Godward: A Lit-Wisdom Podcast: Recent Episodes
Casey
An ex-professor continues the search for wisdom in literature, philosophy... and parenting. Try to avoid Mammon and Moloch along the way because this show affirms Jesus Christ! More reactionary than progressive, but trying to stay optimistic. Look for new episodes at least once a week.
This episode is a bit delicate... but very relevant, and very worth listening to, in my opinion. What was the cause of the riot among the native Alexandrians in 38 A.D.?
In this episode, hear a summary of philosophical idealism, and learn how it is related to the question of Realism vs. Nominalism that dominated philosophy during the Middle Ages. Then, think through the consequences of these world-views. Was William of Ockham a genius, or was he wrong -- or was he subversive? How does an idealist imagine that education should work? How do our convictions about these things change how we might raise our children? Finally: what if I'm not perfectly beautiful and I feel sad about all of this?
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Make sure to look at the YouTube version of this episode -- much more visually stimulating~
More of the same, for die-hard fans only. Hawthorne, The Blithedale Romance. Part 3.
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Part 2 in the video series on Hawthorne's 1852 book, "The Blithedale Romance"
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In this introductory episode, hear about Brook Farm and 19th century socialism in America, the influence of Fourier, and the necessity of skepticism and doubt. "The Blithedale Romance" was published in 1854, about 12 years after Hawthorne lived for a time at Brook Farm with a bunch of unitarians who wanted to reform the world. In the long run, he wasn't buying it. Part 1 in a series.
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In this eclectic episode, hear about Montaigne's approach to essay-writing, my own health difficulties, and Buddha's teachings -- plus, a general review of the channel and a discussion of what sorts of directions we might pursue in the future. There's a little bit of everything here.
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In this high-verbal IQ episode, hear a reasonable attempt at summarizing Melville's very dense follow-up novel to Moby-Dick, "Pierre, or, The Ambiguities." What happens when mom wants you to like Reese Witherspoon but you fall for Helena Bonham Carter instead -- and then discover she's your half-sister? You move to New York City and try to become a great Truth-Telling writer, of course! But seriously, epistemological uncertainty can be a real drag, but it might also be how things really are -- and maybe it's at least nice to know that someone else has swum in these depths before us. "The brain is wider than the sky," Emily Dickinson said -- and that means it's definitely larger than politics too. My argument here is that we need to get in closer touch with human nature and psychology in order to construct anything of value, whether it be art or a political order or anything else -- the mind comes first, and it's not easy terrain to master.
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Continuing in the thread of 19th century liberals and why we love them, this episode considers "Song of Myself" and a couple of shorter poems by Whitman. Is he a very modern, post-Christian, sexually-depraved degenerate? Probably yes to all those. Do we still love his poetry?--yes!--even though it doesn't rhyme?--still, I think yes! There's never been a more anti-nationalist writer than Whitman, unless you count Anacharsis Cloots, but at the same time, Whitman is the most American-American ever... so, what's going on there? Can we salvage any of this? Here's my take: we DO want some serious emphasis on the esoteric elements of religion. Religion is not merely a language that we use to organize society. It is also the gateway to the other dimension of thought, to the twilight zone -- and this gateway cannot be inherited genetically, and it cannot be forcibly inculcated by a doctrine. Instead, one has to discover it for himself. And once he does, he is now qualified as what William James would call "the twice born," which means he is no longer LIKE all the other people -- including the people he has known for his whole life! He's a new man! Born again! And he will THEN go on to seek others who have experienced this second birth. He will identify with his fellow-twice-born even more than he did with his blood-ties. Can we imagine a society of the twice-born? Can such a society avoid ossifying?
Nietzsche's ubermensch, eternal recurrence, anti-Christianism. Enjoy the analysis and commentary on "Thus Spake Zarathustra." Plus, honoring Jerry Rubin! This episode gives you all the content you want in a way that will make some of you (the ones who don't know what they're talking about) mad. Seriously, Nietzsche is not a conservative.
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In this Francophilic video, enjoy lots of pretty pictures and some sympathetic talk about Huysmans' 1884 cult classic, "Against Nature," which is also translated as "Against the Grain." The idea of this book is that the French Decadent period was sort of the end of an age. Ennui was dominating French intellectuals and the opium dens and brothels were lining the streets of Paris. Some visionaries like Baudelaire and Rimbaud challenged the optimistic narrative of Progress and secularism. Some became political liberals, but some decided that that was a path leading nowhere. Swimming against the stream, cutting against the grain, not following the pack -- all that stuff -- Joris-Karl Huysmans wrote a book in the exact opposite direct, and it scandalized the French literati. Degeneracy is a real thing, and some people actually oppose it smartly!
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In this misleadingly titled video, hear a reasonable attempt at summarizing one of Shakespeare's greatest plays, as well as some thoughts about its meaning and dominant themes. See some famous paintings of the play, and hear something about how Shakespeare changed English drama, as well as how he influenced later writers like Herman Melville. Pull your tights up, gentlemen!
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In this based episode, see a couple of interesting short clips, hear some stuff about Franz Kafka & his story, "The Metamorphosis," and learn about the Art of Dark podcast. We should talk more about what we mean by "Based," but we'll save that for the secret streams. Themes of alienation and disorientation. The highly modernist setting. A dash of German and a dash of Jewishness. I mean, this episode really has it all.
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In this ineffable video, ironically, not as many visuals -- just some talking about language and thought after re-reading Cormac McCarthy's "Kekule Problem" essay... here's a link to the original essay:
https://nautil.us/issue/47/consciousness/the-kekul-problem
I've always found this to be a stimulating locus for meditation -- the origin of language, what it has to do with the self, and being human, etc.
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In this positively-perspectival episode, learn about what happened after the Gospels and after the Book of Acts, both in Jerusalem and in places like Ephesus and Athens and Rome and Alexandria. Eusebius's church history is an attempt to narrate a people into existence -- he refers more than once to "the Christian race," and he definitely sees the destruction of Jerusalem as the fulfillment of prophecy. He cites Josephus and Philo, as well as a letter said to be written by Jesus Christ himself. Seriously fun content here.
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In this very English video, hear a bit of background and statistics on Milton's famous poem, "Paradise Lost." See some video footage of North Carolina in Spring. Hear about what's so wrong with communism, and why Psychology is only helpful if it builds upon a proper understanding of the essential nature of mankind. Blank verse is a slog, but if you love iambs, you'll enjoy this episode!
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In this abstract episode, consider a few specific examples taken from literary classics -- as well as a couple from modern books & movies -- in order to answer the question of whether there are limits to interpretation that are "built into" the narratives we enjoy. What ramifications do these proposed limits of interpretation have on our own sense of moral duties, heroism, virtue, and human psychology? If we consider our own lives as a story, does it help us to make good moral judgments, or was Socrates right in saying we should throw out the stories because they give us a false sense of reality? There's a lot going on in this episode, but the good news is, you'll be able to keep up even if you haven't read Aeschylus or Euripides -- although, you probably should at least know the outline of Antigone & the New Testament, okay? I mean come on. Get a grip.
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In this atonal episode, hear almost nothing about Milledgeville and very little about Lupus, but hear a pretty good complete reading of a fragment of an uncompleted novel based on a line from Psalm 2 by Flannery O'Connor -- who wrote the fragment, which has been published as a story titled "Why the Heathen Rage" (not Psalm 2, of course). In a way that's hard for Protestants to understand, thinking about violence and interesting unexpected-but-inevitable endings in relation to Christianity all made sense to Flannery. Also a little discussion of violence & catharsis in "American Psych0."
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In this mystical episode, learn a bit about German theologian Meister Eckhart and hear from his sermon, "Blessed are the Poor." We're talking exoteric and esoteric, outward and inward -- the god beyond all concepts of "God." The church wasn't exactly comfortable with him 700 years ago and some people still aren't. Enjoy!
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In this very plausible episode, learn to appreciate the way that the intricate, realistic, and even mundane details of a typical Borges story -- in this case, "Funes, El Memorioso" -- create a catalyst to imagination that can free you from your stuck-in-a-rut basic concerns about politics and orthodoxy and everything else that's predictable. Put your sails up to full mast and let's go somewhere! We're not staying in the ghetto, gang.
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In this scattershot episode, we discuss the incentives and pressures that exist in modern, post-revolutionary capitalist society. We trash Milton Friedman a little bit and bolster some new stuff by David Graeber and some older stuff by Thoreau & Melville -- plus, hear from Wendell Berry & Leo Marx. We can reason about macroeconomics, but it's more difficult when (or: "if") we take into account the moods and emotions and yes, preferences, of the individual children of god that macroeconomists refer to as "labor." Hello my fellow Leftists.
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In this experimental video, just get into the trance, learn to think like an iris flower, see some inverted video and hear more from Aarvoll & Dogen & Dionysus. There's also a bunch of paintings and pictures of early Spring. And what's with Moses covering his face?
In this licentious video, get wild with the Bacchae of Euripides, learn about where Dionysus comes from (he's a foreigner, sort of) and why he demands to be acknowledged as a god. And, hear all about what happens if we refuse to recognize him as a god. Plus, lots of paintings and a wild 5-minute video that I made myself with help from the muses.
Odysee: https://odysee.com/@Godward:5?r=4A91ThmzLji3NFhSe45XMiCLpT8Y8RDQ
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In this brightly lit video, learn about an ancient feud between one type of people (the good ones) and another type of people (the bad ones), and try to decide which side you want to be on. The stakes couldn't be higher! If you choose to be on the good side, the people on the bad side will probably hate you and ostracize you and maybe even kill you, whereas if you choose to go with the baddies, you'll get cushy jobs and make lots of money and be popular and celebrated in the media. All you have to do is hold the opinions that are officially popular, regardless of what they are, and never tell people they can't have all they want! Plato's Gorgias is on the hot-seat.
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In this heady video, hear a good deal of analysis of the first of Plotinus's Enneads, and learn about the three hypostases, his anti-Gnosticism, and how Porphyry preserved his mentor's biographical details. What is a "Proficient?" Plus, watch me thumb through the greatest children's book of all-time, "A Story of Mankind," by Van Loon -- and as usual, see some clips from the back-yard and neighborhood walks.
Odysee: https://odysee.com/@Godward:5?r=4A91ThmzLji3NFhSe45XMiCLpT8Y8RDQ
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Interested in the Harry & Meghan Markle scandal? Want to learn about why the Royal Family is so interesting in this case, and why it's not so easy to decide which side is in the right? Listen to this informative episode where we discuss Sophocles's famous Oedipus Cycle, and we examine the philosophical issues that were raised by Oprah's interview by comparing what happened in ancient Thebes to what is happening now in Old England. Yes, it's a little click-baity, but don't let the lyin' mainstream media tell you what to think about this! Reason through it yourself!
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In this Puritanical episode, learn about Jonathan Edwards, Puritan-Calvinist theology, and the importance of receiving a sort of special revelation that Edwards describes as a light immediately imparted by God. Plus watch me cut down a ginkgo tree. We're talking the real living Holy Spirit, and the orthodox are liable to cry because we ain't doin' it their way! Mwhaha find me on Patreon my fellow Protestants children of God:
https://www.patreon.com/Godward
In this heretical episode, see some images and learn to see through the images to the divine realm. Hear about how the Nag Hammadi was discovered, when the texts were translated, etc. Plus, hear some quotes from the Gospel of Philip, discuss the problem of language & ineffability... and if you make it to the end of the video, see a very fine painting of Pontius Pilate and Jesus Christ staring at each other face to face.
Romans 16:25: "Now to him that is of power to stablish you according to my gospel, and the preaching of Jesus Christ, according to the revelation of the mystery, which was kept secret since the world began."
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In this scandalous episode, hear an overview of Herodotus, a defense of free speech, some reflections on my college years, and a re-telling of the story of King Candaules sucking himself. See some sexy paintings and read about the very different ways that people used to arrange themselves. If you're inclined to support my work, here's a link to my Patreon page:
https://www.patreon.com/Godward
In this succinct episode, learn little about the life of Blaise Pascal, about his historical period, about his political convictions--instead, hear a few of his maxims read aloud, and think with me about what they mean, and consider why he was thinking about them. Pascal seems to me like absolutely required reading for professing Christians, and he might even be a good antidote to the subtle corruptions that have been woven into the faith by bad Christians... and maybe even by non-Christians.
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In this conspiratorial video, learn about the historian Sallust and his two works, The Catiline Conspiracy and The Jugurthine War -- see a great painting by Rogier Van Der Weyden, which I had intended to compare favorably to the Mona Lisa but chickened out. Hear a quote from a PhD who gives you the green-light on doing some light conspiracy theorizing. Seriously, for those of you who are hearing me, this one should really start to help it click... we're back in 64-63 B.C., but as Brian G says, the more things change, the more they stay the same.
Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/Godward
In this Truthful episode, Straussians are BTFO’d by one of the greatest men to ever live, Anicius Manlius Severinus Boëthius — better known simply as Boethius. What can we do about the Woke brigade, cancel culture, and our lingering sense that the world that existed for our grandfathers was in some sense truer and more natural than the one we find ourselves in? Should we use cryptic language and parables, should we dodge persecution, make compromises, and let the executioner take our allies before they take us? Or should we do the right thing and simply endure the consequences? What would Lady Philosophy do?
Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/Godward
In this scandalous episode, hear all about the dalliances of Nero and Caligula, as well as the murderous antics of earlier emperors like Julius Caesar and Augustus. Seriously I wouldn't let your mom listen to this -- it's too controversial and graphic. Oh and, there are some visuals! Please take a look at my Patreon page -- the next secret stream meeting is tomorrow night!
Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/Godward?fan_landing=true
In this Historiographic episode, learn about Greek Historian Polybius, who lived in Rome for most of his life after age 33 -- but more important, learn about his chief work, "The Histories." He tells mainly of the Carthaginian attempt to sack Rome, but he intersperses all sorts of interesting observations about human nature, political philosophy, women, and so on. It's a really good read, and it reinforces my view that life was harder and scarier before the Logos than it has been ever since -- and so we would do well to understand that, in and like, be thankful for it. Speaking of thankful, here's a link to the Patreon page:
https://www.patreon.com/Godward?fan_landing=true
In this extremely 20th-Century video, hear a summary of Camus's thinking on Nihilism, Absurdity, and political revolutions. What causes people to rebel against the status quo, and once they do, why does it always seem to lead to total meltdown until all narratives and shared values are destroyed? Can we live after the "death of God?" Is the state ever justified in squashing rebellion? Is deconstruction good when the institutions are bad? Are the secret police progressive and good and necessary in a way that rebellious people just can't understand? Is the state ever justified in murdering its opponents? If not, what "checks" it?
Here's the Patreon link: https://www.patreon.com/Godward?fan_landing=true
In this harrowing but visually stimulating video, get your quick summary of one of the great Ancient Greek dramas and a huge dose of art history. You'll hear about Agamemnon, the Libation Bearers, and the Eumenides, and hopefully you'll figure out a way to interpret the role of the furies as extremely annoying but maybe a little bit necessary, as long as we remember that God is God.
Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/Godward?fan_landing=true
In this mostly medieval episode, hear from Victor Hugo's "Hunchback of Notre Dame" on the idea that the Printing Press killed-off the Cathedrals. If we follow his logic, and observe that books themselves seem to be dying in the present age, replaced by video and internet entertainment, we might catch a glimpse of a very different future -- can we manage to propel the precious old values and virtues into the era of new media? This video is basically the best I can do -- I hope it's good enough!
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This was a monologue with accompanying video that you can view on my YouTube channel -- search Godward Podcast
In this gothic episode, consider whether there's a difference between perversion and Perverseness. Make the connection between St. Paul in Romans 7 and Poe as he imagines things in "The Black Cat" and "The Imp of the Perverse." Part of the argument here is that any view of human nature (and mind) that neglects to take serious note of the impulse to sin must be recognized as shallower, and less realistic, than the optimistic and utopian descriptions of man as perfectible. That means no, I can't always be as optimistic as family and friends might like -- but I have a good reason: I want to stay attuned to reality, and not fall into idolatrous habits when it comes to thinking about ideal outcomes. The reality is, people screw things up -- it's only when you really understand and internalize that, and build system of organization with THAT as the fundamental insight (humankind is not perfectible)... it's only then that you might approach creating a tolerable civilization. Errr, something...
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In this hyperreal episode, learn about Victor Pelevin, my favorite living Russian writer -- hear summaries of his novels and do a closer look at a novella called "The Yellow Arrow." We're talking postmodernism and literary form, humor, nihilism, manipulated media, and A.I. sex bots.
The Pelevin interview: https://youtu.be/sI8ScV1iqjo
The Patreon Page: https://www.patreon.com/Godward?fan_landing=true
In this Biblical episode, hear a short summary of the Book of Jonah and then do some deep diving to think about what it all means -- what did Ninevah do wrong? Why was Jonah so hesitant? Does righteousness mean the same thing in a non-Jewish city-state that it means in the Northern Kingdom? Was the fish a whale? What do the weeds wrapped about Jonah's head symbolize? Or was Jonah a real historical figure?
Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/Godward?fan_landing=true
In this natural follow-up to the Emerson episode from a couple videos back, we'll see what Henry David Thoreau thought about how and when it's appropriate to disagree with your government. On this show, we of course simply agree with whatever Jake Tapper says, and so this is absolutely not related to contemporary events in Washington D.C. -- but, Thoreau suggested that if a government gets bad enough, you might, sometimes, under certain circumstances, be justified in... telling it to shove it. There's also some good bits on Transcendentalism and nature, implications for Natural Law... and some visuals!
Here's the Patreon link: https://www.patreon.com/Godward?fan_landing=true
In this shady & obscure episode, hear an enthusiastic summary of Hawthorne's short story, "The Minister's Black Veil," and listen as your host tries to make it relevant in 2021 -- what do veils & masks signify psychologically? Do we wear them instead of simply repenting? Are we trying to hide from God? From each other? Has it become impossible to live truly -- has the punitive culture of "political correctness" forced us all to hide, even from ourselves? Questions of authority and authorship are woven together here, but the interpretation of the viewer is finally all that matters. American Romance fiction gets new life in this episode! As Joe Biden says, "Mask up, folks!" Wow, that's so condescending isn't it? But hey, I'm not a scientist or a financial advisor. Here's a way to support me though?
Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/Godward?fan_landing=true
In this all-American episode, we’ll talk about the German Higher Criticism, the Rosetta Stone, heiroglyphs, and Emerson’s notion of the Self. American Transcendentalism wasn’t the first iteration of Perennialist thinking, but it became one of the most interesting. It was a refuge for the intellectuals in Boston who couldn’t fit themselves in with the remnant of Puritanism that lingered in the 19th century, but who also weren’t satisfied with the strictly empirical worldview of the Enlightenment generation. Emerson inspired the likes of Whitman and Thoreau and Dickinson, as well as Hawthorne and Melville. Want to be a public intellectual in America? You have to go through Emerson! If you want to support the show, here’s a link:
https://www.patreon.com/Godward?fan_landing=true
The stoics, Marcus Aurelius -- be a better person. Attain virtue, etc. You know all that. This episode is about how Stoicism understood the Logos, and how we can tie together personal responsibility with... international politics? Yes!
In this multi-layered episode, you'll find yourself becoming an expert in the first seven lines of Dante's Inferno. We'll talk a little about his biography a little, but I tried to focus on explaining the most important literary elements (aside from rhythm and rhyme, which can't be translated perfectly). You know what, this one's about Dante and hell, and the way he was basically a psychologist before Psychology... but just go listen.
It's about Parmenides & Heraclitus! Mysticism, monism, and the real purpose of Philosophy. Also ontology & metaphysics, but also like, swimming & just talking with buddies all day!
In this brain-tingling episode, hear more from Peter Kingsley, as well as Casey's better-than-average hot take on what Heraclitus was all about. Do I have a Philosophy degree? Am I qualified to have authority on this topic? No. Do I have a serious opinion about it, yes. Heraclitus was a shaman, just like Parmenides and Socrates -- and that's the main thing. Comparing "what they said" is a mid-wit thing to do. It's like contrasting the different homily styles of 13th century Roman Catholic priests, and declaring that two of the "were total opposites" -- completely forgetting that they shared almost everything in common just because their method for converting, or their favorite subject matter, was different. Look, we're talking about saying the unsayable, speaking the unspeakable, effing the ineffable.
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In this heady episode, hear more from Hubert Dreyfus, as well as some choice cuts out of William James's classic, The Varieties of Religious Experience. Are there non-ordinary states of consciousness that are nevertheless not dangerous, and maybe even positively advantageous? Can those who have not experienced mystical experience ever understand those who have? Finally, is modern Psychiatry just another mechanism of institutional control? Is Thomas Szasz right? Is Tom Cruise!?
In this episode of Godward Podcast, we learn why eye-contact is so interesting, and what it has to do with social status -- and we learn of the psychology of depression and anxiety, although I don't like to use those labels. Dostoevsky seems to pull a trick on unwary readers, and shows them that the sad sack anti-hero main character of "Notes from Underground" may not be very different from most of us. In fact, he might be just a little more honest.
This provocative episode features a nice audio drop from Douglas Rushkoff and Duncan Trussell, as well as obscure references to 2010 articles published in the New York Times -- but the main thing is, we read chunks from Dostoevsky's (Dostoyevsky's) "Notes from Underground," and we try to figure out what's so interesting about the main character. It definitely has something to do with atheism and modernism, but there are even more subtle psychological things going on here, and this episode tries to communicate some of them. Plus, there's a funny visual joke at the end.
In this monomaniacal episode, hear your humble host summarize the Odyssey and then offer a close analysis of the part involving the conflict between Odysseus and the Cyclops. There are powerful political ramifications when a dialogic culture like the Greeks' bumps up against a monologic culture like the one they discover among the Cyclops. Which is the better way? Let's get realpolitik. Hear clips from Jordan Peterson and some other guy!
In this groundbreaking episode, hear about how Melville was likely what psychiatrists call "bipolar," and learn about how that allowed him to write some of the most mystical scenes in the history of literature. We'll talk about non-ordinary states of consciousness, near-death experiences, and the relationship between trauma and revelation. Hear quotes from Melville's novels "Pierre" and "Mardi," and receive upon your eardrums some of the sweetest passages from Moby-Dick that you'll ever hear read aloud on YouTube. Turn the news off. Forget what you think you know. Focus on the vastness of the whale's forehead.
In the best episode to date, you'll hear our boy Hubert Dreyfus along with some stuff about the Enlightenment, but mainly, just take huge quaffs of straight up literary, philosophical, and metaphysical TRUTH... or at least, hear good questions about those, including: is Captain Ahab really an okay guy, maybe, in some ways? Ahem. There's lots of talk about whether Moby-Dick is gay (it is Romantic and Hellenic, not gay) and whether the whiteness of the whale is really because Sperm Whales are Anglo-Saxon. Seriously, just thank me, even if you can't do the Patreon. I'm going to be the Jordan Peterson of 2029 at this pace.
In this super-serious episode, you'll accept responsibility or else be banished to outer darkness! Hear quotes from numerous professors and a country Bible preacher, but more importantly, some finely chosen excerpts from Moby-Dick itself. Morality matters, even if Ishmael pretends like it doesn't.
Yes, the Puritans hated art and subverted the Catholic hierarchy, but they weren't totally without insight. In this episode, hear a few sections from William Bradford's "Of Plymouth Plantation," including the primary source for the Thanksgiving story. It includes mention of eating wild turkey!
In this fiery episode, the first of a three or five part series on Melville, you get to hear clips from Dreyfus and some expert on painting, but more importantly, you hear a relaxed summary of Moby-Dick and just the right amount of Melville biography to whet your appetite for the greatest novel ever written.
In this improved episode, your host merely follows the Holy Spirit and goes on a 44 minute tirade about what's wrong with everything and offers tentative suggestions about how we can begin to fix it.
This special episode is simply a reading of Stephen Crane's short story, "The Open Boat," and it's meant to accompany episode 16.2, which will be a wide-ranging discussion concerning Truth, epistemology, metaphor, lying, postmodernism, and the nature of Nature.
In this razor sharp episode, hear the story of the destruction of Jerusalem as told by the Jewish historian, Josephus. Clips from Rabbi Tovia Singer and Pastor Chuck Baldwin form the poles of the discussion, and the outro music is especially poignant this time!
In this controversial and borderline heretical episode, we delve into the process of moving from a synopsis to an interpretation -- how does History come to have meaning? Quotes from Hubert Dreyfus illuminate us and a backdrop of Vivaldi makes this episode extra perfect for late Fall.
In this searingly truthful episode, your mystical host quotes Plato's Timaeus, Joseph Campbell, Victor Pelevin, and Ovid, all while making reference to 12,800-year historical cycles and with an emphasis on anti-communism. Dig it.
In this high-energy, but still opium-like episode, you'll hear a dozen or more of the greatest similes found in Homer's Iliad, a quote from Anderson Cooper, and an enchanting background music made from a sad Bach sonata.
In this scintillating episode, comparisons are made between Greece & India, between Hinduism and Christianity. Plato is quoted, the Upanishads are quoted, and the Bible is quoted. Soundbites from Alan Watts and some credible-looking Indian guru guy!
In this ragin' episode, we do the medium-deep dive on Hinduism's golden nugget, the Bhagavad Gita, and question when it's time to take up arms! -- uh, figuratively.
In this semi-miraculous episode, appearing only one day after the last episode, your host discusses the 8th century manuscript called "The Ecclesiastical History of the English People," written by a guy called Bede -- it's full of supernatural anecdotes and medieval atmospheres, and yeah it's a little disorganized because it's election day and everything is distracting!
In this fine episode, Pierre Grimes and Johnny Cash are quoted, and the discussion centers on the four (or five) political "regimes" described by Socrates in Book VIII of the Republic. There's also a new jingle somewhere in the middle. Hold on to your togas.
In this ear-thrilling episode, hear clips from Peter Kingsley and one of Casey's mystical friends, as well as hot takes on Plotinus and another, even better description, of the Eleusinian Mystery rites. Wake up! Wake up!
In this luminous episode, Casey quotes PewDiePie and Socrates seamlessly, and tries to summarize Plato's doctrine of the Forms for a bunch of listeners who are too lazy to read about it for themselves.
In this heartbreaking episode, Casey explains the distinction found in Book 2 of The Republic between Being Just and Seeming Just.
In this heart-breakingly brief overview of The Annals of Tacitus, Casey summarizes and quotes the greatest Roman historian. The episode contains audio clips from Chris Hedges, Camille Paglia, and the BBC's own Melvyn Bragg. Feeling degenerate? This one's for you.
In this, the third scintillating episode of the Godward Podcast, Casey invokes the most ancient literary wisdom, quotes from the Epic of Gilgamesh, suggests that you might need a shaman if you want to acquire wisdom, and serves up another heavy dose of memento mori. Audio cips from Pierre Grimes, Robert Sepehr, and others. Share with mom!
In this devastating episode Casey tries to convince you that it could be so much worse. He quotes Thucydides and does a winding digression on Heraclitus. Is Wisdom the offspring of History and Theology? Find out on this episode!
In this shocking intro episode, Casey quotes Confucius and Plotinus and Herman Melville, lays out a plan for future episodes centering around literature and history, and drops audio soundbites from Joe Biden and Bill Clinton in the "Before Woke" period.