Talking to author John Glassie about his book A Man of Misconceptions, which chronicles the odd pursuits of 17th-century scientist and nutball Athanasius Kircher, the misguided decoder of hieroglyphs and the failed inventor of such devices as the sunflower clock.
Lewis Lapham talks with historian James Mather about a time when British foreign relations were more peaceful and diplomatic than they later became. More
Lewis H. Lapham speaks with the co-editor of Who’s Black and Why? A Hidden Chapter from the Eighteenth-Century Invention of Race. More
Lewis H. Lapham speaks with the author of The Last American Aristocrat: The Brilliant Life and Improbable Education of Henry Adams. More
Lewis H. Lapham speaks with the author of The Lincoln Miracle: Inside the Republican Convention That Changed History. More
Lewis Lapham talks to Michael Kazin, author of War Against War: The American Fight for Peace, 1914-1918. More
November 07, 2025
The latest episode of our podcast. More
