David and Tamler try to control their emotions (with varying success) as they go deep into Franz Kafka's masterful novella "The Metamorphosis." What kind of a story is this? A Marxist or religious allegory? A work of weird fiction? A family drama? A dark comedy? Why does a story about a man who turns into a giant insect get under our skins so much?

Plus a study that links insomnia to our fear of death. What a cheerful summer episode! (Actually we're fairly proud of this one... As always we suggest reading the text before you listen or soon after).

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Links:

• Life is short, stay awake: Death anxiety and bedtime procrastination. - PubMed - NCBI
• 2nd Annual BEworks Summit for Behavioural Science in Business
• The Metamorphosis - Wikipedia
• On Translating Kafka’s “The Metamorphosis” | The New Yorker
• Franz Kafka - Wikipedia