Let Genius Burn
Louisa May Alcott may be best known for the beloved book Little Women, but her story doesn’t begin or end with her famous novel. On Let Genius Burn, a new podcast series coming July 12, we’re separating the layers of Louisa’s life to learn more about who she really was--and all the ways her legacy continues to resonate today.We’ll explore the traumatic year of her childhood spent in an experimental utopian community, her service as a Civil War nurse, her final years of wealth and celebrity as a children’s author--and more intimate details and little-known stories of Louisa’s life.Instead of a retelling of Louisa May Alcott’s biography, each episode in the 8-part series examines Louisa's life through a different lens--Louisa as a celebrity, writer, activist, daughter, and more-- highlighting her complexity as a person, woman, and historical figure. Ahead of her time, Louisa railed against the limitations of her gender and fought for women’s suffrage. She craved literary greatness, but was weighed down by the financial needs of her family. Through writing scandalous Gothic thrillers, she found a way to voice her own inner turmoil. In the end, she achieved extraordinary financial success, but creative fulfillment remained elusive.We’ll examine all of this and more on Let Genius Burn. Find more on Instagram and Facebook @letgeniusburn or at letgeniusburn.com.
Podcasting since 2021 • 28 episodes
Let Genius Burn
Latest Episodes
Alcott as Ecofeminist
Travel with us to a Cuban coffee plantation, where Alcott's short story Pauline's Passion and Punishment begins. Written in 1862, this short story predates Alcott's later, more successful fiction, but it contains all the traces of her plot devi...
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Season 3
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Episode 6
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1:21:47
Alcott in the Archives
Max Chapnick read a line in Louisa May Alcott's journal that pointed to one of her stories, but it turned out to be a dead end. Then, he had an idea. He went back to the archives and searched for the title of the story. He turned up an unexpect...
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Season 3
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Episode 5
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1:11:08
Louisa and Laurie
When readers find out that Louisa May Alcott really lived in a family with four sisters, the next question is almost immediately: "Who was Laurie?"Lis Adams, Director of Education at Louisa May Alcott's Orchard House, spent years resear...
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Season 3
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Episode 4
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1:02:39
Alcott and Identity
Author Peyton Thomas joins Let Genius Burn to speak about queerness and transness in Little Women and other Alcott writings. Peyton Thomas made a significant impact on the Alcott community when he wrote a Twitter thread, and a New York Times op...
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Season 3
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Episode 3
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1:07:40
Alcott and Sex Education
Louisa May Alcott and her family were social activists who advocated for all types of reforms in their lifetimes: they were concerned with fair labor, women's suffrage, abolitionism, and diet reform. Yet another social concern for Louisa May Al...
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Season 3
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Episode 2
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1:23:29