The Stories of the Books That Changed the World

Writ Large is a podcast about the books that changed the world. In each episode, host Zachary Davis interviews one of the world’s leading scholars about one book that shaped the world we live in—whether you’ve heard of it or not.

These conversations look beyond plot summaries to unpack a book’s context, creation, and initial impact, and reveal its lasting influence on the ideas of today. Guests include professors from universities such as Harvard, Stanford, and Dartmouth, who will talk about the most influential and often overlooked novels, poems, memoirs, philosophical treatises, conspiracies, manifestos, and more. Episodes will also explore the edges of what counts as a “text,” looking at how musicals, cookbooks, catalogues, and other written works have shaped our world.

How to Listen

Listen to Writ Large on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or your podcast app of choice.

Team

Zachary Davis is the host of Writ Large. Zachary is president of Lyceum and host of the award-winning Harvard Divinity School podcast Ministry of Ideas. He has a graduate degree from Harvard Divinity School and is the founder and organizer of the Sound Education conference.

Jack Pombriant is the producer of Writ Large. He studied music composition and production at Berklee College of Music. He is also a graduate of the Salt Institute for Documentary Studies, where he studied radio and podcast production.

Galen Beebe is the script editor for Writ Large. She is editor of the podcast publication Bello Collective and former managing editor of Ministry of Ideas. She holds an MFA in Writing from the School of the Art Institute of Chicago.

Theme song is by Ian Coss.

Design is by Dan Pecci.