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Today the guys tackle the life and work of public intellectual Joseph Campbell, best known for his theory of the monomyth which proposes that all hero narratives are, at root, simply variations on the same story. Once they get past the irritating, almost Forrest Gumpian nature of Campbell’s self-mythologizing biography, Dave and Jeff get down to the stages of the “journey” itself. Behold calls to...

This week Dave and Jeff sit down with intellectual powerhouse and controversialist Heather Mac Donald. Known primarily for her incisive social commentary on policing, Heather is the Thomas W. Smith Fellow at the Manhattan Institute, a contributing editor of City Journal, and a New York Times bestselling author. She writes on a wide variety of topics, including higher education, immigration, polici...

This week join Jeff, Dave, and Toto on a climb up the fragrant slopes of Mount Parnassus to consult what was the premier divination site in the ancient Mediterranean—the oracle of Apollo at Delphi. But you don’t just barge on in and start a-consulting left and right; there are purifications to be made, various deities to appease, hearts and brains to find, and sacrifices to offer. Only then you ma...

Ever run into the phrase Quidquid Latine dictum sit altum videtur (“Whatever is said in Latin seems profound”)? Well, most of the states in the American union took that sentiment to heart when they came up with their personal mottoes (institutions and tattoo-getters too). After a brief detour through the pitfalls of collegiate apophthegms and bare midriff-commenting, Dave and Jeff rip and riff thr...

This week Jeff and Dave wrap their look at Lucretius’ De Rerum Natura, doing their best to break down the essentials all the while dodging those clinamen-controlled atoms. Because according to Luc these little cueballs explain everything. Earthquakes? Swerving atoms. Human speech? Swerving atoms. That dream you had about being late for your myth final while inexplicably juggling fuchsia avocados?...

This week Dave and Jeff make their way through the heart of the matter with a close look at Books 2-4 of Lucretius' Epicurean masterpiece. The guys serve up dreams, gossamer atoms, Stonecutters , Steve Gutenberg , and a whole lot of Dave's irascibility. Along the way, you'll learn not only how E. got his physics from the pre-Socratic atomists Leucippus and Democritus , but also how the late Kurt C...

Our dive into Lucretius continues this week and after a quick review of Epicureanism we get to the particulars.  First up, Memmius , Lucretius’ patron to whom he dedicated his work. Why him? From the few shenanigans we know about Memmy he seems like a very un-Epicurean sort. Was Lucretius trying convert him? Then the thesis of the work—freeing oneself from superstition and the fear of death. If re...

This week Jeff and Dave may have bitten off more than they can chew as the subject of the day is, well, everything. In the 1st century BC Lucretius sat down and attempted to, in dactylic hexameter mind you, explain the origin of all things without resorting to divine explanations. How would this have played amongst the smart set of his day? And why should we listen to someone who may have bought t...

What better way to ring in our 50th than with the ribald, ridiculous, and righteous ruckus that is Athenian Old Comedy? After a quick trip through the quasi-mythic origins of comedy, Dave and Jeff dive into the particulars of Aristophanes’ Frogs.  In this play we find ourselves in 405 BC and the great tragedian Euripides has just died. Dionysus, the god of tragedy itself, decides that because ther...

This week the throw-down continues as Dave, Jeff, and Dr. Patrick M. Owens dig into a pile of Latin textbooks and see which ones are worthy of a podium finish. Need to brush up on your ecclesiastical Latin? You’d better know your Collins from your Henle. Do the names “Cambridge” and “Oxford” conjure images of Britishy erudition? Maybe not so fast. Dashed off caricatures of oddly proportioned “melo...

This week Dave and Jeff sit down for Part I of a wide-ranging discussion with good friend and Latin guru Dr. Patrick M. Owens of Hillsdale College . We take a brief look at Patrick’s fascinating bio and how he came to love and practice spoken Latin at a very high level. Then we seek to answer such questions as “What makes a good Latin textbook?” “What is the role of the teacher in presenting a Lat...

Jeff and Dave bring the first show from Vomitorium West, where they take a close look at the sophist Gorgias (483–375 BC). When he wasn’t hitting the Olympia/Delphi orators circuit for some cool drachmai, Gorgias was in Athens claiming to be able to answer any question anyone one might put to him. Who was this guy? Did he actually believe his own press? In this work, G defends Helen of Troy so con...

This week the Vomitorium is graced with the presence of Dave and Jeff’s friend, former colleague, mentor and professor, Dr. Ken Bratt. Join us as Dr. Bratt shares his vast knowledge of the ancient Roman colony of Philippi--site of game-changing battles, crossroads of culture, and where the first European converts to Christianity (including Lydia) were made. Ken walks us through the archaeological...

This week Dave and Jeff sit down with New York Times Bestselling author Ross King whose works such as  Brunelleschi’s Dome  and  Michelangelo and the Pope’s Ceiling have set the gold standard for erudite, popular history over the last twenty years. We cover Ross’ career from academia, to novel writer, to his latest book, The Bookseller of Florence (2021). Come along as we walk the streets of Renai...

Oh say can you see where this one is going? Many people have heard about the influence of the Roman Republic on the shaping of the American government but are perhaps unaware how much deeper the ancient underpinnings go. This week, with Carl Richards' The Founders and the Classics: Greece, Rome, and the American Enlightenment , as their guide, Jeff and Dave take a star-spangled look at the Greeks...

Dear Starry-Eyed Undergrads, you know that dream of your future grad school you have where you’re strolling through a leafy quad on your way to share a bottle of port with a kind, nurturing mentor, as you scoop up tray parfaits ? Well, in this episode Dave and Jeff take those notions, drop them into the Cuisinart , and hit frappe. Take a trip with us down this pothole-ridden memory lane where you’...

This week Dave and Jeff take a close look at a well-known passage from ch. 14 of the Lukan history of the early church. As the apostles extend their preaching ministry into the Lycaonian region of Anatolia , they are mistaken for the gods Zeus and Hermes because of a miraculous healing Paul performs. The priest of Zeus wants to gin up a sacrifice, but the apostles risk life and limb, barely averti...

This week Jeff and Dave do some spelunking to try figure out what the strange mystery rites of the Persiany cult of Mithras were all about, and why they were so popular during the Roman Empire. We begin with a breakdown of what exactly a “ mystery cult ” is, and then move on to Mithras himself, a hero whose myths do not survive in any written form. What do we make of the strange iconography that d...

Join us for a lively discussion with Dr. Michael Fontaine (Classics, Cornell University) as we talk about his new book— How to Tell a Joke: An Ancient Guide to the Art of Humor —a translation and analysis of ancient Roman treatises on humor from both Cicero and Quintilian. Along the way we tackle such questions as “How can a politician or a lawyer use humor to win a room?”, “Is one born funny or c...

This week Jeff and Dave take a trip to the Dutch Renaissance with a look at prolific Latin poet, theological secretary, Dutch patriot, and Greek scholar Daniel Heinsius (1580-1655). After a whirlwind introduction to leading Italian , French , and Dutch luminaries, we get right into the vita and opera of this amazing scholar. Heinsius served as secretary at the Synod of Dort (1618-1619) and also wr...

Today Jeff and Dave dive into the oeuvre of Roman historian Gaius Sallustius Crispus (known as “Sallust” or “Crispy” to his friends), particularly sections 6-13 of his Bellum Catilinae. Dave argues that with this work Sallust invents the “ monograph ”, zeroing in on a narrow subject as his “hook” rather than trying to “do it all” more broadly and blandly. In the eight chapters referenced above Sal...

After the smoke clears from some much needed post-slaughter fumigation, Dave and Jeff finally lumber their way to the end of the epic. At last we get a proper reunion between husband and wife in which Penelope wins the battle of wits. The occasion? Odysseus gets artichoked up when Penelope treats their bed like an IKEA futon. Now, roll the credits, right? WRONG. There's a whole other book to go! W...

Dave comes into the Vomitorium in a bit of a gloomy mood, and what’s on tap in these books does not look like it will help much. All the planning and scheming by Odysseus finally comes down to this—the suitors (and a goodly portion of the house staff) get what’s coming to them, and only a handful of the loyal survive. Is this grisly, but acceptable justice? Athena (disguised as Mentor) wants it, s...

What happened to Episode 35 and Dr. Michael Fontaine ? Well, our hosts had some tech diffs. That planned episode didn't drop. It shattered. So instead Jeff and Dave go far off script and offer up a hastily-prepared, poorly-seasoned, half-baked, slightly rewarmed, partially-marinated impromptu side dish (or podcast upside down cake) that answers this burning question: why should I study Greek and L...

When does Penelope know who the stranger really is?  This question is at the center of today’s episode as the storm continues to gather in Odysseus’ house.  But first—a bum fight!  With a bloody goat paunch on the line (and who wouldn’t step it up for something tasty like that?), Odysseus clocks the mouthy Irus (aka Arnaeus) with the ol’ one-two. Then Penelope overshares (or does she???) with the...