The Incidental Podcast

In this bonus episode of the Incidental Encyclical podcast, editors Samuel, Levi, and Harry discuss the philosophy of Roman Stoic philosopher Seneca, in preparation for the upcoming Issue #3 of the magazine, titled “Wisdom in Desert Places”. In particular, they work through his letter to his mother, Helvia, which the great philosopher wrote in exile.

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In this bonus, wrap-up episode for the Incidental Encyclical’s Issue #2: Troubled Seas, join editors Samuel, Levi, and Harry, as they discuss a wide range of topics. From the concept of post-literacy and modern education systems, they move into a discussion of the ancient educational spirit, and try to understand the figures of Odysseus and Socrates - two heroic Ancient Greeks with deep attentiveness to the spirit of wisdom. As the conversation draws to a close, they return to the topic of education today, and discuss how this project - the Incidental Encyclical - fits into the world at large.

Get full access to The Incidental Encyclical at www.incidentalencyclicalmagazine.com/subscribe

In preparation for the release of the second issue of the Incidental Encyclical - Troubled Seas - we bring you a roundtable of our contributors talking theme, classics, mythos and meaning. Our own Proteus,* Harry, joins us to break down the seminal essay from the new issue outlining the symbol of seafaring in myth, literature, and life - and from there we examine how each of the classics we’ll be highlighting in the upcoming written edition fulfil the outcomes of the seafaring story. Join our translation columnist Levi as he breaks down hospitality in the Odyssey, hear from satire columnist Edwyn as he discusses absurdity and solitude in Hemingway, and consult the opinions of editors Michael and Samuel as they discuss the implications on us post-moderners today of the Seafarer’s message of desolation.

* in Homer’s Odyssey, Proteus is the shapechanging master-of-all-forms; the Old Man of the Sea who must be consulted by a hero to find his way through troubled seas.

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Join editors Samuel and Levi as they discuss the works that inform the theme of our upcoming issue of The Incidental Encyclical: ‘Troubled Seas’. Those works are Ernest Hemingway’s ‘The Old Man and the Sea’, the Anglo-Saxon poem ‘the Seafarer’, and Homer’s ‘Odyssey’. In particular, they talk here about the difficulties and the joys of writing about a work that has endured and inspired for over two millennium. Though it is a shorter episode than usual, it is still packed with deep discussion on the themes and styles contained in these three masterpieces of the written word.

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This episode accompanies the (upcoming) release of our first issue, titled ‘The Journey Up’. In the issue itself and in this discussion, we focus on the military history and memoir of Xenophon, titled ‘The Anabasis of Cyrus’, and the philosophical literary work ‘Fear and Trembling’ by Kierkegaard. Your hosts are magazine editors Samuel Willmot and Levi Bak, as well as columnist Edwyn Adeney.

Get full access to The Incidental Encyclical at www.incidentalencyclicalmagazine.com/subscribe