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Desperate Readers

Desperate Readers

By: Desperate Readers
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About this listen

 Tatiana and Niko meet together to discuss great literature of the past and present. In each episode they read a book of contemporary world literature and pair it with a canonical western classic to delve into shared literary themes and questions that writers keep returning to across space and time. Follow us on Instagram: @desperatereaderspod and Twitter: @DeserateReads Sound recording and editing by Niko and Tatiana Opening music by Seth ThomsenCopyright 2022 All rights reserved. Art Literary History & Criticism Social Sciences
Episodes
  • L. Napoleon and Mephistopheles: The Queen of Spades by Alexander Pushkin

    L. Napoleon and Mephistopheles: The Queen of Spades by Alexander Pushkin
    Jul 8 2025

    This week Niko and Tatiana discuss the ultimate Russian writer Alexander Pushkin. They read the novella "The Queen of Spades" and talk about certainty, obsession, gambling, and sports betting.

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    42 mins
  • XLIX. The Most Righteous and Appalling: Michael Kohlhaas by Heinrich von Kleist

    XLIX. The Most Righteous and Appalling: Michael Kohlhaas by Heinrich von Kleist
    May 15 2025

    This week welcomes back to the pod Heinrich von Kleist and perhaps his most famous novella, "Michael Kohlhaas"! Niko and Tatiana discuss justice, certainty, and doubt in a story that even Kafka read with "true piety"

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    44 mins
  • XLVIII. The Ways of White Folks: Passing by Langston Hughes

    XLVIII. The Ways of White Folks: Passing by Langston Hughes
    Mar 21 2025

    This week Niko and Tatiana return to the Harlem Renaissance and discuss Langston Hughes's short story "Passing" from the collection The Ways of White Folks. They discuss identity, economic freedom, patronage, and the Kendrick-Drake feud.

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    50 mins
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