Best OSK Podcasts (2026)

1
765 Young Goodman Brown by Nathaniel Hawthorne (with Mike Palindrome) 1:09:38

Play Pause

4d ago1:09:38

1:09:38

In Puritan New England, a young man leaves Faith, his wife, to go into the forest to meet the Devil. It's a story "as deep as Dante," said Herman Melville. In this episode, Jacke reads "Young Goodman Brown," by Nathaniel Hawthorne, then Jacke and Mike discuss the story that Stephen King has called "one of the ten best stories written by an American…

1
Episode 144 - Alice Vernon - A History of Ghost Hunting and Why We Keep Looking 1:06:32

5d ago1:06:32

1:06:32

My guest for this episode is author and academic Alice Vernon. Alice is a Lecturer in Nineteenth-Century Literature and Creative Writing at Aberystwyth University and her research primarily involves the intersection between storytelling and the history of medicine, with a particular interest in sleep disorders, hallucinations and parapsychology. Sh…

1
764 Two Thousand Years of Roman History (with Edward J. Watts) | My Last Book with Nathan Hensley 1:19:13

7d ago1:19:13

1:19:13

What do we talk about when we talk about ancient Romans? For many of us, it's typically a fairly narrow slice of history: the toga-clad figures of Cicero and Caesar, perhaps, as their republic shades into empire before collapsing at the hands of barbarians a few hundred years later. In this episode, Jacke talks to Edward J. Watts, whose book The Ro…

1
763 Emily's Desk Drawer 56:18

11d ago56:18

56:18

After the publication of her debut novel Wuthering Heights in December of 1847, Emily Brontë - still writing under her pen name Ellis Bell - joined Currer and Acton Bell (her sisters Charlotte and Anne) as promising and intriguing young writers. Sadly, Emily would die barely a year later. How did the public view her and her writing during this brie…

1
762 The History of the Sonnet 55:36

14d ago55:36

55:36

“A sonnet,” said the poet Dante Gabriel Rossetti, “is a moment’s monument.” But who invented the sonnet? Who brought it to prominence? How has it changed over the years? And why does this form continue to be so compelling? In this episode of the History of Literature, we take a brief look at one of literature's most enduring forms, from its inventi…

1
761 The Story of the Nativity (with Stephen Mitchell) | The Catcher in the Rye by J.D. Salinger (#4 Greatest Book of All Time) 1:17:45

18d ago1:17:45

1:17:45

Stephen Mitchell has translated or adapted some of the world's most beautiful and spiritually rich texts, including The Gospel According to Jesus, The Book of Job, Gilgamesh, Tao Te Ching, Bhagavad Gita, The Iliad, The Odyssey, Beowulf, The Selected Poetry of Rainer Maria Rilke, Rilke's Letters to a Young Poet, and The Way of Forgiveness. In his la…

1
760 Charles Dickens, A Christmas Carol, and Ebeneezer Scrooge 1:13:57

21d ago1:13:57

1:13:57

In this holiday-themed episode, a sentimental Jacke takes a look at Charles Dickens, A Christmas Carol (1843), and the creation of Ebeneezer Scrooge. A version of this episode first aired in December 2020. That episode has not been available in our archives for several years. Join Jacke on a trip through literary England! Join Jacke and fellow lite…

1
759 The Godfather (with Karen Spence) | My Last Book with Elyse Graham 1:04:39

25d ago1:04:39

1:04:39

Francis Ford Coppola's masterpiece The Godfather routinely tops lists of the greatest films ever made - and when it doesn't, it's often because its sequel, The Godfather II, has replaced it. In this episode, Jacke talks to author Karen Spence about her new book, The Companion Guide to the Godfather Trilogy: Betrayal, Loyalty, and Family. PLUS Elyse…

1
758 Jane Austen in 41 Objects (with Kathryn Sutherland) | 100 Years of Solitude by Gabriel García Márquez (#5 Greatest Book of All Time) 57:21

28d ago57:21

57:21

How well can we know someone through the objects they encountered? In this episode, Jacke talks to Kathryn Sutherland, Senior Research fellow at St. Anne's College, Oxford, about her new book Jane Austen in 41 Objects, which examines the objects Jane Austen encountered during her life alongside newer memorabilia inspired by the life she lived. PLUS…

1
28 | Zhuoyan Jin / Halmos: Embracing Endings: The Founder's Guide to Moving Forward with Halmos 1:14:35

28d ago1:14:35

1:14:35

🎙️ From Heartbreak to Healing: The Halmos Journey with Yin, Founder of Halmos How do you transform one of life’s most painful experiences into a source of healing, innovation, and community? In this episode, we sit down with Yin — founder of Halmos, a beautifully designed app built to support people navigating heartbreak. After experiencing a profo…

1
757 George Orwell's 1984 (#6 Greatest Book of All Time) 1:07:22

1M ago1:07:22

1:07:22

In 1949, American critic Lionel Trilling, writing in the New Yorker, was quick to recognize the achievement of George Orwell's new novel. "[P]rofound, terrifying, and wholly fascinating," he said. 1984 "confirms its author in the special, honorable place he holds in our intellectual life." And while the Cold War and the book's primary satirical tar…

1
Episode 143 - Kate Ray - Hauntings, Fairies and Paranormal Investigation 1:20:44

1M ago1:20:44

1:20:44

My guest for this episode is paranormal investigator, researcher and writer Kate Ray. In addition to scientific rigour, Kate’s approach to investigating hauntings is influenced by appreciating how these sorts of happenings were understood and described in pre-industrial societies and preserved in the local folklore. A good example of this is how wh…

1
756 Newly Discovered Stories by Virginia Woolf (with Urmila Seshagiri) | My Last Book with Jake Poller 58:07

1M ago58:07

58:07

Did you think we already knew everything there was to know about Virginia Woolf? Think again! In this episode, Jacke talks to scholar and editor Urmila Seshagiri about The Life of Violet: Three Early Stories, which presents three interconnected comic stories chronicling the adventures of a giantess named Violet, which Woolf wrote in 1907, eight yea…

1
27 | Joseph Nimoson / Wolve: Building and utilising lasting Loyalty for your brand 48:11

1M ago48:11

48:11

🎙️ Building Loyalty That Lasts with Joseph Nimoson, Founder of Wolve What does it take to turn a simple coffee shop stamp card into a scalable loyalty platform now used by businesses across the Nordics? In this episode, we sit down with Joseph Nimoson, founder of Wolve, to explore the evolution of modern loyalty programs—and the entrepreneurial jou…

1
755 The Chinese Tragedy of King Lear (with Nan Z. Da) | My Last Book with Iris Jamahl Dunkle 42:51

1M ago42:51

42:51

At the start of Shakespeare's famous tragedy, King Lear promises to divide his kingdom based on his daughters’ professions of love, but he portions it out before hearing all of their answers. For Nan Da, a professor of English literature who emigrated from China to the United States as a child in the 1990s, this startling opening scene sparked a re…

1
754 Christopher Marlowe (with Stephen Greenblatt) | My Last Book with Eric White 55:43

1M ago55:43

55:43

Christopher Marlowe (1564-1593) was born into relative obscurity and died in mysterious circumstances at the age of 29. And yet, somehow this ambitious cobbler's son brought about a spectacular explosion of English literature, language, and culture. In this episode, Jacke talks to Stephen Greenblatt about his book Dark Renaissance: The Dangerous Ti…

1
753 Tenth-Anniversary Special (with Mike Palindrome and Laurie Frankel) | Giving Thanks | My Last Book with Eve Dunbar 1:17:22

2M ago1:17:22

1:17:22

When Jacke started the podcast in 2015, he decided to privilege books that were at least fifty years old. (Longtime listeners will know he's made a few exceptions, but for the most part, that's been the policy.) Last month, the History of Literature Podcast celebrated its tenth anniversary - which means there are ten years' worth of books that are …

1
752 The Brontes' Sibling Rivalry (with Catherine Rayner) | My Last Book with Keith Cooper 1:01:28

2M ago1:01:28

1:01:28

Charlotte Brontë wasn't born the eldest child, but she was thrust into a leadership role at the age of ten, as the Brontë children dealt with the tragic deaths of their mother and two eldest sisters. How did this affect their family dynamic? And when the younger two sisters, Emily and Anne, had their novels accepted while Charlotte's alone was reje…

1
26 | Ann-Sophie / ChangePath: Navigating Career Change with Self-Reflection & AI 1:21:44

2M ago1:21:44

1:21:44

🎙️ Navigating Career Change & Purpose with Ann-Sophie Czech, Co-Founder of ChangePath How do you navigate career changes, doubt or uncertainty, find meaningful work, and build something that helps others do the same? In this episode, we sit down with Ann-Sophie Czech, co-founder of ChangePath, a digital career-orientation platform helping young pro…

1
751 Covering Iran's Women-Led Uprising (with Nilo Tabrizy) | My Last Book with Sharmila Sen 1:02:37

2M ago1:02:37

1:02:37

In September 2022, a young Kurdish woman, Mahsa Jîna Amini, died after being beaten by police officers who arrested her for not adhering to the Islamic Republic’s dress code. Her death galvanized thousands of Iranians—mostly women—who took to the streets in one of the country’s largest uprisings in decades: the Woman, Life, Freedom movement. In thi…

1
Episode 142 - Paul A.T. Wilson - Sam the Sandown Clown 1:07:38

2M ago1:07:38

1:07:38

My guest for this episode is writer and researcher Paul A.T. Wilson, who joined me to talk about his ongoing involvement in developments relating to a paranormal encounter that happened on the Isle of Wight in the UK over fifty years ago – that of Sam the Sandown Clown. To describe the events of the initial encounter as unusual is somewhat of an un…

1
750 A Farewell to Arms by Ernest Hemingway (with Mark Cirino) | Joyce Carol Oates vs the Trillionaire | My Last Book with Ken Krimstein 1:28:09

2M ago1:28:09

1:28:09

It's the 750th episode of the History of Literature, and what better way to celebrate than to talk some Hemingway with repeat guest Mark Cirino? In this episode, Jacke talks to Mark about Hemingway's classic love-and-war novel A Farewell to Arms, including the recent Norton Library edition of the book, which Mark edited. PLUS Jacke takes a look at …

1
749 Willing and Will-Making in the English Renaissance (with Douglas Clark) | #7 Greatest Book of All Time 1:06:00

2M ago1:06:00

1:06:00

When Hamlet, in his famous soliloquy, pondered the "dread of something after death, / the undiscovered country," he noted that such thoughts "puzzles the will." (Earlier editions of the play had this as a "hope of something after death" that "puzzles the brain." What's the significance for an Elizabethan writer (and audience) of the change from hop…

1
748 Katherine Mansfield (with Gerri Kimber) | The Poet and the Sex Worker Who Burgled Him | My Last Book with Emerson Expert Kenneth Sacks 55:47

2M ago55:47

55:47

Katherine Mansfield's writing, said Virginia Woolf, "was the only writing I was ever jealous of." In this episode, Jacke talks to author Gerri Kimber about Katherine Mansfield: A Hidden Life, which explores the life and work of one of literary modernism's most significant writers. PLUS Jacke takes a look at the unusual friendship between poet W.H. …

1
747 Graphomaniac - The Story of a Horrible Russian Poet (with Ilya Vinitsky and James H. McGavran III | My Last Book with Stephanie Sandler | #8 Greatest Book of All Time 1:11:57

2M ago1:11:57

1:11:57

Dmitry Ivanovich Khvostov (1757-1835) might be the worst poet who ever lived. Pathologically prolific and delusional dedicated to a craft for which he had no talent, he continued to write and publish his poetry despite the pleadings of friends, loved ones, critics, and the public. In this episode, Jacke talks to author Ilya Vinitsky and translator …

1
746 Wild Jane Austen (with Devoney Looser) | #9 Greatest Book of All Time 1:04:37

2M ago1:04:37

1:04:37

Author Devoney Looser may be a mild-mannered English professor to most people, but roller derby fans know her as Stone Cold Jane Austen, her smashmouth alter ego. In this episode, Devoney tells Jacke about her new book Wild for Austen: A Rebellious, Subversive, and Untamed Jane, which suggests we also rethink the commonly held view of "spinster Jan…

1
25 | Sharon Klaver / Builders: 25 | Sharon Klaver / Builders: Shaping startups that last in 10 weeks 1:20:52

2M ago1:20:52

1:20:52

🎙️ Building Lasting Companies with Sharon Klaver: Data, Design, and the Human Side of Venture Building How do you build enduring startups that balance structure and freedom—while staying true to your humanity? In this episode, we sit down with Sharon Klaver, serial entrepreneur and co-founder of Builders, a Rotterdam-based venture studio that turns…

1
745 Goblin Market by Christina Rossetti (Halloween Fun-Size Edition) 2:14:14

2M ago2:14:14

2:14:14

In the spring of 2022, Jacke dropped everything to plummet into one of the strangest poems he had ever read, "Goblin Market" by Christina Rossetti (1830-1894). The result was a two-part episode that never quite found its home. In this special Halloween episode, we've combined the best parts of both of those episodes to bring you the full story of a…

1
Episode 141 - Laura Lewis-Barr - Illness States, Symbology and the Paranormal 57:56

2M ago57:56

57:56

For this episode, I welcome back previous guest Laura Lewis-Barr. Laura first appeared on Some Other Sphere in episode 116, where we discussed her work as a stop-motion filmmaker, creating short movies inspired by myths, fairy tales and the ideas of people such as Carl Jung and Joseph Campbell. This time around, Laura joined me to talk about the re…

1
744 Love, Sex, and Frankenstein (with Caroline Lea) | #10 Greatest Book of All Time | My Last Book with Geoffrey Turnovsky | A Letter from a Middle School Teacher and Mom 1:26:42

3M ago1:26:42

1:26:42

The year is 1816, and 18-year-old Mary Shelley has fled London with her lover, Percy Shelley, and her sister, Claire. They're on their way to visit Lord Byron's villa in Lake Geneva, Switzerland - and to change the course of literary history. In this episode, Jacke talks to Caroline Lea about her novel Love, Sex, and Frankenstein, which tells the h…

1
743 Fairy Tales (with Jack Zipes) [RECLAIMED] | Crime and Punishment by Fyodor Dostoevsky (#11 GBOAT) | Chaucer News 1:02:07

3M ago1:02:07

1:02:07

An early encounter with one of the most famous people in the world initiated Jack Zipes into the world of fairy tales - and he never looked back. In this episode, Jacke talks to the fairy tale expert about his book Buried Treasures: The Power of Political Fairy Tales, which profiles modern writers and artists who tapped the political potential of f…

1
742 Edgar Allan Poe (with Richard Kopley) | Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austen (#12 GBOAT) | My Last Book with Christopher Herbert 1:17:41

3M ago1:17:41

1:17:41

It's October, the perfect month to celebrate the master of mystery and the macabre. In this episode, Jacke talks to author Richard Kopley about his book Edgar Allan Poe: A Life, a comprehensive critical biography that combines a narrative of Poe's enduring challenges (including his difficult foster father, poverty, alcoholism, depression, and his n…

1
741 Gabriela Mistral 1:04:27

3M ago1:04:27

1:04:27

In 1945, the Nobel Committee awarded its prize for literature to Gabriela Mistral (1889-1957) "for her lyric poetry which, inspired by powerful emotions, has made her name a symbol of the idealistic aspirations of the entire Latin American world." Born in a rural Andean valley and abandoned by her free-spirited father at the age of three, Mistral s…

1
24 | Laura Simonow / This Place: From Science to Conscious Self-Care Where Nature Meets Innovation 49:17

3M ago49:17

49:17

🎙️ Bridging Beauty and Healthcare: The Story of This Place with Laura Simonow What happens when a medical doctor decides that true healing begins not in the clinic—but in everyday rituals of care? In this episode, we sit down with Laura Simonow, founder and CEO of This Place, a Berlin-based wellness brand redefining the boundaries between beauty an…

1
740 Mel Brooks and Other Eminent Jews (with David Denby) | War and Peace by Leo Tolstoy (#13 GBOAT) 1:03:56

3M ago1:03:56

1:03:56

In this episode, Jacke talks to author David Denby about his new book, Eminent Jews: Bernstein, Brooks, Friedan, Mailer, a group biography (loosely inspired by Lytton Strachey's Eminent Victorians) that describes how four larger-than-life figures upended the restrained culture of their forebears and changed American life. PLUS in honor of War and P…

1
739 Lolita by Vladimir Nabokov (#14 GBOAT) | Johannes Gutenberg (with Eric Marshall White) 1:34:01

3M ago1:34:01

1:34:01

Thanks to his invention of Europe's first typographic printing method, and his pioneering work on the first printed Bible, the fifteenth-century German inventor Johannes Gutenberg has a fame and reputation that continues to this day. In 1997, Time magazine credited him with the most important innovation of the past one thousand years. However, due …

1
738 Wuthering Heights by Emily Brontë (#15 Greatest Book of All Time) 1:16:09

3M ago1:16:09

1:16:09

Emily Brontë only published one full-length book before dying at the tragically young age of 30. But that book, Wuthering Heights, which tells the story of obsessive and vengeful love on the rugged moors of Yorkshire, is still considered one of the pinnacles of English literature, landing at #15 on the list of Greatest Books of All Time. In this ep…

1
737 "The Monkey's Paw" by W.W. Jacobs 42:21

3M ago42:21

42:21

It's October! Jacke kicks off his favorite month with a classic tale of horror, "The Monkey's Paw" by W.W. Jacobs. Perhaps you know the general contours of the paradigmatic "be careful what you wish for" story from the Simpsons or another popularization - but just how scary was the original story? And who was W.W. Jacobs? Join Jacke on a trip throu…

1
Episode 140 - Raphael Cormack - Holy Men of the Electromagnetic Age 1:06:44

3M ago1:06:44

1:06:44

My guest for this episode is author Raphael Cormack, who joined me to talk about his new non-fiction book, Holy Men of the Electromagnetic Age. The book explores what it describes as a ‘golden age of the uncanny’ centered around the Eastern Mediterranean in the years following the collapse of the Ottoman Empire. This was a time when Clairvoyants, f…

1
736 Jane Austen's Favorite Brother, Henry (with Christopher Herbert) | A Letter from the South of France | My Last Book with Nicholas Jenkins 1:00:29

3M ago1:00:29

1:00:29

Jane Austen had six brothers, but her older brother Henry was her favorite. Kind and witty, Henry has long been appreciated by Austen fans for his devotion to Jane and his championing of her novels. But Henry was a fascinating figure in his own right, capering through risky financial schemes and marrying an enigmatic French countess before ending h…

1
23 | Aaron Windfield / Velvet Cake: Failed Job Interview turned into The Algorithm That Connects You to Music and Concerts 1:01:45

4M ago1:01:45

1:01:45

🎙️ The Power of Creativity in Entrepreneurship with Aaron Winfield How do you transform creativity into a business engine—while staying true to your passions and mental well-being? In this episode, we sit down with Aaron Winfield—serial entrepreneur, musician, and founder of Velvet Cake and Morning Sloth. From his early days in Nebraska to shaping …

1
735 Mrs Dalloway by Virginia Woolf (with Mark Hussey) | My Last Book with Graham Watson 1:23:55

4M ago1:23:55

1:23:55

Jacke talks to author Mark Hussey (Mrs Dalloway: Biography of a Novel) about Virginia Woolf's beloved novel Mrs Dalloway, which turned 100 earlier this year. PLUS author Graham Watson (The Invention of Charlotte Bronte) stops by to discuss his choice for the last book he will ever read. Join Jacke on a trip through literary England (signup open thr…

1
734 The Lord of the Rings by J.R.R. Tolkien (#16 GBOAT) | 1925 - A Literary Encyclopedia (with Tom Lutz) 56:09

4M ago56:09

56:09

Jacke talks to author Tom Lutz about 1925: A Literary Encyclopedia, which provides a fascinating window into a year when literature was arguably at its peak centrality. PLUS a look at J.R.R. Tolkien and his influential Lord of the Rings, #16 on the list of the Greatest Books of All Time. Join Jacke on a trip through literary England (signup open th…

1
22 | Tessa Clarke / Olio: From Countryside-Smart to a Global Sharing Movement 44:30

4M ago44:30

44:30

🎙️ From Food Waste to Community Wealth: The Vision of Olio with Tessa Clarke How do you turn personal frustration with food waste into a global movement of sharing, connection, and sustainability? In this episode, we sit down with Tessa Clarke—co-founder and CEO of Olio, the groundbreaking app that helps neighbors share surplus food and household i…

1
733 Haruki Murakami (with Mike Palindrome | To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee (#17 GBOAT) | A Letter from Tehran 1:24:11

4M ago1:24:11

1:24:11

Haruki Murakami (b. 1949) is one of the rare writers who combines literary admiration with widespread appeal. Host Jacke Wilson is joined by lifelong Murakami fan Mike Palindrome to discuss what makes his novels so compelling, so mysterious, and so popular. Works discussed include The Wind-Up Bird Chronicle, Norwegian Wood, Kafka on the Shore, and …