Episode 17:
Katabasis
Episode Summary:
In this episode, we descend into Katabasis by R.F. Kuang — a dark academia fantasy that turns graduate school into a literal journey through Hell. Alice and her academic rival Peter enter the underworld to save their manipulative professor's soul, navigating demons, paradox traps, and the maddening logic of “analytic magic.”
What We Cover:
- The academic underworld: Why Kuang turned grad school into Hell, and why we all feel that metaphorically.
- Alice & Peter’s journey: how ambition, betrayal, and guilt shape their partnership—and why we may root for their fucked-up loyalty.
- Themes of power, trauma, and intellectual survival—the price of knowledge when the system is broken.
- R.F. Kuang’s real-world reflection: how her own academic journey—and academic horror—shaped the narrative.
- Our 5 Hard Questions that focus on the underlying themes Katabasis covers.
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