July 6, 2026
Episode 815: Paddy Chayefsky

In Episode 815, as America turns 250, Jacke takes a look at the career and major works of Paddy Chayefsky, whose 1976 film Network is often praised for predicting the demise of television (and, perhaps, America itself).
Thanks in part to beloved films like Marty (1955) and Network (1976), Paddy Chayefsky is often regarded as the greatest writer of television's first Golden Age and the most acclaimed screenwriter in Hollywood history. But who was Chayefsky? What made his writing stand out? And how well do his works hold up in 2026? Take a listen to Jacke's exploration of Paddy Chayefsky's works.

Episode 814: Shakespeare in Translation with Daniel Hahn
In Episode 814, Jacke talks to writer, editor, and translator Daniel Hahn (If This Be Magic: The Unlikely Art of Shakespeare in Translation), about his encounters with writers and actors who've engaged with Shakespeare's work in more than a hundred …
Episode 813: George Sand with Fiona Sampson
In Episode 813 of the History of Literature Podcast, Jacke talks to award-winning poet and biographer Fiona Sampson about her book Becoming George, which examines George Sand's iconoclasm and rehabilitates her as an intellectual and artistic gi…






