042 — Casino Royale (w/ Lauren Parker)

This episode, join J. and Collision and special guest Lauren Parker as we roll the dice — and lose — with Ian Fleming’s first James Bond novel, Casino Royale. We return to the thrilling days of the Cold War, when Great Britain stood alone against the Soviet menace, and the only way to way to stem the tide of communism was to send middle-aged men on gambling junkets. Cars will be chased. The patriarchy will be defended. And oh how preferences will be explained! From pre-mission massages to rock-ribbed misogyny to sexual sadism and gay panic, this episode’s got it all, because this book’s got it all, and none of it is good.

Recommendations:

  • Cocaine Blues, Kerry Greenwood
  • “From Sleep”, Max Richter
  • Battleborn, Claire Vaye Watkins

Music:

  • “Oh, Bondage — Up Yours!” — X-Ray Spex
  • “Word is Bond” — Brand Nubian
  • “Azz Everywhere” — Big Freedia
  • “Thunderball” — Johnny Cash