Gary Saul Morson is Lawrence B. Dumas Professor of the Arts and Humanities and Professor of Slavic Languages and Literatures at Northwestern University. He is the author of ⁠Wonder Confronts Certainty: Russian Writers on the Timeless Questions and Why Their Answers Matter⁠ (Harvard University Press).

In this episode: How Russian literature differs from English or French literature; contrasting the 19th and 20th centuries; the role of revolutionary violence; the importance of small moments in shaping history; translation recommendations; suggestions on short Russian novels; and more!

His article “The Problem With Happiness,” in Athenaeum Review 2 (fall 2019), is one of our most widely read articles ever.