Hot Takes on the Classics

Hot Takes on the Classics

Emily Maeda & Tim McIntosh

Episodes 48
Avg. Duration 45m
Activity Sporadic
Apple Rating 5.0 (36)
Since Nov 2024
Latest Episode Feb 2026

Publishing Details

Schedule
Weekly
Format
Episodic
Consistency
51%
Hosting
feeds.transistor.fm

About This Podcast

Hot Takes on the Classics is no dusty, academic approach to great books. It’s a gossipy, exciting discussion about the best literature ever written. Hosted by Tim and Emily, who are veteran teachers and long-time friends, Hot Takes is packed with playful debate, meaningful speculation, and hearty laughs.

Podcasting 2.0 Features

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Recent Episodes

S2E24 Episode 24: Favorite Reads of 2025

Feb 17, 2026 31m

DescriptionIn this special year-end episode of Hot Takes on the Classics, Tim McIntosh and Emily Maeda share their five favorite reads of 2025. Moving from plays and poetry to memoir, philosophy,…

S2E23 Episode 23: What We Learned About Love

Feb 10, 2026 30m

DescriptionIn this penultimate episode of Hot Takes on the Classics’ season on love, Emily Maeda and Tim McIntosh step back to reflect on what a sustained engagement with classic texts has revealed…

S2E22 Episode 22: Waiting on God - Simone Weil: An Incandescent Life

Dec 30, 2025 36m

DescriptionIn this episode of Hot Takes on the Classics, Emily Maeda and Tim McIntosh close their season on love by turning to Simone Weil’s Waiting for God. Through a wide-ranging conversation, they…

S2E21 Episode 21: Revelations of Divine Love: St. Julian's Mystical Sight

Dec 23, 2025 43m

DescriptionIn this episode of Hot Takes on the Classics, Emily Maeda and Tim McIntosh explore Revelations of Divine Love by Julian of Norwich, the first known book written in English by a woman. They…

S2E20 Episode 20: The Temple: The Architecture of the Soul — George Herbert

Dec 16, 2025 1h 3m

DescriptionIn this episode of Hot Takes on the Classics, Tim McIntosh and Emily Maeda explore The Temple by George Herbert, one of the most profound devotional poetry collections in the English…

S2E19 Episode 19: The Art and Music of Love: Theresa, Dido, and Shepherds

Dec 09, 2025 53m

DescriptionIn this episode of Hot Takes on the Classics, Emily Maeda and Tim McIntosh explore how Western art and music have depicted the many faces of love—from divine ecstasy to tragic longing to…

S2E18 Episode 18: A Treatise Concerning Religious Affections - Jonathan Edwards: Testing of Our Loves

Dec 02, 2025 41m

DescriptionIn this episode of Hot Takes on the Classics, Emily Maeda and Tim McIntosh take a deep dive into Jonathan Edwards’s A Treatise Concerning Religious Affections, one of the most important…

S2E17 Episode 17: The Confessions of St. Augustine: The Journey of Transformed Love

Nov 25, 2025 49m

DescriptionIn this episode of Hot Takes on the Classics, Emily Maeda and Tim McIntosh explore one of the most influential works in Western thought—St. Augustine’s Confessions. Through Augustine’s…

S2E16 Episode 16: The Gospel of St. John - Cosmic Love

Nov 18, 2025 50m

Description In this episode of Hot Takes on the Classics, Emily Maeda and Tim McIntosh turn to the fourth and final love in C.S. Lewis’s taxonomy—agape, or divine charity—through the Gospel of St.…

S2E15 Episode 15: Anna Karenina: The Marriage Plot

Nov 11, 2025 48m

DescriptionIn this episode of Hot Takes on the Classics, Emily Maeda and Tim McIntosh close out their episodes on Eros with Leo Tolstoy’s monumental novel Anna Karenina. They explore how Tolstoy…

S2E14 Episode 14: The Making of a Great Marriage: Pride and Prejudice

Nov 04, 2025 47m

DescriptionIn this episode of Hot Takes on the Classics, Emily Maeda and Tim McIntosh unpack Jane Austen’s Pride and Prejudice, exploring how this beloved novel redefines what makes a good marriage.…

S2E13 Episode 13: Romeo and Juliet: The Wisdom of Young Love

Oct 28, 2025 39m

DescriptionIn this episode of Hot Takes on the Classics, Emily Maeda and Tim McIntosh revisit Shakespeare’s Romeo and Juliet, asking what makes this story so enduring and how it reshapes tragedy.…

S2E12 Episode 12: The Divine Comedy: Disordered Eros

Oct 21, 2025 56m

DescriptionIn this episode of Hot Takes on the Classics, Emily Maeda and Tim McIntosh dive into Dante Alighieri’s The Divine Comedy, one of the most ambitious works in world literature. They examine…

S2E11 Episode 11: The Phaedras: Love is a Madness

Oct 14, 2025 1h

DescriptionIn this episode of Hot Takes on the Classics, Emily Maeda and Tim McIntosh explore Plato’s Phaedrus, a dialogue that weaves together questions of love, rhetoric, and the soul. They trace…

S2E10 Episode 10: The Wind in the Willows: A Classic Tale of Friendship

Oct 07, 2025 49m

DescriptionIn this episode of Hot Takes on the Classics, Emily Maeda and Tim McIntosh explore Kenneth Grahame’s The Wind in the Willows, a beloved children’s classic that also raises profound…

S2E9 Episode 9: Huckleberry Finn: Can a Man and Child be Friends?

Sep 30, 2025 53m

DescriptionIn this episode of Hot Takes on the Classics, Tim and Emily explore Mark Twain’s Adventures of Huckleberry Finn, asking whether a man and a child can truly be friends. They unpack the…

S2E8 Episode 8: Cicero, On Friendship: Virtue–The Basis of Friendship

Sep 23, 2025 38m

DescriptionIn this episode of Hot Takes on the Classics, Emily Maeda and Tim McIntosh turn to Cicero’s On Friendship, a dialogue exploring what makes friendship possible, lasting, and good. They…

S2E7 Episode 7: Epic of Gilgamesh: Superhuman Friendship

Sep 16, 2025 38m

DescriptionIn this episode of Hot Takes on the Classics, Tim McIntosh and Emily Maeda journey into the world’s oldest surviving epic, The Epic of Gilgamesh. They explore how the story dramatizes…

S2E6 Episode 6: East of Eden, John Steinbeck: The American Epic

Sep 09, 2025 54m

DescriptionIn this episode of Hot Takes on the Classics, Emily Maeda and Tim McIntosh dive into John Steinbeck’s East of Eden, exploring how the novel wrestles with the tension between familial…

S2E5 Episode 5: Sorry, Professor – Jo’s Heart Belonged to Laurie All Along

Sep 02, 2025 45m

DescriptionIn this episode of Hot Takes on the Classics, Emily and Tim dive into Louisa May Alcott’s Little Women, a quintessential American novel exploring the power of familial affection, or…

Frequently Asked Questions

How many episodes does Hot Takes on the Classics have?

Hot Takes on the Classics has published 48 episodes since November 2024, covering topics in Arts, Books.

Is Hot Takes on the Classics still active?

Hot Takes on the Classics is currently sporadic with new episodes weekly. Average episode length is 45m.

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