أفضل بودكاسات Unfortunately Required Reading (2025)

1
Tocqueville's American Travel Vlog (Democracy in America) 1:59:00

4d ago1:59:00

1:59:00

This week Amanda and Victoria discuss the possible series finale of the US by talking about Alexis de Tocqueville's Democracy in America and his accurate, and not so accurate, talking points.

1
That's Showbiz Kid (A Confederacy of Dunces) 2:08:09

1M ago2:08:09

2:08:09

This week Amanda and Victoria celebrate Victoria's birthday month with A Confederacy of Dunces by John Kennedy Toole, and the legacy of New Orleans.

1
Inconceivable! Anybody want a Peanut? (The Princess Bride) 2:25:18

2M ago2:25:18

2:25:18

Somehow in this economy we get Baron Von Cheeseplate back on the show to discuss William Goldman's The Princess Bride, as well as how much we all hate that weird Evangelical puppet, Douglas.

1
The Haunted Audio (Turn of the Screw) 1:37:00

3M ago1:37:00

1:37:00

This week Amanda and Victoria discuss Henry James' novella, The Turn of the Screw. After Daddy's Little Harbinger shows up (Mothman) our audio started to have some problems, the episode crashing twice. The rest of his death story is posted on UnfortunatelyRequiredReading.com for the curious.

1
Diet Malthus (Ishmael) 1:29:36

4M ago1:29:36

1:29:36

This week Amanda and Victoria discuss the Daniel Quinn book of Socratic dialogue with a gorilla, Ishmael.

1
This is My Roman Empire (I, Claudius) 1:18:20

5M ago1:18:20

1:18:20

This week Amanda and Victoria discuss Robert Graves' epic I, Claudius, and immediately questioning Graves' concepts of history.

1
Episode 115: Word by Word (Bird by Bird) 1:05:26

6M ago1:05:26

1:05:26

Happy Birthday Month to Amanda! This month, we discuss Anne Lamott's Bird by Bird (and Victoria actually does the shortest short story long.)

1
City of Naw (City of Night) 1:27:12

7M ago1:27:12

1:27:12

This month Amanda and Victoria discuss City of Night by John Rechy for Pride Month and discuss the old ways and the new of Queer community and acceptance.

1
Following the White Rabbit (Alice in Wonderland) 2:13:13

8M ago2:13:13

2:13:13

Baron Von Cheeseplate joins Amanda and Victoria to discuss Alice's Adventures in Wonderland, Lewis Carroll, and the impact of this work on pop culture.

1
Little Scam on the Prairie (Little House on the Prairie) 1:27:16

9M ago1:27:16

1:27:16

This week Amanda and Victoria discuss Laura Ingalls Wilder's Little House on the Prairie, Manifest Destiny, the Minnesota Massacre, the lie of Westward expansion and why neither host can spell prairie.

1
Basically, Just Real Life in Late Stage Capitalism (Fahrenheit 451) 1:35:08

10M ago1:35:08

1:35:08

This week Amanda and Victoria discuss Fahrenheit 451 by Ray Bradbury.

1
Episode 110: I Bet on Losing Dogs (Lady Chatterley's Lover) 1:16:08

11M ago1:16:08

1:16:08

This week Amanda and Victoria discuss Lady Chatterley's Lover, sex politics, and what DH Lawrence means by a "crisis."

1
Strong Independent Pilgrim (Little Women) 1:31:26

1y ago1:31:26

1:31:26

This week Amanda and Victoria discuss Little Women, Louisa May Alcott, and the myth of typical femininity.

1
A Bug's Life (Metamorphosis) 1:19:57

1y ago1:19:57

1:19:57

This month Amanda and Victoria discuss Franz Kafka's Metamorphosis, traumatic childhood abuse, and the utterly depressing life of Franz Kafka.

1
This Time, We Want to Join a Cult (or Build a Submarine) 2:22:44

1y ago2:22:44

2:22:44

Baron Von Cheeseplate returns to discuss 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea by Jules Verne with Amanda and Victoria.

1
Do You Want to Get Sued? (The Shining) 2:24:36

1+ y ago2:24:36

2:24:36

For Spooky Month Amanda and Victoria discuss Stephen King's infamous work The Shining, alcoholism, hotels, and Stanley Kubrick.

1
A Whole New World (Brave New World) 2:06:55

1+ y ago2:06:55

2:06:55

This week Amanda and Victoria discuss Aldous Huxley's Brave New World, ethnobotany, drugs, and enough weird stuff to fill a 2-hour podcast.

1
Episode 104: Paper Folding Peace Signs (Sadako and the 1000 Paper Cranes) 1:25:12

1+ y ago1:25:12

1:25:12

This week Amanda and Victoria discuss Sadako and the 1000 Paper Cranes by Eleanor Coerr, as well as the atomic bomb and the lasting effects on America and how it is viewed internationally.

1
Look Down (Les Miserables) 1:22:59

1+ y ago1:22:59

1:22:59

This week Amanda and Victoria discuss Victor Hugo's massive fan fiction, Les Misérables.

1
Is the Movie Better? (Breakfast at Tiffany's) 1:06:56

1+ y ago1:06:56

1:06:56

This week Amanda and Victoria discuss Truman Capote's Breakfast at Tiffany's. Happy Pride!

1
Animal Harm (Animal Farm) 1:37:02

1+ y ago1:37:02

1:37:02

This month Amanda and Victoria discuss George Orwell's Animal Farm, and the historical events that inspired it.

1
F*** You, Mark Twain 1:31:46

2y ago1:31:46

1:31:46

By some miracle, we made it to 100 episodes. This week we discuss Mark Twain's The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn and wonder why we give this book to children.

1
I Dreamed I Went to Mandalay Bay Last Night (Rebecca) 1:10:01

2y ago1:10:01

1:10:01

This week Amanda and Victoria discuss Daphne du Maurier's Rebecca.

1
Death From Above (The War of the Worlds) 1:56:00

2y ago1:56:00

1:56:00

This week Amanda and Victoria discuss HG Wells as The War of the Worlds.

1
The Ultimate KGB C*ck Block (Doctor Zhivago) 1:19:29

2y ago1:19:29

1:19:29

This is the reuploaded version of our episode on Doctor Zhivago. Some listeners advised the end had been cut off by our editing software. Thank you! This week Amanda and Victoria discuss the drag that is Doctor Zhivago and why it was so scary to the USSR.

1
A Guide to Why Your Black Friends Are Exhausted (A Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglas) 1:31:38

2y ago1:31:38

1:31:38

This week Amanda and Victoria discuss A Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglas.

1
The Return of Two Host One Mic (The Secret Garden) 50:58

2y ago50:58

50:58

Amanda and Victoria FINALLY get to record together in person for the first time in....almost three years? Welcome back with The Secret Garden by Frances Hodgson Burnett. We discuss ableism, rest cures, and the garden metaphor.

1
A Thinly Veiled Cult Metaphor? (Jonathan Livingston Seagull) 53:49

2y ago53:49

53:49

This week Amanda and Victoria read a book that managed to break Victoria, Richard Bach's Jonathan Livingston Seagull.

1
Cottage Core White Girl Fantasies (The Witch of Blackbird Pond) 58:20

2y ago58:20

58:20

Amanda and Victoria discuss The Witch of Blackbird Pond and why Kit definitely would have been found guilty of witchcraft in Connecticut.

1
Being a Mermaid is Just One Giant Metaphor, Isn't It? (Hans Christian Andersen's The Little Mermaid) 1:19:43

2y ago1:19:43

1:19:43

This week Amanda and Victoria discuss the uncomfortable dating history of Hans Christan Andersen...wait, we mean The Little Mermaid.

1
Do Androids Dream of Dick? (Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep) 1:11:43

2y ago1:11:43

1:11:43

This week Amanda and Victoria read Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep by Phillip K. Dick, the book that was adapted loosely into Blade Runner.

1
So You're Saying I Can Dodge? (Neuromancer) 1:34:02

2y ago1:34:02

1:34:02

Amanda, Victoria, and special guest Baron Von Cheeseplate discuss William Gibson's Neuromancer.

1
Trauma All the Way Down (The Haunting of Hill House) 1:10:09

2+ y ago1:10:09

1:10:09

This week Amanda and Victoria cover spooky season with Shirley Jackson's novel The Haunting of Hill House.

1
Episode 88: It Was a Monkey? (Murders in the Rue Morgue) 56:08

2+ y ago56:08

56:08

This week Amanda and Victoria discuss Murders in the Rue Morgue by Edgar Allan Poe for Spooky Season.

1
These are the MF Jokes (Oedipus Rex) 1:17:35

2+ y ago1:17:35

1:17:35

This week Amanda and Victoria discuss Sophocles' work Oedipus Rex (aka Oedipus the King) and make surprisingly few jokes about incest.

1
Sexting in the Time of Cholera (Love in the Time of Cholera) 1:08:44

2+ y ago1:08:44

1:08:44

This week Amanda and Victoria read Love in the Time of Cholera.

1
Encanto with Incest (One Hundred Years of Solitude) 1:19:01

2+ y ago1:19:01

1:19:01

This week Amanda and Victoria discuss the most beloved Latin American novel of all time, Gabriel Garcia Marquez's One Hundred Years of Solitude.

1
Sartre Diem (No Exit) 1:16:02

2+ y ago1:16:02

1:16:02

This week Amanda and Victoria discuss Sartre's one-act play No Exit.

1
A Night with Uncle Tennessee (The Lady of Larkspur Lotion) 1:06:14

2+ y ago1:06:14

1:06:14

This week Amanda and Victoria discuss Tennesse Williams' one act play, The Lady of Larkspur Lotion.

1
Mimosas are Not the Only Brunch Beverage (Oranges are Not the Only Fruit) 1:09:58

2+ y ago1:09:58

1:09:58

This week Amanda and Victoria discuss Jeanette Winterson's Oranges are Not the Only Fruit.

1
Getting Dragged by Gods (the Iliad) 1:29:53

2+ y ago1:29:53

1:29:53

This week we discuss the Iliad for Pride month.

1
nolite te bastardes carborundorum (The Handmaid's Tale) 1:16:07

2+ y ago1:16:07

1:16:07

This week Amanda and Victoria discuss The Handmaid's Tale by Margaret Atwood and despair.

1
Another Robbie Burns Inspired Book (Of Mice and Men) 1:06:32

2+ y ago1:06:32

1:06:32

This week Amanda and Victoria unpack Of Mice and Men, the exploitation of the American worker, and the utter exhaustion of existence.

1
Like Ducks on a Frozen Pond (Catcher in the Rye) 1:07:25

3y ago1:07:25

1:07:25

This week Amanda is drug kicking and screaming into a book they didn't have to read in school and Victoria has flashbacks to dating people who need therapy.