Books of Titans Podcast

Where to Start with Greek Mythology

I’ve just started reading Jason and the Argonauts for the monthly Short Great Books reading group that I lead. It got me thinking about Greek Mythology and what the best

#302 - Euthydemus by Plato

Euthydemus is a fun early Socratic dialogue seeking to determine who can best teach virtue: the philosopher or the Sophist. Euthydemus and his brother Dionsydorus represe

#301 - Candide by Voltaire

In my recent article, I walked through the Path of Candide by Voltaire. This hilarious satire was written as a response to a particular idea about optimism put forward by

Fall 2026 Reading Plan

I set aside one post per month to highlight my reading life. This month I’m tying a podcast episode to my regular post. Books of Titans is a reading project aimed at seek

Plato's Republic, Book 1: Can the Unjust Succeed Through Injustice?

A quick episode where I look at a question posed in Book 1 of Plato’s Republic - can those moving towards injustice accomplish their goal while being unjust to one anothe

Seven Books from My Library

Ever go to someone’s house and wonder at how their library came about? What were the first books they purchased? How did that lead to other books? What are their favorite

#300 - The Republic-Ion

I’m in the midst of my Plato Project, which is my attempt to read the complete works of Plato. I’m near the mid-way point, and while the reading is quite difficult, it’s

#299 - Laches by Plato

Laches is another one of Plato’s Dialogues of Search. In this one, Plato is seeking a definition for the Greek word andreia (ἀνδρεία), which is typically translated as co

#298 - Charmides by Plato

Charmides* is a dialogue of search and the search is for a definition of the Greek word sophrosyne. It’s a word that encompasses the spirit behind the famous sayings at D

My Loeb Top 5

I’m closing out my biweekly summer podcast schedule with an episode about my top 5 favorite Loeb Classical Library books. Do you need these if you don’t read Greek or Lat

#297 - Alcibiades by Plato

The famous inscription a the Temple of Apollo at Delphi encourages the visitor to “Know Thyself.” Plato’s dialogue Alcibiades is an exploration of that inscription. What

#296 - The Winged Soul

What is love and what does it have to do with the immortal soul? These are some of the questions addressed in the wide-ranging Phaedrus dialogue by Plato. Similar to othe

2026 Mid-Year Reading Review

2026 has been a fun year of reading so far. I’ve read the Bible, a few Plato dialogues, legends of King Arthur, and others. Here’s my mid-year reading review. It’s a grea

#295 - A Conversation with Stephen Crotts

Last episode, I spoke to poet Malcolm Guite about his epic poem, Galahad and the Grail. In this episode, I interview Galahad’s illustrator, Stephen Crotts. This is my Ar

#294 - A Conversation with Malcolm Guite

June is my Arthurian Month, a quick dive into the legends of King Arthur. In this episode, I interview author and epic poet Malcolm Guite, whose work here is something sp

#293 - The Birth of Love

In this episode, I cover The Birth of Love myth in Plato’s Symposium dialogue. I don’t usually think of Plato as a myth maker, but here he is offering a different spin on

#292 - Philebus by Plato

What is the good life? This is the question addressed in Philebus, one of Plato’s later dialogues, written in the late 350s BC. Philebus and his counterpart Protarchus (a

#291 - The Flowering Hawthorn by Hugh Ross Williamson

In today’s podcast episode, I cover the legend of The Flowering Hawthorn and its connection to the King Arthur legend. It’s a tale that begins with Joseph of Arimathea. H

#290 - Anaximander & Anaximenes

In this podcast episode, I cover the life and ideas of two of the earliest Greek Philosophers, Anaximander & Anaximenes of Miletus. Anaximander is credited with introduci

#289 - Parmenides

In this podcast episode, I cover the life and ideas of Parmenides of Elea. Robin Waterfield calls him “the single most important Pre-socratic thinker.” He introduced a pu