Aug. 4, 2026
Episode 821: A History of the Kiss with Katie Barclay
The kiss! What could be more romantic? And yet, as historian Katie Barclay discovered when writing her book The Kiss: A History of Passion and Power, she found non-romantic kisses to be even more fascinating. In Episode 821, Jacke talks to historian Katie Barclay about some famous kisses in works from Shakespeare to Byron, and much more!
Other works by Katie Barclay include The History of Emotions and Loneliness in World History:
Episode 839: Elizabeth Barrett Browning with Fiona Sampson
In 1845, Edgar Allan Poe wrote, in a review of Elizabeth Barrett Browning's work, "Her poetic inspiration is the highest – we can conceive of nothing more august. Her sense of Art is pure in itself." Later that year, he dedicated his collection The …
Six Sylvia Plath Episodes on the History of Literature Podcast
Sylvia Plath (1932-1963) was born in Boston on October 27, 1932, the daughter of a German-born professor, Otto Plath, and his student, Aurelia Schober. After her father died in 1940, Plath's family moved to Wellesley, Massachusetts, where her mother…
