Plague p. 205 John Green reviews historical outbreaks of bubonic and pneumonic plague.
Monopoly p. 175 and Academic Decathlon p. 89 John Green reviews the board game Monopoly and a high-school nerdfest called the Academic Decathlon.
"You'll Never Walk Alone" p. 9 and Jerzy Dudek p. 101 John Green reviews the song "You'll Never Walk Alone" by Rodgers and Hammerstein from the musical, Carousel, and a performance of a Polish goalkeeper named Jerzy Dudek on May 25th, 2005.
Staphylococcus aureus p. 79 John Green reviews a micro-organism, staphylococcus aureus, and a rhetorical device called the non-denial denial.
Auld Lang Syne p. 145 John Green reviews Auld Lang Syne in this podcast's first ever one-review episode.
Hiroyuki Doi's Circle Drawings p. 191 John Green reviews two works of visual art—a series of six paintings by Agnes Martin called “With My Back to the World,” and an untitled 2003 ink drawing by Hiroyuki Doi.
Our Capacity for Wonder p. 29 and Sunsets p. 95 John Green reviews humanity’s capacity for wonder and sunsets.
The Nathan's Famous Hot Dog Eating Contest p. 121 John Green reviews a hot dog eating contest and chemotherapy.
Air Conditioning p. 73 and Sycamore Trees p. 251 John Green reviews air conditioning and sycamore trees.
Scratch 'n' Sniff Stickers p. 41 and The Indianapolis 500 p. 169 John Green reviews scratch ‘n’ sniff stickers and the Indianapolis 500.
The Hall of Presidents p. 67 and "New Partner" p. 257 John Green reviews the Hall of Presidents and the song "New Partner" by Palace Music.
Teddy Bears p. 61 John Green reviews teddy bears and penalty shootouts.
Piggly Wiggly p. 113 John Green reviews an ostensible form of currency and a grocery store chain.
Lascaux Cave Paintings p. 35 John Green reviews a 17,000-year-old painting and the Taco Bell breakfast menu.
Viral Meningitis p. 199 John Green reviews a pineapple and ham yeasted flatbread and an inflammation of the membrane that covers the brain and spinal cord.
Googling Strangers p. 153 and Kentucky Bluegrass p. 165 John Green reviews a plant species with no relationship to Kentucky and the contemporary practice of searching for the lives of people you don't know.
Halley’s Comet p. 23 John Green reviews Halley's Comet, a celestial body visible from Earth once in a lifetime, and cholera, an infection caused by bacteria and people.
Whispering p. 195 John Green reviews an unvoiced way of speaking and the state of the atmosphere.
An Abundance of Katherines by
Katherine V thought boys were gross
Katherine X just wanted to be friends
Katherine XVIII dumped him in an e-mail
K-19 broke his heart
When it comes to relationships, Colin Singleton's type happens to be girls named Katherine. And when it comes to girls named Katherine, Colin is always getting dumped. Nineteen times, to be exact.
The Fault in Our Stars by
Despite the tumor-shrinking medical miracle that has bought her a few years, Hazel has never been anything but terminal, her final chapter inscribed upon diagnosis. But when a gorgeous plot twist named Augustus Waters suddenly appears at Cancer Kid Support Group, Hazel’s story is about to be completely rewritten.
Looking for Alaska by
Miles Halter is fascinated by famous last words—and tired of his safe life at home. He leaves for boarding school to seek what the dying poet François Rabelais called the “Great Perhaps.” Much awaits Miles at Culver Creek, including Alaska Young, who will pull Miles into her labyrinth and catapult him into the Great Perhaps.
Paper Towns by
When Margo Roth Spiegelman beckons Quentin Jacobsen in the middle of the night—dressed like a ninja and plotting an ingenious campaign of revenge—he follows her. Margo’s always planned extravagantly, and, until now, she’s always planned solo. After a lifetime of loving Margo from afar, things are finally looking up for Q . . . until day breaks and she has vanished. Always an enigma, Margo has now become a mystery. But there are clues. And they’re for Q.
Turtles All the Way Down by
Aza Holmes never intended to pursuethe disappearance of fugitive billionaire Russell Pickett, but there’s a hundred-thousand-dollar reward at stake and her Best and Most Fearless Friend, Daisy, is eager to investigate. So together, they navigate the short distance and broad divides that separate them from Pickett’s son Davis.
Lora wrote to ask I review dazzle camouflage, a brief and strange attempt--mostly during World War I--to camouflage ships using stripes of contrasting colors. Warships were painted like zebras, basically, or like MC Escher artworks. Light and dark stripes would interrupt and intersect each other such that, especially in the distance, dazzle camouflaged warships became a kind of op-art, and the human eye would struggle to figure out which part of the ship was which, or even what kind of ship it was. There is little evidence that dazzle camouflage actually worked, but it still became quite common, especially in the British navy. Mostly, when I think of dazzle camouflage, I think about how strange 1918 must have been. It was an exceptionally deadly year for humans, thanks to World War I, a flu pandemic, and the ongoing horrors of colonialism. Mechanization and internationalization had promised to make human life better, but instead life expectancy was lower on average than it had been in 1908 or 1898. It all must’ve felt so baffling and self-contradictory and absurd.
It’s telling to me that one of the lasting images of that era, John Nash’s 1918 painting Over the Top, at first glance appears to be a kind of dazzle camouflage-- dark and light forms intersecting--before you realize it’s a painting of soldiers going over the top of a trench into a snow-covered field. We would like to imagine, of course, that the contradictions of modernity are behind us in this post-modern world, that the dazzle camouflaged past is settled but as William Faulkner put it, “The past is never dead. It’s not even past.” Who knows which part of the ship is which, especially now. I give dazzle camouflage one and a half stars. - John Green, Seventeen Listener Suggestions, Reviewed.
Humanity’s Temporal Range p. 13 John Green reviews the concept of humanity's temporal range.
The Notes App p. 231 John Green reviews the Notes app and the strange phenomenon of sports rivalries.
The QWERTY Keyboard p. 239 John Green reviews the QWERTY keyboard layout and a bird species called the Kauaʻi ʻōʻō.
Velociraptors p. 51 and Harvey p. 133 John Green reviews velociraptors and the 1950 film Harvey.
Indianapolis p. 159 John Green reviews Indianapolis and love at first sight.
The Yips p. 139 and CNN p. 127 John Green reviews a sporting malady known as the yips and the 24-hour news network, CNN.
Super Mario Kart p. 181 and Bonneville Salt Flats p. 185 John Green reviews a kart racing video game series and a vast expanse of salt-encrusted earth located in the desert of northwestern Utah.
Canada Geese p. 55 and Diet Dr Pepper p. 47 John Green reviews Canada Geese (a bird species that was not too long ago on the brink of extinction) and Diet Dr Pepper (a zero-calorie soda popularized by a man named Foots).
The Mountain Goats p. 237 John Green reviews seventeen--that’s right, seventeen--topics suggested by listeners who emailed him at anthropocenereviewed at gmail dot com.
