Gom Jabbar: A Dune Podcast

Frank Herbert spent five books showing how faiths merge, mutate, and drift beyond recognition. Then, in Chapterhouse: Dune, he wrote in a community of Jews who had not changed at all. Abu and Leo gather critical takes from Jewish readers and scholars, then sit down with historian DZ Kalman to ask whether representation that gets things wrong can still be worth having.

This episode contains SPOILERS for all six of Frank Herbert's Dune novels, up through Chapterhouse: Dune!

IN THIS EPISODE

Rebecca, the Rabbi, and the deal the Bene Gesserit struck with a people nobody could find

Where Kwisatz Haderach actually comes from in Jewish mysticism, and why nobody knows how Herbert found it

A theory about Beverly Herbert's death, the to-do list she left behind, and what Daniel and Marty have to do with any of it

MENTIONED IN THIS EPISODE

DZ Kalman's essay on the Jews of Dune: jellomenorah.com

DZ Kalman's podcast, Belief in the Future: podcasts.apple.com

Michael Weingrad, Jews of Dune: jewishreviewofbooks.com

Jonathan Weidenbaum, The Holy Versus the Sacred: doi.org

Leigh Kimmel's Chapterhouse Dune review: billionlightyearbookshelf.com

SUPPORT THE SHOW

Get ad-free episodes and more: patreon.com/gomjabbar

Say thank you with a tip: buymeacoffee.com/gomjabbar

Buy custom-designed Dune merch: gomjabbar.shop

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Abu⁠ and ⁠Leo⁠ close out the book club with a live listener Q&A, the first one recorded with every page of Frank Herbert's saga behind them. It's a reflective hang about how this series thinks about power, governance, and the limits of art as political commentary, and about what it feels like to reach the end of a six-year read-through.

This episode contains SPOILERS for all six of Frank Herbert's Dune novels.

IN THIS EPISODE

Whether the Bene Gesserit's surveillance-and-no-confidence structure is Frank's ideal government, or a system he builds up only to critique through the Honored Matres

Our theories for why Abomination disappears after Children of Dune, from the inner Mohalata to Siona's descendants being immune

What Daniel and Marty really represent, and why Chapterhouse works as Frank's farewell with no seventh book needed

What the Dune Encyclopedia's contraception entry reveals about the Bene Gesserit breeding program, axolotl tanks, and their opposition to abortion

Whether Dune: Part Three can handle the jihad honestly, with Andor Season 2 held up as the gold standard for political storytelling

A live, no-holds-barred re-ranking of all six novels, with Leo putting Dune fifth and God Emperor dead last

SUPPORT THE SHOW

Get ad-free episodes and bonus content: https://www.patreon.com/GomJabbar

Say thank you with a tip: https://buymeacoffee.com/gomjabbar

Watch video versions of select episodes: https://www.youtube.com/@loreparty

Get yourself some custom-designed Dune swag: https://www.gomjabbar.shop
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Abu and Leo return to the Lost Entries series with two Dune Encyclopedia manuscripts that never made it into print. Both were written by one of the Encyclopedia's most prolific contributors, and detail the life of Dune's Oppenheimer: a man named Roj Amalkin, who invented the deadliest weapon in the galaxy.. They read the manuscripts in full, and argue about why McNelly left them on the cutting room floor.

This episode contains SPOILERS for Dune and Dune Messiah!

IN THIS EPISODE

How a sickly kid on Salusa Secundus grew up to invent the stone burner, and what his mother did to make sure he survived long enough to build it

The Bocca drill, the Lucifer gems it left behind, and the one illegal modification that turned a mining tool into a weapon

Why the Fedaykin hunted every stone burner out of existence

SUPPORT THE SHOW

Get ad-free episodes and more: patreon.com/gomjabbar

Say thank you with a tip: buymeacoffee.com/gomjabbar

Buy custom-designed Dune merch: gomjabbar.shop

Watch video episodes and clips: youtube.com/@loreparty
Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Abu⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ and ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Leo⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ complete their read-through of Chapterhouse Dune by diving deep into chapters 46-48. They reflect back on their journey covering every single Dune book by Frank Herbert, and look ahead to what's next.

This episode contains NO SPOILERS beyond the books and pages covered thus far

Read along with us by following the ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Chapterhouse Dune book club schedule⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠

Say thank you with a tip: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠http://buymeacoffee.com/gomjabbar⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠

Watch video versions of select episodes: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://www.youtube.com/@loreparty⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠

Get yourself some custom-designed Dune swag: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://gomjabbar.shop
Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Abu and Leo officially announce Spice & Dice, a new Dungeons & Dragons actual play podcast set in the far corners of the Dune universe, with Noah Perito back in the dungeon master's chair. The show is built to welcome newcomers to D&D as much as longtime tabletop players, and this episode closes with a preview from the debut campaign. Spice & Dice targets a Q4 2026 launch, timed just ahead of Dune: Part Three.

This episode contains SPOILERS for Dune and Dune Messiah

IN THIS EPISODE

The debut campaign, Voices of the Jihad, sends Abu and Leo's Fremen operatives after Emperor Paul Atreides himself

Meet Trionfi Maniaco, the mysterious tarot reader whose cards may or may not be interfering with Paul's prescience

Why Spice & Dice is built around short, contained campaigns instead of the 50-plus episode sprawl typical of actual play shows

SUPPORT THE SHOW

Get ad-free episodes and more: patreon.com/gomjabbar

Say thank you with a tip: buymeacoffee.com/gomjabbar

Buy custom-designed Dune merch: gomjabbar.shop

Watch video episodes and clips: youtube.com/@loreparty
Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices