Greil Marcus

High-rolling culture critic Greil Marcus has been mixing it up with America's heart and soul, music and arts for a long time now. He's gone deep on Elvis and Herman Melville, on rock and roll and punk rock, on Bob Dylan and the song of hillbillies.

Now, Marcus is looking beyond heart and soul to the American destiny itself. His new book "The Shape of Things to Come" is all about American prophecy and prophets. It's about descendants of Old Testament voices like Amos and Isaiah, lifting prophetic voices from battlefields and bar rooms — Frederick Douglas and Lincoln but also Allen Ginsberg, Phillip Roth, David Lynch and Heavens to Betsy.

Hear a conversation with Greil Marcus and American Prophesy.

Guests:

Greil Marcus, Cultural Critic and author of the new book, "The Shape of Things to Come: Prophecy and the American Voice."