Podcast Archives

The Ethics of Pet Ownership

Host Violet Lucca,Guest Anne Fadiman

What is it to be happy? Dissecting the long life of a pet frog

Books! The Podcast

Host Violet Lucca,Guest Christian Lorentzen

On the state of publishing and the failed merger of Simon & Schuster and Penguin Random House

The Future of the War on Terror

Host Violet Lucca,Guest Caitlin L. Chandler

Over the horizon: on U.S. military strategy in Niger

Homelessness, Empty Houses, and Eric Adams

Host Violet Lucca,Guest Wes Enzinna

Moving past criminalization in Philadelphia and elsewhere

The Antitrust Case Against Google

Host Violet Lucca,Guest Barry Lynn

AdSense and Sensibility: on the Biden Administration’s efforts to break up Google’s monopoly

Apocalypse Nowish

Host Violet Lucca,Guest Michael Robbins

Why every generation thinks it’ll be the last

The Search for Perfect Sound

Host Violet Lucca,Guest Sasha Frere-Jones

Now hear this: the ephemeral and unquantifiable essence of music

Kate DiCamillo

Host Christopher Beha,Guest Kate DiCamillo

All ages show: the celebrated children’s book author discusses the art of writing for younger and older audiences

Casanova

Host Violet Lucca,Guest Clare Bucknell

The thoughtful prick: the man, the myth, and the mythmaking

Nabokov’s Berlin

Host Violet Lucca,Guest Ryan Ruby

A happy eternal recurrence: on the author’s relationship to fatherhood and time

Sarah Smarsh on the Midterms

Host Violet Lucca,Guest Sarah Smarsh

A view from outside the Beltway of what’s at stake this election

Animal Rights

Host Violet Lucca,Guest Elizabeth Barber, Matt Johnson

The heart of the heartland: on the methods and laws factory farms would rather we didn’t know about

The Right to Not Be Pregnant

Host Violet Lucca,Guest Charlotte Shane

Reframing and strengthening fundamental pro-choice arguments

Louise Bourgeois

Host Violet Lucca,Guest Claire-Louise Bennett

On the artist, her life and work, and the experience of seeing

What Happened to Cecil Rhodes’s Nose?

Host Violet Lucca,Guest Hedley Twidle

On problematic statues and new approaches to writing about lingering historical trauma

Addiction, Recovery, and Experimental Brain Surgery

Host Violet Lucca,Guest Zachary Siegel

New ways of thinking about substance abuse, treatment, and sobriety

Christopher Hitchens

Host Violet Lucca,Guest Christian Lorentzen, Maureen Tkacik, Luke Savage

Examining the commentator’s pre-internet celebrity, writing, and legacy

Guardians of Memory

Host Violet Lucca,Guest Fred Bahnson, Father Columba Stewart

Working as though everything depended on you: the delicate, dangerous task of preserving religious manuscripts in conflict zones

Empire Burlesque

Host Violet Lucca,Guest Daniel Bessner

Living through the twilight of American global power

Tree Sleuths

by Lauren Markham,Host Violet Lucca,

Flat-pack forensics: how scientists are dissembling black market lumber

The Victim Cloud

Host Violet Lucca,Guest Hannah Zeavin

The greatest scam in history might be the stigma against those who’ve been defrauded

Army of Shadows

Host Violet Lucca,Guest Seth Harp

Over there: breaking through myths about the Ukrainian foreign legion

Ottessa Moshfegh on Lapvona

Host Violet Lucca,Guest Ottessa Moshfegh

It takes a village: the author discusses her latest novel

The Matter of War

Host Violet Lucca,Guest Nicole Tung

On the front lines in Ukraine

Down the Hatch

by David Hill,Host Violet Lucca,

On the past and future of the carnival, one of America’s great institutions

In the Land of Living Skies

Host Violet Lucca,Guest Suzannah Showler

Why it’s important to live in the dark

Ghosting the Machine

Host Violet Lucca,Guest Sam Lipsyte

In the uncanny valley of the dolls: Sam Lipsyte investigates digisexuality in Las Vegas

Who Killed Louis Le Prince?

Host Violet Lucca,Guest Nat Segnit

Ghost in the machine: on the origins of cinema

Notes on the State of Jefferson

Host Violet Lucca,Guest James Pogue

Range wars: a secessionist movement reveals the cracks in American democracy

I Multiplied Myself

Host Violet Lucca,Guest Benjamin Kunkel

Better living through avoiding it entirely: on the life and work of Fernando Pessoa

Podcast

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The Ethics of Pet Ownership

Books! The Podcast

The Future of the War on Terror

Homelessness, Empty Houses, and Eric Adams

The Antitrust Case Against Google

Apocalypse Nowish

The Search for Perfect Sound

Kate DiCamillo

Casanova

Nabokov’s Berlin

Sarah Smarsh on the Midterms

Animal Rights

The Right to Not Be Pregnant

Louise Bourgeois

What Happened to Cecil Rhodes’s Nose?

Addiction, Recovery, and Experimental Brain Surgery

Christopher Hitchens

Guardians of Memory

Empire Burlesque

Tree Sleuths

The Victim Cloud

Army of Shadows

Ottessa Moshfegh on Lapvona

The Matter of War

Down the Hatch

In the Land of Living Skies

Ghosting the Machine

Who Killed Louis Le Prince?

Notes on the State of Jefferson

I Multiplied Myself

Debug

Podcast

Subscribe to our podcast through iTunes, Substack, SoundCloud, or Spotify.

From the Archive

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The Ethics of Pet Ownership

Books! The Podcast

The Future of the War on Terror

Homelessness, Empty Houses, and Eric Adams

The Antitrust Case Against Google

Apocalypse Nowish

The Search for Perfect Sound

Kate DiCamillo

Casanova

Nabokov’s Berlin

Sarah Smarsh on the Midterms

Animal Rights

The Right to Not Be Pregnant

Louise Bourgeois

What Happened to Cecil Rhodes’s Nose?

Addiction, Recovery, and Experimental Brain Surgery

Christopher Hitchens

Guardians of Memory

Empire Burlesque

Tree Sleuths

The Victim Cloud

Army of Shadows

Ottessa Moshfegh on Lapvona

The Matter of War

Down the Hatch

In the Land of Living Skies

Ghosting the Machine

Who Killed Louis Le Prince?

Notes on the State of Jefferson

I Multiplied Myself

Debug