Subtext is a book club podcast for readers interested in what the greatest works of the human imagination say about life’s big questions. Each episode, philosopher Wes Alwan and poet Erin O’Luanaigh conduct a close reading of a text or film and co-write an audio essay about it in real time. It’s literary analysis, but in the best sense: we try not overly stuffy and pedantic, but rather focus on unearthing what’s most compelling about great books and movies, and how it is they can touch our lives in such a significant way.
The Music of Longing in “Amadeus” (1984) – Part 2
Amadeus (1984) · Mar 9, 2026
The Music of Longing in “Amadeus” (1984)
Amadeus (1984) · Mar 3, 2026
The Character of Authority in Shakespeare’s “Julius Caesar” (Part 6)
Julius Caesar (1953) · Feb 23, 2026
The Character of Authority in Shakespeare’s “Julius Caesar” (Part 5)
Julius Caesar (1953) · Feb 18, 2026
The Character of Authority in Shakespeare’s “Julius Caesar” (Part 4)
Julius Caesar (1953) · Feb 9, 2026
The Character of Authority in Shakespeare’s “Julius Caesar” (Part 3)
Julius Caesar (1953) · Feb 2, 2026
The Character of Authority in Shakespeare’s “Julius Caesar” (Part 2)
Julius Caesar (1953) · Jan 26, 2026
The Character of Authority in Shakespeare’s “Julius Caesar”
Julius Caesar (1953) · Jan 20, 2026
Society as Swindle in “The Third Man” (1949) – Part 2
The Third Man (1949) · Jan 12, 2026
Society as Swindle in “The Third Man” (1949)
The Third Man (1949) · Jan 5, 2026
Bacchic Redemption in “One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest” (1975) (Part 2)
One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest (1975) · Nov 25, 2025
Bacchic Redemption in “One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest” (1975)
One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest (1975) · Nov 17, 2025
Faith and Industry in “There Will Be Blood” (Part 2)
There Will Be Blood (2007) · Oct 13, 2025
Faith and Industry in “There Will Be Blood”
There Will Be Blood (2007) · Oct 7, 2025
The American Dream in F. Scott Fitzgerald’s “The Great Gatsby” (Re-Release for 100th Anniversary)
The Great Gatsby (1974) · Sep 2, 2025
Containment and Play in “Jaws” (Part 2)
Jaws (1975) · Aug 25, 2025
Containment and Play in “Jaws”
Jaws (1975) · Aug 18, 2025
Anti-Mystery in “Picnic at Hanging Rock” (Part 2)
Picnic at Hanging Rock (1975) · Jul 14, 2025
Anti-Mystery in “Picnic at Hanging Rock”
Picnic at Hanging Rock (1975) · Jul 8, 2025
The Weight of Memory in Hitchcock’s “Rebecca” (1940) – Part 2
Rebecca (1940) · Mar 24, 2025
The Weight of Memory in Hitchcock’s “Rebecca” (1940)
Rebecca (1940) · Mar 17, 2025
Irony as Anesthetic in Robert Altman’s “M.A.S.H” (1970) – Part 2
M*A*S*H (1970) · Feb 3, 2025
Irony as Anesthetic in Robert Altman’s “M.A.S.H” (1970)
M*A*S*H (1970) · Jan 27, 2025
Word and Image in “Sunset Boulevard” (1950) – Part 2
Sunset Boulevard (1950) · Jan 6, 2025
Word and Image in “Sunset Boulevard” (1950)
Sunset Boulevard (1950) · Dec 29, 2024
The Aesthetics of Death in “Beetlejuice” (1988) (Part 2)
Beetlejuice (1988) · Dec 9, 2024
The Aesthetics of Death in “Beetlejuice” (1988)
Beetlejuice (1988) · Dec 2, 2024
Formal Meets Feral in “A New Leaf” (Elaine May, 1971) – Part 2
A New Leaf (1971) · Oct 28, 2024
Formal Meets Feral in “A New Leaf” (Elaine May, 1971) – Part 1
A New Leaf (1971) · Oct 21, 2024
Love and Loneliness in “Arthur” (1981) – Part 2
Arthur (1981) · Sep 2, 2024
Love and Loneliness in “Arthur” (1981) – Part 1
Arthur (1981) · Aug 26, 2024
Staking Claims in “The Treasure of the Sierra Madre” (1948) (Part 2)
The Treasure of the Sierra Madre (1948) · Jul 8, 2024
Staking Claims in “The Treasure of the Sierra Madre” (1948) (Part 1)
The Treasure of the Sierra Madre (1948) · Jul 2, 2024
Sins of Omission in “On the Waterfront” (1954) (Part 2)
On the Waterfront (1954) · May 13, 2024
Sins of Omission in “On the Waterfront” (1954) (Part 1)
On the Waterfront (1954) · May 6, 2024
Identity and Infamy in “Citizen Kane” (1941) (Part 2)
Citizen Kane (1941) · Jan 15, 2024
Identity and Infamy in “Citizen Kane” (1941) (Part 1)
Citizen Kane (1941) · Jan 8, 2024
(post)script: Post-Tryst (Woody Allen’s “Hannah and Her Sisters”)
Hannah and Her Sisters (1986) · Nov 13, 2023
The Tyranny of the Good in Woody Allen’s “Hannah and Her Sisters”
Hannah and Her Sisters (1986) · Nov 6, 2023
Odysseus and Penelope’s Comedy of Remarriage (“The Odyssey,” Postscript to Part 3)
The Odyssey (2026) · Oct 30, 2023
Terminal Wooings in “The Odyssey” (Part 3 of 3)
The Odyssey (2026) · Oct 23, 2023
Foolish Adventures in “The Odyssey” (Part 2 of 3)
The Odyssey (2026) · Sep 25, 2023
Home as Identity in “The Odyssey”
The Odyssey (2026) · Aug 28, 2023
Competing Affections in “The Lion in Winter”
The Lion in Winter (1968) · Jul 31, 2023
Friendship and Honor in “Becket” (1964)
Becket (1964) · Jul 3, 2023
Time and Taboo in “Back to the Future” (1985)
Back to the Future (1985) · May 16, 2023
Trauma and Repetition in Roman Polanski’s “Chinatown” (1974)
Chinatown (1974) · Feb 13, 2023
Better and Bested in “Who’s Afraid of Virginia Woolf?”
Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf? (1966) · Jan 16, 2023
Production for Use in “His Girl Friday”
His Girl Friday (1940) · Nov 21, 2022
Work as Madness in “The Bridge on the River Kwai” (1957)
The Bridge on the River Kwai (1957) · May 9, 2022
The Fool Gets Hurt in Fellini’s “La Strada” (1954)
La Strada (1954) · Jan 17, 2022
(post)script: Is “Die Hard” a Christmas Movie?
Die Hard (1988) · Dec 13, 2021
Attachments “Die Hard” at Nakatomi Tower
Die Hard (1988) · Dec 6, 2021
Mad as Hell in “Network” (1976)
Network (1976) · Nov 22, 2021
Gender Opera in “Tootsie”
Tootsie (1982) · Oct 25, 2021
Sex and Tech in “Alien” by Ridley Scott
Alien (1979) · Sep 27, 2021
Gentility and Injustice in “Gone with the Wind” (1939)
Gone with the Wind (1939) · Aug 16, 2021
Realism as Cruelty in “A Streetcar Named Desire” by Tennessee Williams
A Streetcar Named Desire (1951) · Aug 2, 2021
Prestidigitocracy in “The Wizard of Oz” (1939)
The Wizard of Oz (1939) · Jul 19, 2021
At Home with War in “Apocalypse Now” (1979) by Francis Ford Coppola
Apocalypse Now (1979) · Jun 7, 2021
At Home with War in “Apocalypse Now” (1979) by Francis Ford Coppola
Circus at Home (1979) · Jun 7, 2021
On the Lam with “Thelma & Louise” (1991)
Thelma & Louise (1991) · May 10, 2021
Business Gets Personal in “The Godfather” (1972)
The Godfather (1972) · Mar 1, 2021
Love and Nostalgia in Woody Allen’s “Annie Hall” (1977)
Annie Hall (1977) · Feb 15, 2021
Yielding to Suggestion in Shakespeare’s “Macbeth”
Macbeth (1948) · Feb 1, 2021
Mutual Amusement in “The Awful Truth” (1937)
The Awful Truth (1937) · Dec 21, 2020
Against Specialization in Ibsen’s “Hedda Gabler”
Hedda Gabler (2006) · Dec 7, 2020
Being Yourself in John Cassavetes’s “A Woman Under the Influence” (1974)
A Woman Under the Influence (1974) · Oct 26, 2020
Worrying about the Future in Mike Nichols’ “The Graduate” (1967)
The Graduate (1967) · Oct 5, 2020
Filial Ingratitude in in Shakespeare’s “King Lear”
King Lear (1970) · Sep 14, 2020
The “Intelligent Way to Approach Marriage” in Hitchcock’s “Rear Window” (1954)
Rear Window (1954) · Sep 7, 2020
Mastery and Repetition in “Groundhog Day” (1993)
Groundhog Day (1993) · Aug 10, 2020
Love and Wit in Shakespeare’s “Much Ado About Nothing”
Much Ado About Nothing (1993) · Aug 4, 2020
Expediency and Intimacy in Billy Wilder’s “The Apartment” (1960)
The Apartment (1960) · Jul 27, 2020
Marital Economics in Jane Austen’s “Pride and Prejudice”
Pride and Prejudice (1940) · Jul 20, 2020