Context:

Referenced as a thematic comparison to the Aguirre story, discussing how Europeans venture into remote areas and encounter darkness - the hosts note they 'did a podcast on a few weeks ago' about this book

Context:

The main subject of the episode - a novella first published in Blackwoods magazine in 1899, discussed extensively as one of the most celebrated works in English literature and a portrait of Belgian Congo colonialism

Context:

Referenced as the book the podcast series began with and will return to discuss in a future episode, described as 'one of the most influential works of fiction ever written.'

Context:

The novella is quoted extensively at the beginning and throughout the episode. It's described as being written in 1899, nine years after Conrad visited the Congo Free State as a merchant seaman. The hosts use passages from the book to illustrate the horrors of Leopold's Congo.

Context:

The episode opens with a reading from this novella and discusses it as the inspiration for Apocalypse Now, describing it as 'probably the greatest, the most influential, possibly the most controversial book' about European colonialism in Africa.

Context:

Referenced during a discussion comparing American westward expansion and treatment of Native Americans to British imperial projects. Tom mentions 'Heart of darkness' as a literary parallel for the themes of colonialism, the 'noble savage' concept, and the moral complexities of imperial expansion into territories perceived as 'uncivilized.'

Context:

Referenced when discussing the idea of blank spaces on maps and Africa as 'the heart of darkness'

Context:

Mentioned as the literary source that Apocalypse Now is based on - described as 'Conrad's story of Belgian imperialism in the Congo' and used to discuss the themes of imperial adventures and moral corruption

Context:

Mentioned as a contrast to the simpler imperial adventure stories, noting that Churchill's writing about empire was 'not Heart of Darkness' in terms of moral complexity

Context:

Explicitly quoted at the beginning of the episode, with the passage where Marlowe imagines the feelings of a Roman posted to Britain, looking at the Thames estuary as a place of savagery

Context:

Described as Joseph Conrad's famous novella, with the character Kurtz being based upon King Leopold II of Belgium and his brutal rule of Congo

Context:

Mentioned as the great story about how the coloniser can enter a heart of darkness where all moral norms get dissolved