The Incidental Podcast

In anticipation of the long-developed third issue in our present cycle, the editors sat down to explore the theme of pilgrimage that connects the classics covered in the upcoming instalment of the Incidental Encyclical. From Hunter S. Thompson’s drug-fuelled trip through the desert to find the heart of America, to the theme of death in the journeys of the donkey protagonist in Apuleius’ ancient po...

In this accompanying podcast for the upcoming Issue 2 of 2024, The Land Turned Waste , our editorial crew takes a dizzying journey through the many contributions that make up the newest issue of the Incidental Encyclical. From Ancient Rome to the Court of Camelot, the Soviet Gulag to Napoleonic Europe, the theme of humanity’s desolation and self-betrayal is unfolded in myriad stories and historica...

In a this YouTube podcast discussion, editors Harry and Samuel discuss the symbol of the Wasteland - the new theme of our upcoming issue for the Incidental Encyclical - through the lens of the writers whose works have informed the present inquiry. T.S. Eliot’s ‘The Hollow Men’, Thomas Malory’s “Le Morte d’Arthur’, and Alexandr Solzhenitsyn’s ‘The Gulag Archipelago” form the backbone of a symbolic...

In this discussion on the Grail Quest - our theme for this quarter and overarching theme for the year at the Incidental Encyclical - our editors discuss the person of the Grail seeker. Samuel presents his thesis on the nature of pagan, Christian, and anti-Christ seekers of the Grail, embodied in the mythic characters of Oedipus, Parzival, and Captain Ahab - figures whose legends stretch from antiq...

Sophocles’ Oedipus Rex has been one of the most celebrated example of ancient tragedy for over two thousand years - so it’s no easy task to write about, considering the amount of discussion that has taken place over it in that time. Editors Samuel and Levi tackle the task with a summary of the narrative and a discussion on how it fits in to the present theme of the magazine. Get full access to The...

In this very first bonus episode of 2024, Samuel inquires into one of Levi’s fields of study: the legacy and history of the Proto Indo-Europeans. Levi provides information as to how we know of this ancient group of wide-ranging horseback warriors, and Samuel considers how Levi’s insights tie into the project of the classics and the magazine as a whole. Join us in this one-of-a-kind quest to unders...

In our final podcast discussion of our first year as a project, editors Samuel, Levi, and Michael discuss the works covered in our upcoming issue: Strife Within. From the familial turmoil of Dostoyevsky’s The Brothers Karamazov, to the contradictory rhetoric of Plato’s Symposium , and through the depths of customs and games displayed in Sir Gawain and the Green Knight , the theme on which we concl...

In this special episode of the podcast, editors Samuel and Levi are talking about their favourite Christmas story: Sir Gawain and the Green Knight, by the anonymous Pearl Poet of the 14th century. It’s an Arthurian romance that comes to us from late mediaeval England, featuring headless horsemen, knightly deeds, seduction, and witchcraft. And all of it taking place in the most wonderful time of th...

In this bonus episode of the Incidental Encyclical podcast, editors Samuel, Levi, and Mike - with a call-in appearance from editor Harry - bring up some points of interest concerning the massive novel, the Brothers Karamazov. This discussion moves between the insights from multiple readings of the story, to the perspective of a first-time reader of Dostoyevsky, bringing forth a rounded considerati...

With Issue 3 of the Incidental Encyclical soon to be released, we bring you this unique instalment of the podcast. Not only is it slightly longer than normal, but it also features for the first time some in-person discussion - discussion that covers the work of Australia’s only Nobel Prize-winning author, Patrick White, and his novel, Voss. We also have special guest to the podcast - Jack Summerhi...

In this bonus episode of the Incidental Encyclical podcast, editors Samuel, Levi, and Harry discuss the philosophy of Roman Stoic philosopher Seneca, in preparation for the upcoming Issue #3 of the magazine, titled “Wisdom in Desert Places”. In particular, they work through his letter to his mother, Helvia, which the great philosopher wrote in exile. Get full access to The Incidental Encyclical at...

In this bonus, wrap-up episode for the Incidental Encyclical’s Issue #2: Troubled Seas, join editors Samuel, Levi, and Harry, as they discuss a wide range of topics. From the concept of post-literacy and modern education systems, they move into a discussion of the ancient educational spirit, and try to understand the figures of Odysseus and Socrates - two heroic Ancient Greeks with deep attentiven...

In preparation for the release of the second issue of the Incidental Encyclical - Troubled Seas - we bring you a roundtable of our contributors talking theme, classics, mythos and meaning. Our own Proteus,* Harry, joins us to break down the seminal essay from the new issue outlining the symbol of seafaring in myth, literature, and life - and from there we examine how each of the classics we’ll be...

Join editors Samuel and Levi as they discuss the works that inform the theme of our upcoming issue of The Incidental Encyclical : ‘Troubled Seas’. Those works are Ernest Hemingway’s ‘ The Old Man and the Sea ’, the Anglo-Saxon poem ‘ the Seafarer ’, and Homer’s ‘ Odyssey ’. In particular, they talk here about the difficulties and the joys of writing about a work that has endured and inspired for o...

This episode accompanies the (upcoming) release of our first issue, titled ‘The Journey Up’. In the issue itself and in this discussion, we focus on the military history and memoir of Xenophon, titled ‘The Anabasis of Cyrus’, and the philosophical literary work ‘Fear and Trembling’ by Kierkegaard. Your hosts are magazine editors Samuel Willmot and Levi Bak, as well as columnist Edwyn Adeney. Get f...