Clare and Hannah read H.G. Wells' "The Island of Dr. Moreau," and discuss universal themes like the hubris of science, the true nature of humanity, and their uncanny ability to shoehorn a C.S. Lewis shoutout into any discussion.

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Clare and Hannah share their experiences practicing martial arts. By share their experiences, we mean they soared with exquisite grace through a grove of bamboo trees, exchanging blows that shook the surrounding wilderness and awakened a long-dormant volcano.

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Clare and Hannah return with another book club, this time covering Joseph Heller's Catch 22, a satirical commentary on corporate malfeasance, nonsense, incompetence and bureaucracy. A classic war novel that coined a phrase still prominent in the modern zeitgeist, Catch 22 left Clare feeling like a dummy and convinced Hannah that she does indeed have a twisted brain. In other words, a bit of light reading for your summer.

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In this breakfast chat, Clare shares a truly embarrassing story from a fellow veterinarian. Names and locations have been changed to protect those involved from further shame.

This episode may be troubling for more squeamish listeners, as it contains terms like: uterine horn, testicles, castration, cervix, and litter-bearing animals. Also, Hannah ate spaghetti throughout this recording.

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In part 2 of our series on the kings and queens of England, Clare and Hannah talk about two kings who embodied the term, "man-child." Henry II spent his entire wedding reception goofing off with his best friend and ignoring everybody else, including his new queen. Richard II surrounded himself with his favorite sycophants, spent a ridiculous amount of his country's money on clothes, and commissioned a religious icon featuring... himself.

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Hannah takes the "reigns" for part 1 in a series about the kings and queens of England. Because royalty in England just cycled through the same three names over and over, today we learn about two kings named Henry:

Henry II: the highlights of his reign were murdering his best friend in a cathedral, getting whipped within an inch of his life in the same cathedral, and giving a gorgeous castle to a six year-old out of spite.

We talk about several movies: Becket (1964, starring Peter O'Toole as King Henry II), The Lion in Winter (1968, starring...Peter O'Toole as King Henry II again!) and Robin Hood, about vagabonds causing trouble for Prince John in England whilst his brother Richard I (the "Lionheart") is galavanting around the Holy Land.

Henry III: Basically, he was pretty lame. He fled the battlefield, got captured, and had to be rescued by his son. Also, his brother-in-law called him a simpleton, which is worse than all that other stuff.

References:
Online: Historic UK has many excellent articles on the history of the British monarchy, including this comprehensive summary, "Kings and Queens of England & Britain" by Ben Johnson.

Print: The Kings and Queens of England by Ian Crofton. (Note: affiliate link. Thank you for your support!)

Video: Britain's Bloodiest Dynasty -- a 4-part documentary about the Plantagenet kings.

Music: "The Battle of Agincourt," by The Twilight

Music: "Splancnics Riff" composed and performed by Clare T. Walker

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Clare shares a song that terrifies both her and the man who wrote it. Hannah's song of choice did not so much rock her world as haunt her every waking moment for two weeks straight.

Clare's song:
"Cat's in the Cradle." Music, lyrics, and performance by Harry Chapin. In December of 1974 it was the Number 1 song on the Billboard Top 100. The link includes a brief interview with Chapin's widow and with his son, followed by a live performance of the song. The comments below the video are both heartwarming and heartbreaking.

Hannah's song:
"One." From the musical A Chorus Line, 1975. Music by Marvin Hamlisch. Lyrics by Edward Kleban. The link is to a clip from the 1985 film version.

Music: "Splanchnics Riff" composed and performed by Clare T. Walker

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Clare and Hannah read Charles Portis' 1968 novel, True Grit, and have not been able to talk normally since. We also analyze two movie adaptations of the book: the 1969 adaptation directed by Henry Hathaway and the 2010 adaptation directed by the Coen Brothers.

To get your own copy of this amazing book and/or your own DVD copy of the movies, visit Clare's Bookshop.org store. (It's in the Splanchnics Book Club section). You'll get a discount AND you'll be supporting your favorite podcast! Thanks so much for your support!

Music: "Splanchnics Riff" composed and performed by Clare T. Walker

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