#2583

Mentioned in 16 episodes

Merchant of Venice

Book • 1600

The play revolves around Antonio, a wealthy merchant of Venice, who takes a loan from the Jewish moneylender Shylock to help his friend Bassanio woo the wealthy heiress Portia.

When Antonio's ships are reported lost at sea, he is unable to repay the loan, and Shylock demands his pound of flesh as per the bond.

The play culminates in a trial where Portia, disguised as a lawyer, intervenes to save Antonio's life.

The play explores themes of debt, mercy, and the complexities of human relationships in 16th-century Venice.

Mentioned by

Mentioned in 16 episodes

Mentioned by

Niall Ferguson

as an example of the antagonism towards lending money and the role of Jewish lenders.

205 snips

The Debt Crisis No One’s Talking About - Sir Niall Ferguson

Mentioned by

Dinesh D'Souza

to illustrate how Jews have preserved their identity.

94 snips

Why MAGA Is At War With Itself - Dinesh D'Souza

Mentioned by

Adeel Akhtar

as the play from which he performed a Shylock monologue for his National Youth Theatre audition.

80 snips

Why are defenders of free speech always shutting people down?

Mentioned by President Faust, referencing Portia's speech on mercy in the play.

41 snips

Voices of the Restoration #7 • Testimonies of "The Vision" • Dr. Gerrit Dirkmaat • July 7-13 • Come Follow Me

Mentioned by

Scott Adams

when discussing the origin of the term 'Shylock' in relation to Trump's rally.

28 snips

Episode 2889 CWSA 07/06/25

Mentioned by

Zena Hitz

as a play she is interested in getting to know better.

16 snips

Zena Hitz: reading the Great Books

Mentioned when discussing the importance of mercy, quoting Portia's speech on the quality of mercy.

16 snips

“Lions & Scavengers" Audiobook: Chapter 2

Mentioned as a play set in a very recognizably modern world of empire and extractive colonialism.

15 snips

What Don Quixote Knew

Mentioned by

David McWilliams

when discussing the economics of Venice and its relevance to Shakespeare's works.

13 snips

The Economics of the Merchant of Venice: Lessons from an Empire of Trade

Mentioned by

Ryan Angley

when comparing the film Love Actually to a problematic take on Shakespeare's play.

12 snips

Millennium Christmas

Mentioned by Michael Knowles when discussing Trump's use of the term in a discussion about antisemitism.

12 snips

Ep. 1768 - Did USAID Cause COVID?

Mentioned by

Amy Nicholson

in the context of Shakespearean adaptations.

10 Things I Hate About You

Mentioned by

Wes Cecil

to illustrate how people used to be able to sell themselves into slavery.

The Transvaluation of All Values: You are not a Slave- Ep. 3

Mentioned by

Simon Critchley

when discussing Heidegger's Being and Time and the concept of guilt.

Episode 12: Conscience

Mentioned by

Douglas Clark

in connection to a discussion between Nerissa and Portia about the state of their liberty and freedom as women.

749 Willing and Will-Making in the English Renaissance (with Douglas Clark) | #7 Greatest Book of All Time

Mentioned by

Ben Shapiro

in response to a question about whether Shakespeare was anti-Semitic.

Ben Shapiro’s Q&A at Yale University | @YAFTV

Mentioned by

Helen Lewis

when drawing parallels between Shylock's speech and Richard II's appeal to the audience.

Strong Recommend: Shakespeare's Richard II

Mentioned by

Jeff Lunden

as the first performance in 1962 at the Delacorte Theater, starring George C. Scott and James Earl Jones.

The Delacorte Theater

Mentioned by

Ariel Colonomos

as one of Shakespeare's major plays focused on the idea of measure.

Ariel Colonomos, "Pricing Lives: The Political Art of Measurement" (Oxford UP, 2023)

Mentioned regarding interfaith marriage dependent on conversion and the deprivation of liberty of conscience.

Sheiba Kian Kaufman, "Persian Paradigms in Early Modern English Drama" (Oxford UP, 2025)

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