I love listening to James Wood. I’ve never felt inspired to review a podcast before. Thanks for making this, LRB

At college I majored in a hard science … but loved the humanities and always tried to keep up with literature. And now Close Readings helps me relive those texts, while introducing me to others. I so enjoy listening to these - very engaging and pitched at a level that’s easily accessible. Thank you!

Ignore the accents if they make you think the speakers are fancy or somehow evil. The podcasts are the peak of how adult education should be carried out, at least in the liberal arts & sciences. No condescending but both speakers usually strive for clarity. And pack even one hour with to my mind fun facts. One can imagine an assiduous learner perhaps doing ten short ids after listening. And then one can review by listening again. Multiple guess would be harder, they are harder to craft. At least a few of the interviewees teach, so again, an assiduous learner could reach out and ask. Or look at the catalogue of the Open U in UK or Harvard extension, as a start. And that exercise has a place because understanding where knowledge belongs is part of a university education. Truly amazing just to listen to and luaten to ans.,.

I love hearing clever people talk about great books. This is wonderful.

One of the best podcasts of its kind. I can tell that it takes a lot of time and labor to make the show – I hope the creators don’t get burnt out so that it’s able to continue.

Great conversations between humble yet honestly intelligent people about fascinating topics, unobtrusively edited and crisply presented.

I’m learning so much about a wide range of literature and look forward to listening. Thank you for sharing this.