lesfm-22579021/] from Pixabay

117. The Americans 6x1, "Dead Hand"

We are back, Arkadii is SO back, and it is time to embark on the final season of The Americans here on Not Great Quite Books! For the first episode, "Dead Hand," Danielle and John accept the season premiere's invitation to consider all things art: the arts of spying, how spying may prevent one from appreciating art, the art of national identity, and much more. In unsurprising but nonetheless engaging developments, Danielle is still highly suspicious of Renee in the Dossier, and has pronounced Season 6 Tragedy SZN (proffering Ajax this time around) in The Cave, while John has much to say about The Sadboi Summit of 1987. The episode's creative deployment of 1980s bangers, Soviet Film Club, and saturation in the politics of 1987 round things out.  Did Danielle and John convince themselves to start a travel agency, use an Ancient Greek word for its name, and seek brand deals for it? We think you already know the answer to this one.  -- Music by Lesfm [https://pixabay.com/users/lesfm-22579021/] from Pixabay

116. The Americans Season 6 Preview

Danielle and John are BACK* from their long espionage sojourns and reunited to preview The Americans Season 6. Having both rewatched the S5 finale, they note their surprises and ideas upon this revisiting, before talking through what the show asks of its viewers and what Danielle expects, predicts, and wants heading into Season 6.       *"we are SO back" reserved for the actual start of S6 episodes Season 6 episodes coming your way in 2026.  -- Music by Lesfm [https://pixabay.com/users/lesfm-22579021/] from Pixabay