Episode 11: Great Expectations by Vinson Cunningham

In this episode, Luke and Maurice sit with Vinson Cunningham’s novel, Great Expectations (2024). The novel follows the campaign of a historic presidential campaign narrated by a young Black man who works on the campaign. The hosts reflect on their own memories of the campaign, with Maurice reflecting on having to “act” as Obama for a school performance, and Luke sharing his own school reminiscences. They put Cunningham’s text in conversation with Alexander Chee’s How to Write an Autobiographical Novel, and a documentary of the Obama campaign. Ultimately, they wonder about the impact of the campaign on contemporary political movements, returning to their themes of political hope and nihilism.

 

Note: Luke spends significant time in the episode recounting a false memory of seeing Obama on the campaign trail; the hosts have included that part rather than redacting to emphasize the overarching allure/power of the campaign on individual and collective memory. 

 

Great Expectations: A Novel by Vinson Cunningham https://www.penguinrandomhouse.com/books/690565/great-expectations-by-vinson-cunningham/ 

“How Barack Obama Won the 2008 Presidential Election: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=n7EmNLpkP8s 

How to Write An Autobiographical Novel: Essays by Alexander Chee 

https://www.alexanderchee.net/autobiographical-novel