Ascend - The Great Books Podcast

This week Dcn. Harrison Garlick and Mr. Eli Stone, formerly of the TU Great Books Honors College and now teaching at a classical school, discuss Book VIII of the Odyssey: A Day for Songs and Contests. We have a 50+ page guide to the Odyssey. Visit thegreatbookspodcast.com for more resources. From the guide: 42.      What happens in book eight? King Alcinous and Odysse...

This week Dcn. Garlick and Mr. Eli Stone discuss Book Seven of the Odyssey: Phaeacia’s Halls and Gardens. Check out thegreatbookspodcast.com for more resources. FROM THE GUIDE: 36.      What happens in book seven? Athena hides Odysseus in a mist and leads him, in the guise of a child, toward the palace (7.17). She reiterates the advice of Nausicaa by telling Odysseus...

Dcn. Harrison Garlick and Adam Minihan are joined by Eli Stone, formerly of the TU Great Books Honors College and now with Holy Family Classical School in Tulsa, Oklahoma, to discuss BOOK SIX of the Odyssey: The Princess and the Stranger. Check us out at thegreatbookspodcast.com . From the guide: 32.      What happens in book six? Athena inspires Nausicaa, the daughte...

Dcn. Harrison Garlick and Adam Minihan are joined by Evan Amato of Rewire the West to discuss Book Five of Odyssey: Odysseus escapes Calypso's Island. Check out thegreatbookspodcast.com for a written guide to the Odyssey. A couple questions from the guide: 28.      What happens in book five? King Odysseus is trapped on Calypso’s island. Zeus, at Athena’s pleading, agr...

This week Adam Minihan returns to discuss Book Four of the Odyssey with Father Bonaventure, OP - a Dominican Friar of the Province of St. Joseph. The out our website for a 50+ page guide to the Odyssey. 23.      What happens in book four? Telemachus arrives in Sparta to find King Menelaus hosting a “double-wedding feast;” as Menelaus’ daughter is marrying the son of A...

Dcn. Harrison Garlick, Dr. Frank Grabowski, and Mr. Thomas Lackey discuss Book Three of the Odyssey: KING NESTOR REMEMBERS. The lovable old man from the Iliad returns to help set Telemachus on his way. More on Telemachus' coming of age story What power comes to rest on Telemachus? How did Great Ajax die?! (ignobly...) What caused the Achaeans to suffer the wrath of Athena? Check out Dcn. Garlick's...

Dcn. Garlick, Dr. Frank Grabowski, and Mr. Thomas Lackey come together to discuss Book Two of the Odyssey: Telemachus sets sail. Summary of the book Discussion on key themes Aristotle's Metaphysics John Wayne references And more! Check out our website for 60+ page reader's guide to the Odyssey . What happens in book two? Inspired by Athena, Telemachus addresses the assembly of Ithaca (2.25) and co...

Dcn. Harrison Garlick and Adam Minihan are joined by Jason Craig of Sword and Spade magazine to discuss the theme of fatherhood in the Odyssey. The fatherhood of Odysseus The problem of fatherlessness in Ithaca The coming of age story of Telemachus And more! Check out Sword and Spade magazine. Check out our 60+ page guide to the Odyssey. Join us as we read the Odyssey as part of our Year of Homer!

WE ARE STARTING THE ODYSSEY! Dcn. Harrison Garlick is joined by Dr. Frank Grabowski and Mr. Thomas Lackey to discuss Book One of the Odyssey. Check out our website - thegreatbookspodcast.com - for a written guide to the Odyssey and other resources. Questions discussed: What happens in book one? What should be observed about the invocation to the Muses? What should be made of Zeus’ comment on fate?...

Dcn. Harrison Garlick welcomes Dr. Patrick Deneen, Dr. Chad Pecknold, and Dr. Richard Meloche to introduce Homer's Odyssey. Dr. Patrick Deneen is a Professor of Political Science at Notre Dame. He is the author of many books and articles including Why Liberalism Failed (2018). His teaching and writing interests focus on the history of political thought, American political thought, liberalism, cons...

Dcn. Harrison Garlick and Adam Minihan discuss the events BETWEEN the Iliad and the Odyssey. There is a notable gap between the Iliad and the Odyssey . As the Odyssey picks up after the fall of Troy, tradition turns to authors such as the Greek poet Sophocles, the Greek poet Euripides, and the Roman poet Virgil to tell the story of how Troy fell. The following questions, while tracking the fates o...

Dcn. Harrison Garlick and Adam Minihan discuss the FINAL book of the Iliad: Book 24 - Achilles and Priam. Check out our 65-page guide to the Iliad ! I have put to my lips the hands of the man who killed my son.   Priam to Achilles (24.591)   103.    What happens in book twenty-four? The funeral games have ended, and Achilles, who still mourns for Patroclus, drags Hect...

Dcn. Harrison Garlick and Adam Minihan discuss Book 23 of the Iliad: The Funeral Games. Check out this section of our guide to the Iliad ! Sleeping, Achilles? You’ve forgotten me, my friend. You never neglected me in life, only now in death. Bury me, quickly—let me pass the Gates of Hades .  Patroclus (23.81)   100.    What happened in book twenty-three? Now back at t...

Dcn. Harrison Garlick and Adam Minihan discuss Book 22 on the Death of Hector. “There are no binding oaths between men and lions—wolves and lambs can enjoy no meeting of the minds—they are all bent on hating each other to death.”  Achilles (22.310).   97.      What happens in book twenty-two?  The Trojans scurry back into the city like “panicked fawns,”...

Dcn. Harrison Garlick and Adam Minihan discussed BOOK 21 of the Iliad: Achilles Fights the River. “Come friend, you too must die. Why moan about it so? […] Even for me, I tell you, death and strong force of fate are waiting.” Achilles (21.119). CHECK OUT OUR GUIDE TO THE ILIAD . 93.      What happens in book twenty-one? The Trojans are in full retreat. Achilles drives half...

Dcn. Harrison Garlick interviews George of the Chivalry Guild on topics such as CS Lewis, virtue, magnanimity, meekness, and the importance of strength and prowess. Deacon and George will also discuss his new book - "Chivalry: An Ideal Whose Time Has Come Again" - and explore the concept of noblesse oblige. Thank you for checking out Ascend! We exist to help people study the great books and explor...

Dcn. Harrison Garlick and Adam Minihan discuss Book 20 of the Iliad: The Olympian Gods in Arms Summary of the narrative What is Aeneas special? Some details others often overlook Check out our GUIDE TO THE ILIAD . “Aeneas will rule the men of Troy in power—his son’s sons and the sons born in future years.”   Poseidon (20.355).   90.      What happens in book twen...

Dcn. Harrison Garlick and Adam Minihan discuss Book 19 of the Iliad: The Champion Arms for Battle! Achilles prepares to enter the war! Summary of Book 19 How does Odysseus try to broker peace? What should we make of Briseis weeping over Patroclus? Who is Ate, the goddess of ruin? “You talk of food? I have no taste for food—what I really crave is slaughter and blood and the choking groans of men!”...

Dcn. Harrison Garlick and Adam Minihan discuss Book 18 of the Iliad: The Shield of Achilles. Arguably the MOST philosophically dense book in the entire Iliad. Summary of the Narrative What lesson does the "heart" of Achilles teach? How do we interpret the shield of Achilles? Check out our 115 QUESTION GUIDE to the Iliad. How should we interpret the shield of Achilles? The shield of Achilles presen...

Dcn. Harrison Garlick and Adam Minihan discuss Book 17 of the Iliad: Menelaus' Finest Hour. Summary of Book 17 What is the "dark heart" of Hector? Can human agency affect fate? What about the horses of Achilles? Check out our 115 Question & Answer Guide on the Iliad. But grief bore down on Hector, packing his dark heart . Homer (17.92)   75.      What happens...

Dcn. Harrison Garlick and Adam Minihan discuss Book 16 of the Iliad: Patroclus Fights and Dies. Summary of Book 16 What is the difference between Zeus and Fate? What is the relation of Fate to the free will of men? Did Patroclus deserve his fate? Check our GUIDE ON THE ILIAD . 70.      What happens in books sixteen?   Patroclus returns to Achilles and begs Achill...

Today we welcome Joshua Charles in the studio to talk about his new project Eternal Christendom, a preservation and revival of the Great Tradition for future generations. In this episode we will discuss: Wisdom from the Early Church Fathers Who is Joshua Charles and hear his conversion story His political journey and how that has shaped his new project What is Eternal Christendom and what is the v...

Deacon Harrison Garlick welcomes Dr. Jessica Hooten Wilson to the podcast to discuss Book 15 of The Iliad, The Achaean Armies at Bay. In this episode we will discuss: What happens in book fifteen? What is the relationship between men and the will of the gods in book fifteen? What else should be noted in book fifteen? You can follow Dr. Jessica Hooten Wilson on X at @HootenWilson Want our whole gui...

Deacon Harrison Garlick and Adam Minihan welcome Thomas Lackey back to the podcast to discuss Book 14 of The Iliad, Hera Outflanks Zeus In this episode we will discuss: What happens in book fourteen? What are we to make of Love and Sleep conquering Zeus? Why is this one of the funniest books thus far (according to Adam)? What else should be noted in book fourteen? Want our whole guide to The Iliad...

Deacon Harrison Garlick and Adam Minihan welcome Thomas Lackey back to the podcast to discuss Book 13 of The Iliad, Battling for the Ships In this episode we will discuss: What happens in book thirteen? How does the story of Asius end? Why Adam is frustrated with this book and why it's Dcn. Garlick's least favorite so far. What else should be noted in book thirteen? Want our whole guide to The Ili...