What does it mean to be a good companion to your pet? And should we have pets anyway? Heaven-Leigh and Justin, your favorite Tertiary co-hosts and animal lovers alike, discuss Ellie Violet Bramely’s “The Case Against Pets: Is it Time to Give Up Our Cats and Dogs?” Tune in as they chat all things pets and the responsibilities—not power—that come with companionship.

Want to be a part of the Tertiary community? Follow us on Instagram, send us an email at tertpod@gmail.com or fill out our Google Form to submit a question that we’ll answer in a future episode.

Assigned Reading

• “The Case Against Pets: Is it Time to Give Up Our Cats and Dogs?” by Ellie Violet Bramely (read it here)
• “Fact Check: Were Pets Adopted During the Pandemic Returned in Large Numbers?” by Brianna Grant (read it here)

Our intro and outro music comes from “Cloud Dancer” by Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com). Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 4.0.

In his 2017 acceptance speech for the Nobel Prize in literature, Kazuo Ishiguro said that stories “communicate feelings, that they appeal to what we share as human beings across our borders and divides.” We started this podcast because we believe sharing stories, making deep connections, and bridging divides all appear to be going out of style.

For this week’s episode, your favorite Tertiary hosts ask a few simple questions: Why are books important? What kinds of stories leave impressions on us? Why does that matter? We also shared some of our all-time favorite passages, writers and books with you. Find them below:

Heaven-Leigh’s Reading List

• “The Two-Headed Calf” by Laura Gilpen (read it here)
• I am Legend by Richard Matheson (get it here)

Justin’s Reading List

• The Garden of Eden by Ernest Hemingway (get it here)
• The Rings of Saturn by W. G. Sebald (get it here)

Julea’s Reading List

• The Bell Jar by Sylvia Plath (get it here)
• Letters to a Young Poet by Rainer Maria Rilke (get it here)

Want to be a part of the Tertiary community? Follow us on Instagram, send us an email at tertpod@gmail.com or fill out our Google Form to submit a question that we’ll answer in a future episode.

Assigned Reading

• Listen to Kazuo Ishiguro’s Nobel Prize here.
• Find George Monbiot’s Out of the Wreckage: A New Politics for an Age of Crisis here.
• Read @adamtots’ comic for “Two-Headed Calf” on Tumblr here.
• Find Pachinko by Min Jin Lee here.

Our intro and outro music comes from “Cloud Dancer” by Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com). Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 4.0.

The 78th Primetime Emmy Awards have come and gone, but we’re still glued to our TVs—“binge watching” is a year-round affair, after all. For this week’s podcast, your favorite Tertiary hosts Heaven-Leigh and Justin respond to Emily Kirkpatrick’s recent Substack, “Does TV Actually Suck Now?”

Whether or not you think TV sucks, we’re interested in what today’s lauded series can teach us about ourselves. We explore the golden age of “bad TV,” the emergence of the star-studded limited series, virtue signalling and representation, as well as the complex task of holding Gen Zers’ attention. Don’t worry, we also make plenty of pit stops along the way, unpacking the Ed Sheeran/Macklemore debacle and, of course, paying homage to “car people.”

Want to be a part of the Tertiary community? Follow us on Instagram, send us an email at tertpod@gmail.com or fill out our Google Form to submit a question that we’ll answer in a future episode.

Assigned Reading

• Read “Does TV Actually Suck Now?” by Emily Kirkpatrick on Substack here.
• Read “The Work of Art in the Age of Mechanical Reproduction” by Walter Benjamin, courtesy of MIT, here.
• Read “Home From College, 2 Weeks Later” by Paula Mejía on The New York Times here.

Assigned Watching

• “Avatar: the Last Airbender” (Netflix)
• “Bluey” (Disney+)
• “Firefly” (Hulu)

Our intro and outro music comes from “Cloud Dancer” by Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com). Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 4.0.

Is “travel” a requirement on the road to being a well-rounded, empathetic person? And if so, is there a correct way to travel? This week, your Tertiary hosts, Heaven-Leigh and Justin, take inspiration from the late, great Anthony Bourdain to discuss the ways travel and new experiences can change your life.

If traveling brings a little extra humility, empathy and openness to your life, listening to this episode will have you questioning your go-to drink order and the real definition of “peruse” (hint: it’s not what you think). Tune in and tag along for another week of rabbit holes and side convos with the Tertiary crew!

Want to be a part of the Tertiary community? Follow us on Instagram, send us an email at tertpod@gmail.com or fill out our Google Form to submit a question that we’ll answer in a future episode.

Assigned Reading

• Read Kitchen Confidential: Adventures in the Culinary Underbelly by Anthony Bourdain, linked here.

• Watch any or all episodes of Anthony Bourdain: Parts Unknown wherever you watch your TV.

Our intro and outro music comes from “Cloud Dancer” by Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com). Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 4.0.

Whether you’re a fan of “Fan Fiction” or not, the underground subgenre is making waves in the literary and entertainment industries—and we at Tertiary are paying attention.

For this week’s episode, we examine fan fiction on several levels, including the ways literary norms reify gender bias and heteronormativity, as well as a wider consideration of storytelling that opens a fascinating window into the workings of human creativity. Don’t worry, we also debate abolishing marriage and Justin’s dancefloor chops.

Want to be a part of the Tertiary community? Follow us on Instagram, send us an email at tertpod@gmail.com or fill out our Google Form to submit a question that we’ll answer in a future episode.

A Sample of Heaven-Leigh’s Favorite Fan Fictions (smut free to avoid any awkward convos):

1. “Transcendent Humanity” by Solaris242
2. “Peeta’s Games” by igsygrace
3. “Red Robb and the Burning of the Riverlands” by strangebloke

Further Reading

• Read the full context of the Revenue Act of 1913 here, as well as the timeline of civil marriage in the U.S. here.
• Read “A Guide to Fanfiction Terminology” on Writing Advice from the Poorly Drawn Spider’s Wordpress here.
• Find Vivian Hawthornes’ complete booklist here.

Our intro and outro music comes from “Cloud Dancer” by Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com). Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 4.0.

What happens when a classicist, novelist, and pundit enter a bar? (ha ha) Bad jokes aside, we are living through a *moment* in popular culture, fraught with man-splaining, flooded with click-bait nonsense, and—most worryingly—oozing sexism, racism, and transphobia. Who better to guide you through a close read of Christopher Nolan’s “The Odyssey” but your favorite Tertiary hosts, Heaven-Leigh and Justin?

The good news is, between our hot takes on Nolan’s adaptation, we also debate progressive tax systems and whether or not Jason Statham should make any more movies.

Want to be a part of the Tertiary community? Follow us on Instagram, send us an email at tertpod@gmail.com or fill out our Google Form to submit a question that we’ll answer in a future episode.

Assigned Reading

• Buy “The Odyssey,” translated by Emily Wilson on Bookshop here.
• Explore “Homer: The Iliad and The Odyssey (Different Translations of the Opening Lines)” here.
• Read Emily Wilson’s scathing review of Nolan’s adaptation of The Odyssey, “An Uncomplicated Man,” here.
• Read Joyce Carol Oates’ response to Wilson’s review here.

Further Reading

• Read Claudia Dreifus’s exit interview with Ben and Jerry, “Passing the Scoop,” for The New York Times here.
• Watch the entirety of Jason Statham’s filmography, duh.
• Compare Kilmartin and Cox’s translation of Stanislaw Lem’s “Solaris” (here) with an ebook version of Bill Johnston’s translation (here).
• Buy Lydia Davis’ brilliant collection of essays on translating Proust, “Essays Two,” on Bookshop here.

Our intro and outro music comes from “Cloud Dancer” by Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com). Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 4.0.

Ever get out of a movie and wish you could sit down with your closest, smartest friends and yap about it? Well, Movie Clubbers, that’s the gist of this very special Sidequest. In the heart of a heatwave, we brought our mics all the way to the movie theatre parking lot, just for you.

But we aren’t about vain pursuits, here at Tertiary—your favorite hosts Heaven-Leigh and Justin breakdown the complicated politics in the background of Curry Barker’s freshman film, “Obsession,” including the internet’s incel subculture, Hollywood’s Gen Z breakouts, and the scourge of toxic male entitlement.

Want to be a part of the Tertiary community? Follow us on Instagram, send us an email at tertpod@gmail.com or fill out our Google Form to submit a question that we’ll answer in a future episode.

Assigned Reading

• Watch Curry Barker’s “Obsession,” duh.

Further Reading

• Read Emma Cieslik’s essay “‘Obsession’ and the Rise of Incel Horror: When Men’s Entitlement Becomes the Monster” here.
• Read Benjamin Lee’s interview with Barker, “‘I never thought people might feel threatened by us’: YouTuber Curry Barker on his big horror ascent,” here.
• Read “Annie Bot” by Sierra Greer, here.
• Watch “Companion” (2025).

Our intro and outro music comes from “Cloud Dancer” by Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com). Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 4.0.

What does it mean to lead a good life? What does it mean to be a good person? We can all agree the universe doesn’t tend to offer clean answers to these kinds of questions—but your favorite Tertiary hosts, Heaven-Leigh and Justin, decided to tackle them anyway. The trouble, of course, is that a warming planet, barbaric geopolitics, and collapsing economy complicate the ways we ask these questions. Even so, this week, we sink our teeth into existentialism, and we’re excited to hear what you think!

Interested in continuing the conversation? Send us an email at tertpod@gmail.com or fill out our Google Form to submit a question that we’ll answer in a future episode.

Assigned Reading

• Read the EBSCO research starter for Either/Or by Soren Kierkegaard here.

Further Reading

• Find Kate Bowler’s Everything Happens for a Reason: And Other Lies I've Loved on ThriftBooks here.
• Read u/Boring_Net_299’s “Ranking philosophers based on their sexiness” on Reddit here.

Our intro and outro music comes from “Cloud Dancer” by Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com). Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 4.0.