Podcast
Blooms & Barnacles
Hosted by Kelly Bryan · EN
A blog and podcast that discuss James Joyce's Ulysses from a non-academic point of view. Less snooty, more movie references.
16episodes
Episodes
Newest firstAll episodes
Wandering Rocks
2w ago00:46:04Tap to summarizeHere be dragons. Topics in this episode include why “Wandering Rocks” is the least Homeric episode of Ulysses, why the name “Wandering Rocks” isn’t quite right, how Jason escaped the Wandering Rocks, how Leopold Bloom is a mightier hero than Odysseus, correspondences for “Wandering Rocks,” the “blind mechanism” of the Wandering Rocks, clockspeed, how to escape the labyrinth, Joyce’s favorite board game, whether or not Joyce would have been a David Bowie fan, traps in “Wandering Rocks,” blood and currency, the precision of “Wandering Rocks,” and re-creating “Wandering Rocks” as street theater. Support us on Patreon to get episodes early, and to access bonus content and a video version of our podcast. On the Blog: Ulysses & The Odyssey - Wandering Rocks Blooms & Barnacles Social Media: Facebook | BlueSky | Instagram Subscribe to Blooms & Barnacles: Apple Podcasts | Spotify | YouTube
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Bonus Ep. 40 - Gas from a Burner [TEASER]
Apr 3000:09:12Tap to summarizeThis month, we tell the story of how Dubliners got published and read Joyce's most scorched-earth poem, "Gas from a Burner." Listen to the full episode and see a video version at patreon.com/barnaclecast
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Medical Dick and Medical Davy
Apr 2301:02:20Tap to summarize…Gravy? Topics in this episode include the grande finale of Stephen’s Hamlet theory, he finally proves by algebra that Shakespeare is the ghost of his own father, dio boia, James Joyce’s reaction to Karl Bleibtreu’s Shakespeare conspiracy theories, Dana, Fred Ryan, the poetry and theatrical stylings of Buck Mulligan, Oliver St. John Gogarty’s play Blight, and the origin story of Medical Dick and Medical Davy. Support us on Patreon to get episodes early, and to access bonus content and a video version of our podcast. On the Blog: Poetry in Ulysses: Medical Dick and Medical Davy Blooms & Barnacles Social Media: Facebook | BlueSky | Instagram Subscribe to Blooms & Barnacles: Apple Podcasts | Spotify | YouTube
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Bonus Ep. 39 - Henry V [TEASER]
Mar 3100:09:52Tap to summarizeWe complete our three-part series on Laurence Olivier's Shakespeare adaptations with a discussion of his 1944 version of Henry V. Listen to the full episode at patreon.com/barnaclecast
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Lapwing
Mar 2500:51:13Tap to summarizeAgenbite of Lapwing. Topics in this episode include Shakespeare’s coat of arms, the significance of Cassiopeia to Stephen’s Shakespeare theory, the auspicious stars heralding the births of Stephen Dedalus, Leopold Bloom, and Rudy Bloom, Stephen’s Hamlet dialectic fully unravels, the real Dedalus of myth, the charge of adultery against Susanna Shakespeare Hall, lapwings, a lapwing mentioned in Hamlet, the lapwing’s survival strategy, medieval slander against the lapwing, what the lapwing has in common with Agenbite of Inwit, William Blake on the lapwing, Wandering Aengus of the birds, augury, and Stephen’s gift of prophecy. Support us on Patreon to get episodes early, and to access bonus content and a video version of our podcast. On the Blog: Lapwing Blooms & Barnacles Social Media: Facebook | BlueSky | Instagram Subscribe to Blooms & Barnacles: Apple Podcasts | Spotify | YouTube
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Bonus Ep. 38 - Richard III [TEASER]
Feb 2700:09:54Tap to summarizeWe discuss the 1955 film version of Richard III. Listen to or watch the full episode at patreon.com/barnaclecast
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Richard and Gilbert and Edmund and Will
Feb 2500:55:01Tap to summarizeWhat if the Shakespeares were really a bunch of crumb-bums? Topics in this episode include Shakespeare’s brothers Gilbert, Richard, and Edmund, which ones Stephen thinks were bad brothers and which were good brothers, whether Shakespeare turned his brothers into villains in his plays, Anne Hathaway’s relationship to her brothers-in-law, why Shakespeare’s brothers never married, Gilbert and Richard’s criminal records, whether Gilbert traveled to London to see As You Like It, Edmund’s attempt to become an actor, which one was Shakespeare’s favorite brother, wrastlin’, brotherly incest and psychoanalysis, Stephen’s owned disappeared brother Maurice, and justice for Mr. Best. Support us on Patreon to get episodes early, and to access bonus content and a video version of our podcast. On the Blog: Decoding Dedalus: Saint Thomas' New Viennese School — Blooms & Barnacles Blooms & Barnacles Social Media: Facebook | BlueSky | Instagram Subscribe to Blooms & Barnacles: Apple Podcasts | Spotify | YouTube
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Rutlandbaconsouthamptonshakespeare
Feb 1800:49:33Tap to summarizeIn which, Stephen proves through algebra that Hamlet’s grandson is Shakespeare’s grandfather.Topics in this episode include Puritanism, whether or not Anne Hathaway became a religious fanatic late in life, Shakespeare’s daughter Susanna and her Puritan husband, the squandering of Shakespeare’s estate after his death, “Venus and Adonis,” the mystical estate of paternity, Hamlet and paternity, the Sabellian heresy, the authorship question, possible Shakespeare ghost writers, Buck Mulligan’s roasts, and James Joyce proves through algebra that he is his own father, just like Jesus and Shakespeare.Support us on Patreon to get episodes early, and to access bonus content and a video version of our podcast. Blooms & Barnacles Social Media:Facebook | BlueSky | InstagramSubscribe to Blooms & Barnacles:Apple Podcasts | Spotify | YouTube
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Bonus Ep. 37 - Hamnet [TEASER]
Jan 3100:10:27Tap to summarizeWe review the 2025 Chloe Zhao film, Hamnet.To watch or listen to the full episode, visit patreon.com/barnaclecast
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Pray for us, Saint Thomas
Jan 2801:07:36Tap to summarizeOra pro nobis! Pogue mahone! Acushla machree!Topics in this episode include Thomas Aquinas (but less than you might expect), Aquinas’ views on incest, the meaning on “new Viennese school,” whether or not Joyce had any interest in psychoanalysis (and whether it matters), how Joyce may have encountered psychoanalysis in Zurich, Professor Edward Dowden, the work of psychoanalyst Otto Rank and his view on Hamlet specifically, Hamlet as an Oedipal text or an “incest drama”, the notion of Shakespeare writing Hamlet to process the death of his father, the theme of paternity in Ulysses, Stephen’s recognition of the historic resilience of Jewish communities, Nobodaddy, whether or not Reddit atheists have embraced the poetry of William Blake, and what John Eglinton and the Unabomber have in common.NIGHTTOWN in the Netherlands — tickets here Support us on Patreon to get episodes early, and to access bonus content and a video version of our podcast. On the Blog:Decoding Dedalus: Saint Thomas' New Viennese School — Blooms & BarnaclesBlooms & Barnacles Social Media:Facebook | BlueSky | InstagramSubscribe to Blooms & Barnacles:Apple Podcasts | Spotify | YouTube
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