Letter of Liberty

In this episode, Professor Robert Alter joins the Letter of Liberty to discuss two of the Bible's most powerful books: Ecclesiastes, or Qohelet, and Second Isaiah (Isaiah 40-55). Alter speaks about the radicalism of Qohelet, the mere breath that animates its underlying message and meditation, its separateness from the rest of the Hebrew Bible, and more.

He also speaks about the consoling poetry of Second Isaiah: What is the promise? Who is the suffering servant? Is a good God responsible for evil?

His Hebrew Bible will be out in December: http://books.wwnorton.com/books/detail.aspx?ID=4294996777

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*Please note that due to technical difficulties, there were issues with the audio quality of this episode.

In this episode, Patrick Newman joins the show to discuss the forthcoming fifth volume of libertarian economist and writer Murray Rothbard's history of colonial America, Conceived in Liberty. We talk about Rothbard's scheme for understanding history, heroes and villains, the radicalism of the American Revolution, what Rothbard's goals for writing his history were, and the revisionist nature of the work Rothbard did.

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In this episode, Professor Walter Block joins us again to discuss justice and law from a libertarian perspective. We talk about justice, vigilantes, what should have happened after the Civil War, and more.

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In this episode, Shakespearean scholar and professor Robert Miola joins the Letter of Liberty to discuss the poetry, history, tragedy, and insight behind Shakespeare's greatest tragedy of evil, The Tragedy of Macbeth.

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In this episode, historian Louis DeCaro joins Letter of Liberty to discuss the abolitionist John Brown, Brown's attitudes to violence, why Brown is not a terrorist, why he is a hero, and why his central lesson is one of freedom.

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In this episode, University of Washington professor Ruby Blondell speaks on Helen of Troy, the most beautiful woman of all time; we talk about Homer, the tragic imagination of Helen; in addition, Achilles makes a surprising starring role in this episode.

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In this episode, Walter Block, economics professor and libertarian scholar, joins the Letter of Liberty to discuss libertarianism, total privatization of everything, and the necessity and goodness of libertarian "Nuremberg trials."

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In this episode Gary Saul Morson, distinguished scholar of Russian literature, joins the Letter of Liberty to discuss the greatness of Leo Tolstoy, his ability to capture the consciousness of human beings, and his great search for truth that gave such depth and reality to his great novels and stories.

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In this episode, Laurence Bergreen joins the Letter of Liberty to discuss the towering figure of Giacomo Casanova and of the Europe that he was both a part of and that he defined.

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In this episode, Professor Robert Alter returns to the Letter of Liberty to discuss the Hebrew Bible, the poetry and the prophets, and more. We also discuss William Faulkner and Leo Tolstoy near the end.

A production of WCWP Studios - LIU Post Public Radio. Visit us at WCWP.org