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Episode 74: Stephen Greenblatt episode artwork

Oct 17, 2025 1 hr 9 min

Episode 74: Stephen Greenblatt

from The Thoughtful Bro

My *utterly electric* convo with one of the great non-fiction writers and scholars of our time, Stephen Greenblatt. Stephen is the Pulitzer Prize winning/bestselling author of some of my favorite books EVER about literary history (including The Swerve), and he's out now with Dark Renaissance, about the troubled, complex genius of Shakespeare's top rival, Chris Marlowe. We discussed (1) how Marlowe, the same age as the Bard, was a far more important writer than Shakespeare when he was stabbed to death at 29; (2) how Elizabethan London was a North Korea-like tinderbox of political repression and censorship; and (3) how Greenblatt's entire career has been guided by a profound desire to communicate with the great spirits long deceased. Order Mark's novel Bunyan and Henry. All episodes of The Thoughtful Bro aired live originally on A Mighty Blaze. The Thoughtful Bro is proudly sponsored by Libro.fm and Writer's Bone.

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Episode 74: Stephen Greenblatt

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This episode was published on October 17, 2025.

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