ReReadium - Revisiting Classic Books

In this episode of ReReadium, we dive into the blood‑soaked dust of Homer’s "The Iliad" — a story of gods, warriors, and all‑too‑human rage. We unpack why Achilles’ wrath still echoes in modern battlefields and political arenas, from frozen frontlines in Ukraine to the volatile rhetoric of today’s leaders. Join us as we trace the line between ancient epics and contemporary headlines, asking what the siege of Troy can still teach us about pride, power, and the cost of war in a world that hasn’t stopped fighting.

Additional sources for this episode:

• https://nationalinterest.org/feature/what-homers-iliad-tells-about-us-china-war-11139/​
• https://www.latimes.com/opinion/story/2025-04-13/la-oe-browner-iliad​
• https://www.forwardpathway.us/the-iliad-a-deep-connection-between-classics-and-modern-society​
• https://goodnovel.com/qa/modern-readers-interpret-iliad-translated-today​
• https://sententiaeantiquae.com/2025/10/24/the-politics-of-rage-beginning-the-iliad-again/​
• https://neoskosmos.com/en/2022/04/26/dialogue/opinion/epic-glory-and-modern-war-from-the-walls-of-troy-to-the-defence-of-kyiv/​
• https://www.thearticle.com/lessons-from-homer-for-the-war-in-ukraine​
• https://www.thefp.com/p/reading-homer-after-october-7​
• http://www.thegamesmenplay.com/blog/2023/10/12/the-once-and-future-war-israel-and-the-iliad​
• https://jimfriedrich.com/2022/03/01/we-must-love-one-another-or-die-what-does-the-iliad-tell-us-about-the-invasion-of-ukraine/

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Journey into the timeless battlefield of the mind with Sun Tzu's "The Art of War". This ancient masterpiece isn't just dusty strategy—it's a blueprint for outsmarting chaos in boardrooms, geopolitics, and personal rivalries today. Tune in as we decode its razor-sharp wisdom, from knowing your enemy to winning without firing a shot, and see why leaders from Silicon Valley to global summits still swear by it.

Additional sources for this episode:

• https://moderndiplomacy.eu/2024/06/12/the-art-of-war-by-sun-tzu-book-review/
• ​https://digitalcommons.liberty.edu/hsgconference/2024/foreign_policy/4/​
• https://nitishastra.substack.com/p/sun-tzus-art-of-war-chinas-doctrine
• ​https://dspace.cuni.cz/bitstream/handle/20.500.11956/191347/120478767.pdf​
• https://campaignsandelections.com/industry-news/the-art-of-war-provides-timeless-wisdom-for-modern-campaigns/​
• https://orcasia.org/article/209/decoding-the-usage-of-sun-tzu-tactics-in-contemporary-geopolitics
• ​https://www.journal.hji.edu/no-angel-sun-tzu-on-the-russia-ukraine-war-and-zelenskys-quagmire/
• ​https://now.tufts.edu/2023/06/15/how-read-sun-tzus-art-war-way-its-author-intended-it-be-read​
• https://faugystrategy.substack.com/p/ukraine-russia-conflict-and-sun-tzus
• https://www.journal.hji.edu/no-angel-sun-tzu-on-the-russia-ukraine-war-and-zelenskys-quagmire/
• ​https://faugystrategy.substack.com/p/ukraine-russia-conflict-and-sun-tzus​
• https://nitishastra.substack.com/p/sun-tzus-art-of-war-chinas-doctrine
• ​https://quantamentaltrader.substack.com/p/the-silent-war-how-china-wielded

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Dive into Truman Capote's groundbreaking "In Cold Blood", the 1959 masterpiece that turned a family's brutal murder into the original true-crime phenomenon. We explore how its raw psychological portraits of two killers mirror today's frenzy—from mass shootings shaking our sense of safety to shocking CEO assassinations like Luigi Mangione's, proving Capote's "nonfiction novel" still haunts our headlines. Perfect for fans craving literary depth with a modern edge.

Additional sources for this episode:

• https://per-capita.co.uk/film/7360/
• https://www.duanemorris.com/articles/truman_capote_100_time_for_fresh_look_in_cold_blood_0824.html
• https://renminds.org/2024/12/09/the-adaptable-educators-book-reviews-in-cold-blood-by-truman-capote/
• https://lithub.com/what-truman-capotes-in-cold-blood-reveals-about-its-authors-intentions/
• https://themobmuseum.org/blog/sixty-years-later-in-cold-blood-murders-still-resonate/
• https://per-capita.co.uk/film/7360/​https://www.duanemorris.com/articles/truman_capote_100_time_for_fresh_look_in_cold_blood_0824.html
• https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/c30qlr528elo
• https://www.justice.gov/usao-sdny/pr/luigi-mangione-charged-stalking-and-murder

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Jonathan Franzen’s "The Corrections" is a family novel with the volume turned all the way up: love that bruises, old resentments that refuse to die, and the desperate hope that one more holiday gathering might finally “fix” what’s broken.

In this episode, we follow the Lamberts as illness, ambition, and private shame collide—and as every attempt at self-improvement starts to look like another form of denial. Along the way, we connect Franzen’s early‑2000s America to modern life: the pressure to optimize ourselves, the mental health language we lean on (and sometimes hide behind), and the way family systems can turn stress into a full-blown crisis.

Additional sources for this episode:

• https://americanliteraturehistorygenre.blogspot.com/2025/02/jonathan-franzens-corrections.html
• https://www.kirkusreviews.com/news-and-features/articles/best-of-the-century-the-corrections/
• https://residentjudge.com/2021/08/05/the-corrections-by-jonathan-franzen/
• https://commonreader.wustl.edu/the-most-haunting-nagging-maddening-exchange-from-jonathan-franzens-the-corrections/
• https://www.supersummary.com/the-corrections/summary/

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Travel through time with H.G. Wells' "The Time Machine", where the elegant Eloi and shadowy Morlocks expose the brutal truth of class divides. Dive into this gripping tale of a future shaped by today's skyrocketing wealth gaps—echoing our 2026 world of billionaires and billion struggling. Perfect for listeners pondering if society's chasm will swallow us whole. Join the adventure!

Additional sources for this episode:

• https://literariness.org/2025/05/19/analysis-of-h-g-wellss-the-time-machine/
• https://www.scribd.com/document/862579857/Relevance-of-Hg-Wells-Time-Machine-in-the-Contemporary-Age-Arushi-372
• https://www.thecollector.com/hg-wells-time-machine-eternal-timeliness/
• https://reflective-online-teaching.blogspot.com/2025/04/reimagining-wells-time-machine-across.html
• https://www.scribd.com/document/942089625/The-Time-Machine-Analysis-and-Climate-Connection
• https://www.scribd.com/document/942087252/The-Time-Machine-by-H-G-Wells
• https://www.toolify.ai/ai-news/the-time-machine-a-journey-through-time-and-politics-14230

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In the glittering excess of 1980s New York, Sherman McCoy—Wall Street’s “master of the universe”—believes he’s untouchable. Then one wrong turn in the Bronx sets off a chain reaction of greed, race, and media fury that exposes the fragile foundations of power, privilege, and public opinion. Tom Wolfe’s razor-sharp satire still burns today, mirroring our own era of viral scandals, social media outrage, and elite hubris. In this episode, we dive into the burning questions Wolfe asked decades ago: Who really pays the price for privilege? How does the media shape justice? And why does this novel feel more relevant in our world of instant judgment and cancel culture than ever before?

Additional sources for this episode:

• https://www.forbes.com/sites/michaelbernick/2022/10/04/the-bonfires-of-the-vanities-then-and-now/
• https://literariness.org/2026/04/22/analysis-of-tom-wolfes-the-bonfire-of-the-vanities/
• https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/tv/tv-news/david-e-kelley-matt-reeves-bonfire-of-the-vanities-apple-tv-1236554857/
• https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=S_GWToxPeYk

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Every great civilization eventually faces its sunset—or does it? In this episode, we explore Oswald Spengler’s The Decline of the West, a bold look at why cultures rise, thrive, and fade. A hundred years later, his ideas still spark questions about today’s world—our politics, our technology, and the pace of modern life. Are we living through decline, or just another turning point in history?

Additional sources for this episode:

• https://lotzintranslation.com/2017/04/16/review-decline-of-the-west/
• https://hazlitt.net/longreads/what-time-be-decline
• https://ivypanda.com/essays/the-decline-of-the-west-by-oswald-spengler/
• https://www.enotes.com/topics/decline-west
• https://campuspress.yale.edu/modernismlab/oswald-spengler/
• https://www.academia.edu/44643862/Oswald_Spenglers_The_Decline_of_the_West_An_Analysis

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War and Peace: Tolstoy's epic of love, war, and fate endures as a mirror to our chaotic times—from Ukraine's frontlines to global unrest.

Join our podcast for lively insights into its unforgettable characters, profound philosophy, and lessons that resonate louder than ever in 2026. Perfect for book lovers seeking drama and depth!

Additional sources for this episode:

• https://gilbertdoctorow.com/2019/01/27/war-and-peace-the-relevance-of-1812-as-explained-by-tolstoy-to-current-global-affairs/
• https://alessandrobruno.substack.com/p/what-tolstoy-saw-a-literary-reading
• https://slguardian.org/gaza-ukraine-and-tolstoys-lessons-for-the-wars-of-our-time/
• https://williampeaceblog.com/2022/07/22/reading-dostoevsky-and-tolstoy-in-the-context-of-the-ukraine-war/
• https://davidepstein.substack.com/p/war-and-peace-and-ukraine-22-02-28
• https://mikemilano.substack.com/p/what-tolstoy-knew-about-leadership

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In Goethe’s Faust, a brilliant mind hits the wall of what books, titles, and “success” can offer—and makes a deal that promises more: more knowledge, more intensity, more life. In this episode, we follow Faust from his midnight study to the seductive pull of Mephistopheles, and ask the question that still haunts modern life: what are we willing to trade for the next upgrade?

Additional sources for this episode:

• https://c21stleft.com/2025/03/19/goethes-faust-a-talisman-for-our-time/
• https://www.meer.com/en/86808-what-goethes-faust-tells-us-about-the-2024-us-election
• https://onepercentrule.substack.com/p/faust-a-cautionary-tale-for-ai
• https://dasgoetheanum.com/en/faustian-ascent-from-the-faustian-abyss/
• https://www.operaroma.it/en/calibano/what-faust-for-the-21st-century/
• https://aktuelles.uni-frankfurt.de/en/english/digital-edition-of-faust-a-deep-insight-into-how-goethe-worked-on-his-masterpiece/

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Dive into Stanisław Lem's "Solaris", where a sentient planet conjures ghosts from human minds, exposing our futile grasp on alien intelligence. This gripping episode unravels the book's timeless warnings—epistemic blind spots, psychological unraveling, and the terror of black-box minds. Fast-forward to 2026: as AI hallucinations baffle experts and superintelligence debates rage, "Solaris" eerily mirrors our era's dread of systems we can't comprehend or control. Join us for cosmic chills and profound insights—perfect for sci-fi fans pondering tomorrow's risks!

Additional sources for this episode:

• https://asajournal.lt/articles/from-tarkovsky-to-ai-on-the-evolving-resonance-of-solaris/
• https://paulharrald.substack.com/p/a-review-of-stanislaw-lems-solaris
• https://thepillarist.com/spotlight-solaris-stanislaw-lem-andrei-tarkovsky/
• https://bigthink.com/high-culture/how-the-philosophy-of-sci-fi-legend-stanislaw-lem-can-help-us-understand-ai/
• https://mufu.pl/en/portfolio/solaris/
• https://robertboydskipper.substack.com/p/solarisstanislaw-lem

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