Young Heretics

Spencer Klavan

The classical education you never knew you were missing. Join scholar and writer Spencer Klavan on a tour through the great works of the West. In a world gone mad, we're not alone: the great men and women who went before us have wisdom to guide us. With their help, we can recover truth, beauty, and the stuff that matters.

  1. Dante's Inferno, Episode 1: Middle-Aged Heretics in Hell

    3 APR

    Dante's Inferno, Episode 1: Middle-Aged Heretics in Hell

    Welcome to Young Heretics, the classical education you didn't know you were missing. It's Good Friday...in the year 1300. And also now! Because Dante's Divine Comedy is a poem for all time and our time. Today we are (finally!) beginning our Young Heretics journey through this masterpiece, following Dante's pilgrim step by step as he wanders from the straight and true way into a dark and dangerous adventure that will lead him, ultimately, to the heights of heaven. We'll talk about gu(w)elphs, gh(w)ibellines, art, theology, and of course Studio Ghibli memes. Join me on this new adventure! Check out Klavans on the Culture, my new podcast with Andrew Klavan (no relation): https://youtu.be/ZJpXAoIlbxI?si=3uzICi-kmeShxezu Sign up for Hebrew, Greek, or Latin courses at the Ancient Language Institute: https://ancientlanguage.com/heretics/ Listen to Inferno read aloud on the Digital Dante site: https://digitaldante.columbia.edu/sound/bausi-readings/ Check out Jonathan Pageau on Dante: https://www.thesymbolicworld.com/courses/dantes-inferno-the-course Get the Durling and Martinez translation: https://amzn.to/47zWZPK Get the Anthony Esolen translation: https://amzn.to/4sgKLTj

    1h 3m

  2. 30 GEN

    The Second Annual Inkling Awards

    Welcome back!! Happy 2026!! After a holiday hiatus, we're starting the year off strong with the Second Annual Inkling Awards for Literary Excellence. As an exciting new term of teaching kicks off for me at the University of Austin, TX, It's a good time to be thinking about some of the best questions: why should we read? How should we read? And how much? Without further ado, here are Dr. Klavan's rules of thumb for reading, the best books I read last year, and the books I'm looking forward to in 2026. Plus: C.S. Lewis on why you should read old books. Check out my cover essay in First Things on Virgil's Aeneid: https://firstthings.com/in-the-footsteps-of-aeneas/ Order Light of the Mind, Light of the World (and rate it five stars): https://a.co/d/2QccOfM Subscribe to be in the mailbag: https://rejoiceevermore.substack.com

    1h 1min

  3. 19/12/2025

    Adventures in Old English: The History and Meaning of Advent

    It's the most wonderful time of the year: that's right, the Lent of St. Martin! Okay okay, Christmas is the most wonderful time of the year, but the lead-up--known as the season of Advent--is an unbelievably rich tradition filled with deep meaning. On this Young Heretics special, I explain the big ideas of Advent through the surprising history of everyone's favorite song of the season, "O Come, O Come Emmanuel." And God bless us, every one!  Read my co-authored essay with Andrew Klavan (no relation) on AI: https://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/2025/12/07/ai-idols-consciousness-religion-llms/ Order Light of the Mind, Light of the World (and rate it five stars): https://a.co/d/2QccOfM Subscribe to be in the mailbag: https://rejoiceevermore.substack.com

    1h 3m

  4. 31/10/2025

    Is This the End of the Aeneid?

    It's time to talk about the shocking, the dramatic, the THRILLING and also, the kind of confusing end of Virgil's Aeneid. What a journey it's been! The story is never truly over, but as we leave Aeneas behind we have to ask--did Virgil mean for it to end this way? With Turnus' blood spilled ruthlessly on the ground and after that, the dark? Some say no--this is an incomplete ending that would have horrified the Emperor Augustus. I say yes--and Augustus would have been delighted. What do you say?  Check out our new Sponsor, Alithea Travel: https://www.alitheatravel.com/tours/strength-and-virtue Read my latest essay on AI cand ancient Jewish wisdom: https://www.civitasinstitute.org/research/ai-and-the-divine-test  Order Light of the Mind, Light of the World (and rate it five stars): https://a.co/d/2QccOfM Subscribe to be in the mailbag: https://rejoiceevermore.substack.com

    1h 4m

  5. 17/10/2025

    Doin' It Live

    The planets are aligning, the moment is almost here, the fates are sealed...or are they?? Today, in our penultimate episode, right as Aeneas looks poised to take up the mantle of his destiny and live out the greatness that Augustus will one day inherit, everything seems to fall apart. The Gods throw up their hands, and the Rutulians go ferociously to war against the Trojans. Can it be that Virgil actually doesn't want us to know what happens next? Can it be the future of Rome is not as guaranteed as it seemed to be? Find out on this episode--plus, advice for writers to hone their skills. Check out our new Sponsor, Alithea Travel: https://www.alitheatravel.com/tours/strength-and-virtue Read my latest essay on why AI can't do your writing for you: https://rejoiceevermore.substack.com/p/writing-is-thinking Order Light of the Mind, Light of the World (and rate it five stars): https://a.co/d/2QccOfM Subscribe to be in the mailbag: https://rejoiceevermore.substack.com

    1h 12m
  6. Aeneas Gets a Hot Latina Baddie

    06/10/2025

    Aeneas Gets a Hot Latina Baddie

    Today on Young Heretics: a violent and unjust seizure of indigenous land!!! At least, according to Juno and the Furies, goddesses of retribution and blood guilt. Actually, the situation in Rome and in the Aeneid is a lot more complicated than that, which is one reason why the conclusion of the poem is a refreshingly sophisticated antidote to our often-oversimplified conversations about history, territory, colonialism, and the sins of the past. Plus: a mailbag question about Charlie Kirk and Julius Caesar. Check out our new Sponsor, Alithea Travel: https://www.alitheatravel.com/tours/strength-and-virtue Order Light of the Mind, Light of the World (and rate it five stars): https://a.co/d/2QccOfM Subscribe to be in the mailbag: https://rejoiceevermore.substack.com

    1h 8m

  7. 15/09/2025

    THE PROPHECY HAS BEEN FULFILLED

    ...And also, pizza. Kind of. This might be one of the coolest parts of Virgil ever, and even though I've been reading the Aeneid since high school, I feel like I only just figured it out. One of the most famous lines of the poem—forsan et haec olim meminisse iuvabit, "one day it will be pleasing to remember even these things—finds its answer in Book 7, when Aeneas arrives on shore and has to face the possibility of war with the, erm...indigenous Latinx peoples. So much to discuss, here, and a great mailbag question about how to deal with situations you can't change. Check out our new Sponsor, Alithea Travel: https://www.alitheatravel.com/tours/strength-and-virtue Order Light of the Mind, Light of the World (and rate it five stars): https://a.co/d/2QccOfM Subscribe to be in the mailbag: https://rejoiceevermore.substack.com Read my essay on why we should read in thea ge of AI: https://www.thefp.com/p/what-happens-if-no-one-reads-culture-education

    1h 4m

  8. 29/08/2025

    Make Love, Not War

    And now for something completely different. The Odyssey portion of our tour is over, and the Iliad portion will now begin. But wait! Wasn't the Iliad a poem about war? And isn't Aeneas supposed to do battle for Latium? So why is it all sunshine, butterflies, and love goddesses? Today we launch into Part II of the poem with a passage that has bamboozled scholars for centuries, and of course I will deliver the definitive interpretation so that everyone can stop arguing. Plus: a plot summary of what's to come, and advice on reading classic literature if you're having trouble understanding it. Check out our new Sponsor, Alithea Travel: https://www.alitheatravel.com/tours/strength-and-virtue Order Light of the Mind, Light of the World (and rate it five stars): https://a.co/d/2QccOfM Subscribe to be in the mailbag: https://rejoiceevermore.substack.com Listen to my sister's podcast, Storytime for Grownups: https://faithkmoore.com/storytime-for-grownups/ EPIC, the Musical: https://faithkmoore.com/storytime-for-grownups/ Stephen Fry, Odyssey: https://a.co/d/1rIbSBu Gareth Hinds, The Odyssey: A Graphic Novel: https://a.co/d/2kClqmN

    1h 3m
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Presentatori e ospiti

Descrizione

The classical education you never knew you were missing. Join scholar and writer Spencer Klavan on a tour through the great works of the West. In a world gone mad, we're not alone: the great men and women who went before us have wisdom to guide us. With their help, we can recover truth, beauty, and the stuff that matters.

Informazioni

  • Creatore
    Spencer Klavan
  • Anni di attività
    2020 - 2026
  • Puntate
    299
  • Classificazione
    Contenuti adatti a tutti
  • Copyright
    © 2023
  • Sito web del podcast
    Young Heretics

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