Mimi Okabe, "Manga, Murder and Mystery: The Boy Detectives of Japan’s Lost Generation" (Bloomsbury, 2023)| Listen on Anghami

Yesterday

Anna Harwell Celenza, "On the Record: Music that Changed America (Norton, 2026)

There is no shortage of books on music and politics, but Anna Harwell Celenza explores an interesting premise in her book On the Record: Music that Changed America (Norton, 2026). Each of the twelve chapters discusses a different instance when music, as Celenza writes, “sparked d ... Show More

59m 16s

Jun 15

Blue Jasmine

Woody Allen has called A Streetcar Named Desire the most well-directed film ever made and its influence on Blue Jasmine (2013) is unmistakable. Both concern a woman whose fantasy life and self-deception break down and both feature incredible performances by the lead actress: in S ... Show More

22m 41s

Jun 10

Cape Fear Retells an Archetypal Revenge Story for a New Generation

It’s the Pop Culture Professors, and today we analyze the new TV series Cape Fear. First we give a reaction to episodes 1 & 2 of the series, and then we discuss the two earlier movie versions of the story, from 1962 and 1991. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/a ... Show More

57m 25s

Sep 2024

Japanese Crime and Mystery Writing

Today, we’re talking about crime and mystery novels from Japan. We’ll start with the development of the crime and mystery genre in the English-speaking world. We’ll move on to Japanese crime and mystery writing—how it was inspired by Anglo-American crime and mystery writing and h ... Show More

53m 56s

Apr 2025

560. The Golden Age of Japan: Lady Murasaki and the Shining Prince (Part 1)

At the height of Imperial Japan, during a golden age of court intrigue, obsessive hierarchy, and fabulous sophistication, who was the legendary lothario and emperor’s son, Genji? What can the Tale of Genji - a great masterpiece of Japanese literature - tell us about this remarkab ... Show More

54m 14s

Aug 2024

Edo Japan

In this episode, Greg Jenner is joined in seventeenth-century Japan by Dr Satona Suzuki and comedian Ahir Shah to learn all about the Edo period and the Tokugawa shogunate. When he came to power in 1603, Tokugawa Ieyasu became the first shogun to rule over all Japan. He made Edo ... Show More

53m 42s

May 2021

49: Descending Stories: Showa Genroku Rakugo Shinju

This week's manga log: "Descending Stories," written and illustrated by Haruko Kumota. Description (courtesy of MyAnimeList): Yotarou is a former yakuza member fresh out of prison and fixated on just one thing: rather than return to a life of crime, the young man aspires to take ... Show More

52m 31s

Nov 2024

Edo Japan (Radio Edit)

In this episode, Greg Jenner is joined in 17th-Century Japan by Dr Satona Suzuki and comedian Ahir Shah to learn all about the Edo period and the Tokugawa shogunate.When he came to power in 1603, Tokugawa Ieyasu became the first shogun to rule over all Japan. He made Edo – later ... Show More

28m 11s

Aug 2024

[Summer Odysseys] E04⏐One Piece, on a quest to pirate treasures

The origins of a jewel often lie in a story of adventures… Eiichiro Oda’s manga One Piece is one of the most popular manga in the history of comics.In typical shonen fashion - a shonen is a tale of adventure and initiation – One Piece tells the story of a young hero on a quest fo ... Show More

9m 37s

Oct 2025

Lafcadio Hearn—The Master of the Japanese Ghost Story

In this episode, we explore the enduring legacy of Greek/English/Irish/American/Japanese author Lafcadio Hearn and the ghost story The Peony Lantern.We'll start out by looking at Hearn's life. We'll discuss the long history of the story Boton Doro, more commonly known as The Peon ... Show More

54m 57s

May 2024

Kristine Ohkubo and Kanariya Eiraku, "Talking About Rakugo 1: The Japanese Art of Storytelling" (2022)

Rakugo is a live performance art that has penetrated the borders of Japan and continues to gain popularity overseas. The rakugo stage once dominated by Japanese raconteurs now features foreign storytellers, as well as Japanese performers, both amateur and professional, who endeav ... Show More

44m 37s

May 2025

Emperor Meiji and the Meiji Jingu Shrine

Emperor Meiji of Japan’s reign began in 1867, and it marks a time of significant change in the country’s history. After the emperor and his consort died in the early 20th century, the Meiji Jingu shrine was built to memorialize them. Research:</stron ... Show More

39m 8s

Nov 2024

Dragon Ball fête ses 40 ans: retour sur l'épopée d'un manga culte

En 2024, Dragon Ball célèbre ses 40 ans, mais l’année est marquée par le décès d’Akira Toriyama, son créateur. En France, où la saga a marqué plusieurs générations depuis le Club Dorothée, les fans saluent son héritage, soulignant l’impact culturel et émotionnel durable de son ... Show More

17m 46s

Mimi Okabe, "Manga, Murder and Mystery: ...