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PODCAST

Not Quite Great Books: a TV podcast

Danielle Hanley & John McMahon

When you spend the bulk of your life reading, writing, and building lesson plans, sometimes your brain needs a break. Join two of your favorite political theory professors - Danielle Hanley and John McMahon - as they switch gears from the world’s so-called great books to break down some of your favorite TV shows. The twist? Only one of your hosts has seen the show before. First up? The Americans.

tv & film tv reviews

All Episodes

49:39

116. The Americans Season 6 Preview

Not Quite Great Books: a TV podcast ·

2025/12/29

Danielle and John are BACK* from their long espionage sojourns and reunited to preview The Americans Season 6. Having both rewatched the S5 finale, they note their surprises and ideas upon this revisiting, before talking through what the show asks of its viewers and what Danielle expects, predicts, and wants heading into Season 6. *"we are SO back" reserved for the actual start of S6 episodes Season 6 episodes coming your way in 2026. -- Music by Lesfm from Pixabay

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1:14

Americans Season 6 coverage coming in the new year!

Not Quite Great Books: a TV podcast ·

2025/12/04

If you can't wait for [redacted] and [redacted] and the dramatic [redacted] of our beloved [redacted], never fear, we'll be back in early 2026 to begin our coverage of The Americans, Season 6 (the last one!).

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102:07

115. Derry Girls Series 2, Episode 5 "The Prom" &...

Not Quite Great Books: a TV podcast ·

2025/11/28

Set up for fancy listening devices as Regan and John navigate intersubjective lessons for the characters of Derry Girls and for themselves while they dive into the Series 2 finale. What do the girls learn about themselves through moments of conflict, and when do they stay stuck in joke-delivery-machine status? Do you really gotta hand it to Bill Clinton? Will John and Regan's respective takes on the show so far and on what they want out Series 3 be predictable? Much like being a Derry Girl, being a

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79:45

114. Derry Girls Series 2, Episode 3 "The Concert" &...

Not Quite Great Books: a TV podcast ·

2025/11/06

The titular girls go through coming of age rites of passage both holy and profane, sneaking away to an escapade-laden concert in Belfast and navigating one wedding and a pot-scone-fueled wake. And yet, your hosts are split on these episodes and the series as a whole as one of them (guess who) concern trolls whether these are characters or props delivering jokes and shenanigans. Regan and John are united, however, in their interest in the travellers, gratefulness of The Cranberries drops,

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73:20

113. Derry Girls Series 2, Episode 1, "Across the...

Not Quite Great Books: a TV podcast ·

2025/10/23

The second series of Derry Girls (second season for the Yanks) is here, and what if anything about the show has changed? 80s classic The Breakfast Club and Dead Poets Society help Regan and John frame their discussion of mission: ride some Prod lads and the questions about social separation the mission raises, and of the pedagogy (or lack thereof) of one Ms. De Brún. A real heyday for Sister Michael in these episodes sparks the segments, which also include your share of lad culture, music

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81:26

112. Derry Girls, Series 1 Episodes 5-6

Not Quite Great Books: a TV podcast ·

2025/10/09

These are the episodes where the girls truly do become children of the crossfire. A run-in with the Orange Order prompts a roadtrip gone wrong and a consideration of our new favorite (?) Provo, whale some classic school newspaper mechanics prompt a coming out for one of the main characters. Regan and John discuss how these episodes and particularly the cross-cutting final scene may fundamentally alter the show and consider an absent Madonna (the pop superstar this time), step aerobics, The

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69:56

111. Derry Girls Series 1, Episodes 3-4

Not Quite Great Books: a TV podcast ·

2025/09/25

Regan and John connect to podcasts past (Pope-verse, anyone?) as they explore the ways Catholicism is woven into the fabric of everyday life for the titular Derry girls as they confront the mysteries of the Virgin Mary, dead, resurrected, or absconded dogs, history exams, and visitors from Ukraine. After questioning whether Erin can become more than trope-ic comic relief, they dive into the segments to appreciate Sister Michael, recommend PJ Harvey (guess who), talk about Chernobyl Children

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94:53

110. Derry Girls, Series 1 Episodes 1-2

Not Quite Great Books: a TV podcast ·

2025/09/11

Regan Levitte is BACK for some more NQGB podcasting, this time initiating John into the world of Derry Girls. Exploring identity-making, the pair situate themselves in the world of Derry, Northern Ireland and of the five main characters, Erin, Clare, Michelle, Orla, and James. Which character does each of your trusty hosts most resemble (whether they like ir or not)? What new and alliterative segments have been devised for this jaunt to the serious and silly sitcom set amid The Troubles, circa

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127:51

109. The Americans 5x13, "Soviet Division", with Jon...

Not Quite Great Books: a TV podcast ·

2025/08/28

Ooooh boy! Back after a brief hiatus, Jon Keller makes his triumphant return for another finale episode, joining Danielle and John to talk all The Americans Season 5 Episode 13, “Soviet Division.” Together, all three unpack the situation with Pasha and the Morozovs, including disentangling some of the complicated family dynamics between the Jennings and Tuan as well as the Morozovs. The family dynamic chat continues with a look at Paige and Henry, before turning their attention to the intense vibes

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01:26:39

108. The Americans 5x12, "The World Council of Churches"

Not Quite Great Books: a TV podcast ·

2025/08/14

On their own this week, John and Danielle are ready to tackle The Americans Season 5 Episode 12 “The World Council of Churches.” Will Danielle’s dream of the end (of a sort) of Pastor Tim finally come true? It looks like it! Organizing their conversation around the concept of resignation, your hosts take up what Oleg, Stan and Aderholt, Paige, Philip and Elizabeth, and even Tuan are resigned to in their situations, missions, and lives more generally. They consider how Pastor Tim’s new assignment

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01:49:00

107. The Americans 5x11, "Dyatkovo," with Michaela Rife

Not Quite Great Books: a TV podcast ·

2025/07/31

Danielle and John are joined by friend of the pod Michaela Rife to discuss The Americans Season 5 Episode 11, “Dyatkovo” (a word Danielle is definitely great at pronouncing, and a word John is actually great at pronouncing). Michaela offers up homecoming and the relationship to home as a banger of a theme, and together your hosts consider Henry’s HOMEwork, Philip’s reveries of home, the question of defending a homeland, and what it really means to have a home to go back to - a recurring question for

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01:40:43

106. The Americans 5x10, "Darkroom"

Not Quite Great Books: a TV podcast ·

2025/07/17

Back on their own this week, Danielle and John descend into the basement to talk about The Americans Season 5 Episode 10, “Darkroom,” and BOY, is THIS an EPISODE!?! Your hosts unpack a series of scenes that center Paige, from her snooping to her interactions with her parents to the final darkroom scene. Don’t worry, it’s not all-Paige-all-the-time - they sprinkle in time to chat about the orthodox marriage ceremony and the Morozovs. From there, Danielle offers some wild tinfoil hat theories in the

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01:33:05

105. The Americans 5x9, "IHOP," with Lilly Goren

Not Quite Great Books: a TV podcast ·

2025/07/03

This week, John and Danielle are joined by one of their favorite recurring guests in the NQGB (Zencastr) studio, Lilly Goren! Together, they tackle The Americans 5x9, “IHOP.” They consider the developments in this ep and the season more generally through the idea of ‘the return of the repressed’ - this helps highlight the connections between Henry’s demands, Martha’s encounter with Gabriel, everything with Tuan, and more. Your hosts unpack who is the repressed and what the implications of their

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01:31:01

104. The White Lotus S3, Materialists, and Pope Bobby...

Not Quite Great Books: a TV podcast ·

2025/06/30

Amy Schiller is back with John for a wide-ranging conversation about economies both sacred and profane. Together, they consider the May election of Pope Leo XIV as a pop culture phenomenon (2:36), the amor fati, unresolved moodiness, and audience responses to the third season of The White Lotus (13:34), and in true dialectical fashion strongly disagree about Celine Song's new film Materialists and its engagement with love, money, and height surgery (1:00:55). Can you have a little materialism as a

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01:45:01

103. The Americans 5x8, "Immersion"

Not Quite Great Books: a TV podcast ·

2025/06/19

Danielle and John are back to chat all things The Americans 5x8, “Immersion”! Even though Philip and Elizabeth defiantly claim "We know what to think," your hosts ask whether ANY of the characters ACTUALLY know what to think. Unpacking the return of Claudia, Elizabeth training Paige, and the ongoing faux(?)-romantic entanglements with Ben and Deirdre, as well as checking in with Evgeniya, Tuan, and Oleg, John and Danielle do their best to evaluate if any of these characters actually knows what to

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02:13:15

102. The Americans 5x7, "Committee on Human Rights,"...

Not Quite Great Books: a TV podcast ·

2025/06/05

Making his triumphant return, Jordan Cass is BACK, joining Danielle and John to chat all things The Americans 5x7, “Committee on Human Rights”! Once again impeccably prepared, Jordan guides the trio through an analysis of the episode around the theme of ‘enmeshment’. Together, they consider Gabriel’s final conversation with Philip, Paige’s search for autonomy and her break-up with Matthew, and the various attachment structures of the Jennings family. The trio questions what enmeshments are required

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01:36:55

101. The Americans 5x6, "Crossbreed"

Not Quite Great Books: a TV podcast ·

2025/05/22

Gabriel might be leaving, but John and Danielle are here to stay, this week taking on The Americans 5x6, “Crossbreed.” They frame their discussion around ‘disclosure’, starting with Gabriel’s decision to leave (don’t worry, Danielle has THOUGHTS on this in the Dossier) before moving onto the lack of disclosure when it comes to Philip, and wrapping up with some musings on Oleg burning the tape. They consider what it means to introduce Paige to Gabriel in the broader context of the show, as well as in

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01:52:00

100. The Americans 5x5, "Lotus 1-2-3"

Not Quite Great Books: a TV podcast ·

2025/05/08

John and Danielle are back to dig into The Americans 5x5, “Lotus 1-2-3,” and they are DISSOCIATING as they do so! With that theme, your hosts consider how this approach helps Philip and Elizabeth cope with their various missions and their less-than-ideal reality. John highlights the age-old Eros-Thanatos double whammy for not only Philip and Elizabeth (and their respective marks/partners), but Stan as well! Perhaps, dissociation is what one needs in order to maintain a double life, or overlook the

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01:36:50

99. The Americans 5x4, "What’s the Matter with Kansas?"

Not Quite Great Books: a TV podcast ·

2025/04/17

Your hosts break out the maps to tackle The Americans 5x4, “What’s the Matter with Kansas?” Does Danielle know where Kansas is on a map? Great question. Together, John and Danielle use the notion of logistics to analyze the main moves of the episode, turning quickly from Gabriel to Paige (TIM BACK!) to the seduction gambits of our two main characters. While Elizabeth has to do a lot of planning to seduce Ben (Mr. Spontaneous), Philip’s hand at logistics almost goes awry. We learn that Alexei is a

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01:51:30

98. The Americans 5x3, "The Midges," with Kennan...

Not Quite Great Books: a TV podcast ·

2025/04/03

This week, John and Danielle are joined by their friend and fellow political theorist Kennan Ferguson! Together, these three dig into Danielle’s take on Season 5 Episode 3, “The Midges,” using the frame of ‘family’ - inspired by some of Kennan’s work (!) - to structure their discussion. They start with the bowling scene with Tuan and the Morozovs and then consider its mirror with Paige later on. They tackle Philip and Elizabeth’s dance in the hotel room and the final scene before moving onto the

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118 results

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