Entitled Opinions (about Life and Literature)

A meandering monologue on rivers with our host, Professor Robert Harrison. Songs in this episode: “Getting Ready” by Frans Bak, and “You Better Move On” by Arthur Alexander.

A conversation about crime in America with Scott Thomas Anderson, author of “Shadow People,” journalist for Sacramento News & Review, and producer of the podcasts “Drinkers with Writing Problems” and “Trace of the Devastation.” Songs in this episode: “Helen” by Glass Wave and “Hey Joe” by the Jimi Hendrix Experience.

A conversation with Nate Klemp, a philosopher, writer, and founding partner at Mindfulness Magazine, on practicing mindfulness in our fast-paced, technology-dependent world. He is also co-author of the New York Times bestseller “Start Here.” Songs in this episode: “Nausicaa” by Glass Wave and “Dayvan Cowboy” by Boards of Canada.

In this philosophy-heavy episode, Professor Robert Harrison and David Bates, Professor of Rhetoric at UC Berkeley, discuss the “unnatural” origins of human technology and the difficulty of drawing sharp distinctions between artificial and natural intelligence. Songs in this episode: “Bourée” by Jethro Tull and “Ghost” by Fleetwood Mac.

A monologue on Dante’s unflattering (and unjustified) portrait of his teacher, Brunetto Latini. This episode wraps up the first season of Robert Harrison’s series on “Dante’s Characters.” Songs in this episode: “La nuit du rat” by La Féline and “Preludio” by Dolce Acqua.

A monologue on Guido da Montefeltro, a false counselor whose speech foreshadows literary modernism’s stream of consciousness. Songs in this episode: “Present Tense” by Radiohead and “Prufrock Blues” by Robert Harrison and Anne-Sophie Bine.

A monologue on Dante’s Ulysses, the Homeric hero who, in Dante’s retelling, foregoes his return to Ithaca and opts instead to venture into the unknown and unpeopled world, at his own peril. Songs in this episode: “Winter Mind” by Robert Harrison, “Another Brick in the Wall, Pt. 1” by Pink Floyd, and “Calypso” by Suzanne […]

A monologue on Dante’s famous love heroine, Francesca da Rimini. This episode is part one of a new mini-series on “Dante’s Characters,” set to air over the coming weeks, in which Professor Robert Harrison discusses some of the most fascinating characters in Dante’s Divine Comedy. Song in this episode: “Helen” by Glass Wave.

A conversation with Garry Nolan, who is the Rachford and Carlota Harris Professor of Immunology in the Department of Pathology at Stanford. He has authored numerous medical research papers, has founded biotechnology companies, two of which are on the NASDAQ, and has been particularly active in ufology, the study of Unidentified Flying Objects, also known as […]

A conversation with Maria Massucco, who earned her PhD in Italian at Stanford in 2023. Her dissertation is titled “Woundedness and Reintegration: The Phenomenology and Transmission of Women’s Trauma in Modern and Contemporary Italy.” Songs in this episode: “Helen” by Glass Wave, and “Ophelia” by Glass Wave.