Best Franz Kafka Podcasts (2025)

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The Metamorphosis by Franz Kafka (1915) 35:25

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7h ago35:25

35:25

One morning, Gregor Samsa wakes up to find he's turned into a giant insect — and somehow, that's the least shocking part. In this surreal masterpiece by Franz Kafka, we explore what happens when ordinary life collapses into absurdity. As Gregor's family recoils in horror, his slow isolation becomes a mirror of modern alienation — a world where prod…

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(6 min summary) Candide by Voltaire 6:09

7h ago6:09

6:09

Send us a text Candide, ou l’Optimisme (1759) is a satirical novella by the French Enlightenment philosopher Voltaire, written in response to the devastating Lisbon earthquake of 1755 and the optimistic philosophy of Gottfried Leibniz, popularized by Alexander Pope’s line “Whatever is, is right.” Penned in just three days amid Voltaire’s exile in S…

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749 Willing and Will-Making in the English Renaissance (with Douglas Clark) | #7 Greatest Book of All Time 1:06:00

1d ago1:06:00

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When Hamlet, in his famous soliloquy, pondered the "dread of something after death, / the undiscovered country," he noted that such thoughts "puzzles the will." (Earlier editions of the play had this as a "hope of something after death" that "puzzles the brain." What's the significance for an Elizabethan writer (and audience) of the change from hop…

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The Picture of Dorian Gray by Oscar Wilde (1890) 32:08

3h ago32:08

32:08

What if your reflection carried all your sins — while you stayed young and beautiful forever? In this haunting tale of vanity and corruption, Oscar Wilde paints a world where art, temptation, and morality collide. Dorian Gray begins as an innocent aristocrat, until a mysterious portrait becomes the mirror of his soul — aging, decaying, and revealin…

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Ep 728 - Bel Canto, by Ann Patchett 1:15:40

4d ago1:15:40

1:15:40

Perhaps befittingly, Anne Patchett's fourth novel changed the trajectory of her career. The award-winning Bel Canto centers on 58 people (a combination of hostages and militants sequestered in an unnamed country), many of whom spend the time cut off from the outside world meditating on the paths their lives did and didn't take. Many welcome the opp…

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748 Katherine Mansfield (with Gerri Kimber) | The Poet and the Sex Worker Who Burgled Him | My Last Book with Emerson Expert Kenneth Sacks 55:47

4d ago55:47

55:47

Katherine Mansfield's writing, said Virginia Woolf, "was the only writing I was ever jealous of." In this episode, Jacke talks to author Gerri Kimber about Katherine Mansfield: A Hidden Life, which explores the life and work of one of literary modernism's most significant writers. PLUS Jacke takes a look at the unusual friendship between poet W.H. …

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The Upanishads 32:03

25m ago32:03

32:03

Before science, before philosophy as we know it, there were the Upanishads — ancient whispers from India asking the biggest questions humans have ever faced. Who am I? What is the universe? What happens when we die? In this episode, we journey into the spiritual heart of the Vedas, where sages sitting beneath banyan trees explored consciousness, re…

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(summary) Animal Farm by George Orwell 7:58

1h ago7:58

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Send us a text Animal Farm, published in 1945 by George Orwell, is a satirical novella that serves as an allegorical critique of the Russian Revolution of 1917 and the subsequent rise of Stalinism, using a seemingly simple tale of barnyard animals who overthrow their human farmer to establish a society based on equality, only to see it devolve into…

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747 Graphomaniac - The Story of a Horrible Russian Poet (with Ilya Vinitsky and James H. McGavran III | My Last Book with Stephanie Sandler | #8 Greatest Book of All Time 1:11:57

8d ago1:11:57

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Dmitry Ivanovich Khvostov (1757-1835) might be the worst poet who ever lived. Pathologically prolific and delusional dedicated to a craft for which he had no talent, he continued to write and publish his poetry despite the pleadings of friends, loved ones, critics, and the public. In this episode, Jacke talks to author Ilya Vinitsky and translator …

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War and Peace by Leo Tolstoy (1869) 30:00

18h ago30:00

30:00

Love, destiny, and cannon fire collide in one of the greatest epics ever written. War and Peace isn't just about battles — it's about what it means to live when history itself is exploding around you. In this episode, we journey through Tolstoy's Russia, where aristocrats dance under chandeliers while Napoleon's armies march closer every day. We'll…

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Ep 727 - My Man Jeeves, by P.G. Wodehouse 1:02:57

11d ago1:02:57

1:02:57

Did you ever wonder why the name "Jeeves" has always been inseparable from the concept of "a very good butler"? It's because of these short stories (plus more short stories, plus several novels) by English novelist P.G. Wodehouse. Hapless gadfly Bertie Wooster relies on his man Jeeves for just about everything, from clothing advice to getting his v…

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On the Origin of Species by Charles Darwin (1859) 33:00

3d ago33:00

33:00

What if the story of life on Earth wasn't fixed, but a constant process of change? In On the Origin of Species, Charles Darwin revolutionized science by unveiling the theory of evolution through natural selection. With careful observations of finches, fossils, and the struggle for survival, Darwin showed that species aren't static—they adapt, compe…

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746 Wild Jane Austen (with Devoney Looser) | #9 Greatest Book of All Time 1:04:37

11d ago1:04:37

1:04:37

Author Devoney Looser may be a mild-mannered English professor to most people, but roller derby fans know her as Stone Cold Jane Austen, her smashmouth alter ego. In this episode, Devoney tells Jacke about her new book Wild for Austen: A Rebellious, Subversive, and Untamed Jane, which suggests we also rethink the commonly held view of "spinster Jan…

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Robinson Crusoe by Daniel Defoe (1719) 29:20

6d ago29:20

29:20

What would you do if you washed up alone on a deserted island with nothing but your wits? Robinson Crusoe by Daniel Defoe is the original survival story, following one man's fight to build a life from scratch after being shipwrecked. With only the bare essentials, Crusoe learns to hunt, farm, and create shelter—transforming isolation into resilienc…

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[PREVIEW] Halloween Reading: "The Yellow Sign" by Robert W. Chambers

14d ago

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Way back in 2016, I started this yearly Halloween Reading tradition by performing "The Repairer of Reputations" by Robert W. Chambers, the first story from The King in Yellow. Now, all of these years later, I bring you the final of the four horror stories that open that book. An aloof painter has a grudge against a nightwatchman at the church acros…

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745 Goblin Market by Christina Rossetti (Halloween Fun-Size Edition) 2:14:14

15d ago2:14:14

2:14:14

In the spring of 2022, Jacke dropped everything to plummet into one of the strangest poems he had ever read, "Goblin Market" by Christina Rossetti (1830-1894). The result was a two-part episode that never quite found its home. In this special Halloween episode, we've combined the best parts of both of those episodes to bring you the full story of a…

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The Wealth of Nations by Adam Smith (1776) 31:22

8d ago31:22

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What makes nations rich, and why do some economies thrive while others falter? In The Wealth of Nations, Adam Smith lays the foundation for modern economics, exploring how trade, labor, and self-interest shape prosperity. Far from a dry textbook, it's a groundbreaking vision of how markets work—introducing ideas like the "invisible hand" that still…

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Utopia, by Thomas Moore 9:27

9d ago9:27

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Send us a text Thomas More’s Utopia, published in Latin in 1516, emerged from the intellectual ferment of Renaissance humanism and More’s own complex life as a lawyer, scholar, and eventual Lord Chancellor under Henry VIII. Framed as a conversation in Antwerp between More, his friend Peter Giles, and the fictional traveler Raphael Hythloday, the wo…

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Ep 726 - I Know What You Did Last Summer, by Lois Duncan 1:18:47

18d ago1:18:47

1:18:47

Did you know that the classic 1997 slasher film I Know What You Did Last Summer was actually based on a propulsive young adult thriller from 1973? Lois Duncan's original novel isn't too interested in bloody kills, however. It's more focused on how young people build their identities: around their regrets, around their parents, and around tragedies.…

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MacBeth by William Shakespeare (1606) 28:21

10d ago28:21

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What happens when unchecked ambition takes control of the soul? Macbeth by William Shakespeare is a dark, gripping tragedy about a Scottish nobleman who, spurred on by prophecy and his ruthless wife, murders his way to the throne. But power gained through blood comes at a terrible cost—haunting visions, unraveling sanity, and a kingdom plunged into…

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744 Love, Sex, and Frankenstein (with Caroline Lea) | #10 Greatest Book of All Time | My Last Book with Geoffrey Turnovsky | A Letter from a Middle School Teacher and Mom 1:26:42

18d ago1:26:42

1:26:42

The year is 1816, and 18-year-old Mary Shelley has fled London with her lover, Percy Shelley, and her sister, Claire. They're on their way to visit Lord Byron's villa in Lake Geneva, Switzerland - and to change the course of literary history. In this episode, Jacke talks to Caroline Lea about her novel Love, Sex, and Frankenstein, which tells the h…

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Sit Me Baby One More Time Ep 04 - Mary Anne Saves the Day (The Baby-Sitters Club #4) 53:12

20d ago53:12

53:12

Fresh off their victory over the Baby-Sitters Agency, the girls of the BSC turn on each other in this month's entry. Quiet Mary Anne has to get the group back together, negotiate with her well-meaning but strict single father, make and repair a new friendship, and engineer an unlikely meet-cute. And, of course, she needs to tend to some babysitting…

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The Count of Monte Cristo by Alexandre Dumas (1846) 33:36

13d ago33:36

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What would you do if everything you loved was stolen from you—and you were given a chance to take it all back? The Count of Monte Cristo by Alexandre Dumas is the ultimate tale of betrayal, revenge, and redemption. Wrongfully imprisoned, Edmond Dantès escapes and reinvents himself as the mysterious Count, using his cunning and newfound fortune to o…

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The Phaedo by Plato 8:04

19d ago8:04

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Send us a text The Phaedo is one of Plato's Socratic dialogues, written around 360 BCE, which recounts the final hours of the philosopher Socrates before his execution by hemlock poisoning in Athens in 399 BCE. Set in Socrates' prison cell, the dialogue is narrated by Phaedo, a disciple of Socrates, to Echecrates, and it explores profound philosoph…

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743 Fairy Tales (with Jack Zipes) [RECLAIMED] | Crime and Punishment by Fyodor Dostoevsky (#11 GBOAT) | Chaucer News 1:02:07

22d ago1:02:07

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An early encounter with one of the most famous people in the world initiated Jack Zipes into the world of fairy tales - and he never looked back. In this episode, Jacke talks to the fairy tale expert about his book Buried Treasures: The Power of Political Fairy Tales, which profiles modern writers and artists who tapped the political potential of f…

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David Copperfield by Charles Dickens (1850) 34:18

15d ago34:18

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What does it take to grow from a struggling child into the author of your own destiny? David Copperfield by Charles Dickens is a sweeping tale of hardship, ambition, love, and resilience. From his turbulent childhood filled with cruelty and loss to his encounters with unforgettable characters—both wicked and kind—David's journey is a mirror of the …

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Ep 725 - The Haunted Baby (Choose Your Own Nightmare #13), by Edward Packard 1:16:59

25d ago1:16:59

1:16:59

An official offshoot of the classic Choose Your Own Adventure series, the Choose Your Own Nightmare books cropped up for a couple of years in the mid-90s, an (alleged) response to the popularity of our old friend RL Stine’s Goosebumps series. Stine’s somewhat longer-lived Give Yourself Goosebumps sub-series would launch just months after the first …

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Beowulf (~1000 CE) 28:35

23d ago28:35

28:35

What makes a hero—strength, courage, or the legacy left behind? Beowulf, one of the oldest surviving epics in the English language, plunges us into a world of monsters, mead halls, and legendary battles. From his fearless fight with the savage Grendel to his fiery clash with a dragon in old age, Beowulf's story is both larger-than-life and deeply h…

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742 Edgar Allan Poe (with Richard Kopley) | Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austen (#12 GBOAT) | My Last Book with Christopher Herbert 1:17:41

25d ago1:17:41

1:17:41

It's October, the perfect month to celebrate the master of mystery and the macabre. In this episode, Jacke talks to author Richard Kopley about his book Edgar Allan Poe: A Life, a comprehensive critical biography that combines a narrative of Poe's enduring challenges (including his difficult foster father, poverty, alcoholism, depression, and his n…

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A Farewell to Arms by Ernest Hemmingway (1929) 30:30

20d ago30:30

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What does it mean to search for love in the middle of chaos? In A Farewell to Arms, Ernest Hemingway tells the story of an American ambulance driver in World War I who falls in love with a British nurse against the backdrop of mud, blood, and uncertainty. Their romance burns brightly even as the war grinds on, reminding us how fragile joy can be wh…

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The Book of Revelation 12:36

29d ago12:36

12:36

Send us a text The Book of Revelation, the final book of the New Testament, was written by the apostle John, traditionally identified as John the Evangelist, around 95-96 AD while he was exiled on the island of Patmos. Addressed to seven churches in Asia Minor, it is an apocalyptic work, rich in symbolic imagery, that unveils divine visions of God’…

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741 Gabriela Mistral 1:04:27

29d ago1:04:27

1:04:27

In 1945, the Nobel Committee awarded its prize for literature to Gabriela Mistral (1889-1957) "for her lyric poetry which, inspired by powerful emotions, has made her name a symbol of the idealistic aspirations of the entire Latin American world." Born in a rural Andean valley and abandoned by her free-spirited father at the age of three, Mistral s…

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The Last of the Mohicans by James Fenimore Cooper (1826) 32:37

22d ago32:37

32:37

What happens when love, loyalty, and survival collide on the American frontier? The Last of the Mohicans by James Fenimore Cooper takes us deep into the wilderness during the French and Indian War, where cultures clash, alliances are tested, and danger lurks behind every tree. At its heart is the bond between Hawkeye, the rugged frontiersman, and h…

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Ep 724 - Dark Carnival, by Ray Bradbury 1:30:45

1M ago1:30:45

1:30:45

Everybody loves our old friend Ray Bradbury! This time we’re taking a spin with his first short story collection Dark Carnival, a smattering of spooky tales that wound up scattered across a number of other collections throughout Bradbury’s career. Stories discussed in this episode include: The Small Assassin The Dead Man Skeleton The Scythe The Emi…

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Leviathan by Thomas Hobbes (1651) 35:14

24d ago35:14

35:14

What holds society together—fear, faith, or brute force? In Leviathan, Thomas Hobbes paints a bold picture of human nature: left to ourselves, life would be "nasty, brutish, and short." His solution? A powerful, almost godlike sovereign—the Leviathan—to impose order and keep chaos at bay. But Hobbes wasn't just laying out political theory; he was g…

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740 Mel Brooks and Other Eminent Jews (with David Denby) | War and Peace by Leo Tolstoy (#13 GBOAT) 1:03:56

1M ago1:03:56

1:03:56

In this episode, Jacke talks to author David Denby about his new book, Eminent Jews: Bernstein, Brooks, Friedan, Mailer, a group biography (loosely inspired by Lytton Strachey's Eminent Victorians) that describes how four larger-than-life figures upended the restrained culture of their forebears and changed American life. PLUS in honor of War and P…

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Little Women by Louisa May Alcott (1869) 30:24

27d ago30:24

30:24

What does it mean to grow up, to dream big, and to find your own voice in a world that doesn't always listen? Little Women by Louisa May Alcott takes us inside the lives of the March sisters—Meg, Jo, Beth, and Amy—as they face love, loss, ambition, and the everyday struggles of family life. It's a story that feels both timeless and personal, whethe…

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739 Lolita by Vladimir Nabokov (#14 GBOAT) | Johannes Gutenberg (with Eric Marshall White) 1:34:01

1M ago1:34:01

1:34:01

Thanks to his invention of Europe's first typographic printing method, and his pioneering work on the first printed Bible, the fifteenth-century German inventor Johannes Gutenberg has a fame and reputation that continues to this day. In 1997, Time magazine credited him with the most important innovation of the past one thousand years. However, due …

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Gulliver's Travels by Jonathan Swift (1726) 27:04

29d ago27:04

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What if the world you thought you knew could suddenly shrink to six inches tall—or expand into lands of giants, floating islands, and talking horses? Gulliver's Travels isn't just a whimsical adventure story—it's Jonathan Swift's razor-sharp satire that pokes fun at politics, pride, and the absurdities of human nature. From the tiny people of Lilli…

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Ep 723 - Of Monsters and Mainframes, by Barbara Truelove 1:16:52

1M ago1:16:52

1:16:52

A buzzy title that came to life thanks to BookTok but came to our attention because of a good-old bookstore shelf display, this week’s book (and the kickoff to Spooktober 2025) is what it says on the cover: it’s about monsters and also computers. If you didn’t associate either of these things with “found family,” then it’s also here to challenge so…

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The Divine Comedy by Dante Alighieri (1321) 28:11

1M ago28:11

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Journey through The Divine Comedy, Dante Alighieri's epic tour of the afterlife that has shaped literature, theology, and imagination for 700 years. Guided by the Roman poet Virgil and later by his beloved Beatrice, Dante descends into the terrifying circles of Hell, climbs the steep terraces of Purgatory, and soars into the radiant heights of Para…

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738 Wuthering Heights by Emily Brontë (#15 Greatest Book of All Time) 1:16:09

1M ago1:16:09

1:16:09

Emily Brontë only published one full-length book before dying at the tragically young age of 30. But that book, Wuthering Heights, which tells the story of obsessive and vengeful love on the rugged moors of Yorkshire, is still considered one of the pinnacles of English literature, landing at #15 on the list of Greatest Books of All Time. In this ep…

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Cyrano de Bergerac by Edmond Rostand (1897) 30:37

1M ago30:37

30:37

Step into the dazzling world of Cyrano de Bergerac, Edmond Rostand's timeless play about love, wit, and unshakable honor. Cyrano is a soldier-poet with a sword as sharp as his tongue and a nose as grand as his heart. He's brilliant, brave, and hopelessly in love with the beautiful Roxane—but convinced his appearance makes him unworthy. So when the …

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737 "The Monkey's Paw" by W.W. Jacobs 42:21

1M ago42:21

42:21

It's October! Jacke kicks off his favorite month with a classic tale of horror, "The Monkey's Paw" by W.W. Jacobs. Perhaps you know the general contours of the paradigmatic "be careful what you wish for" story from the Simpsons or another popularization - but just how scary was the original story? And who was W.W. Jacobs? Join Jacke on a trip throu…

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The Magic Mountain by Thomas Mann 8:42

1M ago8:42

8:42

Send us a text The Magic Mountain (Der Zauberberg), published in 1924 by German author Thomas Mann, is a landmark novel of modernist literature, set in a Swiss tuberculosis sanatorium in the years before World War I. Drawing on Mann’s own experience visiting his wife at a similar facility, the novel follows Hans Castorp, a young engineer who arrive…

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The Brothers Karamazov by Fyodor Dostoevsky (1888) 28:52

1M ago28:52

28:52

Step into the stormy world of The Brothers Karamazov, Dostoevsky's final and most profound masterpiece. It's not just a family drama—it's a collision of faith, doubt, passion, and philosophy, all wrapped in a murder mystery. The fiery Dmitri, the intellectual Ivan, and the spiritual Alyosha each represent a different path of the human soul, while t…

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Ep 722 - The Jungle Book, by Rudyard Kipling 1:09:56

2M ago1:09:56

1:09:56

Rudyard Kipling's classic story collection The Jungle Book doesn't have a jazz orangutan named Louie, but it does have the bare necessities of imperialist fiction. The stories about Mowgli and other trailblazing animals all contain a whiff of "But what about the rigid hierarchy of nature?" And when every animal is personified...well...those simple …

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736 Jane Austen's Favorite Brother, Henry (with Christopher Herbert) | A Letter from the South of France | My Last Book with Nicholas Jenkins 1:00:29

2M ago1:00:29

1:00:29

Jane Austen had six brothers, but her older brother Henry was her favorite. Kind and witty, Henry has long been appreciated by Austen fans for his devotion to Jane and his championing of her novels. But Henry was a fascinating figure in his own right, capering through risky financial schemes and marrying an enigmatic French countess before ending h…

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Sit Me Baby One More Time Ep 03 - The Truth About Stacey (The Baby-Sitters Club #3) 47:53

2M ago47:53

47:53

The Club has encountered (gasp) competition! How will they manage to beat their new rivals, the Baby-sitters Agency? Also, Stacey's ready to spill her truth: her parents need to chill out. She's successfully managing her diabetes AND making friends AND crushing it as a baby-sitter, but their plan to see a new doctor in New York could ruin everythin…

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Romeo and Juliet by William Shakespeare 9:49

2M ago9:49

9:49

Send us a text "Romeo and Juliet", written by William Shakespeare around 1594–1596, is one of the most enduring tragedies in English literature, first published in a 1597 quarto edition. Likely inspired by Arthur Brooke’s 1562 poem "The Tragical History of Romeus and Juliet" and Italian novellas, the play tells the story of two young lovers from fe…