Podcast Episodes

The Netanyahus: Chapters 1-4

We are on to Joshua Cohen’s Pulitzer Prize-winning novel, The Netanyahus, a book that is clearly different in tone (and content) than most of the titles we traditionally discuss on this show. So in t…

Published on 2 years, 10 months ago

Persuasion: Q&A Episode

It’s that time, when we’ve come to end of another episode and we turn to your questions about it. This time we’re contemplating topics from Persuasion such as Wentworth’s affection for Anne, Lady Rus…

Published on 2 years, 10 months ago

Persuasion: Finis

Finally, we can speak more freely about all of Persuasion, so this week David, Heidi, and Sean are discussing Wentworth’s love letter, Ann’s assessment of her own choices, the melancholy nature of th…

Published on 2 years, 11 months ago

Persuasion: Volume 2, Chapters 1-7

This week we’re discussing Mrs. Smith’s sudden appearance (and her role) in the book, whether the book considers all of Anne’s various perspectives and actions as virtuous, whether Anne made the wron…

Published on 2 years, 11 months ago

Persuasion: Vol. 1, chapters 7-12

This section ends with a dangerous fall, but in the meantime we sure get a lot of scenes with people talking in rooms. So this week David, Heidi, and Sean are discussing Anne’s interiority and self-a…

Published on 2 years, 11 months ago

Persuasion: Chapters 1-6

It’s on to another great novel, this time by Jane Austen, so this week David, Heidi, and Sean discussed Austen’s unique use of free indirect discourse and other formal flourishes in this book, simila…

Published on 2 years, 11 months ago

Our Favorite Reads of 2022

It’s the most wonderful time of the year, which means it’s also the time of the year when we’re talking about our favorite reads of 2022! We each have our own strategy for making these lists and inev…

Published on 3 years ago

My Name Is Asher Lev: Q&A Episode

It’s Q&A time, so join David, Heidi, and Tim as they dig into a bunch of great questions from the Close Reads community. Topics of conversation include orange juice, opportunistic agents, German phil…

Published on 3 years ago

My Name is Asher Lev: Finis

What a book! This week you can tune in as David, Heidi, and Tim continue to rave about Chaim Potok’s skill, a few particularly miraculous passages, and the culmination of Asher’s coming-of-age.

Close…

Published on 3 years ago

My Name Is Asher Lev: Chapters 6-9

This week David, Heidi, and Tim are discussing Jacob Kahn. Does the book view him as an arbiter of wisdom? Is he an antagonist of sorts? Also, can Asher be a unifier between two traditions? And how d…

Published on 3 years ago