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Two friends and academics recap classic literature and take it off its pedestal. In our fiftieth episode and (anti-)Christmas special, we go into John Milton's Puritanical vision of the Fall of Man, Paradise Lost (1667) ... where Milton may just be of Satan's party. It's a world where God is both a mall security guard and the leader of a sex cult, and neither role explains his mysterious ways. Daniel discovers the word, 'Ayyyoooo!', Abby reminisces about '90s pop culture, and both of them hate Milton's Alt Jesus.

Cover art © Catherine Wu.

Episode Theme: Purcell, 'March' in Music for the Funeral of Queen Mary (1695).

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Two friends and academics recap classic literature and take it off its pedestal. In our forty-ninth episode, we cover Edith Wharton's wintry New England romantic tragedy, Ethan Frome (1911). Abby goes to therapy live on the show, while Daniel obsesses over pickles and learns all about New England traditions (how maple syrup is made, sugar on snow, apple cider doughnuts). The hosts also both reveal that they are secretly lawyers.

Cover art © Catherine Wu.

Episode Theme: Swan Hennessy, 'Adagio: String Quartet No. 1, Op. 46' (1911).

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Two friends and academics recap classic literature and take it off its pedestal. In our forty-eighth episode, we tell the tale of ambition, revenge, murder, Irn-Bru, bad accents, respeck, balls, breastmilk, and other people's awesome tweets in William Shakespeare's 'Macbeth' (1606).

Cover art © Catherine Wu.

Episode Themes: 'I Vow to Thee, My Country' (Wikimedia Commons); 'Moorland' (Kevin MacLeod).

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Two friends and academics recap classic literature and take it off its pedestal. In the second part of our forty-seventh episode, we continue our recap of the short works of Edgar Allan Poe (1830s-40s): 'The Pit and the Pendulum', 'The Cask of Amontillado', 'The Black Cat', and 'The Raven'.

Cover art © Catherine Wu.

Episode Theme: Camille Saint-Saëns, 'Danse Macabre'

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Two friends and academics recap classic literature and take it off its pedestal. In our forty-seven and big Halloween episode, we host our first anthology: the short works of Edgar Allan Poe (1830s-40s). In the first half of this anthology, we cover 'The Tell-Tale Heart', 'The Fall of the House of Usher', and 'The Masque of the Red Death'. We also hear a lot about our hosts' Halloween costumes, lots about asses, Abby's own disappointing masquerade experience, and Daniel's most uptight accent yet.

Cover art © Catherine Wu.

Episode Theme: Camille Saint-Saëns, 'Danse Macabre'

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Two friends and academics recap classic literature and take it off its pedestal. In our forty-sixth episode--Ira Levin's The Stepford Wives (1972)--we move to the suburbs, eat a lot of Lobster Newburg, and watch nothing but Air Bud. Daniel also reveals his secret feminist tattoo, Abby puts out a dating advert, and we get a quick look-in from a legendary feminist: Grendel's Mother.

Cover art © Catherine Wu.

Episode Theme: John Philip Sousa, 'Thunderer March' - arranged by 'Free Tim'.

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Two friends and academics recap classic literature and take it off its pedestal. In our forty-fifth episode, we delve into a world of cartoon references, James Bond-level panty dropping, questions for the BDSM community, and beards. Too many beards. It's Franz Kafka's 1925 paranoid, sadomasochistic dystopia, The Trial!

Cover art © Catherine Wu.

Episode Theme: Alban Berg, '4 Stucke, Op. 5', performed by Steven Beck.

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Daniel and Abby answer listener questions about how they make the podcast, the best literary decades, overrated authors, giant ducks, and when to throw a drink in your mother-in-law's face (always).

Cover art © Catherine Wu.

Episode themes: Mozart's 'Overture' to Don Giovanni.

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Two friends and academics recap classic literature and take it off its pedestal. In our forty-fourth episode, we look at Mark Twain's satire on systematic racism and childhood trauma, The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn (1884). It's full of bad southern accents, men painted weird colours, identity theft, and bounty (both financial and chocolate). We also learn that Abby is from Grade-A dirtbag stock, and that Daniel has clinical depression.

Cover art © Catherine Wu.

Episode Theme: 'Riffs on Tara' written and performed by Daniel Jenkin-Smith.

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