This is a special episode of LP where famous poetry hater Derek reads a poem by American writer Charles Bukowski for the first time, and what do you know, he loves it.

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LP’s hosts reveal more about themselves than they ever have before. Fung-Ling was nearly laid off, Derek is in enormous pain, but both have decided to show up despite it all. FL dropped the most ludicrous phrase on LP yet, ‘intellectual interior’, which she is prepared to give up in order to have real friends. Who would have thought living your life would be actually fulfilling?

Chapters

00:00 Intro

01:13 Aspiring or not?

13:55 Good quality convos

19:57 P and P watch party

27:59 Corporate sucks

33:34 The popular kids

42:49 Outro

It’s time! LP’s first ever anime club pick is, of course, the industry-defining, culture-shifting, legendary Eva. We began with the 26 episodes available on Netflix, and discussed its themes of abandonment, self-loathing, and daddy issues. Fun! Oh and Derek used to be a member of his university’s anime club.

Chapters

00:00 Intro

08:43 Synopsis

40:46 Spoilers

01:08:12 Outro

Author SR Stuart appears on LP to discuss his debut novel, Mr Muerte, a mystery/thriller written during a two-year journey backpacking through the Americas. He shares the inspiration behind his novel, a controversial recent read, and inspires Derek and Fung-Ling to be better writers and to, like, actually start writing?!

Buy Sean’s book Mr Muerte

Chapter

00:00 Music

01:49 Sean’s bio

04:59 Reading update

12:13 Synopsis of Mr Muerte

30:50 Writing routine

57:00 Outro

Why does the main character look like? In this very writerly discussion, Derek dissects tropes and wishes he could use them. BFL laments her past resistance to the Great Man History way of writing, because making a main character an idolise-able hero freaking works.

Chapters

00:00 Intro

01:42 Reading update

13:00 the lone genius

16:04 main character must be extraordinary

42:09 Nolan & great man history

50:25 outro

This week, BFL and Derek get real personal and delve into their love lives. What if your partner doesn’t like reading? What books would you performatively read in public to pull your type? What books are red flags? Green flags? How fast should you run when you meet a guy who likes Murakami? or High Fidelity?

Chapters

00:00 Intro

02:47 Derek’s recent dates

11:26 High Fidelity

27:07 Red and green flags

58:05 Outro

This week, BFL and Derek read a musician’s memoir, Just Kids by Patti Smith, which is famously referenced in The Tortured Poets Department by Taylor Swift. They start off the episode by discussing BFL’s relationship struggles (?!?!), then they open up about the conceit of being an artist, before reacting to some scornful Goodreads reviews of their new favourite book. It’s a special episode.

Chapters

00:00 Intro

04:21 Why this book?

31:40 XYZ question

46:43 Artist’s conceit

55:20 Goodreads reviews

[Split into spoiler-free and spoiler sections] In LP’s first ever TV club, Derek and Fung-Ling dissect the TV show that everybody is talking about, Severance, created by Dan Erickson. They talk about the show’s pacing, themes, acting, set design, and plot, while relating it to their own experiences working in corporate jobs. This episode is about Season 1.

Chapters

00:00 Music

02:14 Synopsis

02:38 Showrunner bio

14:30 Corporate satire

32:55 Spoiler

51:40 IMDB reviews