Podcasts about Telemachus

Today on Ascend: The Great Books Podcast, Deacon Harrison Garlick and Dr. Frank Grabowski dive into Books 17–19 of Homer's Odyssey, where the disguised king returns to Ithaca as a beggar.Check out our WRITTEN Q&A GUIDE TO THE ODYSSEY.Check out Dr. Grabowski's new Substack: The Porch and the Altar.The conversation explores iconic moments like Odysseus's heartbreaking reunion with his loyal dog Argos, the tense first dialogue with Penelope that raises fascinating questions about what she truly knows or suspects, and the escalating violations of xenia by the suitors. Listeners will appreciate the rich analysis of loyalty as the ultimate standard, Odysseus's hard-won maturation in temperance and piety, and striking contrasts between faithful servants like Eumaeus and disloyal figures like Melanthius.Homer emerges here as both poet and philosopher, using these scenes to probe justice, the nature of heroism, the city at peace, and the interplay of fate and human choice.With Athena guiding events and the tension building toward the suitors' doom, Deacon and Dr. Grabowski illuminate how Odysseus' trials have prepared him not just for revenge, but for restoring order.Whether you're new to the epic or a longtime reader, this episode offers fresh insights that make the ancient story feel urgently relevant. Don't miss it—subscribe and join the community as the Odyssey study continues toward its dramatic climax!Chapters00:00 Introduction to the Odyssey Study04:30 The Role of Penelope and Theoclymenus07:14 Contrasting Characters: Eumaeus and Melanthius10:28 Odysseus' Growth and Maturation13:11 The Loyalty of Argos16:26 The Test of Guest Friendship19:10 The Fate of the Suitors22:22 The Beggar Fight and Its Implications24:43 Odysseus' Reflection on His Journey27:21 The Irony of Antinous30:45 Penelope's Anticipation and the Build-Up to Reunion33:28 Odysseus' Moral Self-Awareness36:37 Conclusion and Themes of Justice42:10 The Philosopher Beggar and the Blindness of the Suitors44:49 The Nature of Law and Lawlessness47:33 Penelope's Cleverness and the Suitors' Downfall52:09 Telemachus' Growth and the Stability of Society57:19 The Reunion of Odysseus and Penelope01:01:40 The Test of Loyalty and the Nature of Guest Friendship01:06:23 The Subtlety of Odysseus and Penelope's Intuition01:12:19 The Significance of Names and Identity01:19:33 The Tension of Recognition and the Test of the SuitorsKeywords: Odyssey Books 17-19, Homer Odyssey summary, Odysseus as beggar, reunion with Argos, Penelope and Odysseus dialogue, what Penelope knows, xenia guest friendship, loyalty in the Odyssey, Argos the dog, Melanthius goat herder, Eumaeus swineherd, Theoclymenus prophecy, suitors fate, Odysseus maturation, temperance and piety, Homer philosopher, city at peace, Athena disguise, beggar fight Book 18, bow of Odysseus, scar of Odysseus, Great Books Podcast, Ascend podcast Odyssey, Frank Grabowski Homer, classical education Odyssey, Western literature analysis.

With the upcoming release of The new Odyssey film coming up, I have decided to read a version of the Odyssey that also includes the Tales of Troy. I studied the odyssey at school, and I'm looking forward to reading the full story. Save the playlist for all episodes - ⁠⁠⁠Here⁠⁠⁠ In the first part we meet Telemachus, now on the verge of becoming a man, who is waiting for Odysseus's return. A mysterious stranger brings him good news, and he decides to confront the suitors of his mother Penelope who want to take the kingdom of Ithaca for their own. If you would like a version with our relaxing sleep music please scroll down to the next episode. Please leave a 5-star review & SUBSCRIBE on Apple and Spotify. Sleep Cove Premium Become a Premium Member for Bonus Episodes & Ad-Free listening: Visit ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://www.sleepcove.com/support⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ and become a Premium Member. ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Get Instant Access⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ and sign up in two taps. Our Sister Shows: - ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Sleep Cove⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ - is our Sleep Hypnosis, Meditation and Bedtime Story channel, where you can find the perfect episode to help you sleep deeply all night long. - ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Calm Cove⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ - ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠is our music Podcast, where you can find Relaxing Music, White Noise and Nature Sounds. - ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Let's Begin⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ - is our Day Meditation podcast. Start your day feeling relaxed and positive, or take some time out to unwind with these calming meditations with wakeners at the end so that you can continue your day. - YouTube ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Bedtime Story Channel⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ - YouTube ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Sleep Hypnosis & Meditation Channel⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠  Connect: - Join the ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Newsletter⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ for a Bonus Meditation  - Facebook:⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠here⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ - Instagram:⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠here⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ - TikTok:⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠here⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ Recommended Products: Comfortable Sleep Headphones -⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ ⁠⁠https://www.sleepcove.com/headphones⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ The Best Mattress from Puffy:⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://sleepcove.com/puffy⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ _______________ All Content by Sleep Cove is for educational or entertainment purposes and does not provide or replace professional medical advice, diagnosis or treatment. Always seek the advice of your medical professional before making any changes to your treatment and if in any doubt, contact your doctor. Please listen in a place where you can safely go to sleep. Sleep Cove is not responsible or liable for any loss, damage or injury arising from the use of this content. _________________ Sleep Cove content includes guided sleep meditations, sleep hypnosis (hypnotherapy), sleep stories (visualizations) and Bedtime Stories for adults and grown-ups, all designed to help you get a great night's sleep Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Today on Ascend: The Great Books Podcast, Deacon Harrison Garlick is joined by returning mentor Dr. Frank Grabowski—Third Order Franciscan, diaconate candidate, and Dean of Faculty at Holy Family Classical School—and Latin teacher Jack Drury for a rich discussion of Odyssey Books 15 and 16.Check out all our resources on the great books!Check out Dr. Grabowski's new Substack on the great books.The conversation explores Telemachus's maturation and homecoming, the poignant father-son reunion in the swineherd's hut, and the deepening bonds of loyalty with Eumaeus. Listeners will enjoy thoughtful reflections on xenia (guest-friendship), Theoclymenus the mysterious prophet, Helen's prophetic insight, Menelaus's gracious hospitality, and the growing threat of the suitors, all while tracking themes of thumos, divine guidance, and the slow unfolding of justice.With warmth, humor, and insight, the trio unpacks Homer's masterful storytelling—why Telemachus must become a threat, the nobility of the “lowly” swineherd, and the beautiful (and bittersweet) dynamics of recognition and reunion. Chapters00:00 Introduction to the Great Books Podcast09:15 Telemachus' Journey: A Coming of Age Story15:25 Menelaus: The Gracious Host22:57 The Arrival of Theoclymenus: A Mysterious Prophet30:36 Odysseus and Eumaeus: Testing Loyalty31:05 The Swineherd's Loyalty and Laertes' Mystery32:41 Odysseus' Questions and Eumaeus' Story34:41 The Tragic Tale of Eumaeus38:36 Social Status vs. Moral Character41:47 The Unique Island and Divine Justice43:43 Guest Friendship and Telemachus' Choices46:25 The Reunion of Father and Son50:29 Telemachus and Odysseus: A Complex Relationship55:27 Testing Nobility and Virtue01:00:25 Divine Disguises and Recognition01:04:59 The Standard of Belief01:11:37 The Plan Against the Suitors01:18:58 The Nature of Justice and RetributionWhether you're reading the Odyssey for the first time or returning to it with fresh eyes, this episode illuminates how these ancient books continue to form souls and speak to fatherhood, virtue, and the return to order. Perfect listening for anyone journeying through the Great Books—don't miss it!

In this inspiring episode of The Nonprofit Exchange, Hugh Ballou welcomes Phil Cousineau, author of The Wisdom of the Odyssey: Twenty-Four Life Lessons from Homer's Epic, for a rich conversation about ancient wisdom and modern leadership. Phil explores why Homer's Odyssey still speaks powerfully to leaders today, especially those serving through nonprofit work. He describes myth not as an old story locked in the past, but as a sacred story that continues to reveal how we live, lead, suffer, heal, remember, and return home. Through the journey of Odysseus, the devotion of Penelope, the growth of Telemachus, and the wisdom of mentorship, Phil draws out lessons on endurance, responsibility, hospitality, trust, healing, and the deeper meaning of service. The conversation connects the themes of The Odyssey directly to nonprofit leadership: staying rooted in mission, remembering the original “why,” creating places of welcome for the wounded or forgotten, and leading with courage through uncertainty, scarcity, and conflict. Phil also highlights the Greek concept of xenia, or sacred hospitality, as a model for building trust, listening to people's stories, and creating communities where people feel seen and valued. At the heart of the episode is the question every leader eventually faces: How do we keep going when we feel far from home? Phil's answer is simple and profound: follow the love. Remember what called you into the work, what contribution you hoped to make, and what shared story can bring people together again. This episode invites nonprofit leaders to see their own work as an odyssey through storms, temptation, loss, discovery, responsibility, and renewal—and to recognize that wisdom is often formed along the journey itself. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

With the upcoming release of The new Odyssey film coming up, I have decided to read a version of the Odyssey that also includes the Tales of Troy. I studied the odyssey at school, and I'm looking forward to reading the full story. Save the playlist for all episodes - ⁠⁠Here⁠⁠ In the first part we meet Telemachus, now on the verge of becoming a man, who is waiting for Odysseus's return. A mysterious stranger brings him good news, and he decides to confront the suitors of his mother Penelope who want to take the kingdom of Ithaca for their own. If you would like a version without our relaxing sleep music please scroll up to the next episode. Please leave a 5-star review & SUBSCRIBE on Apple and Spotify. Sleep Cove Premium Become a Premium Member for Bonus Episodes & Ad-Free listening: Visit ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://www.sleepcove.com/support⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ and become a Premium Member. ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Get Instant Access⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ and sign up in two taps. Our Sister Shows: - ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Sleep Cove⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ - is our Sleep Hypnosis, Meditation and Bedtime Story channel, where you can find the perfect episode to help you sleep deeply all night long. - ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Calm Cove⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ - ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠is our music Podcast, where you can find Relaxing Music, White Noise and Nature Sounds. - ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Let's Begin⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ - is our Day Meditation podcast. Start your day feeling relaxed and positive, or take some time out to unwind with these calming meditations with wakeners at the end so that you can continue your day. - YouTube ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Bedtime Story Channel⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ - YouTube ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Sleep Hypnosis & Meditation Channel⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠  Connect: - Join the ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Newsletter⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ for a Bonus Meditation  - Facebook:⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠here⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ - Instagram:⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠here⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ - TikTok:⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠here⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ Recommended Products: Comfortable Sleep Headphones -⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ ⁠⁠https://www.sleepcove.com/headphones⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ The Best Mattress from Puffy:⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://sleepcove.com/puffy⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ _______________ All Content by Sleep Cove is for educational or entertainment purposes and does not provide or replace professional medical advice, diagnosis or treatment. Always seek the advice of your medical professional before making any changes to your treatment and if in any doubt, contact your doctor. Please listen in a place where you can safely go to sleep. Sleep Cove is not responsible or liable for any loss, damage or injury arising from the use of this content. _________________ Sleep Cove content includes guided sleep meditations, sleep hypnosis (hypnotherapy), sleep stories (visualizations) and Bedtime Stories for adults and grown-ups, all designed to help you get a great night's sleep Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Recorded by Academy of American Poets staff for Poem-a-Day, a series produced by the Academy of American Poets. Published on June 13, 2026. ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠www.poets.org⁠

What can Homer's Odyssey teach us about resilience, trauma, grief, purpose, and living a meaningful life in the modern world?Clinical psychologist Dr. Sam Akbar joins Classical Wisdom Speaks to explore why The Odyssey remains one of the most powerful guides to human psychology ever written. Drawing on her work with trauma survivors and refugees, she reveals how Odysseus, Penelope, and Telemachus offer timeless lessons on resilience, emotional growth, identity, belonging, and finding your way home, both literally and psychologically.Whether you're interested in Greek mythology, psychology, mental health, personal growth, Stoicism, or Homer's epic poetry, this conversation will change how you read The Odyssey.KEY TOPICS COVEREDThe psychology of Homer's OdysseyWhy Odysseus still resonates with modern readersResilience, trauma, and post-traumatic growthWhat refugees can teach us about the meaning of homeWhy flawed heroes are more inspiring than perfect onesPenelope's hidden psychological strengthTelemachus and the journey to adulthoodGrief, loss, and personal transformationAncient wisdom for modern mental healthCommunity, loneliness, and the Greek concept of xeniaFinding purpose and defining your own IthacaTIMESTAMPS00:00 Introducing Dr. Sam Akbar & The Odyssey Mindset01:40 Psychology meets Classics05:06 What Homer understood about human nature07:42 Why Odysseus still resonates today12:18 Trauma, refugees & reading Homer differently16:10 The Odyssey as a post-war story20:00 Resilience, acceptance & psychological growth22:07 Penelope and quiet resistance24:00 What does “home” really mean?30:00 Telemachus, mentorship & growing up34:50 Grief, loss & personal odysseys41:20 Community, loneliness & modern life45:00 Catharsis, collective healing & ancient wisdom50:10 Final reflectionsIf you enjoyed this conversation, subscribe for more discussions on Ancient Greece, philosophy, psychology, mythology, and the timeless lessons hidden in classical texts.Comment below: What is your personal “Ithaca”? What lesson from The Odyssey has stayed with you the most?

We have a heck of an episode for you.  Arthur is turning 17 and our episode is inspired by the right wing pushback against Christopher Nolan's 'The Odyssey'.  We dig into the origin of the work, what we know of it's 'author' Homer, the real, the mythical, the things that are somewhere in between.  We say goodbye to a family friend and gget downright hostile about people judging movies based on trailers in this deep dive into the origins of the Odyssey and all it's attendant mythology in this little bit of history, whole lotta weird imagined horrors episode of the Family Plot Podcast!Become a supporter of this podcast: https://www.spreaker.com/podcast/family-plot--4670465/support.

A massive new trailer for a highly anticipated historical epic has finally dropped, and while the scale looks breathtaking, the internet is already spiralling over one leading lady’s "stiff" performance. We unpack the "Blue Dot" phenomenon that is currently wreaking havoc on the music industry, forcing major global acts to scrap their tours at the eleventh hour. And finally, Cameron Diaz has shared surprise baby news, so deep diving into the unexpected meet-cute that led to the A-lister finding her fairytale ending in her forties.Love binge-watching TV? The Spill has launched a new podcast called Watch Party where we deep dive into the shows everyone’s talking about. Follow the feed on Apple or Spotify now. Plus remember The Spill drops the tea twice a day in this feed so follow us for all the latest entertainment news… OR you can WATCH our show in full length video on the Apple Podcast app - make sure your phone is up to date and enjoy the watch! Link here. THE END BITS Find and follow us on socials: Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/thespillpodcast/ TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@thespillpod Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/thespillpodcast/ Read all the latest entertainment news on Mamamia: https://mamamia.com.au/entertainment/ Support Independent Women’s Media: https://www.mamamia.com.au/subscribe/ Your subscription helps us continue to tell the stories that matter to women. Want to join the conversation? Have feedback or a topic you want us to discuss? Send us a voice message or email us at thespill@mamamia.com.au and we’ll get back to you ASAP! Executive Producer: Monisha Iswaran Audio & Video Producer: Michael Kean Mamamia acknowledges the traditional owners of the land on which we have recorded this podcast. From Mamma Mia. 00:01Speaker 2 Welcome to the Spill your daily pop culture fects. My name is manishaus Warren, producer of The Spell, but filling in today, and I'm joined by Pena provis And today We've got so much to get into. We're unpacking the blue dot phenomenon that's kind of destroying the music industry. Plus one of Hollywood's cutest couples has some exciting news, and we're bringing you on a bit of a walk down memory lane, a bit of a history lesson on how they met and fell in love. But first, a new trailer has dropped for a movie that I really couldn't be more excited about, and I think a lot of people feel the same way. Tina, Are you excited about the Odyssey? 00:36Speaker 3 I'm so excited because the cast looks insane and it just looks like it's going to be the biggest blockbuster. 00:43Speaker 2 Tell me where you remember my wife? As sorry, n. 00:51Speaker 1 Want more? 00:53Speaker 2 Help me go? 00:55Speaker 1 What do you do if he came back here and find all these shoots in his house. 00:59Speaker 2 Were plying you didn't even know? 01:02Speaker 1 Like I'm snaggling past looking after your wife, and so. 01:08Speaker 2 Do you see my dad is coming out when I watched it, I got a similar vibe to watching Dune, which I know you hadn't watched until recently. 01:20Speaker 1 I watched it now. 01:21Speaker 2 Yes, everyone, roll Across said, so, this is the first full length trailer that we've gotten the huge Christopher Nolan adaptation that's dropping in July. And it's based on the Odyssey, which is a classic Greek poem by Homer. It's one of the oldest surviving works of literature and one of the sort of foundational texts of Western literature. But there's been different variations along the way, like there's a retelling that's been done by Stephen Fry and now this big movie is coming out in July. How much do you know about the plot of the Odyssey. I don't know a lot about the plot. Okay, well I learned a lot about it today the trailer. I was like, I feel like I get a picture of what it is. So it's the story of Ody, who is the hero of this plot, and he is a legendary king of Ithaca and a war hero in Greek mythology, and he's trying to get back home after the Trojan War. 02:11Speaker 1 He's sort of like the original road Trip protagonist back home. 02:15Speaker 2 He's in a race against time to get home to his family, and the reason for that is basically because while he was away, a lot of new suitors have popped up who are trying to get with his wife, who's played by Anne Hathaway. 02:27Speaker 1 I love how you're describing it. Yeah, like, here's at a road troop. Everyone's trying to get with his wife. Think about it, Tina, It's a lot like LOI. 02:33Speaker 2 Yeah, the crazy way there's all these men, she's got to couple up with someone. She's got to get home before she couples up with someone else. And watching the trailer, it just really dawned on me how epic this is going to be, because, as you said, the cast is amazing. 02:46Speaker 1 It's that typical Christopher. 02:47Speaker 2 Nolan film where he loves to put a whole bunch of high profile people, even in the supporting roles, to really bring those to life. 02:54Speaker 1 Who are you most excited about in the cast? Liner Browert Patterson. Yeah, I'm just obsessed with him. 02:59Speaker 3 I feel like he's making such a comeback and I love seeing him back on our screens. And I'm excited for like the press run that they'll do because I just love him in all the interviews that he's been doing over the past year. 03:09Speaker 1 He also got a lot of airtime in the trailer. 03:12Speaker 3 Yeah, which I'm surprised because his character isn't the key lead, so I was surprised to see so. 03:17Speaker 1 Much of him in it. Yeah. 03:18Speaker 2 So he plays Antons, who's one of the main suitors who is competing for Penelope's affections, who's played by Anne Hathaway, And Yeah, I. 03:27Speaker 1 Just I thought I felt like I saw more of him than Matt Day. 03:29Speaker 3 Same same when I was kind of reading over like what had come out on the news, I was surprised, like and then getting a little bit of the gist of the plot, I actually thought. 03:37Speaker 1 Rob was going to be the lead. 03:39Speaker 2 Also, what to think of the kind of accent he was doing because he was giving Edward Collin. 03:43Speaker 1 Do you think it was a bit of a nix? I was like, is it a marriage? Do we just see him like that forever? He's just always going to be Edward Collin. 03:49Speaker 2 He can't break out of it. Zendaya is also in it. She plays Athena, but she wasn't in the trailer, but she's going to play the goddess of Wisdom and War who protects and guides Matt Damon on his journey home. I think the main thing I thought watching the trailer was they captured the urgency and the high stakes really well, like I was stressed. I was like, is he going to get back? Is he going to get back to his wife and son? They're going to be okay. So Tom Holland plays Telemachus, who is the son of the main character who's played by Matt Damon. So it'll be quite cute to see Tom Holland and Zendea both in this film. 04:20Speaker 1 I mean, what do you think of his name? 04:22Speaker 2 I think it sounds like a techno festival, but I just can't imagine someone saying that conversationally. 04:28Speaker 1 No, what's his nickname going to be? Telly? Kelly? Yeah, Kelly. 04:32Speaker 2 But he is also quite under threat in this because all the suitors who are going after his mum trying to get Penelope's affections just sort of kind of want him out of the picture. They want to clean slate to get in there enough. So of course the half of haters can't be stopped. So there's a scene of Anne Hathaway in the trailer and everyone's talking about this one second where she's doing really great acting. She's in the fields of it, but her facial expressions are rather which people are attributing to work being done. So there's just been a lot of common treas no one in Hollywood gets work done. I know, everyone's so unfairly mean to her. There's all these comments saying, you know, her eyebrows and her forehead aren't moving. They didn't have, you know, botox in twelve hundred BCE, so she's getting a little bit of flack for that. But it does look like she's going to be amazing in this movie, and she's having a huge year. So the movie is out July seventeenth. It's going to be a huge theatrical event. And if you want to watch the trailer, it looks visually stunning. So if you want to watch the full thing, there's a link to that in our show notes. 05:28Speaker 1 And yeah, just a few months to go. 05:30Speaker 3 So The Pussycat Dolls are the latest musical app to be struck down by Blue Dot Fever. Now I hadn't heard about this before, but it's basically like when you go on a ticket Master website and you have a look at like the seating map and all of the blue dots are all of the unsold seats. 05:46Speaker 1 So they've actually just had to cancel their tour. 05:49Speaker 3 They've come out with a statement saying that they've had to have a really honest look at the North American run and because of that, they've made the heartbreaking decision to cancel all the tour dates. Now, when I saw they announce their tour from Australia, I was excited for I was like, what a throwback. 06:03Speaker 1 I was excited too. 06:04Speaker 2 I just associate all their songs with you know when I grow up. Yes, like I'm eight years old and I'm like shaking my ass to this song that I don't appropriate. 06:14Speaker 3 Yeah, So it's really disappointing to hear that it has been called off. But they're not the only musical act in the past couple of weeks that have had to pause or you know, cancel their shows. So this follows post Malone. He's had to shift the dates to his tour. Megan Trainer has also canceled, and Zane Now, they all have various reasons for why they've had to cancel their top At the end of the day, they weren't really sold out, and the Pussycat Dolls are the only ones who've kind of acknowledged this. 06:42Speaker 1 In their statements. 06:43Speaker 3 But it really shows a little bit of a shift in how these concerts are coming to life and where people are choosing to spend their money. And it just seems like it's no longer viable to have these big stadium shows because these aren't like small acts. 06:56Speaker 2 These are like big headliners. They should be selling out these stadiums. Yeah, and it's interesting to see which of them acknowledge that as the reason that they're canceling and which don't, because I guess it is a bit of taking a piece of humble pie to be like, we're calling it off because we couldn't fill the seeds. 07:11Speaker 3 I've really making up some other reasons. And in China was like, I've got to look after my kid. I'm like, that's not a new thing. Yeah, you already had. 07:17Speaker 1 You the kid was there. You already had your kid. 07:19Speaker 2 And didn't post Malone say he needed to release more music. 07:22Speaker 1 He needs taking time. 07:23Speaker 3 See he's only shifted his by like three weeks. But I'm assuming that leg of the tour. I was just like, wasn't doing that well, so, I guess it's an interesting look at people's willingness when it comes to investing in these big shows and festivals and things like that, alongside these like surging ticket prices, like how many acts can you go to in one year? So your favorite artist is coming that year, are you going to be able to go to three shows? 07:48Speaker 1 Probably? Not, Like the cost of tickets is so expensive now. Yeah, And I don't know. 07:52Speaker 2 If you've sort of found this in your group chats and in your circles that it used to be someone's coming, when are we going? That was more the vibe, whereas I think now people are really realpliers. 08:02Speaker 1 It wants to go. 08:05Speaker 2 Yeah, but you just kind of now have to save that for when you know your top few favorite artists come, and you know, most people are only probably going to one or two a year totally. 08:16Speaker 3 And I guess in Australia we get so many less acts coming over because of the supply and demand and like the physical logistics to make it all the way over here, it just isn't viable to do those big stadium shows. So for us, when acts do come over, we're met with those really high costs. And again, yeah, for the group chat. No, not everybody can go. 08:36Speaker 1 You're just picturing. 08:37Speaker 2 When they're sitting around planning out their tour dates, they must be like do we do Australia? 08:40Speaker 1 Like it's just so far away? 08:42Speaker 2 And when you think about something like the Ears tour or those huge sets that they then have to transport everywhere, that's a huge cost for them. 08:49Speaker 3 So in Australia it really impacts how artists are touring locally. For a lot of those major international tours, you know, they are higher logistic costs involved, and you know when you come out of a concert you see those trucks outside they're packing up the stage. They're getting everything from production into those trucks and then going from Sydney to Melbourne and there's a huge cost involved. So they're often putting a lot of attention into the places that they're going to be able to quickly roll out when they're in Australia. So you can understand if you were going to add you know, an Adelaide and a Perth leg on top of Sydney and Melbourne, you would be driving, you'd be on the road for days. So it's not like in the States we can kind of pack up and like, do your shows. Australia has so much ground to cover, so it does make sense that, you know, they do focus their time on a Sydney or a Melbourne, but it's such a shame because so many other states and so many people are missing out. 09:42Speaker 2 I know, and the other states do really get up in arms about it, Like if you speak to someone from Perple, Britain during. 09:48Speaker 1 The ears to it, oh my god, because they have to factor in so much more to be able to come to something like that. Yeah, totally. 09:53Speaker 3 And there obviously are exceptions the rule of food fighters who have historically loved coming to Australia. You know, they've done one noto shows in Tasmania, they've done Geelong. 10:02Speaker 1 Before, but that is like not the noll. 10:04Speaker 2 I know. I was living in Melbourne when they did the Geelong tour and I still remember everyone being like, oh, I'm going to the few Fighters this weekend hour and a half drive there. 10:11Speaker 1 I was like what, Yeah, where are they doing it? And there are obviously acts. 10:15Speaker 3 That come over, like Bad Bunny came over and he did two Sydney shows and they were obviously massive sellout shows, but because he was only in Sydney. You've obviously got people flying in from all over the country just in order to be there and see him. So it's kind of the people at the top. You know, you have Taylor Swift, people are fighting for those tickets, like there are like hundreds of thousands of people waiting in a queue to buy those tickets when she announces a tour. But there's like that middle ground where your acts, like the Pussycat Dolls are just like not able to get it across the line anymore. 10:45Speaker 2 I know. It is interesting to think about because when we were initially chatting about them, we were both like, Oh, it's so exciting that they're coming here. And then you were like, would you actually get a ticket to go and see the pussy Cat Dolls, And. 10:55Speaker 1 I was like, I don't know. 10:56Speaker 2 I do like some of their old songs, but also the reunion isn't all of the area original members as well? 11:01Speaker 1 I believe it's three of the original band, and isn't there like twenty four of them? Yeah? True, they can't get them all. Yeah, it goes on tour. 11:08Speaker 3 I don't know if I would actually be putting money into seeing the Pussycat Dolls. 11:11Speaker 2 I know, it is sort of the girl math of you know, do I put it into this year's budget even though it's so far away. And I think the problem is these days, the cost of living is so high, so you're really focusing what you can spend on a few key performers that maybe you're really passionate about. And we sort of saw the knock on effect of someone like Adele coming to Australia a while ago, and how people are such big fans of hers that they spent so much money didn't they on going to their concerts. 11:36Speaker 1 Which left less for other smaller artists coming. Yeah. 11:38Speaker 3 So she last toured Australia in twenty seventeen, and she notoriously hates flying. So I think a lot of people knew like, if we're going to see Adele, this is going to be when we see her. She played in Perth, Brisbane, Sydney, Adelaide and Melbourne. She sold over six hundred thousand tickets, so it doesn't really free up much like disposable income for other artists who may be touring in that time. Yeah, you've really either got to be in that a group category where your fans are so hardcore but also so widespread, like you have such wide appeal or it's really hard to make a dent at the moment. 12:08Speaker 2 And I think we see that in a lot of like Australian festivals as well, like we've lost so many we lost falls festivals, splendor in the Grass and like I think you and I were having a conversation earlier about like that's how we found so many artists. 12:19Speaker 1 Like smaller artists, and. 12:20Speaker 3 That's where you would first like get a taste of them before they get big enough. 12:24Speaker 1 To sell their own stadium shows. 12:25Speaker 2 Yes, I remember seeing Billie Eilish at twenty eighteen. 12:29Speaker 1 She's crazy, even the move which is really now. She headlined groove in Them. 12:33Speaker 2 I believe it was twenty nineteen, which doesn't even feel that long ago, and it is. I know, it really is a bad reality, but it's crazy to think now there are so few of those platforms that people can make that real headway in terms of gathering fans and getting momentum going that it is hard to imagine someone now going from a festival stage two sold out stadium tours, even though I'm sure it will happen on occasion. 12:55Speaker 3 That actually reminds me of when I saw Taylor Swift and she had Sabrina Carpter as her supporting artists. Now, at this time, I actually didn't know a whole lot about Saprina Carpenter and actually rained so much on the night we went, so we didn't see the opening act and I didn't actually think twice about it because I hadn't really known much about her. And then Taylor actually ended up bringing her out later and they did a song together. It was really cute, and then lo and behold six months later, she's one of the biggest names in the music industry. 13:22Speaker 1 That's one of the few. 13:22Speaker 2 Inns we have left, Like one of the biggest artists in a world has to give a formal introduction from world Yeah, to put you on the map. 13:29Speaker 1 It's hard to see the impact on the music industry. 13:31Speaker 3 And I am such a big advocate for like live music and gigs, like I'm still out here shelling. 13:36Speaker 1 Out my Dallas. So I just think it'd be really. 13:39Speaker 3 Great if you know, it's hard out here and maybe you don't have money for like those bigger ticket acts, but there are so many more smaller artists, you know in Australia who were touring and it's live music. 13:49Speaker 1 Let's get out there and go see them. 13:51Speaker 2 Guys, and you can save money pre at home and then you know, have a really good night out of it. It's so much expensive than going to the stadium two a half the time. Ok So earlier this week there were some exciting baby news from one of the biggest stars. Cameron Diaz Her and Benji Madden announced on Instagram that they've welcomed their third child, Nortus. 14:10Speaker 1 Madden thoughts on the name, I don't know about that one. 14:14Speaker 2 It feels a little ship themes like nautical, doesn't it it does they already have they should be in the Odyssey. 14:21Speaker 1 Maybe this is how they're out there. 14:22Speaker 2 So they already have a six year old daughter called Radix and a two year old son called Cardinal. 14:28Speaker 1 So oh, I think there's not even really a theme. No, I think the theme is out there. Maybe. Well they're nailing that. 14:36Speaker 2 So in their Instagram caption they said, well, actually, Benji post it and said Cameron and I are happy, excited and feeling so blessed. Blessed is in capitals to announce the birth of our third child, Naughtous Madden. Welcome to the world, son and Cameron is fifty three years old, and she's spoken before about sort of her long journey to motherhood and feeling super lucky to be able to become a mum later in life. So I think the blessed in capital letters just look a little bit of a nod to that. But it did make me go on a bit of a journey down memory lane because I don't know about you, but I didn't actually know a lot about Cameron and met you. 15:11Speaker 1 No, So I'm ready for this deep dive. I'm ready to learn. 15:13Speaker 2 Yeah, it turns out they had quite a cute little meet you, which I'm going to tell you all about. But before Cameron met Benji, she had a little bit of a type when it came to who she was dating. So she definitely loved her Hollywood bad boys and pop stars. 15:28Speaker 1 So fair So do you think can why not? I mean, we'd all love it if the option was presented to us. 15:34Speaker 2 So from nineteen ninety six to nineteen ninety eight, she dated Matt Dillon. They were co stars together in There Something About Mary, and apparently they broke up. 15:43Speaker 1 Because of long distance. He was in New York, she. 15:45Speaker 2 Was in La Then a couple years later, she was with Jared Leto for about four years. There was a rumored engagement, and then that didn't work out, apparently because you know, both very busy careers, scheduling conflicts. 15:57Speaker 1 He's got to focus on thirty seconds commas. He's working on himself. He's working on himself. You know, we all we've all heard that light. 16:05Speaker 2 Then of course she was with Justin Timberlake as well in the early two thousands. That was really high profile and it ended amid cheating rumors from a Playboy bunny. 16:14Speaker 1 So oh, a bit of a scandal there. 16:16Speaker 2 There was a former Playboy model called Zoe Gregory and she was out there claiming her and Justin Timberlake had a fling while he was dating Cameron and that they quote unquote fooled around at the Playboy mansion. 16:26Speaker 1 Interesting, maybe it was the world tour. This is going to ruin the door. 16:31Speaker 2 So she had this real pattern of high profile actors and musicians and these quite intense public relationships that then didn't work out, which I think makes it all the sweeter when it does work out right in the end. So getting to her and Benji, they met in May twenty fourteen at Well I think inflicting reports of a dinner party or a house party. But it was a gathering of sorts that Cameron was hosting, and they met via Nicole Ritchie, who is Benji's sister in law. She's married to his twin, Joel Madden, and so they were invited to this party, and I guess he was invited by association. They actually hadn't met before, despite running in quite stiless me cute, I know, I love her, meet cute, And what Cameron has said about it is she said, well, firstly, speaking about whether or not Nicole Ritchie specifically set them up, she said, I met them first, them being Nicole and Joel, and they didn't set us up, but we were in the same room because of them, and then we found each other. But Nicole Ritchie is taking credit for setting them up, because she told Andy Cohen on Watch What Happens Live this was right after they met. I'm going to take responsibility for everything I approve of anything that's going to make Benji happy. 17:35Speaker 3 She's probably working behind the scenes to make it happen. Cameron didn't even know. 17:39Speaker 2 I know. And also, if I'm even in the room where a couple meets and then they hit it off. 17:43Speaker 1 I'm taking responsibility for this as you should. Yeah, if I made that invite happen. 17:47Speaker 2 So in terms of first impressions, Cameron said she recalled her first reaction to seeing Benji at the party as he's hot and I was surprised that they hadn't cross paths sooner, and basically very much like you know you're the one. 17:58Speaker 1 They obviously hit it off the beginning. We're all about each other. 18:02Speaker 2 They started dating in secret over that summer in twenty fourteen, and then they went public after these yacht vacation photos were leaked, and that's how everyone found out about it. I mean that that's how you want people to find out, right, Yeah on a yacht, Like imagine all your other exes. You're like, well, I'm on a yacht now with this guy. 18:17Speaker 1 So yeah. 18:17Speaker 2 Snucky and one of Benji's friends sort of spoke to the press and was like, Benji always falls in love easily, but this time it's for real. They make each other incredibly happy. 18:27Speaker 1 Which I thought. 18:28Speaker 2 I think if I was getting my friend to the press, I don't know, if he signed off with this, I'd be like, could you drop the always falls in love easily. 18:34Speaker 1 Bit I'd feel like, why did you add that? Who says that? Who is the source? Like this one's real. They're like, we're not friends anymore. 18:39Speaker 2 Yeah. So later that year, Benji spoke to people about it and he confirmed the relationship and he talked about how much being with Cameron was impacting his music and he was feeling so driven and they had this whole whirlwind romance throughout that year, and then after just seven months they got engaged. 18:53Speaker 1 My god, that's fuss well they say, like when you're older. Yeah, that's so fair. I love that for them. 18:59Speaker 2 You and then planned the wedding insanely fast. So they got engaged December twenty fourteen and then had the wedding January twenty fifteen. 19:07Speaker 1 Oh my god, that's a quick turnaround for a wedding. I know, I don't know how they pulled it together. 19:10Speaker 2 I mean they did throw it at they had some help, probably probably, yeah, probably. 19:14Speaker 1 A forty plant. Yeah. 19:16Speaker 2 So they had a very intimate wedding, was a backyard wedding at their house in Beverly Hills. I mean, I imagine it's not a little shack. It's probably yeah, I don't think Sotly probably got some space and Drew Barrymore was there in Gwyneth Paltrow and they got married in this giant backyard tent with all these beautiful flowers and candles, and then all sounded amazing. 19:34Speaker 1 But I think what's really lovely about them. 19:36Speaker 2 Is obviously they've been married now for about eleven years, but they've said really cute things about each other along the way. I don't know if you've ever seen any of the quotes where they talk about each other. 19:45Speaker 1 What do they say? So I hope they're saying nice things about each other. They're just airing what they find out. 19:51Speaker 2 So in twenty seventeen, so this is like a few years after Cameron gave this interview where she sort of explained why she waited until she was forty two. 19:58Speaker 1 To get married, and I thought, what a big she said? That was cute? 20:00Speaker 2 Was I think it's a matter of I just hadn't met my husband. I had boyfriends before, and there's a really really distinct difference between husbands and boyfriends. What do you think about, Teach, she's real for that. She gives me hope because I'm probably gonna be single time like forty, you're like, I'm currently seeing the boyfriends. I need to see the husband. Bring me the husband. And then She is also gushed about him on a few podcasts, even recently, like you Know twenty twenty one onwards, saying when I saw him from the get go, I knew he was special. 20:26Speaker 1 I was like, you're the guy, You're the hidden gem in my life. 20:28Speaker 2 Oh. 20:29Speaker 3 I love like share this insight into it because you just remember, like they're real people and there's like this real love between them. 20:35Speaker 2 I know. And as much as we all talk about, oh, it's so nice when you just meet someone and it's a slow burn, I think it's really cute when they. 20:41Speaker 1 Actually are saying it's love at first sight. 20:43Speaker 3 I know. And I feel like we hear so much about like the breakups and like the scandal, so it is nice to like hear like the success stories. 20:49Speaker 1 Worked out as aspirational. 20:51Speaker 2 She's also talked a lot about how Benji was the first person to really teach her to value herself and before that she just felt like she was always seeking validation in her partners. That she said, Oh my god, imagine being Cameron Diaz and you're seeking validation. 21:03Speaker 1 Oh, my god. 21:04Speaker 2 This is exactly how I felt when we covered on the podcast how Meryl Streep talked about, you know, feeling it'scure with roles and things like that, and hearing Cameron Diaz saying like, you know, not valuing herself. 21:13Speaker 3 You're like, so everyone's the second. Oh my god, I know, I cannot imagine that. I'm like, surely you're like the most confident person in the world. 21:19Speaker 1 I know you would think. I mean, you're a Charlie's Angel. I think some other cute fun things about them. Is they actually got I don't know. 21:25Speaker 2 Actually, I don't know if this is cutter if I disapprove of this, but I guess in their situation, it's cute. They got matching tattoos on their wedding day. Oh I don't mind that. 21:32Speaker 1 You don't mind that. 21:33Speaker 2 I mean, you're already starting a legally binding contract. 21:36Speaker 1 Is it a fun tattoo? 21:37Speaker 2 Cameron got Benji's name and Hebrew on her finger, and he got the same. I don't know if name I would like like maybe like something fun. I'd like something I could repurpose if it didn't work out, Like, oh, I got this turtle, not because it's our favorite animal. But I don't know if like turtle wedding day works, but like maybe we can workshop that with your wedding. 21:53Speaker 1 Just get apart. That can apply no matter what happens. 21:56Speaker 2 I think it's also cute how they're both talking about how they ran in the same celebrities circles for years, but they never crossed paths until Nicole Richie brought Benji to that event. 22:05Speaker 1 So I'm surprised by that. I know Cameron was too. 22:08Speaker 2 She said, how come I never saw this guy before. 22:10Speaker 1 It's kind of one of those things. 22:11Speaker 2 Where it feels like the universe waits till you're ready. Because if she met him when she was with Justin Timberlay, exactly why would we be Maybe she was manifested, is exactly ready. They're both really private as well, so they don't put out any photos of their kids. They've actually sued paparazzi before over releasing pics of Radix. I keep wanting to say Radish, but it's Radis, he says. 22:34Speaker 1 Child. 22:35Speaker 2 And after they sort of got together and settled down and had a family, Cameron went on quite a career pause. So in twenty eighteen, she quit acting to focus on the family. 22:44Speaker 1 She was quite open about it. 22:46Speaker 2 She said she was retiring, taking a step back, focusing on her marriage and kids, and she actually launched a wine brand. 22:51Speaker 1 In that time. 22:51Speaker 2 In twenty twenty, she released Avaline, her wine brand. Apparently he was very supportive in that process. And then now, obviously she has had a bit of a return to acting because in the life last couple of years she was in the Netflix film Back to Action with Jamie Fox that came out last year, and now she's filming a romantic comedy directed by Stephen Merchant, which we don't know. 23:08Speaker 1 The title of You I Love. That should be great, I know, So she's getting back into the swing of things. 23:13Speaker 2 But I think for that period had, you know, a lot of focus on family because they had their first kid twenty nineteen, and then they've now got a two year old and now the new baby. So yeah, that is a little bit of a you know, walk down memory lane history lesson on. I think one of Hollywood's cutest couples, but weirdly under the radar, like I knew nothing about their whole love story. 23:29Speaker 1 Maybe I was just living under a rock. So cute. I hope that kind of love finds me. 23:34Speaker 3 Thanks so much for listening to the Spill today, and if you want to watch as well as listen, you can now watch us on Apple Podcasts. Just make sure that your iPhone is up to date and switch over to video to see our beautiful faces, or head on over to the YouTube channel to catch more of our video content, including celeb interviews. 23:51Speaker 1 The Spill is produced. 23:52Speaker 2 By Minishi Izworn with video production by Michael Keane. 23:55Speaker 1 We'll see you next time. Bye bye, Lana.Become a Mamamia subscriber: https://www.mamamia.com.au/subscribeSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Today on Ascend: The Great Books Podcast, Dcn. Harrison Garlick and Dr. Frank Grabowski discuss the famous "Telemachy" or the coming of age story of Telemachus, Books 2-4 of the Odyssey.Check us our on X, Instagram, Facebook, and more!Check out our WRITTEN GUIDE to the Odyssey.In this rich second episode of our 12-week Odyssey series, Dcn. Harrison Garlick and Dr. Frank Grabowski dive deep into Books 2–4 — the Telemachy — exploring Telemachus's powerful coming-of-age journey from a fatherless, disordered Ithaca to the ordered poleis of Pylos and Sparta.They unpack how Homer paints a vivid picture of political decay: twenty years without an assembly, a missing generation of men, and suitors devouring the household while logos itself loses its force. Yet as Telemachus steps into his father's seat and sets sail under Athena's guidance (disguised as Mentor), we witness not only his maturation but a masterclass in what makes a healthy polis. The conversation shines especially when they examine the suitors' impiety, the beautiful practice of guest-friendship (xenia), and the threefold piety it reveals — toward the gods, the city, and the family.From Nestor's sacrifices and storytelling to Menelaus and Helen's double wedding feast, the episode is packed with insight, humor, and timely wisdom. Whether you're reading the Great Books for the first time or returning to Homer with fresh eyes, this conversation will deepen your appreciation for the political, moral, and spiritual layers of the Odyssey.Chapters00:00 Introduction to the Odyssey Study06:18 Telemachus' Journey and Athena's Role08:01 Political Instability in Ithaca09:38 The Assembly and Telemachus' Leadership15:48 Penelope's Dilemma and Guest Friendship17:47 Xenia: The Importance of Hospitality24:16 The Omen and the Suitors' Fate30:37 Justice and the Role of the Gods32:11 Mentorship and Guidance in Telemachus' Growth39:45 Telemachus' Transformation and Epithet Significance44:15 The Evolution of Characters in Homer45:01 Telemachus' Journey to Maturity47:42 The Role of Divine Guidance48:38 Sacrifices and Natural Religion52:56 Pylos: A Model of a Healthy Society54:44 The Power of Prayer and Rhetoric59:15 The Tragedy of War and Its Heroes01:03:58 The Consequences of Choices in War01:10:57 The Role of the Bard in Society01:14:46 Foreshadowing and Sacrifice in the Odyssey01:19:34 The Double Wedding Feast and Hospitality01:22:08 Piety, Gratitude, and Debt01:25:46 Reflections on War and Loss01:28:12 Helen's Duality and the Nature of Free Will01:29:10 Temptation and the Role of Wisdom01:39:07 Menelaus' Journey and Wrestling with Fate01:45:00 The Return to Ithaca and the Threat to TelemachusHere are more videos from our 2024 study!Book 2 of the Odyssey with Dr. Grabowski and Thomas LackeyBook 3 of the Odyssey with Dr. Grabowski and Thomas LackeyBook 4 of the Odyssey with Adam Minihan and Fr. Bonaventure, OP.

Today on Ascend: The Great Books Podcast, Dcn. Harrison Garlick is joined by Dr. Pavlos Papadopoulos of Wyoming Catholic College and Dr. Frank Grabowski of Holy Family Classical School to discuss BOOK ONE of the Odyssey--one of the greatest texts in the Western canon.Check out our NEW 12-WEEK STUDY OF THE ODYSSEY.Follow Ascend on X, Youtube, Facebook, Instagram, and more!Be sure to use our WRITTEN GUIDE to the Odyssey!They explore why the epic opens with “man” (not rage, not a god), the meaning of polytropos (“man of twists and turns”), Telemachus's urgent coming-of-age amid an absent father and predatory suitors, Athena's masterful mentoring, and Zeus' striking defense of human responsibility. Along the way they illuminate Homer's sophisticated anthropology, the poetic dialectic of Homer the philosopher, the haunting parallels with the House of Atreus, and why this ancient poem still speaks so powerfully to questions of masculinity, homecoming, virtue, and human greatness today. Witty, learned, and full of “blood on the floor” interpretive energy, this conversation will leave you hungry for the next eleven weeks—and convinced that Homer is one of the greatest teachers you'll ever encounter.Chapters00:00 Introduction to the Great Books Podcast03:39 The NEW Odyssey: A 12-Week Study09:29 The Importance of Reading Homer17:01 Exploring the Opening Lines of the Odyssey30:14 The Man of Twists and Turns: Understanding Odysseus35:28 Exploring Odysseus: The Complexity of a Hero39:26 Justice and Fate: The Role of Aegisthus42:28 Divine Intervention: Zeus and Human Responsibility55:30 The Journey Home: Odysseus and Telemachus01:03:12 Coming of Age: Telemachus's Transformation01:05:37 Exploring Penelope's Role01:11:44 Telemachus' Journey to Manhood01:24:56 Reflections on the OdysseyMore ResourcesIntro to the Odyssey with Dr. Patrick Deneen (2024)The Odyssey Book 1 with Dr. Frank Grabowski and Thomas Lackey (2024)Do Christians Owe a Debt to Homer? The Ascent.Understanding Homer as a Philosopher & Theologian. The Ascent.KeywordsOdyssey, Homer, Greek Literature, Great Books, Philosophy, Mythology, Education, Homer's Teachings, Classical Studies, Odyssey Analysis Odyssey, Homer, fate, divine justice, Odysseus, Telemachus, Greek mythology, divine intervention, hero's journey, philosophy

Ahead of her new book What's So Great About the Great Books? coming out in April, Naomi Kanakia and I talked about literature from Herodotus to Tony Tulathimutte. We touched on Chaucer, Anglo-Saxon poetry, Scott Alexander, Shakespeare, William James, Helen deWitt, Marx and Engels, Walter Scott, Les Miserables, Jhootha Sach, the Mahabharata, and more. Naomi also talked about some of her working habits and the history and future of the Great Books movement. Naomi, of course, writes Woman of Letters here on Substack.TranscriptHenry Oliver: Today, I am talking with Naomi Kanakia. Naomi is a novelist, a literary critic, and most importantly she writes a Substack called Woman of Letters, and she has a new book coming out, What's So Great About the Great Books? Naomi, welcome.Naomi Kanakia: Thanks for having me on.Oliver: How is the internet changing the way that literature gets discussed and criticized, and what is that going to mean for the future of the Great Books?Kanakia: How is the internet changing it? I can really speak to only how it has changed it for me. I started off as a writer of young adult novels and science fiction, and there's these very active online fan cultures for those two things.I was reading the Great Books all through that time. I started in 2010 through today. In the 2010s, it really felt like there was not a lot of online discussion of classic literature. Maybe that was just me and I wasn't finding it, but it didn't necessarily feel like there was that community.I think because there are so many strong, public-facing institutions that discuss classic literature, like the NYRB, London Review of Books, a lot of journals, and universities, too. But now on Substack, there are a number of blogs—yours, mine, a number of other ones—that are devoted to classic literature. All of those have these commenters, a community of commenters. I also follow bloggers who have relatively small followings who are reading Tolstoy, reading Middlemarch, reading even much more esoteric things.I know that for me, becoming involved in this online culture has given me much more of an awareness that there are many people who are reading the classics on their own. I think that was always true, but now it does feel like it's more of a community.Oliver: We are recording this the day after the Washington Post book section has been removed. You don't see some sort of relationship between the way these literary institutions are changing online and the way the Great Books are going to be conceived of in the future? Because the Great Books came out of a an old-fashioned, saving-the-institutions kind of radical approach to university education. We're now moving into a world where all those old things seem to be going.Kanakia: Yes. I agree. The Great Books began in the University of Chicago and Columbia University. If you look into the history of the movement, it really was about university education and the idea that you would have a common core and all undergraduates would read these books. The idea that the Great Books were for the ordinary person was really an afterthought, at least for Mortimer Adler and those original Great Books guys. Now, the Great Books in the university have had a resurgence that we can discuss, but I do think there's a lot more life and vitality in the kind of public-facing humanities than there has been.I talked to Irina Dumitrescu, who writes for TLS (The Times Literary Supplement), LRB (The London Review of Books), a lot of these places, and she also said the same thing—that a lot of these journals are going into podcasts, and they're noticing a huge interest in the humanities and in the classics even at the same time as big institutions are really scaling back on those things. Humanities majors are dropping, classics majors are getting cut, book coverage at major periodicals is going down. It does seem like there are signals that are conflicting. I don't really know totally what to make of it. I do think there is some relation between those two things.Ted Gioia on Substack is always talking about how culture is stagnant, basically, and one of the symptoms of that is that “back list” really outsells “front list” for books. Even in 2010, 50 percent of the books that were sold were front-list titles, books that had been released in the last 18 months. Now it's something like only 35 percent of books or something like that are front-list titles. These could be completely wrong, but there's been a trend.I think the decrease in interest in front-list books is really what drives the loss of these book-review pages because they mostly review front-list books. So, I think that does imply that there's a lot of interest in old books. That's what our stagnant culture means.Oliver: Why do you think your own blog is popular with the rationalists?Kanakia: I don't know for certain. There was a story I wrote that was a joke. There are all these pop nonfiction books that aim to prove something that seems counterintuitive, so I wrote a parody of one of those where I aim to prove that reading is bad for you. This book has many scientific studies that show the more you read, the worse it is because it makes you very rigid.Scott Alexander, who is the archrationalist, really liked that, and he added me to his blog roll. Because of that, I got a thousand rationalist subscribers. I have found that rationalists at least somewhat interested in the classics. I think they are definitely interested in enduring sources of value. I've observed a fair amount of interest.Oliver: How much of a lay reader are you really? Because you read scholarship and critics and you can just quote John Gilroy in the middle of a piece or something.Kanakia: Yeah. That is a good question. I have definitely gotten more interested in secondary literature. In my book, I really talk about being a lay reader and personally having a nonacademic approach to literature. I do think that, over 15 years of being a lay reader, I have developed a lot of knowledge.I've also learned the kind of secondary literature that is really important. I think having historical context adds a lot and is invaluable. Right now I'm rereading Les Miserables by Victor Hugo. When I first read it in 2010, I hardly knew anything about French history. I was even talking online with someone about how most people who read Les Miserables think it's set in the French Revolution. That's basically because Americans don't really know anything about French history.Everything makes just a lot more sense the more you know about the time because it was written for people in it. For people in 1860s France, who knew everything about their own recent history, that really adds a lot to it. I still don't tend to go that much into interpretive literature, literature that tries to do readings of the stories or tell me the meaning of the stories. I feel like I haven't really gotten that much out of that.Oliver: How long have you been learning Anglo-Saxon?Kanakia: I went through a big Anglo-Saxon phase. That was in 2010. It started because I started reading The Canterbury Tales in Middle English. There is a great app online called General Prologue created by one of your countrymen, Terry Richardson [NB it is Terry Jones], who loved Middle English. In this app, he recites the Middle English of the General Prologue. I started listening to this app, and I thought, I just really love the rhythms and the sounds of Middle English. And it's quite easy to learn. So then, I got really into that.And then I thought, but what about Anglo-Saxon? I'm very bad at languages. I studied Latin for seven years in middle school and high school. I never really got very far, but I thought, Anglo-Saxon has to be the easiest foreign language you can learn, right? So, I got into it.I cannot sight read Anglo-Saxon, but I really got into Anglo-Saxon poetry. I really liked the Anglo-Saxon Chronicle. Most people probably would not like the Anglo-Saxon Chronicle because it's very repetitive, but that makes it great if you're a language learner because every entry is in this very repetitive structure. I just felt such a connection. I get in trouble when I say this kind of stuff, because I'm never quiet sure if it's 100 percent true. But it's certainly one of the oldest vernacular literatures in Europe. It's just so much older than most of the other medieval literature I've read. And it just was such a window into a different part of history I never knew about.Oliver: And you particularly like “The Dream of the Rood”?Kanakia: Yeah, “The Dream of the Rood” is my favorite Anglo-Saxon poem. “The Dream of the Rood” is a poem that is told from the point of view of Christ's cross. A man is having a dream. In this dream he encounters Christ's cross, and Christ's cross starts reciting to him basically the story of the crucifixion. At the end, the cross is buried. I don't know, it was just so haunting and powerful. Yeah, it was one of my favorites.Oliver: Why do you think Byron is a better poet than Alexander Pope?Kanakia: This is an argument I cannot get into. I think this is coming up because T. S. Eliot felt that Alexander Pope was a great poet because he really exemplified the spirit of the age. I don't know. I've tried to read Pope. It just doesn't do it for me. Whereas with Byron, I read Don Juan and found it entertaining. I enjoyed it. Then, his lyric poetry is just more entertaining to read. With Alexander Pope, I'm learning a lot about what kind of poetry people wrote in the 18th century, but the joy is not there.Oliver: Okay. Can we do a quick fire round where I say the name of a book and you just say what you think of it, whatever you think of it?Kanakia: Sure.Oliver: Okay. The Odyssey.Kanakia: The Odyssey. Oh, I love The Odyssey. It has a very strange structure, where it starts with Telemachus and then there's this flashback in the middle of it. It is much more readable than The Iliad; I'll say that.Oliver: Herodotus.Kanakia: Herodotus is wild. Going into Herodotus, I really thought it was about the Persian war, which it is, but it's mostly a general overview of everything that Herodotus knew, about anything. It's been a long time since I read it. I really appreciate the voice of Herodotus, how human it is, and the accumulation of facts. It was great.Oliver: I love the first half actually. The bit about the Persian war I'm less interested in, but the first half I think is fantastic. I particularly love the Egypt book.Kanakia: Oh yeah, the Egypt book is really good.Oliver: All those like giant beetles that are made of fire or whatever; I can't remember the details, but it's completely…Kanakia: The Greeks are also so fascinated by Egypt. They go down there like what is going on out there? Then, most of what we know about Egypt comes from this Hellenistic period, when the Greeks went to Egypt. Our Egyptian kings list comes from the Hellenistic period where some scholar decided to sort out what everybody was up to and put it all into order. That's why we have such an orderly story about Egypt. That's the story that the Greeks tried to tell themselves.Oliver: Marcus Aurelius.Kanakia: Marcus Aurelius. When I first read The Meditations, which I loved, obviously, I thought, “being the Roman emperor cannot be this hard.” It really was a black pill moment because I thought, “if the emperor of Rome is so unhappy, maybe human power really doesn't do it.”Knowing more about Marcus Aurelius, he did have quite a difficult life. He was at war for most of his—just stuck in the region in Germany for ages. He had various troubles, but yeah, it really was very stoic. It was, oh, I just have to do my duty. Very “heavy is the head that wears the crown” kind of stuff. I thought, “okay, I guess being Roman emperor is not so great.”Oliver: Omar Khayyam.Kanakia: Omar Khayyam. Okay, I've only read The Rubaiyat of Omar Khayyam by Edward Fitzgerald, which I loved, but I cannot formulate a strong opinion right now.Oliver: As You Like It.Kanakia: No opinions.Oliver: Boswell's Life of Samuel Johnson.Kanakia: Boswell's Life of Samuel Johnson. I do have an opinion about this, which is that they should make a redacted version of Boswell's Life of Samuel Johnson. I normally am not a big believer in abridgements because I feel like whatever is there is there. But, Boswell's Life of Samuel Johnson, first of all, has a long portion before Boswell even meets Johnson. That portion drags; it's not that great. Then it has all these like letters that Johnson wrote, which also are not that great. What's really good is when Boswell just reports everything Johnson ever said, which is about half the book. You get a sense of Johnson's conversation and his personality, and that is very gripping. I've definitely thought that with a different presentation, this could still be popular. People would still read this.Oliver: The Communist Manifesto.Kanakia: The Communist Manifesto. It's very stirring. I love The Communist Manifesto. It has very haunting, powerful lines. I won't try to quote from it because I'll misquote them.Oliver: But it is remarkably well written.Kanakia: Oh yeah, it is a great work of literature.Oliver: Yeah.Kanakia: I read Capital [Das Kapital], which is not a great work of literature, and I would venture to say that it is not necessarily worth reading. It really feels like Marx's reputation is built on other political writings like The Eighteenth Brumaire of Louis Bonaparte and works like that, which really seem to have a lot more meat on the bone than Capital.Oliver: Pragmatism by William James.Kanakia: Pragmatism. I mean, I've mentioned that in my book. I love William James in general. I think William James was writing in this 19th-century environment where it seemed like some form of skepticism was the only rational solution. You couldn't have any source of value, and he really tried to cut through that with Pragmatism and was like, let's just believe the things that are good to believe. It is definitely at least useful to think, although someone else can always argue with you about what is useful to believe. But, as a personal guide for belief, I think it is still useful.Oliver: Major Barbara by George Bernard Shaw.Kanakia: No strong opinions. It was a long time ago that I read Major Barbara.Oliver: Tell me what you like about James Fenimore Cooper.Kanakia: James Fenimore Cooper. Oh, this is great. I have basically a list of Great Books that I want to read, but four or five years ago, I thought, “what's in all the other books that I know the names of but that are not reputed, are not the kind of books you still read?”That was when I read Walter Scott, who I really love. And I just started reading all kinds of books that were kind of well known but have kind of fallen into literary disfavor. In almost every case, I felt like I got a lot out of these books. So, nowadays when I approach any realm of literature, I always look for those books.In 19th-century American literature, the biggest no-longer-read book is The Last of the Mohicans by James Fenimore Cooper, which was America's first bestseller. He was the first American novelist that had a high reputation in Europe. The Last of the Mohicans is kind of a historical romance, à la Walter Scott, but much more tightly written and much more tightly plotted.Cooper has written five novels, the Leatherstocking Tales, that are all centered around this very virtuous, rough-hewn frontiersman, Natty Bumppo. He has his best friend, Chingachgook, who is the last of the Mohicans. He's the last of his tribe. And the two of these guys are basically very sad and stoic. Chingachgook is distanced from his tribe. Chingachgook has a tribe of Native Americans that he hates—I want to say it's the Huron. He's always like, “they're the bad ones,” and he's always fighting them. Then, Natty Bumppo doesn't really love settled civilization. He's not precisely at war with it, but he does not like the settlers. They're kind of stuck in the middle. They have various adventures, and I just thought it was so haunting and powerful.I've been reading a lot of other 19th-century American literature, and virtually none of it treats Native Americans with this kind of respect. There's a lot of diversity in the Native American characters; there's really an attempt to show how their society works and the various ways that leadership and chiefship works among them. There's this very haunting moment in The Last of the Mohicans, where this aged chief, Tamenund, comes out and starts speaking. This is a chief who, in American mythology, was famous for being a friend to the white people. But, James Fenimore Cooper writing in the 1820s has Tamenund come out at 80 years old and say, “we have to fight; we have to fight the white people. That's our only option.” It was just such a powerful moment and such a powerful book.I was really, really enthused. I read all of these Leatherstocking Tales. It was also a very strange experience to read these books that are generally supposed to be very turgid and boring, and then I read them and was like, “I understand. I'm so transported.” I understand exactly why readers in the 1820s loved this.Oliver: Which Walter Scott books do you like?Kanakia: I love all the Walter Scott books I've read, but the one I liked best was Kenilworth. Have you ever read Kenilworth?Oliver: I don't know that one.Kanakia: Yeah, it's about Elizabeth I, who had a romantic relationship with one of her courtiers.Oliver: The Earl of Essex?Kanakia: Yeah. She really thought they were going to get married, but then it turned out he was secretly married. Basically, I guess the implication is that he killed his wife in order to marry Queen Elizabeth I. It's a novel all about him and that situation, and it just felt very tightly plotted. I really enjoyed it.Oliver: What did you think of Rejection?Kanakia: Rejection by Tony Tulathimutte? Initially when I read this book, I enjoyed it, but I was like, “life cannot possibly be this sad.” It's five or six stories about these people who just have nothing going on. Their lives are so miserable, they can't find anyone to sleep with, and they're just doomed to be alone forever. I was like, “life can't be this bad.” But now thinking back over it, it is one of the most memorable books I've read in the last year. It really sticks with you. I feel like my opinion of this book has gone up a lot in retrospect.Oliver: How antisemitic is the House of Mirth?Kanakia: That is a hotly debated question, which I mentioned in my book. I think there has been a good case made that Edith Wharton, the author of House of Mirth, who was from an old New York family, was herself fairly antisemitic and did not personally like Jewish people. What she portrays in this book is that this old New York society also was highly suspicious of Jewish people and was organized to keep Jewish people out.In this book there is a rich Jewish man, Simon Rosedale, and there's a poor woman, Lily Bart. Lily Bart's main thing is whether she's going to marry the poor guy, Lawrence Selden, or the rich guy, Percy Gryce. She can't choose. She doesn't want to be poor, but she also is always bored by the rich guys. Meanwhile, through the whole book, there's Simon Rosedale, who's always like, “you should marry me.” He's the rich Jewish guy. He's like, “you should marry me. I will give you lots of money. You can do whatever you want.”Everybody else kind of just sees her as a woman and as a wife; he really sees her as an ally in his social climbing. That's his main motivation. The book is relatively clear that he has a kind of respect for her that nobody else does. Then, over the course of the book, she also gains a lot more respect for him. Basically, late in the book, she decides to marry him, but she has fallen a lot in the world. He's like, “that particular deal is not available anymore,” but he does offer her another deal that—although she finds it not to her taste—is still pretty good.He basically is like, “I'll give you some money, you'll figure out how to rehabilitate your reputation, and later down the line, we can figure something out.” So, I think with a great author like Edith Wharton, there's power in these portrayals. I felt it hard to come away from it feeling like the book is like a really antisemitic book.Oliver: Now, you note that the Great Books movement started out as something quite socially aspirational. Do you think it's still like that?Kanakia: I do think so. Yeah. For me, that's 100 percent what it was because I majored in econ. I always felt kind of inadequate as a writer against people who had majored in English. Then I started off as a science fiction writer, young adult writer, and I was like, “I'm going to read all these Great Books and then I'll have read the books that everybody else has read.” In my mind, that's also what it was—that there was some upper crust or literary society that was reading all these Great Books.That's really what did it. I do think there's still an element of aspiration to it because it's a club that you can join, that anyone can join. It's very straightforward to be a Great Books reader, and so I think there's still something there. I think because the Great Books movement has such a democratic quality to it, it actually doesn't get you to the top socially, which has always been the true, always been the case. But, that's okay. As long as you end up higher than where you started, that's fine.Oliver: What makes a book great?Kanakia: I talk about it this in the book, and I go through many different authors' conceptions of what makes a book great or what constitutes a classic. I don't know that anyone has come up with a really satisfying answer. The Horatian formulation from Horace—that a book is great or an author is great if it has lasted for a hundred years—is the one that seems to be the most accurate. Like, any book that's still being read a hundred years after it was written has a greatness.I do think that T. S. Eliott's formulation—that a civilization at its height produces certain literature and that literature partakes of the greatness of the civilization and summarizes the greatness of the civilization—does seem to have some kind of truth to it.But it's hard, right? Because the greatest French novel is In Search of Lost Time, but I don't know that anyone would say that the France in the 1920s was at its height. It's not a prescriptive thing, but it does seem like the way we read many of these Great Books, like Moby Dick, it feels like you're like communing with the entire society that produced it. So, maybe there's something there.Oliver: Now, you've used a list from Clifton Fadiman.Kanakia: Yes.Oliver: Rather than from Mortimer Adler or Harold Bloom or several others. Why this list?Kanakia: Well, the best reason is that it's actually the list I've just been using for the last 15 years. I went to a science fiction convention in 2009, Readercon, and at this science fiction convention was Michael Dirda, who was a Washington Post book critic. He had recently come out with his book, Classics for Pleasure, which I also bought and liked. But he said that the list he had always used was this Clifton Fadiman book. And so when I decided to start reading the Great Books, I went and got that book. I have perused many other lists over time, but that was always the list that seemed best to me.It seemed to have like the best mix. There's considerable variation amongst these lists, but there's also a lot of overlap. So any of these lists is going to have Dickens on it, and Tolstoy, and stuff like that. So really, you're just thinking about, “aside from Dickens and Tolstoy and George Eliot and Walt Whitman and all these people, who are the other 50 authors that you're going be reading?”The Mortimer Adler list is very heavy on philosophy. It has Plotinus on it. It has all these scientific works. I don't know, it didn't speak to me as much. Whereas, this Clifton Fadiman and John Major list has all these Eastern works on it. It has The Tale of Genji, Romance of the Three Kingdoms, Story of the Stone, and that just spoke to me a little bit more.Oliver: What modern books will be on a future Great Books list, whether it's from someone alive or someone since the war.Kanakia: Have you ever heard of Robert Caro?Oliver: Sure.Kanakia: Yeah. I think his Lyndon Johnson books are great books. They have changed the field of biography. They're so complete, they seem to summarize an entire era, epoch. They're highly rated, but I feel like they're underrated as literature.What else? I was actually a little bit surprised in this Clifton Fadiman-John Major book, which came out in 1999, that there are not more African Americans in their list. Like, Invisible Man definitely seemed like a huge missed work. You know, it's hard. You would definitely want a book that has undergone enough critical evaluation that people are pretty certain that it is great. A lot of things that are more recent have not undergone that evaluation yet, but Invisible Man has, as have some works by Martin Luther King.Oliver: What about The Autobiography of Malcolm X?Kanakia: I would have to reread. I feel like it hasn't been evaluated much as a literary document.Oliver: Helen DeWitt?Kanakia: It's hard to say. It's so idiosyncratic, The Last Samurai, but it is certainly one of the best novels of the last 25 years.Oliver: Yeah.Kanakia: It is hard to say, because there's nothing else quite like it. But I would love if The Last Samurai was on a list like this; that would be amazing.Oliver: If someone wants to try the Great Books, but they think that those sort of classic 19th-century novels are too difficult—because they're long and the sentences are weird or whatever—what else should they do? Where else should they start?Kanakia: Well, it depends on what they're into, or it depends on their personality type. I think like there are people who like very, very difficult literature. There are people who are very into James Joyce and Proust. I think for some people the cost-benefit is better. If they're going to be pouring over some book for a long time, they would prefer if it was overtly difficult.If they're not like that, then I would say, there are many Great Books that are more accessible. Hemingway is a good one and Grapes of Wrath is wonderful. The 19th-century American books tend to be written in a very different register than the English books. If you read Moby Dick, it feels like it's written in a completely different language than Charles Dickens, even though they're writing essentially at the same time.Oliver: Is there too much Freud on the list that you've used?Kanakia: Maybe. I know that Interpretation of Dreams is on that list, which I've tried to read and have decided life is too short. I didn't really buy it, but I have read a fair amount of Freud. My impression of Freud was always that I would read Freud and somehow it would just seem completely fanciful or far out, like wouldn't ring true. But then when I started reading Freud, it was more the opposite. I was like, oh yeah, this seems very, very true.Like this battle between like the id and the ego and the super ego, and this feeling that like the psyche is at war with itself. Human beings really desire to be singular and exceptional, but then you're constantly under assault by the reality principle, which is that you're insignificant. That all seemed completely true. But then he tries to cure this somehow, which does not seem a curable problem. And he also situates the problem in some early sexual development, which also did not necessarily ring true. But no, I wouldn't say there's too much. Freud is a lot of fun. People should read Freud.Oliver: Which of the Great Books have you really not liked?Kanakia: I do get asked this quite a bit. I would say the Great Book that I really felt like—at least in translation—was not that rewarding in an unabridged version was Don Quixote. Because at least half the length of Don Quixote is these like interpolated novellas that are really long and tedious. I felt Don Quixote was a big slog. But maybe someday I'll go back and reread it and love it. Who knows?Oliver: Now you wrote that the question of biography is totally divorced from the question of what art is and how it operates. What do you think of George Orwell's supposition that if Shakespeare came back tomorrow, and we found out he used to rape children that we should—we would not say, you know, it's fine to carry on to doing that because he might write another King Lear.Kanakia: Well, if we discovered that Shakespeare was raping children, he should go to prison for that. No. It's totally divorced in both senses. You don't get any credit in the court of law because you are the writer of King Lear. If I murdered someone and then I was hauled in front of a judge and they were like, oh, Naomi's a genius, I wouldn't get off for murder. Nor should I get off for murder.So in terms of like whether we would punish Shakespeare for his crime of raping children, I don't think King Lear should count at all, but it's never used that way. It's never should someone go to prison or not for their crimes, because they're a genius. It's always used the other way, which is should we read King Lear knowing that the author raped children, but I also feel like that is immaterial. If you read King Lear, you're not enabling someone to rape children.Oliver: There's an almost endless amount of discussion these days about the Great Books and education and the value of the humanities, and what's the future of it all. What is your short opinion on that?Kanakia: My short opinion is that the Great Books at least are going to be fine. The Great Books will continue to be read, and they would even survive the university. All these books predate the university and they will survive the university. I feel like the university has stewarded literature in its own way for a while now and has made certain choices in that stewardship. I think if that stewardship was given up to more voluntary associations that had less financial support, then I think the choices would probably be very different. But I still think the greatest works would survive.Oliver: Now this is a quote from the book: “I am glad that reactionaries love the Great Books. They've invited a Trojan horse into their own camp.” Tell us what you mean by that.Kanakia: Let's say you believed in Christian theocracy, that you thought America should be organized on explicitly Christian principles. And because you believe in Christian theocracy, you organize a school that teaches the Great Books. Many of these schools that are Christian schools that have Great Books programs will also teach Nietzsche. They definitely put some kind of spin on Nietzsche. But they will teach anti-Christ, and that is a counterpoint to Christian morality and Christian theology. There are many things that you'll read in the Great Books that are corrosive to various kinds of certainties.If someone who I think is bad starts educating themselves in the Great Books, I don't think that the Great Books are going to make them worse from my perspective. So it's good.Oliver: How did reading the Mahabharata change you?Kanakia: Oh yeah, so the Mahabharata is a Hindu epic from, let's say, the first century AD. I'm Indian and most Indians are familiar with the basic outline of the Mahabharata story because it's told in various retellings, and there's a TV serial that my parents would rent from the Indian store growing up and we would watch it tape by tape. So I'm very familiar with it. Like there's never been a time I have not known this story.But I was also familiar with the idea that there is a written version in Sanskrit that's extremely long. It is 10 times as long as the Iliad and the Odyssey combined. This Mahabharata story is not that long. I've read a version of it that's about 800 pages long. So how could something that's 10 times this long be the same? A new unabridged translation came out 10 years ago. So I started reading it, and it basically contains the entire Sanskrit Vedic worldview in it.I had never been exposed to this very coherently laid-out version of what I would call Hindu cosmology and ethics. Hindus don't really get taught those things in a very organized way. The book is basically about dharma, the principle of rightness and how this principle of rightness orders the universe and how it basically results in everybody getting their just deserts in various ways. As I was reading the book, I was like, this seems very true that there is some cosmic rebalancing here, and that everything does turn out more or less the way it should, which is not something that I can defend on a rational level.But just reading the book, it just made me feel like, yes, that is true. There is justice, the universe is organized by justice. It took me about a year to read the whole thing. I started waking up at 5:00 a.m. and reading for an hour each morning, and it just was a really magical, profound experience that brought me a lot closer to my grandmother's religious beliefs.Oliver: Is it ever possible to persuade someone with arguments that they should read literature, or is it just something that they have to have an inclination toward and then follow someone's example? Because I feel like we have so many columns and op-eds and “books are good because of X reason, and it's very important because of Y reason.” And like, who cares? No one cares. If you are persuaded, you take all that very seriously and you argue about what exactly are the precise reasons we should say. And if you're not persuaded, you don't even know this is happening.And what really persuades you is like, oh, Naomi sounds pretty compelling about the Mahabharata. That sounds cool. I'll try that. It's much more of a temperamental, feelingsy kind of thing. Is it possible to argue people into thinking about this differently? Or should we just be doing what we do and setting an example and hoping that people will follow.Kanakia: As to whether it's possible or not, I do not know. But I do think these columns are too ambitious. A thousand-word column and the imagined audience for this column is somebody who doesn't read books at all, who doesn't care about literature at all. And then in a thousand-word column, you're going to persuade them to care about literature. This is no good. It's so unnecessary.Whereas there's a much broader range of people who love to read books, but have never picked up Moby Dick or have never picked up Middlemarch, or who like maybe loved Middlemarch, but never thought maybe I should then go on and read Jane Austen and George Eliot.I think trying to shift people from “I don't read books at all; reading books is not something I do,” to being a Great Books card-carrying lover of literature is a lot. I really aim for a much lower result than that, which is to whatever extent people are interested in literature, they should pursue that interest. And as the rationalists would say, there's a lot of alpha in that; there's a lot to be gained from converting people who are somewhat interested into people who are very interested.Oliver: If there was a more widespread practice of humanism in education and the general culture, would that make America into a more liberal country in any way?Kanakia: What do you mean by humanism?Oliver: You know, the old-fashioned liberal arts approach, the revival of the literary journal culture, the sort of depolitical approach to literature, the way things used to be, as it were.Kanakia: It couldn't hurt. It couldn't hurt is my answer to that question.Oliver: Okay.Kanakia: What you're describing is basically the way I was educated. I went to Catholic school in DC at St. Anselm's Abbey School, in Northeast, DC, grade school. Highly recommend sending your little boys there. No complaints about the school. They talked about humanism all the time and all these civic virtues. I thought it was great. I don't know what people in other schools learn, but I really feel like it was a superior way of teaching.Now, you know, it was Catholic school, so a lot of people who graduated from my school are conservatives and don't really have the beliefs that I have, but that's okay.Oliver: Tell us about your reading habits.Kanakia: I read mostly ebooks. I really love ebooks because you can make the type bigger. I just read all the time. They vary. I don't wake up at 5:00 a.m. to read anymore. Sometimes if I feel like I'm not reading enough—because I write this blog, and the blog doesn't get written unless I'm reading. That's the engine, and so sometimes I set aside a day each week to read. But generally, the reading mostly takes care of itself.What I tend to get is very into a particular thing, and then I'll start reading more and more in that area. Recently, I was reading a lot of New Yorker stories. So I started reading more and more of these storywriters that have been published in the New Yorker and old anthologies of New Yorker stories. And then eventually I am done. I'm tired. It's time to move on.Oliver: But do you read several books at once? Do you make notes? Do you abandon books? How many hours a day do you read?Kanakia: Hours a day: Because my e-reader keeps these stats, I'd say 15 or 20 hours a week of reading. Nowadays because I write for the blog, I often think as I'm reading how I would frame a post about this. So I look for quotes, like what quote I would look at. I take different kinds of notes. I'll make more notes if I'm more confused by what is going on. Especially with nonfiction books, I'll try sometimes to make notes just to iron out what exactly I think is happening or what I think the argument is. But no, not much of a note taker.Oliver: What will you read next?Kanakia: What will I read next? Well, I've been thinking about getting back into Indian literature. Right now I'm reading Les Miserables by Victor Hugo. But there's an Indian novel called Jhootha Sach, which is a partition novel that is originally in Hindi. And it's also a thousand pages long, and is frequently compared to Les Miserables and War and Peace. So I'm thinking about tackling that finally.Oliver: Naomi Kanakia, thank you very much.Kanakia: Thanks for having me. This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit www.commonreader.co.uk

Odessa is not alone...Hearthbound is a 10-episode folk musical audio drama, set across a post-apocalyptic Great Basin. It's a road trip, a queer love story, and a ballad for ecological restoration. This is Episode One: Telemachus, introduced by H.R. OwenTranscript available at www.monstrousproductions.org/travelling-light/feed-drop-hearthboundLearn more about Hearthbound at straylungs.com/hearthbound or find them on Instagram @straylungs or on Tumblr @straylungs.Hearthbound Episode 1: Telemachus features the voices of:Jo Chiang as OdessaAmy R. Surratt as PaulieOdessa's guitar by Pete LanctotHearthbound is created, written, and produced by Jo ChiangDirected by Jack Towhey CalkMusic directed by Ginger DoldenSound design and editing by Levi SharpeAdditional dialogue editing by Anna Kelly Rodriguez and Amador L. RodriguezMusic production, additional engineering, and mixing by Pete LanctotProduction managed by Charlotte Muth and Neaco FoxSpecial thanks to Multitude Studio and our illustrator, Anya Boz Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Astrologer Jason Holley joins me again on the podcast today to delve into the 11th house - the house of groups, the polis, mass media, theatre, the audience, 'the people'.It's a rich and far-reaching conversation that, we both felt, got right to the heart of this complex and often misunderstood house that takes us into the entangled world of collective consciousness. Along the way we speak on:• diurnal motion as the lived logic of house meanings• the 11th as context maker for 10th house vocation• Jupiter's joy, morale, and shared vision• theater, polis, and mass media as 11th house arenas• fifth–eleventh polarity of eros and audience• Athena's birth as vision turning into action• Medusa's image as power carried into public life• hopes and dreams versus cynicism and dissociation• worldwork, conflict, and group process as remedies• all our relations beyond humans in the group fieldCover Artwork: James Gurney - Clashing RocksFurther readingHomer — The Iliad (Zeus, “the plan of Zeus”, collective order and fate)Homer — The Odyssey (Athena as Mentor; Telemachus and guidance/destiny)Ovid — Metamorphoses (mythic transformation as a living psychological process)Roberto Calasso — The Marriage of Cadmus and Harmony (brilliant modern retelling/interpretation of Greek myth)Arnold Mindell — Sitting in the Fire (worldwork, group fields, conflict as an intelligence)Jacob L. Moreno — Who Shall Survive? (psychodrama and group dynamics foundations)Join the Newsletter! Podcast Musician: Marlia CoeurPlease consider becoming a Patron to support the show!Go to OnTheSoulsTerms.com for more.

Narrator: Thomas Jones

Linktree: ⁠https://linktr.ee/Analytic⁠Join The Normandy For Additional Bonus Audio And Visual Content For All Things Nme+! Join Here: ⁠https://ow.ly/msoH50WCu0K⁠ In this segment of Notorious Mass Effect, Analytic Dreamz dives deep into the highly anticipated official trailer for Christopher Nolan's The Odyssey. Join Analytic Dreamz as he reacts to the epic first look at Matt Damon starring as Odysseus in this mythic action adaptation of Homer's ancient Greek saga. The trailer showcases stunning IMAX-filmed visuals of Odysseus' perilous journey home after the Trojan War, featuring intense sequences inside the Trojan Horse, raging storms at sea, and teases of mythical encounters like the Cyclops. Analytic Dreamz breaks down the star-studded cast including Tom Holland as Telemachus, Anne Hathaway as Penelope, Robert Pattinson, Zendaya as Athena, Lupita Nyong'o, and Charlize Theron as Circe. Discover Analytic Dreamz's thoughts on Nolan's grounded yet grand approach, the practical effects, and why this 2026 blockbuster could redefine epic filmmaking. Tune in for in-depth analysis on The Odyssey trailer reaction with host Analytic Dreamz.Support this podcast at — https://redcircle.com/analytic-dreamz-notorious-mass-effect/donationsPrivacy & Opt-Out: https://redcircle.com/privacy

Welcome to Multiverse News, Your source for Information about all your favorite fictional universesFive Star Review from Parakleets: Love the show and longtime listener to the network! I'm a big fan of the MCU and very excited for Doomsday. I can't wait to see the teaser trailers, but can't figure out why y'all are so mad about it? Does podcasting make you guys more critical or cynical about the “biz”? As quite the opposite of being a filthy casual, I'll happily watch whatever trailers the MCU gives me and then judge the marketing promo after all the teasers are released.The Countdown BeginsThe hotly anticipated first teaser trailer for Marvel Studios' Avengers: Doomsday has officially arrived and with it some substantial reveals. The trailer originally debuted attached ahead of select screenings of Avatar: Fire & Ash last weekend, as expected, before being released online Tuesday morning. Prior to Tuesday morning's drop, reputable film industry trades like Variety already wasted no time running will spoiler-filled headlines addressing the spoilers and the week preceding the official release was plagued with leaked versions of varying quality sweeping the Internet; so, we've waiting long enough ourselves - spoilers inbound if you've somehow managed to avoid them. The trailer is here whether we like the release strategy or not; what do we think of our first official look at Doomsday?Brainiac On the DancefloorJames Gunn's quest to find the DCU's Brainiac has come to end, as Lars Eidenger's begins as he's been cast to play the classic villain in Superman sequel: Man of Tomorrow. The German actor, largely unfamiliar to American audiences but acclaimed for European work like Babylon Berlin, will face off against David Corenswet's Man of Steel and Nicholas Hoult's Lex Luthor in the sequel releasing July 9, 2027. Gunn has a penchant for taking gambles on relative unknowns and launching them to stardom, can he do it again for such an iconic and formidable foe?A Blue Christmas on Pandora?The aforementioned James Cameron's Avatar: Fire & Ash ignited the box office with a $345 million global opening weekend but opened roughly 22 percent below The Way of Water's $441 million debut. Early projections suggest Fire & Ash will finish around 1.7 to 1.8 billion worldwide rather than joining the elite $2 billion club like its predecessors, raising serious questions about whether Disney will greenlight Avatar 4 and Avatar 5. Has Cameron's box office dominance finally cooled off, or will the holiday legs carry Fire & Ash to the heights The All-Mother demands?Putting the Eye in IMAXChristopher Nolan's The Odyssey dropped its eagerly awaited first official trailer, showcasing Matt Damon in the title role battling to return home after the Trojan War in an epic shot entirely with new IMAX film camera technology. The highly anticipated adaptation features a stacked cast including Tom Holland as Odysseus' son Telemachus and Anne Hathaway as his wife Penelope, with the film already selling out 70MM Imax tickets at AMC and Regal ahead of its July 17, 2026 release. Can Nolan's ambitious vision of Homer's classic tale deliver another legend at the Box Office like Oppenheimer?

THE EPIC IMAX JOURNEY AWAITS!! Rula patients typically pay $15 per session when using insurance. Connect with quality therapists and mental health experts who specialize in you at ⁠https://www.rula.com/REJECTS⁠ ⁠#rulapod⁠ The Odyssey Trailer Reaction, Recap, Commentary, Analysis! Greg Alba & John Humphrey react to The Odyssey Official Trailer, breaking down the epic return of Homer's legendary myth through a modern cinematic lens. From the long journey of Odysseus to the fate of Penelope and Telemachus, this trailer teases gods, monsters, war, destiny, and survival at sea. We discuss the scale, tone, visuals, mythological accuracy, and how this adaptation appears to balance grounded human emotion with supernatural spectacle. The movie is set to showcase Iconic figures like Odysseus, Penelope, Telemachus, Athena, Poseidon, Circe, Calypso, Polyphemus, the Sirens, and the Lotus-Eaters, while teasing legendary moments such as the Trojan War aftermath, the Cyclops encounter, the siren song, the long voyage home, and the battle to reclaim Ithaca. We also dive into the cast, performances teased in the footage, the music, cinematography, and how this version compares to past adaptations and the original epic poem. This discussion explores whether The Odyssey is positioning itself as a prestige mythological epic, a grounded survival story, or a full fantasy spectacle — and how it could resonate with modern audiences. Let us know your thoughts on the trailer, the casting, and whether this looks like a faithful or reimagined take on Homer's timeless story. Intense Suspense by Audionautix is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 license. ⁠https://creativecommons.org/licenses/...⁠ Support The Channel By Getting Some REEL REJECTS Apparel! ⁠https://www.rejectnationshop.com/⁠ Follow Us On Socials:  Instagram: ⁠https://www.instagram.com/reelrejects/⁠  Tik-Tok: ⁠https://www.tiktok.com/@reelrejects?lang=en⁠ Twitter: ⁠https://x.com/reelrejects⁠ Facebook: ⁠https://www.facebook.com/TheReelRejects/⁠ Music Used In Ad:  Hat the Jazz by Twin Musicom is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 license. ⁠https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/⁠ Happy Alley by Kevin MacLeod is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 license. ⁠https://creativecommons.org/licenses/...⁠ POWERED BY @GFUEL Visit⁠ https://gfuel.ly/3wD5Ygo⁠ and use code REJECTNATION for 20% off select tubs!! Head Editor:⁠ https://www.instagram.com/praperhq/?hl=en⁠ Co-Editor: Greg Alba Co-Editor: John Humphrey Music In Video: Airport Lounge - Disco Ultralounge by Kevin MacLeod is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 license.⁠ https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/⁠ Ask Us A QUESTION On CAMEO:⁠ https://www.cameo.com/thereelrejects⁠ Follow TheReelRejects On FACEBOOK, TWITTER, & INSTAGRAM:  FB:  ⁠https://www.facebook.com/TheReelRejects/⁠ INSTAGRAM: ⁠ https://www.instagram.com/reelrejects/⁠ TWITTER:  ⁠https://twitter.com/thereelrejects⁠ Follow GREG ON INSTAGRAM & TWITTER: INSTAGRAM:  ⁠https://www.instagram.com/thegregalba/⁠ TWITTER:  ⁠https://twitter.com/thegregalba⁠ Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

THE EPIC IMAX JOURNEY AWAITS!! Rula patients typically pay $15 per session when using insurance. Connect with quality therapists and mental health experts who specialize in you at https://www.rula.com/REJECTS #rulapod The Odyssey Trailer Reaction, Recap, Commentary, Analysis! Greg Alba & John Humphrey react to The Odyssey Official Trailer, breaking down the epic return of Homer's legendary myth through a modern cinematic lens. From the long journey of Odysseus to the fate of Penelope and Telemachus, this trailer teases gods, monsters, war, destiny, and survival at sea. We discuss the scale, tone, visuals, mythological accuracy, and how this adaptation appears to balance grounded human emotion with supernatural spectacle. The movie is set to showcase Iconic figures like Odysseus, Penelope, Telemachus, Athena, Poseidon, Circe, Calypso, Polyphemus, the Sirens, and the Lotus-Eaters, while teasing legendary moments such as the Trojan War aftermath, the Cyclops encounter, the siren song, the long voyage home, and the battle to reclaim Ithaca. We also dive into the cast, performances teased in the footage, the music, cinematography, and how this version compares to past adaptations and the original epic poem. This discussion explores whether The Odyssey is positioning itself as a prestige mythological epic, a grounded survival story, or a full fantasy spectacle — and how it could resonate with modern audiences. Let us know your thoughts on the trailer, the casting, and whether this looks like a faithful or reimagined take on Homer's timeless story. Intense Suspense by Audionautix is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 license. https://creativecommons.org/licenses/... Support The Channel By Getting Some REEL REJECTS Apparel! https://www.rejectnationshop.com/ Follow Us On Socials:  Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/reelrejects/  Tik-Tok: https://www.tiktok.com/@reelrejects?lang=en Twitter: https://x.com/reelrejects Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/TheReelRejects/ Music Used In Ad:  Hat the Jazz by Twin Musicom is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 license. https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/ Happy Alley by Kevin MacLeod is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 license. https://creativecommons.org/licenses/... POWERED BY @GFUEL Visit https://gfuel.ly/3wD5Ygo and use code REJECTNATION for 20% off select tubs!! Head Editor: https://www.instagram.com/praperhq/?hl=en Co-Editor: Greg Alba Co-Editor: John Humphrey Music In Video: Airport Lounge - Disco Ultralounge by Kevin MacLeod is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 license. https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/ Ask Us A QUESTION On CAMEO: https://www.cameo.com/thereelrejects Follow TheReelRejects On FACEBOOK, TWITTER, & INSTAGRAM:  FB:  https://www.facebook.com/TheReelRejects/ INSTAGRAM:  https://www.instagram.com/reelrejects/ TWITTER:  https://twitter.com/thereelrejects Follow GREG ON INSTAGRAM & TWITTER: INSTAGRAM:  https://www.instagram.com/thegregalba/ TWITTER:  https://twitter.com/thegregalba Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

The first trailer for Christopher Nolan's The Odyssey is here, and we break down what it's setting up: Odysseus' brutal trek back to Ithaca after the Trojan War, the core family stakes with Penelope and Telemachus, and the trailer's biggest vibe, a battered king trying to survive long enough to get home. We also talk about how massive this movie looks, why the cast lineup feels unreal, and what the IMAX 70mm approach says about Nolan aiming for a true theatrical event ahead of its July 17, 2026 release.00:00 Trailer reaction and the basic setup (Homer adaptation, Odysseus' journey home)00:15 The main trio and what their roles look like in the trailer (Odysseus, Telemachus, Penelope)00:29 Trojan War aftermath shots, the Cyclops tease, and the trailer's scale00:44 The stacked supporting cast and Nolan going all-in on IMAX tech01:02 Theatrical event vibes, ticket demand, and the July 17, 2026 release date01:17 Listener thoughts and weekly sign-offThis looks like a survival story first, with Odysseus presented as a battered, postwar king fighting to make it back to Ithaca.The emotional spine is family: Odysseus trying to reunite with Penelope, and Telemachus searching for his father.The trailer hints at classic Odyssey challenges, including a Cyclops, while showing huge war aftermath imagery.The cast is loaded top to bottom, well beyond the main three leads.Nolan's IMAX 70mm push and new tech upgrades are meant to make this a must-see-in-theater release.Release date called out: July 17, 2026, with early screenings sounding like they're already in high demand.“Christopher Nolan's Odyssey just dropped its first trailer. Let's take a look.”“It's like battered king postwar, barely holding his life together, and all he wants to do is return to his wife.”“The scale of this thing is insane.”“This is supposed to be like a theatrical event.”If you enjoyed this breakdown, subscribe to Geek Freaks Headlines and leave a review. Share the episode with a fellow movie fan using #GeekFreaksHeadlines.GeekFreaksPodcast.comFacebook: https://www.facebook.com/thegeekfreakspodcastInstagram: https://www.instagram.com/geekfreakspodcast/Twitter: https://twitter.com/geekfreakspodThreads: https://www.threads.net/@geekfreakspodcastPatreon: https://www.patreon.com/GeekFreakspodcastGot a topic you want covered, or a trailer you want us to react to next? Send it our way on social or drop it in your podcast app comments and we'll pull from the best suggestions.Christopher Nolan, The Odyssey, Odyssey Trailer, Matt Damon, Tom Holland, Anne Hathaway, Odysseus, Telemachus, Penelope, Movie Trailers, Film News, IMAX, 2026 Movies, Geek Culture, Geek Freaks HeadlinesTimestamps And TopicsKey TakeawaysMemorable QuotesCall To ActionOur News SourceFollow UsListener QuestionsApple Podcast Tags

This week, we're rereading The Odyssey in preparation for season 2 of Disney+ Percy Jackson and the Olympians! Discussion topics may include: homecoming in The Sea of Monsters, Telemachus parallels, Helen's role in The Odyssey, Calypso's island, guest rights, and metamorphosis.Check us out on Patreon to submit questions for future interviews, and to get early episodes, cut material, art previews, and more! https://www.patreon.com/MonsterDonutPodcastHave a question? Want to contribute your own analysis? Feel like arguing? Email monsterdonutpodcast@gmail.com.Come say hi and check out the sketches Phoebe made this episode on Twitter, Instagram, or TikTok! @PJOPod on all platforms.Find our new Monster Donut merch here!: https://www.redbubble.com/people/monsterdonut/explore.More information on the show can be found at https://www.monsterdonutpodcast.com/THEME SONG:"The Mask of Sorokin," music and arrangement by Dan CordeGuitars - Dan CordeBass - Quinten MetkeDrums - Todd CummingsRecorded, mixed, & mastered by Todd CummingsOUTRO MUSIC:"Shadow Run," music and arrangement by Dan CordeGuitars - Dan CordeBass - Quinten MetkeDrums - Todd CummingsRecorded, mixed, & mastered by Todd Cummings Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

In books 11-16 of The Odyssey, Odysseus runs through a murderous string of mythological creatures on his long journey home. The Underworld, seductive Sirens, deadly whirlpools, and six headed monsters are menacing obstacles to overcome, but they also represent different elements of evil in Homer's Greek world. By the end of the this section, Odysseus has finally made it home and is reunited with his son Telemachus. All that's left is to figure out how to take his island back. This episode analyzes themes in the story of death, grief, evil, loneliness, family, and more.   Homer's The Odyssey is one of the oldest and most enduring stories in all of civilization. Set in the aftermath of the legendary Trojan War, Odysseus, one of it's great heroes, has been lost at sea for decades. As he struggles to return home, the epic poem asks us important questions about history, memory, choice, kindness, leadership, violence, and much more. Even thousands of years later, The Odyssey still matters.   If you're reading along, the next podcast will cover books 17-20! -Consider Supporting the Podcast!- Leave a rating or review on apple podcasts or spotify! Support the podcast on Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/reflectinghistory Check out my podcast series on Aftersun, Piranesi, Arcane, The Dark Knight Trilogy, and Nazi Germany and the Battle for the Human Heart here: https://www.reflectinghistory.com/bonuscontent Try my podcast series "Nazi Germany and the Battle for the Human Heart"-- What led to the rise of Nazi Germany? The answer may surprise you…Why do 'good' people support evil leaders? What allure does fascism hold that enables it to garner popular support? To what extent are ordinary people responsible for the development of authoritarian evil? This 13 part podcast series explores these massive questions and more through the lens of Nazi Germany and the ordinary people who collaborated or resisted as the Third Reich expanded. You'll not only learn about the horrifying, surprising, and powerful ways in which the Nazis seized and maintained power, but also fundamental lessons about what fascism is-how to spot it and why it spreads. Through exploring the past, I hope to unlock lessons that everyone can apply to the present day. Check it out on my Patreon page at: https://www.patreon.com/reflectinghistory. Try my podcast series "Piranesi: Exploring the Infinite Halls of a Literary Masterpiece"-- This podcast series is a deep analysis of Susanna Clark's literary masterpiece "Piranesi." Whether you are someone who is reading the novel for academic purposes, or you simply want to enjoy an incredible story for it's own sake, this podcast series goes chapter by chapter into the plot, characters, and themes of the book...“The Beauty of the House is immeasurable; it's kindness infinite.” Piranesi lives in an infinite house, with no long-term memory and only a loose sense of identity. As the secrets of the House deepen and the mystery of his life becomes more sinister, Piranesi must discover who he is and how this brings him closer to the “Great and Secret Knowledge” that the House contains. Touching on themes of memory, identity, mental health, knowledge, reason, experience, meaning, reflection, ideals, and more…Piranesi will be remembered as one of the great books of the 21st century. Hope you enjoy the series as much as I enjoyed making it. Check it out at https://www.patreon.com/reflectinghistory. Subscribe to my newsletter! A free email newsletter offering historical perspective on modern day issues, behind the scenes content on my latest podcast episodes, and historical lessons/takeaways from the world of history, psychology, and philosophy: https://www.reflectinghistory.com/newsletter.

Homer's The Odyssey is one of the oldest and most enduring stories in all of civilization. Set in the aftermath of the legendary Trojan War, the great war hero Odysseus has been lost at sea for decades. As he struggles to return home, his story asks us important questions about history, memory, choice, kindness, leadership, violence, and much more. Thousands of years later, The Odyssey still matters.   This episode examines books 1-5 of The Odyssey, introducing us to the main characters and overall plot. We travel to the island of Ithaca to see corrupt suitors courting Penelope, the queen of Ithaca. Her son Telemachus fights to gain news of his father, journeying to far off lands to discover that Odysseus is indeed still alive. Finally, we meet Odysseus, held captive by the beautiful but deceptive Calypso. Odysseus is longing to go home and may finally have his opportunity. This section of the podcast series analyzes themes of mortality, free will, fate and destiny, civility and hospitality, post-war trauma and grief, the tension between the world of gods and the world of men, and much more.  If you're reading along, the next podcast will cover books 6-10! -Consider Supporting the Podcast!- Leave a rating or review on apple podcasts or spotify! Support the podcast on Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/reflectinghistory Check out my podcast series on Aftersun, Piranesi, Arcane, The Dark Knight Trilogy, and Nazi Germany and the Battle for the Human Heart here: https://www.reflectinghistory.com/bonuscontent Try my podcast series "Nazi Germany and the Battle for the Human Heart"-- What led to the rise of Nazi Germany? The answer may surprise you…Why do 'good' people support evil leaders? What allure does fascism hold that enables it to garner popular support? To what extent are ordinary people responsible for the development of authoritarian evil? This 13 part podcast series explores these massive questions and more through the lens of Nazi Germany and the ordinary people who collaborated or resisted as the Third Reich expanded. You'll not only learn about the horrifying, surprising, and powerful ways in which the Nazis seized and maintained power, but also fundamental lessons about what fascism is-how to spot it and why it spreads. Through exploring the past, I hope to unlock lessons that everyone can apply to the present day. Check it out on my Patreon page at: https://www.patreon.com/reflectinghistory. Try my podcast series "Piranesi: Exploring the Infinite Halls of a Literary Masterpiece"-- This podcast series is a deep analysis of Susanna Clark's literary masterpiece "Piranesi." Whether you are someone who is reading the novel for academic purposes, or you simply want to enjoy an incredible story for it's own sake, this podcast series goes chapter by chapter into the plot, characters, and themes of the book...“The Beauty of the House is immeasurable; it's kindness infinite.” Piranesi lives in an infinite house, with no long-term memory and only a loose sense of identity. As the secrets of the House deepen and the mystery of his life becomes more sinister, Piranesi must discover who he is and how this brings him closer to the “Great and Secret Knowledge” that the House contains. Touching on themes of memory, identity, mental health, knowledge, reason, experience, meaning, reflection, ideals, and more…Piranesi will be remembered as one of the great books of the 21st century. Hope you enjoy the series as much as I enjoyed making it. Check it out at https://www.patreon.com/reflectinghistory. Subscribe to my newsletter! A free email newsletter offering historical perspective on modern day issues, behind the scenes content on my latest podcast episodes, and historical lessons/takeaways from the world of history, psychology, and philosophy: https://www.reflectinghistory.com/newsletter.

Our Odyssey Adaption Summer continues with The Penelopiad by Margaret Atwood! An experimental theatre script— wait, just kidding?— novella* told from the perspective of constant Penelope and an echoing chorus of the maids murdered by Odysseus and Telemachus.Referenced video from Carter during the final spiral on men misinterpreting media!  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_zHTg0zM__I&feature=youtu.beLiked this episode? You can support more content like this if you SUBSCRIBE TO OUR PATREON! There you will also find exclusive Discord access, monthly special episodes, behind the scenes outlines, and On-Demand Watch-Alongs of PJOTV Season 1! ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠patreon.com/seaweedbrain⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Follow our show on Instagram ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠@SeaweedBrainPodcast⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠, on Twitter ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠@SeaweedBrainPod⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠, and on TikTok ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠@EricaSeaweedBrain⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Check out our merch shop! ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://www.teepublic.com/stores/seaweed-brain-podcast?ref_id=21682⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠

The third and final season of The Strange Case of Starship Iris is taking a short hiatus. August 28th, we'll be dropping the final mini episode, and then we'll be back with full-length episodes on September the 11th. In the meantime, enjoy the first episode of Jo Chiang's new post-apocalyptic queer musical untelling of the Odyssey, Hearthbound. Features the voices of Jo Chiang as Odessa Amy R. Surratt as Paulie Odessa's guitar by Pete Lanctot Hearthbound is created, written, and produced by Jo Chiang Directed by Jack Towhey Calk Music directed by Ginger Dolden Sound design and editing by Levi Sharpe Additional dialogue editing by Anna Kelly Rodriguez and Amador L. Rodriguez Music production, additional engineering, and mixing by Pete Lanctot Production managed by Charlotte Muth and Neaco Fox Special thanks to Multitude Studio and our illustrator, Anya Boz Stay in touch with us on hearthboundpod.com You get home safe now, you hear? Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

  Ulysses meets an old scholar named Heratos and his assistant, a young Zotrian woman named Atina. Heratos gives Ulysses a map that he says is to the Kingdom of Hades, but is actually to the Graveyard of Wrecks and Hulks which no-one has ever left alive, because the gods threatened Atina's life if he did not deceive Ulysses. While there, Telemachus finds the black sphere which contains a map of .    

            In the animated series Ulysses 31, the episode titled "The Lost Planet" (episode 2) features a planet where the entire population has been turned to stone by an evil witch. The planet, Numinor, is a satellite world that has strayed from its orbit around Zotra, Ulysses' home world. Ulysses, Telemachus, Nono, Numinor, and Yumi travel to the planet and discover the petrified inhabitants.     

  Ulysses 31 (: 宇宙伝説ユリシーズ31サーティーワン, : Uchū Densetsu Yurishīzu Sātīwan; lit. "Space Legend Ulysses 31", : Ulysse 31) is an  (1981) that updates the  of  (known as "Ulixes" or "Ulysses" in ) to the 31st century. The show comprises 26 half-hour episodes as a co-production between  and . Production [] In 1980, , , and DiC Audiovisuel produced a pilot for the series, simply titled "Ulysses 31". Although there was a Japanese VHS release of the series by  in 1986, the pilot never saw an official home release and was used for internal use only. The pilot has long been considered as only been recorded in Japanese, until a French searcher discovered a copy of the French version in July 2015, then a copy of the English-dubbed version in June 2022. The story is virtually identical to episode one of the finished series, but the story was the only thing that was kept. Some characters underwent major redesigns from a typical anime design to the finished series, which is a mix of Japanese anime style and European art based on the appearance of classical Greek sculpture. Renowned Japanese illustrators and animators Shingo Araki and Michi Himeno, who have worked in anime adaptations of famous manga (such as 's , , , 's , and  ) were responsible for the finished series' character designs, animation routines, and visual style. Plot [] The series follows the struggles of Ulysses and his crew against the divine entities that rule the universe, the ancient gods from . The  are angered when Ulysses, commander of the giant  Odyssey, kills the giant  to save a group of enslaved children, including his son.  sentences Ulysses to travel the universe with his crew frozen until he finds the , at which point his crew will be revived and he will be able to return to Earth. Along the way they encounter numerous other famous figures from Greek mythology, given a futuristic twist. See also:  Cast and characters Character Japan (original cast) Japan (1992 NHK BS-2 cast) France (original cast) English (original cast) Biography Ulysses (ユリシーズ, Yurishīzu) Matt Birman The main character and captain of the Odyssey. A well regarded and very esteemed space explorer and adventurer, Ulysses achieved the solar peace (a monumental accomplishment as implied in the series) becoming even more celebrated. Some time later he accidentally became the target of the Olympian gods' revenge by slaying the giant Cyclops, Poseidon's creature, in order to save his son Telemachus', Yumi's and her brother Numinor's lives. His weapon is a laser pistol that conceals an energy blade, complemented by an energy shield and a belt that allows him to fly. Ulysses is brave, noble, determined, and will stop at nothing to defeat the gods.  (テレマーク, Teremāku)  / Jackie Berger The son of Ulysses and second in command for most of the voyage. He is Yumi's friend and protector. He is a skilled pilot, and his weapon is a high-tech magnetic slingshot. Yumi (ユミ, Yumi) (Thémis in the original French dub, after  the ancient Titan) Séverine Morisot Anick Faris A light blue-skinned  alien girl from the white planet, Zotra, she is the younger sister of Numinor and possesses  powers. She is saved from being sacrificed to the Cyclops, along with Telemachus and her older brother, by Ulysses. She exhibits  and is immune to fire. Although physically very frail, she is very intelligent and courageous. Zotrians, aside from blue skin, have snow-white hair, pointed ears, and slanted eyes with cat-like vertical pupils. Nono (ノノ, Nono) Jacques Ebner The small robotic companion of Telemachus. Fond of eating  and , he is a trusty friend who was given to Telemachus as a birthday present. He is skilled at machinery repair and possesses tremendous physical strength. Zeus (ゼウス, Zeusu) Shōzō Hirabayashi The god of gods, persecutor of Ulysses. Shirka (シルカ, Shiruka)     Évelyne Séléna / Sylvie Moreau Kelly Ricard The Odyssey's main computer, with a deep female voice. Numinor (ユマイオス, Yumaiosu) (Noumaïos in the original French dub)         A Zotrian teenager and older brother of Yumi, he is saved by Ulysses from being sacrificed to the Cyclops. He is in suspended animation along with the rest of the crew for most of the series. His Japanese name Yumaiosu is the  orthography of English pronunciation of , the pig-guardian of Odysseus in Homer's poem.  (ポセイドン, Poseidon)         The god of the Seas, enraged by Ulysses's killing of his creature, the Cyclops. He wields a , the symbol of his power, and his servants pilot ships that are shaped like a trident.  (アデス, Adesu)         The ruling god of the Underworld. Ulysses must find his realm to find the way back to Earth. Release [] In the United States, the show was broadcast as a half-hour segment in the 1986 anthology series . In the United Kingdom, it first aired on BBC One at 16:30 on Thursday, November 7, 1985. The entire series was released in English in a complete DVD box set in the UK released by Contender Entertainment, and in Australia by . In the United States, one DVD titled Ulysses 31: The Mysteries of Time was released, containing only four selected episodes. The rights, like most of DIC's other programs, were originally owned by , through its in-name-only unit, . Soundtrack [] Most of the original soundtrack was composed by Denny Crockett and Ike Egan. Six additional themes were composed by  and : "Potpourri", "Final Glory", "Space Traffic", "Ulysse Meets Ulysse", "Mermaids", and "Change of Time (Theme of Chronos)". The Japanese version has a different soundtrack, opening with "Ginga Densetsu Odyssey" (銀河伝説オデッセイ, Ginga Densetsu Odissei; Galactic Legend Odyssey) and closing with "Ai. Toki no Kanata ni" (愛･時の彼方に; Love, Over the Other Side of Time), both by Tomoaki Taka. The music was composed by Wakakusa Kei, who made the soundtrack in both the series and pilot that was produced in 1980. An official soundtrack was released in 1986 on vinyl and on CD in 1988 by King Records. References []  . TMS Entertainment, Ltd. Archived from  on 6 March 2012. Retrieved 20 October 2016. ^   . Stage 6. Archived from  on 4 September 2007. Retrieved 20 October 2016.  Hervé de La Haye,  [Ulysses 31 unaired pilot english version discovered!].  Erickson, Hal (2005). Television Cartoon Shows: An Illustrated Encyclopedia, 1949 Through 2003 (2nd ed.). McFarland & Co. pp. 471–472.  .  . BBC Programme Index. BBC. Further reading [] Dixième Planète (French magazine), issue No. 15 (Feb/Mar 2002), 8 pages about the series and toys produced Escolano. . Shahinian and Salas. The Animated Dad. McFarland. 2024.

*Please be aware this episode and the chapters it discusses contain mention of sexual assault and PTSD.We are thrilled to have New York Times Bestselling Author Kyle Prue here today to talk about his favorite (not so favorite? It's complicated) hero, the Best of the Greeks, Odysseus. Circe is going through a lot but I think we can all consider this entire relationship a canon event. Find Kyle at https://kyleprue.com/ and be sure to watch his web series Rabbit on Youtube! https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CW-VsxYXEnICirce Reading Schedule: Part 5: Ch. 18-20 Motherhood, Trygon, Telegonus leaves Part 6: Ch. 21-END Penelope, Telemachus, FinaleSUBSCRIBE TO OUR PATREON for exclusive Discord access, monthly special episodes, behind the scenes outlines, and On-Demand Watch-Alongs of PJOTV Season 1! ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠patreon.com/seaweedbrain⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Follow our show on Instagram ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠@SeaweedBrainPodcast⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠, on Twitter ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠@SeaweedBrainPod⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠, and on TikTok ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠@EricaSeaweedBrain⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Check out our merch shop! ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://www.teepublic.com/stores/seaweed-brain-podcast?ref_id=21682⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠

*Please be aware this episode and the chapters it discusses contain mention of sexual assault. This week we welcome back Jac and Sam to the pod for some real quality #CompLit (positive) Medea time! Evil, madness vs monstrosity as the sole escapes for women, the loss of innocence, nymphs, and more. Jac and Sam are both equally highly qualified to be on the podcast, thank you both Jac and Sam for being on the podcast.More on Christa Wolf: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Christa_WolfCirce Reading Schedule: Part 4: Ch. 15-17 Odysseus Part 5: Ch. 18-20 Motherhood, Trygon, Telegonus leaves Part 6: Ch. 21-END Penelope, Telemachus, FinaleSUBSCRIBE TO OUR PATREON for exclusive Discord access, monthly special episodes, behind the scenes outlines, and On-Demand Watch-Alongs of PJOTV Season 1! ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠patreon.com/seaweedbrain⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Follow our show on Instagram ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠@SeaweedBrainPodcast⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠, on Twitter ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠@SeaweedBrainPod⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠, and on TikTok ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠@EricaSeaweedBrain⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Check out our merch shop! ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://www.teepublic.com/stores/seaweed-brain-podcast?ref_id=21682⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠

CHAPTERS 7-11 FEATURING OLA AND LIV! Who we forgot to mention on air... got MARRIED since the last time you saw them!!! This week is all about making monsters, pursuing your desires, and second boyfriends. Tell us in the comments what you think of Hermes and Daedalus!!! External Reading Mentioned In The Episode:Trans creation quote: “As my friend Julian puts it, only half winkingly: “God blessed me by making me transsexual for the same reason God made wheat but not bread and fruit but not wine, so that humanity might share in the act of creation.”― Daniel Mallory Ortberg, Something That May Shock and Discredit YouMadeline Miller's photo essay: https://madelinemiller.com/circe/circe-photo-essay/Circe Reading Schedule: Part 3: Ch. 12-14 Medea and Jason *CONTENT WARNING: Ch. 14 depicts Sexual Assault*Part 4: Ch. 15-17 Odysseus Part 5: Ch. 18-20 Motherhood, Trygon, Telegonus leaves Part 6: Ch. 21-END Penelope, Telemachus, FinaleSUBSCRIBE TO OUR PATREON for exclusive Discord access, monthly special episodes, behind the scenes outlines, and On-Demand Watch-Alongs of PJOTV Season 1! ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠patreon.com/seaweedbrain⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Follow our show on Instagram ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠@SeaweedBrainPodcast⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠, on Twitter ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠@SeaweedBrainPod⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠, and on TikTok ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠@EricaSeaweedBrain⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Check out our merch shop! ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://www.teepublic.com/stores/seaweed-brain-podcast?ref_id=21682⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠

WELCOME TO ODYSSEY ADAPTATION SUMMER! We are officially setting sail on our quest to best prepare ourselves for Season 2 of Percy Jackson & The Olympians AKA The Sea of Monsters by reading and analyzing various modern adaptations of The Odyssey, beginning with Madeline Miller's 2018 best selling novel Circe.This week we are discussing chapters 1-6 with special guest Emily Garber from the Monster Donut Podcast, establishing themes, exploring girlhood (no matter how painful), and making. some. monsters. Stick around!Circe Reading Schedule: Part 2: Ch. 7-11 Exile, Hermes, Crete Part 3: Ch. 12-14 Medea and Jason *CONTENT WARNING: Ch. 14 depicts Sexual Assault*Part 4: Ch. 15-17 Odysseus Part 5: Ch. 18-20 Motherhood, Trygon, Telegonus leaves Part 6: Ch. 21-END Penelope, Telemachus, Finale External Reading Mentioned In The Episode:Women and Other Monsters by Jess Zimmerman Natural Beauty by Ling Ling HuangPure Heroine by LordeSUBSCRIBE TO OUR PATREON for exclusive Discord access, monthly special episodes, behind the scenes outlines, and On-Demand Watch-Alongs of PJOTV Season 1! ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠patreon.com/seaweedbrain⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Follow our show on Instagram ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠@SeaweedBrainPodcast⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠, on Twitter ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠@SeaweedBrainPod⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠, and on TikTok ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠@EricaSeaweedBrain⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Check out our merch shop! ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://www.teepublic.com/stores/seaweed-brain-podcast?ref_id=21682⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠

Send us a textWe're gargling out the taste of comic book fare on our 104th episode yet still swimming the turbulent oceans of their inspiration, the source of their epic power and mystery: Homer's Odyssey!Yes we're going to compare and contrast two versions of the Odyssey as seen through the eyes of Italian filmmakers starting with 1954's Ulysses directed by Mario Camerini and starring Kirk Douglas, Silvana Magano and Anthony Quinn up against 2024's The Return directed by Uberto Pasolini and starring Ralph Fiennes, Juliette Binoche, Charlie Plummer and Marwan Kenzari. My guests today are my two stodgy, nose-in-the air, advanced-degree holding, cohorts, kid sis and lit major Roseanne Caputi and Master Thespian, the mellifluous voice behind the most famous Hard Mountain Dew Code Red spot of all time, Gordon Alex Robertson! Before we dig in, the synopses:Ulysses (1954): A mythical adventure following the Greek hero Ulysses as he embarks on a perilous journey home after the Trojan War, encountering mythical creatures and divine beings before coming back to his wife Penelope. The Return (2024) delves into the emotional journey of Odysseus returning to Ithaca after his long absence in the Trojan War, finding his kindome in ruins, a strained relationship between him and Penelope and his son Telemachus, and the challenges of reintegrating into family life after years of war and separation.Which is the grandest telling of the classic poem?Find out! Watch the podcast on Youtube:https://youtu.be/AkDJke7ldRo

Send us a textLauren welcomes back Emily for the second part of deep diving into Mythica and this episode Lauren cherry picks women from The Odyssey. They talk about the importance of new translations. More on what the Linear B tablets can tell us and go into Lauren's favourite topic weaving. They agree on coming back as a sexually charged magic female goddess as being life goals and why certain women should be reconsidered with historical facts.And thank god Lauren didn't make Emily do a shot every time she bad mouths Telemachus

I'm reading Ted Gioia's "Immersive Humanities Course," 52 weeks of World Classics. We continue with the Odyssey this week. I'm joined this week by my son Jack Drury. Jack is pursuing a Masters in Classics at the University of Chicago, so we are on familiar ground for him here.I'm a beginner at reading the classics, but I've decided to just "crack the book" and get started. Here are a few of my key take-aways from this week:What will I take from this week? Let's see:A deeper understanding of Greek mythology. I have a copy of Bullfinch's Mythology on my bookshelf and will probably be dipping in and out of it soon. A better view of the ancient world, its customs and habits of life. I know it's fiction, but the way the poem describes the interactions between people of different classes, between men and women, and between city-states is eye-opening. I'm tempted to carry my modern worldview into these stories, and to find fault with various people. Instead, I really have to suspend my judgement to understand what is going on and how it compares to what I already know.A richer view of the Bible, believe it or not. I've read the Bible through about ten times (maybe more). Reading other ancient works ADDS to my understanding of the world the ancient Hebrews lived in. It's one thing to understand the Old Testament, but so much richer to understand how very different the Hebrews' struggles with God were compared to the Greeks' encounters with their array of gods and goddesses.Finally, my last take-away is one that deserves its own paragraph. I am angry, honestly, that every bit of this kind of literature was erased from my education. Who did that? Why? Who decided that Flowers for Algernon was worth my attention but Odysseus and Telemachus and Pallas Athena and Penelope weren't?Jack and I also have a long discussion about the heart of the Odyssey. What is it truly about? Is it a homecoming, or a story of exiles, or a model for suffering? How can we as 21st-century Americans relate to these ancient Greeks?This is a year-long challenge! Join me next week as we head to eastward and read Confucius.CONNECTTo read more of my writing, visit my Substack - https://www.cheryldrury.substack.com.Follow me on Instagram - https://www.instagram.com/cldrury/ LISTENSpotify - https://open.spotify.com/show/5GpySInw1e8IqNQvXow7Lv?si=9ebd5508daa245bdApple Podcasts - https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/crack-the-book/id1749793321 Captivate - https://crackthebook.captivate.fm

I'm reading Ted Gioia's "Immersive Humanities Course," 52 weeks of World Classics. Week 2 starts with Greek Poetry, and then we start Homer and The Odyssey. What a great week!I'm a beginner at reading the classics, but I've decided to just "crack the book" and get started. Here are a few of my key take-aways from this week:The surviving Greek Lyrics are very male-dominated, full of war and fighting and politics, with not a lot of attention paid to nature or beauty, or even romance. That is, until you get to Sappho, a woman. Her verses are really beautiful. I can't help but wonder why. Is it just what survived? Or is that an accurate reflection of Greek society? I thought it was the second until I read Homer.The Odyssey is full of male and female characters, and they are both important to the story. So where the poetry was very male-centric (except for Sappho) Homer absolutely isn't. I mean, Penelope seems kind of weak, but Athena is absolutely crucial to the plot. I will have to think about this a lot more.Odysseus is a pain in the neck. While I love the story, I'm not a fan of the guy himself so far, at least by Book 10. For instance, when he gets ready to pass by the Sirens, he is told to lash himself to the mast of the ship IF he wants to hear the Siren Song. And that's what he chose to do! Why would he not just say, “Nope, I'll put beeswax in my ears like the rest of the crew and we will just sail on by.” It seems supremely arrogant.Telemachus, on the other hand, seems to me to possibly be the better hero. I'm looking forward to seeing him find his dad.I have a lot of other thoughts this week, especially about the Fagles translation I read.This is a year-long challenge! Join me next week to finish the Odyssey. We'll be joined by a fun guest!CONNECTTo read more of my writing, visit my Substack - https://www.cheryldrury.substack.com.Follow me on Instagram - https://www.instagram.com/cldrury/ LISTENSpotify - https://open.spotify.com/show/5GpySInw1e8IqNQvXow7Lv?si=9ebd5508daa245bdApple Podcasts - https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/crack-the-book/id1749793321 Captivate - https://crackthebook.captivate.fm

This week Dcn. Garlick is joined by Mr. Thomas Lackey and the Adam Minihan to discuss part one of the Libation Bearers, the second play in Aeschylus' Oresteia. Check out thegreatbooksdpodcast.com for more resources.Check out our Patreon for a written GUIDE to the whole Oresteia.From our guide:The Libation Bearers presents Orestes as both the hero and the victim. The cycle of violence will both demand his action and condemn it. “The one who acts must suffer,” as Aeschylus observes. The play builds an incredible tension within the current mechanics of justice and primes the audience to desire some lasting resolution—a resolution that will only come in the Eumenides.Aeschylus' Libation Bearers, the second play in the triad of the Oresteia, places Orestes within the moral tension of lex talionis and its cycle of violence. He is the son who, to avenge his father, must kill his mother, Clytemnestra. Aeschylus presents us with fundamental questions on justice—a primitive justice that demands blood for blood, an eye for an eye. The cycle of violence both demands action and condemns it.What makes the Libation Bearers such an essential and resonant part of the Oresteia is its relentless focus on the mechanics of justice and its interplay between violence and fate. Aeschylus "pushes us to think not only about the relationships in play but about larger moral questions.” Through Orestes' struggle to fulfill his divine obligation as blood avenger, and through Electra's own crisis of prayer, the play asks profound questions about the nature of justice. Aeschylus' beautiful line, "The anvil of justice stands fast... fate beats out her sword" (628), is arguably the moral heart of the play. A tale of pain, justice, and fate. I. Orestes Returns Home (1)The story begins several years after the murder of Agamemnon, when Orestes, now a young man of eighteen or so, secretly returns home from exile.[1] Much of the tragedy lies in understanding Orestes' difficult situation: to be a blood avenger for his father, he must kill his own blood, his mother.Orestes' opening monologue invokes Hermes—who fittingly serves as the bridge between the living and the dead (1). The opening invocation to the divine was seen in Agamemnon as well and will be seen again in the Eumenides. The relationship between the living and the dead is a key theme in this play and a perennial question that makes this a great book. It will contain both prayers on behalf of the dead and the intercession of the dead for the living.It is notable that in the absence of having a father, Orestes is presented as a confident, determined figure ready to do the unthinkable. In the Odyssey, he served as the role model for Telemachus, and here we see him lack the timidity and self-doubt that plagued the fatherless Telemachus. It raises the question, however, of who or what shaped Orestes into a character ready to face this grave moral burden? To use a phrase, who was his Mentor? As we will see in the text, as Telemachus had Athena, Orestes had Apollo....Keep up the good work![1] Fagles,...

The panel reads Tennyson's Ulysses with special attention given to how the return to Ithaca changed Ulysses; how he may be compared to and contrasted with his son, Telemachus; and what the nature of his heroism is—narrow, selfish, noble, or courageous.Continue reading

Subscriber-only episodeThis is my second discussion on Homer's Odyssey for the Fathers & Sons series.  This discussion consists in showing how an education from reading the Odyssey translates into everything involved in the following constellation of overlapping themes: (1) The meaning of justice in the life of man and the divine(2) The unmanliness of gossip in the becoming of a man from adolescence and, just as importantly, the effeminacy of men regressing into adolescence by trafficking in gossip(3) The importance of the element of experience for knowledge to properly be called knowledge, with emphasis upon Achilles in Hades(4) The meaning of "nature" and, in particular, "natural right"(5) The relevance of poetry for Aristotle as a helpful lens through which to understand the opening scene with Odysseus's son Telemachus(6) The meaning of the imagery of the bow and the lyre in Homer(7) The relevance of Glaucon and Socrates from Plato's Republic for understanding Telemachus and Athena in the absence of Odysseus(8) The meaning of fathers and sons amid nihilism(9) The meaning of all these things for what we call "life" and "education"

THE FINAL BOOK! Dcn. Garlick is joined by Adam Minihan, David Niles, Thomas Lackey, and Dr. Frank Grabowski to discuss Book 24 of the Odyssey: Peace. Check out thegreatbookspodcast.com for more information.From our guide:111. What happens in book twenty-four? Hermes leads the souls of the suitors to Hades, to the fields of asphodel, where they meet Achilles and Agamemnon (24.130). One of the suitors tells Agamemnon their story, and Agamemnon praises Odysseus calling him “happy” and praises his wife Penelope in contrast to his wife, Clytemnestra (24.210). Meanwhile, Odysseus and his men arrive at his country estate, and he elects to test his father, Laertes (24.238). Laertes passes the test, and Odysseus reveals himself to his father by showing him the scar (24.368). Elsewhere on Ithaca, the families of the suitors have discovered their deaths and cries arise in the city (24.457). Eupithes, father of Antinous, rallies the kinsmen of the suitors to take revenge upon King Odysseus (24.471). Medon, the bard, warns the mob that the deathless gods helped Odysseus (24.485), and Halitherses, a seer, tells them it was due to their own “craven hearts” that the massacred occurred (24.501).Athena intercedes on Odysseus' behalf, and Zeus declares there should be peace in Ithaca (24.534). The mob arrives outside the country estate, and Odysseus, Laertes, Telemachus, and others prepare for combat (24.552). Athena strengthens Laertes to spear Eupithes in the head (24.576), and then she brokers peace between the two factions (24.584) 112. Who gained the most glory: Achilles, Agamemnon, or Odysseus?The opening passage on the plains of asphodel serves to compare the lives of Achilles, Agamemnon, and Odysseus. Agamemnon recounts the funeral of Achilles and the glory he achieved there, e.g., the Muses sang, he's buried in a golden urn made by Hephaestus, etc. (24.64). Agamemnon explicitly states Achilles has achieved immortal glory (24.100), and Achilles' death and burial serves as a comparison to the ignoble death of Agamemnon (24.30). If Agamemnon would have died in glory at Troy, he too could have had immortal glory—but instead, he was betrayed and slaughtered by his own wife. Despite Achilles having the better of the glory, we have already seen that he would trade it all in to be alive again—even if only to be a dirt farmer. Thus, when Agamemnon calls Odysseus “happy,” this seems to be a final judgment that Odysseus has found the best path: he has the glory (kleos) of both fighting in Troy and returning home—but he also now has political and familial peace. In a certain way, whereas Achilles had to choose between two fates (glory or peace), Odysseus has been given both.Good work everyone!

Dcn. Harrison Garlick is joined by Mrs. Rachel Greb to discuss Book 23 of the Odyssey: The Great Rooted Bed. Check out thegreatbookspodcast.com for more resources!From our written guide:108. What happens in book twenty-three?The old maid Eurycleia, laughing with delight, runs and tells Penelope that the day she's dreamed of is here: Odysseus has come home (23.05). “Penelope's heart busts in joy” upon hearing that the beggar in the hall was actually her husband (23.34). Penelope, however, falls back into her guarded skepticism (23.75). She enters the hall and sits in silence studying his face in “numbing wonder” (23.100). Meanwhile, Odysseus counsels Telemachus on the threat of the suitors being avenged and asks that the whole house be full of dancing and merrymaking to hide the fact the suitors have all been slain (23.146). Odysseus is bathed, and Penelope instructs her servants to drag the marital bed out the chamber for this “strange man” to sleep on (23.193). Odysseus falls into a “fury,” as he knows the marital bed he made cannot be moved: it is made of the stump of an olive tree still rooted in the ground (23.203). Odysseus passes the test, and Penelope runs to him and embraces him in tears (23.230). Odysseus tells her of his penitential journey he must undertake to appease Poseidon (23.282), and, after the two delight in each other, he tells her of his journey home (23.349). The book ends with Odysseus, inspired by Athena, going out into the country to visit his father (23.407). 109. What should be noted about the reunion of Penelope and Odysseus?Penelope's “heart bust[ing] in joy” at hearing the beggar was Odysseus again raises the question of what she already suspected. Despite the reaction, she quickly resumes her guarded skepticism (23.75). Most notably, Penelope is not convinced by the scar (22.83), and we should recall Telemachus' earlier concern that a god could deceive them in the guise of Odysseus. Penelope shares this concern (23.250). What test has Penelope devised to avoid this fate? Note that Telemachus cannot understand what is happening between the man of twists and turns and the matchless queen of cunning (23.111).Penelope's test is one of the intimate knowledge between husband and wife. The knowledge of the marital bed is the “secret sign” between them (23.226), as it is carved in part from a stump still rooted in the ground (23.222). The immovable marriage bed is an analogue for Penelope's fidelity to her husband. It is the final answer to the parallel narrative of Agamemnon and Clytemnestra.Next week Book 24 and the end of the Odyssey!

Slaughter in the hall! This week Dcn. Harrison Garlick is joined by Dr. Adam Cooper of Wyoming Catholic College to discuss Odysseus' revenge upon the suitors in Book 24. Check out thegreatbookspodcast.com for more information!103. What happens in book twenty-two?The time has come. Odysseus stands at the threshold of his home, cries out to Apollo, and lets loose an arrow straight through the neck of Antinous (22.15). It is chaos in the hall, as the “bread and meats [were] soaked in a swirl of bloody filth” (22.21). Eurymachus attempts to broker a true between Odysseus and the suitors—but it is rejected (22.57). Eurymachus then calls the suitors to arms and is subsequently slaughtered by Odysseus (22.73). Telemachus brings armor and weapons to his father, the swineherd, and the cowherd (22.121), but the goatherd, however, is able to sneak weapons and armor to the suitors as well (22.151). On his second run for weapons, the cowherd and swineherd intercept the goatherd and tie him up and hang him from the rafters (22.196).Athena first arrives in the guise of Mentor (22.217) and then becomes like a sparrow perched on the rafters assisting Odysseus in his slaughter (22.250). She reveals her “man-destroying shield of thunder” and the suitors fall into a panicked madness; as Odysseus and his men went “wheeling into the slaughter, slashing left and right, and grisly screams broke from skulls cracked open—the whole floor awash with blood” (22.311). With only a few suitors left in the hall, Odysseus has no mercy on their prophet but spares the bard and the herald (22.327).The slaughter of the suitors is complete. Odysseus has the old maid, Eurycleia, send in the female servants who were disloyal (22.458), and these women help to carry out the corpses and clean the home of gore (22.471). Telemachus then oversees the disloyal women being slowly hanged in the courtyard—a “pitiful, ghastly death” (22.487). The goatherd is retrieved and mutilated to death by the swineherd and cowherd (22.500). Odysseus purifies his home with fire and brimstone (22.518). The book ends with the loyal maid servants of the house surrounding Odysseus, and the king breaks down and weeps (22.528). 104. What should be noted in how the suitors are slaughteredOdysseus invokes Apollo, the god of archery, on his feast day to help him with his slaughter (22.07). Notice that Homer makes it explicit that the suitors are killed while feasting (22.09). Homer writes, “food showered across the hall, the bread and meats soaked in a swirl of bloody filth” (22.21). It recalls Odysseus' statement that he is going to give them the feast they deserve (21.477). The mixed imagery of food and slaughter gives credence to seeing Odysseus as the cyclops consuming his guests. One wonders whether Antinous being shot in the throat is symbolic of his constant vile rhetoric throughout the narrative (22.15).Consistent with what we have previously observed, Eurymachus attempts to talk his way out of the situation, which includes an appeal for the king to spare his own people (22.57). Notice Odysseus says they can fight or flee, but it is not apparent that they can actually flee the situation nor that Athena would permit it (22.69).Arguably, Odysseus kills Antinous and Eurymachus first to deprive the suitors of their leadership—a fact he would have observed as the beggar. The suitors, which greatly outnumber Odysseus and his men, could overwhelm Odysseus, but instead their cowardice allows them to be picked off individually.

Dcn. Harrison Garlick is joined by another Catholic deacon, Dcn. Adam Conque to discuss Book 21 of the Odyssey: Odysseus Strings His Bow.Check out more at thegreatbookspodcast.comHelp support the podcast and get access to guides!From the guide:100. What happens in book twenty-one?The time has come for Penelope's test and the slaughter the suitors (21.05). Penelope brings out Odysseus' bow, one he received as a gift of friendship (21.40), and Telemachus sets out a line of ax heads the suitors must shoot through (21.140). Telemachus gives the first attempt and fails to even bend the bow (21.143). Leodes, a suitor, attempts and fails to even bend the bow as well (21.170). Antinous, who has been mocking everyone, has the goatherd attempt to limber the bow with fire and grease (21.198). Meanwhile, Odysseus takes the cowherd and swineherd out and reveals himself as their king—the three then plot the death of the suitors and return to hall. Eurymachus tries and cannot even bend the bow (21.274). Antinous, noting that Penelope has given them a test of archery on the feast day of Apollo, leads the suitors in a libation to the Archer God (21.289).Odysseus the beggar asks to try and is mocked by the suitors—but with the help of Penelope, Telemachus, and the swineherd, he is given his bow (21.314). The suitors look on with horror as he plucks the string with ease like a musical virtuoso (21.456). Odysseus lets an arrow fly, and the arrow passes through the ax heads perfectly (21.469). The book ends with Odysseus calling his son to arms, as it is time to provide the suitors their supper (21.473). 101. What should be noted about Odysseus' bow?First, note that the bow was given to Odysseus as a gift, and one given in friendship (21.40). Second, it is a foreign bow (21.15). One wonders whether Odysseus' ability to use the bow is not simply a test of strength but a test of techne, i.e., there is a cleverness needed to understand how to use the bow. Note that he seems to use a stool (21.467). Such a test would be more aligned with Odysseus as coupling of both cunning and strength. Third, it is notable that he did not take the bow to Troy with him.Moreover, one may question the veracity of Telemachus' attempt (21.149). To wit, his failure and his commentary on it seems so dramatic that one wonders whether he is presenting himself as weak, as non-threatening to mislead the suitors right before the trap is sprung. Notice his language: “must I be a weakling, a failure all my life,” and “come, my betters” speaking of the suitors (21.150, 53). He speaks like the old Telemachus before his maturation, but the new Telemachus is confident and knows his father has come home. Is Telemachus channeling the rhetoric of his father and presenting a falsehood?Penelope running interference for Odysseus the beggar to attempt the test to become her suitor lends again to her knowing or having a suspicion of who he truly is (21.350). Moreover, pay attention to how she speaks of the beggar fondly (21.373).We are in the final stretch of our Year with Homer!

Dcn. Harrison Garlick is joined by Dr. Jennifer Frey of the University of Tulsa Honors College to discuss Book 20 of the Odyssey: The Portents Gather.Check out thegreatbookspodcast.com for guides and more!From the written guide:97. What happens in book twenty?After his conversation with Penelope, Odysseus the beggar lays in bed alert to the fact the maidservants are leaving the house to go sleep with the suitors (20.08). Athena causes him to fall asleep (20.59), and in the morning Odysseus prays to Zeus for an omen of support (20.109). His prayer is answered and his “heart leapt up… convinced he'd grind the scoundrels' lives out in revenge” (20.134). The palace is alive in preparation for a feast in honor of Apollo (20.173).We are introduced to a new character, the cowherd, who is immediately reminded of king Odysseus when he sees Odysseus the beggar the first time (20.224). Athena stirs up the suitors (20.316), and one of the suitors throws on “oxhoof” at Odysseus (20.320). Telemachus chastises the suitor (20.339), and the suitors ask Telemachus to have Penelope choose a new husband (20.370). Athena whips the suitors up into a frenzy (20.385), and the prophet, Theoclymenus, leaves the palace—as he is so troubled by his visions of the house drenched in blood (20.390). The book ends with the suitors mocking Telemachus, Telemachus bearing it stoically while looking at his father, and Penelope listening to every word said in the hall (20.439).98. What should be made of Odysseus' request of Athena?Odysseus' request of Athena gives structure to the rest of the text (20.41). First, recall that it is Zeus that oversees guest-friendship; thus, Odysseus understands he needs divine permission to kill the guests in his home. Second, note the concern that if he does kill the suitors, their avengers will come to kill him (20.45). Here, we need to understand the judicial custom of blood avengers. In short, if a person in the family was murdered, a member of the victim's family bore a responsibility to then avenger the death of their relative. This is the underpinning to the story of Orestes killing Aegisthus for the murder of his father, Agamemnon. Later in Aeschylus' Oresteia, the tragedian will take up this story and explore the shortcomings with this understanding of justice. One such fault with the blood avenger model of justice is that is perpetuates circles of violence. For example, Odysseus will kill the suitors, but the family of the suitors will then seek to murder him; in turn, if they do murder Odysseus, Telemachus would then be bound to avenge father. As such, the concern is how does the cycle of violence stop? The answer to that question will be given one way at the end of the Odyssey and in another at the end of the Oresteia.Returning to the text, note that Athena does not answer him (20.47). Odysseus needs to have faith, as he's not given a detailed explanation of the divine plan. It is notable the passage ends with Homer using “loosed his limbs” as an idiom for sleep—as its normally an idiom for death (20.61). One wonders then if we are not on the verge of a rebirth for Odysseus. Finally, despite Athena's response, note that Odysseus still asks Zeus for a sign—and Zeus gives it to him (20.109).More questions and answers in our guide!

Welcome to another Huge Niblet episode. And yes, it's a bit huge. (You saw the time stamp!) In the A segment, we discuss Hugh Nibley's 1969 diatribe titled Science Fiction and the Gospel as well as the article that likely triggered his rage induced lecture. Then we move into our penultimate Approaching Zion discussion. Following that, we have some excellent news about Gen Z women leaving religion. Enjoy!  Show Notes:  https://speeches.byu.edu/talks/hugh-nibley/science-fiction-gospel/   Sword of Laman:  Approaching Zion, by Hugh Nibley    Books and poems mentioned:    1984 by George Orwell: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nineteen_Eighty-Four  In the Name of the Rose by Umberto Eco: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Name_of_the_Rose  The Divine Comedy by Dante Alighieri: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Divine_Comedy  Egyptian and Mesopotamian lamentation literature: lamenting lost glories and looking forward to a return of the same under a messianic king Lycurgus by Plutarch: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lycurgus  Eunomia by Solon:https://archive.schillerinstitute.com/fid_91-96/fid_932_solon.html  Republic by Plato: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Republic_(Plato)   Eclogues by Virgil: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Eclogues  Utopia by Thomas More: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Utopia_(book)  The City of the Sun by Thomas Campenella: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_City_of_the_Sun  Nova Atlantis by Francis Bacon: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/New_Atlantis  Leviathan by Thomas Hobbes: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Leviathan_(Hobbes_book)  The Commonwealth of Oceana by James Harrington: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Commonwealth_of_Oceana   The Adventures of Telemachus, son of Ulysses by François Fénelon: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Les_Aventures_de_T%C3%A9l%C3%A9maque    Other references:    1984 US Presidential Election: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1984_United_States_presidential_election  Ronald Reagan scandals: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Scandals_of_the_Ronald_Reagan_administration  Cry Havoc: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_dogs_of_war_(phrase)  Utopia: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Utopia  Rekhabite/Rechabite/Rekabite: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rechabites, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Independent_Order_of_Rechabites  Joachim of Fiore: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Joachim_of_Fiore  Benedict of Nursia: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Benedict_of_Nursia  Mendicant orders: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mendicant_orders  Potemkin Village: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Potemkin_village  Happy News: https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/nation/2024/08/13/gen-z-women-less-religious/74673083007/  Next Live Show!: Saturday November 23, 2024 at 11:00 AM (Mountain time)    Kang, Lydia; Pedersen, Nate. Quackery: A Brief History of the Worst Ways to Cure Everything. Workman Publishing Company.  Email: glassboxpodcast@gmail.com  Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/GlassBoxPod  Patreon page for documentary: https://www.patreon.com/SeerStonedProductions Facebook page: https://www.facebook.com/glassboxpodcast Twitter: https://twitter.com/GlassBoxPod  Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/glassboxpodcast/  Merch store: https://www.redbubble.com/people/exmoapparel/shop Or find the merch store by clicking on “Store” here: https://glassboxpodcast.com/index.html One time Paypal donation: bryceblankenagel@gmail.com  Venmo: Shannon-Grover-10   

Dcn. Harrison Garlick is joined by Mary Pat Donoghue, Executive Director of the Secretariat of Catholic Education at the USCCB, to discuss Book 19 of the Odyssey: Penelope and her guest. Check out thegreatbookspodcast.com for more!From our written guide:93. What happens in book nineteen?With the suitors retired for the evening to their own houses, Odysseus and Telemachus clear the hall of weapons, as Athena carries a golden lamp to light their way (19.35). Odysseus is harassed by the maidservant Melantho (19.70), and Melantho is warned by both Odysseus the beggar and Penelope that judgment is coming (19.97). Odysseus sits down with Penelope, and the two begin to trade carefully crafted responses (19.110). Odysseus, still disguised as a beggar, spins a falsehood for his wife about his history, which includes that he had met Odysseus (19.193). Penelope tests the beggar by asking about Odysseus' clothing, which Odysseus is easily able to answer (19.259). Odysseus the beggar tells Penelope her husband is alive and returning soon (19.310). Penelope, skeptical of the claim (19.354), arranges for the old maid, Eurycleia, to wash Odysseus' feet (19.406). Eurycleia recognizes Odysseus due to his scar—and we hear the story of how Odysseus received his name (19.445). Odysseus threatens the old servant, his old wetnurse, into silence (19.554). The book ends with Odysseus interpreting a dream for Penelope, and Penelope tells Odysseus the beggar how she intends to test the suitors (19.644).94. What should be noted in the dialogue of Odysseus and Penelope?The matchless queen of cunning and the man of twists and turns have their reunion—to a degree. Notice that Odysseus' original answer to Penelope is a non-answer (19.114). Penelope, in response however, appears to be quite open with her beggar-guest (19.137). What is the impetus of her openness to this stranger? Is she simply isolated, exhausted and recognizes in the beggar a noble spirit to which she can decompress? Or is Penelope's openness and invitation for the beggar to be open, because she suspects it is Odysseus? If Argos the dog can recognizes his master through this disguise, why not his cunning wife? The question of when Penelope suspects the beggar is Odysseus haunts the text.Odysseus arguably loves Penelope because of her wit, and she sharing the story of the loom would have been quite endearing to him (19.169). Odysseus tests his wife—recall the Clytemnestra episode—but the reader should be cognizant of to what degree Penelope is testing Odysseus (19.248). She certainly tests him in the story he presents, but one wonders to what degree she is testing him in her suspicions of who he really is. One notes how often Odysseus the beggar refers to his wife as “noble wife of Laertes' son, Odysseus” (19.299, 384).It is notable as well that the oath given is on the hearth of the home of Odysseus and Penelope (19.349). Odysseus' commentary on curses for those who are cruel toward guests and glory for those who are kind toward colors both his return home and his episode with the cyclops (19.376). Note also that xenia can be a source of glory and fame (19.382). In other words, glory comes not simply from wartime excellence but also peacetime hospitality. It reveals a path to glory in peace, which aligns with the Odyssey being a parallel to the city of peace of Achilles' shield. The book ends with another episode of Penelope seeming to be overly open to this beggar in her house, as she tells him her dream (19.603). Again, one wonders what she suspects and whether her openness is supposed to draw out a reciprocal openness. Her weeping at the end lends to theories that she suspects the beggar is Odysseus but the safeguards she has put in place around her heart will not admit it (19.680).Join us!

Dr. Jared Zimmerer of Benedictine College returns to the podcast to discuss Book 18 of the Odyssey with Dcn. Garlick and Adam Minihan. Check out thegreatbookspodcast.com for more.From our written guide:90. What happens in book eighteen?Another beggar, a man nicknamed Irus, arrives at Odysseus' palace and begins to harass Odysseus, the beggar in disguise (18.13). Antinous, the suitor, elects to host a battle between Odysseus the beggar and Irus—the winner will dine with the suitors and loser will be cast out (18.56). Odysseus soundly beats the would-be beggar king (18.121) and is rewarded with a meal from the suitors (18.136). Penelope comes forth, blessed by Athena, and the “suitors' knees went slack, their hearts dissolved in lust” (18.241). The suitors bring Penelope gifts, and Odysseus sees his wife's actions for what they are—a plot to lure gifts from the suitors (18.316). The suitor Eurymachus offers Odysseus the beggar work, but Odysseus' response causes him to throw a stool at him (18.437). The book ends with Amphinomus calling for peace and leading the suitors in a libation to the gods (18.463).91. Could a suitor repent?It appears the fate of the suitors is already locked in fate. Notice that despite Amphinomus' forebodings that something is wrong, Athena has already bound him to the fate of death (18.178). Similarly, Athena goads the suitors into acting worse (18.391). In fact, Telemachus appears to intuit this fact (18.459). To wit, it appears that the suitors no longer have the capacity to repent. Athena is holding them to their violent fate and even festering the problem. One may recall that Odysseus' coming home was compared to the “shadow of death,” and it appears after that moment the fate of the suitors was sealed.92. What else should be observed in book eighteen?The mockery of guest-friendship continues, as the suitors have the beggars fight each other for food (18.56). It is important to note that Penelope critiques the suitors for their violation of guest-friendship on the grounds they have deviated from the “time-honored way” and should have been bringing animals to her house “to feast the friends of the bride-to-be” (18.309). Assuming we take this assertion to be true, it is an important insight into how the suitors are violating the norms of guest-friendship. Regardless, we see that Odysseus delights in his wife's wit, the matchless queen of cunning, as he recognizes her ploy to receive gifts from the suitors in recompense for their violations (18.316).Notice that Eurymachus is sleeping with the servant girl, Melantho (18.368). The disloyalty of the servant women to the house of their master, Odysseus, should be noted. Moreover, the polished rhetorical mask of Eurymachus slips at Odysseus' quips (18.437). It is a notable scene as both rhetoricians are wearing a mask, so to speak, and Odysseus proves himself the better rhetorician. The fact that neither Telemachus or Odysseus will act until Athena gives them approval may be read that it is ultimately Zeus that oversees and judging guest-friendship; thus, it is not until the divine is ready to pass judgment that the mortals can act. Our Year with Homer continues next week!

The Odyssey is a very different poem from the Iliad in many ways, but in one way it picks up right where the Iliad leaves off: with the fallout of war and the journey to re-integrate soldiers back into the civil society they came from. Today we begin Odysseus' long journey home, which actually begins at the end and works backward, starting with his son Telemachus' journey to grow to manhod without his dad around.  Pre-order my new book, Light of the Mind, Light of the World: https://a.co/d/2QccOfM Subscribe to my joint Substack with Andrew Klavan (no relation): https://thenewjerusalem.substack.com Subscribe to be in the mailbag: https://rejoiceevermore.substack.com Stephen C. Meyer, The Return of the God Hypothesis: https://a.co/d/gbIOQSY Owen Barfield, Worlds Apart: https://a.co/d/1eVagdy Owen Barfield, Saving the Appearances: https://a.co/d/ioLqsnf C.S. Lewis, The Abolition of Man: https://a.co/d/e3QeBte C.S. Lewis, Miracles: https://a.co/d/g9hpjq5 Victor Stenger, God: The Failed Hypothesis: https://a.co/d/gmGwcoW James Hannam, God's Philosophers: https://a.co/d/625AA62 Ed Feser, Aristotle's Revenge: https://a.co/d/bPGnKuf Augustine, Confessions: https://a.co/d/99APz4T Augustine, De Genesi ad litteram imperfectus liber: https://www.augustinus.it/latino/genesi_incompiuto/index.htm  

Rob Pizzola and Joey Knish rank the best and the worst guest episodes of Circles Off. Also, make sure to vote for Circles Off as the best Sports Betting podcast out there! VOTE NOW: https://smartbettingclub.com/2024-awards/ GOAT Episodes #81 - Trenhaile (https://youtu.be/fAYrhzaiMiM) #11 - Abnormally Dist (https://open.spotify.com/episode/0Uh4DW9KwxofJLF7YeUWRt?si=uBXS7eHzQ0aXqwxg1Y_BZw) #95 - Berryhorse 1 (https://youtu.be/3JNH1cfp3hc) #121 - Shipper (https://youtu.be/H1i2-P6YX2U) Honourable Mention #61 - Chris Bennett (https://youtu.be/znbWX0JNEkE) #74 - Ferris (https://youtu.be/xSRFGRL57Ig) Overrated Episodes #88 - Steve Fezzik (https://youtu.be/Syq2P2rmdrM) #100 - Ed Golden (https://youtu.be/mj40UN2Wa0M) #129 - GiantsBadgers (https://youtu.be/TmD80pHgJV8) #137 - Gambling Frank Costanza (https://youtu.be/UyFm0aTAXzs) #79 - Benson vs Gruden (https://youtu.be/Cqt1eEaER6U) Underrated Episodes #153 - Dennis Montoro (https://youtu.be/g0YLFKWjp80) #48 - Telemachus [pt. 1] (https://youtu.be/x9TrXPod_24) #152 - Telemachus [pt. 2] (https://youtu.be/ugSo6WcCHPc) #19 - Eddie Walls (https://open.spotify.com/episode/2MO9G2aQmKHRRfn94l7Y8g?si=vgxYdPOtSEuabnxU4vSNtA) #83 - Pisky Positivo (https://youtu.be/WU4U-sszUm8) #110 - Jeff Ma (https://youtu.be/k8akUl1go0A) #126 - Eric Eager (https://youtu.be/Z9yaSksEZ94) #127 - Antonino De Rosa (https://youtu.be/j0Z4k-4_FD8) #114 - CallCustService (https://youtu.be/cVjgXnRJ5LY) WTF Were You Thinking? #145 - Alan Boston (https://youtu.be/5VqhOmzuViI) #131 - CizzlingSports (https://youtu.be/VXtgIk8eC60) #123 - Sharky Waters (https://youtu.be/U6srxz3Pazk) #12 - Harout Massoyan (https://open.spotify.com/episode/6psClaV9PUqhuEFfR1dsOB?si=sn3PUOyaQ3-oA5SKp2VqZQ) #63 - Derek Stevens (https://youtu.be/N4cA_svyP2w) #104 - Kevin Davis (https://youtu.be/13EAAFFEOM0) #147 - Corbie Craig (https://youtu.be/RcWhohzI640) I would like this if the guest wasn't a dork… #28 - PlusEVAnalytics (https://open.spotify.com/episode/4ZKukArdHaxE0kfNsGmGrM?si=HMXfRuhnSnaFv7WL_bfp2w) #53 - Hitman (https://youtu.be/jtZAmnFbSF8) #39 - Chernoff (https://youtu.be/zhQeWD-OPUQ) Looking to sign up at new sportsbooks? Support Circles Off when you do! www.betstamp.app/circlesoff