In this episode, I walk into the mess of Crime and Punishment and ask a simple, ugly question: what kind of history produces a mind like Raskolnikov’s? We move from a cramped Petersburg cupboard to firing squads, Siberian prison camps, and student nihilists to see how an old woman’s murder becomes, in his head, “killing a principle.”

I post the companion essays, sources, and extra rabbit holes on my Substack, History Geek’s Reading Companion: https://substack.com/@theguildedquill

Stay tuned for next episode on the history behind The Count of Monte Cristo.