Rebecca Falkoff, professor in the Department of French and Italian, shares her journey from an undergrad studying Faust, literary theory, and languages at UPenn to a PhD in Italian Studies at UC Berkeley. Along the way we learn of her rich and expansive research and writing on hoarding—from 19th century Parisian flea markets to Sherlock Holmes to today’s reality TV shows—as well as insights into learning languages, her own literary translation work, and Italian authors such as Dante, Carlo Emilio Gadda, and Elena Ferrante.