LIT AF

The creature tells Frankenstein its tale. There are three levels of empathy in this chapter. First, Frankenstein listens and imagines what it's like to be in the creatures boots. Second, the creature feels the feelings of the angry villagers and the sad, crying girl at the cottage – dunno if he actually has mirror neurons, but her tears actually cause him such discomfort that he turns away. A...

Viktor Frankenstein goes for a walk in nature. He's trying to clear his head, to get back in touch with the amazingness of everything that surrounds us and creates a context for life. IMHO we all need that. But then guess who shows up? I'd call it the monster, but "it" and "monster" don't capture the sensitivity – the humanity – with which he appeals to Viktor. A...

Viktor is tormented by the idea that his monster killed his little brother and a beloved, innocent woman was falsely accused, wrongly convicted, and executed because of the murder. In dark moments such as these, it's understandable that he wants to be alone and end his madness. But connecting with Elizabeth and the majesty of nature brings Viktor back to his senses... and wraps our last short...

Justine. JUSTine. What's in a name? Innocence in the eyes of Viktor Frankenstein and his sister Elizabeth. But will the court agree? And what of Viktor's guilty conscience and fears of madness? Join us for Chapter 8 of Mary Shelley's Frankenstein.

It's the inciting incident of inciting incidents: MURDER. Viktor's little brother William is dead. We don't know who didn't, but there's thunder, lightning, a monster on the loose, and a young woman who will stand trial in hours – has she been falsely accused? Don't miss this episode of Frankenstein on LIT AF.

Once upon a time, authors moved plots long without chases or explosions or orgasms. Now, I'm the last person to speak out against a good chase or explosion or orgasm, but those events are all the more compelling when the audience cares about the characters. And even in this day and age, there's nothing like a letter to let us into someone's thoughts and feelings. Read along with Vic...

Welcome back to the LIT AF Riff. The Riffs are shorter episodes of LIT AF – no novels or interviews, just my unfiltered, unrehearsed thoughts on what's going on in the world and how we can tell a better story about it with Open-Source Learning. In this Riff: Whether we're talking to ourselves, someone else, or a computer, getting clear in our heads helps send a clear message. Here are so...

Welcome back to the LIT AF Riff. The Riffs are shorter episodes of LIT AF – no novels or interviews, just my unfiltered, unrehearsed thoughts on what's going on in the world and how we can tell a better story about it with Open-Source Learning. In this Riff: Honestly? Uh huh. If you were honest 100% of the time you'd never need to start a sentence that way.

Welcome back to the LIT AF Riff. The Riffs are shorter episodes of LIT AF – no novels or interviews, just my unfiltered, unrehearsed thoughts on what's going on in the world and how we can tell a better story about it with Open-Source Learning. In this Riff: I confront my own creative procrastination and interrupt a workout to make a meaningful peanut butter sandwich.

It's the first LIT AF Riff! The Riffs are shorter episodes of LIT AF – no novels or interviews here, just my unfiltered, unrehearsed thoughts on what's going on in the world and how we can tell a better story about it with Open-Source Learning. In this Riff: I argue with my car and floss my teeth. Along the way I give a brief history of bad breath and I explain why, no matter what advert...

Oscar ends the preface by writing, "All art is useless." Really? Was he being coy in response to his critics? Was he being defiant in putting sex and homoeroticism front and center in Victorian England? Or was he daring us to argue the point? Whether you're a realist or a romantic, there's something for you on this episode of LIT AF.

When does art reveal the artist? When is art too personal to share? What's the deal with Basil and Dorian Gray, why is Lord Henry Wotten so nosy, and speaking of nosy, exactly how many different kinds of flowers could Oscar Wilde stuff into one studio? All this and more on LIT AF Season 5 Episode 3.

You can't go back in time. And you can't unhear someone telling you that you can get more of anything – except the last few minutes of your life, because everything that made you beautiful just faded a little bit, and you're a few minutes closer to the end. Cheer up, and tune into LIT AF.

Today's cancel culture has nothing on Victorian England. That didn't stop Oscar Wilde from publishing THE PICTURE OF DORIAN GRAY, complete with homoeroticism and full frontal vanity. We've come a long way since then. In today's anti-aging market we spend billions on lotions, potions, and treatments year after year. Eternal youth and pleasure is expensive. Your soul is a small p...

Ugh. I can just see the embroidered pillows: "Right now is a gift, that's why they call it the present." But in this moment you are making the most important decision of your life. You are learning from your past, imagining your future, and making an irrevocable investment of your time. You are literally sacrificing everything else you might be doing, everywhere else in the world, w...

If you think your future is just going to happen to you no matter what you do, then you may as well listen to this podcast episode.  If you think your future depends on what you do in this moment that will improve your thinking and lead you to right-minded action and better choices, then you should definitely listen to this podcast episode.

To quote Jim Morrison: "This is the end, beautiful friends..."  You may think Charles Dickens and Jim Morrison were very different. You may think they were the same person in different eras. You may think one or both is still alive.  No one's ever seen them at the same party, is all I'm saying.

When your dead best friend shows up to warn you, best give him both ears. Bonus: Did you know Charles Dickens wrote "A Christmas Carol" in just a few weeks while walking the streets of London late at night? Why would he do that? Because he was broke and he needed to write a story to make money. Tune in and join us at the corner of Art and Commerce for some real Christmas spirit. 

If you're not haunted by your past, you're not paying attention.

Victor gets all the body parts he needs to build a monster. Sometimes success isn't all it's cracked up to be.

In this episode our narrator Viktor Frankenstein walks us through the moments in which he left home and began school. People dying of disease at home, being uncomfortable with leaving familiarity and making new friends - it sounds sort of like life after Covid lockdowns. Check out the undercurrent of impending doom that accompanies Viktor's pursuit of knowledge... will curiosity kill someone&...

Mary Shelley opens Frankenstein with a series of letters from Captain Walton to his sister, telling of his expedition to the north pole and the stranger he encounters who tells a story... Why frame the book this way? For the same reason a handwritten letter in your mailbox - if that ever happens - strikes you differently than an email or a text. The letter is REAL. 

There's a lot of weird going around. As Hunter S. Thompson wrote, "When the going gets weird, the weird turn pro." That's what Mary Shelley did in 1816, the Year Without A Summer. Check out how a volcano, a frog, and a poet inspired an 18-year-old dreamer to create the first science fiction.

Independence Day? Nope. Nation of freedom, equality, righteousness, and Christianity? Nope. I've read this speech every year for 30 years, and its logic, perspective on international politics, and moral philosophy ring truer than ever. Enjoy - and then get out there and help us do better.

Gatsby is dead and no one is coming to his last party. All that's left for us is to figure out where we belong, and whether we are living in the past, present, or imagined future.