James Geary | The World in a Phrase: a brief history of the aphorism

Recorded: Sat 25 Apr 2026

Duration: 1 hour

James Geary | The World in a Phrase: a brief history of the aphorism

Spring 2026

‘Don’t judge a book by its cover.’ The oldest written art form on the planet, aphorisms have been going viral for thousands of years. James Geary’s bestseller The World in a Phrase tells the story of the aphorism through some of its greatest practitioners, including the Buddha, Nietzsche, George Eliot, James Baldwin, Audre Lorde and David Byrne. Join James as we revisit his entertaining tour through the world’s wisest and wittiest sayings.

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