Episode 5//The Grail Quest//Autumn 2024

Episode 6//The Land Turned Waste

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 historical moments. Get full access to The Incidental Encyclical at www.incidentalencyclicalmagazine.com/subscribe [https://www.incidentalencyclicalmagazine.com/subscribe?utm_medium=podcast&utm_campaign=CTA_4]

Bonus Episode: Prelude to the Wasteland

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 exploration of humanity’s responsibility for creating desolation. Listen to the audio via Substack, or watch the video below: Get full access to The Incidental Encyclical at www.incidentalencyclicalmagazine.com/subscribe [https://www.incidentalencyclicalmagazine.com/subscribe?utm_medium=podcast&utm_campaign=CTA_4]

Episode 5//The Grail Quest//Autumn 2024

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 antiquity to modernity. Having already discussed Parzival in the first episode of Socrates' Razor [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=N1p7iyCUxOc&t=449s&pp=ygUOc29jcmF0ZXMgcmF6b3I%3D], and likewise Oedipus in the previous bonus episode of the discussion, a lot of the focus of this episode is on the novel Moby Dick, and the figures of Ahab, Ishmael, and Queequeg. Stay tuned for more leviathan-themed content in the coming weeks, as well as the full release of Issue 1 for 2024, coming soon! Get full access to The Incidental Encyclical at www.incidentalencyclicalmagazine.com/subscribe [https://www.incidentalencyclicalmagazine.com/subscribe?utm_medium=podcast&utm_campaign=CTA_4]

Bonus Episode: Writing about Oedipus Rex

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 Incidental Encyclical at www.incidentalencyclicalmagazine.com/subscribe [https://www.incidentalencyclicalmagazine.com/subscribe?utm_medium=podcast&utm_campaign=CTA_4]

Bonus Episode: The Modern Inquiry into Identity

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 understand the offerings of a range of different disciplines - linguistics, archaeology, and genetics - and see how even modern inquiries follow ancient patterns of storytelling. {Edit: this re-upload features improved audio thanks to regular listener Jake Welch, who offered to improve the quality and remove some of the sounds of the car - our heartfelt thanks to Jake!} Get full access to The Incidental Encyclical at www.incidentalencyclicalmagazine.com/subscribe [https://www.incidentalencyclicalmagazine.com/subscribe?utm_medium=podcast&utm_campaign=CTA_4]