Skip to content
PodParley
The Les Misérables Reading Companion podcast artwork

PODCAST · arts

The Les Misérables Reading Companion

by Briana Lewis

The Podcast about Victor Hugo's Les Misérables. In each episode, I will comment on a section of the book, to make it a bit less daunting, and hopefully help you enjoy it a bit more. I am a professor, but this podcast is created with a non-academic, non-expert, non-French-speaking audience in mind--that is, anyone who'd like to dive into this classic!Views expressed in this podcast are solely those of its creator, who does not speak on behalf of any other person or entity.

Publisher-supplied feed metadata · PodParley refreshed Apr 15, 2026 · Source feed

Subscribe · 0 Bookmark

Episodes

  1. Special Episode 03 - Even More Film Commentary!!

    We finish up the 2012 movie musical -- with watch-along commentary!!

  2. Special Episode 02 - More Film Commentary!!

    We tackle the middle section of the 2012 movie musical. Watch along!

  3. Ep60 - So what is Les Misérables about?

    We end this series by stepping back and thinking about this journey as a whole.

  4. Ep59 - V,9,v-vi - Endings

    Even the darkest night will end.....

  5. Ep58 - V,9,iv - Change and Changers

    The more some people change, the more they stay the same.

  6. Ep57 - V,8,i - V,9,iii - Decline

    In which I offer explanation, but not comfort, at this sad turn of events.

  7. Ep56 - V,7 - Ash Wednesday

    A day of confession and penance, deserved or not.

  8. Programming Note, June 18, 2019

    More delays, more excuses. But I hope it will be worth it.

  9. Ep55 - V,6 - Grief, Joy, and Masks

    Celebration, anguish, and how this all comes together at Mardi Gras.

  10. Ep54 - V,5 - Who are these people?

    Our characters are suddenly unrecognizable -- or are they?

  11. Ep53 - V,4 - Derailed

    Javert joins the last group in the world that he wanted to join.

  12. Ep52 - V,3,viii-xii - Memory Lane

    In which we get some surprising déjà vu....

  13. Ep51 - V,3,i-vii - The Soul in Muck

    Jean Valjean wrestles with what he finds beneath the streets.

  14. Programming Note, April 30, 2019

    In which I explain what the holdup is, and what you can do while you're waiting for me to get my act together.

  15. Ep50 - V,2 - Human Waste

    A whole new view of what's below Paris's streets. It's not pretty, but that's what's great about it.

  16. Ep49 - V,1,xviii-xxiv - Apocalypse, and How to Escape It

    Friendship, rescue, and contemplating defeat, as the uprising comes to an end.

  17. Ep48 - V,1,vi-xvii - Enclosed

    The perils of being trapped inside, and of getting out.

  18. Ep47 - V,1,i-v - Beyond the Barricade

    In which we're surprised to learn who might be on the other side of the barricade.

  19. Ep46 - IV,14,vi - IV,15,iv - Jealousy and Sacrifice

    Jean Valjean can still surprise us.... or can he?

  20. Ep45 - IV,13,i - IV,14,v - The Will to Die

    What do our characters gain when they have nothing left to lose?

  21. Ep44 - IV,12,i-viii - What Barricades are Made Of

    We continue to explore what goes into a barricade.

  22. Ep43 - IV,11,i-vi - How to Become a Revolutionary

    Gavroche and Mabeuf join the cause.

  23. Ep42 - IV,10,i-v - Paris Rising Up

    All you'll need to know about the 1832 Paris Uprising.

  24. Ep41 - IV,8,vi - IV,9,iii - Harsh Realities

    Bliss meets reality.

  25. Ep40 - IV,8,i-v - The Dangers Girls Face

    The perils and power of being a girl.

  26. Ep39 - IV,7,i-iv - Argot

    When you visit a place, it's only polite to try to learn a bit of the language....

  27. Ep38 - IV,6,i-iii - Gavroche, Child of...?

    Gavroche teaches us a thing or two about fatherhood.

  28. Ep37 - IV,4,i - IV,5,vi - Connection

    Our characters reach across the barriers that separate them.

  29. Ep36 - IV,3,vi-viii - Love and War

    All is not fair.

  30. Ep35 - IV,3,i-v - Roses and Gardens

    Places where we do, and don't, want to see roses.

  31. Ep34 - IV,2,i-iv - Demons and Goblins

    What can we make of the fallout from the ambush?

  32. Ep33 - IV,1,i-vi - Threshold

    An overview of the July Revolution, and some other bit-picture stuff.

  33. Ep32 - III,8,xvi-xxii - Dilemmas

    Tricky moral questions abound.

  34. Ep31 - III,8,v-xv - Judas

    Love, theatrics, and betrayal in the Gorbeau house.

  35. Ep30 - III,7,i - III,8,iv - Miners' Tools

    We explore miners and their tools, and how they fit into Les Misérables.

  36. Ep29 - III,6,i-ix - Love Story?

    So... what's a teen crush doing in here?

  37. Ep28 - III,5,i-vi - Parallel Lives

    The descent into poverty is a familiar one.

  38. Ep27 - III,4,i-vi - Landscapes and Horizons

    Marius's horizons expand, and we try to get a sense of the new world he has entered.

  39. Ep26 - III,3,iv-viii - His Father's Son

    Marius begins to understand who he is.

  40. Ep25 - III,2,i - III,3,iii - Generations

    Another child atrophies in another kind of darkness.

  41. Ep24 - III,1,i-xiii - Child of Paris, Child of Misère

    We meet fan-favorite Gavroche and the gamin de Paris, the character type that he doesn't quite exemplify.

  42. Ep23 - II,8,v-ix - Death and Other Happy Endings

    Les Misérables moonlights as a sort of macabre sitcom.

  43. Special Episode 01 - Film Commentary!!

    I try my hand at live commentary on the 2012 movie-musical adaptation of Les Misérables.

  44. Ep22 - II,8,i-iv - Strange Echoes

    A few things are familiar in this strange new place.

  45. Ep21 - II,7,i-viii - Life in Parentheses

    We decipher Hugo's complex position on Jean Valjean's latest hideout.

  46. Ep20 - II,6,i-xi - Cloistered

    We discuss Hugo's take on life inside his fictional convent.

  47. Ep19 - II,4,v - II,5,x - Mysteries

    Will our hero escape the clutches of the police? And what kind of strange place will his safe haven turn out to be?

  48. Ep18 - II,3,ix - II,4,iv - The Two Forçats

    Two kindred souls finally find each other.

  49. Ep17 - II,3,iv-viii - People You Might Meet in the Woods

    We look more deeply into another of the novel's most famous scenes.

  50. Ep16 - II,2,i - II,3,iii - Fate, Hope, and Spiders

    Caught in the web of fate, what reason is there for hope?

View all 134 episodes →

Type above to search every episode's transcript for a word or phrase. Matches are scoped to this podcast.

Searching…

We're indexing this podcast's transcripts for the first time — this can take a minute or two. We'll show results as soon as they're ready.

No matches for "" in this podcast's transcripts.

Showing of matches

No topics indexed yet for this podcast.

Loading reviews...

ABOUT THIS SHOW

The Podcast about Victor Hugo's Les Misérables. In each episode, I will comment on a section of the book, to make it a bit less daunting, and hopefully help you enjoy it a bit more. I am a professor, but this podcast is created with a non-academic, non-expert, non-French-speaking audience in mind--that is, anyone who'd like to dive into this classic!Views expressed in this podcast are solely those of its creator, who does not speak on behalf of any other person or entity.

HOSTED BY

Briana Lewis

CATEGORIES

arts books society culture

Frequently Asked Questions

How many episodes does The Les Misérables Reading Companion have?

The Les Misérables Reading Companion currently has 134 episodes available on PodParley. New episodes are automatically indexed when they're published to the podcast feed.

What is The Les Misérables Reading Companion about?

The Podcast about Victor Hugo's Les Misérables. In each episode, I will comment on a section of the book, to make it a bit less daunting, and hopefully help you enjoy it a bit more. I am a professor, but this podcast is created with a non-academic, non-expert, non-French-speaking audience in...

How often does The Les Misérables Reading Companion release new episodes?

The Les Misérables Reading Companion publishes regularly with 134 episodes available. Check the episode list for the typical release schedule.

Where can I listen to The Les Misérables Reading Companion?

You can listen to The Les Misérables Reading Companion on PodParley by clicking any episode. We provide an embedded audio player for direct listening, and you can also subscribe via your preferred podcast app using the RSS feed.

Who hosts The Les Misérables Reading Companion?

The Les Misérables Reading Companion is created and hosted by Briana Lewis.
URL copied to clipboard!