Today, we’re going to look at cats in Japanese literature. We’ll start with the history of cats in Japan. We’ll move on to cats in Japanese folklore and fiction, including the work of Haruki Murakami. And finally we’ll end with a discussion of our readers' choice, “The Town of Cats” by Sakutaro Hagiwara. Notes and sources at the podcast episode website. Bec ... Show More
Jun 25
Aum Anxiety in Japanese Fiction
In this episode, we examine the history of the Aum Affair and its lasting impact on Japanese fiction.We'll start out with the history of new religions in Japan, including Aum Shinrikyo. We'll take a look at Haruki Murakami's non-fiction book, Underground: The Tokyo Gas Attack and ... Show More
59m 51s
Feb 2026
Japanese Monster Stories on the Big Screen
In this episode, we look at the writers behind two of Japan's greatest movie monsters—Godzilla and Mothra.We'll start out by looking at Godzilla—its context, author, and story—before we turn to Mothra. We'll close with a reflection on why the stories behind the movies are importa ... Show More
1h 3m
May 2023
Our Cats and All About Them, by Harrison Weir, Part 1
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style= "mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: major-latin;">Let's relax with a subject near and dear to your reader's heart—cats! Drift off to the intelligence of felines, the first cat show, and drama at the Cat Club. Scandalous!</span></ ... Show More
53m 31s