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 827: American Literature's War on Crime with Theodore Martin
The second half of the twentieth century was marked by an extreme increase in America's prison population, from roughly 250,000 inmates in 1940 to well over two million by 2008. At the same time, American readers were devouring mysteries, thrillers,…
Episode 826: Washington Irving with Phillip Lopate
At the time of Washington Irving's death, he was the most famous and widely praised American writer of his or any other era. But his reputation soon dwindled, and today he's known primarily as the author of just two stories ("The Legend of Sleepy Ho…
