Period. the podcast

Host Alison Thoet de Castillo interviews NYU French professor Claudie Bernard about Alexandre Dumas’ The Count of Monte Cristo and recent screen adaptations, including the PBS Masterpiece series, the 2002 Kevin Reynolds film, and French versions. They outline the novel’s revenge-driven plot and Edmond Dantès’s “death and resurrection” transformation into the godlike Count, then discuss how adaptations compress the 1,000+ page story and alter tone, character arcs, and psychological depth...

This summer, Netflix brought Laura Ingalls Wilder’s popular series of books “Little House on the Prairie” back to the small screen with a new 8-episode show. For this episode, we explore this adaptation with Wilder expert and author Pamela Smith Hill. We discuss why generations keep coming back to this story about the American frontier, the modern critiques of Wilder’s books which were largely written in the 1930s, and how this series compares to the beloved NBC adaptation.

Christopher Nolan's latest film, "The Odyssey," is the film of the summer, wowing audiences and critics alike. But this week's guest, renowned classist and translator Emily Wilson, isn't a fan. We discuss why she think's Nolan's adaptation misses the mark, why the story of Odysseus still resonates nearly three thousand years later, and the art of translation.

For this very special episode, we're joined by actress Susannah Harker, who played Jane Bennet in the classic 1995 BBC adaptation of 'Pride and Prejudice' as well as author and Austen expert Gabrielle Malcolm. We discuss their thoughts on "The Other Bennet Sister," a new BBC series (available on Britbox in the U.S.) based on Janice Hadlow's novel of the same name. The series continues 'Pride and Prejudice' through the perspective of perhaps the most overlooked Bennet sister, Mary. We talk abo...

Now that part 2 of Bridgerton is out, we discuss the entire season, as well as how the show portrays its first East Asian lead character, Sophie Baek. Kat Moon, an entertainment correspondent at TV Guide and long-time Bridgerton fan, joins us to share her thoughts on the season and what she learned after interviewing actor Yerin Ha and showrunner Jess Brownell. If you want to read some of Kat's great reporting, here's a link of her feature for Time Magazine, "How Yerin Ha Became the Bel...