When people think of the plays of Shakespeare, they tend to think of his comedies and tragedies that spotlight interpersonal dynamics like love and jealousy, pretense and reality. But my guest would say that many of Shakepeare's plays, especially his sometimes overlooked histories, are also unmatchable in revealing the dynamics of power.
Eliot Cohen is a mi ... Show More
Nov 2023
Shakespeare as inspiration
Matthew Sweet is joined by Professor Preti Taneja – author of a novel We That Are Young which sets the King Lear in Delhi, by Dr Iain Robert Smith who studies films from around the world, and by Andrew Dickson, journalist and author of Worlds Elsewhere: Journeys Around Shakespear ... Show More
44m 21s
Feb 2023
William D. Cohan on Power, Ego, and the Imperial CEO
<p>Ryan speaks with William D. Cohan about his new book <a href="https://geni.us/7BrJA" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank"><em>Power Failure: The Rise and Fall of an American Icon</em></a>, the link between Marcus Aurelius and the “imperial CEO” of General Electric Jack We ... Show More
1h 5m
Dec 2021
Timeless Wisdom for Leading a Life of Love, Friendship and Learning
<p>“Today, we are supercompetent when it comes to efficiency, utility, speed, convenience, and getting ahead in the world; but we are at a loss concerning what it’s all for,” Leon Kass writes in his 2017 book “<a href="https://www.encounterbooks.com/books/leading-worthy-life/" ta ... Show More
1h 5m
Nov 2019
74 | Stephen Greenblatt on Stories, History, and Cultural Poetics
<p>An infinite number of things happen; we bring structure and meaning to the world by making art and telling stories about it. Every work of literature created by human beings comes out of an historical and cultural context, and drawing connections between art and its context ca ... Show More
1h 6m