Podcast Episodes
Back to Search410 What Is American Literature? (with Ilan Stavans)
Episode 410
America, America, America... a continent, a nation, a people, and a whole lotta books. But how does America define itself? Who defines it? Where did …
4 years ago
409 "Fear and Trembling" (The Story of Abraham and Isaac) by Soren Kierkegaard
Episode 409
In our last look at Søren Kierkegaard, we left our hero after he had just left the love of his life, Regine Olsen, in favor of a life devoted to God …
4 years ago
408 Dylan Thomas (with Scott Carter)
Episode 408
Do not go gentle into this good episode! Rage, rage against the dying of the... well, things fall apart there, don't they? (Because we're not gifted …
4 years ago
407 "The Old Nurse's Story" by Elizabeth Gaskell
Episode 407
Elizabeth Gaskell had only written one novel when Charles Dickens started publishing her work in his journal Household Words. But soon she would beco…
4 years ago
406 A World in Turmoil - 1967-1971 (with Beverly Gologorsky)
Episode 406
Novelist Beverly Gologorsky joins Jacke for a discussion of the tumultuous years from 1967 to 1971, which provides the background for her new novel. …
4 years ago
405 Kierkegaard Falls in Love
Episode 405
The nineteenth-century Danish philosopher Søren Kierkegaard (1813-1855) is well known as the father of existentialism and one of the great Christian …
4 years ago
404 Kafka and Literary Oblivion (with Robin Hemley)
Episode 404
Author Robin Hemley joins Jacke for a discussion of Kafka, writerly ambition, and his new novel Oblivion: An After Autobiography, which tells the sto…
4 years ago
403 The Wonderful World of Mysteries (A Best-of-HOL Episode)
Episode 403
Mysteries! In this best-of episode, Jacke revisits conversations with three guests for three different angles on this popular and enduring literary g…
4 years, 1 month ago
Introducing "The History of Literature"
Literature enthusiast Jacke Wilson journeys through the history of literature, from ancient epics to contemporary classics. Find out more at historyo…
4 years, 1 month ago
402 "The Open Boat" by Stephen Crane
Episode 402
After being given $700 in Spanish gold by some newspapers, a 25-year-old Stephen Crane set out for Florida, where he planned to travel by boat to Cub…
4 years, 1 month ago