Best Keating Thomas Podcasts (2026)

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763 Emily's Desk Drawer 56:18

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7h ago56:18

56:18

After the publication of her debut novel Wuthering Heights in December of 1847, Emily Brontë - still writing under her pen name Ellis Bell - joined Currer and Acton Bell (her sisters Charlotte and Anne) as promising and intriguing young writers. Sadly, Emily would die barely a year later. How did the public view her and her writing during this brie…

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762 The History of the Sonnet 55:36

3d ago55:36

55:36

“A sonnet,” said the poet Dante Gabriel Rossetti, “is a moment’s monument.” But who invented the sonnet? Who brought it to prominence? How has it changed over the years? And why does this form continue to be so compelling? In this episode of the History of Literature, we take a brief look at one of literature's most enduring forms, from its inventi…

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761 The Story of the Nativity (with Stephen Mitchell) | The Catcher in the Rye by J.D. Salinger (#4 Greatest Book of All Time) 1:17:45

8d ago1:17:45

1:17:45

Stephen Mitchell has translated or adapted some of the world's most beautiful and spiritually rich texts, including The Gospel According to Jesus, The Book of Job, Gilgamesh, Tao Te Ching, Bhagavad Gita, The Iliad, The Odyssey, Beowulf, The Selected Poetry of Rainer Maria Rilke, Rilke's Letters to a Young Poet, and The Way of Forgiveness. In his la…

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CK United Sporting Director Shane Dunphy on achieving League of Ireland senior status and playing at Buckley Park 16:31

10d ago16:31

16:31

Last week CK United were confirmed as one of the teams accepted into the FAI National League. The league will be the third tier of the League of Ireland and while it will be a truncated season with no promotion in 2026, it will be a full season to run alongside the first and premier divisions in 2027. That will include promotion and relegation as w…

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760 Charles Dickens, A Christmas Carol, and Ebeneezer Scrooge 1:13:57

10d ago1:13:57

1:13:57

In this holiday-themed episode, a sentimental Jacke takes a look at Charles Dickens, A Christmas Carol (1843), and the creation of Ebeneezer Scrooge. A version of this episode first aired in December 2020. That episode has not been available in our archives for several years. Join Jacke on a trip through literary England! Join Jacke and fellow lite…

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Thomas Maher of Planet F-1 on the season just gone and the rule changes for 2026 20:53

13d ago20:53

20:53

26 year old Lando Norris was crowned F-1 world champion for the first time last week. A third placed finish in Abu Dhabi enough for him to pip Max Verstappen to the title with Oscar Piastri third. Thomas Maher of Planet F-1.com has been speaking all about it with Donagh Maher.By KCLR

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759 The Godfather (with Karen Spence) | My Last Book with Elyse Graham 1:04:39

14d ago1:04:39

1:04:39

Francis Ford Coppola's masterpiece The Godfather routinely tops lists of the greatest films ever made - and when it doesn't, it's often because its sequel, The Godfather II, has replaced it. In this episode, Jacke talks to author Karen Spence about her new book, The Companion Guide to the Godfather Trilogy: Betrayal, Loyalty, and Family. PLUS Elyse…

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Essential Books on Christian Mysticism 49:27

7d ago49:27

49:27

After many requests, Dr. Carlos Eire shares a reading list with our listeners. Great classic introductions: Evelyn Underhill, Mysticism: A foundational, comprehensive survey of the mystical path. The Cambridge Companion to Christian Mysticism, edited by Amy Hollywood & Patricia Beckman): An excellent collection of essays Understanding Mysticism, ed…

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Carlow football manager Joe Murphy looks ahead to 2026 15:12

17d ago15:12

15:12

After making a positive impact during his spell as interim Manager Joe Murphy has been handed thew reigns on a full-time basis. Their first competitive game with Murphy as full time manager takes place on Saturday January 3rd when Offaly come to Eire Og. Regardless of the result Carlow will have a game on Wednesday January 7th in the O'Byrne Cup or…

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758 Jane Austen in 41 Objects (with Kathryn Sutherland) | 100 Years of Solitude by Gabriel García Márquez (#5 Greatest Book of All Time) 57:21

17d ago57:21

57:21

How well can we know someone through the objects they encountered? In this episode, Jacke talks to Kathryn Sutherland, Senior Research fellow at St. Anne's College, Oxford, about her new book Jane Austen in 41 Objects, which examines the objects Jane Austen encountered during her life alongside newer memorabilia inspired by the life she lived. PLUS…

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757 George Orwell's 1984 (#6 Greatest Book of All Time) 1:07:22

21d ago1:07:22

1:07:22

In 1949, American critic Lionel Trilling, writing in the New Yorker, was quick to recognize the achievement of George Orwell's new novel. "[P]rofound, terrifying, and wholly fascinating," he said. 1984 "confirms its author in the special, honorable place he holds in our intellectual life." And while the Cold War and the book's primary satirical tar…

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We hear from Muckalee and Cromane ahead of Sunday's AIB LGFA All-Ireland Junior Club Final 15:42

22d ago15:42

15:42

On Sunday Muckalee will look to win an AIB LGFA All-Ireland Junior Club Final for the very first time, in their way are Cromane from Kerry. The game is on in Parnell Park and is live on KCLR's Kilkenny frequency at 2pm. Ahead of the game we heard from both camps including Muckalee captain Clodagh Hanlon.…

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Emma Keating on her All-Ireland boxing title and coach Nathan Cahill on the great work being down in Paulstown. 19:51

17d ago19:51

19:51

Last week Paulstown Boxing Club’s Emma Keating won the All-Ireland Intermediate. We headed out to the boxing club in Paulstown and spoke to Emma and coach Nathan Cahill/By KCLR

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756 Newly Discovered Stories by Virginia Woolf (with Urmila Seshagiri) | My Last Book with Jake Poller 58:07

24d ago58:07

58:07

Did you think we already knew everything there was to know about Virginia Woolf? Think again! In this episode, Jacke talks to scholar and editor Urmila Seshagiri about The Life of Violet: Three Early Stories, which presents three interconnected comic stories chronicling the adventures of a giantess named Violet, which Woolf wrote in 1907, eight yea…

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755 The Chinese Tragedy of King Lear (with Nan Z. Da) | My Last Book with Iris Jamahl Dunkle 42:51

28d ago42:51

42:51

At the start of Shakespeare's famous tragedy, King Lear promises to divide his kingdom based on his daughters’ professions of love, but he portions it out before hearing all of their answers. For Nan Da, a professor of English literature who emigrated from China to the United States as a child in the 1990s, this startling opening scene sparked a re…

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754 Christopher Marlowe (with Stephen Greenblatt) | My Last Book with Eric White 55:43

1M ago55:43

55:43

Christopher Marlowe (1564-1593) was born into relative obscurity and died in mysterious circumstances at the age of 29. And yet, somehow this ambitious cobbler's son brought about a spectacular explosion of English literature, language, and culture. In this episode, Jacke talks to Stephen Greenblatt about his book Dark Renaissance: The Dangerous Ti…

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Muckalee magic as they reach the All-Ireland Final and Fighting Cocks make the Leinster Final 15:22

1M ago15:22

15:22

Muckalee have an AIB All-Ireland Ladies Club Final to look forward to following their 3-6 to 1-4 win over Galway's Menlough/Skehana in today's semi final. Yesterday Fighting Cocks reached a first ever Leinster Final with a 3-11 to 2-10 win over St Brigids in Longford, their manager Gary Nolan discussed that win and the upcoming final with us.…

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753 Tenth-Anniversary Special (with Mike Palindrome and Laurie Frankel) | Giving Thanks | My Last Book with Eve Dunbar 1:17:22

1M ago1:17:22

1:17:22

When Jacke started the podcast in 2015, he decided to privilege books that were at least fifty years old. (Longtime listeners will know he's made a few exceptions, but for the most part, that's been the policy.) Last month, the History of Literature Podcast celebrated its tenth anniversary - which means there are ten years' worth of books that are …

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752 The Brontes' Sibling Rivalry (with Catherine Rayner) | My Last Book with Keith Cooper 1:01:28

1M ago1:01:28

1:01:28

Charlotte Brontë wasn't born the eldest child, but she was thrust into a leadership role at the age of ten, as the Brontë children dealt with the tragic deaths of their mother and two eldest sisters. How did this affect their family dynamic? And when the younger two sisters, Emily and Anne, had their novels accepted while Charlotte's alone was reje…

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751 Covering Iran's Women-Led Uprising (with Nilo Tabrizy) | My Last Book with Sharmila Sen 1:02:37

1M ago1:02:37

1:02:37

In September 2022, a young Kurdish woman, Mahsa Jîna Amini, died after being beaten by police officers who arrested her for not adhering to the Islamic Republic’s dress code. Her death galvanized thousands of Iranians—mostly women—who took to the streets in one of the country’s largest uprisings in decades: the Woman, Life, Freedom movement. In thi…

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Emanuel Swedenborg: A most unusual mystic 51:20

1M ago51:20

51:20

Emanuel Swedenborg (1688-1772) was a Swedish scientist, philosopher, and theologian who, in his midlife, became a Christian mystic and visionary after a profound spiritual awakening. Unlike most mystics, however, Swedenborg did not follow the usual steps to mysticism and many of his visions are like nothing we have heard about before, making him a …

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750 A Farewell to Arms by Ernest Hemingway (with Mark Cirino) | Joyce Carol Oates vs the Trillionaire | My Last Book with Ken Krimstein 1:28:09

2M ago1:28:09

1:28:09

It's the 750th episode of the History of Literature, and what better way to celebrate than to talk some Hemingway with repeat guest Mark Cirino? In this episode, Jacke talks to Mark about Hemingway's classic love-and-war novel A Farewell to Arms, including the recent Norton Library edition of the book, which Mark edited. PLUS Jacke takes a look at …

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Jayson Molumby, Heimir Hallgrímsson, Troy Parrott, Kevin Kilbane, Keith Treacy, Stephen Finn, Kevin Doherty on a day of days for Irish football 47:11

2M ago47:11

47:11

We may have had bigger wins, but it is hard to think of a more important one as Ireland end years of hurt by keeping the dream alive past the group stage of the World Cup qualifiers. Hear from Jayson Molumby and Heimir Hallgrímsson as well Kevin Kilbane, Keith Treacy, Stephen Finn, Kevin Doherty who all spoke to KCLR Sport on a day of days for Iris…

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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

2M ago1:06:00

1:06:00

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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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

2M 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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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

2M ago1:11:57

1:11:57

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

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

2M 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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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

2M 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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743 Fairy Tales (with Jack Zipes) [RECLAIMED] | Crime and Punishment by Fyodor Dostoevsky (#11 GBOAT) | Chaucer News 1:02:07

2M ago1:02:07

1:02:07

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

2M 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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Relics and Mysticism 50:16

2M ago50:16

50:16

What is the connection between relics and mysticism? In this episode, we look at how relics have played an important role throughout church history, including the relics of well-known mystics. Mysticism joins the heavenly realm with the earthly realm, and we find that relics can do the same. If you would like to order a copy of Dr. Carlos Eire's ne…

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741 Gabriela Mistral 1:04:27

3M 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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740 Mel Brooks and Other Eminent Jews (with David Denby) | War and Peace by Leo Tolstoy (#13 GBOAT) 1:03:56

3M 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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739 Lolita by Vladimir Nabokov (#14 GBOAT) | Johannes Gutenberg (with Eric Marshall White) 1:34:01

3M 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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738 Wuthering Heights by Emily Brontë (#15 Greatest Book of All Time) 1:16:09

3M 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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Darkness Descending 35:36

3M ago35:36

35:36

Darkness Descending focuses on the Dark Night of the Soul, the Dark Night of Society, and the Dark Night of the World. Using archetypal lenses of the Anti-Christ and the Apocalypse, Spiritual Onion provides a thoughtful and sobering look at the world around us.By Pastor Scott Olbert

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

3M 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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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

3M 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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735 Mrs Dalloway by Virginia Woolf (with Mark Hussey) | My Last Book with Graham Watson 1:23:55

3M ago1:23:55

1:23:55

Jacke talks to author Mark Hussey (Mrs Dalloway: Biography of a Novel) about Virginia Woolf's beloved novel Mrs Dalloway, which turned 100 earlier this year. PLUS author Graham Watson (The Invention of Charlotte Bronte) stops by to discuss his choice for the last book he will ever read. Join Jacke on a trip through literary England (signup open thr…

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Fr. Thomas Keating: Centering Prayer 49:14

3M ago49:14

49:14

Father Thomas Keating (1923 – 2018) was an American Trappist monk who took the form of prayer used by Christian mystics over the past centuries and presented in a modern and accessible manner, so everyone can partake of it. Although considered controversial by some, Centering Prayer bears a very close resemblance to how Christian mystics used praye…

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734 The Lord of the Rings by J.R.R. Tolkien (#16 GBOAT) | 1925 - A Literary Encyclopedia (with Tom Lutz) 56:09

4M ago56:09

56:09

Jacke talks to author Tom Lutz about 1925: A Literary Encyclopedia, which provides a fascinating window into a year when literature was arguably at its peak centrality. PLUS a look at J.R.R. Tolkien and his influential Lord of the Rings, #16 on the list of the Greatest Books of All Time. Join Jacke on a trip through literary England (signup open th…

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733 Haruki Murakami (with Mike Palindrome | To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee (#17 GBOAT) | A Letter from Tehran 1:24:11

4M ago1:24:11

1:24:11

Haruki Murakami (b. 1949) is one of the rare writers who combines literary admiration with widespread appeal. Host Jacke Wilson is joined by lifelong Murakami fan Mike Palindrome to discuss what makes his novels so compelling, so mysterious, and so popular. Works discussed include The Wind-Up Bird Chronicle, Norwegian Wood, Kafka on the Shore, and …

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732 The Bible (#18 GBOAT) | The Diaries of Samuel Pepys (with Kate Loveman) | Health Advice 1:13:35

4M ago1:13:35

1:13:35

Jacke starts the episode by looking at the different ways that ten writers have viewed the Bible, #18 on the list of the Greatest Books of All Time. Then he's joined by scholar Kate Loveman, one of the few people in the world who's been able to read the diaries of Samuel Pepys in the original shorthand, for a discussion of her book The Strange Hist…

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731 The Brothers Karamazov Reclaimed (#19 Greatest Book of All Time) 1:21:06

4M ago1:21:06

1:21:06

Responding to a special request from a listener, Jacke discusses Fyodor Dostoevsky, his novel The Brothers Karamazov, and the search for meaning in a meaningless world. This episode was originally released as episode #250 on October 7, 2020. For reasons Jacke discusses, it has not been available for several years. One show note: at several points i…

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730 "To Autumn" by John Keats | The Invention of Charlotte Brontë (with Graham Watson) | My Last Book with Sara Charles 1:06:20

4M ago1:06:20

1:06:20

Jacke looks forward to a new season by exploring the language and imagery of John Keats's famous ode to autumn. Then he talks to Graham Watson about his new book The Invention of Charlotte Brontë: A New Life, which tells the story of how how Charlotte reinvented herself as an acclaimed author, a mysterious celebrity, and a passionate lover. PLUS Sa…

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729 Milton the Revolutionary (with Orlando Reade) | My Last Book with Jodi Picoult | More Exciting News 1:07:45

4M ago1:07:45

1:07:45

Since the publication of John Milton's epic poem Paradise Lost in 1667, readers and critics have noted the relationship between the poem and the author's political and personal struggles. What has been less prominent - at least until now - is how the poem came to haunt various political struggles over the next four centuries. In this episode, Jacke…

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728 The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn by Mark Twain (#20 GBOAT) | Lorraine Hansberry - RECLAIMED 1:30:35

4M ago1:30:35

1:30:35

As part of the "25 for '25" series, Jacke starts the episode with a look at #20 on the list of Greatest Books of All Time, The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn, by Mark Twain. Then he reclaims a previous episode devoted to Lorraine Hansberry, author of A Raisin in the Sun, a brilliant playwright who died at the tragically young age of 34. (The Hansbe…

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727 Earthly Paradise in Old French Verse (with Jacob Abell) | My Last Book with Victorian Literature Expert Allen MacDuffie | A Dueling Neapolitan Passionate for Poetry 1:04:12

4M ago1:04:12

1:04:12

What happened to Eden? While today we might view the story of Adam and Eve as metaphorical, for many generations of Christians, the Earthly Paradise was a vibrant symbol at the heart of the cosmos. In this episode, Jacke talks to Jacob Abell about his book Spiritual and Material Boundaries in Old French Verse: Contemplating the Walls of the Earthly…

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St. Gertrude of Helfta: Constant contact with the Divine 49:32

4M ago49:32

49:32

St. Gertrude of Helfta (1256–1302) was a 13th century German nun who enjoyed constant contact with the divine through her mystical experiences. Known also as Gertrude the Great, her writings were very influential and inspired St. Teresa of Avila and many other mystics throughout the centuries. If you would like to order a copy of Dr. Carlos Eire's …