Send us Fan Mail Once hailed as the towering literary figure of the Restoration age, John Dryden is little known now by the general reader. Let's take care of that with a close look at his most enduring works, the poetical satires Mac Flecknoe and Absalom and Achitophel. Mac Flecknoe text: https://www.poetryfoundation.org/poems/44181/mac-flecknoe Absalom an ... Show More
Mar 14
Imitation and Optimism: The Essays of Alexander Pope
Send us Fan MailAlexander Pope, whom some critics regard as the most important poet of the early 18th century, set out to comprehensively explain the rules that governed art, poetry, and humanity itself. And, it turns out, they're all the same rules.Support the showPlease like, s ... Show More
35m 18s
Feb 1
A Critique of Reason: Gulliver's Travels by Jonathan Swift
Send us Fan MailWhile many may think of Swift's magnificent octopus as a mere children's adventure tale, it is, in fact, one of the darkest and most troubling satires in the English language. Written as the Enlightenment began asserting rationality as the measure of all things, G ... Show More
49m 6s
Sep 2024
Winged Eyeliner & The Age Of Intolerance
Subscribe to Mamamia Tim Minchin regrets one of his most famous songs. And it tells us a lot about where culture has moved to. In this episode, we discuss the age of intolerance. Plus, we help set up your weekend with some recommendations which include: a book, an album and two ... Show More
50m 32s
Jan 2017
Ep. 7 - Prisoner of Azkaban Ch. 1-5 w/ Amanda McLoughlin
In this episode, Amanda McLoughlin returns to discuss the beginning of Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban! Topics include Aunt Marge being a worthless character, Cornelius Fudge being sketchy, Harry being the least smooth person alive, bird end-trails, the atrocity that is ... Show More
50 m
Sep 2018
Macabre Part 1: The Gruesome Tale of Burke and Hare
In this episode of The Brain Food Show, we begin by discussing a random quick fact involving the curious old practice of mailing children.
We then move on to discussing the show’s first sponsor, RXBar. For 25% off your first order, visit https://rxbar.com/brainfood and enter the ... Show More
1h 25m
Sep 2025
ON WRITING... With Salman Rushdie and Kazuo Ishiguro
Welcome to another special edition of How to Fail, where I revisit conversations from the How to Fail archives. Each week, we shine a light on a particular theme, hopefully offering inspiration, perspective and comfort through the words of past guests. This week’s theme is on wri ... Show More
24m 18s
Sep 2025
216. Four Letter Words: Terisk
<p>Watching the film Legally Blonde one day with the subtitles on, numerous perfectly innocuous words were partially asterisked out, because of a technological problem I can't name here lest this episode be blocked from your podfeed, thus becoming an example of the problem itself ... Show More
26m 43s