Dec. 8, 2025
#8 Greatest Book of All Time
There is a lot to praise about Herman Melville's Moby Dick, which comes in at #8 on the History of Literature's list of 25 Greatest Books of All Time. In Episode 747, Jacke considers this tale that is so much more than a story about a whale. Eager to dive deeper into the novel? Take a listen to episodes 481 and 482, a pair of episodes in which Jacke pursues 10 essential questions regarding this literary leviathan that begins with the memorable first line:
Call me Ishmael.
Episode 827: American Literature's War on Crime with Theodore Martin
The second half of the twentieth century was marked by an extreme increase in America's prison population, from roughly 250,000 inmates in 1940 to well over two million by 2008. At the same time, American readers were devouring mysteries, thrillers,…
Episode 826: Washington Irving with Phillip Lopate
At the time of Washington Irving's death, he was the most famous and widely praised American writer of his or any other era. But his reputation soon dwindled, and today he's known primarily as the author of just two stories ("The Legend of Sleepy Ho…
