July 16, 2026
Episode 817: The Odyssey
In Episode 817, Jacke gets ready for the release of Christopher Nolan's Odyssey, the rare instance of a summer blockbuster based on a literary classic, with some help from classics scholars Daniel Mendelsohn (The Odyssey, An Odyssey: A Father, A Son, and an Epic) and Mary Beard (Talking Classics: The Shock of the Old).
Revisit your worn copy of The Odyssey or the latest translation of this epic by Daniel Mendelsohn to reacquaint you with the seemingly impossible journey home for Odysseus before you head out to the theaters to watch what promises to be a visually sumptuous retelling of this tale for modern audiences.
Episode 833: Galahad and the Grail with Malcolm Guite
Everywhere we look, we see the benefits of the modern world. But what have we lost? In Episode 833, Jacke talks to Malcolm Guite about his new book Galahad and the Grail, the first of a four-volume series, Merlin's Isle: An Arthuriad, which poetical…
Episode 832: Stendhal revisted
As we recently discussed with Hadley Suter, nineteenth-century French novelist Stendhal (1783-1842) came of age in an era when identity was up for grabs (Episode 830). So who was he? How did he view himself? What did he write, and why do we care so …
