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Blooms & Barnacles

A blog and podcast that discuss James Joyce's Ulysses from a non-academic point of view. Less snooty, more movie references.
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Episodes

Bloomsday 2025 Live Show!

We hope to see you at our live show in Dublin on Bloomsday. You can join us in person or on the livestream. Tickets at the link below: https://www.bloomsdayfestival.ie/event/blooms-barnacles-podcast-could-an-ai-write-ulysses/

Jun 13, 202544 sec

Horseness is the Whatness of Allhorse

Are you Team Aristotle or Team Plato? Topics in this episode include Charybdis, schoolboys and schoolmen, whether or not Plato was shallow, artists being rejected by Plato’s Republic, platonism v. neoplatonism, Aristotle’s view of art, Stephen’s dagger definitions, the Plato and Antisthenes’ thoughts on horses, horse v. horseness, Plato’s Forms, the ineluctable modality of the visible, Joyce’s thoughts on William Blake, and how to solve an impossible binary. Support us on Patreon to access episo...

Jun 04, 202554 minEp. 156

On this side idolatry.

You naughtn’t to look, missus, so you naughtn’t when a lady’s ashowing of her elemental. Topics in this episode include Old Ben’s critique of Shakespeare, bardolatry, Shakespeare as a symbol of English supremacy, how Plato is like Charybdis, formless spiritual essences, seeing ourselves as others see us, the paintings of Gustave Moreau, and so much theosophy. On the Blog: Decoding Dedalus: Horseness is the whatness of allhorse. Blooms & Barnacles Social Media: Facebook | Twitter | Instagram ...

May 21, 20251 hr 14 minEp. 155

Folly. Persist.

Satan comes forward a sinkapace. Topics in this episode include Goethe’s Wilhelm Meister , Goethe’s thoughts on Hamlet translated through Thomas Lyster, Elizabethan dances, Sir Toby Belch, Monsieur de la Palice and a hilarious French pun, John Milton, Paradise Lost , Stephen’s six brave medicals, Marie Corelli’s The Sorrows of Satan , Cranly, Medical Dick and Medical Davy, betrayal, W.B.’s shining seven, the significance of the number seven, Malacoda’s trumpet, Dante, extended Wicklow imagery, S...

May 07, 202559 minEp. 154

Who Were the Real Men in the Library from "Scylla and Charybdis"?

Eglinton knows Best. Topics in this episode include the real-life versions of John Eglinton and Richard Best, Best’s contribution to the study of Irish mythology, how Best supported James Joyce’s abandoned music career, what his portrayal in Ulysses gets right and wrong, how the real Best felt about his fictional counterpart in Ulysses , gay-coding and homophobia in the fictional portrayal of Best, Oscar Wilde, the ancient Greeks, Joyce’s misguided attempt to re-connect with Best in 1909, Willia...

Apr 24, 202548 minEp. 153

Scylla and Charybdis

Here be monsters. We crack into Ulysses' ninth episode: "Scylla and Charybdis." Topics in this episode include: a great philosopher's thoughts on Shakespeare, Dermot, another great philosopher's, thoughts on Shakespeare, Odysseus' encounter with Scylla and Charybdis, the geography and currents of the Strait of Messina that likely inspired the story of Scylla and Charybdis, the triumphant return of Stephen Dedalus, Aristotle and Plato, George Æ Russell the engulfer of souls, why the brain is man'...

Apr 09, 202558 minEp. 152

Bonus Ep. 26 - The Third Man [TEASER]

We discuss the 1949 film, The Third Man because James Joyce is briefly mentioned in it. Also, it's a really good movie. Listen to or watch the full episode at patreon.com/barnaclecast

Feb 28, 202515 min

Blind Stripling

A wild Blazes Boylan appears. Topics in this episode include the incredible story of Reverend Thomas Connellan, the Bible Wars, Soupers, the Bird’s Nest orphanage, apostasy and conversion, a typographical error heroically corrected, the blind stripling, whether or not the blind stripling actually wants help from Leopold Bloom, Bloom’s savior complex, Bloom’s empathy, the history of blind piano tuners, whether or not blind people’s other senses are stronger than those of sighted people, whether o...

Feb 19, 20251 hr 26 minEp. 151

Throwaway

I need to see a man about a horse. Topics in this episode include a return to nutarianism, Tom Rochford’s surprisingly heroic back story, the Ascot Gold Cup, racehorses with weird names, Jack B. Yeats’ Olympic career, the life cycle of a pernicious rumor, Tom Rochford’s invention, Don Giovanni ’s ending (spoiler alert), peristalsis nearing its inevitable conclusion, Prescott’s Dye Works, gambling culture in Edwardian Dublin, the class consciousness of gambling culture, whether it’s better to win...

Feb 05, 20251 hrEp. 150

Bonus Ep. 25 - The Tarot of Mme Marion Bloom w/ Penelope Wade [TEASER]

Artist Penelope Wade joins the podcast to discuss her project, "The Tarot of Mme Marion Bloom." Wade uses collages of found objects to create densely symbolic images based on the themes and characters in Ulysses. She has arranged her collages into a one-of-a-kind tarot deck. We discuss tarot, Ulysses, Molly Bloom. Kelly even gets a tarot reading! Listen to or watch the full episode at patreon.com/barnaclecast You can see Penelope's art at her website ....

Jan 30, 202516 min

Ancient Free and Accepted Order

Are you on the level? Topics in this episode include discussion of whether or not Leopold Bloom is a freemason, how well Nosey Flynn knows the business of the other Dubliners, why Bloom never thinks about being a freemason, whether or not Tom Kernan is in the craft, whether or not you can leave the freemasons, freemason symbols and lore, whether Bloom has connections to the upper echelons of Dublin society, the Hungarian lottery tickets scandal, what James Joyce knew about freemasons, times when...

Jan 15, 202559 minEp. 149

James Joyce Community Groups (w/ Zoe Patterson)

Zoe Patterson of Trinity College Dublin joins Blooms & Barnacles to talk about about her research into James Joyce community groups. Support us on Patreon to access episodes early, bonus content, and a video version of our podcast. Blooms & Barnacles Social Media: Facebook | Twitter | Instagram Subscribe to Blooms & Barnacles: Apple Podcasts | Spotify | YouTube...

Dec 25, 202459 minEp. 148

Seed Cake

Should you bring oysters to your naughty liaison on Howth? Topics in this episode include your thoughts on Bloom’s glass of burgundy, whether or not oysters are an aphrodisiac, where you used to be able to find the best oysters in Ireland, whether or not it’s ok to eat oysters in months that don’t have an R, which European monarch ate the scruff off their own head, more wine minutiae - this time what color glass is best for storing beverages, the fishes royal, Miss Dubedat, a kish of brogues, pa...

Dec 12, 202450 minEp. 147

Is Blazes Boylan the worst man in Dublin?

Well, was he? Topics in this episode include a thorough dissection of Hugh E. “Blazes” Boylan, why Boylan jingles and jaunts, Boylan’s snappy wardrobe, clocks on socks , whether or not Boylan smells rich, Boylan’s business ventures, Boylan’s father the horse trader, the Myler Keogh controversy, the unreliable narrators in Barney Kiernan’s pub, the sex crimes of Blazes Boylan, the sex crimes of Leopold Bloom, Miss Dunne, real life inspirations for Blazes Boylan, and the vanquishing of Molly Bloom...

Dec 04, 202455 minEp. 146

Bonus Ep. 23 - Molly Bloom v. Misogyny w/ Katherine Ebury [TEASER]

Dr. Katherine Ebury (she/they) of the University of Sheffield joins the podcast to talk about how to approach older scholarship that contains misogynist interpretations of Molly Bloom. Should we dismiss them entirely, or is it ok to just fish out the good bits? What direction is Joyce studies taking with regards to interpretations of Molly? We also discuss the ongoing issue of sexual harassment in Joyce studies. Listen to the full episode and see a video version at patreon.com/barnaclecast...

Nov 15, 202417 min

Gorgon-Zola

Fermentation is hot. Topics in this episode include Davy Byrne’s moral pub, Nosey Flynn, Noah and the curse of Ham, Plumtree’s Potted Meat, cannibalism, missionaries who get eaten by cannibals, long pig, Reverend MacTrigger, lapses in Leopold Bloom’s empathy, the Jesuits’ mission of conversion, colonialism, Yom Kippur, food as an expression of religion, mity cheese, why Bloom chooses cheese, sunyata, why it’s extremely anachronistic for Bloom to seek cheese, a brief history of indigenous Irish c...

Nov 13, 20241 hr 5 minEp. 145

Rawhead and Bloody Bones

Let’s hope for something galoptious when all’s said and done. Topics in this episode include the lestrygonian feast in the Burton, masculinity and meat eating, societal paralysis, Bloom’s plan to feed the masses, Bloom’s memories of working in the cattle market, the importance of cattle to the Irish economy, the horror that is dicky meat, the violence of the cattle trade, the carnivore diet, Bloom’s performative masculinity, Bloom’s political moderateness, class horror, Padraic Pearse and the Ea...

Oct 30, 20241 hrEp. 144

Bloodhued Poplin, Lustrous Blood

Think unsexy thought. Think unsexy thoughts. Think unsexy thoughts. Topics included corrections, Yeates and Son, parallax, eclipses, Dunsink Time, Thomas Moore, peristalsis, Bob Doran, Take off that white hat!, Huguenots, the princess of the Lestrygonians, Leopold Bloom’s failed attempt to think unsexy thoughts, Bloom as sideways Odysseus, Bloom failing to destroy Molly’s suitor, and a quick escape. Support us on Patreon to access episodes early, bonus content, and a video version of our podcast...

Oct 16, 20241 hr 3 minEp. 143

Ep. 142 - Weggebobbles, Fruit, and Scotch Octopuses

"If you do the eyes of that cow will pursue you through all eternity." Topics in this episode include two-headed octopuses, the Freemasons, the real Lizzie Twigg, Dublin's oldest vegetarian restaurants, Æ, vegetarianism in the early twentieth century, Pythagorus, nutarians and fruitarians, Leopold Bloom's brief foray into vegetarianism, nutsteak, mashed yeast, the elitism of vegetarians, James Joyce's vendetta against vegetarians, whether or not a vegetarian diet inspires poetry, the transformat...

Oct 02, 20241 hr 2 minEp. 142

Dubliners #8 - Grace [TEASER]

We discuss the Dubliners short story, "Grace", in the final episode of our Dubliners series. Listen to the full episode at patreon.com/barnaclecast

Sep 27, 202412 min

The Fascination of a Name

“Simon Dedalus said when they put him in parliament that Parnell would come back from the grave and lead him out of the house of commons by the arm.” Topics in this episode include James Stephens and his organizational blunder, Michaelmas traditions, architecture and peristalsis, the legacy of Dr George Salmon and his big spooky house, reevaluating historical figures like Dr Salmon, John Howard Parnell and his many siblings, the difficulty of being a “brother’s brother,” the Irish connection to ...

Sep 18, 20241 hrEp. 141

Up the Boers!

Was Leopold Bloom ever totally radical? Topics in this episode include Bloom’s memory of a protest, Bloom’s view of the police, the significance of soup imagery, the origins of the Boer War, Irish Nationalist opposition to the Boer War, Joseph Chamberlain, Christiaan de Wet, the irony of Irish Nationalist support for the Boer cause, a French depiction of the protests in Dublin, the class politics of political protest, Sean O’Casey’s daring showdown with a mounter police officer, profiting from t...

Sep 06, 202459 minEp. 140

Ep. 139 - The Meeting of the Waters

The constables have been let out to graze. Topics in this episode include: 1904 popular culture, James Carlyle and the Irish Times, foxhunting, horsey people, Leopold Bloom’s disdain for high class women, The Irish Field, a personal ad from the 1870’s, Mrs Miriam Dandrade, the Purefoys, Fletcherism, the Chew-Chew Method, fad diets of yore, munching parties, hardy annuals, whether or not consumption makes you randy, phthisis, searching for Mrs Moisel, Mrs Thornton, Bloom mocks the police, The Pir...

Aug 21, 20241 hr 5 minEp. 139

Lizzie Twigg (w/ Elizabeth Foley O'Connor)

“Everybody who met her liked her - because she was warm and outgoing. Here I am saying good things about Lizzie. Poor Liz - nobody remembers her now.” - Padraic Colum, 1969 This episode features an interview with scholar Elizabeth Foley O’Connor about Irish poet Lizzie Twigg, her legacy as a poet, her brief mention in Ulysses, how she fell under James Joyce’s critical eye, and why she deserved better. We also discuss tarot artist Pamela Colman Smith, the subject of Foley O’Connor’s book Pamela C...

Aug 07, 202455 minEp. 138
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