Club Chekhov - All Subtext, No Action

About Club Chekhov - All Subtext, No Action

Reading, analysis and exploration of the literary oeuvre left to us by Anton Pavlovich Chekhov. We will read his standout stories, in English and in his original Russian. We will also discuss some of his most surprising themes as well as notes on the most widely-used translations and what tends to get lost in the process. To contact the producer, email Lev Lesokhin at levlesokhin@gmail.com. Also, introducing languagethroughliterature.com (http://languagethroughliterature.com). As the name suggests, a site for learning Russian by reading it. Read Chekhov, and other great authors, in Russian with a gamified tool that explains and sounds out every word and phrase.

Publisher

Lev Lesokhin

Category

arts · society & culture

Language

en

Explicit

No

First episode

17 Feb 2026

Latest episode

18 Oct 2026

Latest episodes

18 episodes in the feed.

1. 

   18 Oct 2026

   Fat and Thin Discussion + Language Through Literature

   A lot happens in this segment. This is the first podcast where we host a guest presenter on our podcast - Tom Besinger, a Russian Literature enthusiast who reached out to us and shared a tool he developed for language learners to read Russian in the original. He explain his site, called LanguageThroughLiterature and even shows how it works. Hint: It features Chekhov stories quite prominently and all our readings are connected to the equivalent entries on this site. LanguageThroughLiterature uses the Imperial Russian ranking system to gamify the learning experience, so we discuss the table of ranks and their modern equivalents. This leads us in to discuss the story "Fat and Thin", to pick apart the caricatured humor in the way the thin man reacts upon learning the high rank of the fat man. Here is a link to the LanguageThroughLiterature site: https://languagethroughliterature.com/ (https://languagethroughliterature.com/)

2. 

   11 Oct 2026

   Chekhov - Fat and Thin

   A lighthearted humoresque telling us about a short encounter between two high school friends after many years of adult life. They recognize each other at a train station and are pleasantly surprised. But when they find out their ranks in the civil service, suddenly the jovial mood takes a turn!

3. 

   30 Aug 2026

   The House with the Mezzanine

   A remarkable story of a love that fails to take place. An idle landscape artist, who sees everything through a big-picture lens, a strict older sister acting as father figure while virtue signaling at the artist's expense, a baby sister and her mother who are acolytes of the artist, all set in a beautiful country landscape worthy of the brought to life by Chekhov's pen. The story follows a very Chekhovian path where the protagonists don't act on their desires, we see a lot of symbolism, prognostication and innuendo, but not a lot of action. The fable at the end summarizes the setting nicely.

4. 

   30 Aug 2026

   Ward No 6 Discussion

   Professor Burry and Lev Lesokhin hold a debrief about Chekhov's famous story, Ward No 6. A far-ranging discussion, commenting on the bleak nature of the landscape offered by Chekhov and the fragility of sanity, especially among thinking people thrown into the vulgar herd of a grey, provincial existence. The commentary weaves through parallels to modern corporate life, the breaking point of Nietzsche, and the philosophical musings of a somewhat-Chekhovian medical practitioner. If this story affected you, either by its dim humor or frightening conclusions, tune in to find some resonance in this discussion.

5. 

   21 Aug 2026

   Ward No 6

   How thin the line between craziness and sanity. How oppressive the world around us, especially for those with a delicate form of intelligence surrounded by boorish, brash, foolish people who don't appreciate education, manners, and punctiliousness. When self-promotion and self-preservation kick in, all bets are off. This longish short story by Chekhov explores the meatgrinder that faces delicate, educated men marooned in a dusty, provincial town. Oppressed by the sea of filth and ignorance, they drown in a system that inadvertently envelops these sensitive souls, without specific malice or intent. It just gradually happens through no specific fault of their own. Despite moments of mirth in the description of the town and the ambience, the story is fundamentally depressing and shows how brutal our brutish existence can become.

6. 

   4 Jul 2026

   The Darling Discussion

   Another amazing caricature by Chekhov. This time, the empathy dial is turned up to 11 and we get to see the results. The Darling is a woman whose rapturous devotion and need for meaning from relationships has a stroke of familiarity to all of us. Professor Alex Burry and Lev Lesokhin discuss this wonderful tale about a woman who does so much, yet means so little.

7. 

   7 Jun 2026

   The Darling

   This is a story of a young woman who gives herself entirely to her love interests. Olenka Plemyannikova loves with her whole being, sacrificing herself entirely to the person she is with - whether it's a husband, a lover or a child. Her level of empathy is insanely high, making her a caricature of codependence that many of us should be able to see, at least slightly, in ourselves. This character study is quintessential Chekhov, as he draws the caricature, injects the story with a bit of humor, and leaves any kind of judgement of Olenka to the reader. Anyone reading this story will recognize the caricature and be able to think of someone they know who suffers a similar ailment, even if to a lesser extent. Translation by Avrahm Yarmolinsky, read from The Portable Chekhov

8. 

   5 Jun 2026

   Anna on the Neck Discussion

   A well known caricature by Chekhov of a transactional marriage, where the young bride finds her inner power and takes control of the marriage to her wealthy, older husband. Alex and Lev pull this story apart bone by bone to discover its magic and mysteries. It feels like a real Cinderella story - but then, who is the prince? Dial into this discussion to find out!

9. 

   30 May 2026

   Anna on the Neck

   A somewhat humorous tale of transformation and intrinsic human value coming to the fore. Anna, an 18-year-old girl marries an older man for his status and money, out of love for her father. Her late mother showed her the art of elegance and trained her to act like a lady. When her new husband takes her to her first ball, she has her Cinderella moment and suddenly transforms with far-reaching benefit to everyone involved. This story of loveless marriage is told from Anna's point of view. Chekhov does a brilliant job showing the reader what happens behind the scenes in the head of a young woman. And offers an interesting caricature of a person's strength stemming from their own sense of self worth. Translation by Avrahm Yarmolinsky, read from The Portable Chekhov

10. 

    19 Apr 2026

    Love Story - The Lady with the Dog

    In this episode, Lev Lesokhin and Professor Alexander Burry dive into Anton Chekhov’s most famous love story —The Lady with the Dog. This is a heartwarming story of hidden romance that sprouts unexpectedly for both protagonists. It was written just as Chekhov himself was finding himself finally headed towards marriage and, uniquely for his time, one based on love. Our hosts discuss everything from the autobiographical overtones found in this magnificent work, to the practical foundations which set the historical context, the way Chekhov describes his scenes in so much detail with so little effort, some notes on its translations into English, and how this story actually shows action and movement on the part of its characters. The conclusions are many, but in the process of discussion we notice several themes and details that one might not pick up when reading this work on their own. This conversation is time well spent for the true Chekhov fan.

11. 

    10 Apr 2026

    The Lady with the Dog

    Possibly Chekhov's most famous short story. Probably his best love story. It starts as a casual encounter in a seaside resort. It flourishes a couple weeks and seems to be extinguished. But the relationship blossoms quietly as the two people are apart, living their separate lives. It's a story about the nature of love, emotional attachment, the rigid structures of everyday life that get in the way of true love. Despite some autobiographical overtones, it is one of the few Chekhov stories where something DOES happen and people DO change. It has no climax, no judgment, and no tidy ending. But it is as close to a happy ending as one can get in this situation. Translation by Avrahm Yarmolinsky, read from The Portable Chekhov

12. 

    22 Mar 2026

    The Trilogy (Man in a Case, Gooseberries, About Love) - Part 2

    In this episode, Lev Lesokhin and Alexander Burry conclude the discussion of Anton Chekhov’s “Little Trilogy”—The Man in a Case, Gooseberries, and About Love—and what makes them feel so relevant to our times. They talk about the trilogy’s shared setup. Same characters, same setting -- just people telling each other stories. They zero in on that unmistakable "cringe" factor: Belikov’s suffocating rigidity, and Ivan’s quiet disgust at his brother’s cozy, self-satisfied life. A big theme is what we’d now call “situationships”: awkward, stalled romances where nothing quite happens, from Belikov and Varenka to Alyohin and Anna. That ties into the core idea of “living in a case”. Physically, emotionally and morally. Where politeness, fear, and habit keep people stuck. Along the way, they touch on marriages, Chekhov’s moody settings (rain, darkness), and the idea of “domestic paradise” as its own kind of trap. Overall, it’s a conversation about how Chekhov captures something timeless: people knowing exactly what they want and going about it in their own, awkward ways.

13. 

    22 Mar 2026

    The Trilogy (Man in a Case, Gooseberries, About Love) - Part 1

    In this episode, Lev Lesokhin and Alexander Burry dive into Anton Chekhov’s “Little Trilogy”—The Man in a Case, Gooseberries, and About Love—and what makes them feel so relevant to our times. They talk about the trilogy’s shared setup. Same characters, same setting -- just people telling each other stories. They zero in on that unmistakable "cringe" factor: Belikov’s suffocating rigidity, and Ivan’s quiet disgust at his brother’s cozy, self-satisfied life. A big theme is what we’d now call “situationships”: awkward, stalled romances where nothing quite happens, from Belikov and Varenka to Alyohin and Anna. That ties into the core idea of “living in a case”. Physically, emotionally and morally. Where politeness, fear, and habit keep people stuck. Along the way, they touch on marriages, Chekhov’s moody settings (rain, darkness), and the idea of “domestic paradise” as its own kind of trap. Overall, it’s a conversation about how Chekhov captures something timeless: people knowing exactly what they want and going about it in their own, awkward ways.

14. 

    24 Feb 2026

    About Love

    Why is it so hard to say the words that matter before it’s too late? In the final installment of our Chekhov trilogy, host Lev Lesokhin explores "About Love" (1898). This is the story of Alehin and Anna Alexeyevna, two people who spend years in a state of quiet, agonizing mutual attraction, only to confess their love at the moment of permanent separation. This story puts on full display the "Chekhovian" nature of missed connections and how the social restrictions we build for ourselves, such as morality, obligation, and fear, often prevent us from living authentically. We look at why this 19th-century masterpiece is the ultimate precursor to the modern situationship and the YOLO notion of today. Translation by Avrahm Yarmolinsky, read from The Portable Chekhov

15. 

    22 Feb 2026

    Gooseberries

    What is the price of a personal paradise? Join host Lev Lesokhin for the second installment of our Chekhov trilogy as we explore "Gooseberries" (1898). In this episode, we follow the story of a man obsessed with buying a country estate, partly to grow his own gooseberries, and the brother who watches this "success" with a mixture of pity and disgust. This story explores the notion of happiness and its flipside - suffering. Some of the questions it raises are deeply personal and philosophical. Can anyone truly be happy? Is happiness an illusion of the mind? Does happiness require those who are afflicted with suffering to suffer in silence? The story displays a postmodern self-reflectiveness, decades before Postmodernism comes into fashion. It leaves us with more questions than answers as a result, wondering whether we have our own secret version the gooseberry bush. Translation by Avrahm Yarmolinsky, read from The Portable Chekhov

16. 

    19 Feb 2026

    The Man in a Shell

    The Man in a Shell – 19th-Century Cringe Description: Is it possible to live your entire life in a "case"? Join our reading host Lev Lesokhin, NYC tech executive and bilingual Chekhov enthusiast, as we dive into the first installment of Anton Chekhov’s famous 1898 trilogy. This is followed by Gooseberries and then About Love. In this episode, we learn of the neuroses of Belikov, a man so terrified of the real world that he retreats into galoshes and umbrellas, effectively "gatekeeping" his own happiness. We explore why this 19th-century character study is the ultimate example of cringe behavior. And how this doesn't help his situationship with Varenka. Whether you are a fan of Russian literature, a student of psychology, or just here for the dry humor, join us at Club Chekhov to see why the "Small Man" of the Tsarist era is still alive and well in the digital age. Translation by Avrahm Yarmolinsky, read from The Portable Chekhov

17. 

    18 Feb 2026

    Professor Alexander Burry - Chekhov's Quiet Genius

    In this episode, we explore the life and legacy of Anton Chekhov—a writer whose quiet revolution in storytelling continues to shape how we understand modern life. The first such discussion between Alex Burry, a lit professor at Ohio State University and Lev Lesokhin, a tech exec and lifelong reader of Chekhov. Born into a lower-middle-class family—the grandson of a serf who bought his freedom and the son of a struggling shopkeeper—Chekhov stood apart from many of his aristocratic contemporaries. His early experiences, along with his work as a physician treating peasants and laborers, shaped a literary vision grounded not in grand heroics but in the fragile dignity of ordinary people. His stories unfold in drawing rooms and provincial towns, over tea and casual conversation, where life’s most consequential decisions are postponed, deflected, or left unspoken. We take a closer look at Chekhov’s so-called “trilogy of inaction”—The Man in a Case, Gooseberries, and About Love—three interconnected stories in which almost nothing happens, and yet so much is revealed. A marriage never proposed, a love never pursued, a life quietly narrowed by habit and fear: Chekhov shows how the drama of existence often lies in what fails to occur and how our own fears and wants can push us to extremes. Along the way, we draw unexpected parallels between Chekhov’s characters and contemporary social language—“main character syndrome,” “the ick,” “situationships,” and the comedy of everyday awkwardness. Like today’s “shows about nothing,” his work finds humor and heartbreak in the mundane, capturing the subtle absurdities of social interactions with uncanny precision. We also consider Chekhov’s intellectual relationship with Leo Tolstoy, whose moral seriousness and independent spirituality he admired, even as he remained personally nonreligious. And we explore Chekhov’s environmental imagination, reflected in figures like Dr. Astrov from Uncle Vanya, a character who plants trees as an act of faith in the future. Though Chekhov once predicted his work would be forgotten within ten years of his death, this conversation argues the opposite: his pitch-perfect ear for human hesitation, compromise, and longing makes him feel not only modern, but urgently contemporary.

18. 

    17 Feb 2026

    Introduction to Club Chekhov

    Club Chekhov is a collaborative reading and conversation series hosted by literary scholar Alexander Burry and technologist-reader Lev Lesokhin. Together, they journey through the complete works of Anton Pavlovich Chekhov, pairing close reading with lively discussion that bridges academic insight with contemporary curiosity. Rather than treating Chekhov as a distant monument of “great literature,” the podcast centers on the ordinary lives he elevated: clerks, teachers, doctors, dreamers, and strivers navigating boredom, longing, pettiness, tenderness, and sudden flashes of grace. Burry brings expertise in Russian literature, language, and scholarship; Lesokhin brings the perspective of a modern bilingual reader fascinated by how 19th-century psychology anticipates today’s social and professional worlds. Their dialogue moves fluidly between the original Russian and English, between historical context and present-day relevance. Episode by episode, the hosts explore how Chekhov’s subtle humor, economic realities, and emotional restraint reveal a society in transition—and why those same patterns feel uncannily familiar now. Whether you already love Russian literature or are vibing with Chekhov for the first time, Club Chekhov offers a thoughtful, accessible way into the quiet drama of everyday life and the art of what is left unsaid.

Reach and audience

Public platform figures. Ratings count people who left a rating, not total listeners.

Spotify

5.0 / 5

2 ratings

Contact Club Chekhov - All Subtext, No Action

Guest appearances

Books guests

Based on episode analysis; this does not confirm that the show is currently accepting guests.