BiblioFiles: A CenterForLit Podcast about Great Books, Great Ideas, and the Great Conversation

CenterForLit
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In which the CenterForLit staff embarks on a quest to discover the Great Ideas of literature in books of every description: ancient classics to fresh bestsellers; epic poems to bedtime stories. This podcast is a production of The Center for Literary Education and is a reading companion for teachers, homeschoolers, and readers of all stripes. centerforlit.substack.com

  1. All the World's a Stage: Creator by Forrester and Andrews

    05/27/2025

    All the World's a Stage: Creator by Forrester and Andrews

    You’ve heard of Rodgers and Hammerstein. You’ve heard of Bernstein and Sondheim. But have you heard of Forrester and Andrews?! In this episode the CenterForLit crew is joined by Adam’s good friend Scott Forrester to talk about Missy’s favorite stage play: Creator. Creator is one of many musicals on which Adam and Scott have collaborated since their heyday in the theater department at Hillsdale College. It is an adaptation of Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein that explores what might have happened if Victor Frankenstein had given in to the Creature’s request for a bride. Adam and Scott discuss the joys of artistic collaboration in a way that may inspire your young artists to enjoy their own dramaturgical interests no matter how large their audience! Be sure to stay tuned until the end to listen to one of the musical numbers from Creator: “There’s a Charm on the Woods.” CenterForLit’s Substack is a reader-supported publication. To receive new posts and support our work, consider becoming a free or paid subscriber. This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit centerforlit.substack.com/subscribe

    54 min
  2. Changes Coming to the CenterForLit Podcast Network!

    05/15/2025

    Changes Coming to the CenterForLit Podcast Network!

    CenterForLit Director Adam Andrews explains what you can expect from the CenterForLit Podcast Network going forward. In summary: * The BiblioFiles archives and previous How to Eat an Elephant seasons will be available to paid Substack subscribers. * Our free podcast will feature a slight change of format, focusing on roundtable discussions with the CenterForLit crew on wide ranging topics of literary relevance. * Paid subscribers will have full access to all future topical seasons - including our upcoming season on AI. * A huge thank you to everyone who has faithfully listened to and supported our shows over the last decade. We are so grateful to you for making our conversations possible! CenterForLit’s Substack is a reader-supported publication. To receive new posts and support our work, consider becoming a free or paid subscriber. This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit centerforlit.substack.com/subscribe

    3 min
  3. All the World's a Stage: Conclusion

    05/07/2025

    All the World's a Stage: Conclusion

    For our season finale we’re reflecting on how far we’ve come since Medea. We offer our final thoughts on the difference between written literature and dramatic performance, identify trends in theater history, and take a little time to be silly before we call it quits. In this episode each member of the CenterForLit crew takes turns casting one of the plays we’ve discussed. Then we imagine hypothetical conversations between two characters we’ve met this season. Finally we reveal favorite plays that we didn’t get a chance to discuss in anticipation of talking about them in our bonus episodes for paid Substack subscribers! ⁠⁠⁠Buy the books we're discussing this season and support BiblioFiles!⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ CenterForLit’s Substack is a reader-supported publication. To receive new posts and support our work, consider becoming a free or paid subscriber. This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit centerforlit.substack.com/subscribe

    57 min
  4. All the World's a Stage: Waiting for Godot

    04/30/2025

    All the World's a Stage: Waiting for Godot

    Aaron Andrews is returning to the show today to talk about Samuel Beckett’s Waiting for Godot with the rest of the crew. We debate whether or not there is any room for hope in this strange play, and wonder about the nature of its humor and sparse structure. Do you see any continuity between absurdism and Greek drama? Has anything about the way we think about theatre today stayed the same? What’s changed? Let us know what you think in the comments! Learn about CenterForLit's brand new Referral Program. ⁠⁠⁠Buy the books we're discussing this season and support BiblioFiles!⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ CenterForLit’s Substack is a reader-supported publication. To receive new posts and support our work, consider becoming a free or paid subscriber. This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit centerforlit.substack.com/subscribe

    55 min
  5. All the World's a Stage: A Long Day's Journey Into Night

    04/12/2025

    All the World's a Stage: A Long Day's Journey Into Night

    Today we're wading deep into the fog of Modernism with a discussion of Eugene O'Neill's A Long Day's Journey Into Night (1956). Ian and Megan sit down in this episode to talk about the difference between self-consciously textual plays and novels, the modernist view of the purpose of art, and the value of reading depressing entries in the Great Conversation. Learn about CenterForLit's brand new Referral Program. ⁠⁠⁠Buy the books we're discussing this season and support BiblioFiles!⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Follow our Substack and join the conversation.⁠⁠⁠ This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit centerforlit.substack.com/subscribe

    45 min
  6. All the World's a Stage: Hedda Gabler

    04/03/2025

    All the World's a Stage: Hedda Gabler

    Today we're tackling the movement toward Realism in the theater with a discussion of Henrik Ibsen's 1891 stage play, Hedda Gabler. This one caused a stir among the CenterForLit crew members, which instigated a big, juicy conversation about Ibsen's purpose in portraying such an unlikable character in Hedda. ⁠Learn more about CenterForLit's Online Academy. ⁠⁠⁠ ⁠⁠⁠Buy the books we're discussing this season and support BiblioFiles!⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Follow our Substack and join the conversation.⁠⁠ This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit centerforlit.substack.com/subscribe

    55 min
  7. All The World's a Stage: A Brief History of Theatre in the 1700s

    03/26/2025

    All The World's a Stage: A Brief History of Theatre in the 1700s

    This week Ian and Emily are talking about what happened to the theater after Shakespeare. They follow the trends of comedy and tragedy, Renaissance and Reformation, Enlightenment and Puritanism. Then, as an illustration of the period's offerings, they look at Joseph Addison's influential tragedy, Cato. Learn more about CenterForLit's Online Academy. ⁠⁠ ⁠⁠Buy the books we're discussing this season and support BiblioFiles!⁠⁠⁠⁠ ⁠⁠⁠⁠Follow our Substack and join the conversation.⁠ This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit centerforlit.substack.com/subscribe

    37 min
  8. All the World's a Stage: The Tempest

    03/18/2025

    All the World's a Stage: The Tempest

    In our last episode, we discussed the concerns about theatre raised by the Reformation. Today we're looking at The Tempest as Shakespeare's answer to the question about the good of performance art. We talk about why Shakespeare has had such a lasting influence, not only on theatre, but on the English language as a whole, and we examine the "metatheater" of The Tempest for clues about what the Bard hoped he was accomplishing with his own work. Learn more about CenterForLit's Online Academy. ⁠ ⁠Buy the books we're discussing this season and support BiblioFiles!⁠⁠⁠ ⁠⁠⁠Follow our Substack and join the conversation. This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit centerforlit.substack.com/subscribe

    39 min
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In which the CenterForLit staff embarks on a quest to discover the Great Ideas of literature in books of every description: ancient classics to fresh bestsellers; epic poems to bedtime stories. This podcast is a production of The Center for Literary Education and is a reading companion for teachers, homeschoolers, and readers of all stripes. centerforlit.substack.com

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