In this episode of Required Reading, we explore Edgar Allan Poe’s chilling masterpiece, The Cask of Amontillado. Set in the eerie catacombs beneath an Italian palazzo, the story follows Montresor’s calculated revenge against Fortunato—an act cloaked in deception, wine, and madness. The episode unpacks themes of pride, guilt, and psychological horror, showing how Poe turns a simple act of vengeance into a timeless study of the human mind’s darkest corners.This includes a reading of the audiobook from flansburgh38 from Librivox. 
Co-hosted with Dr. Nic Hoffmann, Mike Burns, and Mike Carroll
Check us out! 

Shifting My Thinking about AI in the Classroom by Mike Burns
Women, Reform, and War by Nic Hoffmann
Comedy on the Arabian Peninsula by Nic Hoffmann
The Last Time I Rewound: VHS, Star Wars, and the Freedom to Remember by Nic Hoffmann
Follow the ongoing publication process with Mike Carroll

The Tell Tale Heart by Edgar Allan Poe

Dr. Nic Hoffmann, Mike Burns, and Mike Carroll are teachers at the Marist School teaching the American Experiment Class. In an attempt to update our curriculum, we have been reassessing the books we assign, we were assigned in high school and college, and the books we wish we assigned. Do people even read anymore? I mean, we do, but how do we keep the student engaged with the Required Reading.