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Books by William Shakespeare mentioned on podcasts
William Shakespeare's works frequently emerge across various podcasts. On Stuff You Should Know, Josh Clark brought up the famous tragedy Richard III to explain how the historical figure became popularly known as an evil character. Monday Morning Podcast featured a discussion where a listener suggested the No Fear Shakespeare line of books to understand the plays, and Bill confirmed he was reading them. Stuff They Don't Want You To Know hosts mentioned Julius Caesar as the origin of the phrase beware the Ides of March, with Ben Bowlin also highlighting it. On People I (Mostly) Admire, the host discussed a line from Hamlet with incarcerated women. How I Write touched upon Abraham Lincoln's obsessive reading of Shakespeare's Sonnets and the King James Bible as influences on his writing. The Tucker Carlson Show featured a host quoting a famous line from Macbeth as a reflection on why spirituality is important, while The Jordan B. Peterson Podcast referenced Macbeth, Hamlet, King Lear, Julius Caesar, Antony and Cleopatra, and Romeo and Juliet in a discussion about classic tragedies that cannot be improved upon.
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Hamlet
Hamlet is William Shakespeare's famous tragedy exploring themes of mortality, revenge, madness, and moral hesitation in the Danish royal court.
Discussed“That lets us tell that we should be reading Hamlet before or distinct from reading the firm or a time to kill because Hamlet.”
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Romeo and Juliet
Romeo and Juliet by William Shakespeare is a timeless tragedy about two young lovers from feuding families whose deaths ultimately reconcile their households.
Discussed“This is where Romeo and Juliet is really helpful for us to understand.”
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Macbeth
Macbeth by William Shakespeare is one of the playwright's darkest and most famous tragedies, exploring the destructive psychological and political ambitions of a Scottish lord who seizes the throne.
Discussed“I mean this is so cliche so forgive me but I I was at dinner and a friend quoted a line from Macbeth and he quoted it and I was like dude I need to remember that.”
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Julius Caesar
Julius Caesar by William Shakespeare is a historical tragedy that explores political ambition, conspiracy, betrayal, and the consequences of assassination in ancient Rome.
Discussed“I had an excellent teacher in 10th grade English that taught me Shakespeare, specifically Julius Caesar.”
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Richard II
Richard II by William Shakespeare is a historical play depicting the downfall and deposition of the English monarch.
Discussed“So I reread Shakespeare's Richard II which is a [clears throat] wonderful play.”
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King Henry V
King Lear is a classic tragedy by William Shakespeare that examines themes of madness, betrayal, generational conflict, and the deconstruction of absolute authority.
Discussed“It will probably surprise listeners because you're so focused on data and solving practical problems that back in 2007, you wrote a biography of John Stuart Mill, a big thick book that runs to more than 600 pages.”
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King Lear
William Shakespeare's King Lear is a timeless tragedy exploring themes of aging, madness, familial betrayal, and the painful acquisition of wisdom.
Discussed“I wrote term I wrote papers on the role of the fool and king Arthur King Leer. King Arthur and King Lear and a touchstone and as you like it and you know he used the fool a lot.”
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Measure for Measure
Measure for Measure by William Shakespeare is a complex dramatic play exploring themes of justice, morality, and human flaw.
Discussed“COWEN: Now, the premise of this episode is, we’re going to discuss Shakespeare’s Measure for Measure. That’s not the only thing we’ll do, but that is what we will start with.”
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Tempest
Tempest by William Shakespeare is one of the celebrated playwright's final masterworks, exploring themes of magic, betrayal, illusion, and reconciliation on a remote island.
Discussed“well if we didn't have the first folio given that all the manuscript versions of the place are lost we wouldn't have Place such as the Tempest or 12th night or a Winter's Tale or Julius cesa or anti Cleopatra or MC Beth”
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Henry IV, Part 1
Henry IV, Part 1 by William Shakespeare is a celebrated historical play that explores political rebellion, honor, and the tumultuous coming-of-age of Prince Hal as he navigates his royal responsibilities alongside the roguish Sir John Falstaff.
Discussed“And to up the pretentiousness a little bit further, it's a retelling of Shakespeare's Henry IV Part 1 with Labradors.”
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Henry V
Henry V by William Shakespeare is a classic historical play that examines leadership, warfare, and national identity through the reign of the English monarch.
Discussed“one of my favorite speeches in all of Shakespeare it's from the the history of Henry V and it's called The crisen Day speech”
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Much Ado About Nothing
William Shakespeare's Much Ado About Nothing is a classic romantic comedy exploring themes of deception, honor, and courtly love through the contrasting relationships of Beatrice and Benedick and Claudio and Hero.
Recommended“Looks look for the No Fear Shakespeare line of books. So, go enjoy the play. Yeah, that's what I'm reading. Uh, no fear Shakespeare.”
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Richard III
Richard III by William Shakespeare is a famous history play that dramatizes the turbulent rise to power and subsequent brief, brutal reign of King Richard III of England.
Discussed“Um, so Richard III is the you may his name may ring a bell if you're not already familiar with him because there's a very very famous play by Shakespeare called the tragedy of Richard III.”
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Sonnets
Sonnets is a renowned collection of poems by William Shakespeare exploring themes of love, beauty, mortality, and human emotion through traditional verse structures.
Discussed“I more or less OBS the King James Bible more or less obsessively that in shakes”
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The Merchant of Venice
The Merchant of Venice by William Shakespeare is a famous Elizabethan comedy and drama exploring complex themes of mercy, justice, and societal prejudice in Renaissance Europe.
Discussed“OLIVER: I think, basically, it picks up where The Merchant of Venice leaves off. It takes the problem of mercy.”
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The Taming of the Shrew
The Taming of the Shrew by William Shakespeare is a classic comedy that explores themes of courtship, gender dynamics, emotional transformation, and social order within Elizabethan England.
Discussed“OLIVER: You can contrast it with the end of Taming of the Shrew, where it’s argued, when she submits, is that a happy thing?”
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Titus Andronicus
Titus Andronicus is a tragedy by William Shakespeare widely regarded as his bloodiest and most violent play, telling the story of a Roman general's cycle of revenge with a Gothic empress.
Discussed“andrew doyle is doing a course on shakespeare's titus andronicus and so on”
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Twelfth Night
Twelfth Night by William Shakespeare is a classic romantic comedy exploring themes of mistaken identity, unrequited love, and the complexities of human emotion.
Discussed“well if we didn't have the first folio given that all the manuscript versions of the place are lost we wouldn't have Place such as the Tempest or 12th night or a Winter's Tale or Julius cesa or anti Cleopatra or MC Beth”
Where to get it
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A Midsummer Night's Dream
Discussed“OLIVER: Measure for Measure is not like Midsummer Night’s Dream. Midsummer Night’s Dream is a perfectly Girardian play...”
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All's Well That Ends Well
Discussed“COWEN: You can cite All’s Well That Ends Well, for your point of view also, where there’s a coupling based on a trick and deceit and body substitution.”
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Antony and Cleopatra
Discussed“there's a suggestion that maybe the Anthony and CLE plra was types set for one of Shakespeare's own drafts perhaps”
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As You Like It
Discussed“I wrote term I wrote papers on the role of the fool and king Arthur King Leer. King Arthur and King Lear and a touchstone and as you like it and you know he used the fool a lot.”
Where to get it
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Henry IV, part 2
Discussed“Richard II u Henry IV part one and two u and Henry ith those he wrote later”
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Henry VI
Discussed“And as Shakespeare said in Henry VI, "If you want to destroy a society, the first thing you do is kill all the lawyers."”
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Othello
Discussed“and Shakespeare is responsible for the origin of the phrase the green-eyed monster in Othello the antagonist Iago warns oh beware my lord of jealousy it is the green eyed monster which doth mock the meat at feeds on”
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Pericles
Discussed“certainly an obvious one that's missing is paricles and two two Noble Kinsmen”
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Sir Thomas More
Discussed“the main example of that is a play called Sir Thomas Moore the book of Thomas Moore which is a play that never got through the senses written by somebody else never got through the senses”
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The Histories (King Henry IV. Part 1 / King Henry IV. Part 2 / King Henry V / King Henry VI. Part 1 / King Henry VI. Part 2 / King Henry VI. Part 3 / King Henry VIII / King John / King Richard II / King Richard III)
Discussed“Remember those very telling lines in Henry IV Part II where young Henry V is advised by his father, "Busy minds with foreign wars achieve peace at home by sending our ambitious noblemen to other places to fight wars."”
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The Merry Wives of Windsor
Discussed“it sounds like Steven's father may have been referencing William Shakespeare's 1602 play the merry wives of Windsor at the end of act 2 scene 2 the character Ford has a monologue where he plots revenge against the Nightfall staff Ford concludes by saying better three hours too soon than a minute too late”
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The Rape of Lucrece
Discussed“COWEN: I thought immediately of “The Rape of Lucrece,” which is, I think, from 1594. In that story, there’s an actual rape of Lucrece by Tarquin, and she kills herself.”
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The Riverside Shakespeare
Discussed“I mean it's not a joke that I use the Riverside Shakespeare as a booster seat that's literally what happened I sat when I had to reach the table I sat on this giant addition of Shakespeare”
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The Two Noble Kinsmen
Discussed“certainly an obvious one that's missing is paricles and two two Noble Kinsmen”
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The Winter's Tale
Discussed“well if we didn't have the first folio given that all the manuscript versions of the place are lost we wouldn't have Place such as the Tempest or 12th night or a Winter's Tale or Julius cesa or anti Cleopatra or MC Beth”
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The Works of William Shakespeare
Discussed“90% used to do it when the only three resources they had in their home was the Bible Shakespeare and the local newspaper”
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Timon of Athens
Discussed“I remember discussing Shakespeare’s 'Timon of Athens' today, a work many dismiss as worthless because it doesn’t fit typical artistic criteria.”
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Venus and Adonis
Discussed“for instance with with Shakespeare you know he can't right produce his narrative poems Venus and Adonis or rap crease without patronage”
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