Podcasts about Edith Wharton

This episode is presented by Wispr Flow, a tool that turns voice notes into clear writing. I use it every day and recommend it to every writer I know. Try it for free at ref.wisprflow.ai/howiwrite Andrew Hunter Murray is a writer, a journalist, and a comedian. What stood out from this conversation is his love for literature, which shows up both in his three novels and in how he's studied people like Edith Wharton and Jane Austen. We talked about what makes a good premise and how to make a character feel alive. This conversation was a lot of fun. About the host Hey! I'm David Perell and I'm a writer, teacher, and podcaster. I believe writing online is one of the biggest opportunities in the world today. For the first time in human history, everybody can freely share their ideas with a global audience. I seek to help as many people publish their writing online as possible. Follow me Apple: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/how-i-write/id1700171470 YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@DavidPerellChannel Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/2DjMSboniFAeGA8v9NpoPv X: https://x.com/david_perell Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Quebec tables a bill that would ban the sale of energy drinks to anyone under the age of 16 — something Zachary Miron's parents and their community have been pushing for since the teenager's death. Photographer Angelina Katsanis was covering protests at an ICE detention centre in New Jersey when she was injured, and lost her camera bag. And now a police officer has been charged with theft. A British man who climbed Everest describes the shock and joy of learning that one of their guides was still alive — six harrowing days after he disappeared. Edith Wharton's novels famously gave readers a peek behind the curtain of New York's high society. And now, a previously unpublished short story — set in a French chateau at the end of the First World War — again takes aim at the elite. Yesterday, hundreds of people gathered to protest a proposal to build an AI data centre in Hamilton, Ontario. One of those residents tells us about the community's first small victory — and what they plan to do next. If it feels like your seasonal allergies are getting worse, you're not alone. A new study suggests that bright lights in the big city could be to blame. Scientists tasked bees with solving a problem meant to test their basic intelligence: pushing a tiny ball into a corner to reach a sweet treat. And they aced it. As It Happens, the Friday Edition, radio that'll bee-lieve it when we see it.

In this episode of the Project Narrative Podcast, Jim Phelan and Jonathan Culler discuss Edith Wharton’s “Roman Fever,” which was first published in Liberty Magazine in 1934, and then included in her 1936 collection, The World Over. Jonathan Culler is the class of 1916 Professor Emeritus at Cornell University. Culler has been one of the most distinguished and productive literary and critical theorists of his generation. Among his 11 single-authored books are: the 1975 volume, Structuralist Poetics: Structuralism, Linguistics, and the Study of Literature, which won the MLA’s James Russell Lowell Prize for the best book by an MLA member in that year; the 1982 volume, On Deconstruction: Theory and Criticism After Structuralism, which lucidly explicated the then still emerging movement called deconstruction; and the 1997 book, Literary Theory: A Very Short Introduction, which has been translated into more than 25 languages. Throughout his career, Culler has conducted extended engagements with narrative, narrative theory, and lyric theory, and in 2015, he published Theory of the Lyric. Among Culler’s many recognitions are his elections to several distinguished scholarly groups, including: the American Academy of Arts and Sciences, 2001; the American Philosophical Society, 2006; and the British Academy, 2020. The International Society for the Study of Narrative has selected Culler as the winner of the Wayne C. Booth Lifetime Achievement Award for 2026.

387 - Her dream came true, but then . . . a "presence" changed everything. Tuck in for an unexpected connection with Edith Wharton's "April Showers."

387 - Her dream came true, but then . . . a "presence" changed everything. Tuck in for an unexpected connection with Edith Wharton's "April Showers."

Hoy te presento una biografía de Sinclair Lewis (HarrySinclair Lewis, 1885-1951), el novelista estadounidense galardonado con el Premio Nobel de Literatura en 1930. Lewis fue el primer estadounidense en recibir este premio (y el primero de las Américas), reconocido "por su vigorosay gráfica arte de descripción y su habilidad para crear, con ingenio y humor, nuevos tipos de personajes". Representa el realismo satírico y crítico de la América de entreguerras: disecciona la complacencia burguesa, el conformismo, el materialismo, el boosterismo cívico y la hipocresía social conironía mordaz y detalle etnográfico. Históricamente, capturó la Roaring Twenties, el ascenso del consumismo, el fundamentalismo religioso y las amenazas fascistas; filosóficamente, encarna un liberalismo escéptico contra el"American Dream" vacío; psicológicamente, explora la alienación del individuo en una sociedad conformista, la crisis de mediana edad y la represión de deseos auténticos bajo máscaras sociales.La edad de la inocencia - Edith Wharton: https://youtu.be/BCUsMAjP6VILa jungla - Upton Sinclair: https://youtu.be/L99CAZ_luEw"Crónicas Lunares di Sun" es un podcast cultural presentado por Irving Sun, que abarca una variedad de temas, desde la literatura y análisis de libros hasta discusiones sobre actualidad y personajes históricos. Se difunde en múltiples plataformas como Ivoox, Apple Podcast, Spotify y YouTube, donde también ofrece contenido en video, incluyendo reflexiones sobre temas como la meditación y la filosofía teosófica. Los episodios exploran textos y conceptos complejos, buscando fomentar la reflexión y el autoconocimiento entre su audiencia, los "Lunares", quienes pueden interactuar y apoyar el programa a través de comentarios, redes sociales y donaciones. AVISO LEGAL: Los cuentos, poemas, fragmentos de novelas, ensayos y todo contenido literario que aparece en Crónicas Lunares di Sun podrían estar protegidos por derecho de autor (copyright). Si por alguna razón los propietarios no están conformes con el uso de ellos por favor escribirnos al correo electrónico cronicaslunares.sun@hotmail.com y nos encargaremos de borrarlo inmediatamente. Si te gusta lo que escuchas y deseas apoyarnos puedes dejar tu donación en PayPal, ahí nos encuentras como @IrvingSun  https://paypal.me/IrvingSun?country.x=MX&locale.x=es_XC  Síguenos en:  Telegram: Crónicas Lunares di Sun  ⁠Crónicas Lunares di Sun - YouTube⁠ ⁠https://t.me/joinchat/QFjDxu9fqR8uf3eR⁠  ⁠https://www.facebook.com/cronicalunar/?modal=admin_todo_tour⁠  ⁠Crónicas Lunares (@cronicaslunares.sun) • Fotos y videos de Instagram⁠  ⁠https://twitter.com/isun_g1⁠  ⁠https://www.google.com/podcasts?feed=aHR0cHM6Ly9hbmNob3IuZm0vcy9lODVmOWY0L3BvZGNhc3QvcnNz⁠  ⁠https://open.spotify.com/show/4x2gFdKw3FeoaAORteQomp⁠  https://mx.ivoox.com/es/s_p2_759303_1.html⁠ https://tunein.com/user/gnivrinavi/favorites⁠ ORTOLARRY:  - NORTE 9 #175 ESQ. OTE 164. COLONIA MOCTEZUMA SEGUNDA SECCION. CDMX - NORTE 17# 211-A COLONIA MOCTEZUMA SEGUNDA SECCION C.P 15530 ALCALDIA VENUSTIANO  Teléfonos: 5557860648, 5524158512. Whatsapp: 5561075125 

Numerosi scrittori, artisti e musicisti hanno trovato ispirazione in Marocco. Potremmo cominciare dal viaggio fondativo del pittore Eugène Delacroix nel 1832, la cui eco ancora risuona nel soggiorno a Tangeri di Henri Matisse, tra il 1912 e il 1913. Con Alessandro Tamburini ripercorriamo le trame letterarie tessute da numerosi scrittori: Paul Bowles naturalmente e poi ancora Mark Twain, Pierre Loti, Edmondo De Amicis, Edith Wharton, Jean Genet, Tennessee Williams, Truman Capote. Il Marocco fu spesso letto da questi autori nella chiave dell'orientalismo. Negli anni Sessanta e Settanta la Beat Generation (William S. Burroughs, Allen Ginsberg) utilizzò invece registri diversi: esilio, marginalità, libertà, sperimentazione. Ricordiamo quella stagione con Gianni De Martino, protagonista e storico della controcultura beat italiana. E le sonorità ipnotiche della musica marocchina lasciarono una traccia nei brani di Ornette Coleman, Brian Jones, Jimi Hendrix. Per lungo tempo le voci marocchine hanno avuto meno spazio nella costruzione e soprattutto nella circolazione internazionale di questa narrazione, che pure li riguardava da vicino, come spiega Karima Moual. Solo in tempi più vicini a noi una nuova generazione ha fatto sentire la propria voce, proponendo una visione del Paese forse meno poetica, ma più vera. 

Numerosi scrittori, artisti e musicisti hanno trovato ispirazione in Marocco. Potremmo cominciare dal viaggio fondativo del pittore Eugène Delacroix nel 1832, la cui eco ancora risuona nel soggiorno a Tangeri di Henri Matisse, tra il 1912 e il 1913. Con Alessandro Tamburini ripercorriamo le trame letterarie tessute da numerosi scrittori: Paul Bowles naturalmente e poi ancora Mark Twain, Pierre Loti, Edmondo De Amicis, Edith Wharton, Jean Genet, Tennessee Williams, Truman Capote. Il Marocco fu spesso letto da questi autori nella chiave dell'orientalismo. Negli anni Sessanta e Settanta la Beat Generation (William S. Burroughs, Allen Ginsberg) utilizzò invece registri diversi: esilio, marginalità, libertà, sperimentazione. Ricordiamo quella stagione con Gianni De Martino, protagonista e storico della controcultura beat italiana. E le sonorità ipnotiche della musica marocchina lasciarono una traccia nei brani di Ornette Coleman, Brian Jones, Jimi Hendrix. Per lungo tempo le voci marocchine hanno avuto meno spazio nella costruzione e soprattutto nella circolazione internazionale di questa narrazione, che pure li riguardava da vicino, come spiega Karima Moual. Solo in tempi più vicini a noi una nuova generazione ha fatto sentire la propria voce, proponendo una visione del Paese forse meno poetica, ma più vera. 

We catch up after a backlog of episodes and announce we'll cover Your Friends and Neighbors on Fridays going forward, while previewing upcoming discussions on The Pit finale, Euphoria, Beef season 2, Richard Gadd's Half Man, and future Apple TV+ series Cape Fear and Lucky, plus a forthcoming Patreon with extra content (including our Nolan film rewatch). We also share a tip to subscribe to creator subscriptions via a browser to avoid App Store cuts. In our conversation about Your Friends and Neighbors season 2 episode 2 (“Lady Parts”), we largely dislike the episode, criticize the show's focus on the kids and uneven writing, question sympathy for Sam after framing Coop, and dissect implausible money-manager math around Barney and Coop. The main intrigue is Ash (James Marsden) discovering Coop's crimes, which we hope will drive the season, alongside film/book references like Night of the Hunter, Sweet Smell of Success, and Edith Wharton. mailto:needssomeintroduction@gmail.com 00:00 Show Welcome 01:05 Upcoming Episodes 02:29 Patreon Tease 03:44 Subscription Fee Tip 07:11 Sona Joins In 07:47 Cape Fear Memories 09:55 Episode Two Reactions 11:07 Ash Catches Coop 13:25 Show Themes And Stakes 17:28 Too Much Teen Drama 21:53 Sam Party Fallout 29:45 Lady Parts Locker Room 31:47 High School Plot Complaints 33:19 Mel Midlife Spiral 34:24 Tori Rejects Princeton 36:03 No Plan No Sympathy 39:50 Coop Enables The Chaos 40:09 Barney Money Math Fails 44:06 Countywide Burglary Clarity 46:25 What Works On Screen 50:47 Movie And Book Clues 56:47 Laser Rejuvenation Talk 57:47 Dog Poop Neighbor Drama 01:01:32 Next Week Podcast Picks

Sleep soundly tonight to a short story by Edith Wharton. Support the podcast and enjoy ad-free and bonus episodes. Try FREE for 7 days on Apple Podcasts. For other podcast platforms go to https://justsleeppodcast.com/supportOr, you can support with a one time donation at buymeacoffee.com/justsleeppodOrder your copy of the Just Sleep book! https://www.justsleeppodcast.com/book/If you like this episode, please remember to follow on Apple Podcasts, Spotify or wherever you listen to your favourite podcasts. Also, share with any family or friends that might have trouble drifting off.Goodnight! Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Now that's an extended family fight scene! Still not sure if the Coopers are ready to throw down with the Berzatto's, though.Coop, Hunter, Barney, Ashe, Sam, Edith Wharton and everyone else (?) starts making moves in episode 2 of Your Friends and Neighbors.Producer's Note: We were forced to record remotely for this episode so sound quality may not be up to our usual standard in spots. Apologies, and will not be an issue in future episodes.

Join the mailing list for an occasional newsletter https://www.classicghost.com/#/portal A man arrives at a desert fortress to visit an old friend. The friend is not there. The English servant says he will return shortly. The heat presses down. The water tastes wrong. And the waiting stretches on in ways that are difficult to explain. Edith Wharton set this story not in her usual territory of New York drawing rooms, but somewhere in North Africa, in a crumbling pile of Crusader stonework and Arab plasterwork, where the palms rattle like rain above an ancient well, and the desert stretches out in every direction, golden and merciless. She wrote it without a single ghost. She didn't need one. First published in the Saturday Evening Post in March 1926 under the title "A Bottle of Evian," the story was collected in Certain People (1930) and later reprinted in Wharton's posthumous ghost story anthology Ghosts (1937). Edith Wharton (1862-1937) was an American novelist and short story writer, the first woman to win the Pulitzer Prize for Fiction, awarded for The Age of Innocence in 1921. She published more than forty books across four decades.

Merriam-Webster's Word of the Day for March 31, 2026 is: genteel • jen-TEEL • adjective Genteel means “of or relating to people who have high social status” and can be used as a somewhat old-fashioned synonym of aristocratic. It can also be used to describe something with a quietly appealing or polite quality, as in “genteel manners.” // Their genteel upbringing shaped the way they viewed the world. See the entry > Examples: “The duo met at Oxford and were briefly bankers. They understand the genteel, often mysterious (at least to Americans) mores of the British upper class ...” — Jacqueline Cutler, The Daily Beast, 28 Jan. 2026 Did you know? In A History of the Novel (1975), David Freedman wrote of Theodore Dreiser, “Certainly there was nothing genteel about Dreiser, either as a man or novelist.” Indeed, few of the many uses of the adjective genteel would seem to apply to the author. When it comes to the use of genteel to describe people or things of or related to the upper class of society, for example, Dreiser doesn't fit the bill: unlike many of his contemporaries, including Edith Wharton, Dreiser came from poverty. His novels, too, are hardly genteel in the sense of “striving to maintain the appearance of superior or middle-class social status or respectability.” Sister Carrie, his best known work, features a heroine who goes unpunished for her transgressions against conventional sexual morality. In fact, the book so troubled the genteel (“polite”) sensibilities of Dreiser's publishers that they limited the book's advertising, and it initially sold fewer than 500 copies. Sister Carrie is now considered a masterpiece, and Dreiser, according to Freedman, “the supreme poet of the squalid” who “felt the terror, the pity, and the beauty underlying the American Dream.”

Welcome to Episode 256 featuring our Author Spotlight with biographer Sara Catterall! Sara's new book, AMELIA BLOOMER: Journalist, Suffragist, Anti-Fashion Icon, was on Chris's Top Ten list, and Emily was so into it that she cried at the end. We think biography lovers, history buffs, women's rights advocates, and activists of all stripes will enjoy this biography. We had a great time talking with Sara, so don't miss our conversation with her at the end of the episode. In our “Just Read” segment, we talk about a wide variety of books: ANDERSON IN BLOOM by Jennifer Dugan THIS BOOK MADE ME THINK OF YOU by Libby Page EVERY DAY I READ: 53 Ways to Get Closer to Books by Hwang Bo-reum, translated by Shanna Tan NEVER CAUGHT: The Washingtons' Relentless Pursuit of Their Runaway Slave, Ona Judge by Erica Armstrong Dunbar MISSING SISTER by Joshilyn Jackson ULTRALEARNING: Master Hard Skills, Outsmart the Competition, and Accelerate Your Career by Scott H. Young In #BiblioAdventures, we recap several “Couch Biblio Adventures,” including watching the movie HARRIET, binging the new season of VIRGIN RIVER, and dipping into the new SCARPETTA series. Chris was in Rhode Island and visited the B&N in Warwick, and finally got inside Ink Fish Books in Warren. She also saw Edith Wharton's house in Newport, where the writer lived prior to building her dream home in the Berkshires. Emily had zero luck seeing Laura Zigman and Alice Hoffman in conversation about the new collection of essays, THE BEST DOG IN THE WORLD – events have been sold out! Congrats to them for a successful book launch. We're also #currentlyreading some great books and have our eyes on some beauties we can't wait to get to. Happy Listening and Happy Reading! https://www.bookcougars.com/blog-1/2026/episode256

WEISBERG4.mp3 Weisberg discusses the evolution of divorce in New York, noting a significant increase during the Gilded Age. The scandal influenced novelist Edith Wharton, Mary's cousin, who later wrote about these social circles. Additionally, the diary of George Templeton Strong serves as a vital historical window. (4)

durée : 00:58:41 - Avec philosophie - par : Géraldine Muhlmann, Antoine Ravon - Existe-t-il un "âge de l'innocence" ? Où commence-t-il, quand s'achève-t-il et surtout, qu'est-ce qui fait irruption qui précipite sa fin ? Réponse avec un philosophe, une écrivaine et un cinéaste : Ralph Waldo Emerson, Edith Wharton et Stanley Kubrick. - réalisation : Riyad Cairat - invités : Anne Ullmo Professeure de littérature américaine à l'Université de Tours, spécialiste de l'œuvre d'Edith Wharton; Axel Cadieux Journaliste, critique de cinéma, rédacteur en chef adjoint de la revue So Film; Mathieu Duplay Professeur de littérature américaine à l'univers Paris cité et président de l'Association française d'études américaines

The Age of Innocence, published in 1920, earned Edith Wharton the Pulitzer Prize for Fiction - making her the first woman to win the prize. The story is set in the 1870s, in upper-class Gilded Age New York City. With a 1993 film adaptation directed by Martin Scorsese and featuring a star cast and a new Netflix adaptation in the works, The Age of Innocence is more present than ever. Your hosts - bookish friends Mandy & Fanny - want to know why. In this episode, they explore the love triangle at the heart of the novel and unpack the themes of love, duty, and social expectation of 1870s high society.Through the Pages is a podcast in which your hosts, Fanny and Mandy, read books that are considered classics, to figure out if they're worth your while - and to discover why they are amongst so-called "classics". Because books only truly come to live when you talk about them.

Apology: Helen Veit's audio has a lot of “ducking”, in which a word or multiple words were clipped. This happened during the recording, and cannot be fixed in the audio edit. We'll work hard to make sure this never happens again.In nineteenth-century America, cookbook authors, concerned doctors, and food reformers believed that children had a problem with food. Children, reformers worried, would “eat anything and everything.” If they were to grow into healthy adults, they needed a special diet—“children's food”—which meant that for the first time in human history children would have to eat differently from everyone else.That moment was one step along a path that my guest Helen Zoe Veit traces in her new book Picky: How American Children Became the Fussiest Eaters in History. Beginning in a mid-nineteenth century world in which children routinely ate oysters, organ meats, sauerkraut, and richly spiced dishes alongside adults, she carries the story forward to our own moment—an era of childhood obesity, nutritional anxiety, supermarket abundance, and the widespread assumption that children are “food rejectors by nature.” But as Veit argues, mass childhood pickiness is not deeply biological. It is overwhelmingly cultural. And culture, unlike biology, can change.Helen Zoe Veit is Associate Professor of History at Michigan State University. She specializes in American food history of the nineteenth and twentieth centuries and is the author and editor of numerous works on food, morality, and culture. Picky is her latest book.Chapters0:00 - Introduction 3:02 - 19th Century Children Ate Everything 5:30 - Mark Twain and Edith Wharton's Childhoods 14:02 - Why Doctors Were Concerned 24:20 - The First Signs of Pickiness in the 1930s 33:18 - Benjamin Spock and Clara Davis 45:51 - The Supermarket Revolution 52:16 - Parental Guilt and Contradictory Advice 1:00:15 - Solutions and Hope for Change 1:07:59 - Why Food History Matters

The House of Mirth is a novel by Edith Wharton, first published in 1905.It follows the quiet social life of Lily Bart as she moves through drawing rooms, dinners, and long conversations in New York's upper society.This is a slow, observational story about routine, manners, and small choices, told in a measured and unhurried way.

As always, we conclude our series on Edith Wharton's classic novel by answering your questions. There were a lot of good ones and we did our best to answer as many as we could. Sometimes, of course, you just have to look at it. Happy listening! To learn about The Tapestry, the new curriculum from the CiRCE Institute click here! It's available to pre-order now. This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit closereads.substack.com/subscribe

One Aladdin Two Lamps by Jeanette Winterson is a fascinating blend of memoir, fiction, history and self-discovery. Jeanette joins us to chat about past and present narratives, storytelling, autonomy, imagination and more with cohost Jenna Seery. This episode of Poured Over was hosted by Jenna Seery and mixed by Harry Liang.                     New episodes land Tuesdays and Thursdays (with occasional Saturdays) here and on your favorite podcast app. Featured Books (Episode): One Aladdin Two Lamps by Jeanette Winterson Oranges Are Not the Only Fruit by Jeanette Winterson The Passion by Jeanette Winterson Frankissstein by Jeanette Winterson Why Be Happy When You Could Be Normal? by Jeanette Winterson The Arabian Nights: Tales from a Thousand and One Nights by Richard Burton Wuthering Heights by Emily Brontë Lolita by Vladimir Nabokov Madame Bovary by Gustave Flaubert The House of Mirth by Edith Wharton  

Welcome back to our series on Edith Wharton's very complex (and wonderful) novel. This week, in discussing the ending, we find ourselves at, well, a loss for words. Nevertheless, we persist. We attempt to reckon with the complicated nature of May's character, Newland's fatalism and paralyzed life of the mind, the question of whether he's a tragic character, how we may or may not re-think the countess in light of the ending, and much more! As always, happy listening!To learn about The Tapestry curriculum from the CiRCE Institute click here! This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit closereads.substack.com/subscribe

La novelista que escribió sobre la alta sociedad de Nueva York durante la Edad Dorada. Fue la primera mujer en ganar el Premio Pulitzer. Esta es la historia de Edith Wharton.Sígueme en las diferentes redes sociales:X (Twitter): https://twitter.com/lasreinaspod Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/lasreinaspodcast/ Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/lasreinaspodcastTikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@lasreinaspodcast Buy me a Coffee: https://www.buymeacoffee.com/lasreinaspod Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Many fans of Edith Wharton's great novels "The Age of Innocence" and "The House of Mirth" may not realize that her very first published book was not a work of fiction at all. In 1897, in collaboration with architect and interior designer Ogden Codman Jr, Wharton published "The Decoration of Houses", at the time, a groundbreaking work on the philosophy of interior design calling for a return to the classic European principles of balance, symmetry and proportion. In fact when she built her own great country home The Mount in Lenox, Massachusetts in 1902, she incorporated many of the French, Italian and British principles she lays out in the book.In this episode, returning guest Dr. Emily Orlando, noted Wharton scholar and author, helps us understand just what the publication of this first book meant to Wharton and the career that was to come. Furthermore, Dr. Orlando addresses the overriding theme of Wharton's own search for home and place that reoccurs regularly in her stories and novels.  We can then understand not only Edith Wharton's concepts for classic architectural design but at least for her - what makes a house a home.Dr. Emily Orlando is the editor of a recently published new annotated edition of "The Decoration of Houses" available wherever books are sold.This episode was produced and edited by Kieran Gannon  Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

Welcome back to our series on Edith Wharton's excellent novel. This week we talk about the way the two main female characters have emerged, how we respond to Newland's dilemma, the moral conditions of the novel's world, and much more. Happy listening! To learn about The Tapestry curriculum from the CiRCE Institute click here! This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit closereads.substack.com/subscribe

The Arrival of the Fittest: Biology's Imaginary Futures, 1900–1935 by Jim Endersby In the early twentieth century, varied audiences took biology out of the hands of specialists and transformed it into mass culture, transforming our understanding of heredity in the process.In the early twentieth century communities made creative use of the new theories of heredity in circulation at the time, including the now largely forgotten mutation theory of Hugo de Vries. Science fiction writers, socialists, feminists, and utopians are among those who seized on the amazing possibilities of rapid and potentially controllable evolution. De Vries's highly respected scientific theory only briefly captured the attention of the scientific community, but its many fans appropriated it for their own wildly imaginative ends. Writers from H.G. Wells and Edith Wharton to Charlotte Perkins Gilman, J.B.S. Haldane, and Aldous Huxley created a new kind of imaginary future, which Jim Endersby calls the biotopia. It took the ambiguous possibilities of biology—utopian and dystopian—and reimagined them in ways that still influence the public's understanding of the life sciences. The Arrival of the Fittest recovers the fascinating, long-forgotten origins of ideas that have informed works of fiction from Brave New World to the X-Men movies, all while reflecting on the lessons—positive and negative—that this period might offer us. Jim Endersby is professor of the history of science at the University of Sussex. He is the author of Orchid: A Cultural History, Imperial Nature: Joseph Hooker and the Practices of Victorian Science, and A Guinea Pig's History of Biology. Morteza Hajizadeh is a Ph.D. graduate in English from the University of Auckland in New Zealand. His research interests are Cultural Studies; Critical Theory; Environmental History; Medieval (Intellectual) History; Gothic Studies; 18th and 19th Century British Literature. YouTube channel. Twitter. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices Support our show by becoming a premium member! https://newbooksnetwork.supportingcast.fm/new-books-network

The Arrival of the Fittest: Biology's Imaginary Futures, 1900–1935 by Jim Endersby In the early twentieth century, varied audiences took biology out of the hands of specialists and transformed it into mass culture, transforming our understanding of heredity in the process.In the early twentieth century communities made creative use of the new theories of heredity in circulation at the time, including the now largely forgotten mutation theory of Hugo de Vries. Science fiction writers, socialists, feminists, and utopians are among those who seized on the amazing possibilities of rapid and potentially controllable evolution. De Vries's highly respected scientific theory only briefly captured the attention of the scientific community, but its many fans appropriated it for their own wildly imaginative ends. Writers from H.G. Wells and Edith Wharton to Charlotte Perkins Gilman, J.B.S. Haldane, and Aldous Huxley created a new kind of imaginary future, which Jim Endersby calls the biotopia. It took the ambiguous possibilities of biology—utopian and dystopian—and reimagined them in ways that still influence the public's understanding of the life sciences. The Arrival of the Fittest recovers the fascinating, long-forgotten origins of ideas that have informed works of fiction from Brave New World to the X-Men movies, all while reflecting on the lessons—positive and negative—that this period might offer us. Jim Endersby is professor of the history of science at the University of Sussex. He is the author of Orchid: A Cultural History, Imperial Nature: Joseph Hooker and the Practices of Victorian Science, and A Guinea Pig's History of Biology. Morteza Hajizadeh is a Ph.D. graduate in English from the University of Auckland in New Zealand. His research interests are Cultural Studies; Critical Theory; Environmental History; Medieval (Intellectual) History; Gothic Studies; 18th and 19th Century British Literature. YouTube channel. Twitter. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices Support our show by becoming a premium member! https://newbooksnetwork.supportingcast.fm/intellectual-history

The Arrival of the Fittest: Biology's Imaginary Futures, 1900–1935 by Jim Endersby In the early twentieth century, varied audiences took biology out of the hands of specialists and transformed it into mass culture, transforming our understanding of heredity in the process.In the early twentieth century communities made creative use of the new theories of heredity in circulation at the time, including the now largely forgotten mutation theory of Hugo de Vries. Science fiction writers, socialists, feminists, and utopians are among those who seized on the amazing possibilities of rapid and potentially controllable evolution. De Vries's highly respected scientific theory only briefly captured the attention of the scientific community, but its many fans appropriated it for their own wildly imaginative ends. Writers from H.G. Wells and Edith Wharton to Charlotte Perkins Gilman, J.B.S. Haldane, and Aldous Huxley created a new kind of imaginary future, which Jim Endersby calls the biotopia. It took the ambiguous possibilities of biology—utopian and dystopian—and reimagined them in ways that still influence the public's understanding of the life sciences. The Arrival of the Fittest recovers the fascinating, long-forgotten origins of ideas that have informed works of fiction from Brave New World to the X-Men movies, all while reflecting on the lessons—positive and negative—that this period might offer us. Jim Endersby is professor of the history of science at the University of Sussex. He is the author of Orchid: A Cultural History, Imperial Nature: Joseph Hooker and the Practices of Victorian Science, and A Guinea Pig's History of Biology. Morteza Hajizadeh is a Ph.D. graduate in English from the University of Auckland in New Zealand. His research interests are Cultural Studies; Critical Theory; Environmental History; Medieval (Intellectual) History; Gothic Studies; 18th and 19th Century British Literature. YouTube channel. Twitter. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Welcome to our first series of the new year, as we jump into Edith Wharton's novel of the Gilded Age, The Age of Innocence. This we discuss the way Wharton uses Newland Archer's unique point-of-view, the nature of the Countess' role in the story (and in Newland's life), the book's contemplation of the changing society, and much much more. As always, happy listening! This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit closereads.substack.com/subscribe

Episode: 2831 Reading the Long History of Cosmopolitan Magazine.  Today, a great American magazine.

Welcome to Episode 249–we are now NINE! That's right, December is our anniversary month. Episode 1 launched on December 6, 2016, and we've published a new episode every other Tuesday since then. Thank you so much for listening and all your encouragement along the way. We always wonder, especially around our anniversary: how did you discover our podcast?? Let us know in the comments or send us an email if you prefer (bookcougars@gmail.com). Another big deal about this episode is that we finished THE PENGUIN BOOK OF GHOST STORIES: FROM ELIZABETH GASKELL TO AMBROSE BIERCE! We discuss the last story, “Afterward” by Edith Wharton, and also share our top *cough* three stories from the collection. There's a big surprise about that. The books we have read since the last time include: THE CHICKEN SISTERS by KJ Dell'Antonia CITIZEN REPORTERS by Stephanie Gorton DREAM STATE by Eric Puchner FIEND by Alma Katsu WHAT CAN I BRING by Casey Elsass MORE THAN ENOUGH by Anna Quindlen (release date 2/24/2026) We had some fun Biblio Adventures, including running into author Hank Philipi Ryan when we went to see Hanna Halperin in conversation with Oyinkan Braithwaite at The Harvard Bookstore. We spent the day in Boston before that evening's event, starting with a delicious lunch at Flour Bakery + Cafe. Highlights include visiting the Houghton Library, Bob Slate Stationer, the Grolier Poetry Book Shop, and the Harvard Art Museum. We discuss Francis Ford Coppola's 1992 film adaptation of Bram Stoker's novel, DRACULA. Emily enjoyed a conversation between cookbook writers, Casey Elsass and Dorie Greenspan. She also watched the first episode of The Chicken Sisters, a new serial based on the novel. Chris went on a road trip around Rhode Island and Cape Cod, searching out lighthouses and trolls created by Thomas Dambo. Oh, and we announce our reading theme and first readalong book for 2026. Thanks to this episode's sponsor: LET THE WILLOWS WEEP by Sherry Parnell. Happy Listening and Happy Reading! https://www.bookcougars.com/blog-1/2025/episode249

Welcome to Episode 248! This episode is a bit different. We have an Author Spotlight with biographer Natalie Dykstra. If you've been listening to the podcast since this summer, you know that we both read her fascinating biography, CHASING BEAUTY: THE LIFE OF ISABELLA STEWART GARDNER. We also visited the exceptional, impressive, excellent – let's go with indescribable – Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum in Boston. As a result, we had A LOT to talk about with Natalie, and our conversation went long. We greatly appreciated Natalie taking so much time to speak with us, and when it came to editing, well, we didn't know how to cut anything, and, to be honest, we didn't want to cut anything! So, this episode is an extended Author Spotlight with Natalie Dykstra! We hope you enjoy it and that you pick up CHASING BEAUTY. This biography won a New England Society of New York Book Award and the Marfield Prize, the national award for arts writing. We read it in paper, digitally, and can also recommend the audiobook narrated by Maggi-Meg Reed. We'll be back with a “regular” episode in two weeks, when we'll discuss Edith Wharton's “Afterward,” the last story in our year-long reading of THE PENGUIN BOOK OF GHOST STORIES. Thank you to this episode's sponsor: CLOSING COSTS by Janie Steele. Happy Listening and Happy Reading! https://www.bookcougars.com/blog-1/2025/episode248

Bar Talk (our recommendations):Jessica is reading The Dark Tower VI: Song of Susannah by Stephen King; drinking Free Spirits 'The Spirit of Bourbon'.Damien is reading Rejection: Fiction by Tony Tulathimutte; drinking a Boulevardier (Larceny bourbon, Campari, sweet vermouth).Ryan is reading  Long Division: Stories of Social Decay, Societal Collapse and Bad Manners, edited by Doug Murano and Michael Bailey; drinking a Glenlivet 14.If you liked this week's story, read the interconnected short stories of the Dandridge Cycle by Caitlin R Kiernan.Up next: "The Face of the Monk" by Robert HichensSpecial thank you to Dr Blake Brandes for our Whiskey and the Weird music! Like, rate, and follow! Check us out @whiskeyandtheweird on Instagram, Threads & Facebook, and at whiskeyandtheweird.com

This is a Grave Talks CLASSIC EPISODE! In 1901, legendary author Edith Wharton built The Mount—a grand summer estate meant to be her personal retreat from the world. Yet more than a century later, her words still ring true: “I don't believe in ghosts, but I'm afraid of them.” Over the years, the mansion's beauty has been shadowed by stories of disembodied voices, footsteps echoing through empty halls, and an unshakable presence that lingers long after the guests have gone. From its transformation into a girls' school to a theater troupe's residence, The Mount has accumulated layers of emotion, history, and mystery. Now, Crypto Paranormal Investigations, led by Miranda Arthur-Smith and Nick Smith-Koblitz, ventures into its opulent yet haunted corridors to uncover what still stirs within its walls. In this chilling episode of The Grave Talks, they share their findings, experiences, and evidence from one of America's most literary hauntings. Because at The Mount, it seems the stories never truly end—they just change narrators. This is Part Two of our conversation. For more information on Crypto Paranormal Investigations, search for them on Facebook or click here. #TheGraveTalks #TheMount #EdithWharton #HauntedMassachusetts #CryptoParanormal #HistoryAndHauntings #Ghosts #HauntedHistory #ParanormalPodcast #RealGhostStories #LiteraryHauntings #SupernaturalEncounters #ParanormalInvestigation Love real ghost stories? Don't just listen—join us on YouTube and be part of the largest community of real paranormal encounters anywhere. Subscribe now and never miss a chilling new story:

This is a Grave Talks CLASSIC EPISODE! In 1901, legendary author Edith Wharton built The Mount—a grand summer estate meant to be her personal retreat from the world. Yet more than a century later, her words still ring true: “I don't believe in ghosts, but I'm afraid of them.” Over the years, the mansion's beauty has been shadowed by stories of disembodied voices, footsteps echoing through empty halls, and an unshakable presence that lingers long after the guests have gone. From its transformation into a girls' school to a theater troupe's residence, The Mount has accumulated layers of emotion, history, and mystery. Now, Crypto Paranormal Investigations, led by Miranda Arthur-Smith and Nick Smith-Koblitz, ventures into its opulent yet haunted corridors to uncover what still stirs within its walls. In this chilling episode of The Grave Talks, they share their findings, experiences, and evidence from one of America's most literary hauntings. Because at The Mount, it seems the stories never truly end—they just change narrators. For more information on Crypto Paranormal Investigations, search for them on Facebook or click here. #TheGraveTalks #TheMount #EdithWharton #HauntedMassachusetts #CryptoParanormal #HistoryAndHauntings #Ghosts #HauntedHistory #ParanormalPodcast #RealGhostStories #LiteraryHauntings #SupernaturalEncounters #ParanormalInvestigation Love real ghost stories? Don't just listen—join us on YouTube and be part of the largest community of real paranormal encounters anywhere. Subscribe now and never miss a chilling new story:

Inspired by the natural world, NightWood at The Mount in Lenox, MA combines cinematic music, theatrical lighting, and scenic elements to create encounters that evoke wonder, delight, and mystery throughout the forest and gardens of Edith Wharton's Home.It runs November 21- January 3. NightWood immerses visitors on a one-mile illuminated path.

This is a free preview of a paid episode. To hear more, visit smokeempodcast.substack.comNancy and Sarah discuss a viral essay from British Vogue, “Is Having a Boyfriend Embarrassing Now?” The free-wheeling conversation touches on dating changes over the generations, the different ways women tell stories about their relationships online, and how women over the past half century have tried to balance independence and attachment. Also discussed:* First Kurt Rambis reference, for those who celebrate* Sarah gets her colors done, has hair problems* We need a producer!* Our email, for the record: smokeempodcast@gmail.com* Please, we beg you, no more videotaped marriage proposals* On men traveling alone: “Who did that guy kill?”* Influencer culture and the egg-freeze flex* Was the world built for “men's comfort”?* Do men want to be protectors? Do women want them to be? A debate!* Having a boyfriend is… Republican?* Might we have a moratorium on quotes from content providers living in Dimes Square?* “I just want a spinach salad…”* The Hulu show that almost broke up your podcastersPlus, a flashback to an early 20th century Edith Wharton banger, the glory that is Sebastian Junger, and much more!The rich jewel box colors of fall will be yours when you become a paid subscriber

Our 17th annual Halloween special with scary true stories about ghosts, corpses and mortal danger. 

In this show, as a prelude to Hallowe'en, we read a very haunting poem, All Souls by Edith Wharton.

Pulitzer Prize winning novelist Edith Wharton came by her subject matter the old-fashioned way: she was born into a prominent New York City family, and was subjected to the mores of the city's high society circle from birth. This did not suit the plain, brainy young Edith even a little bit, much to her mother's horror, but Edith did eventually submit to an extremely unhappy marriage to a diagnosed megalomaniac (!), which ended in, you guessed it, a trashy divorce. But this episode contains way more than Edith's life, writing and love affairs. We also explore the Gilded Age society that Edith lives in, but it is her aunt who really makes that society. Mrs. Mary Mason Jones is quite the OG legend in New York City, and the entire reason for the phrase “keeping up with the Joneses”. Also included are Mrs. Paran Stevens, Oscar Wilde, a set of international locations, many love affairs, and a whole lot of Newport too. Continue your investigation with ad-free and bonus episodes on Patreon! To advertise on Done & Dunne, please reach out to info@amplitudemediapartners.com. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoicesSee Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Pulitzer Prize winning novelist Edith Wharton came by her subject matter the old-fashioned way: she was born into a prominent New York City family, and was subjected to the mores of the city's high society circle from birth. This did not suit the plain, brainy young Edith even a little bit, much to her mother's horror, but Edith did eventually submit to an extremely unhappy marriage to a diagnosed megalomaniac (!), which ended in, you guessed it, a trashy divorce. But this episode contains way more than Edith's life, writing and love affairs. We also explore the Gilded Age society that Edith lives in, but it is her aunt who really makes that society. Mrs. Mary Mason Jones is quite the OG legend in New York City, and the entire reason for the phrase “keeping up with the Joneses”. Also included are Mrs. Paran Stevens, Oscar Wilde, a set of international locations, many love affairs, and a whole lot of Newport too. Continue your investigation with ad-free and bonus episodes on Patreon! To advertise on Done & Dunne, please reach out to info@amplitudemediapartners.com. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

On today's episode of The Literary Life Podcast, Angelina and Thomas are joined by Atlee Northmore to discuss film adaptations of Edith Wharton's The Age of Innocence. After sharing their commonplace quotes, Atlee begins outlining the history of screen adaptations of Edith Wharton's novels, some of which were made during her own lifetime. Angelina and Thomas talk about their high standards for movie adaptations of books and how Scorsese's film surpassed their expectations. Together they discuss Scorsese's inspiration for this film, the painstaking detail of each scene in the film, how the editing enhanced the audience's understanding of the characters' emotions, and so much more! Also, Atlee's list of Scorsese's influences for making The Age of Innocence can be found here. Tune in again next week to learn more about what we mean when we talk about “the literary tradition”! For full show notes, including links to everything mentioned today, please visit our website at https://theliterary.life/292. 

This week on The Literary Life Podcast we wrap up the book discussion portion of our series on Edith Wharton's The Age of Innocence. Today, Angelina and Thomas begin with chapter 22, going through the significant scenes all the way to the end of the book. They talk about the ways in which this book is an elegy, as well as the continued glimpses of “the family” as the main character. They also discuss the ways in which May shows herself to be more cunning that she pretends in contrast to Ellen's lack of pretense. Other topics of discussion are America's relationship with foreign influence, Archer's desire to live in an illusion, and the recurring theme of “Faust.” They conclude with some thoughts on this book as a parable of American culture. Join us next week for an episode on the film adaptation of this book with our film guru, Atlee Northmore. Visit the HouseofHumaneLetters.com to sign up for all the upcoming and past mini-classes and webinars, especially “The Viking World” taught by Dr. Michael Drout. To view the full show notes for this week's episode, please visit https://theliterary.life/291. 

Welcome to The Literary Life Podcast and our series covering The Age of Innocence by Edith Wharton. Angelina and Thomas open with their commonplace quotes, then begin discussing the events and characters of this section of the book. Some of the ideas they build on this week are the challenges to social conventions, the many references to the goddess Diana and May's “boyishness”, examples of the pretense of society, and the language of flowers. In addition, Thomas shares his feelings about the character of Newland Archer, and Angelina points out the recurring themes of love triangles throughout these chapters. Join us next week when we finish up the last chapters of this book, then come back after that for an episode on the film adaptation of this book with our film guru, Atlee Northmore. Visit the HouseofHumaneLetters.com to sign up for all the upcoming and past mini-classes and webinars taught by Angelina, Thomas, and their colleagues! Be sure to visit https://theliterary.life/290 to view the full show notes for this episode, complete with quotes, book lists, and today's poem.

Jacke starts the episode with an uplifting story, then submerges himself into chaos and absurdity for a look at The Trial by Franz Kafka, which lands at #21 on the list of Greatest Books of All Time. Then he welcomes novelist Olivia Wolfgang-Smith to the show for a discussion of her admiration for Edith Wharton, her passion for the works of Patrick O'Brian (author of the Aubrey-Maturin series), and her latest work Mutual Interest, a dishy novel about ambition, sexuality, and the rise of a capitalist empire in post-Gilded Age New York. Join us on tour! The History of Literature Podcast Tour is happening in May 2026! Act now to join Jacke and fellow literature fans on an eight-day journey through literary England in partnership with ⁠John Shors Travel⁠. Find out more by emailing jackewilsonauthor@gmail.com or masahiko@johnshorstravel.com, or by contacting us through our website ⁠historyofliterature.com⁠. Or visit the ⁠History of Literature Podcast Tour itinerary⁠ at ⁠John Shors Travel⁠. The music in this episode is by Gabriel Ruiz-Bernal. Learn more at ⁠gabrielruizbernal.com. Help support the show at ⁠patreon.com/literature ⁠or ⁠historyofliterature.com/donate ⁠. The History of Literature Podcast is a member of Lit Hub Radio and the Podglomerate Network. Learn more at ⁠thepodglomerate.com/historyofliterature. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Welcome to The Literary Life Podcast and a new series featuring the book The Age of Innocence. Our hosts, Angelina Stanford and Thomas Banks introduce us to American Gilded Age author, Edith Wharton, the "First Lady of American Letters." They also share their own experiences with reading Wharton's stories, novels, and letters, as well as some background on the time period and cultural context in which she was writing. In discussing the first several chapters of this book, Angelina and Thomas point out small details and subtleties that Wharton uses to give us hints about the characters and situations she presents. Visit the HouseofHumaneLetters.com to sign up for all the upcoming and past mini-classes and webinars taught by Angelina, Thomas, and their colleagues! To view the full show notes for this episode, including book links, commonplace quotes, and today's poem, please visit https://theliterary.life/289. 

On today's episode of The Literary Life podcast, Angelina and Thomas will be talking about the milestones of a reader's literary life. This episode developed in response to the many questions they've received over the years about challenges people face throughout their reading lives. They begin by thinking back to childhood and recalling the first time they each chose a book for themselves and fell in love with the story, as well as the feeling of getting their first library cards as children. Thomas asks Angelina when was the first time she found herself arguing with a book, and he answers the same question himself. Other milestones they discuss are changing your mind about a book on a re-read, learning to see past the imperfections of a book to see the underlying truth, distinguishing the work of art from your subjective reading experience, as well as separating the life of the author from the work of literature. They also answer other common concerns such as “Help! I dislike all the characters in this book!” Be sure to come back next week as we open our next series on Edith Wharton's The Age of Innocence in which we will be covering chapters 1-8. Visit the HouseofHumaneLetters.com to sign up for all the upcoming and past mini-classes and webinars taught by Angelina, Thomas, and their colleagues! To view the full show notes for this episode, please visit https://theliterary.life/288. 

On today's episode of The Literary Life podcast, Angelina, Cindy, and Thomas wrap up their discussion of The Jungle Book by Rudyard Kipling with the final Mowgli story–“Tiger, Tiger.” Before beginning to talk about the story, the chat a little about Kipling's other works and his place in literary history and what sort of writer he was. In this section, Angelina points out the parallels to the first story, as well as the mythic qualities of the whole tale. Together they cover the various ideas in this section, including the ideas of belonging, freedom and boundaries, and heroism. Join is next week for an episode on “Literary Milestones” in the life of a reader. After that we will begin a new series on Edith Wharton's The Age of Innocence. Over at House of Humane Letters, a new webinar is now available for registration. It is taught by Heather Goodman and is titled “Coleridge's Imagination: Restoring the Chain of Being.” Also, check out this year's Back to School Online Conference, “Educating the Freeborn,” over at MorningTimeforMoms.com to get registered and hear all of this year's amazing speakers! To view the full show notes for this episode, please visit https://theliterary.life/287. 

Host Meg Wolitzer presents a quartet of summer stories.  Umberto Eco endures trial by mini bar in “How to Travel with a Salmon,” read by Jin Hah.  A scenic getaway turns eerie in Elizabeth Spencer's “The Weekend Travelers,” read by Campbell Scott.  Life looks up—way up—for an overworked restaurant owner in “The Man, The Restaurant, and the Eiffel Tower,” by Ben Loory, read by Stana Katic.  And upper-class “frenemies” have a reckoning in Edith Wharton's “Roman Fever,” read by Maria Tucci.