Queer Catholic Book Club

Dante and Virgil meet Statius who explains why Purgatory thunders. Statius is excited to meet his idol Virgil. Note that we have renamed our podcast Queer Catholic Book Club for better clarity and reach. Please review and share as you feel appropriate and let us know your thoughts! We would love to hear from you :) This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or g...

Having seen the effects of greed on the papacy, Dante and Virgil meet Hugh Capet and learn how avarice has corrupted monarchs. This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit aplaceforuspod.substack.com/subscribe

An ominous Siren visits Dante in dream before he meets Pope Adrian V in the fifth terrace. This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit aplaceforuspod.substack.com/subscribe

Virgil’s explanation of how the soul misdirects its love still doesn’t satisfy Dante. But he doesn’t have time to dwell as they enter the Terrace of the Slothful. There they are rushed by racing souls making up for lost time they should have given to love. This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit aplaceforuspod.substack.c...

Leaving the Terrace of the Wrathful is like ascending the misty Alps towards the sun. Dante has visions of people destroyed by their own anger. He is left wondering “Why do souls go astray?” Virgil tries to answer. This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit aplaceforuspod.substack.com/subscribe

Marco Lombardo tells us that we can’t blame the stars for human evil. He also says that the church and state must return to their rightful places. As Dante and Virgil continue on, Marco explains that he is not ready to escape the cloudy veil of the Terrace of Wrath. This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit aplaceforuspod....

Dante and Virgil leave the terrace of the envious to enter the terrace of wrath where they are blinded by peculiar angles of light. An Angel of Mercy guides them on a more gentle path. En route they see visions of Mary and Jesus in the temple, Pisistratus’ angry wife, and St. Stephen getting stoned to death. This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get acce...

Dante and Virgil meet Guido del Duca and Rinieri da Calboli talk the degeneracy of Tuscany and compare the Arno to Hell. The problem is simple - people are fixated on things they can’t share. This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit aplaceforuspod.substack.com/subscribe

This week’s coffee talk is a big long catch up about the passing of Pope Francis on Easter Monday which coincided with Michael’s surgery and Dexter’s birthday. This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit aplaceforuspod.substack.com/subscribe

Dante and Virgil meet the envious repenting. Envy is a sin of vision. Their eyes are sewn shut with wire to prevent further temptation. This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit aplaceforuspod.substack.com/subscribe

Dante continues the climb with Virgil. They trample on depictions of Pride punished in biblical and mythological contexts: The Fall of Lucifer, Arachne turned into a spider, The Death of Briareus.. and more! An angel removes the mark of Pride from the pilgrim’s forehead, freeing him to reach the next level. This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get acces...

This coffee talk we ramble through our shared collective subconscious and discover the Importance of Oscar Wilde. One f-slur can change the course of history! Salome vs the Divine Comedy, the multi-dimensional existence of Geri Halliwell, keeping up with White Lotus and normies, avoiding nostalgia to embrace the lucid dream of a illogical world. If you get it you get it. If you don’t, get your cho...

The Pilgrim learns a lesson about bowing to the greatness of others and not being taken by one’s own acclaim. He prays the Our Father with souls burdened by their own Pride in the form of boulders as they ascend Mount Purgatory. This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit aplaceforuspod.substack.com/subscribe

After praying the Our Father, the Pilgrims consider humility as portrayed in the art at Purgatory’s Gates. Canto 9 was published twice last week- our apologies! This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit aplaceforuspod.substack.com/subscribe

Dante dreams of being Ganymede snatched by an eagle into the burning heavens, only to discover that he’s actually been carried like a sleeping infant to the Gates of Purgatory by Saint Lucy. What looks like violence is sometimes love. This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit aplaceforuspod.substack.com/subscribe

The Pilgrim dreams for the first time in the Comedy and imagines himself Ganymede snatched up to Heaven by Jove. The truth is that Saint Lucy has Dante to elevate him to the base of Mt. Purgatorio. This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit aplaceforuspod.substack.com/subscribe

Dante and Virgil are among the resting at camp in Antepurgatorio. The Angels surround them in protection against the approaching serpent. The real spectacle for the souls being protected is Dante, the sole living being among them. This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit aplaceforuspod.substack.com/subscribe

Virgil and Dante continue their conversation with the Mantuan Sordello from Canto 6. Unable to continue their ascent until the Sun rises, Dante, Virgil, and Sordello camp out. While at rest they observe the monarchs who have put down their arms to adore Mary. . This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit aplaceforuspod.subst...

Coffee Talk is our podcast’s version of a church coffee hour. We catch up on each others lives and current events. Danish not included. This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit aplaceforuspod.substack.com/subscribe

Sordello brings his hometown hero, Virgil, up to date on all the news from Mantua. This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit aplaceforuspod.substack.com/subscribe

Coffee Talk is our podcast’s version of a church coffee hour. We catch up on each others lives and current events. Danish not included. This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit aplaceforuspod.substack.com/subscribe

Dante and Virgil meet souls who put off repenting to the last breath. They’re not yet in Heaven, but they’re surely not in Hell! This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit aplaceforuspod.substack.com/subscribe

In Canto 4 Virgil helps Dante get his bearings in Purgatory. They meet Belacqua, Dante’s lazy friend. This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit aplaceforuspod.substack.com/subscribe

Canto 3 finds Dante and Virgil begin their climb of Mount Purgatory. Dante is surprised to meet Manfredi, the ex-communicated emperor, who has an urgent message for his daughter on Earth: pray for me! This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit aplaceforuspod.substack.com/subscribe

Michael and Dexter reflect on the late David Lynch after reading Dante’s Inferno. Coffee Talk is our podcast’s version of a church coffee hour. We catch up on each others lives and current events. Danish not included. This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit aplaceforuspod.substack.com/subscribe