How to Read

Welcome to In Sacred Spaces, a three-episode series in which we visit spaces around NewClick here for more about the episode...In Sacred Spaces 3: The Pier (with The House of Louboutin)

Welcome to In Sacred Spaces, a three-episode series in which we visit spaces around NewClick here for more about the episode...In Sacred Spaces 2: Grace Congregational Church of Harlem (with Nigel and Lisa Pearce)

Welcome to In Sacred Spaces, a three-episode series in which we visit spaces around NewClick here for more about the episode...In Sacred Spaces 1: St James Presbyterian (With Derrick McQueen)

Reading today is typically silent – whether reading a book in a library or readingClick here for more about the episode...The sounds of medieval books (with Andrew Albin)

When you think about historical reenactment, you probably think about reenacting Civil War battles orClick here for more about the episode...Reenacting the past (with Catherine Grant)

We may think of reading and writing as opposite activities, but there’s a long historyClick here for more about the episode...The history of homemade books (with Deidre Lynch)

In the Bible, the Apocalypse is the end of the world as we know it,Click here for more about the episode...Why apocalypse isn’t all bad (with Jennifer M. Wilks)

Music can tell stories in a variety of ways: operas and musicals have characters andClick here for more about the episode...Musical storytelling with repurposed texts (with Randall Eng)

During the Cold War, the US and Chinese governments didn’t drop bombs on each other,Click here for more about the episode...The hidden politics of translation (with Lamyu Maria Bo)

A one-sided relationship is a bad relationship, right? Not necessarily, says Elaine Auyoung. She’s interestedClick here for more about the episode...One-sided relationships (with Elaine Auyoung)

What we notice about someone else’s language is less to do with language itself thanClick here for more about the episode...Language and injustice in the classroom (with Nelson Flores)

Chronic pain is pain that lasts for months, years or even a lifetime, and doctorsClick here for more about the episode...Understanding chronic pain (with Travis Chi Wing Lau)

You may have noticed that music has been sounding more chilled out recently, with softerClick here for more about the episode...The politics of chill (with Robin James)

The classic image of a reader is someone alone with their eyes on a book,Click here for more about the episode...Communities of readers (with Janice Radway)

When you picture a cheerleader, you probably imagine a woman. But in the early twentiethClick here for more about the episode...Cheerleading and the history of sport (with Frank Guridy)

Do you want to live a predictable life? Can great art ever be predictable? MostClick here for more about the episode...Predictability in life and art (with Caroline Levine)

Why do we click with some works of art and not others? Why does itClick here for more about the episode...Why we click with art (with Rita Felski)

When you think of an expert or specialist, you might picture a scientist with aClick here for more about the episode...The value of local knowledge (with Paige West)

What’s happened to reading during the COVID-19 pandemic? Some people are too busy or stressedClick here for more about the episode...Readers under lockdown (with Leah Price)

Images of protest have a visceral power to grab our attention. Colin Leach has beenClick here for more about the episode...Images of protests (with Colin Wayne Leach)

Milan, Olivia and Colby talk about season 4, the challenges of recording remotely and why…Click here for more about the episode...Season 4 trailer

The world doesn’t revolve around you! Many children, and plenty of adults too, have heardClick here for more about the episode...How (not) to read arrogantly (with Paula Moya)

Many people today surround themselves with crystals, whether for healing properties or as part ofClick here for more about the episode...The appeal of crystals through the ages (with Marisa Galvez)

We usually don’t pay much attention to pauses in language – it’s easy to assumeClick here for more about the episode...Pauses in Japanese and American literature (with Andrew Leong)

Atmospheres are both insubstantial and yet very palpable – for example, think about tension thatClick here for more about the episode...Atmospheres in literature and life (with Dora Zhang)

Spectacular dance sequences are one of the most recognizable elements of Indian cinema, and femaleClick here for more about the episode...Dancing stars in Indian cinema (with Usha Iyer)

It’s difficult to maintain attention when surrounded by distractions. Even if we’re just trying toClick here for more about the episode...Poetry, prayer and paying attention (with David Marno)

For many people, binge-watching is a guilty pleasure. In the Golden Age of Television, weClick here for more about the episode...The art of bingeing (with Michaela Bronstein)

It’s hard to find time for undistracted reading, and it’s easy to blame modern developmentsClick here for more about the episode...Not having time to read (with Christina Lupton)

There’s a negative stereotype of teenage readers as naively absorbed in their favourite books –Click here for more about the episode...Why it’s good to read like a teenager (with Juno Jill Richards)

Life experiences can transform us in many ways, and Laurie Paul wants us to appreciateClick here for more about the episode...How art can transform us (with Laurie Paul)

We tend to have a visceral response to someone we think is dirty. But StephanieClick here for more about the episode...The idea of dirtiness (with Stephanie Newell)

After we finish reading a book, our memories of it quickly fade and can evenClick here for more about the episode...What we remember after reading (with Andrew Elfenbein)

It might seem obvious that it’s good to read in ways that are literary, criticalClick here for more about the episode...Policing reading in colonial Egypt (with Michael Allan)

Many poems speak to a “you” who is not you the reader. And when aClick here for more about the episode...Weird ways poems address their readers (with Jonathan Culler)

What do we want when we revisit a beloved story? Sarah Chihaya suggests we’re drawnClick here for more about the episode...Remakes, sequels and other story expansions (with Sarah Chihaya)

When we think about the generation before us, we might feel that their cultural touchstonesClick here for more about the episode...How illustrations reshaped the Romantic legacy (with Tom Mole)

The basic story of Adam and Eve is that Eve was tempted by a serpent,Click here for more about the episode...Why Eve got blamed (with Stephen Greenblatt)

Some academics think that reading a book just to identify with a character is self-centredClick here for more about the episode...Identifying with characters (with Merve Emre)

We tend to think of literature as something that’s written down. But Martin Puchner isClick here for more about the episode...Literature from speech to writing and back (with Martin Puchner)

Pick up a novel today, and it’s almost guaranteed to be divided up into chapters.Click here for more about the episode...The history of the chapter (with Nicholas Dames)

You might not think writing style matters in philosophy. But Kwame Anthony Appiah – aClick here for more about the episode...How to read philosophy (with Kwame Anthony Appiah)

A utopia presents an ideal world that has overcome the problems of the present.  ForClick here for more about the episode...Philadelphia’s utopian roots (with Bethany Wiggin)

What connects Langston Hughes to Hong Kong, Malcolm X to Mecca, and Syrian merchants to the 9/11 memorial? In this episode, English professor Wai Chee Dimock shows us how to read quintessentially American writers from an international perspective. From this angle, major American concerns like race and money start to look a little different.Click here for more about the episode...Global currents in US literature (with Wai Chee Dimock)

The idea of putting spaces between written words didn’t develop until thousands of years afterClick here for more about the episode...The long history of reading aloud (with Roger Chartier)

During the Renaissance, a writer could be imprisoned just for claiming that a husband beatingClick here for more about the episode...The politics of disobedient wives (with Julie Crawford)

What happens when we apply today’s ideas about social networks back onto literature of theClick here for more about the episode...Social networks in novels (with Paul Saint-Amour)

Our guest Heather Love is out to convince us of the value of description —Click here for more about the episode...Why description matters (with Heather Love)

We live in a world with a long history of atrocity — from the colonizationClick here for more about the episode...Atrocity, time, and the novel (with Bruce Robbins)

Sometimes it pays to zoom in. Today, we focus on some opening sentences which reward closeClick here for more about the episode...Intriguing opening sentences (with Jenny Davidson)