Benjamin McEvoy

Essays on writing, reading, and life

Ted Hughes’ Bayonet Charge Analysis (Video)

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I’ve already made a short video about Ted Hughes’ poem ‘Bayonet Charge’, but decided to do more of an off-the-cuff straight analysis of the poem. We’re reading ‘Bayonet Charge’ together, then we dive into a 47-minute line-by-line analysis. Let me know if you find this kind of analysis useful, interesting, or insightful in any way. […]

Aristotle’s Ethics: Courage, Temperance, Generosity (Podcast)

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We’re expanding upon the first Aristotle Podcast today. If you listened to the first 30-minute show, you got a great grounding in Aristotle’s Ethics. You know about virtues, vices, habits, happiness, and living a life of meaning. But now it’s time to make all that practical. We’re now talking about how to become courageous and generous over […]

The Jekyll and Hyde Podcast

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Today we’re talking about one of my top three favourite novellas of all time: Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde by Robert Louis Stevenson. For the record, my other favourite novellas are Heart of Darkness and The Old Man and the Sea, both of which we’ll deal with in a future episode of the […]

How to Create a Compelling Syllabus (Pt.1: Mindset)

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Syllabus creation is artistic output. Akin to ice sculpture, Cecchetti ballet, and bebop jazz. I used to pore over the syllabuses of Kurt Vonnegut, David Foster Wallace, and W.H. Auden. But even with these greats, even cerebrally salivating over their reading lists and essay assignments, I couldn’t help but feel as though something humanistic was […]

How Powerful is an Oxford Degree? (Video)

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Oxford brand name aside, if you’re going to get into tens of thousands of pounds worth of debt and sacrifice at least three years of your life, you want to know if the piece of paper you’ll get at the end of it is worth. So, as part of the big Oxford Q&A, I decided […]

Life Advice for Introverts (Video)

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As an introvert living in an extrovert’s world, I’ve had to learn a few things to help me along the way. Here’s a video detailing four of my top pieces of life advice for introverts. Rituals, routines, communication strategies, health and fitness tips, and more covered here. Mentioned in the video: The Wim Hof Method […]

The Khalil Gibran Podcast

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Today’s show is about the life lessons you can take away from Khalil Gibran’s The Prophet. We’re talking about all the big key pieces that comprise the human condition: work, love, crime and punishment, justice, freedom, friendship, passion, pain, self-knowledge, beauty, death, and so much more. Get the book: The Prophet Read the book review: The […]

How I Got Into Oxford University (Video)

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Story time. As part of a filmed Oxford University Q&A I did whilst living in Vienna last year, I answered the question: How did you get into Oxford University? Perhaps not the answer people want or expect to hear. But I’ll deep dive into the nuance of passing the Oxford interviews, entrance exams, and getting […]

The Rilke Podcast

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Today we’re talking about Rilke. Not the great man’s work of poetry, but his advice to writers in a series of life-changing letters. Get the book: Letters to a Young Poet Read the article: Life Lessons from Rainer Maria Rilke The podcast includes talk of how to find your calling, solitude, loneliness, depression, art, love, […]

How to Build a Memory Palace (Video)

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This is a rough cut behind-the-scenes look at one of the modules in my upcoming free video course on effective study techniques. I’ve written about the memory palace, or method of loci, before. But thought it potentially beneficial to demonstrate how the memory palace looks in terms of constructing an essay. This video is just […]