Thomas interviews Davies Owens and Keith McCurdy. Davies is the current host of Basecamp Live, and Keith is the founder of Live Sturdy, LLC. Both have various other credentials. Oh heck, just listen to the episode already.

We revisit a book we've done an episode on already. But here's the thing, folks: the book is so dang good, and Graeme walks us through the intricacies of a specific scene in this one. And it's good. Soooooo good. In my humble opinion.

In this episode, I admit that while I, Graeme, have some good points, A.J. is ultimately right. He's convinced me with the gravity of his intellect couched in both wit and charm. What a great guy, that A.J..

"The Great Divorce," by C.S. Lewis, recounts a bus trip to heaven. We discuss the Problem of Evil in the perspective of the book.

Euclid's "Elements" was the math text for over a thousand years. We all try to do a proof, and we end up with something looking like an Eiffel Tower.

Machiavelli was a statesman that wanted back into the good graces of the Medici. It half worked. This is a discussion of the work that was supposed to do the job of charming the prince. It's entitled, shockingly, "The Prince."

Jane Austen is a delight, and her novel Pride and Prejudice is no exception. In this episode, we review the book and talk about what it takes to change as drastically as Elizabeth and Darcy.

While "The Gates of Paradise" mark one of the first uses of perspective in sculpture, Rodin's "Gates of Hell," made much later in response, chronicle the existential despair of human suffering, so that's great!

"A Mathematician's Lament," by Paul Lockhart, mourns the way we teach math to children. In many ways, he's right. A.J. will probably still find something to complain about, though.

We all get depressed sometimes. We take a look at when Satan gets the feels in Milton's Paradise Lost.

Lorenzo Ghiberti sculpted what are perhaps the most famous doors of human history. You can see them in Florence (if you go to a museum), or you can listen to this podcast and see them in your mind's eye. If you want to view them online, we've included a link in the show-notes on our website.

Even smart people need a little direction sometimes (except for Graeme, who is perfect always), and The Intellectual Life by A.G. Sertillanges helps us all in the disciplines of intellectualism.

The rest of Goethe's Faust is flat bananas, and it ends with a devil flirting with Angels. I can't even. (Also, please don't miss my rhyming pun with "Tokyo Drift." I'm convinced puns are extra good if you have to explain them.)

In this episode, Thomas walks us through the storied life of Beatrix Potter. We also discuss a bully rabbit.

Let's talk about gnosticism. Let's talk about heresy. Let's talk about Emmanuel Le Roy Ladurie's book, "Montaillou, Cathars and Catholics in a French village, 1294-1324." Let's talk about starting our own cult.

As the archangel Michael boots Adam and Eve from Paradise, he gives Adam a vision of the future to, you know, make him feel better. Adam then says that he knows what is right now, and that man only has to obey. Was Milton making a statement about the ways in which we should conduct ourselves in regard to curiosity? I mean, probs.

Johann Wolfgang von Goethe's Faust is a breathtaking German masterpiece of literature written by a rock collector. In this episode, we do the first bit of part one.

"A History of Private Life" is a look at the culture of Rome from the perspective of the commoner. What was it like to be a regular ol' Joe during the time of the Caesars?

The Bible has passages that are seemingly contradictory. In this episode, Graeme leads us through a case study of one of such contradiction and why it might be exactly what it seems.

Christopher Marlowe was a contemporary of Shakespeare's, and he wrote poorly. Specifically, he wrote eponymous play for this episode. Not only that but SPY STUFF?!?

In this episode we discuss C.S. Lewis's Perelandra and learn how to punch evil in the mouth.

Bubble Bubble, Toil and Trouble, Graeme discusses witches' stubble. Tells to Burg and 'splains to Bees, That's all that we do this week. Okay, so we talk about Macbeth and how all of the weird stuff that happens with Nature in this book is an inroads into the real themes of the play.

Magbee worries that A.J. is a little too fascinated with evil, so A.J. leaned into it and investigated how we currently think of evil. We follow the train of thought from Augustine to Aquinas. Turns out everything is pretty great.

Josh Gibbs, a favorite of ours, just put out a new book containing essays on Christmas. We discuss them here. Because Christmas is awesome, and you should awesome too.

In this episode, we cover the origins and a chunk of the childhood of Temujin; that's Genghis Khan for all you noobs out there.

In this episodes, we discuss how biography and the artist affect our interpretation, or really, how it shouldn't. We also read W.H. Auden's "The Fall of Rome." It's good I guess.

Alright, don't get cross with me. I did a more modern book. It's interesting, though, and we talk a little about LSD, some about busses, and a bunch about gambling. See? It's fun.

We've reached the final summit of Purgatory, and lemme tell ya. Things get a little weird in this one. We've got eagles, random giants, a parade, and more!

we're nearing the top of the mountain of Dante's Purgatorio with the illustrious Thomas Magbee leading the charge. We talk to some more sinners, walk through some fire, and leave Virgil behind. Plus, fanboy.

First, I get it, I hate the extra s after the apostrophe, but what're you gonna do, the MLA team are a bunch of nut jobs. That said, it doesn't matter anyway. We're all just doomed forever.

Graeme wrote his grad thesis on C.S. Lewis's "Till We Have Faces." Prepare to laugh your way through an episode, because--hoo boy--Graeme's grad paper was a doozy. It's like reading "Modeland" by Tyra Banks, but with less mascara.

Turns out, purgatory is great for fitness. In this episode, Thomas continues to guide us through Dante's Purgatorio, and we learn about Envy, Pride, Sloth, and Wrath.

In Camus's excellent (and refreshingly brief) novel, he embraces the absurd. Also, murder! Days at the sea! A.J. wonders if he's broken at his core!

In this episode we finish discussing man's tendency to let our mimetic rivalry escalate into scandal, leading to an eventual sacrificial scapegoat. Honestly, it all seems kinda fun to me.

In the middle of Dostoyevsky's excellent book, the main character discusses an article he's written on "The Great Man," so we decide to do the same thing (while adding a little background and summary at the same time).

Kristin Lavransdatter is a three-volume story by Sigrid Undset. This episode covers volume one. And oh, so much happens. Vows are given. Babies conceived. Fathers hoodwinked. We've got fires. Vagabonds. Poison. Oh, it's good.

Magbee, a counselor in his own right, discusses Andrew Purves's book. How should one view counseling and brain chemistry, pastoring and sin? It's a toughy, and that's coming from somebody with SAD. Seriously. I have a thing called "S.A.D." that makes me sad.

Whenever Graeme likes to say something intelligent, one thing that I apparently love to do is fasten on one small element of his argument and dig my heels in. This week, it's about birds that love each other. The rest of the podcast is a cool thing about psychological readings of scripture.

Don Quixote is a fun book about an old guy who hates windmills. Or maybe it's an epoch defining work of genius. Or maybe it's a book about the dangers of romance.

The second part of The Poetic Edda concerns the exploits of one family of Norse Heroes. Intrigue? Check. Regicide? Check. A pair of shape-shifting brothers, one of whom is an otter that loves munching fish? Double check.

Philosophers always say that the best life is the life of a philosopher, the life of contemplation. I have always disagreed. Listen to Graeme change my mind (this is A.J., by the way).

In this episode, we discuss a psychological reading of Beowulf, and why it fails to approach the text honestly. Weirdly, we all agree. The whole crew. It's strange.

The Poetic Edda are the primary source for most of our information on Norse Mythology. They also happen to be the most heavy-metal myths you've ever heard. Half-corpse god of Hell named "Hel"? Yes, please.

Antonio Gramsci was a Marxist, and we see some of his theories finding purchase today. Don't worry, we don't really get political, but we do discuss the ideas themselves.

In book X of Plato's Republic, he rails on imitative poetry some more, argues for the immortality of the soul, and tells a creepy story about a guy named "Er."

In the old'n days, an artist was like a parasite, but a friendly one. You know, like those birds who clean the teeth of alligators. In this episode we discuss the relationship between patron and artist.

This is the first episode of a series on "The Secret History of the Mongols," the primary source for a big chunk of our knowledge about Genghis Khan. This episode lays the groundwork for the actual book.

We're almost there, guys, and this is the penultimate chapter of Plato's republic. This one is all about tyranny. A tyranny named Tyrone.

As a follow up to book IX of the republic, Graeme leads us on a thought journey to the medieval land of government. So strap on your cassock and let's get weird.

We've done Dante's Inferno before, so Thomas introduces us to his Purgatorio in this episode. Doesn't "Purgatorio" sound like the Italian version of famous horror movie "The Purge"? It isn't, though.