Mapping the Zone: A Thomas Pynchon discussion podcast

Thirty years ago, a monumental book was published which shook the literary world and completely revolutionized post-modern fiction. Not Margaret Atwood's Alias Grace, or the first book in George R.R. Martin's A Song of Ice and Fire series, and it wasn't Fight Club (1996 was a pretty stacked year for media). David Foster Wallace's magnum opus, Infinite Jest was released on 01 Feb 1996 and has remained a staple in the "books you should read" discussion ever since.
On this first of many episodes covering the book, Kate and Cody discuss the author, his life, his work, and what this book meant to the literature world both then and thirty years later.
If you like what we're doing and want to support the show, please consider making a donation on Ko-Fi. Funds we receive will be used to upgrade equipment, pay hosting fees, and help make the show better.
https://ko-fi.com/mappingthezone
If you enjoyed our discussion, please check out the following media that relates to these chapters:
Link to the Infinite Jest trailer (2024): https://youtu.be/gW39U8nxoQU?si=UcO_avdROTly6NAa
Film/TV: The Wire (2002-2008)
As always, thanks so much for listening!
Email: ⁠[email protected]⁠
Bluesky: https://bsky.app/profile/mappingthezone.bsky.social
Twitter: https://twitter.com/pynchonpod
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/mappingthezonepodcast/
Merch: mapping-the-zone.myspreadshop.com
Show art by Brad Wetzel: @bradspersecond (on IG and Reddit)bradspersecond.com

Dally rolls into town just around the corner, readier than most to take the world by its horns, but our crew of worryworts can't help themselves from checking in. Helpful roommate Katie eases some concerns, but then again, would a girl like Dahlia end up a mock white slave without some bad influences? Between Tong wars and ghosts of her past known and unknown, it seems like our time in NYC is to be short. At least we get to see a sampling of the sideshows.
If you like what we're doing and want to support the show, please consider making a donation on Ko-Fi. Funds we receive will be used to upgrade equipment, pay hosting fees, and help make the show better.
https://ko-fi.com/mappingthezone
If you enjoyed our discussion, please check out the following media that relates to these chapters:
Film/TV: Portlandia (2011-2018)
As always, thanks so much for listening!
Email: ⁠[email protected]⁠
Bluesky: https://bsky.app/profile/mappingthezone.bsky.social
Twitter: https://twitter.com/pynchonpod
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/mappingthezonepodcast/
Merch: mapping-the-zone.myspreadshop.com
Show art by Brad Wetzel: @bradspersecond (on IG and Reddit)bradspersecond.com

Kit's going through it, so we get down and rough it with the poor boy. It's nice to catch up with him, gives the crew an opportunity to connect some dots, draw some prospective lines. Between the continuance of Tesla v. World, acute personal loss, and unveiling Vibratory horizons, there are plenty of anchors to hang the threads. Perhaps too many.
If you like what we're doing and want to support the show, please consider making a donation on Ko-Fi. Funds we receive will be used to upgrade equipment, pay hosting fees, and help make the show better.
https://ko-fi.com/mappingthezone
If you enjoyed our discussion, please check out the following media that relates to these chapters:
Film/TV: The Wire (2002-2008), Mr. Show with Bob and David (1995-1998)
As always, thanks so much for listening!
Email: ⁠[email protected]⁠
Bluesky: https://bsky.app/profile/mappingthezone.bsky.social
Twitter: https://twitter.com/pynchonpod
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/mappingthezonepodcast/
Merch: mapping-the-zone.myspreadshop.com
Show art by Brad Wetzel: @bradspersecond (on IG and Reddit)bradspersecond.com

It's the end of the year, so we decided to talk about some books we read in 2025 that weren't Pynchon. Of course, we decided to do this after we finished recording a 4+ hour episode for Against the Day, so we were admittedly all a bit spacey. Anyway, hopefully you'll recognize some of these books or come away with some new stuff to add to your never-ending TBR pile.
If you like what we're doing and want to support the show, please consider making a donation on Ko-Fi. Funds we receive will be used to upgrade equipment, pay hosting fees, and help make the show better.
https://ko-fi.com/mappingthezone
If you enjoyed our discussion, please check out the following media that relates to these chapters:
As always, thanks so much for listening!
Email: ⁠[email protected]⁠
Bluesky: https://bsky.app/profile/mappingthezone.bsky.social
Twitter: https://twitter.com/pynchonpod
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/mappingthezonepodcast/
Merch: mapping-the-zone.myspreadshop.com
Show art by Brad Wetzel: @bradspersecond (on IG and Reddit)bradspersecond.com

Starting 01 February 2026, Cody and Kate will be (kinda) deep-diving into another book. What's the twist? It's not a Pynchon book (cue "shocking" sound bite). If you want to know what we're going to be covering in a monthly 10-part series within our series, give this brief explainer episode a listen!
If you like what we're doing and want to support the show, please consider making a donation on Ko-Fi. Funds we receive will be used to upgrade equipment, pay hosting fees, and help make the show better.
https://ko-fi.com/mappingthezone
As always, thanks so much for listening!
Email: ⁠[email protected]⁠
Bluesky: https://bsky.app/profile/mappingthezone.bsky.social
Twitter: https://twitter.com/pynchonpod
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/mappingthezonepodcast/
Merch: mapping-the-zone.myspreadshop.com
Show art by Brad Wetzel: @bradspersecond (on IG and Reddit) bradspersecond.com