301 – Jane Schoenbrun & Trapped by the Goonies?
Summary
Jane Schoenbrunn discusses her debut novel, Public Access Afterworld, a sprawling trilogy exploring the intersection of media, reality, and identity through the lens of analog television signals. The conversation delves into how the story reflects her personal journey of gender transition and critiques the decay of American culture and capitalist nostalgia. Schoenbrunn also compares her work to postmodern literature and explains the thematic evolution across her filmography, culminating in this more accessible narrative.
Topics discussed
Introduction and Patreon promotion
Welcome and reading experience
Plot summary and the mysterious signal
TV structure and the 1600-page script draft
Commitment to the trilogy and creative freedom
The role of screens and visual media in fiction
Transition, identity, and the internal journey
Genre storytelling and articulating trans experience
American dream, capitalism, and historical context
Postmodernism and the Western genre analogy
Sponsor reads: Shopify, Murder She Watched, Picklebottom
Nostalgia, analog TV, and the goonies trap
Sustainability, accelerationism, and societal strain
Cosmic mystery and the 'Lost' comparison
Utopia vs. nightmare and TikTok shifting
Remakes, hyperreality, and the subconscious
Spillage, repressed content, and sitcom references
Horror elements: monsters and the dist seer
Defamiliarization and anxiety in the narrative
Book recommendation: Libra by Don DeLillo
Final question: recent sources of fear
Host's reflection on the book and author's style
Closing remarks and 2027 podcast plans
Sponsor reads: Sonic and Vulgar History
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