Books of Titans Podcast

Each year, I stack all of the books from the previous year’s reading list next to me and reminisce over the reading year. It’s one of my favorite yearly podcast episodes and it’s a great way for you to hear about some books to add to your reading list. 2025 was an incredible year of reading. I continued on in the third year of my Immortal Books project . The main focus was on Greek Tragedies, Come...

The Braveheart film has had an outsized impact on my life. It first sparked a deep interest in the country of Scotland, that try as I might, I cannot shake. It inspired me to purchase a set of bagpipes and then learn how to play them. But it also had deeper implications in the areas of faith and living. In this book, the author of both the novel Braveheart as well as the screenplay that became the...

The two pillars of this reading project are to read more books and to remember what I read. To that end, I’ve experimented with a variety of practices to attempt to assist with memory. I’m always on the hunt for new ideas. That’s how I came across Rhetorica Ad Herennium by [Cicero]. Cicero is in brackets because it’s not certain that he is the author. So, author unknown, but content exceptional. T...

I started reading through the complete dialogues of Plato this year. I came to a point where I realized that Plato was referencing philosophers who came before him and I didn’t know anything about them or their ideas. I took a break from Plato to consider these philosophers who gave the seeds to Plato’s philosophy. These philosophers are called the Presocratics and the Sophists. They are Pre-Socra...

An introduction to this reading project for anyone new to Books of Titans. I started this in 2017 as an attempt to read more books and experiment with ways to help me remember what I read. It’s morphed into a lifelong reading project that I now expect to last until I die as I slowly make my way through The Immortal Books. Give this episode a listen to learn more and then give my wife Stephanie’s m...

“The safest general characterization of the European philosophical tradition is that it consists of a series of footnotes to Plato.” ~ Alfred North Whitehead I’ve been enjoying my Plato Project where I’ve decided to read through the Complete Works of Plato. I’ve read 9 dialogues so far and realized I needed to take a step back and learn more about the philosopher himself. This was the perfect book...

I’m making the wild assumption that you like books. Perhaps that’s because you like what’s inside of books - the stories, ideas, information, history. But do you ever just stop and think about the book itself? The physical book that you hold in your hand? Joel J Miller has a book coming out this Tuesday, November 18th, 2025 called The Idea Machine: How Books Built Our World and Shape Our Future ....

The goal of this dialogue is to define the Sophist. We’ve seen the Sophist pop up in Greek Tragedy and Comedy and it’s never a pretty picture. They are often contrasted with the Philosopher, the true lover of wisdom, and are denigrated as those who have the appearance of wisdom. They are known for charging money to teach their students how to argue a point, irrespective of its truth. In attempting...

The goal of this dialogue is the definition of a statesman. Can Plato show us the essence or nature of the statesman? This dialogue is a sequel to Sophist. In each dialogue, an attempt at a definition is sought through the method of division. For example, Statesman begins with Knowledge, which is divided into practical and theoretical knowledge. The statesman would be on the theoretical side. This...

I finished reading Man’s Search for Meaning as the fireworks announced the start of 2018. I was closing out my first year of this reading project with my final book of the year and was trying to finish it before the clock struck 12. I didn’t make it, but I was close. That book ended up being my favorite for many years. Here was a man claiming that it was possible to develop a spiritual life amidst...

How do we know what we know? That’s the question Socrates presents to Theaetetus in this dialogue by Plato. I was actually intrigued with the some of the side discussions about learning and memory and how that connects to knowledge. In this podcast episode, I share the general outline of the arguments and highlight the parts about memory that might help us in our reading lives. This is a public ep...

So far, this is my favorite dialogue by Plato. I’ve only read 5 of them, so I have a ways to go, but this one covers the origin of language and the correctness of names. It answers this question - is there a reason behind the name of a thing or is it just by chance? Cratylus believes there is a correct name for each thing, one that belongs to it by nature. Hermogenes believes that names are agreed...

Were you there? It’s the opening question of this dialogue. Echecrates is asking Phaedo if he was there when Socrates drank the hemlock and died in prison. He was there. This is Phaedo’s account of the final day of Socrates. I wonder what I would do knowing I had a few hours to live. Would I be frantic? Would I conduct a dialogue about the soul as Socrates does here? Would I calmly drink my death...

Socrates is nearing the end. He’s been sentenced to death and the time has come where he will be forced to drink hemlock. Crito, his old friend, comes to persuade him to escape this death. He tries to convince Socrates that in this grave injustice, the just thing would be to escape. But Socrates says “we must examine whether we should act in this way or not, as not only now but at all times.” Woul...

Here’s Part II of a conversation with author Allen Levi that took place on Saturday, September 6th in Franklin, Tennessee, at the historic Franklin Theatre. Part I released last week and is the discussion from the 3pm event. Part II releases this week and is the discussion from the 7pm event. Each event was sold out and questions were different for each event. Allen Levi is the author of Theo of G...

SPOILER ALERT: This conversation contains book spoilers. Listener beware. Here’s Part I of a conversation with author Allen Levi that took place on Saturday, September 6th in Franklin, Tennessee, at the historic Franklin Theatre. Part I releases this week and is the discussion from the 3pm event. Part II releases next week and will be the discussion from the 7pm event. Each event was sold out and...

Last week, Socrates was on his way to his trial in the Euthyphro dialogue . In Apology , Socrates is giving his defense against three charges: * Not recognizing the gods recognized by the State * Manufacturing new gods * Corrupting the youth If you are expecting any contrition on the part of Socrates, you’ve come to the wrong place. Here, apology means a defense speech in a legal proceeding, and S...

I have decided to read through the complete works of Plato. Euthyphro is my first dialogue in this Plato Project. I ended up reading it 4 times within 4 different translations. In this episode, I give a brief overview of the dialogue, talk about piety and if/when this word shows up in Homer, the Greek Tragedies, and elsewhere, and cover each of the answers and responses between Euthyphro and Socra...

Do you find yourself struggling to remember what you read? This has been a continual difficulty for me and is a main reason that I started this reading project. I wanted to read more books, but more importantly, I wanted to experiment with different ways to help me remember what I read. One of the most powerful ways I’ve found to remember what I read is to apply basic summary frameworks during and...

I’m currently making my way through The Immortal Books by 200 different authors. I expect the project to take 15 years. I’m currently in year 3 and Plato is author 18 out of 200. I had initially planned to read 9 of his works ( Apology, The Republic, Laches, Symposium, Philebus, Crito, Phaedo, Theatetus, Meno ), but when people on Twitter suggested I pick up this version of his complete works, I b...

A life well-lived. Looking back, what would make you say that about your own life? What would constitute that well-lived life? Would it contain grand gestures seen by many or small, sacred acts seen by few? The Last Sweet Mile is a long letter written by Allen Levi to his family that covers the last year of his brother Gary’s life. They had a special relationship. A relationship we all long for. T...

This episode is for anyone who wants to tackle the Great Books independently—whether you’re years out of college or just looking for a self-guided approach. Not sure where to begin? In this episode, I share ideas on how to prepare, start, and continue on your very own Great Books journey. This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes...

I book the author events at Landmark Booksellers in Franklin, TN, and earlier this year, I saw that Dr. Mendelsohn was coming out with a brand new translation of The Odyssey for the University of Chicago Press. I reached out to Dr. Mendelsohn to see if he would be near Franklin any time soon, and to my delight, he was able to do an author event. It was fascinating. I learned so much about The Odys...

This book is seared into my memory. I first read it in August of 2002 and just re-read it for the second time in my life. My memory of the work from my first reading was near exact, something that almost never happens to me. It struck such a cord in my 20s that I thought about it often over the subsequent 20+ years. It is one of the most important novels I have ever read. Dorian Gray makes a Faust...

Ashurbanipal was king of Assyria from 669 to 631BC. He was a warrior poet, a scholar who carried a pen in his belt while decimating foes with cruel and unusual punishments. In a miraculous twist of history, the fire that destroyed his famous library is the very thing that ensured its survival. The fire solidified his 30,000+ clay tablets. Those clay tablets, lost to history for 2,400+ years, now m...