From the dramatic trains of Anna Karenina to the wide-open roads of Jack Kerouac, getting around has always played a central role in literature. But not all means of transportation are equal! In this lighthearted episode of the History of Literature, Jacke and Mike attempt to determine the most literary forms of transportation.
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Oct 12
836 Aristotle's Nicomachean Ethics (with Robin Waterfield and John Sellars) | My Last Book with Daniel Olivas
What does it mean to live a good life? How can we accomplish it? For more than two thousand years, Western civilization has looked to Aristotle's Nicomachean Ethics to help answer those questions. In this episode, Jacke talks to translator Robin Waterfield and scholar John Sellar ... Show More
56m 58s
Oct 8
835 Blackness in Iran (with Amy Motlagh) | My Last Book with Nicholas Boggs
What do Iranians - both home and abroad - think of race? Does "blackness" exist in Iran? And what can we learn about race and slavery in Iran from folklore, ethnography, literature, and films? In this episode, Jacke talks to author Amy Motlagh about her book Colorblind: Racial Th ... Show More
46m 4s
Oct 5
834 Shakespeare's Scholars (with Sean Keilen) | My Last Book with Nan Z. Da
Shakespeare himself didn't attend a university - and yet, for centuries, the world's greatest scholars have studied his works to learn about everything from poetry to politics. But have they missed the lessons that Shakespeare had for them in particular? In this episode, Jacke ta ... Show More
57m 9s
Aug 2025
It's Still Summer. Let's Talk Road Trip Books.
<p>Summer is the season for road trips, and also for road trip stories. Jack Kerouac’s “On the Road” may be the most famous example in American literature — but there are lots of other great road trip books, so this week the Book Review’s staff critics Dwight Garner, Alexandra Ja ... Show More
31m 21s
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 2019
Ep 386 - On the Road, by Jack Kerouac
<p>What's up, daddio? Dig this, you cool cats: a podcast, burning with the soul of American individualism and the poetry of the open highway. Kerouac's legendary novel defined the Beat Generation, and it's chock-a-block with hallmarks of the era. Join us for a road trip back to t ... Show More
1h 4m
Feb 2021
Travel & Tourism: Transport
In this week's Premier Skills English Podcast, Jack, Rich and Rowan talk about memorable trips by road, rail and air. The language focus is on words connected to catching buses, trains and planes. In this week's task, we want you to tell us about a memorable trip by road, rail or ... Show More
29m 19s
Mar 2018
#5: Literally, Don’t Judge the Book By Its Cover
Jess and Trisha talk about who’s losing with Audible’s romance subscription service, consider some of what makes romance unique in the world of self-publishing, deliver news about a couple of publishers, and – as always – recommend books.
This episode is sponsored by Raw Power by ... Show More
1h 6m