E009 Oscar Wilde

Episode Description

Oscar Wilde thrived in Victorian Era England and the aesthetic movement with his wit and impeccable writing skills, but the public exposure of his private relations with a male lover had him imprisoned and shunned by society. In this episode, we explore the upbringing, education, life, trials, and writings of Oscar Wilde, as we understand how he dominated the upper echelon of society, only to be later exiled.

After our Oscar Wilde deep dive, we conduct an examination with our NEW NEWS SEGMENT on the One, Big Beautiful Bill Act and the life of Harvey Milk and the renaming of his US Naval ship. We end this episode with recommendations of both classic and contemporary queer books to read for this Pride Month!



Timestamps:

1:36 - Oscar Wilde

45:21 - Oscar Wilde Recap

47:54 - News Segment (The One Big, Beautiful Bill and Harvey Milk and the renaming of his Naval ship)

1:33:21 - Smoke Break (Pride Month Book Recs)

Oscar Wilde Research

  • Duggan, Patrick. “Oscar Wilde: The Construction of a Literary Life.” The WR Journal, vol. 1, 2008, https://www.bu.edu/writingprogram/journal/past-issues/issue-1/duggan/. 

  • Evans, Richard. “The Victorians: Gender and Sexuality.” Www.gresham.ac.uk, 14 Feb. 2011, www.gresham.ac.uk/watch-now/victorians-gender-and-sexuality.

  • Genç, Kaya. “Wilde in the Office | Los Angeles Review of Books.” Los Angeles Review of Books, 12 Aug. 2012, lareviewofbooks.org/article/wilde-in-the-office/.

  • Markel, Howard. “No, Oscar Wilde Probably Didn’t Die of Syphilis.” PBS News Hour, PBS, 30 Nov. 2015, www.pbs.org/newshour/health/no-oscar-wilde-probably-didnt-die-of-syphilis.

  • McCormack, Jerusha. “Son and Parents: Speranza and Sir William Wilde.” Oscar Wilde in Context, edited by Kerry Powell and Peter Raby, Cambridge University Press, 2013, https://www.cambridge.org/core/books/oscar-wilde-in-context/son-and-parents-speranza-and-sir-william-wilde/1D0D72648357AE07EA8E6EA229C921FE. 

  • O’Hagan, Andrew. “The Other Wilde Trial: The Mary Travers Libel Case.” The Irish Times, 29 Nov. 2014, https://www.irishtimes.com/culture/books/the-other-wilde-trial-the-mary-travers-libel-case-1.2027446.

  • Poetry Foundation. “Oscar Wilde.” Poetry Foundation, https://www.poetryfoundation.org/poets/oscar-wilde.

  • Sarony, Napoleon. “Oscar Wilde No. 18.” OscarWilde.us, https://www.oscarwilde.us/sarony/sarony-18.html.

  • Seymour, Miranda. “Constance: The Tragic and Scandalous Life of Mrs Oscar Wilde by Franny Moyle – Review.” The Guardian, 24 June 2011, www.theguardian.com/books/2011/jun/24/constance-mrs-wilde-franny-moyle-review.

  • Tóibín, Colm. “Oscar Wilde: The Unrepentant Years and Oscar’s Ghost Review – Wilde after Prison.” The Guardian, 15 Nov. 2017, www.theguardian.com/books/2017/nov/15/oscar-wilde-the-unrepentant-years-and-osscars-ghost-review-wilde-after-prison.

  • UK Parliament. “Regulating Sex and Sexuality: The 20th Century.” UK Parliament, 2BC, www.parliament.uk/about/living-heritage/transformingsociety/private-lives/relationships/overview/sexuality20thcentury/.

  • University of Oxford. “When Oscar Wilde Came to Oxford.” Oxford Alumni: The Oxford Quad, https://www.alumni.ox.ac.uk/quad/article/when-oscar-wilde-came-oxford.

  • Victoria and Albert Museum. “An Introduction to the Aesthetic Movement.” V&A Museum, https://www.vam.ac.uk/articles/an-introduction-to-the-aesthetic-movement. 

  • Walshe, R. D. “Sir William Wilde: Sometime Surgeon Oculist to the Queen in Ireland.” Irish Journal of Medical Science, vol. 177, no. 3, Sept. 2008, pp. 279–281. https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC2639901/. 

  • “Oscar Wilde’s 1882 Lecture Tour | New York [2].” Oscar Wilde in America, www.oscarwilde.us/lectures-1882/may/0511-new-york.html.

  • “Oscar Wilde the Freemason.” Scottish Rite, NMJ, scottishritenmj.org/blog/oscar-wilde-freemason.

  • “Saints and Sinners: Sir William Wilde.” The Bulletin of the Royal College of Surgeons of England, vol. 95, no. 4, Apr. 2013, pp. 140–41, https://doi.org/10.1308/147363513x13500508920374.

  • “The Full List of Oscar Wilde Lectures 1882.” Oscar Wilde in America, www.oscarwilde.us/lectures-1882/the-full-list.html.

  • “Why the Green Carnation?” Oscar Wilde Tours, 2BC, www.oscarwildetours.com/our-symbol-the-green-carnation/.

 

News Research

  • Appleby, Julie. “How Trump’s ‘Big Beautiful Bill’ Threatens Access to Obamacare.” NPR, 11 June 2025, www.npr.org/sections/shots-health-news/2025/06/11/nx-s1-5429677/obamacare-aca-big-beautiful-bill.

  • CBS News. “U.S. Navy to Rename USNS Harvey Milk, Honors Other Civil Rights Leaders.” CBS News, 3 June 2025, www.cbsnews.com/news/navy-new-name-usns-harvey-milk-ships-named-for-civil-rights-leaders/. Accessed 10 June 2025.

  • Chen, Natasha. “Trump’s Big Bill Includes an ‘Unprecedented’ Tax Credit for a National School Voucher Program. Here’s How It Would Work.” CNN, 6 June 2025, www.cnn.com/2025/06/06/business/national-school-voucher-trump-tax-bill.

  • Drenon, Brandon. “The Key Items of House Republican’s ‘Big Beautiful Bill.’” BBC, 17 June 2025, www.bbc.com/news/articles/c0eqpz23l9jo.

  • Encyclopaedia Britannica. “Harvey Milk.” Britannica, www.britannica.com/biography/Harvey-Milk. Accessed 10 June 2025.

  • The Guardian. “Pete Hegseth Orders Renaming of USNS Harvey Milk in ‘Warrior Ethos’ Rebranding.” The Guardian, 3 June 2025, www.theguardian.com/us-news/2025/jun/03/harvey-milk-ship-name-hegseth. Accessed 10 June 2025.

  • “H. Rept. 119-106,Book 1 - ONE BIG BEAUTIFUL BILL ACT.” Congress.gov, www.congress.gov/congressional-report/119th-congress/house-report/106/1.

  • Kight, Stef W., and Hans Nichols. “Scoop: Inside Trump’s Polling on the ‘Big, Beautiful Bill.’” Axios, 11 June 2025, www.axios.com/2025/06/11/trump-budget-bill-polls-senate-republicans.

  • Kilgore, Ed. “The Ugly Policies Hidden in Trump’s Big Beautiful Bill.” Intelligencer, New York Magazine, 12 June 2025, nymag.com/intelligencer/article/the-ugly-policies-hidden-in-trumps-big-beautiful-bill.html.

  • Legal Information Institute. “Twinkie Defense.” Cornell Law School: Legal Information Institute, www.law.cornell.edu/wex/twinkie_defense. Accessed 10 June 2025.

  • PBS NewsHour. “Breaking down Trump’s ‘Big Beautiful Bill’ and Its Impact on the Deficit and National Debt.” YouTube, 5 June 2025, www.youtube.com/watch?v=C0Y6hE8NhDs.

  • Sahadi, Jeanne. “How the $1,000-Per-Baby ‘Trump Accounts’ Would Work and Who Would Benefit Most.” CNN, 10 June 2025, www.cnn.com/2025/06/10/business/trump-accounts-newborns-explainer.

  • Spencer, Saranac Hale. “Explaining Trump’s Claim of a ’68%’ Tax Increase - FactCheck.org.” FactCheck.org, 3 June 2025, www.factcheck.org/2025/06/explaining-trumps-claim-of-a-68-tax-increase/.

  • “Text - H.R.1 - 119th Congress (2025-2026): One Big Beautiful Bill Act.” Congress.gov, www.congress.gov/bill/119th-congress/house-bill/1/text.

  • Trump, Donald. Truth Social, 5 June 2025, truthsocial.com/@realDonaldTrump/posts/114632555927229642.

  • U.S. Department of Defense. “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell Resources.” Defense.gov, www.defense.gov/Spotlights/Dont-Ask-Dont-Tell-Resources/. Accessed 10 June 2025.

  • Yang, Angela. “How Far Will AI Go to Defend Its Own Survival?” NBC News, 1 June 2025, www.nbcnews.com/tech/tech-news/far-will-ai-go-defend-survival-rcna209609.