Scholarship list
Podcast
Thomas Bernhard’s Correction and Wittgenstein’s Nephew
Date presented 2026
Hermitix Podcast
A discussion of Thomas Bernhard and two of his novels: Correction, and Wittgenstein's Nephew
Podcast
Published 11/05/2025
Hermitix Podcast
A podcast about Thomas Moann's novel Doctor Faustus with Stephen Dowden and James de Llis. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xwBtbAna9pc
Podcast
Lincoln's Tragic Pragmatism, a Conversation with John Burt
Date presented 10/07/2025
Converging Dialogues
Part of the Converging Dialogues series. Xavier Bonilla discusses John Burt's Lincoln's Tragic Pragmatism with the author.
Podcast
Brandeis Uni.’s John Burt on Robert Penn Warren & All the King’s Men
Published Autumn 2025
A podcast about the poet and novelist Robert Penn Warren, with particuloar emphasis on his novel All the King's Men
Podcast
Thomas Mann's The Magic Mountain
Date presented 10/22/2024
Hermitix
Steven Dowden and I discuss Thomas Mann's novel The Magic Mountain with James de Llis
Podcast
OpenBook Podcast Episode 2: John Burt
Published 12/14/2018
Long-time English professor John Burt doesn't just teach courses about Southern literature and war novels. Hear about how he studied biochemistry and was almost a doctor, his faith in the humanities, and why he has a tie with his Abraham Lincoln book cover on it. Learn about all that and more as UDR's Rebecca and Sarah interview John Burt!
Blog
Published 11/11/2015
U.S. Intellectual History Blog
The following is the third and final installation of our roundtable dedicated to John Burt’s remarkable book, Lincoln’s Tragic Pragmatism. I have heard publication of this book referred to as an “event”–so a roundtable on it is the least we could have done. ...And now without further ado, Professor Burt responds to his interlocutors.
Blog
Brought Forth, Conceived, Dedicated
Published 11/18/2013
Constitution Daily
Podcast
Published 02/21/2013
On Point podcast from WBUR
Abraham Lincoln is remarkably vivid, in the air, these days. In the weave of our rolling 150th anniversaries of the Civil War. In the references of a president who loves to nod to Lincoln. In the Oscar nominations of Steven Spielberg’s moving film, and Daniel Day-Lewis’s moving depiction of Lincoln in his White House and marriage and epic political and moral struggles.
A big new book by John Burt goes to the heart of Lincoln’s thinking about democracy and morality. And the sometimes tragic pragmatism required to marry those.
Podcast
Book Review Podcast: A Lincoln for Our Time
Published 02/15/2013
New York Times Book Review Podcast
On this week’s podcast, Mr. Burt discusses “Lincoln’s Tragic Pragmatism”.