The Back of the Book

Latest Episodes:

Stories in Stanzas Mar 05, 2026

Show notes

Sunil Iyengar, editor of an outstanding new poetry anthology, joins the podcast to discuss all things narrative verse: its origins, its virtues, and its place in contemporary poetry. He and Chris also take turns reading some memorable narrative poems, including some of their own.
Show notes:

Sunil's new anthology, The Colosseum Book of Contemporary Narrative Verse
Andy Ferguson on John McCain and Robert Service's “The Cremation of Sam McGee"
Sunil's poem “The Omission” (New Verse Review)
Chris's poem “Singing Along to Billy Joel at My Roommate’s First Wedding” (New Verse Review)

Time stamps:
5:00 – Why narrative poetry?
17:09 – The Colosseum Book of Contemporary Narrative Verse
36:05 – Memorable narrative poems
57:06 – Poems by Sunil and Chris
Opening and closing music: Brendan Benson, “Spit It Out,” used with permission from the artist.
Produced by Sean Doolan.

Brooke’s Books Feb 21, 2026

Show notes

Literary critic Brooke Allen drops by to talk about her new essay collection, Good Bones: Glorious Relics from the Age of Reading. She and Chris also discuss Brooke’s idiosyncratic career path (including her time writing for Divorce Court), the emergence of a post-literate culture, and the future of criticism.
Show notes:

Brooke’s new collection, Good Bones
Brooke’s New Yorker essay on Bennington's Prison Education Initiative
Brooke’s essays for The New Criterion
Adam Kirsch on the decline of book reviews
David Brent (Ricky Gervais) analyzes the poetry of Sir John Betjeman

Time stamps:
1:58 – Good bones: Updike, Betjeman, Nash, and Hunt
26:02 – The art of the literary biography
32:20 – Brooke’s career
40:23 – “Post-literacy” & the future of criticism
Opening and closing music: Brendan Benson, “Spit It Out,” used with permission from the artist.
Produced by Sean Doolan

Inklings in Battle Feb 05, 2026

Show notes

Joseph Loconte drops by to talk about his new book, The War for Middle-earth: J.R.R. Tolkien and C.S. Lewis Confront the Gathering Storm, 1933–1945. He and Chris discuss the friendship between Tolkien and Lewis, the impact of both world wars on their literary lives, and how they influenced each other's most celebrated works.
Show notes:

Joseph's new book, The War for Middle-earth
The Rivendell Center
Learn more about J.R.R. Tolkien
Learn more about C.S. Lewis’s The Screwtape Letters

Time stamps:
1:48 – A "beachhead of resistance" against Modernism
19:58 – The Inklings amid the gathering storm
34:52 – World War II, Mere Christianity, and the Lord of the Rings
59:04 – Friendship and the Rivendell Center
Opening and closing music: Brendan Benson, “Spit It Out,” used with permission from the artist.
Produced by Sean Doolan.

The Rhythm of the Saints Jan 22, 2026

Show notes

Poet and critic James Matthew Wilson drops by to share a few poems, discuss his writing process, and consider the re-emergence of form in contemporary poetry. Chris and James also discuss efforts to foster literary excellence in the culture more broadly. The episode includes its federally mandated Seinfeld reference, but this time it’s James who brings it up.
Show notes: ·
James’s most recent poetry collection, Saint Thomas and the Forbidden Birds
The Colosseum Institute
University of St. Thomas’s MFA program
“Quarantine Notebook” – Part XI
Adrienne Rich reads “At a Bach Concert”
Time stamps:
4:11 – Formalism and narrative poetry
18:17 – Publishers, literary journals, and MFA programs
29:06 – Saint Thomas and the Forbidden Birds
43:05 – “Quarantine Notebook”
Opening and closing music: Brendan Benson, “Spit It Out,” used with permission from the artist.
Produced by Sean Doolan.

A Holly Jody Christmas Dec 23, 2025

Show notes

For this special Christmas episode, Chris is joined by Joseph Bottum, a distinguished man of letters who has written extensively about the Yuletide season. They discuss the significance of the holiday and the festivities (both old and new) associated with Christmas, its various literary portrayals over the years, and Jody’s own Christmas essays and tales.
Show notes:

Jody's book of Christmas-themed essays and tales, Frankincense, Gold, and Myrrh
Jody's memoir of Christmases of his youth, The Christmas Plains
Jody's Christmas essays for First Things, The Lamp, Law & Liberty, Public Discourse, and The Wall Street Journal
Jody's Christmas EP, Grace and Gladness

Time stamps:
1:39 – The literary qualities of Christmas
15:45 – The opulence and "thickness" of Christmastime
25:38 – Jody's literary influences and the tradition of the Christmas story
33:40 – Dickens as "the great unconscious novelist"
43:29 – Jody's Christmas tales and Chesterton's poem "The House of Christmas"
Opening and closing music: Brendan Benson, “Spit It Out,” used with permission from the artist.
Produced by Sean Doolan.

Mind, Muscle, and Mimesis Dec 11, 2025

Show notes

Chris is joined by Jordan Castro, a novelist, essayist, and the deputy director of the Cluny Institute. They discuss Jordan’s new novel, Muscle Man, as well as the discontents of academia, Jordan’s literary influences, the place of fiction in contemporary America, and their favorite campus novels.
Show notes:

Jordan’s new novel, Muscle Man
Jordan’s essay on weightlifting for Harper’s
Jordan’s previous novel, The Novelist
The Cluny Institute

Time stamps:
1:52 – Portraying the embodied life
9:58 – Violence and the Gothic
20:18 – Mimesis in academic culture
29:31 – Writing complex characters
41:09 – Are men reading fiction?
48:08 – Genre and influences
Opening and closing music: Brendan Benson, “Spit It Out,” used with permission from the artist.
Produced by Sean Doolan.

Solly’s Special: Thanksgiving and Its Jewish Roots Nov 26, 2025

Show notes

For this special Thanksgiving episode, Chris is joined by Meir Soloveichik, the Rabbi of Congregation Shearith Israel (the oldest Jewish congregation in the United States) and the director of the Straus Center for Torah and Western Thought at Yeshiva University. They discuss the Jewish origins of the Thanksgiving holiday, the history of Jews in America, and the current plight of antisemitism in American politics. Show notes:

For Solly’s writing about Thanksgiving, see here and here.
Solly’s recent essay for Mosaic, “The Christian-Jewish Alliance and Its Enemies”
The recent volume to which Solly contributed, Jewish Roots of American Liberty
George Washington's letters to the Hebrew congregations in Newport and Savannah
Get Chris’s book, 13 Novels Conservatives Will Love (but Probably Haven’t Read), here.

Time stamps:
1:41 – Origins of Thanksgiving and the history of Solly’s congregation
12:22 – The significance of religious liberty for early Jewish Americans
23:33 – Hebraic roots of the American founding
40:05 – Antisemitism on the American left and right
53:12 – Maintaining gratitude in the face of hardship
Opening and closing music: Brendan Benson, “Spit It Out,” used with permission from the artist.
Produced by Sean Doolan.

A Spark of Literary Genius Nov 13, 2025

Show notes

The critic and literary biographer Frances Wilson drops by to discuss her exceptional new book, Electric Spark: The Enigma of Dame Muriel. She and Chris talk about the fascinating life and early career of Muriel Spark, including her development as a novelist, tumultuous family life, and journey to religious belief. This is an especially fun conversation about one of the 20th century’s greatest—and slipperiest—novelists.
Show notes:

Frances’s book, Electric Spark: The Enigma of Dame Muriel
Chris’s review of Electric Spark for the Washington Examiner
Some of Chris’s other essays about Spark: The Prime of Miss Jean Brodie and The Mandelbaum Gate; (his book, 13 Novels Conservatives Will Love (but Probably Haven’t Read), includes a chapter about another Spark novel).
Martin Stannard’s authorized biography of Spark
Spark’s memoir, Curriculum Vitae

Time stamps:
0:34 – Muriel Spark's background and literary style (with a digression about Frances’s and Chris’s favorite Spark novels)
11:00 – Grappling with slippery biographical details
18:07 – Spark's early life and family
28:49 – Doppelgängers and doubling
36:15 – Peculiar day jobs and resulting entanglements
51:05 – Conversion to Catholicism
Opening and closing music: Brendan Benson, “Spit It Out,” used with permission from the artist.
Produced by Sean Doolan and R. Rubin.

Who Was Oskar Stoessel? Oct 30, 2025

Show notes

Chris is joined by Bryan A. Garner: grammarian, lexicographer, and author of The Etcher: The Life and Art of Oskar Stoessel. They discuss Stoessel’s life and work, how he managed to etch portraits of FDR and eight Supreme Court justices, and what compelled Bryan to write about him. They also talk about Bryan’s recent defense of originalism against a strange new critique, his career as a grammarian, and the origins of his collaboration with Justice Scalia. Show notes:

Bryan’s new book, The Etcher: The Life and Art of Oskar Stoessel
Bryan’s two recent columns for National Review, on Jill Lepore and H.W. Fowler
Bryan’s coauthored books with Justice Scalia, Reading Law: The Interpretation of Legal Texts and Making Your Case: The Art of Persuading Judges

Time stamps:
1:50 –⁠ “Who was Oskar Stoessel?”
6:08 –⁠ Oskar’s early career and the nature of etching
15:19 –⁠ Oskar’s remarkable time in the United States
28:20 –⁠ Oskar’s return to Austria, later life, and legacy
37:42 –⁠ Defending originalism from a new critique
44:20 –⁠ Becoming a grammarian

Welcome to the Machine: The Story of the 1975 Cincinnati Reds & the Greatest World Series Ever Played Oct 16, 2025

Show notes

Chris is joined by prolific sportswriter Joe Posnanski to discuss his 2009 book, The Machine: A Hot Team, a Legendary Season, and a Heart-Stopping World Series: The Story of the 1975 Cincinnati Reds. Celebrating the 50th anniversary of the Reds’ legendary victory, they discuss the personalities, politics, and drama that culminated in what is considered by some to be the greatest World Series of all time. Joe also gives a sneak preview of his next book, tells the story of his career in sports journalism, and shares some thoughts about the current state of sports writing.
Show notes:
· Joe’s 2009 book, The Machine: A Hot Team, a Legendary Season, and a Heart-stopping World Series: The Story of the 1975 Cincinnati Reds
· Joe’s website
· Joe and Michael Schur’s forthcoming book, Big Fan: Two Friends, 81,589 Miles, and the Wild, Wonderful Sports We Love
Time stamps:
2:05 – Origins of the “Big Red Machine”
16:57 – The Reds’ 1975 season
29:41 – The 1975 World Series
42:10 – The Machine’s impact and legacy
52:08 – Joe’s career and the future of sports writing
Opening and closing music: Brendan Benson, “Spit It Out,” used with permission from the artist.
Produced by Sean Doolan.

Our TOPPODCAST Picks

Follow Us

Stay Connected

Related Podcasts

Links

Stay Connected