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Last modified: 2024-09-22 04:10:54 PM

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Obscure with Michael Ian Black

It's a book club, but funny!

Comedian Michael Ian Black is tackling a great work of literature: Wuthering Heights.

Join Michael's weekly book club as he reads aloud from a classic and asks people like Jen Kirkman, Mike Birbiglia, Michael Showalter, and even his teenage kids to weigh in with their perspectives. 

Season 1: Thomas Hardy's Jude the Obscure. The book is bleak, but Michael does a lot of accent work.

Season 2: Mary Shelley's Frankenstein. It's alive, and it's just a big buddy. Also, more accent work.

Season 3: Wuthering Heights. It's a love story? Who knows

Season 4: American Tragedy. Also a potential title of this podcast

Support this show and access bonus content: https://www.patreon.com/michaelianblack


Latest Episodes

S4 Episode 82 - Horny Young People

3 days ago Tue, Apr 1st 2025

When you think about it, isn't all art about horny young people? Sure it is. And where does it all lead? No place good. Which is how you end up with a couple poor saps out there in Lycurgus, NY trying to extract themselves from a situation in which they placed themselves by virtue of their own damned horniness. And that's where we pick up this week's episode.

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S4 Episode 81 - This Episode is Toast

10 days ago Tue, Mar 25th 2025

As your host's moderate smartness is slowly replaced with moderate dumbness, he contemplates the obvious etymology of a certain, common phrase in the English language as well as expresses some antipathy for the toaster. As for Clyde and Roberta, their best-laid plans also appear to be toast. What shall become of these two star (and Sondra) crossed lovers?!?

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S4 Episode 80 - How Do You Like Dem Apples?

17 days ago Tue, Mar 18th 2025

Recounting two apple-themed cities in my travels this episode. You might even learn some trivia about one of our foremost planters of apple trees. New York state, too, home of Lycurgus, is also an apple-growing state. In fact, according to the New York Apple Association (real), NY grows more apple varieties than any other state!

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S4 Episode 79 - Alligator Soul

24 days ago Tue, Mar 11th 2025

Timely as always, your host contemplates the difference between two war movies, neither of which came out in the last 10 years. Plus, some culinary conversation AND our protagonist/antagonist Clyde Griffiths might have a bead on an abortionist.

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S4 Episode 78 - Processing

1 month ago Tue, Mar 4th 2025

Now ensconced back on American soil, your mansplainer-in-chief processes his return to his native land as he contemplates ice cream sandwiches, the troubled political landscape, and the fortunes of a certain young creep named Clyde who would have voted Trump.

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S4 Episode 77 - Ok look Part II

1 month ago Tue, Feb 25th 2025

The audio, as promised, is terrible again. And yes, it's entirely my fault. Good audio resumes next episode. As for this episode, you know, it's just more problems. Roberta's knocked-up and Clyde is doing his level best to make everything worse. Will he continue to succeed? I think you can all guess the answer.

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S4 Episode 76 - Ok look...

1 month ago Tue, Feb 18th 2025

The sound is bad this week, and it's your host's fault. A further warning: the sound will be next week as well, but after that - SMOOTH SAILING!!! So I apologize for the annoyance and assume it will further erode my subscriber base. The only question remaining: which will last longer - the subscribers or the book? Hard to say, but the goal of Obscure has always been to remain obscure. And so we shall!

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See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

S4 Episode 75 - The Trek Toulouse

1 month ago Tue, Feb 11th 2025

Your host reports today from the fabulous French city of Toulouse, where the second leg of his grand Tour de France continues. Over in the decidedly less glamorous city of Lycurgus, Roberta breaks the bad news to Clyde. How will he react? What will do? Will these star-crossed lovers patch things up and make good? Not bloody likely.

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S4 Episode 74 - The "Blues"

2 months ago Tue, Feb 4th 2025

The nascent jazz age is upon Roberta Alden and the "blues," as we commonly know it today, was probably a word just coming into the vernacular. Even so, Roberta is suffering from this new malady as Clyde continues to let her down. Speaking of jazz... you know who loves this unique American art form? The FRENCH! This episode recorded in Bordeaux, France with a quiet cameo by your host's dear wife.

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S4 Episode 73 - 2025, Baby

2 months ago Tue, Jan 28th 2025

Recounting New Year's Eve and a heated argument with a cop. Clyde, too, is in heat. For the comely Sondra Finchley. Increasingly, it seems as though the comely Sondra Finchley is heated for Clyde. Warmth is breaking out all over on an another episode of Obscure.

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See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.