Sept. 14, 2026
Episode 828: Confucius with Mark Csikszentmihalyi
What do we know about the Chinese philosopher and teacher Confucius? Although people have written biographies of Confucius for over 2,000 years, a recent discovery of a Chinese tomb containing the oldest written account of his life gives us a chance to look at Confucius afresh.
In Episode 828 on the History of Literature Podcast, after some reflections on his experiences as a young teacher in Taiwan, Jacke talks to Confucian scholar Mark Csikszentmihalyi about his book Confucius: A New Tradition.
For more reflections about Jacke's time in Taiwan, take a listen to Episode 500.
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…
