Shakespeare, it turns out, is not immune to the culture wars, the book banning, the cancel culture (despite his being dead for more than four centuries). So, fine. canceled-schools.html">Cancel Shakespeare, then, one argument goes. Because here’s the thing: Shakespeare’s plays and poems shakespeare-schools.html">ARE dirty and smutty and gory — and that’s a big part of what makes them so great.

And: Earlier this year, the romantic comedy Anyone But You became the highest-grossing live-action Shakespeare adaptation ever made. So we look at Shakespeare as fertile rom-com IP, from 10 Things I Hate About You and beyond.

And finally, shakira-cover-gathering-music-playlist.html">Bardcore is a thing. The one and only Hildegard von Blingin’ joins us.

GUESTS:

• Maureen Lee Lenker: A senior writer at Entertainment Weekly and the author of the novel It Happened One Fight
• Drew Lichtenberg: Associate director at Shakespeare Theatre Company in Washington, DC
• Hildegard von Blingin’: A singer and illustrator

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Colin McEnroe, Meg Dalton, Cat Pastor, and Lily Tyson contributed to this show.

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