These are the lectures I wish I had taken in college. Benjamin is an excellent instructor and guide!

I love the topics covered, as well as the depth and flow of the episodes. My single critique is on the performance/delivery of the material. The host has a pleasant voice but I think I would appreciate the episodes more of the cadence were slowed down a bit, and some pauses introduced. I sometimes feel like I can hardly process one word after the other to keep up, let alone engage with the depth of ideas and analysis being presented.

Hardcore Literature makes me glad to be alive. Benjamin is a most congenial companion. His insights on Tess of the D’Urbervilles contains tales and insights I had not considered. I NEED King Lear and Shakespeare, and I yearn for more insight into Blood Meridian and Middlemarch (which I love wallowing in). Benjamin is a treasure of the English language. Most highly recommended!

… I can no longer concentrate to read for any kind of solace whatsoever. It’s so depressing I need to feel safe to have the Leisure to read. I do not feel safe.

Ultimately, I would like to read all these books. I never seem to dissect the meat of the book like this guy. Thanks.

I hate that I just stumbled upon this recently and would have dearly appreciated it during Covid. This podcast is really about wisdom- how to get it and where (yes allusion to Bloom as well😊). Love this podcast

Great insights and discussion that make me want to read more literature than ever before

Ben covers a lot of the books I feel intimidated to read on their own but I’ve learned to use this podcast as a way to introduce myself to their concepts

I came across your content first in regards to your episode on the novel The Brothers Karamazov. Excellent work

Thank you for the languid brush strokes of perspective and reflection. Excited to listen more.

So glad to have found this incredible resource. I can’t wait to dive into more content!

Wonderful show that does deep dives. Have been looking for a podcast like this for a long time and finally found it. Thank you for putting so much time and effort into a high quality show. Book club is fantastic as well. Thank you!

I found this podcast while looking for something to help me prepare for seeing a production of Macbeth, and I couldn’t be more pleased. It profoundly deepened my appreciation of the play and has excited me to explore Shakespeare and other great literature more deeply. Mr. McEvoy’s delivery is engaging, relatable, exciting, and worthy of any time one can devote to it…thank you for making this available to the world!

I have two degrees in literature and I have learned more from Ben than all my years at uni. This is the podcast for serious students of literature. Ben analyzes books down to the atom! Best podcast out there! Also check out his YouTube channel and Patreon group! Thanks for all the hard work, Ben!

The spiritual descendant of Harold Bloom, Ben’s is the only serious literary podcast I have found. Some others are just OK but none compare to this one.

This is an amazing podcast from a brilliant mind. The eclectic nature of the knowledge and ideas presented from the framework of classic literature is fascinating and always practical. The depth of thought within each episode is impressive and pragmatic. While I don’t always agree, I am always interested. This is definitely one of the best literature podcasts.

Thank you Ben- you are such a gift! I am enjoying this podcast so much. I love the synoptic consumption of literature, goals, history and personal growth. Just finished Richard III and am enjoying my revisit to Shakespeare with you as my guide! So many great works and so little time.

I just finished listening intently to episode 47. It’s one of many eye-opening podcasts from Hardcore Literature, but this one really hit home on a personal level. The amazement in this podcast includes the passion mixed with intelligence in which Ben conveys his thoughts. He backs these thoughts with great reasoning, so nothing is ever simply left as assumed fact. And along the way he provides us with terrific quotes from the most brilliant minds who have walked the earth. I have read for entertainment and I read more for escape and recharging batteries you might say. Young Benjamin has taught me more. Much more. This podcast provides insight and along with it, guidance. The rest is up to us, the listener. In a life full of worry and despair, I’m excited to see what the future holds.

Honestly, I’ve been looking for a podcast this is this in-depth for years!! It’s so good!

Finally something engaging to listen to! I get more excited every episode. I share with everyone that I can.

I watched a few videos on You Tube and Benjamin had me hooked. Many of the books on the reading list I was a little intimidated by. And I’ve already read some of them. I can’t wait to begin the journey.

Not gonna lie…my guy Benjamin really breaks it down and lets you know a thing or two about a thing or two. One of my fave pods!

I just want to thank you for the work that you share with this podcast and other material .

This is by far my favorite literature podcast. Benjamin’s thoughts and research are so thought provoking and full of wisdom. I love the great care he takes to talk about books in such a beautiful way, and really analyze the best parts of them, their authors, and the theories within the pages. I always come away from his episodes with so much more insight. It is a genuine pleasure to read a book and then listen to hear what Benjamin gleaned from it as well. He somehow always knows how to put into words what I’m feeling and thinking in a much more lovely and articulate way. Thank you for the wonderful podcast! I truly love it!🥰

I managed to get all the way through undergrad without encountering Solzhenitsyn. I didn’t feel I had the right to publicly relate my experiences to those of Primo Levi (I am not Jewish and have no known ancestors affected by the Shoah). Solzhenitsyn not only provides a point of comparison for these experiences, he deepens one’s understanding of their conditions of possibility. One note—If your target audience are primarily academics and/or students, you absolutely should treat the interrogation methods in detail. These methods are being deployed today by some graduate advisors against their students and colleagues, the difference being that they are pursued digitally and go often undetected as such (students are willing to believe that someone is really that interested in their work or seeking nude photographs of them for reasons other than humiliation and black mail…).

Love this podcast. Just listened to the episode “How to Create a Daily Reading Practice.” I was inspired to refine my daily reading, and got some good leads to some great reads.😊

Just want to say thank you

This podcast has quickly become my favorite podcast. I drive a lot, so Benjamin has become my travel companion. He offers great insights into the works he discusses and I have learned much about appreciating the world’s great world of literature.

Fantastic podcast - I have really enjoyed Benjamin’s lectures, his approach is genuine and inspirational. Really glad I came across this podcast & the YouTube channel, as it’s inspired me to pick up a variety of excellent books i otherwise wouldn’t have considered.

Are you just passingly curious about classical literature? Are you nervous that you don’t have the intellectual credentials or collection of leather bound books in your home? Fret not. Ben brings you along with concrete connections on how these classics still resonate today. Join him intermittently by way of this podcast, and if you like what you hear join us over at PATREON by searching for ‘Hardcore Literature.’ I’ve been listening for ~6mos now, and filling my head, heart, and soul with these penetrating words has been one of the better things I’ve done for myself. I hope to see you there.

Ben is a master at bringing literature alive for the common man. He brings his extensive literary experience along with a truly engaging speaking style to combine phenomenal works of literature with art, music, and the meaning of life. Highly recommended for any lover of the written word or frankly anyone is is looking to take their reading to the next level.

Ben is the real deal: he manages to combine a superbly intellectual chat with ramblings on life, meaning,& literature in the most down to earth, engaging style. Simply the best podcast for those of us who live to read and need to read to live. He talks about living the great books and you just know he practices what he preaches. This is the content we book lovers have been missing

I could listen to Benjamin’s lectures all day long. Sometimes I do. I highly recommend joining the Hardcore Literature Book Club via Patreon—it will change your life! KK

This podcast has brought renewed hope to me for our world. I am in elder years, but learning new things from Benjamin constantly! My reading life is enriched. I am following on the podcast and also the YouTube content. The knowledge and experience and unique thinking are fascinating. Well worth your time to listen.

I love this podcast! In a time with copious amounts mind-numbing stupidity being passed off as entertainment, it is both reassuring and a joy to come across a hidden gem like this. You can tell its creator is the real deal, yet spares us any measure of arrogance and performance theatrics one might get elsewhere. Just intelligent, passionate, reasoned discussion of the classics. Check out his patreon for more content. This is the “NPR” of podcasts.

This podcast is such a treasure! The host does a superb job of providing deep literary insights, along with profound philosophical/spiritual wisdom. I have joined the book club over at Patreon and it’s literally like being enrolled in a world-class University program in literature and deep reading. Ben McEvoy is passionate about reading the great books and his enthusiasm and love for literature are incredibly inspiring. This is, hands down, the best podcast on classic literary works and “living the great books.”

If you love reading, you need to subscribe to the Hardcore Literature podcast. It’s packed with great literature, high quality content, both interesting and fun and all that with the most charismatic host. 🙂 better yet! Make your way over to Patreon.com and sign up for the book club. You won’t regret it and you’ll be asking yourself (as I did)…how come I didn’t know about this sooner!? 😉 ♥️ Hazel

I heard about the Hardcore Literature podcast while listening to the Online Great Books Podcast so I decided to check it out. I’m incredibly grateful that I did, because Ben has sucked me in with his engaging

Thank you so much for what you do! I've been looking for really in-depth and intelligent discussion of literature on the internet for so long. I just found this podcast, and already I cannot even say how much I appreciate it.

Listened to episode 61 today while driving, and it was the best commute I’ve had in ages! Thank you, Ben, for your ability to synthesize so many different resources and ideas into a fun, thoughtful, and intellectually stimulating hour. Incredibly well done!

Decades at as a young man I was placed in an experimental high school English class with just a handful of students. All we did was read classical literature and then discuss it each day around a large conference table. Those discussions were remarkably similar to those of Hardcore Literature and I immensely enjoy each and every second of them. Peter J

This podcast has opened up whole new worlds for me. I am reading more and getting more out of it. And Ben is so charming and entertaining as well. By far my favorite podcast.

What an excellent podcast. Interesting, dynamic, fun. Highly recommended for everyone.

I found Ben’s podcast with my obsession into all things Hemingway style. Raking the leaves one afternoon in Texas, I found Ben’s podcast on Hemingway’s short stories and felt like I finally made a friend who could discuss this genius writer’s work with me. I am not big into podcasts but this is one for any lover of literature or any writer such as myself who finds it hard to meet others around who read and care to go deep into the human existence in a world quickly narrowing its view into more and more things superficial and instant gratification. Don’t know where you live Ben, but if you are ever in New York City it would be amazing to have a drink and talk about all things writing and literature. 5 out of 5- brilliant work man!

Episode 56 is one of the most enlightening podcasts I have ever listened to. Mcevoy's voice is sonorous and soothing; his content is enriching, thought-provoking, supportive, eloquent and elevating. How wonderful to hear and learn about reading for healing and to have such concepts I only inarticulately perceived put into context and shape. How refreshing is the inclusivity and diversity of thought; how uplifting and hopeful the encouragement of and gift of healing Mcevoy reveals. I took many notes during the episode. The thought content is truly awe-inspiring and deeply profound. To connect with great works and to know oneself through reading is an extraordinary gift that Mcevoy opens our minds and thought to. This episode is a source of hope as well as shines a beacon on the connection between reader, literature, and life.

I’m loving this podcast. Now one of my favorites Author Craig Lefebvre

I finally have found what I’ve been looking for.

This podcaster popped up pretty randomly on YouTube while I was watching the horror of Hurricane Ian - and wow!! I immediately downloaded podcasts and I’ll join the patreon. He’s like have a class in the excellent books he discusses. I’m looking forward to diving deeper.

I have just started reading the classics and this podcast is incredibly helpful! Keep up the great work!

“The classics” are considered classics for a reason, and the host proves it with his in-depth analysis and the passion in his voice as he carries his listeners with him through the works of some of the best writers in the world. He takes literature seriously, and I truly hope that he is able to find an even wider audience to share his love of the written word. Reading quality literature can make all of us more empathetic, more capable of adapting to new situations, more understanding of our own humanity, and more able to discover what it means to be truly happy. The world will be better for it if literature is treated by everyone with the same gentle, caressing touch that this podcast host uses.