Grimm's “Hans Hedgehog:” The Rejected Becomes the Cornerstone
A wealthy, childless peasant feels something is missing and is mocked for not having a child. He wishes, “I wish to have a child, even if it is a hedgehog!” He and his wife are given one, and they h...
22 Sep 1h 23min
Zombies, Meaning, and Ritual
Zombies are everywhere in our culture, in movies and shows, and even in real life (on zombie walks). They’ve gone from being an object of horror to one of fascination, one that seems to reflect somet...
17 Sep 1h 16min
A Dying Queen’s Wish Poisons Her Family’s Future (Clip)
In Grimm’s Fur-of-All-Kinds, the beautiful, dying queen makes her king promise that he will only remarry another as fair as she. Why does she do this? She wants to live on in his memory, and this de...
6 Sep 8min
Xenia: Ancient Greek Guest-Friendship (Clip)
This ancient Greek concept was a big part of their culture as well as Homer’s “Odyssey,” and according to translator Emily Wilson, the poem can be treated as a study in xenia. It facilitated travel i...
24 Aug 10min
Our Dual Nature and the Culture Wars (Clip)
Humans participate both in the animal and the divine nature, and I think this is behind much of the culture wars. We veer between overemphasizing the divine or, especially, our immanent nature. This...
18 Aug 4min
Sing, Muse, Remember the MAN Odysseus (Clip)
Homer’s second epic starts with an incantation of a man, a man who rejected godhood with alluring Calypso, a man who pined for years to be at home and hearth with his family. This is in contrast to t...
10 Aug 6min
Xenia: Odysseus' Blessing and Curse
In Homer’s “Odyssey,” Book 7, Odysseus, who has at this point lost all his men and washes up alone on the Scherian beach, has through his wit and bearing, and with the goddess Athena’s help, been acce...
30 Jul 1h 35min
