Episodios

  • Things That Are Also Faust

    Things That Are Also Faust
    Mar 23 2026
    What makes a Faust story? Michael, Ethan, and special guests Josiah & Jacob discuss this ontological question and all things Faust in this special episode.In this episode:Michael begins confrontationally.Is this episode Faust? Is this podcast Faust?Ethan is NOT in Law School.Is capitalism Faust?The Bible is inevitable.Josiah brought it up. Totally. It was Josiah. He's very smart. The Josian Anti-Faust idea (C) 2026.Demon, Helen, Margaret - Where are the lines of demarcation between them?Two questions: 1) What are you willing to sacrifice [to get what you want; and is it your very soul]? 2) What do you worship?(Josiah came up with the smart thing again. (C) 2026.)What you worship you will sacrifice.Ethan cheats with Wikipedia.Vein.American Faust: do we win?(Sorry for the Beetlejuice summoning.)If it looks like an exchange but is a gift, it's grace. If it looks like a gift but is an exchange, it's vampi-- Faust.When you're having night terrors, fart in the Devil's face and confess the Apostles' Creed.Shout-out to Reading Revisited!Every time he comes on this podcast, Jacob makes it a different podcast and/or a deal we need to wiggle out of.There are other things in Detroit other than Eminem.Let it be known, we can be charitable to a garbage fire.The answer is a tautology. Or cake.Here's each work we discuss: Is it Faust?The Age of Innocence, by Edith Wharton: Is it Faust?The book of Job: Is it Faust?It's A Wonderful Life: Is it Anti-Faust? Is it Faust?Jesus tempted in the desert: Is it Faust? Is it Anti-Faust? Is Faust a fan-fiction of Jesus?Genesis 3: Is it the OG Faust?A Christmas Carol, by Charles Dickens: Is it Faust?Trust, by Hernan Diaz: Is it Faust?The Secret History, by Donna Tartt: Is it Faust?The Picture of Dorian Gray, by Oscar Wilde: Is it Faust?"The Ballad of Reading Gaol," by Oscar Wilde: Is it Faust?Of One Blood, by Pauline Hopkins: Is it Faust?Hadestown, by Anaïs Mitchell: Is it Faust? Orpheus & Euridice: Is it [proto-]Faust?Dracula, by Bram Stoker: Is it Faust?Hades & Persephone: Is it Faust?Interview with the Vampire: Is it Faust?Underworld: Is it Faust?"The Devil Went Down to Georgia," by Charlie Daniels: Is it Faust?Robert Johnson: Is he Faust?O Brother, Where Art Thou?: Is it Faust?Oedipus: Is he Faust?Piranesi, by Susanna Clarke: Is it Faust?Devil's Advocate: Is it Faust?Beetlejuice: Is it Faust?Macbeth, by William Shakespeare: Is it Faust?The Waterboy: Is it Faust?Rick & Morty: Is it Faust?Doctor Who: Is it Faust?Peter Pan, by J.M. Barrie: Is it Faust?Ghosts, S4E22-S5E1: Is it Faust?The Passenger, and Stella Maris, by Cormac McCarthy: Are they Faust?Previously featured on Michael & Ethan in a Room with ScotchNo Country for Old Men, by Cormac McCarthy: Is it Faust?Grimm's Fairy Tales, e.g. "The Devil's Sooty Brother," "Bearskin," "The Devil and His Grandmother," "The Gravemound," "The Peasant and the Devil," "Doctor Know-all," "The Spirit in the Bottle": Are they Faust?Irish Fairy Tales, and Russian Stories: Are they Faust?Luther throwing his inkwell at the Devil: Is it Faust?"The Little Mermaid," by Hans Christian Andersen: Is it Faust - WAIT, we'll talk about it later!"The Magic Thread": Is it Faust?Click: Is it Faust?The Merchant of Venice, by William Shakespeare: Is it Faust?Breaking Bad: Is it Faust?Rapid(-ish) Fire:Fullmetal Alchemist"Ain't No Rest for the Wicked," by Cage the ElephantBetter Call SaulMelmoth the Wanderer, by Charles Maturin - WAIT, we might also talk about that later(?)It FollowsThe Imaginarium of Doctor ParnassusDeath Note"Button, Button," by Richard Matheson"The Monkey's Paw," by W.W. JacobsThe Third Man[, by Graham Greene]The Screwtape Letters, by C.S. LewisThe Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe, by C.S. LewisThat Hideous Strength, by C.S. LewisThe Magician's Nephew, by C.S. LewisOut of the Silent Planet, by C.S. LewisPerelandra, by C.S. LewisThe Book of the New Sun, by Gene WolfeHamlet, by William ShakespeareLove's Labours Lost, by William Shakespeare"Goblin Market," By Christina RosettiHowl's Moving Castle, by Diana Wynne JonesParadise Lost, by John MiltonThe Tempest, by William Shakespeare"Calliope," by Neil GaimanRavelstein, by Saul BellowPreviously featured on Michael & Ethan in a Room with ScotchKPop Demon HuntersThe Life and Opinions of Tristram Shandy, Gentleman, by Laurence SternePreviously featured on Michael & Ethan in a Room with ScotchDon Quixote, by Miguel de CervantesPreviously featured on Michael & Ethan in a Room with ScotchThe Brothers Karamazov, by Fyodor DostoevskyCrime and Punishment, by Fyodor DostoevskyLolita, by Vladimir NabokovFrankenstein, by Mary ShelleyLiar, LiarBruce AlmightyBigDarby O'Gill and the Little PeoplePhantom of the Opera[, by Gaston Leroux]"Alastor," by Percy Bysshe ShelleyLes Miserables, by Victor Hugo"Young Goodman Brown," by Nathanael HawthorneWittenberg, by David Davalos - DON'T BOTHERStranger Things (especially Season 5)Next time Michael and Ethan will discuss “Johannes Cabal and the Blustery Day,” by Jonathan...
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    1 h y 59 m
  • Opera de Lille's Gounod's Faust and Toki Suntory

    Opera de Lille's Gounod's Faust and Toki Suntory
    Mar 9 2026

    Michael, Ethan, and special guest Josiah discuss Gounod’s opera Faust while drinking Suntory Toki Japanese whisky.

    In this episode:

    We watched Opera de Lille’s production of Gounod’s Faust

    This is a two-intermission opera

    Josiah’s favorite aria

    How sincere is Faust? (not a Romeo and Juliet discussion)

    Also not The Age of Innocence podcast

    However, it MIGHT be the “Tragedy of Marguerite” podcast

    Misinterpreting the plot to make it more interesting

    Did the devil make Faust do it, or did Faust make the devil do it?

    The Romantic Era in literature is from when Michael said to when Ethan said; the Romantic Era in music begins a couple decades before the date Ethan said

    Does Michael hate opera???

    Next time Michael, Ethan, and Josiah (still/again!) will discuss the Gounod opera Faust! Join the discussion! Go to the Contact page and put "Scotch Talk" in the Subject line. We'd love to hear from you! And submit your homework at the Michael & Ethan in a Room with Scotch page.

    Join us on GoodReads!

    Get on our Substack!

    Donate to our Patreon!

    MUSIC & SFX:

    "Kessy Swings Endless - (ID 349)" by Lobo Loco. Used by permission.

    "The Grim Reaper - II Presto" by Aitua. Used under an Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike License.

    "Thinking It Over" by Lee Rosevere. Used under an Attribution License.

    (Links to books & products are affiliate links.)
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    1 h y 38 m
  • The Memory of Whiteness, by Kim Stanley Robinson, and Toki Suntory, Part 2

    The Memory of Whiteness, by Kim Stanley Robinson, and Toki Suntory, Part 2
    Feb 9 2026

    Michael, Ethan, and special guest Josiah discuss The Memory of Whiteness, by Kim Stanley Robinson while drinking Suntory Toki Japanese whisky.

    In this episode:

    The orchestra!

    Lots of tree stuff, also snake stuff and lizard stuff

    Curation vs collage vs other art stuff

    We GOTTA talk about the metadrama

    Vertumnus, by Giuseppe Arcimboldo (1591) (another trap for a date-pilled boy)

    At least two topological surnames

    All (or at least some) about Margaret

    College is the time when men become deterministic

    Margaret in this book is the scholars from Marlowe, Margaret from Goethe, Zeitblom from Mann, and also Horatio from Hamlet

    Two-thirds of this podcast think the book is an anime

    The score: 2 damned, 2 saved, 2 (????) (Enraging)

    Next time Michael, Ethan, and Josiah (still/again!) will discuss the Gounod opera Faust! Join the discussion! Go to the Contact page and put "Scotch Talk" in the Subject line. We'd love to hear from you! And submit your homework at the Michael & Ethan in a Room with Scotch page.

    Join us on GoodReads!

    Get on our Substack!

    Donate to our Patreon!

    MUSIC & SFX:

    "Kessy Swings Endless - (ID 349)" by Lobo Loco. Used by permission.

    "The Grim Reaper - II Presto" by Aitua. Used under an Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike License.

    "Thinking It Over" by Lee Rosevere. Used under an Attribution License.

    (Links to books & products are affiliate links.)
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    1 h y 22 m
  • The Memory of Whiteness, by Kim Stanley Robinson, and Toki Suntory, Part 1

    The Memory of Whiteness, by Kim Stanley Robinson, and Toki Suntory, Part 1
    Jan 26 2026

    Michael, Ethan, and special guest Josiah discuss The Memory of Whiteness, by Kim Stanley Robinson while drinking Suntory Toki Japanese whisky.

    In this episode:

    Accusations of cuckoo-bird-ery

    Is this book Faust? Is this book Alastor? Is Alastor Faust?

    Having a stroke, falling into a singularity: pretty much the same thing

    The Contexts of Percy Bysshe Shelley’s Faust Translations, by Mathelinda Nabugodi

    Determinism leads to free will leads to determinism leads to free will, etc

    Have you ever heard of a piece of music starting with a prologue???

    Ethan scoops Josiah, but at least he gives Josiah credit for it

    Lots of mountain stuff

    The music of the spheres? THAT’s provocative

    Ethan loses but is only called out for it the second time

    Nepenthe, the drug of forgetfulness

    Some extremely cool and not at all completely nerdy discussion of different types of genitive

    We are not doing any kind of linking or backgrounding of the punishment song. We’re all suffering together

    Note: Josiah did force the karaoke to go on MUCH longer, but the editors have cut it down purely for the sake of avoiding a copyright strike and for no other reason

    Next time Michael, Ethan, and Josiah will continue to discuss The Memory of Whiteness, by Kim Stanley Robinson! Join the discussion! Go to the Contact page and put "Scotch Talk" in the Subject line. We'd love to hear from you! And submit your homework at the Michael & Ethan in a Room with Scotch page.

    Join us on GoodReads!

    Get on our Substack!

    Donate to our Patreon!

    MUSIC & SFX:

    "Kessy Swings Endless - (ID 349)" by Lobo Loco. Used by permission.

    "The Grim Reaper - II Presto" by Aitua. Used under an Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike License.

    "Thinking It Over" by Lee Rosevere. Used under an Attribution License.

    (Links to books & products are affiliate links.)
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    1 h y 10 m
  • The Devil and Daniel Webster, by Stephen Vincent Benet, and Suntory Toki

    The Devil and Daniel Webster, by Stephen Vincent Benet, and Suntory Toki
    Jan 12 2026

    Michael, Ethan, and special guest Jacob discuss the short story “The Devil and Tom Walker,” by Washington Irving, while drinking Suntory Toki Japanese whisky.

    In this episode:

    Is Michael the devil?

    What gives Benet the right?

    Pedestrian deals with the devil

    Faust scoreboard so far: 2 damned, 2 saved, 1 (?????)

    Honesty and deeper honesty

    God terms, devil terms, and Deadpool terms

    Rules, rules, we want more rules

    Hey hey we talk about the Monkees! (Also The Devil’s Advocate, The Simpsons, and, inevitably, Star Trek)

    “Little brothers should always let their older brothers go first.” - Book of Hezekiah 14:12

    The Devil and Daniel Webster — 1941 film

    Next time Michael and Ethan will discuss The Memory of Whiteness, by Kim Stanley Robinson! Join the discussion! Go to the Contact page and put "Scotch Talk" in the Subject line. We'd love to hear from you! And submit your homework at the Michael & Ethan in a Room with Scotch page.

    Join us on GoodReads!

    Get on our Substack!

    Donate to our Patreon!

    MUSIC & SFX:

    "Kessy Swings Endless - (ID 349)" by Lobo Loco. Used by permission.

    "The Grim Reaper - II Presto" by Aitua. Used under an Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike License.

    "Thinking It Over" by Lee Rosevere. Used under an Attribution License.

    (Links to books & products are affiliate links.)
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    1 h y 33 m
  • The Devil and Tom Walker, by Washington Irving, and Suntory Toki

    The Devil and Tom Walker, by Washington Irving, and Suntory Toki
    Dec 22 2025

    Michael, Ethan, and special guest Jacob discuss the short story “The Devil and Tom Walker,” by Washington Irving, while drinking Suntory Toki Japanese (gasp!) whisky.

    In this episode:

    A not-too-presumptuous new rule

    The Devil belongs in America

    American mythology creating arbitrary exclusions and inclusions… who would have thought?

    Landscape as character

    Making up theories out of whole cloth

    Everyone should know that shortcuts will go badly for them

    It’s a Wonderful Life as Reverse Faust

    Con men, flim-flam artists, and bunko

    Public Universal Friend’s wikipedia page is worth reading

    “Charity begins at home” SOUNDS very pious

    Lots and lots of playing Telephone, it’s fine

    There’s nothing unique about the postmodernists

    God’s Philosophers, by James Hannam

    Next time Michael, Ethan, and special guest Jacob will discuss the short story "The Devil and Daniel Webster," by Stephen Vincent Benet! Join the discussion! Go to the Contact page and put "Scotch Talk" in the Subject line. We'd love to hear from you! And submit your homework at the Michael & Ethan in a Room with Scotch page.

    Join us on GoodReads!

    Get on our Substack!

    Donate to our Patreon!

    MUSIC & SFX:

    “Fools that Will Laugh on Earth,” by Benji Inniger, from the Original Soundtrack to The Spiritual Tragedy of Doctor Faustus

    "Kessy Swings Endless - (ID 349)" by Lobo Loco. Used by permission.

    "The Grim Reaper - II Presto" by Aitua. Used under an Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike License.

    "Thinking It Over" by Lee Rosevere. Used under an Attribution License.

    (Links to books & products are affiliate links.)
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    1 h y 30 m
  • Doctor Faustus, by Thomas Mann, and Jura 10yo, Part 4

    Doctor Faustus, by Thomas Mann, and Jura 10yo, Part 4
    Dec 8 2025

    Michael and Ethan discuss Doctor Faustus: The Life of the German Composer Adrian Leverkuhn as Told by a Friend, by Thomas Mann, while drinking Jura 10yo single malt.

    In this episode:

    We do start off this episode very, very similarly to how we started at least Part 3, if not also Part 2… sorry

    REALLY REALLY REALLY helpful: A Reader’s Guide to Thomas Mann’s Doctor Faustus, by Tobias Boes

    The Devil Is in the Details: Neurological Diseases Presenting as Religious Hallucinations in Two Literary Works, by Matheus Kahakura Franco Pedro, Thiago Ferreira Simões De Souza, Francisco Manoel Branco Germiniani

    Thomas Mann knows so many things AND can get so deep in the weeds (at least seemingly)

    When your hobbyhorse comes riding up, sometimes you just have to mount it

    We do get into the weeds on theology and with Latin and stuff, but for once it’s like straight from the text

    The devil’s objective may be the subjective

    On Tyranny, by Timothy Snyder

    Hitler’s Monsters, by Eric Kurlander

    No one said “thank you”

    Next time Michael and Ethan will discuss the short story “The Devil and Tom Walker,” by Washington Irving! Join the discussion! Go to the Contact page and put "Scotch Talk" in the Subject line. We'd love to hear from you! And submit your homework at the Michael & Ethan in a Room with Scotch page.

    Join us on GoodReads!

    Get on our Substack!

    Donate to our Patreon!

    MUSIC & SFX:

    “Fools that Will Laugh on Earth,” by Benji Inniger, from the Original Soundtrack to The Spiritual Tragedy of Doctor Faustus

    "Kessy Swings Endless - (ID 349)" by Lobo Loco. Used by permission.

    "The Grim Reaper - II Presto" by Aitua. Used under an Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike License.

    "Thinking It Over" by Lee Rosevere. Used under an Attribution License.

    (Links to books & products are affiliate links.)
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    1 h y 33 m
  • Doctor Faustus, by Thomas Mann, and Jura 10yo, Part 3

    Doctor Faustus, by Thomas Mann, and Jura 10yo, Part 3
    Nov 24 2025

    Michael and Ethan discuss Doctor Faustus: The Life of the German Composer Adrian Leverkuhn as Told by a Friend, by Thomas Mann, while drinking Jura 10yo single malt.

    In this episode:

    REALLY REALLY REALLY helpful: A Reader’s Guide to Thomas Mann’s Doctor Faustus, by Tobias Boes

    There are at least two ways to assassinate someone with a piano

    Michael lies about his dogs

    Notes of realism

    The Devil Is in the Details: Neurological Diseases Presenting as Religious Hallucinations in Two Literary Works

    Gothic frames!

    Love’s Labour’s Lost, Act 1

    Next time Michael and Ethan will continue to discuss Doctor Faustus, by Thomas Mann! Join the discussion! Go to the Contact page and put "Scotch Talk" in the Subject line. We'd love to hear from you! And submit your homework at the Michael & Ethan in a Room with Scotch page.

    Join us on GoodReads!

    Get on our Substack!

    Donate to our Patreon!

    MUSIC & SFX:

    “Fools that Will Laugh on Earth,” by Benji Inniger, from the Original Soundtrack to The Spiritual Tragedy of Doctor Faustus

    "Kessy Swings Endless - (ID 349)" by Lobo Loco. Used by permission.

    "The Grim Reaper - II Presto" by Aitua. Used under an Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike License.

    "Thinking It Over" by Lee Rosevere. Used under an Attribution License.

    (Links to books & products are affiliate links.)
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    1 h y 12 m