It's about time for our Halowe'en special--and as luck would have it, I can think of no more chilling or eerie storie than the one we have to tell today. It's Odysseus' meeting with the shadows of the dead in the Odyssey Book 11. In it, both Odysseus and Homer must confront the ultimate existential crisis and grapple with the possibility that life itself ends in nothing but worm food. So why go on living? It's a painful question, but one a hero must face to make his way out the other side of death and come back home.

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My book is out!! Order Light of the Mind, Light of the World: https://a.co/d/2QccOfM

Catch up on my livestream with Andrew Klavan (no relation): https://thenewjerusalem.substack.com/p/new-livestream-october-7-6pm-et

Simon Netchev’s Odyssey Map: https://www.worldhistory.org/image/15906/odysseus-ten-year-journey-home

Who doesn't love a free sample? This week, to change it up, I'm offering a sneek peak behind the paywall at rejoiceevermore.substack.com, where I've been creating an audiobook of John Milton's epic Paradise Lost. Hard to believe it's almost done! But to entice you to join, and to solicit suggestions for what to record next, here's the latest installment, in which Adam--newly expelled from Paradise--gets a glimpse of what will come in the wake of sin.

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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. 

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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

Divine love: the most natural, and the least natural, thing in the universe. In this conclusion to his series on virtues, Spencer walks through the history of Christian love from its earliest origins in the church to its extremes in the most exalted realms of human life. We have arrived at last at the virtue that suffuses all others and defines their objective. It's been quite the journey.

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What is going on with men? For that matter, what is going on with women? The war between the sexes has entered a new phase, as whatever wave of feminism we're currently surfing produces its own backlash. Helen Roy--mother, writer, and podcaster--joins Spencer to discuss how men and women alike can get past the narrative mill and come together again.

Listen to Helen's podcast, Girlboss, Interrupted: https://girlbossinterrupted.podbean.com/

Read Helen's Substack, Ladies' Late Rome Journal: https://helenroy.substack.com/

It's been years since the days when we Young Heretics discussed Plato's Symposium. But now we've come back around a second time to that fundamental question: what is love? (Baby, don't hurt me.) This time, Spencer takes a thousand-year look at the question from the Hebrew angle while--GASP--actually saying something less than favorable about C.S. Lewis. As the series on virtue draws toward its close, it's time to discuss the most important one of all, and the hardest one to define. What, I ask again, is love?

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A revival in classical education is sweeping the nation. But where are we going to get good classical educators? In this interview, Josh Herring of Thales College discusses how he and his colleagues are equipping teachers to rise to that noble calling. From the humanities to the natural sciences, we need leaders who can do more than just pass on information. Josh and Spencer discusses who will shape the souls of the soul-shapers themselves, and how.

Check out Thales College's degree in Classical education: https://www.thalescollege.org/academics/classical-education

Listen to the Optimistic Curmudgeon podcast: https://optimisticcurmudgeon2021.podbean.com/

Read Josh's writing: https://theimaginativeconservative.org/author/josh-herring

If faith is the substance of things hoped for, what is hope? Reaching back into Jewish history and the Hebrew Bible, Spencer explains the gritty determination that saves us from despair in the valley of the shadow of death. As war rages in modern Israel after a savage terrorist attack by Hamas, it becomes as urgent as it's ever been to know where hope can reside securely in a darkened world.

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My essay on Cyrus the Great: https://claremontreviewofbooks.com/one-king-to-rule-them-all/

What does it look like when people who don't hate humanity build technology that doesn't suck? Emmet Penney is one of the most original thinkers when it comes to industry, energy, and the long history of human stewardship on earth. We discuss his departure from the left wing of the environmental movement, his search for a new aesthetics of nuclear energy, and the crisis of faith in the technological age.

Check out Emmet's substack, Nuclear Barbarians: https://nuclearbarbarians.substack.com/

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Read his essay, which we discuss on the podcast: https://www.cityofpraxis.com/journal/the-industrial-revolution-never-happened

A voice comes down from heaven--or was it thunder? Your answer will depend on what you believe, and what you beleive will change the way you see. In this episode, Spencer explores the twisted paradox of faith, and the Christian' Church's history of wrestling with it. From Heraclitus to Martin Luther, the question is who can possibly give sight to the blind.

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Today's guest is someone whose life has been transformed by classical literature. Erik Rostad has reorganized his life around reading, with remarkable effects. We discuss how he was called to seek truth and beauty in the canon, which books have shaped him most deeply, and how he manages to read, run a business, and take care of his family all at once. If you're looking for strategies to get you started reading great works, Erik's your guy.

Check out Erik's project, Books of Titans: https://www.booksoftitans.com/

"Man of the worldly mind, do you believe in me or not?" That's what Jacob Marley's ghost asks Ebenezer Scrooge in A Christmas Carol. In this episode, Spencer points out that everyone believes in something they can't see--the question is, what? So begins the first episode on faith in our tour through the three theological virtues.

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Everyone wants to be happy--so why are so many people miserable? That's the simple question that the early Christian bishops posed to the canonical authors of the Greco-Roman world. It's also the question that kicks off Spencer's new series on the "theological virtues," or the Christian contribution to the classical philosophy of ethics. Using the basic experiences of everyday life, Spencer makes the practical case for--*gasp!*--going beyond Aristotle.

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Is prophecy a species of translation, or encryption, or both? This fascinating question, prompted by last week's episode on quantum cryptography, breaks down into two different sub-questions: how do prophets receive and communicate their messages, and how should we understand them? There are lots of ways to go wrong here--think doomsday cults--but also some fascinating ways to go right that help reveal the nature of language, scripture, and history. Plus: an illustration of the four traditional ways to interpret the Bible.

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I maked this: a full translation of the Book of Isaiah at https://www.rejoice-evermore.com/just-the-translation

Today on Young Heretics, a minor topic: the origins of the universe. Very casual.

New details and images from the James Webb Space Telescope have called into question the standard model of cosmology in Physics, leading Spencer into a series of reflections on the deeper histories of thought and of the universe (not so distinct as you might initially imagine). Plus, a cosmic mailbag question: what would you ask Satan if you met him?

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In the interval between finishing the cardinal virtues and starting on the Christian virtues, Spencer takes some listener questions in a special Office Hours episode of Young Heretics. Topics include: Getting kids interested in the classics, differences between Judaism and Christianity, Body Count Discourse, and naked women doing political protests. Plus: a close read of The 6th Sense.

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Read the new issue of CRB at https://claremontreviewofbooks.com/.

There's a movement afoot--and its coming from the ground up. All around the internet and the real world, there's a spirit moving people to reconsider the nature and purpose of consciousness in creation. Drew Weatherhead is one of those people--a writer and pocaster red-pilled by COVID and moved to explore some of the themes that have also been of urgent importance to Young Heretics. We discuss his journey and the central role of humanity in the creation of the world.

Check out Drew's book, Consciousness Reality & Purpose: https://a.co/d/2a8a7gE

Listen to Drew's podcast, Social Disorder: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/the-social-disorder-podcast/id1555590611

From the Ballad of Ye and the Kardashians to the Hatfields and the McCoys, there are a million ways to get justice wrong. Straight is the road and narrow is the gate: in this final installment of the cardinal virtues series, Spencer discusses justice at the macro level, not as a collection of prohibitions but as a law of love.

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Why isn't every book on philosophy like this one? Alex Priou, classicist and co-host of the New Thinkery podcast, has written an exploration of Plato's Symposium that is both readable and profound. It's a text we've talked a fair bit about on Young Heretics, and Alex has a great sense of what it can reveal to a modern reader. We discuss the true meaning of love, the nature and limitations of science, and the significance of prose style in philosohpy.

Order Alex's book, Musings on Plato's Symposium: https://a.co/d/3sODJ8R

Listen to Alex's Podcast, The New Thinkery: https://thenewthinkery.com/

We hear the word "justice" and immediately think "punishment." But justice in the truest sense isn't only a set of rules: it's also a virtue. From Plato to Dante by way of Stephen Sondheim, Spencer explains the last of the four cardinal virtues as both a source and a destination of love. Plus: an extended mailbag question about dealing with gender dysphoria.

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For this week's interview, Spencer is joined by Faith Moore, relation, to discuss her upcoming novel Christmas Karol. The two siblings discuss the power of storytelling to change hearts, how to truly recognize the value of motherhood, and why Charles Dickens's tale of Christmas has become such an enduring classic. Plus: stories about how annoying it was to grow up with Spencer.

Pre-order faith's book, Christmas Karol: https://a.co/d/9IDMq9C

Find faith on Twitter @FaithKMoore

How do you decide whether to start a side hustle? Who to vote for in 2024? When to pop the question? These moment-to-moment decisions, large and small, are the stuff character is made out of. Spencer discusses decision-making tactics in the modern and the ancient world, ranging from Brexit and the OODA loop to Aristotle and the virtue of practical wisdom.

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More on the OODA loop: https://thestrategybridge.org/the-bridge/2020/3/17/the-ooda-loop-and-the-half-beat

How does a wandering mind find its way to the classics? How do you cultivate renewal in a world of ruin? Spencer interviews Shane Sorensen, author of Renaissance Wisdom, about his self-instructed entry into the great conversation, and the pursuit of eternal virtues at the end of an age. Much like Petrarch and the leaders of the Renaissance, we find ourselves today on the cusp of something altogether new.

Check out Shane's book, Renaissance Wisdom: https://a.co/d/7mM4AD6

Discover Shane's podcast: https://renaissance-wisdom.com/

Follow him on Instagram: https://instagram.com/renaissancewisdom

What's the point of all this obscure knowledge? Spencer turns from contemplative wisdom to phronēsis, practical wisdom or the knowledge of how to do what is good for you as a human being. Subjects covered include free will, determinism, and why what is good for you is not necessarily good for a fish. Spoiler: it's because you can't breathe underwater!

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"God in Translation," an essay on the language of the Gospels in CRB: https://claremontreviewofbooks.com/god-in-translation/

Fall is in the air, which means the time has come for us to close out our study of the Iliad. From book 16 to the end in book 24, the poem engages in what remains one of the most enduring subtle studies of rage, war, grief, and even PTSD that the human mind has ever produced. It shows us the roots of all tragedy in our own lives and throughout history, leaving the stage set for a new adventure in the Odyssey. Which we'll pick up next week!

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Alice Oswald, Memorial: https://a.co/d/dcToGpW

Christopher Logue, War Music: https://a.co/d/fF2eVnb

Jonathan Shay, Achilles in Vietnam: https://a.co/d/3Jo7LpD

Books of Titans: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/books-of-titans-podcast/id1237365806

Welcome to Young Heretics: Conversations, a new series of specials devoted to living out high ideals in the modern day. Spencer talks with Peachy Keenan, author of Domestic Extremist, about how to break the spell of latter-day feminism, what it means to be extremely domestic, and why everyone's obsessed with the Barbie movie.

Check out Peachy's book: https://a.co/d/3JRD8UL

Follow her on Twitter: https://twitter.com/KeenanPeachy

Read her substack: https://peachykeenan.substack.com/

This week on the show, Spencer takes the study of wisdom to the very foundations of the world, where existence came into being and human consciousness came online. This is the virtue of the soul that allows us to understand what we are, and why we're more than just accidents. It's trippy--so buckle up--but it's also the realest thing there is.

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Check out my book: https://a.co/d/9Zq300Q

Some ideas are so stupid only an intellectual could believe them. But some wisdom is so profound only an old man can pass it on. In this new installment of his series on the virtues, Spencer introduces a form of moral excellence that is sorely lacking in the world: not intelligence or intellectual horsepower, but sophia, the wisdom that connects us to the order governing all time and space. Plus: an elaborate reference to the Matrix.

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Check out my book, How to Save the West: https://a.co/d/6hxh8Oo 

This one's for the girls. The ancient Greek word for courage is andreia--manliness. But whereas physical courage on the battlefield is a picture of something essential to manhood, there is also a womanly moral courage that no civilization can do without. In times of crisis and in the daily work of raising a family, womanly bravery is too often overlooked. Spencer concludes his series on the second canonical virtue with an episode dedicated to the women in our lives.

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It's the age of the anti-hero, and Machiavelli can help explain why. Talking through the life of Agathocles, tyrant of Syracuse, and discussing the portrayal of him in The Prince, Spencer probes deeper into the uneasy line between recklessness and courage, shamelessness and virtue. Can we find our way out of the war between the sexes to a real vision of what it means to tame the lion of the soul? Plus: a close reading of Taylor Swift. Sort of.

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This 4th of July, it's hard to feel confident that everything is gonna be just fine. But that's the point: nobody said it was easy, and it may be you were born for such a day as this. Continuing a series on the cardinal virtues, Spencer pauses to consider the nature of courage in America now and at its founding. Plus: more tips from the build-a-soul workshop.

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Gather round, one and all, and learn from Plato about how to get a date. Or start a workout routine. Or really...do anything good. Spencer embarks on a catalogue of the cardinal virtues--the principal forms of human moral excellence--beginning with moderation. It's not just some bland, middle-of-the-road stasis: it's a dynamic harmony among all the parts of you, and an antidote to the shallow philosophy of "following your heart."

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At long last, the people's cries have been heard--Young Heretics returns! Every day seems to bring some new catastrophe, and it's easy to see all the things that have gone wrong. But what would it mean to go right? You can't build a philosophy, or a life, on saying "no" to things. Somewhere you have to say "yes." In this new series, Spencer explores the nature of virtue and what it means to seek a truly good life (rather than just a not-bad one).

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For the penultimate episode of the show, Spencer Klavan is joined by friend and Dante expert Catherine Illingworth to approach the Commedia's beatific vision. Tying together threads from the whole series, and the whole podcast, Spencer and Catherine discuss the roles of flesh and spirit in love as the pilgrim makes his final approach to God in paradise.

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In this middle portion of his series on Dante, Spencer Klavan outlines the lay of the divine "land" in Dante's Commedia. Traveling from the lust of the damned up to the longings of the saved, Dante the pilgrim meets Beatrice the redeemed soul, seeking a way to purify and channel his fleshly desires.

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Ifmmp! After months spent explaining how communicating works in different languages, I've gotten a question about now not communicating works, in any language. Turns out the answer will take us through ancient mysticism, the invention of computers, and the technology behind Bitcoin...all in 30 minutes! At the end of it all, a tl;dr on what we should think about the race to build bigger faster quantum systems to make and break codes in our age of AI and machine-generated poetry.

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In this final series of Young Heretics, Spencer Klavan charts a map of Dante's career and the structure of his greatest work, the Commedia. Walking through the politics, metaphysics, and artistic background of the poem, Spencer approaches the beginning of Dante's journey to discover the true nature of love.

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When the Devil visits Ivan in the Brothers Karamazov, he looks at first like a rather unimpressive gentleman. But lurking under his seemingly distracted conversation is a sinister depiction of the world broken down into infinite matter, formless and void. What answer can we possibly give to this satanic vision? Spencer Klavan explores Dostoevsky's alternative to modernist perdition.

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"Everyone is guilty for everything before everyone”: This week, through the mystery of Father Zosima's life and sermons, Spencer Klavan unfolds Dostoevsky's answer to Ivan, to Nietzsche, and to modern skepticism and scientism. The words of Zosima are at the heart of this sprawling novel, and their wisdom is, if anything, more relevant now than when they were written.

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Ivan, the most brilliant and also the most tormented of the brothers in Dotoevsky's "Brothers Karamazov," saw something that few others could see: if there is no immortal soul and no God, then everything is permitted. It's something that Nietzsche realized as well, and it drove him mad. How did Dotoevsky avoid the same fate—and how can we? Spencer Klavan picks up these questions in the second installment of this series.

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Dostoevsky was the kind of artist who peers so deep into the heart of the present that he becomes a prophet of the future. His last and greatest novel, The Brothers Karamazov, can be difficult to get into—but if you manage to crack the spine, it will be well worth your while. Spencer Klavan offers a little Young Heretics-style help to get you started.

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What do you want? In this final episode of his series on Thomas Traherne, Spencer Klavan explores Traherene's daring suggestion that you might not want enough. The 17th-century mystic argued that God gives us the world anew each time he creates a new human being—a thought that can radically change the way you look at basically everything.

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How can we retain a sense of joy in the teeth of suffering? What does it mean to forgive? These hard and painful questions are the subject of the second installment in Spencer Klavan's series on Thomas Traherne and Matthew 6. Breaking down the Greek of the gospels and using Traherne as a guide, Spencer points the way to a joy that persists even when happiness doesn't.

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How can you learn Latin, Ancient Greek, or Biblical Hebrew in order to read the classics of the ancient western world, in their original language? Get 10% off of your Ancient Language Institute course with promo code HERETICS: https://ancientlanguage.com/heretics.

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"Take care that ye perform not your righteousness to be seen of men." These words, familiar to Christians around the world, have an urgent and profound meaning for our time that needs unlocking. Using the Greek of the gospels and the profound meditations of Thomas Traherne, Spencer Klavan explores what it means not to let the left hand know what the right hand is doing.

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In this final episode of his series on Athenian democracy and citizenship, Spencer Klavan tells a few rip-roaring myths and true stories from the history of Athen—from the birth of King Erichthonius out of the ground to the fraught relationship between Cleisthenes of Athens and King Cleomenes of Sparta. Then as now, the question was: what does it mean to be equal before the law?

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Indeed is the hiring partner where you can attract, interview, and hire all in one place. Get a $75 sponsored job credit to upgrade your job post at https://Indeed.com/HERETICS.

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Stop throwing your tea into the harbor, and start celebrating America’s tea heritage with Gold River Trading Co.’s specialty blends. Get 10% off your order with promo code HERETICS: https://goldriverco.com.

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Okay, so we have a country—but isn't that a little mean? Drawing on Aristotle's definition of citizenship and politics, Spencer Klavan examines the question of open borders and asks what it really means to "love thy neighbor" in a political context.

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Public Goods is the one stop shop for sustainable, high quality everyday essentials made from clean ingredients. Receive $15 off your first Public Goods order at https://publicgoods.com/HERETICS.

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Stop throwing your tea into the harbor, and start celebrating America’s tea heritage with Gold River Trading Co.’s specialty blends. Get 10% off your order with promo code HERETICS: https://goldriverco.com.

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You’ll have more energy and feel healthier when you take Field of Greens. Get 15% off your first order and another 10% off when you subscribe for recurring orders. Use promo code HERETICS at https://fieldofgreens.com.

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Indeed is the hiring partner where you can attract, interview, and hire all in one place. Get a $75 sponsored job credit to upgrade your job post at https://Indeed.com/HERETICS.

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If I were making a movie of the Iliad (a good one, not the Brad Pitt version of Troy), there's no question the trailer would have to include today's central scene: Hector and Andromache on the wall. This is the money shot that reveals the poem in its full greatness, honest and sober about the realities of war but capable of mourning with those who suffer defeat. The Trojans might be the most interesting part of the poem, especially for what they reveal about the problems of polytheism and the contrast it poses to the Christian gospel. All this and more on our second-to-last Iliad episode.

Watch my interview on the Ben Shapiro Sunday Special: https://youtu.be/5qjDUhzJqgc?si=T8JBpdXzc1dlfCzy

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What is a citizen, and who gets to be one? With immigration all over the news, Spencer Klavan takes a Young Heretics look at the nature of citizenship, starting with Aristotle’s politics. From 3rd-gen Athenian philosophy to Martha’s Vineyard, all in 60 minutes!

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How can you learn Latin, Ancient Greek, or Biblical Hebrew in order to read the classics of the ancient western world, in their original language? Get 10% off of your Ancient Language Institute course with promo code HERETICS: https://ancientlanguage.com/heretics.

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Indeed is the hiring partner where you can attract, interview, and hire all in one place. Get a $75 sponsored job credit to upgrade your job post at https://Indeed.com/HERETICS.

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Rocket Money is the new app that helps you identify and stop paying for subscriptions you don’t need, want, or simply forgot about. Save thousands of dollars a year: https://rocketmoney.com/heretics.

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You’ll have more energy and feel healthier when you take Field of Greens. Get 15% off your first order and another 10% off when you subscribe for recurring orders. Use promo code HERETICS at https://fieldofgreens.com.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

In this final installment of the series on Owen Barfield, Spencer Klavan explores how the first and last Inkling's ideas can help us understand the arguments over the multiverse, the creation story in Genesis, and the very fabric of reality. Plus he reads some of Barfield's poetry. And all in under an hour!

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Public Goods is the one stop shop for sustainable, high quality everyday essentials made from clean ingredients. Receive $15 off your first Public Goods order at https://publicgoods.com/HERETICS.

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Stop throwing your tea into the harbor, and start celebrating America’s tea heritage with Gold River Trading Co.’s specialty blends. Get 10% off your order with promo code HERETICS: https://goldriverco.com.

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Rocket Money is the new app that helps you identify and stop paying for subscriptions you don’t need, want, or simply forgot about. Save thousands of dollars a year: https://rocketmoney.com/heretics.

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You’ll have more energy and feel healthier when you take Field of Greens. Get 15% off your first order and another 10% off when you subscribe for recurring orders. Use promo code HERETICS at https://fieldofgreens.com.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Owen Barfield's "Poetic Diction" is a book about etymology that turns out to shed light on much more than language. In this episode of Young Heretics, Spencer Klavan describes his own life-changing experience discovering the book and explores how Barfield's vision of human perception can help unlock the mysteries of life, the universe, and everything. From scripture to science, the first and last Inkling has much to say to our modern predicament.

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Rocket Money is the new app that helps you identify and stop paying for subscriptions you don’t need, want, or simply forgot about. Save thousands of dollars a year: https://rocketmoney.com/heretics.

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You’ll have more energy and feel healthier when you take Field of Greens. Get 15% off your first order and another 10% off when you subscribe for recurring orders. Use promo code HERETICS at https://fieldofgreens.com.

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Public Goods is the one stop shop for sustainable, high quality everyday essentials made from clean ingredients. Receive $15 off your first Public Goods order at https://publicgoods.com/HERETICS.

--

Indeed is the hiring partner where you can attract, interview, and hire all in one place. Get a $75 sponsored job credit to upgrade your job post at https://Indeed.com/HERETICS.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices