Tag Archives: david foster wallace

Supercontext: Infinite Jest by David Foster Wallace


This 1996 novel is infamous for its length and complex narrative structure, while being critically lauded for its themes and style. We discuss how Wallace approached the project, while grappling with revelations about how he treated women both on-and-off the page.

Interested in the media we discussed this episode? Please support the show by purchasing it through our affiliate store:

Additional Resources:

Check out this episode!

Supercontext: A Visit From the Goon Squad, by Jennifer Egan

Cartoon of tuning pegs and neck of a bass guitar; title

This 201 award-winning work of literary fiction has been celebrated by everyone from academics to Rolling Stone. But we look at it in light of its cultural expectations, from a “high brow” publisher, to its timidity about engaging with ethnically diverse characters.

Interested in the media we discussed this episode? Please support the show by purchasing it through our affiliate store:

Additional Resources:

  • A Visit from the Goon Squad by Jennifer Egan ? review
  • “Goon Squad”: Jennifer Egan’s time-travel tour de force
    • CS Note: Salon’s site is so full of ads and video overlays that I could barely read the article as it slowed my computer to a halt.
  • HBO Sets Pulitzer Prize Winner ‘A Visit From The Goon Squad’ For Series Treatment
  • Strong, M. J. (2018). Found time: Kairos in A Visit from the Goon Squad. Critique, 59(4), 471-480.
  • Cowart, D. (2015). Thirteen Ways of Looking: Jennifer Egan’s A Visit from the Goon Squad. Critique, 56(3), 241-254.
  • MOLING, M. (2016). “No Future”: Time, Punk Rock and Jennifer Egan’s A Visit from the Goon Squad. Arizona Quarterly, 72(1), 51.
  • “Water, Water Everywhere,” By: WHELDON, WYNN. Commentary. Nov2017, Vol. 144 Issue 4, p60-62. 3p.
  • “Big Novelist: Jennifer Egan,” By: Heller, Nathan. Rolling Stone. 5/31/2012, Issue 1158, p66-67. 2p.
  • Bookclub-in-a-Box Discusses A Visit From The Goon Squad, by Jennifer Egan, By: Godfrey, Laura; Egan, Jennifer; Herbert, Marilyn; Bookclub-in-a-Box (Firm). [England] : Bookclub-In-A-Box. 2012. eBook., Database: eBook Collection (EBSCOhost)

Check out this episode!

Supercontext: The End of the Tour


Does entertainment have a responsibility to historical accuracy? Christian & Charlie tackle a film about a book written by David Lipsky about an article that was never published about writer David Foster Wallace. We struggle with how to consume media when you object to the portrayal of a real-life subject you may have identified with.

Check out this episode!