The Idiot by Fyodor Dostoevsky with Maria Baer
Podcast: Christians Reading ClassicsPublished On: Thu Jul 23 2026
Description: A foggy train pulls into St Petersburg and two young men face each other across a third-class carriage. That opening scene from Dostoevsky’s The Idiot is our doorway into a novel that refuses to let anyone stay comfortable, especially when a pure-hearted man starts telling the truth in rooms built on performance.Nadia Williams talks with writer and reporter Maria Baer to talk about why 21st-century American Christians should still read this translated Russian classic. We dig into what makes a “classic” more than a school requirement, how to pick a translation that actually keeps you turning pages, and why reading older books helps us notice the invisible norms shaping our own lives.Christians Reading Classics is a podcast from Mere Orthodoxy and is listener-supported. If you would like to support this work, become a Mere Orthodoxy Member today at http://mereorthodoxy.com/membership.Listen and read The Daily Liturgy by going to http://mereorthodoxy.com/daily-liturgy
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