The Literature Humanities Radio Hour on WKCR 89.9FM: Literary Classics in Conversation

thomaspreston
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Ever wanted to talk about the “classics” in a relaxed, accessible setting? This podcast brings together Columbia University Core Curriculum lecturers to discuss their favorite moments from the texts we read in class. Each year, roughly 1,800 students work through the same sequence of literary classics, from Ancient Mesopotamia to Toni Morrison. We follow that arc in conversation. Hosted by WKCR 89.9 FM radio host and Core lecturer Thomas, with colleagues Katrina, Larry, and a rotating group of others. We’re not experts, our students aren’t experts, and nor do you need to be. Recorded live.

Episodes

  1. Claudia Rankine's Citizen (2014): An American Lyric

    JAN 29

    Claudia Rankine's Citizen (2014): An American Lyric

    Thomas Preston is joined by colleagues Katrina & Larry to discuss the first text on the Spring syllabus, Claudia Rankine’s Citizen (2014), an award-winning, essayistic-poetic work that “recounts mounting racial aggressions in ongoing encounters in twenty-first-century daily life and in the media” (Graywolf Press).

    1 hr

  2. 12/09/2025

    The Gospels of Luke & John | New Testament Accounts of Jesus' Life

    Thomas & Katrina are joined by Nicholas Dames, Chair of Literature Humanities, to discuss the Gospels of Luke & John through the lens of literary study.

    1 hr

  3. 12/04/2025

    Vergil's Aeneid | The Story of Rome's Founding

    Thomas, Katrina and Larry are joined by Geoff to discuss their favorite bits of an Aeneid: its strange ambiguity vis-a-vis its own political project, Aeneas as a less than ideal hero, a paranoid stance regarding excessive affect and some very choice Latin terms.

    59 min

  4. 11/13/2025

    Plato's Symposium | Ancient Greek Literature / Philosophy

    Larry takes Thomas & Katrina on a journey through Plato's Symposium, a literary and philosophical work presenting a series of speeches on the nature of love, reading the Symposium through lens of Socrates' execution in 399BCe as the originary trauma of philosophy.

    1h 1m

  5. 11/06/2025

    Aeschylus' Oresteia: Agamemnon, The Libation Bearers, The Eumenides | Ancient Greek Tragedy

    Thomas, Larry and Katrina discuss the story of Agamemnon's bloody return home: his death in the bathtub at the hands of his wife, Clytaemestra; his wife's death at the hands of HER OWN SON ORESTES; and the eventual establishment of a court after Orestes is hounded by vengeful spirits with eyes oozing slime and blood. Turn up, tune in, get grossed out.

    1 hr

  6. 11/04/2025

    Homer's Odyssey Pt II | Ancient Greek Epic Poetry

    Thomas, Katrina, Larry & Rosalie round off their conversation on Emily Wilson's translation of Homer's Odyssey

    49 min

  7. 10/30/2025

    Homer's Odyssey Pt I | Ancient Greek Epic Poetry

    Thomas, Larry and Katrina are joined by Rosalie Stoner (Classics) to discuss Homer's The Odyssey, the Emily Wilson translation. This text tells the story of Odysseus' journey home and the reclamation of his household, and its twists and turns through many strange places in the Homeric universe.

    1 hr

  8. 10/16/2025

    Iliad Pt 2 & Sappho's Fragments | Ancient Greek Epic & Lyric Poetry

    Thomas, Katrina and Larry are joined by Nadrah Mohammed to discuss the end of the Iliad along with Sappho's fragments.

    1h 1m

  9. 10/12/2025

    Homer's Iliad Part 1 | Ancient Greek Epic Poetry

    Thomas Preston is joined by Katrina Dzyak and Larry Jackson to discuss the Iliad

    1h 1m

  10. 10/08/2025

    The Book of Genesis | Ancient Hebrew Creation Myth

    Thomas Preston is joined by Larry Jackson, Katrina Dzyak and Jennifer Rhodes to discuss the Book of Genesis as literature.

    59 min

  11. 09/24/2025

    The Exaltation of Inana & Gilgamesh | Ancient Mesopotamian Literary Works

    Thomas Preston is joined by Katrina Dzyak, Tamara Hache and Geoff Harmsworth to discuss ancient mesopotamian texts

    58 min
  • 11 Episodes

Ratings & Reviews

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About

Ever wanted to talk about the “classics” in a relaxed, accessible setting? This podcast brings together Columbia University Core Curriculum lecturers to discuss their favorite moments from the texts we read in class. Each year, roughly 1,800 students work through the same sequence of literary classics, from Ancient Mesopotamia to Toni Morrison. We follow that arc in conversation. Hosted by WKCR 89.9 FM radio host and Core lecturer Thomas, with colleagues Katrina, Larry, and a rotating group of others. We’re not experts, our students aren’t experts, and nor do you need to be. Recorded live.

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