The Topeka School

This is a rerun of our episode about the book American Prometheus, a biography of J Robert Oppenheimer by Kai Bird and Martin J Sherwin. It originally aired on October 27, 2022.We're rerunning it in honor of the movie Oppenheimer, which Christopher Nolan wrote based on this book. This episode contains spoilers.Related stuff:The Golden Notebook by Doris LessingThe Missed Chance to Stop the H-Bomb by McGeorge Bundy in the New York Review of BooksHiroshima: Why America Dropped the Bomb by Ronald Takaki Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

This episode is about Heaven, a novel by Japanese author Mieko KawakamiReferences:A Tale for the Time Being by Ruth OzekiThus Spoke Zarathustra by Friedrich Nietzsche Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

This episode is about The Reluctant Fundamentalist, a novel by the Pakistani-British author Mohsin Hamid.References:Exit West, by Mohsin HamidMoth Smoke, by Mohsin HamidThe Reluctant Fundamentalist, a box office bomb starring Riz AhmedOpinion piece on Pakistani-Indian relations by Mohsin Hamid: https://www.nytimes.com/2013/02/22/opinion/pakistani-militants-the-enemies-of-peace-the-internal-enemies-of-pakistani-peace.htmlMohsin Hamid profile: https://www.fastcompany.com/3045216/why-companies-need-novelistsInterviews with Mohsin Hamid: https://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/w3ct3c7l and https://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b0144ybjCritique of Hamid's work by Zain R Mian: https://herald.dawn.com/news/1398781The Alchemist, by Paulo CoelhoThe Fall, by Albert Camus Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

This episode is about the book American Prometheus, a biography of J Robert Oppenheimer by Kai Bird and Martin J Sherwin. It won the Pulitzer Prize and is being made into a feature film by Christopher Nolan.Related stuff:The Golden Notebook by Doris LessingThe Missed Chance to Stop the H-Bomb by McGeorge Bundy in the New York Review of BooksHiroshima: Why America Dropped the Bomb by Ronald Takaki Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

In this episode, we're talking about The Buried Giant by Nobel laureate Kazuo Ishiguro. This episodes contains spoilers.References:Ishiguro's WSJ interview: https://www.wsj.com/video/kazuo-ishiguro-uncovers-the-buried-giant/542AED13-6ABD-42D9-A8F3-86806087F241.htmlNeil Gaiman's review: https://www.nytimes.com/2015/03/01/books/review/kazuo-ishiguros-the-buried-giant.htmlPostwar by Tony JudtSir Gawain and the Green KnightLe Morte d'Arthur by Sir Thomas MaloryThe English and their History by Robert TombsThe Makers of Scotland: Picts, Romans, Gaels and Vikings by Tim Clarkson Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

In this episode, we're talking about The End of the Myth by Greg Grandin. Please join us. Or don't. It's your choice.Further reading:"The Moral Equivalent of War" by William JamesA Wicked War: Polk, Clay, Lincoln, and the 1846 U.S. Invasion of Mexico by Amy GreenbergThe War Lovers: Roosevelt, Lodge, Hearst, and the Rush to Empire, 1898 by Evan ThomasFordlandia: The Rise and Fall of Henry Ford's Forgotten Jungle City by Greg GrandinThe Rise of American Democracy: Jefferson to Lincoln by Sean Wilentz What Hath God Wrought: The Transformation of America, 1815-1845 by Daniel Walker Howe Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

In this episode, we're talking about Aurora by Kim Stanley Robinson. Please join us. Or don't. It's your choice. This episode, like all of our episodes, contains spoilers.Other Kim Stanley Robins work that we reference (or have read):The Mars Trilogy (Red Mars, Green Mars, Blue Mars)The Years of Rice and SaltNew York 2140Red MoonThe Ministry for the Future Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

In this episode, we're talking about The Topeka School by Ben Lerner. Please join us. Or don't. It's your choice. This episode, like all of our episodes, contains spoilers.References:Other books by Ben Lerner that we reference are 10:04 and Leaving Atocha StationPoetry by Ben Lerner Lerner's article in Harper's about high school debate and political speechLerner on the Guardian's book podcastNational Forensics League list of national championsDavid Kensinger Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

In this episode, we're talking about Wolf Hall by Hilary Mantel. Please join us. Or don't. It's your choice. This episode contains many spoilers, for all three books in the trilogy.  References:The final two books in the trilogy are Bring Up the Bodies and The Mirror and the LightThomas Cromwell: A Revolutionary Life by Diarmaid MacCullochThe Life of Cardinal Wolsey by George CavendishA Man for All Seasons by Robert Bolt, with two film adaptations starring Paul Scofield (1966) and Charlton Heston (1988)Wolf Hall Parts One & Two is a play adaptation of the first two books by Mike Poulton, premiered by the Royal Shakespeare CompanyWolf Hall was also adapted into a 6-episode BBC miniseriesA Place of Greater Safety by Hilary MantelThe Power Broker by Robert CaroFollow us on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/champsatthelit Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

In this episode, we're talking about SPQR by Mary Beard. Please join us. Or don't. It's your choice. This episode contains spoilers, but it's all ancient history.References:The History of the Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire by Edward GibbonFollow us on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/champsatthelit Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.