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This week tune in as the guys interview one of the greatest and most prolific translators of this and the previous century—Dr. Stanley Lombardo. In this conversation we hear about Stanley’s early education where he was, yes, drawn to Greek and Latin but especially the rhythms and performance of poetry. The idea that these ancient works were meant to be performed and heard (not read silently) has always been at the center of his attempts to make these texts sing and become something new. So how does he do it? How does oneyou thread that needle of “staying close to the original text” while “making it new for a contemporary audience”? How do different authors lend themselves to different approaches? And how do you accompany your own poetry with a drum? 

This week the guys welcome back good friend, former colleague, and two-time Newberry Medal honoree, young-adult writer Gary Schmidt. How did Jeff and Dave manage that? Well we invited him in, and just like that he accepted our invitation. He found the studio comfortable, or at least okay for now, but the conversation was more than a little bit super. We focused on his 2023 novel The Labors of Hercules Beal, a rip-roaring adaptation of the strongman's 12 tasks, with cats, coyotes, a katabasis, a sculpted hippo, and more. Like so much of Gary's work, it is a beautiful tragicomedy, blending moments of hilarity with unvarnished reflection on suffering. So, pay attention, Carter Jones (and everyone else), and stay out of trouble. And for our younger listeners, from the first boy to the last girl, regardless of what planet you orbit, this one is a can't-miss!

This week, Jeff and Dave resume their woolly perambulations through the wonders of Henri-Irénée Marrou's august volume on ancient education. Specifically, we look at Chapter VI, entitled "The Masters of the Classical Tradition" to get our bearings on Plato's pedagogical revolution. Along the way, we ask, and seek to answer, such questions as: What is the Socratic method? What is the relationship between σοφία and practical efficiency? How many students did Plato have that pursued, and acquired, political power (the number is high)? How was the Academy organized? And, what is the genus of pumpkin? If you're interested in education, Plato, stale Simpsons references, Celine Dion, and more, then let's just say:

This podcast can touch you one time

This week the guys are joined in the Bunker (via Zoom) by scholars Anne Larsen (emerita, French, Hope College) and Stephen Maiullo (Classics, Hope College) for a fascinating discussion of the “Minerva of Utrecht” and "Tenth Muse", Anna Maria van Schurman (1607-1678). Van Schurman was not only an accomplished painter, engraver, and calligraphist, she was  also a phenomenally gifted linguist and classical scholar at a time when such was virtually unheard of among women. Tune in to hear about the challenges in translating the Latin of her books and letters into English (for the first time!), and of van Schurman’s extraordinary life in which she went head-to-head with the scholars of her day, made a name for herself in the “Republic of Letters”, and laid out a groundbreaking case for the education of women.

This week Dave and Jeff welcome back into the studio (this guy's becoming a regular!) our longtime friend, mentor, former colleague, and teacher, the inestimable Ken Bratt. You may know him from such episodes as "From there We Travelled to Philippi" (46), and, "A Visit to the Roman Catacombs" (76). For this go 'round, Ken reaches back into the more distant, misty past, as he talks a little about why he chose Herodotus for his doctoral dissertation at Princeton. Using a 1968 article by J.A.S. Evans entitled, "Father of History or Father of Lies: The Reputation of Herodotus", Ken leads us through questions of Herodotus' purpose, methods, theism, charm, and style. Was the man of Halicarnassus a mere credulous stooge, or is there something deeper going on? Does he really deserve such negative comparisons to Thucydides? And what about the urination practices of Egyptians? Tune in for this and more.

In the beginning was the…conversation? In this episode Jeff and Dave tackle a fascinating 1977 article by Marjorie O’Rourke Boyle in which she reviews the history of the translation of John 1:1, particularly the Latin words used to express the Greek ὁ λόγος (logos), usually taken in English as “Word”. We learn that the earliest Latin translations used the word sermo (“conversation”), which seems to have a broader range of meanings and referents (connotation vs. denotation) than the verbum Jerome selected, and which then dominated translations for a millennium. And just when you thought it was safe to crack open the Vulgate, along comes Erasmus in 1516, who rocks the theological and philological worlds by suggesting a return to sermo. Which word better expresses the range of the Greek logos? How might our choice change the way we read John 1:1?

This week, Jeff and Dave continue on their stroll through the wonders of Marrou's volume on ancient education. Specifically, they look at Chapter V and the question of the Sophists. Men like Protagoras, Gorgias, and Prodicus were doing something new and unusual at the close of the fifth century, no doubt. And that something was -- wait for it -- selling education! Many arch-conservatives like Plato and Aristophanes did not take to it kindly. But is there any way to sort the wheat from the chaff? How can we know that what Plato tells us about the Sophists is the genuine article, and not just some envious hyperbole? Were these traveling salesman peddling snake oil, or could they really teach how to govern a state properly, the πολιτικὴ τέχνη. And if so, does that constitute ἐπιστήμη? Come along for a lively discussion, complete with the usual round of questionable puns, absurd asides, and just a dash of inanity. Before long, you'll be eating at the Midway food court just like the rest of us. Did someone say M-Burger?

This week the guys have the honor of interviewing kids/young adult author Caroline Lawrence (The Roman Mysteries and Roman Quests series, along with many others!) Ms. Lawrence is beaming in to us from London, where she writes her books overlooking the mighty Thames itself. And she's no pretender when it comes to the Classics--she comes to London by way of Classics degrees from Berkeley and Cambridge. Tune in to hear about her own fascinating journey from enthusiast to author, about how she shapes her stories from visits to museums and archaeological sites, and about how she incorporates her knowledge of Latin, Greek, and Hebrew into her fiction. We're sure you'll come away with a new love for Hero Journeys, for following one's passions, for London itself and maybe even apotropaic pillows!

This week the guys tackle Chapter IV of H.I. Marrou's monumental work, entitled "The 'Old' Athenian Education".  Relying on Aristophanes, Thucydides, Solon, and others, Marrou explains how the Athenians decided to lay down their weapons within society, and soon after education was democratized. So, “the decisive step" was taken from a warrior to a scribe culture, and education was no longer exclusively military. There was a predictable reaction from conservative elites: they sprinted to their Formula 1 roadsters, hotrodding their chariots like any Verstappen, Leclerc, or Russell. Long-haired, aristocratic young dandies stuck to their horses, even as the common peasant, baker, or cobbler sent his son off to the schools of the rhetors to learn how to make the weaker argument stronger. With this new aristocratic ideal, the development of new institutions was needed, and thus was born the epoch-making school. And despite Socrates' trenchant skepticism that arete can be taught, many claimed to teach it, and thus Sophistry surged (which takes us to Chapter V and next time). So, tune in for the Solonic Greek couplets, the KALOKAGATHIA, the mid-winter Michigan nasal congestion, the brawny chicken (Pollo Loco!), and at least one atrocious limerick.

This week the guys tackle the subject of American Urban Legends with an eye to what classical cultural and narrative archetypes tell us about why these weirdo tales can be so, well, weird. Jeff eagerly (a little too eagerly, Dave might say) drags us into those liminal spaces as we recount the odd tale of the hatchet-wielding, murderous Bunnyman of Clifton, Virginia who creepily lies in wait at the train trestle known as Bunnyman Bridge. All kinds of questions to tackle here: Why do so many urban legends take place at bridges and crossroads? Why are so many of the creatures involved “composite monsters”? Could we see kids visiting these creepy sites at midnight as a kind of “do-it-yourself” coming of age ritual? Why are most urban legends not “urban”?