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PODCAST

The Literary Life Podcast

Angelina Stanford Thomas Banks

Not just book chat! The Literary Life Podcast is an ongoing conversation about the skill and art of reading well and the lost intellectual tradition needed to fully enter into the great works of literature. Experienced teachers Angelina Stanford and Thomas Banks (of www.HouseOfHumaneLetters.com) join lifelong reader Cindy Rollins (of www.MorningtimeForMoms.com) for slow reads of classic literature, conversations with book lovers, and an ever-unfolding discussion of how Stories Will Save the

arts books

All Episodes

01:30:35

Episode 316: "Don Juan" by Moliere, Acts 2-5

The Literary Life Podcast ·

2026/02/17

On The Literary Life podcast this week, Angelina and Thomas are back with this second episode on the play Don Juan by Moliere. After sharing their commonplace quotes for this week, Thomas kicks off the discussion of the play with a definition of the farce and how it applies to this play. They share more notable passages of Don Juan as they highlight related literature and stories from across Europe, the archetypes and stock characters represented by Sganarelle, and the value of the comedic form

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01:23:52

Episode 315: "Don Juan" by Moliere, Introduction and...

The Literary Life Podcast ·

2026/02/10

Today on The Literary Life podcast, Angelina and Thomas begin a new series discussing Moliere's farcical play Don Juan. They open the discussion with some background on Moliere's plays in general, as well as other drama of this time period, then the origins of the story of Don Juan itself. After this introduction, Thomas and Angelina read some of the play and discuss some of the key characters and ideas presented in the opening acts. If you missed this year's annual Literary Life Online Conference,

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01:22:24

Episode 314: "Best of" - Our Favorite Poems

The Literary Life Podcast ·

2026/02/03

On this "Best of The Literary Life" episode from the vault, our hosts discuss their favorite poems and poets. Cindy starts off by sharing the early influences on her developing a love of poetry. Thomas also shares about his mother reading poetry to him as a child and the poetry that made an impression on him as a child. Angelina talks about coming to poetry later in life and how she finally came to love it through learning about the metaphysical poets. Cindy and Thomas talk about the powerful effect

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01:48:06

Episode 313: The Tower and the Ruin with Dr. Michael...

The Literary Life Podcast ·

2026/01/27

On The Literary Life Podcast this week, Angelina and Thomas are pleased to have special guest Dr. Michael Drout joining them to discuss his book The Tower and the Ruin: J. R. R. Tolkien's Creation. Together they talk about the background for writing this book and who Drout intended his audience to be. They also share thoughts on the current academic trends and the state of the humanities and literary studies in higher education. Other topics they cover include high modernism, literary criticism,

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01:29:08

Episode 312: "Best of" - Fairy Tales and Children's...

The Literary Life Podcast ·

2026/01/20

Welcome to an another great episode from the archives of The Literary Life podcast! This week we bring you an interview our hosts had with special guest Dr. Vigen Guroian, retired professor of Religious Studies and Orthodox Christianity at the University of Virginia and author of twelve book and numerous scholarly articles. Angelina Stanford and Thomas Banks discuss with Dr. Guroian the new edition of his book, Tending the Heart of Virtue. They start out talking about how the first edition of this

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01:12:36

Episode 311: "Falling Inward" with Dr. Jason Baxter

The Literary Life Podcast ·

2026/01/13

This week on The Literary Life Podcast, Angelina and Thomas are joined by their friend and colleague Dr. Jason Baxter to talk about his newest book coming soon from Cassiodorus Press, Falling Inward. After sharing their commonplace quotes, Angelina asks Jason why he wanted to update and republish this work that he originally wrote several years ago. They discuss what is different about the idea of falling inward versus navel gazing, the role of the teacher in approaching literature in a humane way,

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01:37:55

Episode 310: "Best of" - What to Do When The Literary...

The Literary Life Podcast ·

2026/01/06

On this week's "Best of The Literary Life Podcast" episode, host Angelina Stanford is joined by friends and fellow readers Cindy Rollins, Emily Raible, and Jone Rose to discuss how to deal with overwhelm with your literary life. Angelina opens the conversation with the acknowledgment that everyone has moments when they feel overwhelmed by the amount of things to read and to know. Jone talks about how she tries to avoid comparing herself and her reading life to that of others. Emily shares her

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01:41:08

Episode 309: Our Literary Lives of 2025

The Literary Life Podcast ·

2025/12/30

For this final episode of the 2025 season on The Literary Life Podcast, we bring you a special year-end conversation with Angelina Stanford, Cindy Rollins, and Thomas Banks all about their year in reading. Thomas talks about how most of his reading was tied to classes he taught. Cindy and Angelina talk about the reasons they didn't read as many books as they usually do in a year. They share some of their favorite non-fiction reads of the year, books that surprised them, and fiction highlights. In

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53:29

Episode 308: Preview of The Literary Life Season 8

The Literary Life Podcast ·

2025/12/23

On this week's episode of The Literary Life, Thomas and Angelina bring you a preview of the books we will discuss on the upcoming season of the podcast. First, Angelina explains their approach to the podcast as they approach this next year, then she and Thomas share what literary topics and book discussions you can be looking forward to in 2026. In addition, if you are looking for a reading challenge created by our Friends and Fellows for 2026, you can find it on Patreon when you join for free! The

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01:46:25

Episode 307: "Best of" – Our Year in Reading, Ep. 31

The Literary Life Podcast ·

2025/12/16

This week on The Literary Life podcast, we are dipping back into the archives to bring you a delightful conversation from 2019 in which our Literary Life podcast hosts chatted all about their past year in books, as well as what they hoped to read in the coming year. Cindy, Angelina and Thomas began by sharing some commonplace quotes from books they read in 2019. They discussed their strategies for planning their reading goals and how they curate their "to be read" lists. Each of our hosts also

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47:07

Episode 306: "Best of" – What Is the Literary Life?

The Literary Life Podcast ·

2025/12/09

Welcome back to The Literary Life podcast and one of our "best of" episodes from the vault! Due to the busyness of the holiday season, we thought this would be the perfect time to bring you a replay from our archives instead of starting a brand new book discussion series. This week, we re-air the inaugural episode of The Literary Life, in which Cindy and Angelina introduce the podcast and what they mean when they talk about having a "literary life." Each of them share how stories have shaped their

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01:48:52

Episode 305: Books on Screen – Our Favorite Film...

The Literary Life Podcast ·

2025/12/02

On this week's episode of The Literary Life podcast, Angelina Stanford, Thomas Banks, and Atlee Northmore talk about their favorite film adaptations of books they like and why they think these are worthy adaptations. Genres of movies they discuss include adaptations of classic books, kids and family films, film noir favorites, beloved directors, and so much more. They also share some "hot takes" on movies they liked better than the books, and vice versa. We hope this lighthearted, chatty episode

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01:51:35

Episode 304: Aldous Huxley's "Brave New World" Ch....

The Literary Life Podcast ·

2025/11/25

Today on The Literary Life podcast, Angelina, Thomas, and Ella cover the final chapters of Brave New World by Aldous Huxley. They begin the conversation considering the ending of the story and mistakes readers may make in thinking it is a despairing ending. Angelina asks the question "how does Huxley tell us to interpret the ending?" They also dig deeper into the rest of the last few chapters, including more instances of parody, religion and self-denial, and so much symbolism! Be sure to head over

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01:36:52

Episode 303: Aldous Huxley's "Brave New World" Ch. 8-13

The Literary Life Podcast ·

2025/11/18

This week on The Literary Life podcast, Angelina, Thomas, and Ella continue discussing Brave New World by Aldous Huxley. They begin engaging with the text today by talking more about satire and parody as elements in this story. While recapping the major plot points in these chapters, they go deeper into the character of John the Savage, the ways in which this story is like a distorted reflection of The Tempest and Othello, as well as so many other Shakespeare references. Come back again next week

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01:47:43

Episode 302: Aldous Huxley's "Brave New World" Ch. 4-7

The Literary Life Podcast ·

2025/11/11

Welcome back to The Literary Life podcast and our series on Aldous Huxley's Brave New World. Angelina Stanford, Thomas Banks, and Ella Hornstra open the conversation by sharing their commonplace quotes, then jump into the book discussion with some connections between Huxley and Lewis Carroll and how Brave New World is like Alice in Wonderland. Angelina also teaches about the medieval conception of the tripartite soul and how it relates to this story, as well as making some distinctions between

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01:42:06

Episode 301: Aldous Huxley's "Brave New World" Intro...

The Literary Life Podcast ·

2025/11/04

Welcome back to The Literary Life podcast with Angelina Stanford and Thomas Banks! They are joined by Ella Hornstra for the beginning of a new series on Aldous Huxley's Brave New World. Thomas and Ella kick off the book discussion with a little biographical background on Huxley and dispel the myth that he belonged to the Bloomsbury Group. Angelina gives some literary history of the period in which Huxley wrote, as well as some thoughts on satire as a response to an age of overwhelming optimism. She

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01:42:45

Best of Series – "Dracula" by Bram Stoker, Ch. 18-End

The Literary Life Podcast ·

2025/10/28

On The Literary Life podcast this week, Angelina, Cindy and Thomas are back to wrap up their series on Bram Stoker's Dracula. They open with their commonplace quotes then begin diving into the major plot points and the connections being made. Angelina and Cindy discuss what happens to Mina, especially in relation to the idea of the New Woman versus the Angel in the House. Thomas and Angelina talk about Dracula's background and his connection with Satan seen more clearly here at the end of the book

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01:14:00

Episode 299: Best of Series – “Dracula” by Bram...

The Literary Life Podcast ·

2025/10/21

Our hosts are back on The Literary Life podcast today to continue our series on Bram Stoker’s Dracula. This week we are covering chapters 12-17, and in the introduction to this episode, Angelina, Cindy and Thomas discuss the purpose of the Gothic novel in reorienting us to realize there is more to the world than the physical and empirical. As they cover the plot in these chapters, other ideas shared are the effective blending of modern technology with ancient wisdom in fighting evil, the many

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01:01:15

Episode 298: Best of Series – “Dracula” by Bram...

The Literary Life Podcast ·

2025/10/14

Welcome back to The Literary Life podcast today and our series on Bram Stoker’s Dracula. This week Angelina Stanford, Cindy Rollins, and Thomas Banks cover chapters 8-11 of the book. Angelina explains both the “New Woman” and “Angel in the House” ideas of the Victorian era and makes some observations about Dr. Seward’s interactions with Renfield in contrast to the nuns ministrations to Jonathan Harker. We are also introduced to Dr. Van Helsing in this section of the book as the foil for Dracula, and

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01:14:11

Episode 297: Best of Series - Bram Stoker's "Dracula"...

The Literary Life Podcast ·

2025/10/07

On The Literary Life Podcast this week, our hosts continue with part 2 of their series on Bram Stoker's Dracula. After sharing their commonplace quotes, Angelina, Cindy and Thomas begin discussing how to properly read Dracula and other books written in this tradition. (Hint: It's not the Freudian or psychoanalytical approach!) Angelina argues that Bram Stoker was trying, among other things, to reintroduce the traditional forms and metaphors into the modern era. Thomas shares the dark etymology of

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