
807 The Story of Stories (with Kevin Ashton) | My Last Book with Ilya Vinitsky and James H McGavran III
From The History of Literature by Jacke Wilson / The Podglomerate
June 4, 2026 · 1h 12m · Episode 807
About this episode
Jacke Wilson discusses the evolution of storytelling with Kevin Ashton and explores last book choices with Ilya Vinitsky and James H McGavran III.
When we first started this podcast in 2015, we began with a simple premise: "We are human beings, and human beings tell stories." But how has that happened? What has that meant for humanity? And to what extent has technology transformed our relationship with stories? In today's episode, Jacke talks to MIT technology pioneer Kevin Ashton about his new book, The Story of Stories: The Million-Year History of a Uniquely Human Art, which traces the history of human storytelling through eight great revolutions, helping us to see the power of stories and their importance to humankind. PLUS Ilya Vinitsky and James H. MacGavran III (The Graphomaniac: A Literary Historical Discussion of Dmitry Khvostov as a Reprieve from Teaching, the Vanity of Worldly Affairs, and Melancholy Reflections Brought On by the Loss of a Front Tooth, Together with the Current Cultural and Political Situation) stop by to discuss their choices for the last books they will ever read. The music in this episode is by Gabriel Ruiz-Bernal. Learn more at gabrielruizbernal.com. Help support the show at patreon.com/literature or…
People in this episode
Host: Jacke Wilson
Guests: Kevin Ashton, Ilya Vinitsky, James H McGavran III
Topics covered
- storytelling
- human history
- technology
- literature
- book discussion
Keywords
- storytelling
- history
- technology
- literature
- books
Mentioned in this episode
Organizations: Gabriel Ruiz-Bernal, Lit Hub Radio, The Podglomerate Network
Books & works: The Story of Stories: The Million-Year History of a Uniquely Human Art, The Graphomaniac: A Literary Historical Discussion of Dmitry Khvostov as a Reprieve from Teaching, the Vanity of Worldly Affairs, and Melancholy Reflections Brought On by the Loss of a Front Tooth, Together with the Current Cultural and Political Situation
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