Aristotle said Oedipus the King was the best tragedy. Today, Dcn. Harrison Garlick is joined by Mr. Eli Stone and our friend Josiah to discuss Oedipus the King (Oedipus Rex) by Sophocles - the second play in the Oedipus cycle or Theban plays. Check out thegreatbookspodcast.com for our reading schedule and more! Check out our Patreon for our written guides! Here is a letter Dcn. Garlick wrote to our supporters about Oedipus the King: Oedipus the King is, according to Aristotle, the best of the Gr...
May 27, 2025•2 hr 29 min
Does Antigone hold strong until the end? Is Antigone the hero? Today, Dcn. Garlick is joined again by David Niles and Dr. Frank Grabowski to discuss the second part of Sophocles' Antigone . Check out thegreatbookspodcast.com for our reading schedule! Check out our Patreon page ! We appreciate all our supporters. From our guide: 15. How does Haemon’s interaction with Creon highlight his character and challenge Creon’s perspective? Haemon, Creon’s son and Antigon...
May 20, 2025•2 hr 8 min
Antigone is the "dark sign from the gods." Today, Dcn. Harrison Garlick is joined by Mr. David Niles of the Catholic Man Show and Dr. Frank Grabowski to discuss the Greek tragedy "Antigone" by Sophocles. Check out thegreatbookspodcast.com for our reading schedule! Check out our Patreon for our guide on Antigone! From the guide: This guide, like the podcast conversation, explores Antigone as a profound meditation on piety, justice, and the cosmic order. This guide addresses critical aspects of ar...
May 13, 2025•2 hr 10 min
How would you respond to the will of a tyrant? Today, Dcn. Harrison Garlick is joined by Dr. Jared Zimmerer of Benedictine College to discuss Aeschylus' Prometheus Bound - the first play in an otherwise lost triad. Check out thegreatbookspodcast.com for our reading schedule! WHY SHOULD YOU READ PROMETHEUS BOUND? From the guide: Prometheus Bound is the story of man and civilization. Within the contrast of Prometheus’ rebellion and Zeus’ tyranny, Aeschylus provides a narrative that explores the co...
May 06, 2025•1 hr 49 min
"Ignorance of Scripture is ignorance of Christ." Today, Dcn. Harrison Garlick is joined by Mr. Thomas Lackey and Mr. Adam Minihan to discuss how to read the Bible like Jesus, St. Paul, the Early Church Fathers, St. Thomas Aquinas, and Dante! There are four senses: literal, allegorical, moral, and anagogical. The guys explain Divine Authorship, Dante's thesis that you read his Comedy like you Scripture, and then explain each sense and give examples. Check our thegreatbookspodcast.com for resource...
Apr 29, 2025•1 hr 30 min
Lying is a sterile act that impedes the purpose of the intellect. Today, Dcn. Harrison Garlick is joined by Sean Berube and Shannon of Catholic Frequency to discuss "Lying as Contraceptive Speech." Dcn. Garlick gives several short talks pulling from Dante's Inferno, the Gospel of St. John, and liberalism with responses from Sean and Shannon from a live recording on X (Twitter). Check out thegreatbookspodcast.com for more help to read the great books! Master Adamo lies a bloated mass of “watery r...
Apr 22, 2025•2 hr 16 min
The frozen heart of hell. Today, Dcn. Harrison Garlick is joined by Mr. Evan Amato to discuss the frozen wastes of the 9th Circle of Hell - the damned guilty of treachery (or complex fraud). Check out thegreatbookspodcast.com for other great books to read! A few questions from our guide to Dante's Inferno: 78. What happens in the ninth circle of hell: Treachery (Complex Fraud) (Canto 34)? Pressing onward, Virgil leads the Pilgrim to “Judecca”—named after Judas Iscari...
Apr 15, 2025•1 hr 44 min
We finish the 8th Circle of hell! Dcn. Harrison Garlick and Dr. Donald Prudlo of the University of Tulsa discuss pits 8-10 of the 8th Circle of Dante's Inferno (Cantos 26-31). Dr. Prudlo is an incredibly talented Catholic scholar! You'll want to hear what he has to say - especially about Odysseus, Troy, and the Garden of Eden. Visit thegreatbookspodcast.com for more resources! From our guide: 64. What happens in the eighth ditch (Cantos 26-27)? Overlooking the ...
Apr 08, 2025•1 hr 57 min
Seducers, Flatterers, Sorcerers, and more! Dcn. Harrison Garlick is joined by Noah Tyler, CFO of the Classic Learning Test, and Gabriel Blanchard, a staff writer for CLT, to discuss the first part of the 8th Circle: Simple Fraud (Cantos 18-25). Check out thegreatbookspodcast.com for more information. Check out our written GUIDE to Dante's Inferno: 80+ Questions and Answer . FROM THE GUIDE: 53. What happens in the Eighth Circle of Hell: Simple Fraud (Canto 18) T...
Apr 01, 2025•2 hr 18 min
We enter the circle of violence. This week Dcn. Harrison Garlick is joined by Fr. Thomas Esposito, O. Cist., a Cistercian priest who teaches at the University of Dallas, to discuss the seventh circle of Dante's Inferno: (1) violence against neighbor (2) violence against self and (3) violence against God & nature. Check out our website for more info: thegreatbookspodcast.com . Check out our 80+ Question and Answer Guide to the Inferno. From the guide: 43. Wh...
Mar 25, 2025•1 hr 43 min
Today, we finish lower hell. Dcn. Harrison Garlick is joined by Dr. Jason Baxter of Benedictine College to discuss cantos 6-11 of Dante's Inferno. Check out thegreatbookspodcast.com for other great books! Check out our Patreon for our 80+ Question & Answer guide to the Inferno. From our guide: 27. The Third Circle of Hell – Gluttony (Canto 6) Musa explains the third circle and the contrapasso , “the shades in this circle are the gluttons, and their punishm...
Mar 18, 2025•1 hr 54 min
Dante approaches the gates of hell! Dcn. Harrison Garlick is joined by Dr. Jennifer Frey, the Dean of the new Honors College at the University of Tulsa, and Dr. Jessica Hooten Wilson, the Fletcher Jones Chair of Great Books at Pepperdine University, to discuss cantos 2-5 of Dante's Inferno. Check out thegreatbookspodcast.com . Check out OUR GUIDE to Dante's Inferno: 80+ Questions and Answers . 13. What happens in the Vestibule of Hell (Cantos 2-3)? The narrativ...
Mar 11, 2025•1 hr 40 min
We are reading the Inferno together! Dcn. Harrison Garlick is joined by Dr. Jeremy Holmes of Wyoming Catholic College to give an introduction to Dante's Inferno and discuss the first canto. Visit thegreatbookspodcast.com for more information. Reading Schedule for Lent 2025: Introduction & the Dark Woods 1. Intro & Canto 1 (3.4.25) with Dr. Jeremy Holmes (Wyoming Catholic) Vestibule of Hell, Limbo & Lust 2. Cantos 2-5 (3.11.25) with Dr. Jennifer Frey (TU) and Dr. Jessica Hooten Wilson...
Mar 04, 2025•2 hr 1 min
Dcn. Harrison Garlick is joined by Dr. Frank Grabowski and Mr. Thomas Lackey to discuss the end of the Oresteia, the second part of the Eumenides. Check out thegreatbookspodcast.com . Check out our guide to the Oresteia . The first half of the Eumenides demonstrates Aeschylus’ ability to dramatize philosophical questions. The old system of justice, bound to the Furies’ blood-soaked vengeance, has proven incomplete. The Olympian purity rituals are not a sufficient answer either. Athena’s brillian...
Feb 25, 2025•1 hr 46 min
Dcn. Harrison Garlick is once again joined by Dr. Frank Grabowski and Mr. Thomas Lackey to discuss the first part of the Eumenides, the third play in Aeschylus' Oresteia. Check out thegreatbookspodcast.com for more information. Check out our written guide to the Oresteia. The final play of Aeschylus’ Oresteia , The Eumenides , sets forth the transformation of justice from the familial mechanics of the blood avenger to a more mature procedural justice set within the polis. It is a story of civili...
Feb 18, 2025•1 hr 27 min
Dcn. Harrison Garlick, Mr. Thomas Lackey, and the Adam Minihan come together to discuss the second part of the Libation Bearers, the second play in Aeschylus' Oresteia. Visit thegreatbookspodcast.com for guides and more information. Support us on Patreon and get access to guides! The second half of the Libation Bearers moves decisively toward the climax of Orestes’ role as blood avenger, culminating in the deaths of Clytemnestra and Aegisthus. He will enact the justice that is demanded, and in t...
Feb 11, 2025•1 hr 2 min
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 bu...
Feb 04, 2025•1 hr 32 min
We are reading Aeschylus' Oresteia. This week Dcn. Garlick, Adam Minihan, Thomas Lackey, and Dr. Frank Grabowski discuss part two of Aeschylus' Agamemnon, the second part of the first play of the Oresteia. Check out thegreatbookspodcast.com for more sources. Check out our written guide to the Oresteia. I. Clytemnestra and Agamemnon: Murder, Manipulation & Denial (795) Clytemnestra dominates Agamemnon as a complex fi...
Jan 28, 2025•1 hr 21 min
Dcn. Garlick, Dr. Frank Grabowski, and Thomas Lackey are reunited to discuss the first part of Agamemnon, the first play in Aeschylus' Oresteia. Check out thegreatbookspodcast.com for more information. From our written guide available to our supporters: The first play of the Oresteia tells of the homecoming of Agamemnon and is predominately animated by revenge. Aeschylus presents us with questions concerning the legitimacy of the Trojan war, how Argos has suffered without its king, and why Clyte...
Jan 21, 2025•1 hr 50 min
Dcn. Harrison Garlick and Adam Minihan are reunited to intro Aeschylus, the Father of Greek Tragedy. Aeschylus (b. 525 BC) was a warrior, statesman, and the father of Greek tragedy. Born into nobility, he grew up in Athens during its pivotal transition from tyranny to democracy. Furthermore, he famously fought in the Battle of Marathon (490 BC), defending a nascent Western civilization against Persian invasion. Aeschylus died in 456 BC, leaving behind a legacy that shaped the foundation of Greek...
Jan 14, 2025•39 min
Dcn. Harrison Garlick, Dr. Frank Grabowski, and Mr. Thomas Lackey come together to discuss Hesiod's Theogony - a poem about the origin of the gods and the cosmos. Key conversations: The role of the Muses The four primordial gods - especially Chaos Eros as the generative and binding force of the cosmos Zeus as a bringer of civilization The Prometheus myths Women as the beautiful evil Hesiod is a contemporary of Homer. Homer composed the Iliad around 750 BC and the Odyssey around 725 BC, and Hesio...
Jan 07, 2025•2 hr 48 min
You can read the Greek plays with Ascend! Dcn. Harrison Garlick flies solo this week as he explains why you should read the Greek plays. He discusses how the plays are an intellectual bridge between Plato and Homer and explains some of the major themes you can expect in their writings: justice, eros, fate, divinity, etc. He'll then introduce each Greek play to be read and why it is worth reading. Join us! Schedule below: HESIOD'S THEOGONY & GREEK PLAYS (2025) 1/1 Intro to the Greek Plays 1/7...
Jan 01, 2025•36 min
This week Dcn. Garlick is joined by Alberto Fernandez, a former U.S. diplomat and Vice President of the Middle East Media Research Institute (MEMRI) in Washington, D.C., to discuss "The Tower of the Elephant," one of the best Conan the Barbarian stories by Robert E. Howard. Deacon and Alberto discuss the life and philosophy of Robert E. Howard along with key elements of the "Tower of the Elephant" short story (which is available online for free). Topics: Civilization v. Barbarism HP Lovecraft Ni...
Dec 31, 2024•1 hr 15 min
Dcn. Harrison Garlick is joined by Kyle Washut, President of Wyoming Catholic College, to discuss the Odyssey as the restoration of Catholic Culture and the unique educational approach of Wyoming Catholic College. Eastern Catholicism John Senior Odyssey as the restoration of culture President Washut takes on the question: "Why go to a great books college" and gives an excellent answer. They have a brief detour into the importance of Eastern Catholicism before discussing the influence of John Sen...
Dec 24, 2024•1 hr 17 min
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 callin...
Dec 17, 2024•1 hr 59 min
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). ...
Dec 10, 2024•1 hr 3 min
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]...
Dec 03, 2024•1 hr 11 min
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.com Help 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...
Nov 26, 2024•1 hr 9 min
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...
Nov 19, 2024•1 hr
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 maidserv...
Nov 12, 2024•1 hr 1 min
