Episodes

  • The Hohenzollerns in America by Stephen Leacock ~ Full Audiobook [comedy]

    The Hohenzollerns in America by Stephen Leacock ~ Full Audiobook [comedy]
    Apr 9 2026
    The Hohenzollerns in America by Stephen Leacock audiobook. Genre: comedy In this sharp, strange satire by Stephen Leacock, the mighty Hohenzollern dynasty is stripped of imperial power and dropped into ordinary immigrant life in New York after the upheavals of World War I. The title novella is framed as the diary of Princess Frederica, whose innocent, aristocratic voice records the humiliating comedy of her uncle William, a fallen emperor, as he tries to translate royal certainty into boardinghouses, job hunts, universities, street politics, and the bewildering realities of American life. Around her cluster other displaced figures, including Uncle Henry, Cousin Willie, and Ferdinand of Bulgaria, each coping with exile in ways that expose vanity, delusion, class privilege, and the absurdity of old-world power. The book then widens into a set of companion pieces that imagine other impossible reversals - Bolsheviks in Berlin, rulers made ridiculous, and wartime rhetoric turned inside out. Beneath the laughter, Leacock offers a biting portrait of pride after collapse and of a world trying to redefine itself after war. It is a brisk, inventive collection in which farce, political mockery, and uneasy sympathy constantly collide. For ad-free listening try our premium subscription Chapters (Approximate) (00:00:00) Chapter 01 (00:23:21) Chapter 02 (00:34:39) Chapter 03 (00:50:39) Chapter 04 (01:07:40) Chapter 05 (01:20:31) Chapter 06 (01:28:05) Chapter 07 (01:44:17) Chapter 08 (02:01:06) Chapter 09 (02:16:56) Chapter 10 (02:27:33) Chapter 11 (02:42:04) Chapter 12 (02:51:38) Chapter 13 (03:04:19) Chapter 14 (03:17:44) Chapter 15 (03:28:16) Chapter 16 (03:38:55) Chapter 17 (04:01:48) Chapter 18 (04:20:52) Chapter 19 (04:41:57) Chapter 20 (04:55:58) Chapter 21 (05:24:21) Chapter 22 Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
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    5 hrs and 43 mins
  • Further Foolishness by Stephen Leacock ~ Full Audiobook [comedy]

    Further Foolishness by Stephen Leacock ~ Full Audiobook [comedy]
    Apr 8 2026
    Further Foolishness by Stephen Leacock audiobook. Genre: comedy Further Foolishness is a sparkling collection of comic sketches and satirical essays by Stephen Leacock, one of the great humorists of the early 20th century. Rather than following a single plot, the book moves through a lively series of scenes, mock studies, and absurd observations that poke fun at modern life, social manners, politics, education, business, and human vanity. Leacock's narrators and characters - from pompous officials and self-important intellectuals to ordinary people caught in ridiculous situations - reveal a world where common sense is constantly defeated by pride, fashion, and empty seriousness. With a tone that is playful, sharp, and deceptively light, the book turns everyday habits into comedy while also exposing the foolishness built into respectable society. Beneath the wit is a keen eye for how people flatter themselves, misunderstand one another, and create unnecessary complications in the name of progress or prestige. Further Foolishness is ideal for listeners who enjoy classic literary humor, clever language, and satire that remains surprisingly fresh, offering a parade of memorable comic moments while gently asking how much wiser modern life really is. For ad-free listening try our premium subscription Chapters (Approximate) (00:00:00) Chapter 01 (00:07:41) Chapter 02 (00:30:07) Chapter 03 (01:06:05) Chapter 04 (01:24:20) Chapter 05 (01:35:42) Chapter 06 (01:49:06) Chapter 07 (02:00:47) Chapter 08 (02:14:01) Chapter 09 (02:34:02) Chapter 10 (02:41:39) Chapter 11 (03:04:12) Chapter 12 (03:46:38) Chapter 13 (04:19:30) Chapter 14 (04:50:19) Chapter 15 (05:02:10) Chapter 16 (05:15:15) Chapter 17 Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
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    5 hrs and 48 mins
  • My Discovery of England by Stephen Leacock ~ Full Audiobook [comedy]

    My Discovery of England by Stephen Leacock ~ Full Audiobook [comedy]
    Apr 7 2026
    My Discovery of England by Stephen Leacock audiobook. Genre: comedy In My Discovery of England, Stephen Leacock turns a trip across the Atlantic into a sparkling comic portrait of Britain, its people, and its habits. Writing with his trademark wit, Leacock presents himself as both traveler and amused outsider, arriving in England with curiosity, affection, and a sharp eye for social absurdity. From the great institutions of London to the rituals of clubs, hotels, trains, and public manners, he observes a country proud of its traditions and quietly ruled by custom. Along the way, he contrasts English life with North American attitudes, finding humor in everything from class distinctions and conversation to weather, literature, and patriotism. The book is less about a single plot than about Leacock's lively encounters with a nation he both teases and admires, and its real charm lies in the voice guiding the journey - genial, ironic, and endlessly entertaining. Beneath the jokes, Leacock offers a thoughtful reflection on national character, imperial identity, and the strange familiarity of a place long imagined before it is ever seen. The result is a witty, affectionate travel memoir that captures England through the eyes of one of the early twentieth century's great humorists. For ad-free listening try our premium subscription Chapters (Approximate) (00:00:00) Chapter 00 (00:03:54) Chapter 01 (00:19:48) Chapter 02 (00:28:23) Chapter 03 (00:50:58) Chapter 04 (01:22:06) Chapter 05 (01:44:18) Chapter 06 (02:06:26) Chapter 07 (02:42:17) Chapter 08 (02:57:18) Chapter 09 (03:19:39) Chapter 10 (03:52:46) Chapter 11 (04:18:17) Chapter 12 Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
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    4 hrs and 52 mins
  • Inquiries into Human Faculty and its Development by Sir Francis Galton ~ Full Audiobook [science]

    Inquiries into Human Faculty and its Development by Sir Francis Galton ~ Full Audiobook [science]
    Apr 6 2026
    Inquiries into Human Faculty and its Development by Sir Francis Galton audiobook. Genre: science Inquiries into Human Faculty and its Development is Sir Francis Galton's wide-ranging exploration of how human abilities vary from person to person and how those differences might be measured, classified, and explained. Writing as a Victorian scientist with interests spanning statistics, psychology, heredity, and social theory, Galton investigates subjects such as intelligence, memory, imagination, sensory perception, and temperament. He combines anecdote, observation, early experiments, and numerical analysis to ask why some people seem especially gifted while others do not, and whether talent is shaped more by inheritance or environment. Along the way, he introduces methods of comparing mental and physical traits that would influence later work in psychology and the social sciences. The book is also notable for revealing the ambitions and blind spots of its era, especially in Galton's belief that society could be improved by directing human breeding and development. Both innovative and deeply controversial, this work offers a revealing look at the beginnings of modern attempts to quantify the mind and the enduring debate over what makes individuals who they are. For ad-free listening try our premium subscription Chapters (Approximate) (00:00:00) Chapter 00 (00:02:41) Chapter 01 (00:50:30) Chapter 02 (01:43:39) Chapter 03 (02:23:51) Chapter 04 (02:54:15) Chapter 05 (03:44:38) Chapter 06 (04:38:01) Chapter 07 (05:33:29) Chapter 08 (06:13:33) Chapter 09 (06:57:42) Chapter 10 (07:52:54) Chapter 11 (08:43:24) Chapter 12 (09:16:45) Chapter 13 Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
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    10 hrs and 14 mins
  • Nurse and Spy in the Union Army by Sarah Emma Edmonds ~ Full Audiobook [biography]

    Nurse and Spy in the Union Army by Sarah Emma Edmonds ~ Full Audiobook [biography]
    Apr 3 2026
    Nurse and Spy in the Union Army by Sarah Emma Edmonds audiobook. Genre: biography Nurse and Spy in the Union Army is Sarah Emma Edmonds's vivid firsthand account of the American Civil War, combining memoir, battlefield narrative, and patriotic adventure. Writing from her unusual position as a woman who served in disguise as a male soldier, Edmonds recounts how she entered the Union Army, endured camp life, marched with fellow soldiers, and witnessed the strain and chaos of war at close range. The book follows her experiences caring for the wounded as a nurse, moving through dangerous military spaces, and taking on risky assignments that tested her nerve and loyalty. Along the way, Edmonds introduces readers to the soldiers, officers, and suffering civilians who shaped her view of the conflict, while also revealing the constant personal danger of living under a concealed identity. More than a record of action, the book explores courage, sacrifice, duty, and the roles women could play in a nation at war, even when society refused to recognize them. Blending drama, compassion, and historical detail, Nurse and Spy in the Union Army offers an intimate portrait of one woman's extraordinary service during one of America's most devastating struggles. For ad-free listening try our premium subscription Chapters (Approximate) (00:00:00) Chapter 00 (00:03:11) Chapter 01 (00:20:55) Chapter 02 (00:40:32) Chapter 03 (01:01:01) Chapter 04 (01:26:11) Chapter 05 (01:44:03) Chapter 06 (02:06:57) Chapter 07 (02:25:58) Chapter 08 (02:43:14) Chapter 09 (03:06:24) Chapter 10 (03:21:55) Chapter 11 (03:42:54) Chapter 12 (04:01:24) Chapter 13 (04:20:56) Chapter 14 (04:37:33) Chapter 15 (04:51:58) Chapter 16 (05:10:01) Chapter 17 (05:31:26) Chapter 18 (05:55:27) Chapter 19 (06:13:25) Chapter 20 (06:31:51) Chapter 21 (06:51:06) Chapter 22 (07:07:27) Chapter 23 (07:24:49) Chapter 24 (07:38:43) Chapter 25 (07:56:14) Chapter 26 (08:11:52) Chapter 27 (08:30:03) Chapter 28 (08:43:29) Chapter 29 (09:00:15) Chapter 30 Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
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    9 hrs and 29 mins
  • Rasselas, Prince of Abyssinia by Samuel Johnson ~ Full Audiobook [philosophy]

    Rasselas, Prince of Abyssinia by Samuel Johnson ~ Full Audiobook [philosophy]
    Mar 30 2026
    Rasselas, Prince of Abyssinia by Samuel Johnson audiobook. Genre: philosophy Samuel Johnson's Rasselas, Prince of Abyssinia follows a young prince raised in the sheltered luxury of the Happy Valley, a paradise designed to keep royal heirs content and obedient until they are called to rule. Yet Rasselas finds that comfort alone cannot quiet his restless mind. Longing to understand how people truly live, and what kind of life leads to lasting happiness, he escapes with his thoughtful sister Nekayah, her attendant Pekuah, and the wise poet Imlac. Their journey carries them through cities, courts, monasteries, and private homes, where they meet philosophers, scholars, rulers, hermits, and lovers, each offering a different answer to the problem of how one ought to live. Part travel narrative, part moral inquiry, the book turns every encounter into a sharp and often moving examination of ambition, wealth, learning, pleasure, solitude, and grief. Rather than offering easy comfort, Johnson creates a reflective and humane story about the gap between human hopes and human experience, asking whether any earthly condition can fully satisfy the heart. For ad-free listening try our premium subscription Chapters (Approximate) (00:00:00) Chapter 01 (00:29:55) Chapter 02 (00:47:40) Chapter 03 (01:04:32) Chapter 04 (01:34:06) Chapter 05 (01:57:04) Chapter 06 (02:15:40) Chapter 07 (02:30:20) Chapter 08 (02:49:35) Chapter 09 (03:03:07) Chapter 10 (03:20:32) Chapter 11 (03:32:47) Chapter 12 (03:56:37) Chapter 13 (04:21:11) Chapter 14 (04:37:58) Chapter 15 (04:53:14) Chapter 16 (05:17:06) Chapter 17 Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
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    5 hrs and 35 mins
  • Essays of Robert Louis Stevenson by Robert Louis Stevenson ~ Full Audiobook [philosophy]

    Essays of Robert Louis Stevenson by Robert Louis Stevenson ~ Full Audiobook [philosophy]
    Mar 28 2026
    Essays of Robert Louis Stevenson by Robert Louis Stevenson audiobook. Genre: philosophy Essays of Robert Louis Stevenson gathers some of the celebrated writer's sharpest and most graceful nonfiction, offering a vivid portrait of the mind behind Treasure Island and Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde. In these pieces, Stevenson turns his attention to everyday living, literature, memory, travel, friendship, ambition, and the art of facing hardship with courage and wit. Rather than building a single narrative, the collection invites listeners into a series of thoughtful conversations in which Stevenson reflects on what it means to live fully and observe the world closely. His voice is at once elegant, playful, and deeply humane, moving easily between personal anecdote, literary criticism, and moral reflection. Across the collection, he explores the tension between duty and pleasure, youth and age, idleness and work, asking how a person can build a meaningful life without losing curiosity or joy. Rich in style and insight, Essays of Robert Louis Stevenson is both a showcase for Stevenson's remarkable prose and an engaging meditation on character, creativity, and the small choices that shape a life. For ad-free listening try our premium subscription Chapters (Approximate) (00:00:00) Chapter 01 (00:27:02) Chapter 02 (01:01:06) Chapter 03 (01:32:31) Chapter 04 (02:14:01) Chapter 05 (02:49:06) Chapter 06 (03:34:49) Chapter 07 (04:11:09) Chapter 08 (04:43:09) Chapter 09 (05:07:32) Chapter 10 Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
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    5 hrs and 39 mins
  • The Story of My Misfortunes by Peter Abelard ~ Full Audiobook [biography]

    The Story of My Misfortunes by Peter Abelard ~ Full Audiobook [biography]
    Mar 27 2026
    The Story of My Misfortunes by Peter Abelard audiobook. Genre: biography In The Story of My Misfortunes, Peter Abelard offers a vivid first-person account of one of the most turbulent lives in medieval Europe. A gifted and fiercely ambitious scholar, Abelard rises to fame in 12th-century Paris through the power of his intellect, his sharp debating style, and his willingness to challenge established teachers. But success in the classroom is only the beginning of his troubles. As his reputation grows, so do jealousy, rivalry, and resentment, and his private life becomes entangled with his public career in ways that change everything. At the heart of the narrative is Abelard's deeply human struggle to reconcile brilliance with humility, desire with duty, and personal conviction with the authority of Church and society. He writes not only to recount the hardships that have shaped him, but also to search for meaning in suffering, failure, and endurance. Both intimate and reflective, this work combines confession, memoir, and intellectual self-portrait, revealing a man whose greatest gifts become inseparable from his greatest trials. For ad-free listening try our premium subscription Chapters (Approximate) (00:00:00) Chapter 01 (00:28:30) Chapter 02 (00:57:45) Chapter 03 (01:23:13) Chapter 04 (01:57:14) Chapter 05 Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
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    2 hrs and 38 mins