Podcast
The Story of Writing
Hosted by Jon Brown · EN
On this short, daily podcast, host Jon Brown talks about the writers and written work that made history on this day. Each episode includes a reading of prose or poetry.
80episodes
Episodes
Newest firstAll episodes
Story of Writing June 8, 2026
Yesterday00:04:40Tap to summarizeJames Madison proposes 12 Amendments to the U.S. Constitution, the Antiquities Act passes Congress, and George Orwell publishes his milestone novel "!984." It is Joan Rivers' birthday and this episode includes a reading from Orwell's "!984."
Transcribe →Story of Writing June 7, 2026
2d ago00:10:15Tap to summarizeOn Gwendolyn Brooks' birthday, we look at her writing and this episode includes a lengthy diatribe/response to a right-wing, disinformation piece.
Transcribe →Story of Writing June 6, 2026
3d ago00:03:22Tap to summarizeThe World War II Battles of Midway and D-Day are both tied to this day and the birthday club includes Alexander Pushkin, Angelo Moriondo, and Thomas Mann - with a reading from Pushkin's "Eugene Onegin."
Transcribe →Story of Writing June 5, 2026
4d ago00:03:58Tap to summarizeHarriet Beecher Stowe's "Uncle Tom's Cabin" is published, U.S. Senator Robert F. Kennedy is assassinated, "Tank Man" becomes a symbol for democracy by stopping a line of tanks in Tiananmen Square, and it is Federico Garcia Lorca's birthday, with a reading of his poem "Sonnet of the Sweet Complaint."
Transcribe →Story of Writing June 4, 2026
5d ago00:04:37Tap to summarizeWinston Churchill addresses the House of Commons after the evacuation of Dunkirk, and June 4th in 1989 saw big changes in Beijing, Tehran, and throughout Poland and what was then called the "Eastern Bloc" - with a reading from Churchill's speech "We Shall Fight On the Beaches."
Transcribe →Story of Writing June 3, 2026
6d ago00:03:52Tap to summarizePeter Abelard becomes one of the first to use logic in order to understand faith. He was then tried and convicted of heresy. This episode includes a reading from Abelard's book, "The Story of My Misfortunes."
Transcribe →Story of Writing June 1, 2026
1w ago00:04:06Tap to summarizeFrench poet Charles Baudelaire publishes his landmark book "Flowers of Evil," Senator Margaret Charles Smith gives her speech the "Declaration of Conscience," and the birthday club includes Charles Kay Ogden, Colleen McCullough - with a reading from Baudelaire's "Flowers of Evil."
Transcribe →Story of Writing June 2, 2026
1w ago00:04:21Tap to summarizeEngland's lawmakers enflame American passions for revolution by expanding the Quartering Act and the birthday club includes Thomas Hardy, Dorothy West, and Norton Juster - with a reading from West's column in the Vineyard Gazette.
Transcribe →Story of Writing May 31, 2026
1w ago00:03:25Tap to summarizeThe birthday club includes Walt Whitman, Fred Allen, Al Young, and Svetlana Alexievich - with a reading from Whitman's "Song of the Banner at Daybreak."
Transcribe →Story of Writing video May 30, 2026
1w ago00:02:52Tap to summarizeOn his birthday, remembering the writer Countee Cullen, a major figure in the Harlem Renaissance. This episode includes a reading of Cullen's poem "Saturday's Child."
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