How Literature Can Save the World

About How Literature Can Save the World

Discussions and interviews with authors, scholars, and readers about the power of words, how to use that power to unite people, and what keeps readers interested and entertained enough to gain emotional perspective.

Publisher

Michelle R. Brady

Category

arts

Language

en

Explicit

No

First episode

17 Oct 2025

Latest episode

2 Oct 2026

Latest episodes

19 episodes in the feed.

1. 

   2 Oct 2026

   17 - Confronting Existential Anxiety with Matt K. Parker

   Remember Matt?? Matt K. Parker has been many things in his life: a musician, a programmer, an activist, a writer, a consultant, a business owner, a husband, a father. And he's lived in many places, including Texas, New York, California, and Connecticut. But amidst all the life and career changes, and all the moving from one coast to the other and back, the one constant in his life has been reading. Whether hiding with a book in his closet as a kid, or burying his nose in a book on a subway train, or waking up before dawn to get a quiet hour of reading done before his many boisterous children awaken, Matt has always found refuge in reading. And although his reading tastes have varied widely over his life, he has, for the last few years, increasingly settled into reading literature, from the ancient to the contemporary. Today, Matt likes to interact with other fans of literature on Twitter, where he both sources recommendations for books from others, and also shares out his own thoughts on what he's reading. And Matt currently dreams of founding a non-profit dedicated to increasing adult literature readership by an order of magnitude, focused first on readership in the United States, but then expanding to the entire globe. You can follow Matt on twitter at @realmattkparker.

2. 

   4 Sept 2026

   16 - Regional Storytelling with Hub City Press

   Hub City Writers Project is a literary nonprofit organization located in Spartanburg, South Carolina. Comprised of an acclaimed literary book publisher, an independent bookshop, and a literary programmer focused on education and outreach, our mission is cultivating readers and nurturing writers in both the Spartanburg community and throughout the South to foster an inclusive literary arts culture. Find their books at Hub City Writers Project | Independent Press, Bookshop, and Literary Programming

3. 

   6 Aug 2026

   15 - Seeing the Unseen with Stacey Levine

   Stacey Levine is the author of the novel Mice 1961, a finalist for the2025 Pulitzer Prize that the Washington Post called “a rich andsurprising country of curious hilarity, skewed lighting, awkwardpratfalls, and ludicrous conversations.” Also the author of The Girlwith Brown Fur: Tales & Stories, Frances Johnson, and My Horse andOther Stories, Levine received a PEN USA fiction award, a StrangerGenius Literature Award, and other honors for her work. Her reviewsand fiction have appeared in Tin House, Fence, Yeti, The Iowa Review,Bookforum, and The Seattle Times. A collection of her recent and pastshort fiction is forthcoming.

4. 

   2 Apr 2026

   14 - Freedom to Imagine with Daniel Seifert

   Daniel Seifert's writing is published in The New York Times, Consequence, and Gulf Coast. His work received a Special Mention in the Pushcart Prize 2026 anthology, and has twice been shortlisted for the Bridport Prize. He lives in Singapore, and is working on a novel.

5. 

   13 Mar 2026

   13 - Faithful to the Text with Ibrahim Fawzy

   Ibrahim Fawzy,  is a literary translator, academic and writer from Egypt. He holds an MA in Comparative Literature. His translations, reviews and interviews have appeared or are forthcoming in ArabLit Quarterly, Words Without Borders, The Markaz Review, Modern Poetry in Translation, Poetry Birmingham Literary Journal, Poetry Ireland Review, among others. He is currently an editorial assistant at Rowayat, and podcasts at New Books Network. In 2023, he finished a six-month mentorship with the British National Centre for Writing. He was a recipient of Culture Resource’s 2023 Wijhat grant. His translation of Khalid Al-Nasrallah’s The White Line of Night won the 2023 English PEN Presents. His translation of Rema Hmoud’s “Glass” has been shortlisted for Deep Vellum’s The Best Literary Translations 2024 Anthology.

6. 

   27 Feb 2026

   12 - Social Contracts and Cooking with Mara Karlin

   Mara Karlin, former Assistant Secretary of Defense for Strategy, Plans, and Capabilities, Brookings Institute Fellow and Director for Johns Hopkins University's School of Advanced International Studies, and author of The Inheritance.

7. 

   12 Feb 2026

   11 - Layers and Layers and Layers with Matt K. Parker

   Matt K. Parker has been many things in his life: a musician, a programmer, an activist, a writer, a consultant, a business owner, a husband, a father. And he's lived in many places, including Texas, New York, California, and Connecticut. But amidst all the life and career changes, and all the moving from one coast to the other and back, the one constant in his life has been reading. Whether hiding with a book in his closet as a kid, or burying his nose in a book on a subway train, or waking up before dawn to get a quiet hour of reading done before his many boisterous children awaken, Matt has always found refuge in reading. And although his reading tastes have varied widely over his life, he has, for the last few years, increasingly settled into reading literature, from the ancient to the contemporary. Today, Matt likes to interact with other fans of literature on Twitter, where he both sources recommendations for books from others, and also shares out his own thoughts on what he's reading. And Matt currently dreams of founding a non-profit dedicated to increasing adult literature readership by an order of magnitude, focused first on readership in the United States, but then expanding to the entire globe. You can follow Matt on twitter at @realmattkparker.

8. 

   10 Feb 2026

   Books of Hope, Resilience, and Action with Michelle R. Brady

   Watch this episode here: https://youtu.be/5fsc-6-XpNU

9. 

   29 Jan 2026

   10 - Living Other Lives with Randy Winston

   Randy Winston, writer, Director of Fiction at The Black List, host of the podcast, Read the Acknowledgments, and former Creative Director for the Center for Fiction. Find him at RW. Watch this interview at https://youtu.be/kePiTHOhDLU

10. 

    16 Jan 2026

    9 - Poetry to Connect and Change Us with Hugh Martin

    Hugh Martin, poet and author of In Country and The Stick Soldiers, editor of War, Literature, and the Arts, professor, and veteran of the conflict in Iraq.

11. 

    1 Jan 2026

    8 - A Safe Space to Read with Joe Meno

    Joe Meno, author of Hairstyles of the Damned, Marval and a Wonder, The Boy Detective Fails, and Book of Extraordinary Tragedies; editor and professor.

12. 

    18 Dec 2025

    7 - Changing the Narrative with Natalia Theodoridou

    Natalia Theodoridou is a transmasculine writer whose stories have appeared in publications such as Kenyon Review, The Cincinnati Review, Ninth Letter, and Strange Horizons, and have been translated into Italian, French, Greek, Estonian, Spanish, Chinese, and Arabic. He won the 2018 World Fantasy Award for Short Fiction, the 2022 Emerging Writer Award by Moniack Mhor & The Bridge Awards, and the Nebula Award in 2025. He holds a PhD in media and cultural studies from SOAS, University of London. Born in Greece, with roots in Georgia, Russia, and Turkey, he currently lives in the UK. His debut novel, Sour Cherry, a queer Bluebeard retelling about toxic masculinity and cycles of abuse, came out in April 2025 from Tin House (US) and Wildfire (UK). Website: www.natalia-theodoridou.com

13. 

    4 Dec 2025

    6 - Dichotomies with Elizabeth Lukacs Chesla

    Elizabeth Lukács Chesla is the daughter of Hungarian refugees and a mother of three. Her award-winning fiction debut, You Cannot Forbid the Flower, was published in 2023. She writes, edits, and teaches from the suburbs of Philadelphia, where she was born and raised. Liz holds an MA in English and Comparative Literature from Columbia University and certificates in Transformative Language Arts and trauma-sensitive yoga. She has taught a wide range of writing and literature courses and is an emerging literary translator. A dedicated and compassionate editor and educator, Liz serves as fiction editor for Consequence Forum and senior editor for Inch and Meter. She teaches at Gwynedd Mercy University. Find her (and purchase her book!) at ELIZABETH LUKÁCS CHESLA – author and editor.

14. 

    20 Nov 2025

    5 - What One Person Can Do...with Adrian Bonenberger

    Adrian Bonenberger is the author of The Afghan Post and The Road Home, a New York Times and Foreign Policy contributor, the founder of Wrath-Bearing Tree, and a combat veteran.

15. 

    7 Nov 2025

    4 - In Pursuit of Change with Brecht de Poortere

    Brecht De Poortere was born in Belgium and grew up in Africa. He currently lives in Paris, France. His writing has appeared or is forthcoming in the Hudson Review (3rd Prize Short Fiction Contest), the Missouri Review, the Baltimore Review, Grain, X-R-A-Y, The Forge Literary Magazine and Consequence, amongst others. Find him at www.brechtdepoortere.com

16. 

    23 Oct 2025

    3 - Finding the Stories that Speak to You with Wynter K. Miller

    Wynter K Miller is the Managing Editor at Electric Literature, where she supports the publication of The Commuter and Recommended Reading. Previously, Wynter served as a contributing editor, Interim Books Editor, and Associate Editor at Electric Lit, and was the Managing Editor of Forum Literary Magazine. Find Wynter at Wynter K Miller | Editor | Writer. Home - Electric Literature Next episode will be live on November 7th!

17. 

    23 Oct 2025

    2 - Sharing Consequences with Matthew Krajniak

    Matthew Krajniak earned a PhD in Literature and Creative Writing at the University of Houston as a C. Glenn Cambor fellow. He coedited Wendy Battin: On the Life & Work of an American Master (Unsung Master Series, 2020), and his writing has appeared in Gulf Coast, Poetry Foundation, Willows Wept Review, The Avalon Literary Review, The Wax Paper, and elsewhere. He is the Executive Editor of Consequence Forum, a nonprofit addressing the human consequences of war through literature, art, and community events. Follow Matthew @KrajniakMatthew on Insta. Matthew would also like to extend the following invitation: Please join us in the celebration of our most recent issue. This event is free and open to the public, and is available both in person and via livestream. Honorary Chair:President Emerita Harvard UniversityDrew Gilpin Faust Featured Reader:Poet Laureate of MassachusettsRegie Gibson 6-7p: City Hall Civic Pavilion, 5 Congress St. Home - Consequence Forum

18. 

    23 Oct 2025

    1 - Windows and Mirrors with Sarah Starr Murphy

    Sarah Starr Murphy is the Managing Editor of The Forge Literary Magazine, and her writing is in The Threepenny Review, Epiphany, Baltimore Review, and many more. She’s eternally writing a novel and never without a book to read. She’s a marathoner with epilepsy, often found wandering the forest in rural New England. Find her at Welcome! | Sarah Starr Murphy; follow her @sarahstarrmurphy.bsky.social and on Insta @sarahstarrmurphy. Home Page - The Forge Literary Magazine

19. 

    17 Oct 2025

    0 - Introduction with Michelle R. Brady

    Welcome to How Literature Can Save the World! This is an introduction episode explaining the purpose, interview format, and frequency of the podcast, as well as sharing the books that have changed my life.

Reach and audience

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

Apple Podcasts (US)

5.0 / 5

6 ratings

Spotify

5.0 / 5

2 ratings

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Guest appearances

Books guests

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