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MagTalk | The Author's Shadow: Why a Writer's Life Unlocks Their Masterpieces
Episode 1288
Ever finish a great book and immediately Google the author? There's a powerful reason for that. While some critics argue for "The Death of the Author…
1 year ago
The Story of Literature EP4 | The Brush and the Sword: Poetry and Philosophy in East Asia
Episode 1287
Focusing on the interconnected traditions of China, Japan, and Korea, this episode explores a literature where poetry, philosophy, and governance are…
1 year ago
The Story of Literature EP3 | The Ocean of Stories: Epics and Wisdom of South Asia
Episode 1286
This episode dives into the immensely rich and ancient literary traditions of the Indian subcontinent. We explore the spiritual depth of the Vedas an…
1 year ago
TOL | The Storybook Origins of Your Smartphone
Episode 1285
What do your earbuds, your tablet, and the submarine have in common? They were all dreamed up in the pages of a book long before they existed in real…
1 year ago
MagTalk | The Ghost in the Machine: Can AI Write a Novel That Makes You Cry?
Episode 1284
An AI can write a sonnet in five seconds. It can generate a short story in the style of your favorite author. But can it create true literature? Can …
1 year ago
Literature and Us 4 | Reading the World: A Literary Passport to Our Global Mosaic
Episode 1283
It’s time to step outside your literary neighborhood! This episode is a celebration of the human spirit as seen through the lens of world literature.…
1 year ago
The Story of Literature EP2 | Echoes of Olympus: The Greek and Roman Foundations
Episode 1282
We journey to ancient Greece and Rome to uncover the cornerstones of Western literature. From the epic poems of Homer and the tragedies of Sophocles …
1 year ago
The Story of Literature EP1 | The First Scribes: Tales from the Fertile Crescent
Episode 1281
This episode travels back to the dawn of writing in Mesopotamia. We explore the world's first known literary work, the Epic of Gilgamesh, and discuss…
1 year ago
TOL | The Narrative Thread: Are You the Author or the Character?
Episode 1280
Have you ever looked back on your life and tried to make sense of it, to connect the dots into a coherent story? In this episode, we're treating our …
1 year ago
MagTalk | Is Your Favorite TV Show Literature? Redefining Storytelling in the 21st Century
Episode 1279
What if the most important "novels" of our generation aren't books at all?
We're in a golden age of storytelling, but much of it isn't happening on th…
1 year ago