The Gray Area with Sean Illing

An epic conversation with Madeline Miller


Listen Later

It’s been a while since I’ve been able to introduce a conversation on this show as fun. But this one was. I needed it. Maybe you do, too.

Madeline Miller has written some of my favorite novels of the past few years. Her books — the Orange Prize-winning The Song of Achilles and the New York Times No. 1 bestseller Circe, soon to be an HBO series — are brilliant reimaginings of some of the most revered texts in the Western canon. Miller’s also a trained classicist, a Shakespeare director, a Latin teacher, and a Greek mythology obsessive. 

This is a conversation about story and myth, about how our conceptions of godliness and human nature have changed, about the difficulty of translation and the resonance of superheroes. We debate whether Achilles is the worst and agree that anyone who loves language should read Sandra Boynton. Miller reveals how to train yourself to write a beautiful sentence and how to steel yourself to tell the stories you burn to see but that the canon has wiped out. And we discuss what character from the Greek canon most resembles President Donald Trump.

This one was a tonic for me. Hopefully, it will be for you, too.

Book recommendations: 

The Odyssey by Homer (translated by Emily Wilson)

Mythos by Stephen Fry

Heroes by Stephen Fry 

If Not, Winter: Fragments of Sappho by Anne Carson

Autobiography of Red by Anne Carson

Mythology by Edith Hamilton 


Want to contact the show? Reach out at [email protected]

Please consider making a contribution to Vox to support this show: bit.ly/givepodcasts Your support will help us keep having ambitious conversations about big ideas.

The Ezra Klein Show is a finalist for a Webby! Make sure to vote at https://bit.ly/TEKS-webby

New to the show? Want to check out Ezra’s favorite episodes? Check out the Ezra Klein Show beginner’s guide (http://bit.ly/EKSbeginhere)

Credits:

Producer/Editor - Jeff Geld

Researcher - Roge Karma

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

...more
View all episodesView all episodes
Download on the App Store

The Gray Area with Sean IllingBy Vox

  • 4.5
  • 4.5
  • 4.5
  • 4.5
  • 4.5

4.5

10,606 ratings


More shows like The Gray Area with Sean Illing

View all
Fresh Air by NPR

Fresh Air

38,430 Listeners

The New Yorker Radio Hour by WNYC Studios and The New Yorker

The New Yorker Radio Hour

6,881 Listeners

On the Media by WNYC Studios

On the Media

9,238 Listeners

The Political Scene | The New Yorker by The New Yorker

The Political Scene | The New Yorker

4,113 Listeners

Explain It to Me by Vox

Explain It to Me

7,890 Listeners

Switched on Pop by Vulture

Switched on Pop

2,676 Listeners

Pivot by New York Magazine

Pivot

9,724 Listeners

Gastropod by Cynthia Graber and Nicola Twilley

Gastropod

3,648 Listeners

Decoder with Nilay Patel by The Verge

Decoder with Nilay Patel

3,141 Listeners

The Daily by The New York Times

The Daily

113,121 Listeners

Good One by Vulture

Good One

1,483 Listeners

Radio Atlantic by The Atlantic

Radio Atlantic

2,380 Listeners

Today, Explained by Vox

Today, Explained

10,331 Listeners

Interesting Times with Ross Douthat by New York Times Opinion

Interesting Times with Ross Douthat

7,244 Listeners

Throughline by NPR

Throughline

16,512 Listeners

Land of the Giants by Vulture

Land of the Giants

2,163 Listeners

Waveform: The MKBHD Podcast by MKBHD

Waveform: The MKBHD Podcast

43 Listeners

Unlocking Us with Brené Brown by Vox Media Podcast Network

Unlocking Us with Brené Brown

23,563 Listeners

A Touch More with Sue Bird & Megan Rapinoe by Vox Media Podcast Network

A Touch More with Sue Bird & Megan Rapinoe

738 Listeners

Hard Fork by The New York Times

Hard Fork

5,576 Listeners

Good Noticings by Vox Media Podcast Network

Good Noticings

6,488 Listeners

The Ezra Klein Show by New York Times Opinion

The Ezra Klein Show

16,525 Listeners

Unexplainable by Vox

Unexplainable

2,303 Listeners

Cover Story by New York Magazine

Cover Story

1,217 Listeners

The Interview by The New York Times

The Interview

1,600 Listeners

Not Just Football with Cam Heyward by Cam Heyward

Not Just Football with Cam Heyward

151 Listeners

Networth and Chill with Your Rich BFF by Vivian Tu

Networth and Chill with Your Rich BFF

1,788 Listeners

Prof G Markets by Vox Media Podcast Network

Prof G Markets

1,480 Listeners

The Opinions by The New York Times Opinion

The Opinions

632 Listeners

Bird's Eye View with Sue Bird by Sue Bird

Bird's Eye View with Sue Bird

427 Listeners

Solutions with Henry Blodget by Vox Media Podcast Network

Solutions with Henry Blodget

36 Listeners