The parallels between Bloom and Odysseus’ journeys to the Underworld. Topics include a summary of Chapter XI of The Odyssey, Bloom as sideways Odysseus, the neighborhoods of Glasnevin and Sandymount, Paddy Dignam and his “apoplexy,” Elpenor, Martin Cunningham the Sisyphus of Dublin, Dublin’s waterways, Dublin’s Charon, coins for the eyes, psychopomps, Reuben J. Dodd, Corny Kelleher, Cerberus, Father Coffey, simnel cakes, Dublin’s Hades and Persephone, the Nekuia, Joycean Hercules, Agamemnon and ...
Aug 07, 2022•52 min•Ep. 92
“Bantam” is an anagram of “Batman.” Coincidence? Topics include the state of Bantam Lyons’ hygiene, horseracing, Conway’s pub, cat wrangling, the Ascot Gold Cup, Throwaway, Bloom’s accidental racing tip, Dublin geography, Bloom’s disinterest in gambling, lotuses, the fleshpots of Egypt, Dermot’s dad’s betting tips, Orientalism, the Lincoln Place baths, sports as a lotus, Joyce’s love of cricket, Turkish hammams, the Victorians’ love of baths, the morality of baths, the precarity of the middle cl...
Jul 20, 2022•42 min•Ep. 91
Dermot and Kelly take to the streets of Dublin on Bloomsday 2022 with the goal to talk to as many people celebrating the occasion as possible. They talk to revelers at the Sandycove Martello Tower, Kennedy’s Pub in Lincoln Place, outside Sweny’s Pharmacy, and on Duke St. in the general vicinity of Davy Byrne’s. Many, many thanks to all the delightful people that spoke to us! Sweny's Patreon helps keep this marvelous Dublin landmark alive. Please subscribe! Blooms & Barnacles Social Media: Fa...
Jun 28, 2022•1 hr 17 min•Ep. 90
Kelly speaks with actress Aedín Moloney about playing Molly Bloom in her one-woman show, Yes! Reflections of Molly Bloom . Aedín Moloney: http://www.aedinmoloney.com/ Instagram | Twitter Blooms & Barnacles Social Media: Facebook | Twitter Subscribe to Blooms & Barnacles : Apple Podcasts | Spotify | Stitcher...
Jun 21, 2022•42 min•Ep. 89
Blooms & Barnacles chat with composer Benjamin Wenzeberg about his new, Ulysses -inspired opera NIGHTTTOWN . Topics include adapting Ulysses for the stage, the process of writing an opera during Covid, gender politics and #metoo in Ulysses , gender-inclusive casting, Molly as a force of nature, the proper use of Italian, the symbolic power of musical notation, and Stephen Dedalus’ vulnerability.
Jun 08, 2022•1 hr 16 min•Ep. 88
Is a bar of soap just a bar of soap? Topics in this episode include Leopold Bloom’s visit to Sweny’s Pharmacy, how often chemists move, Dublin geography, Bloom’s forgetfulness, the shrunken skull of Sweny the pharmacist, lotuses in the chemist’s, the philosopher’s stone, doing drugs, distilled water prices, Bloom’s filthy bath plans, the lemon soap, the Victorian virtue of cleanliness, perpetual power through consumer goods, Victorian soap ads, the politics of soap advertising, Bloom’s judgement...
May 18, 2022•48 min•Ep. 87
Have you repented for the sin of reading this filthy book yet? Topics in this episode include the Spanish Inquisition, English v. Latin, the Leonine prayers, the similarity between Catholic Mass and Columbo, Dermot’s priest voice, praying for the conversion of godless Communists, the difficulty of leaving Dodger stadium, Joyce’s parody of the Leonine prayers, Mike Birbiglia’s parody of the Mass, the hypocrisy of Confession, Leopold Bloom’s pragmatic view of Catholic Mass, the power wielded by Ca...
May 04, 2022•44 min•Ep. 86
Why can’t we use Guinness instead of wine at Mass? Topics include Leopold Bloom’s thoughts on Communion wine, lots of lotuses, why wine must be used in the Mass instead of Guinness, temperance, transubstantiation, shew wine, cadging wine at Mass, Old Glynn, sacred music, Rossini’s Stabat Mater , footdrill, sacred music as a lotus, how sacred music is a bit sexy, how sacred music helps put butts in seats, Mercadante, Mozart, Palestrina, Dermot’s love of 12th c. polyphony, the Liturgy of the Hours...
Apr 21, 2022•48 min•Ep. 85
Give us this day our daily Bloom. Topics in this episode include: mazzoth, shewbread, matzo v. Communion wafer, what it feels like to consume the body of Christ in the Eucharist, more cannibals, the hokey pokey and whether or not it mocks the Catholic Mass, Leopold Bloom use of popular culture to connect with more complex issues, the feeling of religious community, how Holy Communion is like Plumtree’s Potted Meat, the spectacle of the Mass, Lourdes water, the Knock apparition, moving statues, s...
Jan 21, 2022•57 min•Ep. 84
Is the Eucharist tantamount to cannibalism? Let’s ask Thomas Aquinas. Topics in this episode include: Fr. Conmee, Martin Cunningham, why Molly wasn’t admitted to the choir, bluey specs, Jesuit rock stars, Bloom’s skepticism of priests, a story from James Joyce’s 50th birthday party, the Eucharist, transubstantiation, the romantic possibilities of Mass, scapulars, nuns, everything Leopold Bloom doesn’t know about Holy Communion, blasphemy galore, what the Mass has in common with Hogwarts, Vatican...
Jan 05, 2022•1 hr 15 min•Ep. 83
What did James Joyce think of Buddhism? Topics in this episode include: All Hallows or St. Andrew’s Church?, why Bloom hangs out in a church, the very reverend John Conmee S.J., sectarian scorekeeping, prayers for Gladstone, St. Peter Claver, the Opium Wars, racist poetry, the reclining Buddha statue in the National Museum of Ireland, Leopold Bloom misconceptions about Buddhism, Walter White’s misconceptions about Buddhism, depictions of the Buddha in art, what Joyce did and didn’t know about Bu...
Dec 22, 2021•1 hr 8 min•Ep. 82
Did James Joyce once covertly suggest a new Guinness slogan? Topics in this episode include Mary Lost the Pin of her Drawers , flat Dublin voices, the Coombe, Bloom’s preoccupation with correct pronoun-antecedent agreement, Jesus in the house of Martha and Mary, a famlus forgery, Ashtown and the trottingmatches, a famous hole in the wall, alcohol has the ultimate lotus, Barons Iveagh and Ardilaun, whether or not Jeff Bezos’ skin produces lice and vermin, whether or not Joyce had a vendetta again...
Dec 11, 2021•47 min•Ep. 81
“Angry tulips with you darling manflower punish your cactus if you don’t please poor forgetmenot how I long violets to dear roses when we soon anemone meet all naughty nightstalk wife Martha’s perfume.” Kelly and Dermot untangle the mysterious language of flowers. Topics include James Joyce’s affair with Marthe Fleischmann, the pitfalls of method acting, Kate Bush, the tonal shifts in Martha Clifford’s letter to Henry Flower, narcissism and self-gratification, Martha’s connection to the Otherwor...
Nov 19, 2021•58 min•Ep. 80
Henry dear, do not deny my request before my patience are exhausted. In this episode, Kelly and Dermot try to figure out who Martha, Leopold Bloom’s saucy penpal, could really be. Topics include Dermot’s interest in Islam, Bloom’s missing hour, Leah the Forsaken , jugginses and guttapercha, castration anxiety, hopscotch and marbles, senior infants, Martha’s letter, Martha’s possible true identity, why Martha is interested in Molly’s perfume, Kelly harshly debunks popular theories about Martha’s ...
Nov 04, 2021•1 hr 4 min•Ep. 79
The Blooms’ household is anything but an abode of bliss. In this episode, topics include: Plumtree’s Potted Meat, Joyce’s love for advertising, the narcotic effect of adspeak, why Plumtree’s Potted Meat is the perfect metaphor for a modern Odysseus, M’Coy’s various scams, Boylan’s metaphorically significant gifts to Molly, Bloom’s missing hour and how his cat helps solve this mystery, Love’s Old Sweet Song, why M’Coy doesn’t turn up at Dignam’s funeral, Mrs. M’Coy, smallpox in Belfast, M’Coy as ...
Oct 25, 2021•53 min•Ep. 78
Leopold Bloom braves an awkward stop-and-chat. Topics in this episode include: Leopold Bloom’s encounter with M’Coy, what Bloom has in common with Larry David, M’Coy as a character in “Grace”, M’Coy as an early prototype for Bloom, a quincunx, Bloom wrestles with his Shadow, Bloom trying to catch a glimpse of a woman’s leg, outsider jaunting cars, Hoppy Holohan, Bob Doran, Bantam Lyons, more lotuses, Ivy Day, Charles Stewart Parnell and Home Rule, foostering, the symbolism of Bloom’s interrupted...
Oct 07, 2021•50 min•Ep. 77
Mr. Bloom runs a mysterious errand at the Westland Row Post Office. Topics include hidden lotuses, Corny Kelleher, Leopold Bloom’s missing hour, tooraloom tooraloom tay, Orientalism and Bloom’s fantasy of the Far East, stereotypes about climate’s affects the character of a culture, Tom Kernan, how Bloom succumbs to the Lotus Eaters, Henry Flower, what Bloom has hidden in his hat, Major Tweedy and the Royal Dublin Fusiliers, the Lotus Eaters of the British military, Maud Gonne’s awkward activism,...
Sep 23, 2021•55 min•Ep. 76
We begin our foray into the languorous “Lotus Eaters” episode. Topics in this episode include how Kelly is like the Terminator, Odysseus and his crew’s misadventure with the Lotus Eaters in The Odyssey , why forgetfulness is evil in Odysseus’ view, some peculiar tales from Westland Row, cultivating an appreciation for the mundane, the Lotus Eaters that Bloom encounters in Westland Row, whether or not the Lotus Eaters were really all that bad, bliss ninnies and how they are a diversion from true ...
Sep 08, 2021•36 min•Ep. 75
We explore Leopold Bloom’s connection to the ancient Phoenicians. Topic covered in this episode include: social hierarchies in Ireland, Dubliners v. culchies, Leopold Bloom’s fascination with the Orient, how imperial British culture informs Bloom’s worldview, whether or not some people in Irish society benefited from colonialism, the Celtic Revival movement, how the Revivalist applied an Orientalist worldview to the West of Ireland, the view that the first settlers of Ireland came from the Near ...
Aug 25, 2021•58 min•Ep. 74
Does Leopold Bloom seem a bit anal retentive to you? Content Warning: We talk an awful lot about poo in this one. If that’s not your cup of tea, use your own discretion. In this episode, Dermot and Kelly finish Ulysses ’ fourth episode - “Calypso.” Topics include Ezra Pound’s sense of propriety, the number of toilets in the Bloom household, Titbits , using dung to clean kid gloves, James Stephens, Dlugacz’s mere enthusiasm, jakes v. jacks, cuckstools, Matcham’s Masterstroke and Mr. Philip Beaufo...
Aug 11, 2021•1 hr 8 min•Ep. 73
Is a picnic really just picnic? In this episode, Dermot and Kelly discuss Milly’s letter from Mullingar, those lovely seaside girls, Milly’s purpose in the narrative of Ulysses , the implication of a picnic, whether or not Milly is a poor substitute for Rudy, the significance of Milly’s fifteenth birthday, how Milly’s maturity has affected her parents’ marriage, Freud’s concepts of censorship and projection, Leopold and Molly projecting their insecurities onto Milly, Milly as a looking glass, wh...
Jul 28, 2021•57 min•Ep. 72
Leopold Bloom contemplates the purchase of immense melonfields north of Jaffa. Topics covered in this episode include the Zionist movement of the early 20th century, how to pronounce Agendath Netaim, why Joyce might have changed Agudat to Agendath, hypostasis, the business sense (or nonsense) of buying farmland in Palestine, Bleibtreustrasse 34, morphic resonance, Dlugacz the porkbutcher as Hermes, whether or not Bloom is a Zionist, Citron, Mastiansky, and St. Kevin’s Parade, why Bloom’s rejecti...
Jul 14, 2021•1 hr•Ep. 71
Happy Bloomsday, one and all! Enjoy a selection of readings from Ulysses by our talented listeners from across the globe. It’s a Bloomsday bash you can listen to anywhere. Just add gorgonzola and burgundy! Cool stuff to support: Sweny's Patreon helps keep this marvelous Dublin landmark alive. Please subscribe ! U22: The Centenary Ulysses Podcast Ulysses - for the Rest of Us! A free book club hosted by the Museum of Literature Ireland and Conner Habib Consider supporting Conner Habib’s Patreon Fr...
Jun 16, 2021•3 hr 17 min•Ep. 70
We do our best to take Molly’s advice and tell it in plain words - what is metempsychosis? Topics covered in this episode include Boylan’s bold hand, whether or not cats are kosher, moustache cups, secret letters, “La Ci Darem La Mano”, an orangekeyed chamberpot, how Molly can be both Calypso and Penelope, Joyce’s personal interest in metempsychosis, why understanding reincarnation is a key to understanding Ulysses as a whole, Molly’s quest for high quality erotica, the importance of Paul de Koc...
Jun 03, 2021•57 min•Ep. 69
Why is Leopold Bloom so captivated by the “mysterious East”? In this episode we discuss the Orientalist motif in Ulysses , with a focus on “Calypso.” Topics include what is Orientalism?, how Orientalism manifests in Irish culture, the blurred continuum between Irish and British culture, Edward Said, why the “Orient” is really a dream, the Whig interpretation of history, what Leopold Bloom has in common with Julia Roberts, Haroun al-Raschid, Turko the Terrible, Molly’s connection to the East, Dis...
May 19, 2021•52 min•Ep. 68
This gland is your gland; this gland is my gland. Bloom finally makes it to the butcher to buy his kidney! In this episode, we discuss the geography (or joggerfry) of Bloom’s neighborhood, Larry O’Rourke’s, Bloom’s idea to build a tramline from the quays to the cattle market, bartenders who become rich, the art of economics, Moses Dlugacz, why a Jewish butcher sells pork, the Woods family of 8 Eccles St., the stout “nextdoor girl,” whacking, Zionism, blurred cattle cropping, and Mr. Dlugacz’s “f...
May 05, 2021•1 hr 5 min•Ep. 67
This week, we’re talkin’ ‘bout ‘tatoes! Kelly and Dermot unpack the deeper symbolism behind Leopold Bloom’s idiosyncratic hobby of carrying a potato upon his person. Topics include Tayto crisps, Stephen and Bloom’s parallel lost keys, Bloom’s potato as a protective object, why the potato may actually possess magic powers, the potato as Odysseus’ moly, the potato as a panacea, the potato as a remedy for rheumatism, spud guns, potatoes as a fertility symbol, the potato as a mezuzah, the blasphemy ...
Apr 21, 2021•50 min•Ep. 66
Who was Molly Bloom’s father, Major Brian Cooper Tweedy? Far more than meets the eye. Topics in this episode include Michael Caine and Zulu , what the heck a footleaf is and other lovely minutiae, the origin of the Blooms’ jingly-jangly bed, Major Brian Cooper Tweedy and his military career, Molly’s time in Gibraltar and her memories of her father, Rorke’s Drift, Plevna, cheating at auctions, philately, sparrowfarts, Wolseley and Gordon in Khartoum, deception and lies, classism in the British mi...
Apr 08, 2021•1 hr 2 min•Ep. 65
Organ meats: the breakfast of champions. In this episode, we cover the opening pages of Ulysses’ fourth episode, “Calypso.” Topics include who eats organ meats, how Bloom’s thoughts are different from Stephen’s thoughts, the humbleness of “Calypso,” what mundane actions tell us about a character, kidneys as a correspondent organ in “Calypso”, art as the office of purgation, Joyce as an artistic kidney, the cyclical nature of waste, Bloom’s kidney as a burnt offering, Bloom’s cat, Bloom’s compass...
Mar 24, 2021•57 min•Ep. 64
This week we cover the parallels to “Calypso,” the fourth episode of James Joyce’s Ulysses and Book V of Homer’s Odyssey . Topics include how Leopold Bloom and Odysseus are similar, how they’re different since Bloom is really a sideways Odysseus, Bloom as a feminine man, the danger of nostalgia, the Blooms’ many secrets, Molly as a character especially veiled in secrets, so much etymology, the location of Calypso’s island Ogygia, Gibraltar, the color yellow, the fate of the lost city of Atlantis...
Mar 10, 2021•52 min•Ep. 63
