Best Emily McKay Podcasts (2025)

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Episode 84--X & Y On The Fly--Dealing With Your Ex (Or Theirs)

1d ago

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Maybe Emily and I waited almost 20 years to cover this subject because it's a touchy one that hits just a little too close to home for both of us. But hey, it's an important one. How do you deal with your ex...especially if you're now in a new relationship? Check it out, there are at least three categories of ex that could still theoretically be ha…

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705 Runaway Poets - How the Brownings Fell in Love (And Why It Matters) 59:34

2d ago59:34

59:34

Elizabeth Barrett (1806-1861) was one of the most prolific and accomplished poets of the Victorian age, an inspiration to Emily Dickinson, Oscar Wilde, Edgar Allan Poe, and countless others. And yet, her life was full of cloistered misery, as her father insisted that she should never marry. And then, the clouds lifted, and a letter arrived. It was …

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704 Butterflies Regained 1:26:31

5d ago1:26:31

1:26:31

Poetry, butterflies, and original music oh my! With some help from poets Emily Dickinson, Robert Frost, William Wordsworth, and John Keats, along with original music by composer Gabriel Ruiz-Bernal, Jacke tackles the topic of butterflies. Yes, yes, we all know that butterflies are symbols of beauty and transformation - but can great poets get beyon…

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703 D.H. Lawrence (with David Ellis) | My Last Book with Dorian Lynskey 1:09:35

12d ago1:09:35

1:09:35

D.H. Lawrence (1885-1930) is one of the most famous novelists of his era - and one of the most difficult to pin down. Was he a tasteless, avant-garde pornographer? Or the greatest imaginative novelist of his generation (as E.M. Forster once said)? What should we know about his hard-luck childhood and turbulent adult life? In this episode, Jacke tal…

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702 Writing in the World of Jane Austen (with D.G. Rampton) | Disaster at the Book Festival! 52:01

16d ago52:01

52:01

Jacke talks to D.G. Rampton, Australia's Queen of the Regency Romance, about her love for the novels of Jane Austen and Georgette Heyer - and what it's like for a twenty-first-century novelist to set her novels in the early-nineteenth-century world of intelligent heroines, dashing men, and sparkling banter. Find PLUS Jacke dives into the story of a…

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701 Emerson's Struggle with Slavery (with Kenneth Sacks) | My Last Book with Victoria Namkung | We Had Sex Inside Moby-Dick! 1:11:31

19d ago1:11:31

1:11:31

For several decades, Ralph Waldo Emerson (1803-1882) was perhaps the most prominent writer and intellectual in America. As an advocate of personal freedom living in Massachusetts, surrounded by passionate abolitionists, one might expect that his positions regarding slavery would be obvious and uncomplicated. And yet, Emerson struggled with the issu…

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56. The Rise of the Wedding Content Creator: Behind the Scenes with Ella, Wedding & Event Content Creator 52:04

23d ago52:04

52:04

In today’s episode, I’m joined by Griselda Mucollari (Ella), Metro Detroit’s go-to wedding and event content creator. With a background in international advertising and a passion for storytelling, Ella captures the candid, emotional, and joy-filled moments to fill the gaps that traditional vendors often miss. We talk about her unique path from corp…

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700 - Butterflies at Rest 28:08

26d ago28:08

28:08

Returning to some devastating news after a trip to Paris, Jacke searches for lost time. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoicesBy Jacke Wilson / The Podglomerate

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699 Gatsby's Daisy (with Rachel Feder) | My Last Book with Francesca Peacock 1:12:12

1M ago1:12:12

1:12:12

F. Scott Fitzgerald's novel The Great Gatsby might be one hundred years old, but it's still incredibly relevant: one list-of-lists site ranks it as the number-one book of all time. In this episode, Jacke talks to author Rachel Feder about this classic tale of reinvention - and the reinventing she did for her book Daisy, which retells the Gatsby sto…

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55. Planning Your Dream Honeymoon with a Luxury Travel Advisor, Gray Ellender, Go With Gray Travel 28:15

1M ago28:15

28:15

In this episode, I'm joined by Gray Ellender of Go With Gray Travel, a luxury travel advisor and honeymoon specialist who helps couples plan seamless, stress-free trips! Gray shares her unique journey from healthcare to launching her own travel brand and breaks down what it's really like to work with a travel advisor—hint: it's not as expensive as …

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698 Dante in Love (with Ellen Nerenberg and Anthony Valerio) [Ad-Free Archive Edition] 1:05:26

1M ago1:05:26

1:05:26

It's springtime! A great time to be in love - and if you're a poetic genius like Dante Alighieri, a great time to catch a glimpse of a girl named Beatrice on the streets of Florence, fall madly in love with her, and spend the rest of your life beatifying her in verse. In this episode, we present a conversation that first aired in February 2018, in …

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697 Race in European Fairy Tales (with Kimberly Lau) | My Last Book with Rolf Hellebust 1:21:03

1M ago1:21:03

1:21:03

Anyone digging into fairy tales soon discovers that there's more to these stories of magic and wonder than meets the eye. Often thought of as stories for children, the narratives can be shockingly violent, and they sometimes deliver messages or "morals" at odds with modern sensibilities. In this episode, Jacke talks to Kimberly Lau about her book S…

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696 John Ruskin (with Sara Atwood) | My Last Book with Collin Jennings 1:00:25

1M ago1:00:25

1:00:25

John Ruskin (1819-1900) was a powerhouse of a man: writer, lecturer, critic, social reformer - and much else besides. From his five-volume work Modern Painters through his late writings about literature in Fiction, Fair and Foul, he brought to his subjects an energy and integrity that few critical thinkers have matched. His wide-ranging influence r…

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695 Ten Indian Classics (with Sharmila Sen) | My Last Book with Adam Smyth 1:03:57

2M ago1:03:57

1:03:57

For the past ten years, the Murty Classical Library of India (published by Harvard University Press) has sought to do for classic Indian works what the famous Loeb Classical Library has done for Ancient Greek and Roman texts. In this episode, Jacke talks to editorial director Sharmila Sen about the joys and challenges of sifting through thousands o…

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54. The Couture Bridal Experience: Designing the Perfect Custom Gown 32:12

2M ago32:12

32:12

Creating a custom couture wedding gown is more than just designing a dress—it’s about crafting a once-in-a-lifetime experience! In this episode, Sarah Kolis takes you behind the scenes of my bridal design process, sharing everything from the initial consultation to the final fitting. If you’ve ever wondered what it takes to create a truly one-of-a-…

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694 Apocalyptic Literature (with Dorian Lynskey) | My Last Book with Charles Baxter 1:07:02

2M ago1:07:02

1:07:02

For some reason, human beings don't seem to be content just thinking about their own death: they insist on imagining the end of the entire world. In this episode, Jacke talks to author Dorian Lynskey (Everything Must Go: The Stories We Tell About the End of the World), who immersed himself in apocalyptic films and literature to discover exactly wha…

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693 Understanding the Wonders of Nature (with Alan Lightman) | My Last Book with Alan Lightman 1:00:13

2M ago1:00:13

1:00:13

In today's world of specialization, Alan Lightman is that rare individual who has accomplished remarkable things in two very different realms. As a physicist with a Ph.D. from Cal Tech, he's taught at Harvard and MIT and advised the United Nations. As a novelist, he's written award-winning bestsellers like Einstein's Dreams and The Diagnosis. In th…

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53. Building a Family-Owned Wedding Venue with Alicia McKay, The Oakley 36:22

2M ago36:22

36:22

In this episode, I’m joined by Alicia McKay, co-owner and venue coordinator of The Oakley, a premier event venue in Holly, Michigan! Alicia shares how she unexpectedly fell into wedding planning after her own wedding and how that journey evolved into running a full-scale family-owned venue on a 40-acre property!We talk about: How Alicia transitione…

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692 An Investigation in Chinatown (with Radha Vatsal) | The Five Books (with Tali Rosenblatt-Cohen) 1:02:57

2M ago1:02:57

1:02:57

It's a two-for-one special! First, Jacke talks to novelist Radha Vatsal about her new book, No. 10 Doyers Street, which tells the gripping story of an Indian woman journalist investigating a bloody shooting in New York's Chinatown circa 1907. Then podcaster Tali Rosenblatt-Cohen stops by to discuss her experience hosting The Five Books, which asks …

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691 The Making of Sylvia Plath (with Carl Rollyson) | My Last Book with Cheryl Hopson 1:04:05

2M ago1:04:05

1:04:05

Since her death, poet and novelist Sylvia Plath (1932-1963) has been an endless source of fascination for fans of her and her work. But while much attention has been paid to her tumultuous relationship with fellow poet Ted Hughes, we often overlook the influences that formed her, long before she traveled to England and met Hughes. What movies did s…

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690 Coleridge and the Person from Porlock [Ad-Free] 1:06:26

2M ago1:06:26

1:06:26

[This episode originally ran on July 18, 2016. It is presented here without commercial interruption.] In 1797, the poet Samuel Taylor Coleridge took two grains of opium and fell into a stupor. When he awoke, he had in his head the remnants of a marvelous dream, a vivid train of images of the Chinese emperor Kubla Khan and his summer palace, Xanadu.…

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689 Thomas Kyd (with Brian Vickers) | My Last Book with Jonathan D.S. Schroeder 47:28

2M ago47:28

47:28

For centuries, the playwright Thomas Kyd has been best known as the author of The Spanish Tragedy, a terrific story of revenge believed to have strongly influenced Shakespeare's Hamlet. And yet, a contemporary referred to Kyd as "industrious Kyd." What happened to the rest of his plays? In this episode, Jacke talks to scholar Brian Vickers about hi…

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Episode 83--X & Y On The Fly--What If We Have Sex Too Soon?

2M ago

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Nowadays we live in a culture that extols selfhood and immediate gratification. As marriage becomes less revered as an institution, lots of people are asking if there's really any reason to hold off from having sex extremely early in the relationship...even on the same day they meet. I mean, if that's what both of you want, why not? But as we all k…

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688 Georges Simenon 1:05:36

2M ago1:05:36

1:05:36

The Belgian-born French writer Georges Simenon (1903-1989) was astonishing for his literary ambition and output. The author of something like 400 novels, which he wrote in 7-10 day bursts (after checking with his physician beforehand to ensure that he could handle the strain), he's perhaps best known for his creation of Chief Inspector Jules Maigre…

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687 Gatsby Turns 100 (with James West) 53:29

3M ago53:29

53:29

"I want to write something new," American author F. Scott Fitzgerald wrote in a letter to his editor, "something extraordinary and beautiful and simple and intricately patterned." Months later, he presented the results: the novel that would eventually be titled The Great Gatsby. Published in 1925 to middling success, the book has since become a can…

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52. Melissa’s Wedding Journey: From Saying Yes to Walking Down the Aisle 31:48

3M ago31:48

31:48

You asked - we answered! In this episode, I sit down with my youngest sister, Melissa, for a fun and lighthearted conversation about her wedding journey, life updates, and all things fashion. We answer listener-submitted questions covering everything from how she met her husband Cam to the special moments on her wedding day, including her first dan…

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686 Russian Poetry After the Cold War (with Stephanie Sandler) 55:32

3M ago55:32

55:32

For decades, the Soviet Union was unfriendly territory for poets and writers. But what happened when the wall fell? Emerging from the underground, the poets reacted with a creative outpouring that responded to a brave new world. In this episode, Jacke talks to Russian poetry scholar Stephanie Sandler about her new book The Freest Speech in Russia: …

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685 Charles Chesnutt (with Tess Chakkalakal) | My Last Book with John Goodby 1:01:41

3M ago1:01:41

1:01:41

Complex and talented, Charles W. Chesnutt (1858-1932) was one of the first American authors to write for both Black and white readers. Born in Cleveland to "mixed race" parents, Chesnutt rejected the opportunity to "pass" as white, instead remaining in the Black community throughout his life. His life in the South during Reconstruction, and his kno…

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51. Real Brides Series: Gwen, Kayla, and Rina tell all! 43:28

3M ago43:28

43:28

In this special episode, we continue our bride interview series with three amazing women—Gwen, Kayla, and Rina—who share the real stories behind their wedding days. From intimate destination ceremonies to unique personal touches and unexpected moments, this episode is full of inspiration and heartfelt reflections. Bride Gwen Semrow shares all about…

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684 The Minister's Black Veil by Nathaniel Hawthorne (with Mike Palindrome) 1:29:36

3M ago1:29:36

1:29:36

What happens when a respected church leader shows up one day wearing a mysterious veil that conceals his eyes, offering no explanation - and keeps wearing it for decades? How will the community respond? What conspiracy theories will they develop? And how will an author like Nathaniel Hawthorne, writing a hundred years later, spin a New England sin-…

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683 Marianne Moore (with Cristanne Miller) 1:12:13

3M ago1:12:13

1:12:13

Marianne Moore (1887-1972) achieved something rare in American letters: a modernist poet who was popular with both critics and the public. Famous for her formal innovation, precise diction, and wit - as well as her black tri-corner hat and cloak, which she wore as she dashed around Manhattan - she was lauded by T.S. Eliot (and numerous prize commit…

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682 The Profound Wisdom of Black Life and Literature (with Farah Jasmine Griffin) [Ad-Free Re-Release] 58:55

3M ago58:55

58:55

As America closes out this year's Black History Month, Jacke dives into the archives for one of his favorite episodes, which featured a conversation with Columbia University professor Farah Jasmine Griffin about her book Read Until You Understand: The Profound Wisdom of Black Life and Literature. PLUS friend of the show Scott Carter stops by to tal…

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681 The Jolly Corner by Henry James - Part 3 | My Last Book by Colm Tóibín 56:02

3M ago56:02

56:02

It's the conclusion to "The Jolly Corner"! Spencer Brydon lived in Europe for 33 years (as did his creator, Henry James) before returning to his childhood home in New York City. Europe has changed him - and he can't help thinking, as he observes a highly transformed New York, that he'd have been a very different person had he stayed in America duri…

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50. Chad and Mimi’s Recap: the Bride & Groom’s Take on the Big Day! 21:47

3M ago21:47

21:47

In this episode, Mimi Rubin joins us to share all the details of her wedding day—from planning the perfect celebration with all their close friends and family, to unexpected moments that made the day even more memorable! We dive into her unique bridal style, including a stunning David’s Bridal gown with custom alterations by Sarah Kolis herself, an…

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680 The Jolly Corner by Henry James - Part 2 1:16:34

3M ago1:16:34

1:16:34

After spending decades in Europe, the American Henry James felt haunted by the idea that he'd given up something essential. Inspired by a trip home to New York City, the place of his birth, he wrote an astonishing story about a man who creeps through his childhood home late at night, searching for ghosts, and one in particular he's desperate to see…

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679 The Jolly Corner by Henry James - Part 1 1:15:52

3M ago1:15:52

1:15:52

Although the writer Henry James (1843-1916) was born in New York City's Washington Square, he spent most of his adulthood in Europe, where he wrote such masterpieces as The Portrait of a Lady, The Wings of the Dove, and The Golden Bowl. Late in life, he returned to New York after a thirty-three year absence to find the city much transformed, as sky…

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49. Real Brides Series: Darby, Madison, and Natalie tell it all! 51:58

4M ago51:58

51:58

Welcome to the third episode of the Real Brides Series! In this episode, I sit down with three incredible brides—Darby, Madison, and Natalie—to hear their unique and heartwarming wedding stories, each filled with creativity, personal touches, and valuable lessons! Darby Lorimer talks about her dreamy destination wedding, her two-piece gown, and som…

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678 Fernando Pessoa (with Bartholomew Ryan) | My Last Book with Robin Waterfield 1:09:28

4M ago1:09:28

1:09:28

Jacke's been trying to come to grips with Portuguese modernist poet Fernando Pessoa ever since Harold Bloom named him one of the 26 most influential writers in the entire Western canon. But it's not easy! As a young man, Pessoa wanted to be, in his words, "plural like the universe," and he carried this out in his poetry: writing verse in the style …

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677 Dylan Thomas (with John Goodby) | Emily Brontë and the Search for Hope 1:07:50

4M ago1:07:50

1:07:50

Dylan Thomas: brilliant poet or self-indulgent blowhard? In this episode, Jacke talks to John Goodby, co-author of the biography Dylan Thomas: A Critical Life, about the misconceptions swirling around the famous Welsh poet, and the approach that he and fellow author Chris Wigginton took in presenting a revealing and fresh introduction to Thomas's l…

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676 "Mrs Spring Fragrance" by Sui Sin Far (with Mike Palindrome) 1:25:52

4M ago1:25:52

1:25:52

Mike Palindrome, the President of the Literature Supporters Club, joins Jacke for a reading and discussion of "Mrs. Spring Fragrance" by Sui Sin Far. The story, which takes place against a backdrop of waves of immigration to America in the nineteenth and early twentieth centuries (and the racist anti-Asian laws that followed), depicts an enterprisi…

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48. Meet Lead Seamstress, Erin Conner 57:14

4M ago57:14

57:14

In this special episode, Sarah introduces Erin Conner, her lead seamstress! They share their story of friendship, career paths, and the evolution of their bridal business. From their early days at David’s Bridal to the Sarah Kolis brand today, they talk about their love for sewing, the challenges and joys of bridal alterations, and their favorite w…

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675 Zora Neale Hurston (with Cheryl Hopson) | Jack Kerouac's Newly Discovered Writings 1:10:18

4M ago1:10:18

1:10:18

Zora Neale Hurston (1891-1960) was the most published African American woman writer of the first half of the twentieth century; her signature novel Their Eyes Were Watching God is still read by students, scholars, and literature lovers everywhere. In this episode, Jacke talks to Hurston biographer Cheryl R. Hopson (Zora Neale Hurston: A Critical Li…

1
674 Nabokov vs Freud (with Joshua Ferris) [Ad-Free Re-Release] 51:13

4M ago51:13

51:13

“I admire Freud greatly,” the novelist Vladimir Nabokov once said, “as a comic writer.” For Nabokov, Sigmund Freud was “the Viennese witch-doctor,” objectionable for “the vulgar, shabby, fundamentally medieval world” of his ideas. Author Joshua Ferris (The Dinner Party, Then We Came to the End) joins Jacke for a discussion of the author of Lolita a…

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47. Real Brides Series: Alexa, Emily, and Stephanie Share Their Big Day Stories 40:19

4M ago40:19

40:19

Welcome back to The Dressing Up Podcast! Today, I’m diving into the stories of three incredible brides I’ve had the honor of working with: Alexa, Emily, and Stephanie. We’ll chat about their wedding days, the moments they’ll cherish forever, and the lessons they learned along the way. If you’re a bride-to-be or just love hearing about wedding exper…

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673 Edna Ferber (with Julie Gilbert) | My Last Book with Jessica Kirzane 1:04:39

4M ago1:04:39

1:04:39

Novelist and playwright Edna Ferber (1885-1968) lived a wondrous life: residing in Manhattan as a member of the famed Algonquin Round Table, writing a Pulitzer Prize-winning novel (So Big), and producing works that Hollywood turned into twentieth-century classics, including the Kern & Hammerstein musical Show Boat and George Stevens's Giant, starri…

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672 The Little Review (with Holly A. Baggett) | My Last Book with Phil Jones 58:43

4M ago58:43

58:43

Founded in Chicago in 1914, the avant-garde journal the Little Review became a giant in the cause of modernism, publishing literature and art by luminaries such as T.S. Eliot, Djuna Barnes, William Butler Yeats, James Joyce, Ezra Pound, Pablo Picasso, Max Ernst, Gertrude Stein, Jean Toomer, William Carlos Williams, H.D., Amy Lowell, Marcel Duchamp,…

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671 Shakespeare's Tragic Art (with Rhodri Lewis) | My Last Book with Joel Warner 1:00:06

4M ago1:00:06

1:00:06

It is a truth universally acknowledged that tragedy is one of the world's highest art forms, and that Shakespeare was one of the form's greatest practitioners. But how did he do it? What models did he have to draw upon, and where did he innovate? In this episode, Jacke talks to Shakespeare scholar Rhodri Lewis about his new book Shakespeare's Tragi…

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46. Behind the Seams: Creating Melissa’s Dream Wedding Dress 1:15:29

4M ago1:15:29

1:15:29

In this episode, I am taking you on a behind-the-scenes journey into one of the most meaningful projects I’ve ever undertaken: creating my youngest sister Melissa’s wedding dress! From the initial sketches to the final fitting, I share every detail of the process, including designing her entire wedding wardrobe, working with luxurious fabrics, and …

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670 The Parable 1:43:02

5M ago1:43:02

1:43:02

Inspired by an email (from a listener?) with mysterious origins, Jacke takes a look at the brief narrative form the parable. How did parables get their name? What are their key features? Why did Jesus rely on them so heavily to communicate to his listeners? And what meaning does "A Parable" have for us today? Additional listening: 634 The Bible: A …

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669 Obsessed with Melville (with Jennifer Habel and Chris Bachelder) | My Last Book with Alexander Poots 56:00

5M ago56:00

56:00

What happens when a woman becomes obsessed with Herman Melville during the pandemic? What if the process of sorting fact from fiction in Melville's work inspires a midlife reckoning with her own marriage and ambition? And what if she (a poet) and her husband (a novelist, by the way) write a book about all of it? Well, the result would be something …

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Emily McKay Podcasts

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