4 Sappho

By the middle of the twentieth century, Robert Frost was widely regarded as America's most popular poet, beloved for the simple, sincere verses that took readers on journeys through the wooded roads of rural New England, accompanied by Frost's wry observations and hardscrabble tr ...  Show more

In preparation for next week's conversation with Adam Plunkett, author of a new major biography of Robert Frost (1874-1963), we revisit an earlier episode about the widely anthologized (and often misunderstood) New England poet. In this episode, which first aired in 2017 as Episo ...  Show more

Persephone and real women of antiquity. Dr Ellie Mackin Roberts, author of Heroines of Olympus, talks about the versions of Persephone, real women's interactions with her, and understanding the idea of "abduction" in Greek mythology. Follow Ellie on TikTok and Twitter.CW/TW: **Th ...  Show more

*This episode contains very strong language and adult content*

A semi autobiographical account from a conflicted man? An ode to a wife’s sexual desire? A criminally obscene novel?

Lady Chatterley’s Lover is one of the most famous texts from the past century ...

Lucrecia Borgia fue presentada por el escritor Víctor Hugo como una mujer viciosa, despiadada y maestra en venenos. La realidad es que la verdadera Lucrecia, la que emerge de los archivos y los documentos históricos, era radicalmente distinta: una mujer espléndida, culta, gentil, ...  Show more

It’s been said that history is written by the person at the typewriter. But who did the person who made history depend on? Often, it’s impossible to find out. But once in a while, we get lucky, and the story was not only recorded, it’s really good.
Well that’s what this p ...