In this episode, we explore the life and work of one of the most brilliant, savage, and misunderstood writers in the English literary tradition — Jonathan Swift.

Born in Dublin in 1667, Swift lived through political turmoil, personal disappointment, and social injustice — and transformed all of it into some of the sharpest, most uncompromising satire ever written in the English language.

We trace his life story and the experiences that shaped his furious, unflinching vision of humanity. We explore his place within the Neoclassical tradition — and how he pushed its tools of reason and satire to their absolute extreme. And we dive deep into his greatest works: Gulliver's Travels, that deceptively simple adventure story that is really a devastating critique of human pride and political corruption, and A Modest Proposal, ...