Podcast
Critical Readings
Hosted by CriticalReadings.com · EN
Critical Readings examines key literary texts using close reading and critical analysis, and explains these approaches in discussion. Listeners will learn about the texts themselves and about how to approach a text for critical analysis.
40episodes
Episodes
Newest firstAll episodes
CR Episode 333: The Once and Future King, Part IX
1w ago01:03:09Tap to summarizeSantiago Cabrera as Lancelot in Merlin (2008) Released on 27 July 2026: https://criticalreadings.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/07/cr20260727.mp3 The panel addresses reader questions and discusses chapters 19–25 of The Ill-Made Knight, with an examination of Lancelot’s pitiable condition and an investigation into its causes, whether due to internal contradiction, or because of external pressures. Watch on YouTube (may include YouTube ads) with this link.
Transcribe →
CR Episode 332: The Once and Future King, Part VIII
2w ago00:57:07Tap to summarizeRichard Gere as Lancelot in First Knight (1995) Released on 20 July 2026: https://criticalreadings.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/07/cr20260720.mp3 The panel discusses chapters 9–18 of The Ill-Made Knight, with special attention given to the development of Lancelot’s relationships with the wily Elaine and the imperious Guenever, particularly in the savage denouement that leads to Lancelot’s madness. Watch on YouTube (may include YouTube ads) with this link.
Transcribe →
CR Episode 331: The Once and Future King, Part VII
3w ago00:58:09Tap to summarizeFranco Nero (Lancelot) and Richard Harris (Arthur) in Camelot (1967) Released on 13 July 2026: https://criticalreadings.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/07/cr20260713.mp3 The panel discusses chapters 1–8 of The Ill-Made Knight, with special attention given to the characterisation and Freudian psychology of Lancelot, contrasting humility with narcissism, and examining the beginning of his relationship with Guenever. Watch on YouTube (may include YouTube ads) with this link.
Transcribe →
CR Episode 330: The Once and Future King, Part VI
Jul 601:18:30Tap to summarizeColin Morgan (Merlin) and Bradley James (Arthur) in Merlin (2008–2012) Released on 6 July 2026: https://criticalreadings.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/06/cr20260706.mp3 The panel reads the second half of The Queen of Air and Darkness, giving special consideration to Arthur’s vision of the Round Table and total war, the need for Might to support Right against wickedness, the Aristotelian (or not) nature of the tragedy. Watch on YouTube (may include YouTube ads) with this link.
Transcribe →
CR Episode 329: The Once and Future King, Part V
Jun 2901:23:22Tap to summarizeHelena Bonham Carter as Morgan Le Fay in Merlin (1998) Released on 29 June 2026: https://criticalreadings.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/06/cr20260629.mp3 The panel discusses the first half of The Queen of Air and Darkness (also known as The Witch in the Wood), with particular attention both to the Freudian characterisation of Morgause and her children, and to Merlyn’s ‘just war’ political philosophy. Watch on YouTube (may include YouTube ads) with this link.
Transcribe →
CR Episode 328: The Once and Future King, Part IV
Jun 2201:08:57Tap to summarizeArthur in The Sword in the Stone (1963) Released on 22 June 2026: https://criticalreadings.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/06/cr20260622.mp3 The panel discusses the concluding chapters (20–24) of The Sword in the Stone, with special attention to Arthur’s martial inclinations (and what they mean for a broader society), Kay’s personal failings (and fundamental goodness), and Merlin’s robes. Watch on YouTube (may include YouTube ads) with this link.
Transcribe →
CR Episode 327: The Once and Future King, Part III
Jun 1501:15:55Tap to summarizeAn Angle of Geese Released on 15 June 2026: https://criticalreadings.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/06/cr20260615.mp3 The panel discusses chapters 14–19 of The Sword in the Stone, with special attention to White’s romanticised depiction of feudalism and the historical setting of the action, and with a comparison of the pacifistic views of the geese vs. the warlike ants. Watch on YouTube (may include YouTube ads) with this link.
Transcribe →
CR Episode 326: The Once and Future King, Part II
Jun 801:02:06Tap to summarizeArthur and Merlin in The Sword in the Stone (1963) Released on 8 June 2026: https://criticalreadings.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/05/cr20260608.mp3 The panel reads chapters 8–13 of The Sword in the Stone, with a focus on the precise nature of Merlin’s magic and the ‘transformations’ experienced by the Wart (but not by Kay), and a detailed examination of the episode of the Ants and their collectivism. Watch on YouTube (may include YouTube ads) with this link.
Transcribe →
CR Episode 325: The Once and Future King, Part I
Jun 101:10:18Tap to summarizeT. H. White Released on 1 June 2026: https://criticalreadings.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/05/cr20260601.mp3 The panel reads the first seven chapters of The Sword in the Stone, with attention given to the modern and medieval aspects of the setting, White’s own narratorial voice, the differing metaphors and parallels of characterisation, and the original sources. Watch on YouTube (may include YouTube ads) with this link.
Transcribe →
CR Episode 324: The Poetry of Ralph Waldo Emerson
May 2500:58:33Tap to summarizeRalph Waldo Emerson Released on 25 May 2026: https://criticalreadings.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/05/cr20260525.mp3 The panel reads three poems by Ralph Waldo Emerson—”Uriel”, “Ode Inscribed to William H. Channing”, and “The Snow Storm”—with special attention to the role of the poet-philosopher’s transcendentalist, romanticist, and abolitionist views in the poems.
Transcribe →