In 1810 when Edgar Allan Poe was just a year old, German writer Heinrich von Kleist wrote a Poe-like tale that had all the Poe-type elements but not quite the panache of the American. Kleist came before Poe. Still, von Kleist's work is a vital

Nudie Reads Leg O Lamb [S2E43]

Jun 12th, 2022 27m 38s

Roald Dahl is most famous for Charlie & The Chocolate Factory, James & The Giant Peach and Matilda. But his short story collection called Tales of the Unexpected is a classic of thriller literature. So good Alfred Hitchcock loved it. 🇬🇧🐑😵�

Nudie Reads I Wish You Bad Luck [S2E42]

Jun 9th, 2022 16m 53s

In 2017 US Supreme Court Chief Justice John Roberts gave a gem of a commencement speech to middle school graduates at a New Hampshire boys' school. His speech was beautifully written and the advice unusual but very wise. 🇺🇸👨‍⚖️👨‍🎓👨‍🎓👨‍

Nudie Reads Moliere Le Malade Imaginaire [S2E41]

Jun 5th, 2022 18m 8s

Moliere is the French Shakespeare, a brilliant playwright, poet and actor of the 17th century. He was beloved by Louis XIV, the Sun King himself, and remains a genius of the French language and of the art of mocking pieties, 400 years after his

Nudie Reads King Ashurbanipal's Glass Recipe [S2E40]

Jun 2nd, 2022 13m 31s

The first recorded recipe for glass was found in 1845 in the Library at Nineveh, founded by King Ashurbanipal of Assyria around 650 BCE. In 1970 the recipe was put to the test (not including the sheep sacrifice). And it worked. It may be ancien

Nudie Reads Jane Eyre [S2E39]

May 29th, 2022 39m 35s

Charlotte Bronte's "Jane Eyre" is a great galumphing bodice ripping romance novel with a terrific storyline. We have Charlotte to thank for the concept of the mad woman in the attic. Some people call it the the world's first feminist novel but

Nudie Reads The Da Vinci Code [S2E38]

May 26th, 2022 18m 11s

Leonardo Da Vinci is known as a Florentine High Renaissance genius painter, sculptor, engineer and inventor. Add great writing to his skills. With his posthumous book 'A Treatise on Painting' including 'How to Compose a Battle' he cracked the c

Nudie Reads The Travels of Marco Polo [S2E37]

May 22nd, 2022 41m 51s

The world's first travelogue is the late 13th century best seller by Marco Polo about his travels around the Asian world as a diplomat for Mongol Emperor Khubla Khan, grandson of Ghengis. He saw Xanadu and everywhere else and his "Travels" are

Nudie Reads Space Opera [S2E36]

May 19th, 2022 21m 6s

In 1954 "space opera" was a pejorative term applied to the literary genre of sci fi pulp fiction. It was considered low brow writing. But it takes a creative mind to explore a possible space alien future. And good writing makes the exploration

Nudie Reads This.Is.Sparta [S2E35]

May 15th, 2022 46m 59s

Modern historians are indebted to him and Cicero called him 'the father of history'. Herodotus wrote his Histories over two thousand years ago and they are as exciting as any airport novel. If you love the movie "300" you'll love the original t

Nudie Reads Roe v Wade [S2E34]

May 12th, 2022 35m 1s

22 January 1973 is the date of the US Supreme Court decision of Roe v Wade. By 7-2 the 9 SCOTUS judges - all men - addressed the difficult topic of abortion with great care, respect and sensitivity. Great writing that is notorious and all over

Nudie Reads Are You A True Crime Addict? Thank This Guy [S2E33]

May 8th, 2022 17m 38s

What links Audrey Hepburn and Bailey Sarian? Truman Capote. The famed author of Breakfast at Tiffany's also penned the book that started all this true crime fuss. Capote's "In Cold Blood" is the original true crime work. Thanks Truman, I guess.

Nudie Reads Lizzie Borden Took An Axe [S2E32]

May 5th, 2022 18m 42s

On 4 August 1892 Lizzie Borden's step-mother and her father were found murdered by hatchet. Lizzie was found not guilty because her defence, led by AJ Jennings, was top shelf. The very best defence her dead father's money could buy. But she tot

Nudie Reads Frankenstein [S2E31]

May 1st, 2022 42m 1s

At a house party in 1816, a 19 year old Mary Wollstonecraft wrote the G.O.A.T of mad scientist stories - 'Frankenstein' - and readers the world over and still today, over 200 years later, are in love with her gothic horror sci fi tale of animat

Nudie Reads It Was A Dark And Stormy Night [S2E30]

Apr 28th, 2022 27m 45s

In 1830 a cad named Edward Bulwer-Lytton opened his dreadful novel "Paul Clifford" with the words "It was a dark and stormy night" and to this day the Edward Bulwer-Lytton award for bad writing is awarded to purveyors of purple prose. But some

Nudie Reads The Brothers Grimm Hansel and Gretel [S2E29]

Apr 24th, 2022 25m 5s

In 1812 the Brothers Grimm, Jacob and Wilhelm, published the first of 3 volumes of fairytales which have been terrifying children all over the world for over 200 years. Take Hansel and Gretel. A tale of poverty and cannibalism. Sweet dreams! 🇩

Nudie Reads Si Vis Pacem, Para Bellum [S2E28]

Apr 21st, 2022 9m 13s

Si Vis Pacem, Para Bellum. If you want peace, prepare for war. Roman wisdom from the year 430, as the Empire was in decline. An influential little book called De Re Militaris was created to encourage a return to Rome's glory days. The book rema

Nudie Reads The Count of Monte Cristo [S2E27]

Apr 17th, 2022 28m 46s

The Count of Monte Cristo is a 19th century classic of adventure literature by Alexandre Dumas pere. It might as well have been titled "Revenge is a Dish Best Served Cold" or perhaps "How to escape prison using just a dead body in a sack and a

Nudie Reads Whistler's Mother on Whistler's Mother [S2E26]

Apr 14th, 2022 11m 28s

Whistler's Mother is the famous American portrait by genius artist James Whistler. His mother was an austere religious woman but she adored being painted. And she couldn't resist writing all about it to her sister in a perfectly worded 'my-boy-

Nudie Reads Vanity Fair [S2E25]

Apr 10th, 2022 48m 35s

Vanity Fair was a 19 month serial published by William Makepeace Thackeray from 1848 and has become a classic of English literature, not least for the incredible character of Becky Sharp to the world. The original Mean Girl and still one of the

Nudie Reads Charles V Had A Diet of Worms [S2E24]

Apr 7th, 2022 21m 58s

Martin Luther liked to run his mouth. He called Pope Leo X the Antichrist. Leo thought Luther was a big fat heretic. At the Diet of Worms in 1521, before Charles V, the Holy Roman Emperor, Luther defended himself and wrote a terrific diary note

Nudie Reads Bertha Muzzy aka BM Bower [S2E23]

Apr 3rd, 2022 40m 33s

Bertha Muzzy was a country gal of the American West. She wrote 57 bestsellers and as many hugely popular short stories all about the American West. Never heard of her? She wrote under the gender-neutral (we would call it today) nom de plume BM

Nudie Reads Flying Saucers UFOs [S2E22]

Mar 31st, 2022 12m 14s

25 July 1947 businessman pilot Kenneth Arnold spots 9 UFOs in Washington State USA and alerts the press. The news report is an error-filled joke but it changes the world and leads to "flying saucers" and UFO-mania. 🇺🇸🛸👽🚀✈Get in touch:Ema

Nudie Reads The Brothers Karamazov [S2E21]

Mar 27th, 2022 45m 39s

Fyodor Dostoevsky's final novel is considered by many his greatest. From Dr Jordan Peterson to Bailey Sarian readers have loved this soap-opera murder mystery, with its deep philosophical themes of free will and religious belief. Great Russian

Nudie Reads The Romans Built Stonehenge [S2E20]

Mar 24th, 2022 28m 3s

English architect extraordinaire Inigo Jones believed firmly that the Romans built Stonehenge. His book on the subject is a glorious rollicking alt-history of barbarous Britons and useless Druids. Don't believe a word but enjoy the great writin