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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

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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01:40:00

97. The Americans 5x2, "Pests"

Not Quite Great Books: a TV podcast ·

2025/03/20

Oh boy. John and Danielle are back at it for The Americans Season 5 Episode 2, “Pests.” Framing their discussion around “unofficial rules,” they consider how unwritten and unofficial rules structure the lives of our favorite spies, in particular how these dictate what to do with the grain situation and Gabriel, Tuan, and the Morozovs. Your hosts also consider the unwritten rules of teenagers when it comes to Paige and all her angst, as well as the relationship between Stan and Oleg. In the Dossier,

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01:25:44

96. The Americans 5x1, "Amber Waves"

Not Quite Great Books: a TV podcast ·

2025/03/06

WE ARE SO BACK! Back from an extended break in the Soviet Union, Danielle and John dive into Season 5 of The Americans! They take on Season 5 Episode 1, “Amber Waves,” by focusing in on the multiple manifestations of mothering that drive the episode. Together, they unpack the introduction of Tuan, pour one out for Hans (RIP), and ask after Claudia too. Danielle makes an (inappropriate) violent mothers joke before the head into the segments, which she follows up with some tinfoil-hat-theorizing about

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01:04:58

95. The Americans, Cringe Meme Interlude

Not Quite Great Books: a TV podcast ·

2024/09/09

Danielle and John are back together, and to transition out of (brat?) summer and into another fall of teaching and The Americans podcasting, they reunited to perform a silly, cringe AF, ultra-frivolous exercise. After receiving a crucial Producer Amy primer, they power rank The Americans characters to determine who is the most Brat. Surprises abound. Because that is somehow not enough, they also place characters on the meme Kamala Harris political alignment chart. Who just fell out of a coconut

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02:30:31

94. The New Pope, Episode Nine

Not Quite Great Books: a TV podcast ·

2024/09/05

[spoilers ahead in episode description]... It's the end of an era as Regan and John expire in their earthly Popecasting, even as they ascend into Popecasting heaven, hopefully on a beach with a Papal Speedo-ed Lenny Belardo. This is a revelation (or is Revelation...) filled episode, and we cover it all: the Catholic fanaticism and holy war discourse that are giving Crusades, John Brannox's surprising and maybe surprisingly touching Angelus address to the crowds, Lenny's own address to the crowds,

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01:40:52

93. The New Pope, Episode Eight

Not Quite Great Books: a TV podcast ·

2024/08/29

New Pope and this podcast alike return to their old obsessions for this Penultimate Popeverse Popecast. The touching Vatican state funeral for [redacted for spoiler reasons] provokes a deep dialogue on Voiello, Giorlamo, Franco, the funeral mass, suffering, and love. Other things we obsess about? Sofia-JP3 intimacy, Lenny-Voiello scenes, the Papal Bowflex, fit checks, Joan Didion, Lenin, and everyone’s favorite loquacious rapscallion/God, Bauer. Miraculously, this episode also includes Regan

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01:47:09

92. The New Pope, Episode Seven

Not Quite Great Books: a TV podcast ·

2024/08/22

[Major ep. 7 spoilers in this episode description]Pope, saint, miracle worker, messiah, christ, antichrist, revenant, which best applies to resurrected Lenny Belardo?! And which apply to your dear hosts?! Regan and John plot out this and many other papal conundrums as they discuss LENNY BACK. Lenny’s return breaks the show, and we explore the new primary setting of the Venetian manor in this episode, new questions about the Church, and, most importantly, a new opening credits sequence featuring the

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