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 100: “Dutiful Dreams,” or Project Hail Mary 2026 Film
Chris and Jesse are BACK! And the lads return with the first episode in Chris’ series called “This Came From That?” where we consider both a piece of source material and its later adaptation. For our return we go back to one of our favorite works way back in Season One: Andy Weir’s fantastic novel…
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Project Hail Mary Part I (REPOST)
We go all the way back to episode 17, in honor of the release of the major motion picture, starring Ryan Gosling as Ryland Grace. Our part 1 was originally titled Bromancing the Stone Carapace, perhaps the single greatest podcast title in history. Many many many many writers take on “hard” science fiction, and get…
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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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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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