ABANDON ALL HOPE, YE WHO ENTER HERE: We've made it at last to the gates of hell, and we're on our way to the river of Acheron. On the way, we'll meet the "neutrals" and the cowards—those who never lived and have no names. From here on out, the poem becomes a horror movie. But in this episode, I want to show you just how deep the horror goes. Worms and flames are just the beginning: it's the spiritual deformities that the torments represent that make them truly chilling. Then, Dante goes off the chain in a set piece that establishes him as one of the all-time epic greats, as souls like fallen leaves come streaming down to the river of death.

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00:00 Introduction

01:05 Canto 3: Hell's Vestibule

24:25 Appetites and Inhabitants of Hell

44:22 Tragedies of Futility and Fate

56:28 Mailbag: Meditations on Suffering

1:09:56 Closing Remarks