RF Kuang Answers Your Questions About Dark Academia

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Dark Academia is a literary genre. Dark Academia is an aesthetic. Dark Academia is a fantasy space. Or maybe Dark Academia is kind of a overgeneralizing label that few authors actually embrace. That's what R.F. Kuang, author of Babel and Katabasis thinks — and having her on the pod to talk about the trappings of the genre made for a fascinating discussion. We talk about the rise of genre right now, whether it subverts or reinforces the world it depicts, why State School Dark Academia doesn't really exist, and of course race, class, and the ideologies fantasy allows us to explore (and explode), just generally. Come hang out in R.F. Kuang's brilliant mind!!

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Show Notes:

• Pre-order Taipei Story here: https://bookshop.org/a/56144/9780063473744
• Katabasis is now out in paperback! https://bookshop.org/p/books/katabasis-standard-edition-a-novel-r-f-kuang/078c5e32fe5f2db6?ean=9780063021488&next=t
• The New Yorker profile I reference: https://www.newyorker.com/magazine/2025/08/25/the-otherworldly-ambitions-of-r-f-kuang
• Subscribe to Rebecca's newsletter here: https://rfkuang.substack.com/
• Taipei Story tour dates in the US, UK, Ireland, and Canada! https://www.harpercollins.com/pages/taipei-story#tour
• We reference Possession by A.S. Byatt: https://bookshop.org/a/56144/9780679735908 (also Possession was published in 1991, we were way off!)
• Rebecca mentions Audre Lorde's 1982 talk, "Learning from the 60s": https://garadinervi-repertori.blog/post/620761451560386560/audre-lorde-learning-from-the-60s-talk

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