Franz Kafka died 100 years ago last month, but his work is still very much alive today in literature classes and, surprisingly, on social media.

This hour, we look at Kafka’s life and legacy, discuss the “Kafkaesque,” and investigate why the author resonates so much today.

Plus, we revisit his most famous work, “The Metamorphosis,” and talk with a zoologist about the idea of turning into an insect.

GUESTS:

Benjamin Balint: Author of Kafka’s Last Trial; his new book is Bruno Schulz: An Artist, A Murder, and the Hijacking of History
Tim Coulson: Professor of zoology at the University of Oxford; his new book is The Science of Why We Exist: A History of the Universe from the Big Bang to Consciousness
Margarita Mouka: Content creator and creative executive; her TikTok handle is @aquariuscat444
Karolina Watroba: Post-doctoral research fellow in modern languages at Oxford’s All Souls College and the author of Metamorphoses: In Search of Franz Kafka

The Colin McEnroe Show is available as a podcast on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Google Podcasts, Amazon Music, TuneIn, Listen Notes, or wherever you get your podcasts. Subscribe and never miss an episode!

Subscribe to The Noseletter, an email compendium of merriment, secrets, and ancient wisdom brought to you by The Colin McEnroe Show.

Join the conversation on Facebook and Twitter.

Colin McEnroe, Jonathan McNicol, and Bradley O’Connor contributed to this show.

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

U.S. Treasuries are Junk Bonds – Ep 598