Podcast
CodEX Machina
Hosted by CodEX Machina · EN
Wonder what the team behind Strange Land Books has been thinking about and talking about? CodEx Machina is where we spill the beans. Join Laura, Natalia, Bethany, and our guests as we discuss reading, publishing, and all things books!
10episodes
Episodes
Newest firstAll episodes
The monstrous and the beautiful of every day (feat. Eyesha Elahi)
May 2000:47:27Tap to summarizeWhat if the most ordinary moments of life hold the deepest beauty?In this episode, Eyesha Elahi invites us into her research on the mundane — the quiet rituals, routines, and unnoticed details that shape our days. Through philosophy and literature, we explore how writers and thinkers have described and transformed the everyday into something profound.The novels in questions are:Wuthering Heights by Emily BrontëSeverance by Ling MaMoby Dick by Herman MelvilleMrs Dalloway by Virginia WolfThis recording has travelled a long road to reach you, and traces of that journey remain in its sound. But beyond the imperfections lies a conversation we are truly excited to share: a thoughtful exploration of books, stories, and ideas that may inspire you to see the ordinary with new eyes.Follow us on Instagram, YouTube and TikTok for more pictures and videos of all things books that we discuss in the podcast!Intro music by Leonardo Granados
Transcribe →The Memory Police - Strange Land Book Club 7
Jan 2100:47:32Tap to summarizeOn this episode Laura, Bethany and Natalia are discussing the Memory Police (1994) by Yoko Ogawa. This is a marvellous novel that deserves its own separate podcast but for now these are our first impressions. Follow us on Instagram, YouTube and TikTok for more pictures and videos of all things books that we discuss in the podcast!Intro music by Leonardo Granados
Transcribe →Frankfurt Book Fair 2025 - A Day in Life
Dec 101:01:39Tap to summarizeOn this episode of CodEx Machina, Bethany and Laura lead you through a day in the life of the Frankfurt Book Fair 2025. Listen to our highlights (which include a booth dedicated to the history of a 14th century Korean book printed with moveable type – almost a century before our good friend Gutenberg did his ol’ printing thang) as we walk you through the sights and activities of the fair.Millicent Weber https://researchportalplus.anu.edu.au/en/persons/millicent-weber/Ylva Verlag https://ylva-verlag.de/ More about Jikji: https://www.bnf.fr/en/jikji-treasure-world-printingThe Hof https://www.buchmesse.de/timetable/session/hof-live-ai-and-battle-realityFollow us on Instagram, and YouTube for more pictures and videos of all things books that we discuss in the podcast!Intro music by Leonardo Granados
Transcribe →Reading in New Spain, Inquisition, and Literacy (feat. Andrea Reyes Elizondo)
Nov 1001:07:21Tap to summarizeIn this episode, we talk to Andrea Reyes Elizondo, a PhD candidate at the University of Leiden, about her research in the history of reading, which focuses on influences on reading in various social groups in New Spain in the eighteenth century. We discuss the answer to “what is reading” then vs. now, and how it relates heavily on access to resources, connections to power and positions in society, and how сritical understanding complex texts is to literacy.We continue to talk about readers during the Inquisition in New Spain, and Andrea provides us with a few cases of readers who push back against power.And of course, we ask Andrea what she is currently reading!Also: Are Bethany, Natalia, and Laura trying to proselytize people into the cult of Book Studies? You have to listen to find this out and so much more!Some of the books mentioned are:Proust and the Squid by Maryann WolfThe AI Con by Emily M. Bender and Alex HannaPixel by Krisztina TóthAndrea Reyes Elizondo is a self-funded PhD candidate at the Leiden University Centre for the Arts in Society (LUCAS).Reyes Elizondo researches the history of reading under the supervision of Prof. Paul Hoftijzer and Prof. Adriaan van der Weel. Her dissertation focuses on reconstructing the possibilities of reading for various groups in a society by looking into the context of this cultural technique and the elements that influence it: education, occupation, sociality ofconsumption, culture, and the legal and political system thatregulated the access to texts. Her geographical area of research is New Spain during the eighteenth century. She has written several blog posts about the different aspects of reading: sonority, imagery, speed, approved texts, and distance.She has also written about the ethical considerations fordifferentiating textual from media interpretation when studying past periods, and on the challenges andopportunities for book historical research in Mexico's notarialarchive.Reyes Elizondo is also a researcher at the Centre for Science and Technology Studies (CWTS) at Leiden University where she works on projects related to scientific integrity and openscience, and where she coordinates the focal area ResearchEvaluation & Culture.Follow us on Instagram, YouTube and TikTok for more pictures and videos of all things books that we discuss in the podcast!Intro music by Leonardo Granados
Transcribe →The Dream Hotel - Strange Land Book Club 7
Nov 101:11:12Tap to summarizeIn this episode, we dive into Laila Lalami’s The Dream Hotel — a sharp, thought-provoking novel that blends imagination with unsettling realism.Join us as we unpack our impressions of the book and explore how its vision of AI, capitalism, and power imbalance mirrors our own world. From questions of who controls technology to what it means to be human in a data-driven age, this conversation looks at the future through the lens of literature — and asks whether it’s really as distant as it seems.Tune in to reflect, question, and maybe even dream a little differently.Follow us on Instagram, YouTube and TikTok for more pictures and videos of all things books that we discuss in the podcast!Intro music by Leonardo Granados
Transcribe →Banned Books research (feat. Dr Jennifer Gouck)
Oct 900:56:12Tap to summarizeThis week, Dr. Jennifer Gouck joins us to unpack one of the most pressing issues in American literary culture today — book bans. What exactly are book challenges? Who’s behind them? And what might these bans mean for readers, educators, and publishers in today’s political and cultural climate?Join us as we dig into the complex world of censorship, libraries, and the fight to keep stories accessible — and, as always, to remind everyone to read more books!Resources and works mentioned:📘 Unbecoming — Seema Yasmin (Simon & Schuster link)📗 Banned Together — Edited by Ashley Hope Pérez, illustrated by Debbie Fong🎥 Banned Together Documentary📖 Forever... by Judy Blume (Wikipedia)📚 WWU Münster — Banned Books Project📸 Instagram post 1📸 Instagram post 2📖 Ex Marks the Spot — Goodreads📖 Direbound — GoodreadsFollow us on Instagram, YouTube and TikTok for more pictures and videos of all things books that we discuss in the podcast!Intro music by Leonardo Granados
Transcribe →Are You There God? It's Me, Margaret by Judy Blume - Strange Land Book Club 6
Sep 2200:42:57Tap to summarizeLet's talk about banned books!On this episode we discuss a novel Are You There God? It's Me, Margaret (1970) by Judy Blume. It is a story of an 11 year-old-girl and her experiences with physical and spiritual changes, which is what led to the book being banned in some schools in the United States since its publication.This is episode 6 in our Strange Land Book Club series.Follow us on Instagram, YouTube and TikTok for more pictures and videos of all things books that we discuss in the podcast!Intro music by Leonardo Granados
Transcribe →The Quine Report (feat. Dr Christina Neuwirth)
Sep 800:48:39Tap to summarizeIn this episode, Natalia, Bethany and Laura continue their discussion with Christina Neuwirth. We ask questions about their research of gender inequality in the Scottish literary scene, the culmination of which is the Quine Report, a public document that outlines the data used in their research, along with relevant insights. Findings include datapoints such as “from 1919-2024, 12 Scottish literary prizes were won by men nearly twice as often as women” and “Scotland-based publishers published male authors 50% more than female authors in the years 2017-2019.”https://quinereport.substack.com/p/welcome-to-the-quine-reporthttps://quinereport.com/
Transcribe →Amphibian (feat. the author Christina Neuwirth) - Strange Land Book Club 5
Aug 2500:38:18Tap to summarizeImagine you come to work one day and find your office flooded. Author Christina Neuwirth joins us in this discussion to disclose some secrets of their writing process and talk about writing, reading, and hydrating in the office!This is episode 5 in our Strange Land Book Club series.Find Christina here.Books mentioned: The Distance of the Moon by Italo CalvinoThe Distance of the Moon read by Liev Schreiber The Fifth Season by N.K. JemisinFollow us on Instagram, YouTube and TikTok for more pictures and videos of all things books that we discuss in the podcast!Intro music by Leonardo Granados
Transcribe →Community of Memories with Literary Journal TXT
Aug 1100:32:14Tap to summarizeChief editors of TXT Celine Kock and Lena Ryzhova joined us today to discuss their upcoming publication. On this episode we discussed what it's like to work on the journal and why community of memories is the topic for this years publication. Visit this site to learn more about TXT!Books mentioned: Iron Widow by Xiran Jay ZhaoThe Master and Margarita by Mikhail BulgakovThe Enola Holmes Mysteries by Nancy Springer A Sherlock Holmes Adventure Series by Bonnie McBirdDrive Your Plow Over the Bones of the Dead by Olga TokarczukDua Lipa's book club https://www.service95.com/tag/book-club Follow us on Instagram, YouTube and TikTok for more pictures and videos of all things books that we discuss in the podcast!Intro music by Leonardo Granados
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