Selects: Did Shakespeare really write all that stuff?

Episode of Stuff You Should Know · May 30, 2026 · 56 min

Josh Clark and Chuck Bryant survey the Shakespeare authorship question, weighing the documentary evidence and alternative candidates such as Bacon, de Vere, Marlowe and Bassano.

Summary

In this rerun of a 2022 Stuff You Should Know episode, introduced by Josh Clark as possibly his favorite, Clark and Chuck Bryant gave a broad overview of the Shakespeare authorship question, which dates to at least the mid-1800s. Both hosts said they were essentially agnostic, and Clark argued that neither side had strong evidence and that the debate quickly shaded into conspiracy theory.

They reviewed what is documented about William Shakespeare of Stratford-upon-Avon: his glover father, likely grammar-school education to about age 13, marriage to Anne Hathaway, the "lost years" of 1585 to 1592, Robert Greene's "upstart crow" jibe, his will's lack of books or manuscripts, his unnamed cursed tombstone, and the disputed Stratford funerary bust. Clark found the absence of documentation of Shakespeare as a writer the most compelling point for doubters, but noted that the early end of his family line explains the loss of papers. Bryant described the anti-Stratfordian case as rooted largely in elitism, while Clark said doubters raised some legitimate points.

The hosts then covered alternative candidates and their proponents: Delia Bacon and the Francis Bacon theory, the disputed James Wilmot documents, the Oxfordian theory favoring Edward de Vere, the Earl of Derby, Christopher Marlowe's supposedly faked death, and theories of female authorship including Mary Sidney Herbert and a debunked 2015 meme about Emilia Bassano. They discussed the 1987 mock trial with three Supreme Court justices, and evidence favoring Shakespeare such as Ben Jonson's First Folio tribute, Richard Field's printing of Venus and Adonis, and William Camden's listing of Shakespeare. Both concluded that the plays should simply be enjoyed. The episode closed with listener mail about squid.

Chapters

0:05
Introduction and caveats
Josh introduces the rerun and the hosts explain the topic is dense and that they are agnostic about it.
3:48
Shakespeare's documented life
The hosts review Shakespeare's family, probable education, marriage, children and lost years.
12:14
Greene's jibe, will and tombstone
They discuss the 'upstart crow' pamphlet, the lack of manuscripts in his will, and his curse-bearing tombstone.
20:38
Spellings, elitism and the plays' brilliance
The hosts dismiss the name-spelling argument, examine elitism among doubters, and praise the plays and good teachers.
27:47
The Stratford bust and the First Folio
They cover disputes over the funerary bust, the missing skull, and Ben Jonson's First Folio tribute.
33:26
Delia Bacon and the Baconian theory
The hosts recount Delia Bacon's promotion of Francis Bacon and the suspect James Wilmot documents.
40:15
De Vere, Derby, Marlowe and women
They discuss the Oxfordian theory, the Derbyites, Marlowe's faked-death theory and female authorship theories including Emilia Bassano.
47:53
Mock trial and pro-Stratford evidence
The 1987 Supreme Court justices' mock trial and evidence like Richard Field and William Camden are reviewed before the hosts conclude.
53:56
Listener mail
Chuck reads an email from Japan about why squid die after mating.

Key points

What was said, by whom, with the exact words. Timestamps jump to the moment.

Josh Clark
Clark says he is truly agnostic about the authorship question and can see both sides.
“this is one of the few things I've ever come across like this that I am truly agnostic about”
Listen from 2:38 · Shakespeare authorship question
Josh Clark
Clark argues that neither side has really good evidence and the debate quickly becomes conspiracy theory.
“neither side actually has really good evidence to support their claim. It's all just they have to get so granular”
Listen from 2:58 · Shakespeare authorship question
Josh Clark
Clark says Shakespeare's probable education gave him enough grounding that he could conceivably have written the plays.
“when you add imagination and natural talent, you come up with Shakespeare conceivably”
Listen from 9:46 · William Shakespeare
Josh Clark
Clark argues that the early end of Shakespeare's family line explains why his personal papers were lost.
“There's only 70 years between the death of Shakespeare and the end of his family line”
Listen from 17:18 · William Shakespeare
Josh Clark
Clark finds the lack of documentation of Shakespeare as a writer the most compelling point, contrasting with his well-documented acting career.
“What doesn't come through, that isn't documented at all, is him as a writer”
Listen from 17:31 · Shakespeare's will
Josh Clark
Clark considers the varied spellings of Shakespeare's name an insignificant argument.
“the different spellings of the names is about as big a boondoggle as you're going to find in the Shakespeare authorship argument”
Listen from 21:45 · Shakespeare authorship question
Chuck Bryant
Bryant agrees that elitism lies at the root of many anti-Stratfordian theories.
“what's at the root of a lot of these theories is what Ed, I think, rightly calls elitism”
Listen from 22:25 · Shakespeare authorship question
Josh Clark
Clark argues that dismissing doubters as elitist ignores their genuinely good points.
“They're not just cranks and crackpots. Like they have some pretty good evidence”
Listen from 23:47 · Shakespeare authorship question
Chuck Bryant
Bryant argues the plays are genuinely brilliant and relatable, though they need a good teacher to unlock.
“No, these plays are brilliant. And there's a reason why they still make contemporary movies based on Shakespeare's plays”
Listen from 24:53 · William Shakespeare
Josh Clark
Clark finds both interpretations of Ben Jonson's First Folio tribute implausible.
“Neither one really makes sense. I mean, unless Ben Johnson had like a complete change of heart, it just doesn't quite add up”
Listen from 33:09 · First Folio
Josh Clark
Clark says Delia Bacon's close readings are credited with prefiguring modern literary criticism.
“she's often credited with basically prefiguring, if not kicking off, the idea of literary criticism”
Listen from 39:35 · Baconian theory of Shakespeare authorship
Josh Clark
Clark finds the Earl of Derby a more persuasive candidate than de Vere.
“to me, it was the sixth Earl of Derby who has a little more to offer”
Listen from 41:26 · Oxfordian theory of Shakespeare authorship
Linked moment · 43:37Skip to 43:37 using a listen link in the info box.
Josh Clark
Clark considers Marlowe the flimsiest candidate because his style lacked Shakespeare's humanism and humor and he had no reason to hide.
“he's probably the flimsiest person you could attribute Shakespeare's writings to because Marlowe was gloomy and super atheist”
Listen from 43:37 · Marlovian theory of Shakespeare authorship
Chuck Bryant
Bryant says the viral 2015 meme about Emilia Bassano was false, noting she was not of African descent and was a published poet.
“She was a published author, so the whole notion that she wasn't allowed to publish things wasn't right”
Listen from 45:53 · Emilia Bassano
Chuck Bryant
Bryant thinks the female-authorship theory makes more sense than others because women had a clear motive to hide.
“I think this theory makes a lot more sense than a lot of the others. just by the sheer fact that women would not have been allowed to”
Listen from 47:03 · Shakespeare authorship question
Josh Clark
Clark concludes the debate has shown both camps on shaky ground, making it largely a matter of belief.
“in doing so, it's kind of revealed that both of them are kind of on shaky ground. It's almost just a matter of belief”
Listen from 52:07 · Shakespeare authorship question

People

In the conversation

Josh ClarkCo-host of Stuff You Should Know
Chuck BryantCo-host of Stuff You Should Know

Discussed

Delia Bacon19th-century American writer who argued Francis Bacon and others wrote Shakespeare's works
Francis BaconEnglish philosopher and statesman proposed as Shakespeare's true author
Edward de Vere17th Earl of Oxford, favored candidate of Oxfordians
Christopher MarloweElizabethan playwright and alleged author candidate
Ben JonsonEnglish playwright who wrote a tribute in the First Folio
Robert GreeneElizabethan writer credited with the 'upstart crow' pamphlet
Emilia BassanoEnglish poet claimed in a 2015 meme to have written Shakespeare
Elizabeth WinklerJournalist who wrote a 2019 Atlantic article on the authorship question
Charlton OgburnOxfordian who organized a 1987 mock trial
William CamdenEnglish antiquarian who listed Shakespeare among great writers
Ralph Waldo EmersonAmerican essayist cited on learning the lessons of worship from nature
James Wilmot18th-century clergyman allegedly the first authorship doubter
Anne HathawayAmerican actress cast as Penelope
Mary Sidney HerbertCountess of Pembroke proposed as an author candidate

Topics

From the publisher

The question of Shakespeare's authorship has been around since at least the mid-1800s. Is there anything to it? In this classic episode, we dig in to this dense topic to find out. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Summary, chapters and key points were generated from the episode transcript on September 28, 2026. Quotes are checked word for word against the transcript.

Categories: Books·History