If a divine creator is good, then why would bad things happen? That question is the crux of this story about a naive young man and his staunchly optimistic tutor’s headlong stumble across the globe. That’s right, we’re discussing a novella entitled “Candide, or Optimism“ on this week’s episode. We’ll draw similarities of this boy’s life to Voltaire’s own experiences, and examine how the shifting culture at the time of publishing played a part in this over-the-top satirical lambasting of the philosophy of optimism. So Entertain This… after all, this is the best of all possible podcasts!

Quick This: Two Distant Strangers