July 20, 2026
Episode 818: Muriel Spark with James Bailey
In Episode 818, Jacke talks to author James Bailey about his critically acclaimed biography Like a Cat Loves a Bird: The Nine Lives of Muriel Spark.
James and Jacke cover not only many of Spark's best known works, including The Prime of Miss Jean Brodie, but also her short stories, which undoubtedly deserve more attention given how polished and crisp they are in tone, style and composition.
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…
Episode 816: Gulliver's Travels at 300 with David Womersley
In Episode 816, Jacke talks to David Womersley about Jonathan Swift, the nature of satire, and The Cambridge Anniversary Edition of Gulliver's Travels, which Womersley edited. David Womersley is the Thomas Warton Professor of Literature at the Unive…
