CAMKAM Books Podcast

In this episode we meet Ugolino, who has chosen to eat the head of his hated enemy, the Archbishop Ruggieri, for all eternity, and who supplies us with the most disturbing bit of poetry in the entire Inferno. We also meet two souls who have somehow managed to end up in Hell while their bodies still walk around on earth. We discuss hatred, forgiveness, real love, Judas' betrayal, mortally sinning w...

In this episode we at last enter the Ninth and Final Circle of Hell. We encounter traitors to family and nation, frozen in eternal hatred and conflict. We discuss the connection between coldness and sin, treachery, guilt, and how medievals used the natural world as artwork to remind them of spiritual life.

In this episode we encounter the giants, on the threshold of the 9th Circle of Hell. We learn about the medieval debate on giants: were they towering figures of history or demonic designer babies? We discuss why medievals put butt-eyes on their paintings of demons, how virtue helps you avoid the snares of office politics, and why sin doesn’t even pay off in the short term

In this episode, we finish our time in the Circle of Fraud's final bolgia, encountering Master Adam the Counterfeiter and other falsifiers, tormented with insanity. We also come across a kind of 14th century rap battle! We discuss how what we love forms us, for good or for ill, Lenten moderation of cell phone use, why we must not give up no matter how many times we fall, and how repentance is the...

In this episode we enter the Bolgia of the Falsifiers, who spend their eternity hating "What Is" because it is not subject to their will. We encounter alchemists, who scratch themselves due to their interior, spiritual illness. We talk about the joys and challenges of raising small children, being present, being grateful, escapism, loving the duty of the moment, loving the cross, being the author...

In this episode, we descend into the Bolgia of Discord, where souls tear themselves to shreds. We discuss the true cause of civil strife, marital strife, being at peace with oneself, and why it is vital to know WHY you exist to understand who you are.

In this episode Dante encounters Guido de Montefeltro, the famed “fox” who repented of his scheming ways, but ruined his chance at heaven at the last moment. We talk about repentance, lying to yourself, making good and bad confessions, how formal cooperation with evil is both easy and fatal, and the spiritual perils of hockey fandom.

In this episode we descend into the next bolgia, that of fraudulent counsellors, where Virgil and Dante encounter the legendary Ulysses, hero of Homer’s Odyssey. We discuss how Dennis Prager was once Cam’s Ulysses, the perils of Instagram Moms, finding common cause with others without abandoning the truth, and Bonnie Tyler.

In this episode we descend into the next bolgia, that of fraudulent counsellors, where Virgil and Dante encounter the legendary Ulysses, hero of Homer’s Odyssey. We discuss how Dennis Prager was once Cam’s Ulysses, the perils of Instagram Moms, finding common cause with others without abandoning the truth, and Bonnie Tyler.

In this Canto we continue exploring the bolgia of thieves, where Dante witnesses horrifying transformations and at last discovers the true identity of the serpents. We talk about true and false freedom, resisting temptation, what it means to be real, Taylor Swift, Blake Lively, Justin Baldoni, and shrovetide.

Learn about the real person behind Valentine's Day. As the Roman Empire's reign weakens on the battlefield, the Emperor bans marriages so that his soldiers can focus on the war. Valentine risks life and limb to defy his law and secretly binds his betrothed friends together in the sacrament of marriage. This exciting tale of courage and love teaches us the value of vocation, God's call, in love. To...

In this episode Virgil gives Dante some hard words, we reach the threshold of the bolgia of thieves, and Dante hears more hard words from a hellish soul. We discuss true friendship, virtue, fraternal correction, the Roman obsession with fame, Wicked, the courage to have hard conversations, and friendship in the communion of saints

In this episode, we descend into the next bolgia of the Circle of Fraud and meet the hypocrites, who eternally seek fake holiness. We talk about real and false freedom, the anxiety that comes from trying to be what others seem to value, virtue signaling, real virtue, the Hunchback of Notre Dame, and why pride can cause us to reject God.

We kick of Season 3 of the Camkam Books Podcast with Dante and Virgil watching the Malebranche demons get into a little slapstick comedy. We discuss what makes something funny, the most humiliating (and funniest) thing that has ever happened to Cam, why demons are objectively mockable, Paradise Lost, The Screwtape Letters, horror movies, and Dad jokes.

In this Canto we descend further into the Malebolge and encounter the barrators, crooked politicians hiding from reality in a sea of pitch. We discuss rest, peace, repentance, mental health, Aquinas on hating and loving yourself, how Machiavelli influences even “good” politicians, and why Socrates held tyrants to be the most wretched of men.

In this episode we dive into Canto 20, where we move further through the circle of Fraud into the bolgia of the Diviners—those who sought to know the future by illicit means. We talk about the duties of the present, the dangers of future obsession, the importance of understanding your past, the Screwtape Letters, and how everyone’s favourite New Year’s song perfectly encapsulates Dante’s message.

In this episode we enter the third Bolgia of the Circle of Fraud, where we encounter the simoniacs, sellers of sacraments. We talk about medieval clergy, selling human beings, surrogacy, selling yourself for dollars and instagram follows, the ethics of theft, and Miss Saigon.

In this canto we enter the Eighth Circle of Hell: Fraud. We encounter the panders, seducers, and flatterers. We talk about how lies require endless work, how lies permeate the modern world, and how all of our problems are caused by William of Ockham, a monk who lived at the same time as Dante.

In this episode Dante and Virgil at last leave the circle of violence and begin to enter the Eighth Circle of Hell, Fraud, on the back of Geryon, a horrifying beast with the face of a just man. We talk about how to protect yourself from lies. We discuss love of reality, usury, dating, real confidence, fake confidence, marriage, being present, the Back to the Future movie franchise, and what it tru...

In this episode we meet some esteemed Florentine politicians, now living in the subcircle of the violent against God. We talk about the election, virtue signalling, and being good rulers of the mini-state that is your family.

In this episode, we remain in the subcircle of violence against God and meet Brunetto Latini, Dante’s old teacher and friend, who astonishingly retains his care for Dante and even some of his virtues in this low circle of Hell. We discuss the election, uncomfortable spiritual and political conversations, Vikings, Johnny Cash, and why maximizing one virtue isn’t sanctity. Trust us, all of these thi...

In this episode we descend into the third sub-circle of Violence: the violent against God. We observe nature twisting itself, as flaming snow falls upon unfruitful soil. We encounter Capaneus, who fights a never-ending battle against Jove in his heart. We discuss how Capaneus' quote, our Dante Daily, is key to an effective examination of conscience. We talk about how love in marriage is like love...

In this episode we move into the second sub-circle of Violence, where we encounter the violent against self. We encounter Pier della Vigna, who eternally attempts to destroy his own soul by lowering it in the order of being. We discuss suicide in the pagan world, the medieval world, and the modern world. We note how the different ways that medieval and modern theologians each approach suicide by a...

In this episode, we descend into the Circle of Violence. We encounter the Minotaur, the centaurs, and the souls of those who embrace violence against others. We discuss what it means to never repent, how these souls differ from the wrathful, and how we harm ourselves more than anyone else by our sins. We also learn how the ladies of the Broadway musical "Chicago" are just like the souls in this ci...

In this episode, Dante and Virgil pause before descending to the next circle, and talk about the structure of Hell. We discuss why Dante sees certain sins as worse than others, and how this seemingly abstract philosophical topic is enormously relevant for our daily lives.