Kristian Urstad and Stephen Webb

The Wisdom Of

Society EN ↓ 384 episodes

In this podcast we explore great works of philosophy and literature and art, and try to pull out of them what’s most interesting and inspiring! Whether they come from the works of Plato, or Dostoevsky or Picasso, here we explore ideas that move mountains and rock the soul! So, come join us, won’t you? Come worship at the alter of ideas, and come celebrate the dancing of thought. Welcome to the Wisdom Of!

Author

Kristian Urstad and Stephen Webb

Episodes

Love - Homer's Odyssey 06.12.2020 31:03

Homer's Odyssey is about the Greek hero Odysseus and his long journey home after the Trojan War where his wife Penelope and son Telemachus await him.

Love - Sappho 29.11.2020 33:29

Sappho was a greek poet from the island of Lesbos in the Aegean sea. Sappho's sensual poetry often centred around the overwhelming power of love and it was often directed towards other women. In this episode, we talk about how intimate, physical, and personal her view of love was!

Love - Plato's Symposium 28.11.2020 34:40

The Symposium is one of Plato's greatest dialogues. It's one of the most influential texts on love in the western world. In this episode, we discuss his idea of the ladder of love, and how it is love can completely transform our life!

Meaning - Cervantes' Don Quixote 15.11.2020 27:45

Don Quixote is a book written by Miguel de Cervantes published in 1605. It's about an everyday man who one day turns into a knight errant and decides to right the wrongs of this world.

Meaning - Hemingway's A Clean Well Lighted Place 14.11.2020 31:42

A Clean, Well-Lighted Place is a five page short story written by Ernest Hemingway, published in 1933. It’s about three people and their individual confrontation with nothingness or nada.

Meaning - Camus' The Plague 03.11.2020 32:33

The Plague is a book written by Albert Camus, published in 1947. The story is about a deadly plague that ravages the town of Oran, and the people who try to fight against it. They do the best they can, even though they know that there is no cure and that their attempts are ultimately futile.

Meaning - Nietzsche's Thus Spoke Zarathustra 31.10.2020 32:27

Thus Spoke Zarathustra is a book written by Friedrich Nietzsche, published in 1883. The story chronicles the sayings and the travels of the sage Zarathustra. Zarathustra teaches that God is dead and that we must remain faithful to the earth.

Meaning - The Book of Job 30.10.2020 30:02

The Book of Job is a book from the Old Testament. It was written around the 6th century BC. The story is about Job, a completely innocent and upright man, who is made to suffer terribly as a result of a bet made between God and Satan. Initially, Job can’t understand why God would allow for his to happen to him. Eventually he comes to realize that God’s creation is much bigger, and so less about hi...

Meaning - The Epic Of Gilgamesh 24.10.2020 40:14

The Epic of Gilgamesh is the oldest known story we have. It’s from Mesopotamia and it dates back all the way to around 1800 BC. The story is about Gilgamesh, the ruler of Uruk, and his quest for immortality. What he eventually realizes is that immortality is not what the aim of life is all about, but rather, in everyday projects and good deeds, in the concerns of this life.