Writ Large

Zachary Davis
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There’s more to a book than what’s written on its pages: a book can change the world. In each episode of Writ Large, host Zachary Davis talks with one of the world’s leading scholars about one book that shaped the world we live in—whether you’ve heard of it or not. These conversations go beyond the plot summaries to unpack each book’s context and creation, and reveal its lasting influence on the ideas of today. Learn more at writlarge.fm

  1. 24/11/2025

    On Ayn Rand's Atlas Shrugged

    Ayn Rand's 1957 novel Atlas Shrugged explores the question: What happens when the creators of a society refuse to create? Her answer was a work that is equal parts dystopian warning, philosophical manifesto, and cultural Rorschach test. Though critics panned it, the book's characters, symbols, and moral vision continue to reverberate through American political life. Our guest is Jennifer Burns, Edgar E. Robinson Professor in United States History at Stanford University. Burns is one of the world’s leading scholars of Ayn Rand and the history of American conservatism. In this episode, we explore Rand’s dramatic life—from her family’s business being seized by Bolsheviks, to her improbable career in Hollywood, to the fervent intellectual circle that formed around her—and unpack the philosophical and political legacy of Atlas Shrugged. Atlas Shrugged has never gone out of print. It persists because it captures an enduring American anxiety: fear of an overreaching state, of a society that punishes excellence, and of a world where individual freedom might fall under collective control. It has became a continual source of inspiration for libertarians, business leaders, and generations of young conservatives. For more information about Writ Large, visit https://www.ministryofideas.org/writlarge Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

    On Ayn Rand's Atlas Shrugged

  2. 21/12/2022

    On Martin Heidegger's "Being and Time"

    Martin Heidegger did not like small thoughts. He was fascinated by the most expansive questions humans can ask themselves. Questions like: Why are we here at all? Why do things exist as they do? What does it mean to be in the world? Heidegger came to believe that many of the modern answers to these questions were based on old, unexamined assumptions. Instead of accepting those assumptions, Heidegger wanted to return to the great philosophical texts of the past and see if he could recover and reveal deep truths that had been obscured or forgotten. The result of this intellectual treasure-hunting is his most well known work, Being and Time, published in 1927. Despite its dark context, Being and Time remains essential reading for engaging with the vexing challenges presented by modernity. Peter Gordon is the Amabel B. James Professor of History, Faculty Affiliate in the Department of Germanic Languages and Literatures, and Faculty Affiliate in the Department of Philosophy at Harvard University. He is a critical theorist and an historian of modern European philosophy and social thought, specializing in Frankfurt School critical theory, phenomenology, existentialism, and Western Marxism. See more information on our website, WritLarge.fm. Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

  3. 20/12/2022

    On Samuel Beckett's "Waiting for Godot

    In Paris in 1953, one of the strangest and most popular plays of the 20th century premiered, Waiting for Godot, written by the Irish writer Samuel Beckett. Since the premier, people have been trying to figure out what this play means. It’s been interpreted in countless ways, with no definitive confirmation from Beckett one way or another. Waiting for Godot is famous as a play about nothing, but it has endured because it is in fact a play about life. For what is life but a sequential collection of waitings? Waiting for school to end. Waiting to find someone to love. Waiting to know what to do. Waiting to feel better. Waiting for money or recognition. And ultimately, the last waiting, waiting for death. And yet, between all these waitings, we find meaning to continue on. Peter Connor is a professor of French and Comparative Literature at Barnard College. He is the author of Georges Bataille and the Mysticism of Sin (Baltimore: Johns Hopkins U.P., 2000). See more information on our website, WritLarge.fm. Follow us on Twitter @WritLargePod. Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

    On Samuel Beckett's "Waiting for Godot

  4. 19/12/2022

    On William Shakespeare's "Hamlet"

    William Shakespeare is the greatest writer in history, and Hamlet is his greatest work. In Hamlet, Shakespeare gave us one of the first modern characters in literature. We are invited into the mind of Hamlet, to see how he thinks and acts in the face of love, grief, and revenge. It is a work of deep psychological complexity, and has inspired many writers to explore and reveal the inner lives of their characters. Part of what keeps Hamlet alive is its delicate balance of textured specificity and capacious vagueness. It is specific enough for Hamlet to feel real while also inviting endless interpretations. Michael Dobson is the director of the Shakespeare Institute in Stratford-upon-Avon. He is the author of “Cutting, interruption, and the end of Hamlet” See more information on our website, WritLarge.fm. Follow us on Twitter @WritLargePod. Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

    On William Shakespeare's "Hamlet"

  5. 16/12/2022

    On Miguel de Cervantes' "Don Quixote"

    Don Quixote was written by Spanish author Miguel de Cervantes. He wrote it in two parts. Part one was published in 1605, and part two ten years later, in 1615. The story is centered around a middle aged guy named Alonso Quijano who is obsessed with stories of brave medieval knights—so obsessed that he decides to create a new persona for himself and live in a fictitious world of his own creation as Don Quixote. Don Quixote goes on all sorts of misguided adventures; fighting a windmill, jousting with a flock of sheep, and usually losing these battles in humiliating fashion. Timothy Hampton is a professor of comparative literature and French at the University of California at Berkeley. He is the author of Fictions of Embassy: Literature and Diplomacy in Early Modern Europe See more information on our website, WritLarge.fm. Follow us on Twitter @WritLargePod. Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

    On Miguel de Cervantes' "Don Quixote"

  6. 15/12/2022

    On Marcel Proust's "In Search of Lost Time"

    The French writer Marcel Proust was fascinated by life. But he was even more interested in how we perceive life. In 1908, when he was in his late 30s, he began to write a novel that explored themes of memory, identity, and the passage of time. This project consumed him until he died in 1922. By the end, his novel came out at more than 1.2 million words—that’s 3,000-4,000 pages depending on the edition. Much of the work was inspired directly from his life, sometimes memories of the past, and sometimes experiences that were unfolding in the present. In English, the novel goes by the title In Search of Lost Time. Although it does have a plot of sorts, this book is more about ideas, and less about a storyline. Elisabeth Ladenson is Professor of French and Comparative Literature and General Editor of Romanic Review at Columbia University. She is the author of Proust’s Lesbianism. Michael Lucey is Professor in the French department at University of California Berkeley. He is the author of What Proust Heard: Novels and the Ethnography of Talk See more information on our website, WritLarge.fm. Follow us on Twitter @WritLargePod. Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

    On Marcel Proust's "In Search of Lost Time"

  7. 14/12/2022

    On Voltaire's "Candide"

    Many people made the European Enlightenment, but probably nobody better represents the movement’s spirit than the French writer and philosopher Voltaire. He was a man of letters and strong critic of the Catholic Church. In 1759 Voltaire published one of his best known works, Candide. In this satirical fable, Voltaire used current events of the day—like the 7 Years War and the 1755 Lisbon earthquake—to explore larger philosophical questions, such as how there could be evil in a world created by a benevolent god. In Candide, Voltaire frees us from the naive optimism that there is a perfect order to things. Carla Hesse is the Peder Sather Professor of History at the University of California, Berkeley. She is the author of The Other Enlightenment: How French Women Became Modern See more information on our website, WritLarge.fm. Follow us on Twitter @WritLargePod. Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

    On Voltaire's "Candide"

  8. 13/12/2022

    On Gabriel García Márquez's "One Hundred Years of Solitude"

    In 1967, Colombian author Gabriel García Márquez published his masterpiece, One Hundred Years of Solitude. Because of that book, he won the Nobel Prize in literature in 1982. One Hundred Years of Solitude is a story about life, death, endings, and beginnings. It is a novel that invites its readers to think about their own past, and accept the complex and mysterious forces that have shaped them. It calls into question our relationship to nostalgia, and the role memory plays in shaping our futures. Héctor Hoyos is an Associate Professor of Latin American literature and culture at Stanford University. He is the author of Beyond Bolaño: The Global Latin American Novel. See more information on our website, WritLarge.fm. Follow us on Twitter @WritLargePod. Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

    On Gabriel García Márquez's "One Hundred Years of Solitude"
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About

There’s more to a book than what’s written on its pages: a book can change the world. In each episode of Writ Large, host Zachary Davis talks with one of the world’s leading scholars about one book that shaped the world we live in—whether you’ve heard of it or not. These conversations go beyond the plot summaries to unpack each book’s context and creation, and reveal its lasting influence on the ideas of today. Learn more at writlarge.fm

Information

  • Creator
    Zachary Davis
  • Years Active
    2020 - 2025
  • Episodes
    102
  • Rating
    Clean
  • Copyright
    © Zachary Davis
  • Show Website
    Writ Large

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