Supposedly an enslaved man from sixth-century Samos, Aesop might not have ever really existed, but the fables attributed to him remain some of the most widely read examples of classical literature. A fascinating window into the ‘low’ culture of ancient Greece, the Fables and the figure of Aesop appear in the work of authors as diverse as Aristophanes, Plato and Phaedrus, serving new purposes in new contexts. Emily and Tom discuss how Aesop’s fables as we know them came to be, make sense of their moral contradictions and unpack some of the fables that are most opaque to modern readers.Non-subscriber will only hear extracts from the rest of this series. To listen in full and to our other Close Readings series, sign up:Directly in Apple Podcasts: https://apple.co/3pJoFPqIn other podcast apps: lrb.me/closereadingsFurther reading in the LRB: Tim Whitmarsh: Crashing the Delphic Partyhttps://www.lrb.co.uk/the-paper/v33/n12/tim-whitmarsh/crashing-the-delphic-party Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

All teachers know that the best way for students to learn a language is through swear words, and nobody knew this better than Aelfric Bata, a monk from Winchester whose Colloquies, compiled in around the year 1000, instructed pupils to swear in Latin with elaborate and vivid fluency. Mary and Irina work through some of Aelfric’s fruitier dialogues, and ask whether his examples can be taken purely in good humour.Sign up to listen to this series ad free and all our subscriber series, including Mary and Irina's 12-part series Medieval Beginnings:Directly in Apple Podcasts: https://lrb.me/medlolapplesignupIn other podcast apps: https://lrb.me/medlolscsignupWatch a video version of this podcast on our YouTube channel hereGet in touch: podcasts@lrb.co.uk Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Judith Butler joins Adam Shatz to discuss a landmark in feminist thought, Simone de Beauvoir’s The Second Sex (1949). Dazzling in its scope, The Second Sex incorporates anthropology, psychology, historiography, mythology and biology to ask an ‘impossible’ question: what is a woman? Focusing on three key chapters, Adam and Judith navigate this dense and dizzying book, exploring the nuances of Beauvoir’s original French phrasing and drawing on Judith’s own experiences teaching and writing about the text. They discuss the book’s startling relevance as well as its stark limitations for contemporary feminism, Beauvoir’s refusal to call herself a philosopher, and the radical possibilities released by her claim that one is not born, but rather becomes, a woman.Non-subscribers will only hear an extract from this episode. To listen in full, and to all our other Close Readings series, sign up:Directly in Apple Podcasts: https://apple.co/3pJoFPqIn other podcast apps: lrb.me/closereadingsJudith Butler is Distinguished Professor in the Graduate School at the University of California, Berkeley, and Adam Shatz is the LRB's US editor and author of, most recently, The Rebel's Clinic: The Revolutionary Lives of Frantz Fanon.Get in touch: podcasts@lrb.co.uk Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

This episode explores John Donne's satires and their significance in Elizabethan literature. The hosts discuss Donne's unique writing style, the emergence and popularity of satire in late Elizabethan times, and how his satires serve as the foundation of his writing. They analyze specific moments in the poems where Donne compresses reality into a single sentence, highlighting the challenging nature of his work.

In the first episode of their new Close Readings series on political poetry, Seamus Perry and Mark Ford look at ‘An Horatian Ode upon Cromwell’s Return from Ireland’ by Andrew Marvell, described by Frank Kermode as ‘braced against folly by the power and intelligence that make it possible to think it the greatest political poem in the language’.Mark Ford is Professor of English at University College, London, and Seamus Perry is Professor of English Literature at Balliol College, Oxford.Sign up to the Close Readings subscription to listen ad free and to all our series in full:Directly in Apple Podcasts: https://lrb.me/ppapplesignupIn other podcast apps: https://lrb.me/ppsignupRead the poem hereFurther reading in the LRB:Blair Worden: Double Tongued: https://lrb.me/wordenppFrank Kermode: Hard Labour: https://lrb.me/kermodeppDavid Norbrook: Political Verse: https://lrb.me/norbrookppGet in touch: podcasts@lrb.co.uk Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Emily Wilson and Thomas Jones kick off their second season of Among the Ancients with a return to the eighth century BCE, exploring the poems of Homer’s near contemporary, Hesiod, the first western writer to craft a poetic persona. In Works and Days, brilliantly translated by A.E. Stallings, Hesiod weaves his personality into a narrative that encompasses everything from brotherly bickering to cosmic warfare. Emily and Tom unpack this wildly entertaining window into Ancient Greek life, and discuss how Stallings’s translation highlights the humour and linguistic flavour of the original text.Non-subscriber will only hear extracts from the rest of this series. To listen in full and to our other Close Readings series, sign up:Directly in Apple Podcasts: https://apple.co/3pJoFPqIn other podcast apps: lrb.me/closereadingsFurther reading in the LRB:Barbara Graziosihttps://www.lrb.co.uk/the-paper/v31/n16/barbara-graziosi/where-s-the-gravyEmily Wilson is Professor of Classical Studies at the University of Pennsylvania and Thomas Jones is an editor at the London Review of Books.Get in touch: podcasts@lrb.co.uk Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Discover the humor in Chaucer's 'Miller's Tale' as the hosts explore mistaken identities, romantic entanglements, and complex deceptions. Dive into Absalom's quirks and discomfort with physicality, all within the context of medieval literature. Also, learn about new shows on Hulu like 'Poor Things' and 'Shogun'.

Judith Butler and Adam Shatz explore Jean-Paul Sartre's 'Anti-Semite and Jew,' discussing the philosophical scrutiny of anti-Semitism, the controversial suggestion of antisemites owing their identity to Jews, and the negative portrayal of Jews. They dive into the book's focus on bigotry in France, the creation of Jewish identity through the antisemitic gaze, and criticisms of Sartre's portrayal of Jews in entirely negative terms.

Learn about the origin and meaning of satire, its various forms and boundaries. Dive into 'The Praise of Folly' by Rasmus, where Folly ridicules the world's madness, universal folly, and criticizes social groups and Christianity.

For the final introduction to next year’s full Close Readings programme, Emily Wilson, celebrated classicist and translator of Homer’s Iliad and Odyssey, returns for a second season of Among the Ancients, to take on another twelve vital works of Greek and Roman literature with the LRB’s Thomas Jones, loosely themed around ‘truth and lies’ – from Aesop’s Fables to Marcus Aurelius’s Meditations.Authors covered: Hesiod, Aesop, Herodotus, Pindar, Plato, Lucian, Plautus, Terence, Lucan, Tacitus, Juvenal, Apuleius, Marcus Aurelius.First episode released on 24 January 2024, then on the 24th of each month for the rest of the year.How to ListenClose Readings subscriptionDirectly in Apple Podcasts: https://apple.co/3pJoFPqIn other podcast apps: lrb.me/closereadingsClose Readings PlusIn addition to the episodes, receive all the books under discussion; access to webinars with Emily, Tom and special guests including Amia Srinivasan; and shownotes and further reading from the LRB archive.On sale here from 22 November: lrb.me/plus Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.