A special guest stops by to help Jacke talk about life, literature, and one of the world's great masterpieces: The Metamorphosis, by Franz Kafka. Hope you enjoy!
Help support the show at patreon.com/literature or historyofliterature.com/shop. (We appreciate it!) Find out more at historyofliterature.com, jackewilson.com, or by following Jacke and Mike on Twi ... Show More
Jul 16
817 The Odyssey - Getting Ready for a Summer Blockbuster | My Last Book with Mary Beard
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 ... Show More
1h 30m
Jul 13
816 Gulliver's Travels at 300 (with David Womersley) | My Last Book with Daniel Mendelsohn
As a literary classic turns 300, Jacke talks to the University of Oxford's David Womersley about Jonathan Swift, the nature of satire, and The Cambridge Anniversary Edition of Gulliver's Travels, which Womersley edited. PLUS Daniel Mendelsohn, classics scholar and translator ofTh ... Show More
1h 10m
Jan 2024
Franz Kafka: The Trial, Letters to Milena, Metamorphosis
<p>Hi friends!! We're here with the most requested episode yet: Kafka! In this one we discuss The Trial, Metamorphosis, Letters to Milena, and Kafka in general.</p>
<p><strong>SPECIAL ANNOUNCEMENT: </strong><em>We just launched </em><a href="https://discord.gg/4RXFbQJdr5" tar ... Show More
46m 46s
Mar 2024
Franz Kafka - The Metamorphosis
Franz Kafka - "The Metamorphosis" - is a profound tale that explores themes of alienation, identity, and the human condition. Kafka's celebrated literary style masterfully draws listeners into a bizarre yet strangely relatable universe, where the protagonist, Gregor Samsa, awaken ... Show More
1h 23m
Apr 2025
Guide to Franz Kafka's The Metamorphosis
Franz Kafka's novella The Metamorphosis is a strange tale that poses the question of what it would be like to one day wake up and suddenly find yourself transformed into an insect, however, through the use of satire and absurdism, Kafka has sculpted a story that has far deeper me ... Show More
1h 1m
Apr 2021
Feed Drop: The History of Literature - Anna Karenina by Leo Tolstoy
This isn't an episode of Overdue, it's a Feed Drop! We wanted to share with you an episode of The History of Literature, a podcast about great stories and why we love them.To use host Jacke Wilson's words, the show "takes a fresh look at some of the most compelling examples of cr ... Show More
1h 1m
Nov 2025
Episode 320: Forgive Me (Kafka's "A Hunger Artist")
David and Tamler return to one of their favorites, Frans Kafka, this time on his beautiful and distressing short story "The Hunger Artist," a story that brims with metaphorical possibilities but also implores us to accept it on its own mysterious terms. Plus gooning. The Goon Squ ... Show More
1h 29m