Shows
Get Lit PodcastGet Lit Episode 315: The Complete Famous Works of Literature and the Authors Who Wrote them [Abridged] {LIVE!}Send us a textOur live episode is now live! Jon and Steph attempt to capture roughly 3,000 years of literary history in under an hour! We answer our listener AMA questions, play games, and celebrate our community in this special penultimate episode! 2025-04-021h 36
Get Lit PodcastGet Lit Episode 313: David Foster WallaceSend us a textThis week, Jon takes over and presents a biography of David Foster Wallace. This thinker, writer, and teacher, had a fraught legacy in spite of his short and relatively tragic life. He asks us to consider this author, his work, and his legacy as his cultural impact continues to evolve. We also share a bittersweet announcement and encourage you to join us in celebrating Get Lit at our live show! Reserve your spot here!**Content Warning: This episode contains references to and discussions of suicide. 2025-03-1954 min
Get Lit PodcastGet Lit Presents: A Christmas Carol - Stave FiveSend us a textWe're delighted to rerelease our first audiobook recording of A Christmas Carol from 2023! Join Steph, Jon, Jack, and other special guests as we read Charles Dickens classic novel. We'll be releasing a new stave each day leading up to December 25th. Listen along, or save it all for a big listen on Christmas! No humbug about it! 2024-12-2514 min
Get Lit PodcastGet Lit Presents: A Christmas Carol - Stave FourSend us a textWe're delighted to rerelease our first audiobook recording of A Christmas Carol from 2023! Join Steph, Jon, Jack, and other special guests as we read Charles Dickens classic novel. We'll be releasing a new stave each day leading up to December 25th. Listen along, or save it all for a big listen on Christmas! No humbug about it! 2024-12-2432 min
Get Lit PodcastGet Lit Presents: A Christmas Carol - Stave ThreeSend us a textWe're delighted to rerelease our first audiobook recording of A Christmas Carol from 2023! Join Steph, Jon, Jack, and other special guests as we read Charles Dickens classic novel. We'll be releasing a new stave each day leading up to December 25th. Listen along, or save it all for a big listen on Christmas! No humbug about it! 2024-12-2350 min
Get Lit PodcastGet Lit Presents: A Christmas Carol - Stave TwoSend us a textWe're delighted to rerelease our first audiobook recording of A Christmas Carol from 2023! Join Steph, Jon, Jack, and other special guests as we read Charles Dickens classic novel. We'll be releasing a new stave each day leading up to December 25th. Listen along, or save it all for a big listen on Christmas! No humbug about it! 2024-12-2236 min
Get Lit PodcastGet Lit Presents: A Christmas Carol - Stave OneSend us a textWe're delighted to rerelease our first audiobook recording of A Christmas Carol from 2023! Join Steph, Jon, Jack, and other special guests as we read Charles Dickens classic novel. We'll be releasing a new stave each day leading up to December 25th. Listen along, or save it all for a big listen on Christmas! No humbug about it! 2024-12-2040 min
Get Lit PodcastGet Lit Episode 300: A Christmas Carol(s)Send us a textThis week, we explore Christmas Carols - quite literally - Jon recounts the history of the original songs that have paved the way for Christmas carol traditions today and Steph reports on the various iterations (both sensical and not) of the original Dickens' novella. It's a jolly good time, so join us for some holiday cheer! 2024-12-1856 min
Get Lit PodcastGet Lit Episode 293: A Literary Compendium of WitchesSend us a textThis week, we have a special episode to help you get in the Halloween Spirit. Steph tracks the origins of Witchcraft through literature, taking us through thousands of years and miles to explore the evolution of the witch. She and Jon discuss the various forms the witch has taken in pop culture and examine what these depictions reflect about women in our culture today. Join us for this Wickedly Wild and Wonderful episode! 2024-10-301h 01
Get Lit PodcastGet Lit Episode 292: H.P. LovecraftSend us a textJon leads this weeks dive into the biography of H.P. Lovecraft! Lovecraft wrote many of the tropes we understand in alternate worlds and world building. Jon covers his controversial legacy, as we bounce around between various places around the East Coast. Lovecraft's chilling tales reflected his short life in many ways, many of them haunting and tragic. Listen along with us as our spooky author features continue!2024-10-231h 03
Get Lit PodcastGet Lit Episode 291: Dion FortuneSend us a textThis week, Jack takes over and shares the absolutely wild biography of Occult author Dion Fortune with Jon! This will be one of those episodes in which every sentence ends with something you really couldn't have predicted. We explore assorted occult theories and fiction as we continue our foray into the supernatural themes of the month! Join us for this wild & wacky episode! 2024-10-161h 08
Get Lit PodcastGet Lit Episode 272: Mary De MorganSend us a textSteph & Jon are back to discuss Fairy Tale Legend, Mary De Morgan. Growing up in varied intellectual circumstances, De Morgan used her original fairy tales to critique the society she lived in. She wrote about gender roles, power, class, and of course, capitalism! Natural fodder for fairy tales, really. Join us this week to learn more about your new favorite fairy tale author! 2024-06-1248 min
Get Lit PodcastGet Lit Episode 264: The Literary Ladies of London (LIVE!)Send us a textRecording from The Pile Bookstore in Berwyn, IL, we're delighted to bring you some fabulous adventures across time and London! Featuring the experiences of six different female authors, we examine this literary pilgrimage through the lens of these extraordinary ladies. Jon brings us some tea time trivialities and there's plenty of fun to be had! Join us, LIVE! 2024-04-171h 16
Get Lit PodcastGet Lit Episode 262: Beckett Nororris Jr. (An April Fool's Day Special)Send us a textSince we recorded on April Fool's Day, it seems only natural to pull a bit of a prank to get in the spirit of the thing! Steph and Jack whip up an episode about an entirely fake author who just happens to have lived a very similar life to host, Jon. He catches on... eventually... We share a list of literary pranksters and the theorized literary origins behind April Fool's Day! Join us for a bit of fun as we pull on over on Jon! 2024-04-0334 min
Get Lit PodcastGet Lit Episode 261: Elizabeth von ArnimSend us a textThis week, Jack takes over hosting to tell Jon about Elizabeth von Arnim! This British author led a very storied life that took her across the world. She wrote 22 novels, mostly anonymous during the course of her life and pulled from various creative concepts and personal sources to develop her original voice. Did we mention she's also a countess? Multiple times? 2024-03-271h 05
Get Lit PodcastGet Lit Episode 254: Pauline HopkinsSend us a textThis week, Jon reports on Pauline Hopkins, a essential Black author whose legacy has gone largely neglected. She was a prolific activist, advocate, and author. She wrote in multiple genres including novels, short stories, plays and musicals, articles, and more to help bring an empathetic light to the lives of the communities around her. Join us for a look at her life and works, along with a rather unconventional celebration of President's Day! 2024-02-0750 min
Get Lit PodcastGet Lit Episode 250: Katherine MansfieldSend us a textThis week, we're featuring Katherine Mansfield, a globe-trotting writer from New Zealand with an incredible legacy. Her work was as vibrant as her writing, and her authentic sense of self inspired those around her and future generations. Jon is also here to provide some gentle parenting advice! 2024-01-1041 min
Get Lit PodcastGet Lit Presents: A Christmas Carol - Stave FiveSend us a textWe're delighted to present our first audiobook recording! Join Steph, Jon, Jack, and other special guests as we read Charles Dickens classic novel, 'A Christmas Carol'. We'll be releasing a new stave each Friday in December. Listen along, or save it all for a big listen on Christmas! No humbug about it!2023-12-2214 min
Get Lit PodcastGet Lit Presents: A Christmas Carol - Stave FourSend us a textWe're delighted to present our first audiobook recording! Join Steph, Jon, Jack, and other special guests as we read Charles Dickens classic novel, 'A Christmas Carol'. We'll be releasing a new stave each Friday in December. Listen along, or save it all for a big listen on Christmas! No humbug about it!2023-12-2232 min
Get Lit PodcastGet Lit Presents: A Christmas Carol - Stave ThreeSend us a textWe're delighted to present our first audiobook recording! Join Steph, Jon, Jack, and other special guests as we read Charles Dickens classic novel, 'A Christmas Carol'. We'll be releasing a new stave each Friday in December. Listen along, or save it all for a big listen on Christmas! No humbug about it!2023-12-1550 min
Get Lit PodcastGet Lit Presents: A Christmas Carol - Stave TwoSend us a textWe're delighted to present our first audiobook recording! Join Steph, Jon, Jack, and other special guests as we read Charles Dickens classic novel, 'A Christmas Carol'. We'll be releasing a new stave each Friday in December. Listen along, or save it all for a big listen on Christmas! No humbug about it!2023-12-0836 min
Get Lit PodcastGet Lit Presents: A Christmas Carol - Stave OneSend us a textWe're delighted to present our first audiobook recording! Join Steph, Jon, Jack, and other special guests as we read Charles Dickens classic novel, 'A Christmas Carol'. We'll be releasing a new stave each Friday in December. Listen along, or save it all for a big listen on Christmas! No humbug about it! 2023-12-0140 min
Get Lit PodcastGet Lit Episode 243: Diane BurnsSend us a textThis week, we're back to our regularly scheduled programming - Steph and Jon discuss the life of Indigenous poet, activist, performer, model, and mother, Diane Burns. Burns was an integral part of the Lower East Side Poetry scene (and beyond!) and created work that helped her explore her identity and her challenges with it. We also share a complex, compelling news update AND announce our latest special, just for the holiday season! 2023-11-2241 min
Get Lit PodcastGet Lit Episode 242: Jim NorthrupSend us a textIn a Get Lit first, Jon hosts and is joined by Dan to tell us all about columnist, poet, performer, and activist Jim Northrup! They explore his legacy and the work he did to create change for his community and advocate across the US. Special guest appearance by Sondheim also!2023-11-1540 min
Get Lit PodcastGet Lit Episode 236: Elizabeth Parsons Ware PackardSend us a textThis week, Jack takes over hosting to present the story of Elizabeth Parsons Ware Packard! This incredible activist used her writing and meticulous notes to document abuses against women and people admitted to asylums. Join us as we explore her life and legacy while Jon galavants around France. 2023-10-0432 min
Get Lit PodcastGet Lit Episode 232: Printer's Row Lit Fest 2023 - SaturdaySend us a textThis week, instead of Steph and Jon discussing just one author, we heard from our lovely listeners about hundreds more! Printers Row Lit Fest 2023 was an absolute delight — we asked you to tell us about your favorite books, authors you would take to dinner, and some literary hot takes. Some were even brave enough to answer some literary trivia! Hear the voices of Printers Row Lit Fest in this eclectic two part series!Looking for your response? This episode covers all responses from Saturday!2023-09-1358 min
Get Lit PodcastGet Lit Episode 233: Printer's Row Lit Fest 2023 - SundaySend us a textThis week, instead of Steph and Jon discussing just one author, we heard from our lovely listeners about hundreds more! Printers Row Lit Fest 2023 was an absolute delight — we asked you to tell us about your favorite books, authors you would take to dinner, and some literary hot takes. Some were even brave enough to answer some literary trivia! Hear the voices of Printers Row Lit Fest in this eclectic two part series!Looking for your response? This episode covers all responses from Sunday!2023-09-1347 min
Get Lit PodcastGet Lit Episode 224: Noël CowardSend us a textJon takes over hosting this week to bring us a biography of acclaimed playwright Noël Coward. Coward wrote some of the most well-known and frequently produced plays in the Western theatre canon. He helped modernize comedy while acting and directing in the West End, Broadway, and Hollywood! Join us for this star-studded, witty episode we hope does him proud! 2023-07-1937 min
Get Lit PodcastGet Lit Episode 216: Norman MailerSend us a textJon takes us all on a JOURNEY through Norman Mailer's life. Mailer was as much of a character as those he wrote. We discuss his colorful life, his Pulitzer Prizes (plural), his wives (also plural), and more! Join us to learn more about this novelist, co-founder of The Village Voice, and boxer(?). 2023-05-2443 min
Get Lit PodcastGet Lit Episode 216: Norman MailerJon takes us all on a JOURNEY through Norman Mailer's life. Mailer was as much of a character as those he wrote. We discuss his colorful life, his Pulitzer Prizes (plural), his wives (also plural), and more! Join us to learn more about this novelist, co-founder of The Village Voice, and boxer(?). 2023-05-2456 min
Get Lit PodcastGet Lit Episode 212: Allen GinsbergSend us a textJon takes over for our last week of Poetry Month with Allen Ginsberg! Ginsberg revolutionized the poetry scene and helped define the beat generation for artists and activists. Ginsberg's life is storied and strange so come along for this wild ride across the globe and between the lines! 2023-04-2642 min
Get Lit PodcastGet Lit Episode 199: Sir Walter ScottSend us a textThis week, Jon takes over host duties to explore the legacy of a hugely influential author (and also clerk, sheriff, and other assorted jobs): Sir Walter Scott. Scott's historically oriented and romantically inclined work influenced authors from Jane Austen to Edgar Allan Poe, cementing his place in the literary canon! 2023-01-2545 min
Get Lit PodcastGet Lit Episode 184: Luís de CamõesSend us a textJon is back from his galavanting and brought back an author to share with us: Luís de Camões. This week, learn about this poet, author, and adventurer often referred to as the Portuguese Shakespeare! We also feel implored to say here: Kids, stay in school... 2022-10-1241 min
Get Lit PodcastGet Lit Episode 163: Carlos BulosanSend us a textWe're headed to the Pacific Northwest as Jon takes over this week to present on the incredible author, activist, poet laureate, and change maker, Carlos Bulosan. He discusses the impact of Bulosan's work on communities around the United States and across the decades. 2022-05-1839 min
Get Lit PodcastGet Lit Episode 155: James JoyceSend us a textJust in time for extended St. Patrick's Day festivities, we're celebrating Irish author James Joyce, author of Ulysses, The Dubliners, A Portrait of the Artist as a Young Man, and more! We interview Jon DiSavino, the actor behind the 'Short Story Today' podcast who is also featuring Joyce this week. Filled with some fantastic stories that seem like his fiction, we hope you enjoy this special episode! 2022-03-2345 min
Get Lit PodcastGet Lit Episode 152: Sir Walter RaleighSend us a textYou may know him as an 'explorer' but we're discussing Sir Walter Raleigh as a poet and author whose titles are nearly as long as his works! This episode includes some fantastic stories and features Jon singing, along with a beheading (Sir Walter, not Jon...), so be sure to tune in! 2022-03-0235 min
Get Lit PodcastGet Lit Episode 137: W.B. YeatsSend us a textWe're spending this week in Europe, as we cover poet, playwright, and the first Nobel Laureate in Literature from Ireland: William Butler Yeats! Join us for some ghost stories and a sidebar in Germany with Jon! 2021-11-1732 min
Get Lit PodcastGet Lit Episode 136: Jorge Louis BorgesSend us a textWe heard you called for a magical realist, multilingual, genre-defying author from Argentina! And we're here to deliver! Well, Jon specifically, who will be sharing out this week on the remarkable life of Jorge Luis Borges! Grab your sun lotion and shades - we're headed south of the equator! 2021-11-1036 min
Get Lit PodcastGet Lit Episode 134: Johann Wolfgang von GoetheSend us a textJon is enroute to Germany and shares his explorations of the life of Johann Wolfgang von Goethe, the German Shakespeare. There are career switches to silver mining, disguises, and a reluctance to travel to Italy, along with too many jokes about eyes... Here we Goethe! 2021-10-2743 min
Get Lit PodcastGet Lit Episode 122: Charles SchulzSend us a textBack from their Minnesota tour, Jon and Steph discuss Minnesotan author and cartoonist, Charles Schulz. With a story that spanned 50 years and 17,000+ comic strips, Schulz has left a legacy across generations, across the globe and even into space! 2021-08-0442 min
Get Lit PodcastGet Lit Episode 121: James Whitcomb RileySend us a textJon covers Indiana superstar poet & performer, James Whitcomb Riley. Fun Fact: We can definitely attribute #girlboss to Riley. Seriously. Find out how in this week's episode AND listen for a special (little) announcement! 2021-07-2853 min
Get Lit PodcastGet Lit Episode 113: Gore VidalSend us a textJon takes us through the wild life of Gore Vidal as we kick off pride month and celebrate LGBTQ+ authors, ft. world travels due to exile, pen names, and a few fights (verbal and physical)... 2021-06-0242 min
Get Lit PodcastGet Lit Episode 110: Pearl BuckSend us a textThis week, we learn about the first American woman to win the Nobel Prize in Literature, among many other accolades and who introduced Western audiences to Asian cultures: Pearl Buck. Jon takes us back and forth between China and the US, unpacking the complex relationship that Pearl shared in her multi-cultural upbringing. 2021-05-1240 min
Get Lit PodcastGet Lit Episode 109: Miguel de CervantesSend us a textJon takes over this week and reports out on Miguel de Cervantes, a Spanish author most famous for writing Don Quixote. Also featuring William Shakespeare, pirates, and a series of odd jobs! 2021-05-0546 min
Get Lit PodcastGet Lit Episode 91: O. HenrySend us a textEver wondered what it was like to be a cowboy, pharmacist, and short story author? O. Henry could absolutely tell you, and this week, Jon will tell all of us about this prolific, down-to-the-wire author!2020-12-3041 min
Get Lit PodcastGet Lit Episode 80: Douglas AdamsSend us a textHitch a ride with Jon as he explores the colorful, passionate legacy of Sci-Fi author Douglas Adams! Don't forget your towel! 2020-10-1437 min
Get Lit PodcastGet Lit Episode 73: Ralph EllisonSend us a textJon takes over this week, bringing us his research on the oft overlooked and reputationally controversial author of essays, short stories, and novel (Invisible Man), Ralph Ellison! 2020-08-2640 min
Get Lit PodcastGet Lit Episode 52: Ayn RandSend us a textLove her, hate her, don't know her, like cults? This week's episode has it all as Jon leads us through the life of author Ayn Rand! 2020-04-0146 min
Get Lit PodcastGet Lit Episode 42: Hazel HawthorneSend us a textThis week's episode features a wildly unique author, Hazel Hawthorne and the passionate pursuit of those who have been captivated by this Queen of the Dunes. Join Jon, Steph, and special guest Inka Leisma (Host and researcher behind 'Finding Hazel Hawthorne') as they journey back to the magical dunes of Provincetown, MA.2020-01-2250 min
Get Lit PodcastGet Lit Episode 41: Henry Wadsworth LongfellowSend us a textListen to this week's short episode about a Longfellow! Henry Wadsworth Longfellow, to be precise! Jon hosts this week's episode about the most famous author you've never read! 2020-01-1537 min
Get Lit PodcastGet Lit Episode 16: HemingwaySend us a text'Living for Dummies: Ernest Hemingway's Practical Guide to Living Ur Best Life' - AKA this week's Get Lit episode! Jon & Steph record from the Hemingway House in Oak Park and include an interview with special guest/house docent, Bob Glass. 2019-07-2436 min
Get Lit PodcastGet Lit Episode 15: Thoreau v. EmersonSend us a text"It's not a fight, it's not a debate, it's a healthy intellectual discussion..." of Ralph Waldo Emerson & Henry David Thoreau! Join Jon, Steph and guest moderator Katie to explore the inextricably bound transcendentalist duo! 2019-07-1744 min
Get Lit PodcastGet Lit Episode 10: Kate ChopinSend us a textBe like Kate! What does that mean? Find out this week as Steph and Jon explore the delightfully powerful Kate Chopin and her work as one of America's earliest active feminist writers.2019-06-1225 min
Get Lit PodcastGet Lit Episode 7: Kurt VonnegutSend us a textThis week, we've flipped! Jon tells Steph about one of his favorite authors, Kurt Vonnegut, exploring the wild and wacky life behind one of America's favorite Sci-Fi Literature Authors.2019-05-2225 min