Author Allison Epstein says when she read Oliver Twist, she found Charles Dickens' portrayal of Fagin, the novel's central scoundrel, to be stereotypical and antisemitic. But there was also something about the character that piqued her curiosity. Now, her new novel Fagin the Thief gives that character a backstory – and a literary second chance. In today's episode, Epstein speaks with NPR's Scott Simon about her research into where someone like Fagin might've grown up, her reimagination of the character's intentions, and how she came to view Dickens as a working writer.
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Engines of Our Ingenuity - The Engines of Our Ingenuity 2249: Mrs. Coade’s Stone
Episode: 2249 Mrs. Coade's remarkable stones. Today, architectural historian Margaret Culbertson tells about a woman who made artificial stone.
Read Me a Poem - “Käthe Kollwitz” by Muriel Rukeyser
Amanda Holmes reads Muriel Rukeyser’s “Käthe Kollwitz.” Have a suggestion for a poem by a (dead) writer? Email us: podcast@theamericanscholar.org. If we select your entry, you’ll win a copy of a poetry collection edited by David Lehman.
This episode was produced by Stephanie Bastek and features the song “Canvasback” by Chad Crouch.
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CBS News Roundup - 03/24/2025 | World News Roundup Late Edition
Trump administration texts journalist Yemen attack plans. Hyundai to invest billions in Louisiana steel plant. Appeals court panel appears divided on Trump's deportation of immigrants under wartime law. CBS News Correspondent Jennifer Keiper with tonight's World News Roundup.
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The Gist - Chris Gethard and the Great Helsinki Caper
Chris Gethard stops by to talk comedy, ethics, and how audience taste moves like an algorithm with a grudge. Meanwhile, the JFK files are finally released, and it turns out the real mystery was in Finland all along. Also, the government’s got a chainsaw, and it's not just for photo ops: cuts are coming to everything from colorectal cancer screening to the office that won the Cold War-winning offices. Somewhere between chaos and court orders, we try to figure out what still counts as governance.
Produced by Corey Wara
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Cato Daily Podcast - Administrative Courts and Presidential Deportations
They’re not real courtrooms, of course, but administrative courts are being used in the context of immigration. What is their role in adjudicating immigration issues? David Bier and Will Yeatman comment.
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The Bulwark Podcast - S2 Ep1006: Live from Phoenix
Bill Kristol joined Tim Saturday in Arizona to rip the atrocious behavior of our government—depriving even lawful Venezuelan migrants of due process, and shipping them off to a mega-prison in San Salvador where they may be being tortured. Any Democratic politician failing to speak out on this is wrong politically, morally, and ethically. Meanwhile, the DOJ is gearing up to charge Tesla vandals with domestic terrorism and Trump sent a Putin fanboy and very useful idiot, Steve Witkoff, to negotiate over Ukraine. Plus, AOC, Bernie, and Bill 2003 vs. Bill 2025. Bill Kristol joins Tim Miller.
show notes
show notes
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Time magazine piece on the Venezuelans deported to El Salvador
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Sam talking with Lindsay Toczylowski, who represents Andrys, the gay barber and Salvadoran prisoner
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Photos of Andrys as a barber/makeup artist
- Call your Democratic senator: 202-224-3121.
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Immigrant Defenders Law Center
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The immigrants' rights division of the ACLU
Bad Faith - Episode 459 Promo – International Lawlessness (w/ Craig Mokhiber)
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Former United Nations human rights official Craig Mokhiber returns to Bad Faith to weigh in on recent developments in Palestine, including Israel's choice to end the ceasefire, the catastrophic Israeli strikes resulting in the death of about 400 Palestinians, nearly half children, the recent U.N. report on Israel's use of sexual violence against Palestinians, and the state of international law as it attempts to hold Israel accountable. It's an expansive, philosophical conversation that probes the possibility of U.N. reform in light of American funding and veto power, and the declining utility of "international law." Stay until the end for a powerful argument for the value of a human rights framework despite how limited our international legal institutions are in enforcing said framework.
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Produced by Armand Aviram.
Theme by Nick Thorburn (@nickfromislands).
Audio Poem of the Day - Theories of the Soul
By Karen An-hwei Lee
The Commentary Magazine Podcast - Are Dems at a 50-Year Low?
Data from Democrats themselves indicate the party's fortunes are historically poor, and we spend the podcast discussing how they got themselves into this hole and how difficult it is for them to climb out of it. Also: Trump manhandles Columbia University and a big law firm. Give a listen.
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