From the get-go of Canto XV, I've told you my assumption: These are the homosexuals punished in Inferno.

But am I right? I'm certainly standing with the bulk of the commentary tradition, reaching back almost 700 years.

But lately, there have been challenges to this assumption. Let's look at the book that started the whole modern debate: André Pézard's bombshell work from 1950 that reassesses who these sinners are.

Join me, Mark Scarbrough, as I give voice to my own opposition! We'll get a little farther into the weeds than we usually do on Walking With Dante. But it seems important to state that my notion of who these sinners are is not necessarily the most current opinion.

Here are the segments of this podcast episode:

[01:10] Why do I believe these are the homosexuals in Inferno, Canto XV (and coming up in Inferno, Canto XVI)?

[05:19] What does the opposition say? In essence, these are sinners guilty of sins against rhetoric. Let's explore that position.