A podcast in which we discuss high-craft works of popular culture.
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#UpperMiddleBrow
To say a work is highbrow or “literary” might suggest it is rarified, difficult, or unrelatable. To call it “lowbrow” might suggest its entertaining, but lurid and lacking craft. At Upper Middlebrow, we believe you shouldn’t have to choose.
In energetic and rambly episodes, Jesse and Chris surf the tidal waters of the upper-middlebrow, choosing pieces of highly entertaining work, with high craft.
Find out what we’re reading/watching next.
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Episode 99: More Robot Friends!: Isaac Asimov’s ‘Robot Visions’ Part 1 with Justin Reich.
Isaac Asimov doesn’t PERFECTLY predict today’s era of anxiety and excitement around AI. But he does pretty well for somebody writing eighty years ago. In this 1990 collection of Asimov’s classic robot stories, we see corporations trying to make money while navigating human anxiety around robots, and humans trying to determine whether robots should have……
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Episode 98: ‘Minor League Stew,’ or John Feinstein’s Where Nobody Knows Your Name, Part II
The second half of Feinstein’s book of minor league baseball stories and characters feels very much like the first half. The reporting is extensive, and Feinstein has a knack for the well described scene, brief characterization, and finding the drama in the everyday. In spite of those virtues, the book continues to overwhelm the reader……
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Episode 97: “Baseball’s Ballast,” or John Feinstein’s Where Nobody Knows Your Name: Life in The Minor Leagues of Baseball
John Feinstein’s baseball writing is as sharp as ever, the anecdotes of Where Nobody Knows Your Name: Life in the Minor Leagues of Baseball portraying a desperate but determined subculture of professional baseball. The many characters of Feinstein’s book hunger to make it to the bigs, whether they are past their prime, approaching that point,…
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The Hosts
Chris and Jesse create and interrogate different kinds of content. They are writers, radio producers, and fair-to-middling surfers.
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