Best Kerouac Podcasts (2025)

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The Backstory: Jack Kerouac: On the Road With a Brilliant Disaster 10:12

15d ago10:12

10:12

Few authors have impacted literature and our culture like On the Road author Jack Kerouac. But his short life was filled with pain, depression, addiction, and murder... as well as brilliance. This is a peek at his rise and fall. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.By iHeartPodcasts

1
The Backstory: Party Like a Pope! 7:15

1d ago7:15

7:15

While watching the Catholic Church choose a new pope earlier this month, it seemed completely immersed in tradition. But Pope Leo the 14th is a very different leader than an earlier namesake . . Pope Leo the Tenth, from the powerful Medici family. His reign in the early 1500s and his love of partying and living like a king . . brought about one of …

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

2d 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…

1
Episode 33: Pulling Out the Mote in Flannery O'Connor's WISE BLOOD 1:17:12

3d ago1:17:12

1:17:12

More celebrated for her dark, satirical short stories, Flannery O'Connor nevertheless burst on the literary scene in 1952 in her mid-twenties with her debut novel, Wise Blood. The story of a would-be preacher resistant to God's grace, the plot features some of the most bizarre and twisted left turns in American literature: self-blindings with lye, …

1
The Backstory: Did a Missing Heiress Vanish Into a New Life? 10:34

5d ago10:34

10:34

What happens when you’re born into tremendous wealth and social standing, but all you want is a bohemian life filled with creativity and freedom? In 1910 the life of a socialite was pre determined before birth. One young woman felt trapped and simply disappeared. But what really happened to Dorothy Arnold? See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy in…

1
702 Writing in the World of Jane Austen (with D.G. Rampton) | Disaster at the Book Festival! 52:01

6d 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…

1
# 112 Atomic Dreams: The New Nuclear Evangelists and the Fight for the Future of Energy 1:20:10

7d ago1:20:10

1:20:10

Send us a text If Diablo Canyon stays open, does it open the door for a broader reevaluation of nuclear’s role in the U.S. — or is it a one-off anomaly in a blue state’s climate panic? Talking with Rebecca Tuhus-Dubrow author of "Atomic Dreams: The New Nuclear Evangelists and the Fight for the Future of Energy." What role should nuclear power play …

1
The Backstory: Dead Pope’s Body . . On Trial 9:23

8d ago9:23

9:23

We’ve been intrigued in the past few weeks with the ancient traditions surrounding the choice for a new pope to lead the Roman Catholic Church. But that transition hasn’t always been smooth. This is another look at one of the darkest moments in Church history. It was the Cadaver Trial of a dead pope, which took place 1100 years ago. See omnystudio.…

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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

9d 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…

1
Langston Hughes' "Teacher" 2:32

12d ago2:32

2:32

Here's a knotty poem about virtue, life, and star-dust by Langston Hughes that I've turned into a song. The Parlando Project takes words (mostly literary poetry) and combines them with original music in differing styles. We've done over 800 of these combinations and you can hear any of them at our blog and archives at frankhudson.org…

1
The Backstory: The Tragedy That Inspired Will Ferrell’s Anchorman Flicks 9:25

12d ago9:25

9:25

Jessica Savitch had a dramatic rise... and an even more dramatic fall in the network news business of the 1970s and ’80s. It’s a shocker! But her tragic story oddly inspired Will Ferrell to do the movie Anchorman: The Rise and Fall of Ron Burgundy. Here’s the backstory! See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.…

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Speculative Whiteness Part 1: Acadmic Altruist with Dr. Jordan S. Carroll 19:04

16d ago19:04

19:04

In the first part of this new column about the alt-right and Speculative Fiction fandom, we get to know the author of the groundbreaking discussion, Speculative Witeness. Alan and Jordan discuss gateway genre authors, JRR Tolkien, transgressive science fiction, how SF fans experience time differently, how Jordan started studying the alt-right in co…

1
700 - Butterflies at Rest 28:08

15d 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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The Backstory: How Do You Kidnap a Race Horse? 7:18

19d ago7:18

7:18

Nothing like the Kentucky Derby... even if you’re not a dedicated thoroughbred race fan. Those animals are exquisite bundles of pure muscle. So... imagine trying to kidnap one! How would you do it... and what happens after you get him? It happened over 40 years ago in Ireland to one of the most remarkable European Derby winners of all time and his …

1
Langston Hughes' Cabaret 1:49

21d ago1:49

1:49

The great Afro-American poet Langston Hughes was a pioneer in Jazz Poetry, so it is appropriate that managed to finish this piece for International Jazz Day and the last day of National Poetry Month: a performance of a short poem of his about Jazz, "Cabaret." The Parlando Project combines various words (mostly literary poetry) with original music i…

1
The Backstory: The Great Gatsby Was a Total Failure! 8:27

22d ago8:27

8:27

How does a book start out as a complete failure only to suddenly be celebrated as one of the great American novels, decades later? And what was its heartbreaking inspiration? This is the story of F. Scott Fitzgerald’s classic The Great Gatsby, published 100 years ago this month. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.…

1
Ars Poetica 4:15

22d ago4:15

4:15

Celebrating National Poetry Month and International Jazz Day with this new sonnet about poets and poetry performed along with original music I composed for a Jazz quartet. This is what the Parlando Project does regularly: we combine various words (usually literary poetry) with music we create in various styles. We've done over 800 of these combinat…

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

23d 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…

1
Absent Place - an April Day 2:47

25d ago2:47

2:47

Emily Dickinson wrote these words in The Sixties, the 1860s. I just got done with this song performance of her poem as if it was the 1960s and this was a West Coast Folk-Rock band. I think Dickinson here is writing about those things left behind, missing, even in the delights of Spring. The Parlando Project combines various words (mostly literary p…

1
🎧 Power of Place Episode #60 | Beneath the Bells - Deena Taylor 59:12

26d ago59:12

59:12

Drift through alleyways, inlets and ancestral memory with Deena Taylor—Navy veteran, podcast host and lifelong Bremerton resident—as she unveils the hidden stories shaping this salt-stained corner of the Pacific Northwest.Deena, creator of Bremelore, peels back the layers of a maritime town sculpted by shipyards, superstition and the deep pull of P…

1
The Backstory: Why Do We Love Dog Movie Stars? 6:51

26d ago6:51

6:51

Nothing makes us melt like a great story about a kid and a dog. Lassie was a megastar in the 1950s, watching over her 7-year-old boy Timmy...but was her act lifted from the first canine movie star back in 1905? See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.By iHeartPodcasts

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# 111 RELAY FOR RACHAEL. A conversation with photographer, neighbor and dear friend Rachael Short. 1:02:19

27d ago1:02:19

1:02:19

Send us a text Ever since she picked up her father’s camera at age twelve, Rachael Short has been captivated by the art of photography. Listen to our conversation to learn more from and about Rachael's remarkable story. LINKS: Relay for Rachael Gallery Exposed Rachael Short Photography >>>>>>>>>>> SUMMARIES: Rachael's Nature-Inspired Photography Jo…

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

27d 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 …

1
Dread Robin 3:26

28d ago3:26

3:26

I set Emily Dickinson's "I dreaded that first Robin, so" to this music for National Poetry Month. Dickinson's poem casts a skeptical eye on Spring, at once alienated from it and yet closely, wittily, observing. My music mutates throughout to carry forward the coming of Springtime. The Parlando Project combines various words (mostly literary poetry)…

1
Novus Monstrum with Douglas Gwilym 1:38:28

29d ago1:38:28

1:38:28

In this episode, Alan and Diane talk to writer and editor Douglas Gwilym. We discuss the Horror Writers Association, the importance of character, blending genres, the Triangulation Anthologies, editing anthologies, joy in writing, monsters, journies in fiction, the importance of writing fiction in uncertain times, and much more. You can find Novus …

1
The Backstory: Blueprint For a Serial Killer 10:12

29d ago10:12

10:12

One of America’s most prolific female serial killers was Aileen Wuornos. She admitted to killing at least seven men before she was executed in 2002. Her life was depicted in the 2003 movie Monster. But how did the little girl, tormented by schoolmates as "the cigarette pig," become a monster? See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.…

1
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…

1
Lilacs (version) 6:23

1M ago6:23

6:23

An odd notion I had while planning for this year's National Poetry Month: could I perform an Amy Lowell poem with a rock band in the spirit of the Patti Smith Group? Well, the result still sounds like me, but sections of this Amy Lowell poem do presage methods of later poetic expression. The Parlando Project performs various words (mostly literary …

1
# 110 Butch Kronlund (Jan. 7, 1955 - Feb. 1, 2025) from 'Under the Persimmon Tree' September 29, 2019. 1:27:43

1M ago1:27:43

1:27:43

Send us a text In memory of Butch Kronlund, this episode is a replay of a live interview recorded as part of the Under the Persimmon Tree series at the Henry Miller Library. In this conversation, Butch reflects on his early life and upbringing, meeting his beloved wife Patte, and his arrival in Big Sur—where he would go on to lay the foundations of…

1
The Backstory: The Glamorous Ghost of Mar-a-Lago 7:04

1M ago7:04

7:04

Mar-a-Lago, President Trump’s long-time property in Palm Beach, gets a lot of press these days. But it’s an architectural marvel. The thing is, its past is way more glittering than its present. It was built in the roaring 1920s by a young woman who was, for most of her life, the richest woman in America. This is about where her money came from and …

1
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…

1
The Lent Lilly 2:33

1M ago2:33

2:33

A. E. Housman's poem of fleeting wildflowers set to music as part of our celebration of this month's U. S. National Poetry Month. The Parlando Project combines various words (mostly literary poetry) with original music in differing styles. We've done over 800 of these combinations and you can hear all of them and read about our encounters with the …

1
Episode 404 - A New Demographic? (Pt. 2) 18:40

1M ago18:40

18:40

How does someone who is living, like it or not, in the last third of life, address everybody else who is living in the second third? It's an important question, cuz most of the time it's like two ships passing in the night. An older Episcopal priest used to come up to me about once a week -- he was assisting in a busy parish where I was rector -- a…

1
The Backstory: Murder in the golden age of Hollywood 9:43

1M ago9:43

9:43

The murder of movie star Lana Turner’s mobster boyfriend by her 14-year-old daughter was the biggest story in Hollywood in the late 1950s. But did young Cheryl really wield the knife? Or did she take the hit for her mother? See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.By iHeartPodcasts

1
The Second Coming 3:48

1M ago3:48

3:48

William Butler Yeats wrote this oft-quoted poem of the rise of evil in the world. I found it more challenging that many other Yeats poems to put to music and to sing, but tonight I've judged this full-rock-band version complete. The Parlando Project combines various words (mostly literary poetry) with original music in differing styles. We've done …

1
# 109 Rode in on a Hell's Angel Harley: Mary Lu Spigarelli Toren of Big Sur. 1:49:13

1M ago1:49:13

1:49:13

Send us a text Mary Lu had a stroke* on October 18, 2024. In this episode she speaks of the moment it happened and a bit about the past five months of slow and steady recovery. The episode is followed by a conversation from 2015 where Mary Lu tells of how she got to Big Sur "on the saddle of a Hell's Angel Harley" and what happens after that... >>>…

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

1M 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…

1
The Backstory: Test tube holds Thomas Edison’s dying breath 7:41

1M ago7:41

7:41

Two of the most famous inventors of the late 19th and early 20th century were Thomas Edison and Henry Ford. They were great friends and shared a strong belief in the afterlife. That connection led Ford to obtain a test tube from Edison’s son…allegedly containing Edison’s dying breath. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.…

1
Counting Out Rhyme 3:00

1M ago3:00

3:00

Here's another Edna St. Vincent Millay poem turned into a short spell-song for Spring and Poem in Your Pocket Day. The Parlando Project combines various words (mostly literary poetry) with original music in differing styles. We've done over 800 of these combinations, and you can hear any of them and read about our encounters with the words at our b…

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

1M 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…

1
Episode 403 - A New Demographic? (Pt. 1) 18:52

1M ago18:52

18:52

While one was within the second third of one's life, one had all these goals in view, of happy marriage, happy fathering, and (most of all, sadly) successful careering. That was the way it was -- and probably the way it is, at least for some who may be reading this. And in that (now) embarrassing order, too. But at this point it's beginning to look…

1
The Backstory: Millions gazed at Lincoln's decomposing face 9:17

1M ago9:17

9:17

Hard to imagine loving a politician so much that a third of the entire U.S. populace shows up to watch his funeral train go by and millions file past his open coffin. But sadly, Abe Lincoln was decomposing before their eyes. His two-week journey home was on a train meant to be the 1860s version of Air Force One, and his only trip on it was after hi…

1
Sitting on Top of the World 3:36

1M ago3:36

3:36

This is a song made from a section of Carl Sandburg's 1928 poem "Good Morning America" which I sang this month in order that it shed some light on the nation's current state. The Parlando Project combines various words (mostly literary poetry) with original music in differing styles. We've done over 800 of these combinations and you can hear any of…

1
Episode 402 - Pixie Dust (Essential) 18:44

1M ago18:44

18:44

Every version or tradition of the Christian Faith offers an objective or corporealized dimension within a person's (longed for) relationship with God. For Roman Catholicism, it is the Real Presence of the Lord within the Elements of Bread and Wine. For pentecostalism, it is the embodied Gifts of the Spirit in miracles of healing and divine interven…

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

1M 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…

1
The Backstory: The Superfreak Behind Superfreak 8:43

2M ago8:43

8:43

44 years ago this month, the song Superfreak was released by funk legend Rick James. But success didn’t sit well with him .. eventually leading to prison and an early death. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.By iHeartPodcasts

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Pablo Neruda's Love Poem 16 from 20 Love Poems 3:30

2M ago3:30

3:30

I started doing an English translation of a poem from Chilean poet Pablo Neruda's youthful series of love poems, and in that process I thought of something else on my mind, and so began to connect the poem with two husbands taken from the US and their families based on dubious charges this Spring. This poem from Neruda's series speaks of lovers sep…

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# 108 Clovis Harrod. A replay of this episode from February 2023. 1:53:02

2M ago1:53:02

1:53:02

Send us a text I just found out that Clovis left us a short time ago. Here in this chat she is sharing some of her stories. There are so many, many people that will miss her and treasure the memory of her. Thank you Clovis. A true 'Big Sur Woman!' SHARE THIS WITH YOUR FRIENDS AND NEIGHBORS Some of the folks mentioned in this episode: Doug Madsen Lo…

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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 …

1
Northern April 3:38

2M ago3:38

3:38

Our National Poetry Month celebration continues with a musical presentation of this sensuous Edna St Vincent Millay poem. Since I awoke this April morning to tree branches covered with wet April snow in my northern clime, I felt part of "the shared world" with this poet as I completed this song setting today. The Parlando Project combines various w…

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