Get the Ricochet app

Ricochet will work fine in a browser on your mobile devices, but for the best experience please download our app.

Download on the App StoreGet it on Google Play

Become a member.

Tired of the toxicity of social media? Why not join Ricochet for just $5/month? Think of it as an online bar. Come in, have a drink, hang out, say whatever you want. But don’t badger, bully, or berate the other drinkers. That's our only rule.

Joseph Bottum

Joseph Bottum is one of the nation’s most widely published and influential essayists, with work in journals from the Atlantic to the Washington Post. The author of poetry, short stories, and song lyrics, Bottum lives in the Black Hills of South Dakota.

Series

The Back of the Book1 episodeThe Ricochet Podcast2 episodes

Recent Episodes

The Back of the Book
The Back of the Book

A Holly Jody Christmas

For this special Christmas episode, Chris is joined by Joseph Bottum, a distinguished man of letters who has written extensively about the Yuletide season. They discuss the significance of the holiday and the festivities (both old and new) associated with Christmas, its various literary portrayals over the years, and Jody’s own Christmas essays and tales. Show notes: Jody's book of Christmas-themed essays and tales, Frankincense, Gold, and Myrrh Jody's memoir of Christmases of his youth, The Christmas Plains Jody's Christmas essays for First Things, The Lamp, Law & Liberty, Public Discourse, and The Wall Street Journal Jody's Christmas EP, Grace and Gladness Time stamps: 1:39 – The literary qualities of Christmas 15:45 – The opulence and "thickness" of Christmastime 25:38 – Jody's literary influences and the tradition of the Christmas story 33:40 – Dickens as "the great unconscious novelist" 43:29 – Jody's Christmas tales and Chesterton's poem "The House of Christmas" Opening and closing music: Brendan Benson, “Spit It Out,” used with permission from the artist. Produced by Sean Doolan.
Host:
Christopher J. Scalia
Organization
Ricochet

December 2024

The Ricochet Podcast
The Ricochet Podcast

A Swirl of Joy Beyond All Deserving

Ricochet presents a special Yuletide episode featuring Joseph Bottum, author of Frankincense, Gold, and Myrrh: A Christmas Chrestomathy. In under an hour, he and Peter cover crammed cities and the rural expanse, crime and charity, the written word and the reader's mind—all with thoughts on the Christmas spirit in a contemporary setting.
Host:
Peter Robinson
Organization
Ricochet

December 2019

The Ricochet Podcast
The Ricochet Podcast

Happy Seasons!

It's our last podcast for 2019, (but evidently not the last one of the decade) and we do our best to cover the ridiculous and the sublime. For the former, we call upon the Washington Examiner's Byron York, the leading authority on all things impeachment (you should also be listening to his podcast which this week features a fascinating interview with Devin Nunes). We get the skinny on all of the machinations, strategizing, gamesmanship, and a prediction on the longterm effects (spoiler alert: nothing). Also, do not ask Byron about the robo-calling bill Congress just passed, because he doesn't know a damn thing about it. OK? Then, a total gear shift as we are joined by Joseph (or if you are friends with him, Jody) Bottum, the author, poet, and all around oracle on all things Christmas (visit his Amazon page and buy a few of his stories, won't you?). Needless to say, it's a much deeper and spiritual conversation than the one in the first half of the show. Finally, thanks to you our faithful listeners and especially the ones who are Ricochet members for supporting the show, our advertisers, and our site. We literally could not do this without you and we have some special events planned for 2020, our 10th (!) year of podcasting. Wow. Music from this week's show (handpicked by James Lileks from the 1965 Goodyear Tires Christmas Album): Sleigh Ride by Steve Lawrence & Eydie Gorme
Hosts:
James LileksPeter RobinsonRob Long
Organization
Ricochet