Digressio: Inherit the Humanities

In this episode of the Digressio Podcast, Daniel Foucachon and Dr. Joe Carlson explore John Milton’s Paradise Lost and Regained as the crowning epic of the English language, and why they deserve renewed attention today. They discuss how to read epic poetry well, the challenges and rewards of Milton’s elevated style, and the importance of approaching his work on its own terms rather than through mo...

In episode 16 (episode 4 of Season 2), Joe Carlson and Daniel Foucachon read some epic poetry together, beginning with a BAD reading of epic poetry, followed by a tutorial covering four basic principles for reading epic poetry: First, allow the natural stresses of the words to dictate the flow of the sentence. Different words have different stress lengths, depending on the placement of the vowels...

This is the Digressio podcast, helping families inherit the humanities in their home.  Welcome to Season 2, where we are, among some "Digressios," discussing Epic Poetry.  I’m your host Daniel Foucachon, and I’m joined by our co-host Joe Carlson, translator of Dantes Divine comedy, and author of The Dante Curriculum. The topic today is “What to do with an epic poem?” 

In episode 14 (episode 2 of Season 2), Daniel Foucachon and Joe Carlson continue the discussion of epic poetry by defining an epic poem.  They begin by discussing the four genres of literature based on Dr. Louise Cowan's genre theory (Epic, Tragedy, Comedy, and Lyric), and then the four elements that make up an Epic, which functions as Cosmopoesis through:  Expansion of Space Expansion of Tim...

Welcome to Season 2 of The Digressio Podcast! In this season Daniel Foucachon and co-host Joe Carlson will discuss Epic Poetry, starting with the topic of this first episode: The Need for Epic Poetry.

The following was a portion of a Dante panel, focusing on the Inferno , presented at the University of Dallas, March 27, 2023, by Joe Carlson.  Read the full article . Learn more about Dante's Divine Comedy at DantePoem.com

This special edition of the podcast is a reading of an article by Joe Carlson entitled “Four Reasons to Read Dante in 2023."  You can also read this article:  https://romanroadspress.com/2023/01/four-reasons-to-read-dante/ Joe Carlson is a translator of Dante's Divine Comedy , and the author of a reader guide for each of the the three canticles, published by Roman Roads Press. You can fi...

This special edition of the Digressio Podcast features an article by Dr. Mitch Stokes, senior fellow of Philosophy at New Saint Andrews College, entitled, "What Does Jesus have to do with STEM."  STEM refers to Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics. In this article Dr. Stokes explores the need to integrate STEM fields with the Liberal Arts, and addresses the current crisis in...

In this episode, Daniel Foucachon sits down with Tim Griffith (the creator of Picta Dicta) and Reuben Jansen (the author of Picta Dicta Latin Primer) to discuss the art of learning Latin the right way, which means speaking and using Latin . Reuben tells us the story of how Latin Primer came about, and we discuss what speaking and using Latin as a living language looks like, as well as why it is wo...

Timothy Griffith joins us to answer the question "Why Latin?" and why we need to integrate the three pathways of Use, Grammar, and Reading. We also bash the SAT a little bit, and talk about the CLT. INTRO: Tim Griffith, Fellow of Classical Languages, New Saint Andrews College Picta Dicta OUTLINE: 1. Why learn latin? 2. Why latin over another language? 3. Being familiar with the ancient w...

Rusty Olps tells us about the lesser-known roots of the modern school system, and the affects of incidentals like age-based placement and  5-day a week attendance. INTRO: The Jubilee School Lewis Clark Christian School Kepler Education OUTLINE: 1. The Prussian Model of Education 2. Horace Mann's Report of an Educational Tour, 1844 3. Incidentals of the Modern School 4. Diversity of learners,...

Dr. Mitch Stokes tells us about his journey from engineering to philosophy and why those disciplines should be much more integrated than they typically are in the classroom and the lab. How To Be An Atheist - Why Most Skeptics Aren’t Skeptical Enough A Shot of Faith to the Head - Be a Confident Believer in an Age of Cranky Atheists Galileo Mitch's journey from STEM to philosophy How did scien...

In this episode "about" Homer's Iliad, we get to enjoy the entirety of Book 1, "The Rage of Achilles" from Wes Callihan's personal rendering of the Iliad. 1. "About" the great books vs. "Through" the great books 2. Roman Roads' 2019 Iliad Read Aloud Livestream 3. Conclusion Questions and Suggestions Form

In this episode we explore how to approach the great books as Christians, Enlightenment prejudices, and oft-forgotten Medieval classics through the very first lecture of the Old Western Culture course. Ep 4 - OWC Inaugural Lecture Old Western Culture Year 1 - The Greeks What do the great books do for us? A Christian approach to the great books “The clean sea breeze of the centuries” Christianity v...

What is classical education? Is it a way of teaching (pedagogy) or is it the topics covered (subject)? We explore Daniel's answer and see how it dovetails with sharing the Gospel. Ep 3 - Classical Education as Inheriting the Humanities What is classical education? Pedagogy vs. Subject The inheritance of the West “The Humanities”: an integrated approach to many subjects, Calculus For Everyone...

Everybody knows Narnia, but fewer have ventured into C.S. Lewis's science fiction series, wrongly called "The Space Trilogy". Teacher, author, and Lewis scholar, Christiana Hale shares her knowledge of Lewis, the Discarded Image, and the deeper meaning behind the trilogy. Ep 2 - Deeper Heaven & Lewis’ Ransom Trilogy Deeper Heaven Silent Planet, Perelandra, Hideous Strength Forew...

In this pilot episode we explore the mission and curricula of Roman Roads Press. Ep 1 - What is Roman Roads?  What is Roman Roads ? Great Books Reading Challenge The “Old Western Culture” course   De Descriptione Temporum Why is it called “Roman Roads”? RR curricula: Calculus For Everyone , Picta Dicta , Grammar of Poetry “Fitting Words” and the art of Rhetoric Conclusion Questions and Suggestions...