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.
53episodes
Episodes
Newest firstAll episodes
Story of Writing May 8, 2026
1w ago00:03:50Tap to summarizeIt is Victory in Europe Day, the anniversary of the eradication of smallpox, and the birthday club includes Gary Snyder and Naomi Klein - with a reading from Klein's book "This Changes Everything: Capitalism vs. The Climate."
Transcribe →Story of Writing May 7, 2026
1w ago00:03:45Tap to summarizeBeethoven premiers his 9th Symphony, Geoffrey Dummer publishes his idea of an integrated circuit, and the birthday club includes David Hume, Ruth Prawer-Jhabvala, and Angela Carter - with a reading from Hume's “Of the Rise and Progress of the Arts and Sciences.”
Transcribe →Story of Writing May 6, 2026
2w ago00:04:33Tap to summarizeU.S. President Franklin D. Roosevelt creates the Works Progress Administration and the birthday club includes Orson Welles, Bob Seger, and Martha Nussbaum - with a reading from Nussbaum's "Not for Profit: Why Democracy Needs the Humanities."
Transcribe →Story of Writing May 5, 2026
2w ago00:03:43Tap to summarizeThe birthday club includes Soren Kierkegaard, Karl Marx, Tammy Wynette, and Michael Palin - with a reading from Kierkegaard's book "Either/Or."
Transcribe →Story of Writing May 4, 2026
2w ago00:04:02Tap to summarizeThe May 4th Movement in China and the Kent State shootings in Ohio - with a reading from Ernest Hemingway's "The Old Man and the Sea."
Transcribe →Story of Writing May 3, 2026
2w ago00:04:24Tap to summarizeSCOTUS rules against race-based real-estate agreements and the birthday club includes Septima Poinsette Clark and Pete Seeger - with a reading from Clark's "Purpose of Citizenship Schools."
Transcribe →Story of Writing May 2, 2026
2w ago00:04:58Tap to summarizeThe 522nd Artillery Group stops a WWII forced march and saved hundreds and it's the birthday of pediatrician Dr. Benjamin Spock - and a reading from Charlotte Armstrong's "The Unsuspected."
Transcribe →Story of Writing May 1, 2026
2w ago00:04:52Tap to summarizeEngland and Scotland form Great Britain, Carl Linnaeus publishes 'Species Plantarum,' which began the use of the two Latin names that identify species, the Memphis Massacre begins, worker rallies lead to the creation of May Day, and it's the birthday of Joseph Heller - with a reading from his novel, 'Catch 22.'
Transcribe →Story of Writing April 30, 2026
2w ago00:04:14Tap to summarizeThe birthday club includes John Crow Ransom, Annie Dillard, and Jane Campion - with a reading from Dillard's master work "Pilgrim at Tinker Creek."
Transcribe →Story of Writing April 29, 2026
3w ago00:02:48Tap to summarizeOn her birthday, a look back at the writing and other creative work of Amy Krouse Rosenthal - with a reading from her "Modern Love" essay in The New York Times, titled "You May Want to Marry My Husband."
Transcribe →