Entitled Opinions (about Life and Literature)

Joseph Cermatori is assistant professor of English at Skidmore College. He specializes in the fields of comparative literature, modern and contemporary drama, performance studies, and critical theory. Beyond his research in twentieth-century modernism, his scholarship encompasses the broad history of art and ideas in Western culture from 1600 to the present, focusing on the philosophical […]

Alex Rex Nielson is a Scottish musician and songwriter.  He is the founding member of the UK band Trembling Bells, which recorded six albums before Alex went on to make four solo albums under the band name Alex Rex. Songs played in this episode: “Directing Hand- for PB”— drum solo by Alex Rex “Master” by Alex […]

A conversation with Thomas Woltz about landscape architecture. Thomas Woltz is the owner of Nelson Byrd Woltz Landscape Architects. Over the past two decades of practice Thomas and his team have infused narratives of the land into the places where people live, work, and play, engendering stewardship and inspiring connections between people and the natural […]

A monologue by Robert Harrison. Outro song: “The End” by The Doors

A conversation with Aqsa Ijaz about the Persian poet and Sufi mystic Rumi. Aqsa Ijaz is a PhD candidate at the Institute of Islamic Studies at McGill University. She is a singer, translator, writer, book reviewer, and a literary scholar.  Outro song: “dil miravad zidastam” by Aqsa Ijaz

A conversation with Bryan Cheong about the laws of thermodynamics. Bryan Cheong received his Bachelor of Science from Stanford University, with a degree in applied and computational mathematics.  He then went on to receive a Masters degree in Materials Science, also from Stanford. Outro Song: “Pick Up The Pieces” by The Average White Band

A conversation with Professor Mark C. Taylor on the topic of his new book: Seeing Silence (University of Chicago Press, 2020). Mark C. Taylor is Professor of Religion at Columbia University and the Cluett Professor of Humanities emeritus at Williams College. Outro song: “Sword In Hand” by Madeleine Bouton

A conversation with Professor Thomas Harrison on the topic of his new book: Of Bridges: A Poetic and Philosophical Account (University of Chicago Press, 2021).  Thomas Harrison is Professor of Italian at UCLA. Outro song: “Bold As Love” by Jimi Hendrix

A conversation with Professor Mark C. Taylor on the topic of his new book: Intervolution – Smart Bodies, Smart Things (Columbia University Press, 2020). Mark C. Taylor is Professor of Religion at Columbia University and the Cluett Professor of Humanities emeritus at Williams College. Outro song: “Soliloquio” by Alusa Fallax

A conversation with Professor Christy Wampole on the topic of her new book: Degenerative Realism: Novel and Nation in Twenty-First-Century France (Columbia University Press, 2020).  Christy Wampole is Associate Professor of French at Princeton University. Outro song: “Coeur Bizarre” by La Féline