Zooms & Podcasts
Weekly conversations. Participant voices. Ongoing podcasts throughout the 80 days.
Live Zoom Conversations
Each Wednesday during the 80-day reading of Ulysses, participating readers join live conversations with Joyce scholars, guests, writers, artists, and fellow readers from around the world.
Questions, observations, discoveries, and discussion are all part of the experience.
Intimate, optional, and shared as part of the reading.
Wednesdays, June 3rd – August 19th, 2026
11 AM California • 7 PM Dublin
Each conversation is later shared as a podcast—so you can return, or join in your own time.
Season 5 Guest Conversations
Wednesday, July 22, 2026
Next Conversation: Colin Murphy
A Conversation with Colin Murphy
Colin Murphy is a playwright, screenwriter and journalist from Dublin, best known for his series of plays about Irish political history—recently collected in the volume Colin Murphy's Political Plays. The United States vs Ulysses toured to the Irish Arts Center, New York, last year, and will tour Ireland in 2027. He is currently the Rooney Writer Fellow at the Trinity Long Room Hub. He writes a weekly column for The Sunday Independent.
Still to Come
July 29th — Joseph Valente
Former Professor of English, University at Buffalo; author of Quare Joyce
August 5th — Daragh O'Connell
Senior Lecturer, University College Cork; Director of the Centre for Dante Studies in Ireland
August 12th — Daniel Mulhall
Former Ambassador of Ireland to the United States; author of Ulysses: A Reader's Odyssey
August 19th — Clare Hutton
Professor of Literature and Book History, Loughborough University; author of Serial Encounters
Recent Conversations
Wednesday, July 15, 2026
Patrick Hastings
The Guide to James Joyce's Ulysses.
Patrick's References
- The Guide to James Joyce's UlyssesPatrick Hastings
- ulyssesguide.comCreated by Patrick HastingsLearn more
Wednesday, July 8, 2026
Catherine Flynn
Nausicaa.
Catherine's References
The Cambridge Centenary UlyssesThe 1922 Text with Essays and Notes, edited by Catherine Flynn- U22: The Centenary Ulysses PodcastCo-hosted by Catherine FlynnLearn more
Wednesday, July 1, 2026
Robert Spoo
The Time of the Story, the Time of the Writing.
Bob's References
- Without Copyrights: Piracy, Publishing, and the Public DomainRobert Spoo
- James Joyce and the Language of History: Dedalus's NightmareRobert Spoo
- James Joyce: A Political LifeFrank Callanan (Introduction by Robert Spoo)
Wednesday, June 24, 2026
Matthew Campbell
Dublin: The Real and the Fictional.
Matthew's References
Books, poems, places, people, images, and links mentioned by Matthew Campbell during our conversation.
LEGO National Library of DublinA remarkable LEGO recreation of Dublin's National Library, where Stephen Dedalus and the literary figures of Scylla and Charybdis gather. Matthew used this model to begin our conversation about the real people who found their way into Ulysses.
J. M. Synge's HouseMatthew shared the story of Oliver St. John Gogarty relieving himself against Synge's front door—one of the many anecdotes that brought Dublin's literary world vividly to life during our conversation.
W. B. Yeats — In the Seven Woods (1903)Matthew introduced Yeats's 1903 collection, including the poem "Baile and Aillinn," whose closing lines inspired Buck Mulligan's irreverent parody in Ulysses.
George Russell (AE) — New Songs- Padraic Colum — "The Drover"
Dana
James Joyce — Chamber Music- James Joyce — The Holy Office
- Matthew Campbell & Chris WoganLearn more about Matthew CampbellUniversity of York ProfileWatch Chris Wogan's presentationTrees in the Works of James Joyce
Wednesday, June 10, 2026
Robert Nicholson
Joyce's Dublin, Real People, and the Tower.
Robert's References
- The Ulysses Guide: Tours Through Joyce's DublinRobert Nicholson
- The Real People of Joyce's Ulysses: A Biographical GuideVivien Igoe
- Tales from the TowerVivien Igoe and Robert Nicholson
Wednesday, June 3, 2026
Sam Slote
Reading Joyce, Annotation, and Living with Difficult Books.
Sam's References
- Annotations to James Joyce's UlyssesSam Slote, Marc A. Mamigonian, and John Turner
- Joyce's Nietzschean EthicsSam Slote
Zoom information is shared by email prior to each conversation.
To receive updates and access information: mark@ulyssesin80.com
Participant Voices — Podcast Conversations
Along the way, Ulysses in 80 participants from around the world continue the conversation through shared podcast episodes and reflections.
Organic, casual, and often recorded in real time, these conversations emerge directly from the reading experience itself—exploring questions, frustrations, discoveries, favorite passages, editions, halfway thoughts, and the experience of reading Ulysses together over 80 days.
Episodes have included:
Why Read Ulysses?
What Edition Should I Read?
Halfway Through
…and conversations inspired by readers everywhere.