Wanda Corn's The Couple with the Pitchfork

Episode No. 784 features author Wanda Corn.

Corn is the author of "The Couple with the Pitchfork: American Gothic from Easel to Icon," which was just published by Princeton University Press. The book tells the story of Grant Wood's iconic 1930 American Gothic, following it from its debut in an Art Institute of Chicago annual exhibition to its present-day status as an icon of US culture. After a deep dive into the painting's sources and making, Corn details its presence within other art and US popular culture. Amazon and Bookshop offer it for $40-47.

Air date: November 12, 2026.