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Ascend - The Great Books Podcast: Daily Summaries Delivered
by Harrison Garlick and Adam Minihan
Welcome to Ascend! We are a weekly Great Books podcast hosted by Deacon Harrison Garlick and Adam Minihan. What are the Great Books? The Great Books are the most impactful texts that have shaped Western civilization. They include ancients like Homer, Plato, St. Augustine, Dante, and St. Thomas Aquinas, and also moderns like Machiavelli, Locke, and Nietzsche. We will explore the Great Books with the light of the Catholic intellectual tradition. Why should we read the Great Books? Everyone is a disciple of someone. A person may have never read Locke or Nietzsche, but he or she thinks like them. Reading the Great Books allows us to reclaim our intellect and understand the origin of the ideas that shape our world. We enter a "great conversation" amongst the most learned, intelligent humans in history and benefit from their insights. Is this for first-time readers? YES. Our goal is to host meaningful conversations on the Great Books by working through the texts in chronological order.
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- 5 days ago1h 13m
NEW BOOK CLUB and Neil Gaiman’s “Chivalry” with H.E. Eduard Habsburg
We have BIG NEWS! We have launched the new Ascend Book Club!Ascend: The Great Books Podcast has partnered with “The Ascent” here on Substack to transform it into the new Ascend Book Club to offer you the most comprehensive online book club focused on reading the great books and living a beautiful, virtuous life.You’ll receive the same great content as before but with much more—which now includes:Weekly podcast and videos on the great booksWeekly articles on the great booksIn-depth, detailed pdf guides on the great booksA monthly LIVE Q&A for supportersWe are also publishing years of articles, guides, videos, and other resources to the new site and organizing them by work and author so they are easy to find—tons of resources on Homer, Hesiod, the Greek plays, Plato, Dante, and more. You could start reading many great books today with the Ascend library.Check out our new website, the Ascend Book Club, and join us today!Join our reading group and study the great books with us!Our next big read is Plato’s Republic this October, check out How to Read Plato’s Republic with Ascend for everything you need to know.Chivalry with H.E. Eduard HabsburgToday on Ascend: The Great Books Podcast, Deacon Harrison Garlick and His Excellency Eduard Habsburg, Archduke of Austria and former Hungarian ambassador to the Holy See, discuss Neil Gaiman’s short story “Chivalry.”Before they turn to the text, Eduard speaks with warmth and candor about his family’s eight centuries of Catholic identity, the vocation of family in an atomized age, his decade in Rome, and an unexpected love of stories that runs from screenplays and Ghibli films to the understated magic of Gaiman.What follows is a close, affectionate reading of a story in which the Holy Grail turns up in an Oxfam shop, Sir Galahad knocks on a widow’s door for tea, and the most English understatement imaginable meets Arthurian quest. Together they trace Mrs. Whitaker’s loneliness and ritual, the knight’s unironic goodness, Marie’s transformation, the slugs in the garden, the three gifts of youth and immortality, and the moment an old woman quietly refuses what does not belong to her life.Eduard reads the tale as homage to Englishness and as a call to accept the adventure when it arrives, while Deacon Garlick asks whether that same ordinariness can also flatten what ought to remain extraordinary. It is a warm conversation on the charming short story, “Chivalry.”Reading ScheduleWe are currently finishing SHORT STORY SEPTEMBER! Next week, we will discuss “Bartleby, the Scrivener” by Melville, the author of Moby Dick, with two excellent guests. Read it this week and join the conversation!We’ll then have an introduction to Plato’s Republic on 9.29.26 and launch into Plato’s Republic on 10.6.26. Check out How to Read the Republic with Ascend for everything you need to know.You can read the great books with the Ascend Book Club!Join us.Dcn. Harrison Garlick lives in rural Oklahoma with his wife and five children. He serves as a deacon at Holy Family Cathedral and as Chancellor & General Counsel for the Roman Catholic Diocese of Tulsa. Follow him on X at Dcn. Garlick or Ascend.
- 1 weeks ago59 min
Red Shadows: A Savage Tale of Solomon Kane with Alberto Fernandez
Today on Ascend: The Great Books Podcast, Dcn. Garlick is joined by the always wonderful Alberto Fernandez to discuss "Red Shadows," a salvage tale of Solomon Kane by Robert E. Howard.Check out our website for our reading schedule, articles, written guides, and more.Dcn. Garlick and Alberto discuss Robert E. Howard’s 1928 Solomon Kane tale “Red Shadows,” a pulp adventure chosen as a lively Short Story September “palette cleanser” after heavier classical reading. Howard (1906–1936), the Texas-born creator of Conan the Barbarian, produced hundreds of stories in a short life. Alberto first encountered him through the 1960s–70s Lancer paperbacks with Frank Frazetta covers. Kane, Howard’s only recurring explicitly Christian series character, is described as a grim Puritan-Cavalier mix with pagan and philosophical streaks—“God’s angry swordsman”—a remorseless wandering avenger who rights wrongs he encounters by chance.The story opens in the French countryside when Kane finds a dying young Catholic woman assaulted by bandits led by Le Loup (“the Wolf”). The stranger’s death prompts Kane’s vow that “Men shall die for this,” launching a relentless pursuit that takes him from France across Europe to the West African jungle. There the narrative juxtaposes Kane’s grim, driven sense of justice (he sees himself as a “vessel of wrath”) against Le Loup’s cynical evil, tribal politics, the witch-doctor N’Longa, voodoo, jungle drums, and “blood memory.” Unlike the mirthful, vitalistic Conan, Kane is cold and mysterious even to himself. The climax features a duel framed as cosmic justice versus injustice, followed by a second, primal coda in which a gorilla avenges his mate—showing that nature itself can enact justice and that Kane often needs allies to complete vengeance.Alberto highlights Howard’s youthful ambition (he wrote the story at 21), his debt to adventure writers like Edgar Rice Burroughs and H. Rider Haggard, and the way Africa becomes a recurring, almost inescapable landscape in later Kane tales. He recommends the Del Rey edition and especially the later novella “Wings in the Night” as Howard’s finest Kane story. Both hosts note the stories’ value as high-energy, well-crafted adventure that can later be shared with sons, and they close by pointing listeners toward the next Short Story September episode on Neil Gaiman’s “Chivalry.”Chapters00:00 Introduction to Robert E. Howard and Solomon Kane02:13 Howard's Background and Literary Influence04:37 The Character of Solomon Kane and His Morality08:36 Howard's Philosophy and Moral Duality11:02 Why Red Shadows Was Chosen for Discussion14:48 Beginning of the Story: France and the Dying Girl16:52 Stranger Motif and the Western Influence19:10 Cain's Vengeance and Inner Drive22:50 Primal Justice and the African Setting26:53 Howard's Use of Africa and Its Significance32:52 Howard's Publishing Journey and African Themes36:07 The Role of Ilonga and African Characters43:49 Eternal Forces: Justice and Injustice45:58 The Ending: Gorilla and Primal Justice50:49 Howard's Final Warning and Blood Memory54:41 Recommended Follow-up Stories and Howard's LegacyKeywordsSolomon Kane Red Shadows, Robert E. Howard Solomon Kane, Ascend Great Books Podcast, Deacon Harrison Garlick, Alberto Fernandez, Weird Tales 1928, pulp fiction, sword and sorcery, God’s angry swordsman, Conan the Barbarian comparison, Tower of the Elephant, Le Loup the Wolf, N’Longa witch doctor, G’loka the Gorilla Slayer, Short Story September, Del Rey Solomon Kane, Wings in the Night, Moon of Skulls, Hills of the Dead, Puritan avenger, vengeance for a stranger, West Africa jungle, blood memory, jungle drums, Howard pulp adventure, 16th century historical fantasy, Christian hero pulp fiction, Frank Frazetta, Centaur Press Solomon Kane, Lancer paperbacks, Argosy rejection, eighty dollars Weird Tales, grim Puritan Cavalier, vessel of wrath, justice versus injustice.NEXT WEEK we discuss Neil Gaiman's "Chivalry" with His Excellency Eduard Habsburg, the Archduke of Austria.
- 2 weeks ago1h 40m
Enduring Chill by Flannery O'Connor with Dr. Joseph Boyne
Today on Ascend: The Great Books Podcast, Dcn. Garlick is joined by Dr. Joseph Boyne to discuss Flannery O'Connor's "Enduring Chill" as part of Short Story September. Visit thegreatbookspodcast.com for our reading schedule, articles, and a whole host of written guides.Asbury Fox, the failed New York writer who returns home to his mother’s dairy farm convinced he is dying a tragic, Kafka-esque death, meets a rural doctor, two farmhands who refuse to share his resentment, and a deaf, one-eyed priest from Purrgatory who simply walks him through the Baltimore Catechism. What begins as another Southern Gothic confrontation with pride becomes something rarer in O’Connor: a dark comedy in which the protagonist desires of a romantic death are met with an enduring chill.Dr. Boyne and Dcn. Garlick draw out the story’s autobiographical shadows, its critique of performative liberalism and abstract love of humanity, and the way O’Connor uses both the Jesuit in New York and the homely Father Finn to insist that meaning—and grace—cannot be manufactured from the self. The conversation lingers on the water-stain dove that descends as ice rather than fire, the question of whether the tale is comic or merely purgatorial, and what it means for those of us who prize the Great Books that education, by itself, is never enough. Listeners who have been scarred by “The Lame Shall Enter First” will find this one far easier to finish—and far more unsettling in its quiet demand that we keep living.Chapters00:05 — Podcast intro and the reading plan for Short Story September01:01 — Introducing Enduring Chill and Dr. Joseph Boyne03:21 — Why Dr. Boyne picked the story05:00 — Flannery O’Connor and the Southern Gothic tradition12:55 — The grotesque, violence, and grace in O’Connor20:32 — Asbury returns home and the education theme30:30 — Asbury’s desire for a meaningful death and the Jesuit in New York41:42 — Dr. Block and Asbury’s confrontation with illness50:00 — The dairy farm, the black workers, and failed communion57:13 — Asking for a priest and the dream sequence70:29 — Father Finn arrives and subverts Asbury’s expectations80:31 — Randall and Morgan return85:34 — Dr. Block diagnoses the illness correctly87:40 — Final scene: the Holy Ghost in ice and the enduring chill96:23 — Closing reflections on O’Connor and the story’s meaningKeywordsFlannery O’Connor The Enduring Chill short story analysis, Ascend the Great Books Podcast Short Story September episode with Deacon Harrison Garlick and Dr. Joseph Boyne of Tulsa Community College, Southern Gothic literature, Catholic short stories, Christ-haunted South, Asbury Fox character study, Jesuit priest Ignatius Vogle, Father Finn from Purgatory, Baltimore Catechism, Holy Spirit as ice instead of fire, undulant fever raw milk irony, performative liberalism and racial condescension, education versus practical wisdom, grotesque as medium of grace, O’Connor comedy versus tragedy, Good Country People comparison, lupus and autobiographical elements, Great Books education critique, upcoming Plato Republic series, Robert E. Howard Red Shadows Solomon Kane, Neil Gaiman Chivalry with Archduke Eduard Habsburg, Herman Melville Bartleby the Scrivener.
- 3 weeks ago1h 38m
Plato's Ion with Erik Rostad, Dr. Grabowski, and More
Dcn. Harrison Garlick hosts a full house to discuss the short, strange, forgotten dialogue of Plato's Ion, subtitled "On the Iliad." 10 Question Written Guide on Plato's IonVisit our website for more information!Plato’s Ion opens with a victorious rhapsode who claims to speak more beautifully about Homer than any other human being. Socrates grants the premise that a true rhapsode must not merely recite but interpret the poet’s thought to his hearers—and then tests whether that excellence is a techne, a teachable art that should apply across all poets who treat the same subjects.Ion fails the test. He is “asleep” except when Homer is mentioned. Socrates therefore offers another account: poets and rhapsodes work not by craft but by divine mania. The Muse is a lodestone, and poet, reciter, and audience form a chain of possession. Ion recognizes himself at once. On stage he is outside himself, and he can move twenty thousand hearers to tears and terror (with a subtle nod in the dialogue about the desire to make money...).The dialogue then presses the distinction between speaking beautifully and speaking correctly. On charioteering, medicine, and the other arts present in Homer, the expert—not the rhapsode—speaks rightly. Unwilling to admit he has no art at all, Ion seizes the last remaining claim and declares himself the best general. The identification is absurd, and the conversation nearly collapses. Socrates leaves him a choice: to be called unjust, or divine. Ion takes the latter. Skill and inspiration remain unreconciled. What the short work has done is place poetry, possession, and the education of the city on the table—and prepare the larger judgment of the poets that the Republic will make.Chapters00:00 - Welcome to Ascend and overview of the episode's purpose01:05 - Introducing Ion and the returning and first-time guests02:29 - Erik Rostad explains Book of Titans and his lifelong reading project06:28 - First reactions to Ion and its perplexing character07:11 - Preliminary framing: subtitle, translation, and why the dialogue matters10:10 - Ion's claim to be the finest speaker on Homer11:44 - What techne means in this dialogue20:00 - Does Ion really claim knowledge, or only beautiful performance?23:50 - Ion's claim that no one else speaks more finely on Homer28:37 - The question of poetry as a better educator than philosophy31:03 - Ion admits he dozes off when other poets are discussed38:45 - The magnet metaphor and the chain of divine influence44:32 - Is divine inspiration irrational, or can it be a real source of truth?55:31 - A third sense of possession: skill, demonization, and being subsumed into beauty60:15 - Ion says he watches the crowd and adjusts for money and effect62:49 - Does Ion have a real art, or is he just managing audience response?70:29 - The charioteer, the physician, and whether Socrates is being fair72:26 - Does philosophy itself become a narrow specialty in the same way?76:03 - Why actors may be excellent performers but poor explainers of their craft78:10 - Socrates as a guide toward self-recognition of Ion's actual techne87:25 - Plato as storyteller and the philosopher's need for a better story90:20 - Storytelling, parables, and the pedagogical power of narrative92:37 - Plato's self-reflection on his own art and craft94:36 - The unresolved tension between inspiration and skill99:44 - Closing thanks KeywordsPlato’s Ion, On the Iliad, Ion of Ephesus, rhapsode, Homer, Iliad, Odyssey, technē, techne, divine inspiration, mania, theia moira, magnet metaphor, lodestone, Muse, speaking beautifully, speaking correctly, kalos, orthos, Socratic dialogue, forgotten Platonic dialogues, aporetic dialogue, poetry versus philosophy, education of the city, Republic Book 10, poets as imitators, Allan Bloom, Thomas Pangle, Roots of Political Philosophy, Debra Nails, Dr. Frank Grabowski, Thomas Lackey, Jack Drury, Erik Rostad, Book of Titans, Ascend the Great Books Podcast, rhapsodic contest, Asclepieia, Epidaurus, generalship, polymathy, Plato as dramatist.
- Aug 18, 20261h 34m
Hippias Minor (On the Lie) with Dr. Grabowski and Friends
Today on Ascend: The Great Books Podcast, Dcn. Garlick, Dr. Larson, Dr. Grabowski, and Mr. Thomas Lackey discuss the short, strange, and forgotten dialogue of HIppias Minor or "On the Lie."8 Questions on Hippias Minor Study GuideCheck Ascend out on X, YouTube, Facebook, and More!Plato’s Hippias Minor is a short, strange dialogue with a traditional subtitle that cuts straight to the point: “On the Lie.” After the boastful sophist Hippias finishes a public speech ranking Achilles the best and Odysseus the most polytropos—the man of twists and turns—Socrates is drawn into a conversation that begins with Homer and ends in one of the deepest aporias of the early dialogues. What starts as a dispute over who is the better man, the straightforward Achilles or the wily Odysseus, quickly becomes a rigorous examination of voluntary versus involuntary wrongdoing, the nature of knowledge and power, and the unsettling claim that the man who does injustice on purpose is better than the one who does it by accident.Deacon and the guests work through the dialogue’s sharp arguments and its surprising relevance. The conversation exposes the limits of treating virtue as mere knowledge plus power, raises the question of whether a just person might ever speak falsely for a good end, and serves as a genuine appetizer for the noble lie in the Republic. Come listen—and discover why even Socrates, at the end, cannot agree with himself.Chapters00:00 Introduction to Hippias Minor and its Context04:55 Setting the Scene: Hippias' Speech and Socrates' Role09:22 Hippias' Boasts and Socrates' Irony17:55 The Homeric Heroes: Achilles and Odysseus25:04 Knowledge, Power, and the Art of Lying36:15 The Distinction Between Capacity and Action44:53 The Nature of Truth and Falsehood in Socratic Dialogue46:43 Conclusion: What Socrates Reveals About Knowledge and Lies02:39 Socrates' questioning of Hippias and the nature of virtue04:55 The analogy of athletic competitions and the concept of justice07:57 Socrates' discussion on voluntary and involuntary actions12:05 The role of knowledge and capacity in moral actions15:34 Hippias' understanding of justice and its relation to power19:50 The concept of noble lies and pedagogical deception25:04 The absence of forms and gods in the dialogue30:14 The deeper meaning of Socratic ignorance and self-awareness34:54 The significance of the question: Is justice knowledge or power?39:51 Conclusion: What we learn about virtue, knowledge, and truthKeywordsPlato’s Hippias Minor, Lesser Hippias, On the Lie, Hippias of Elis, Achilles and Odysseus, polytropos, voluntary and involuntary wrongdoing, voluntary liar, Socratic dialogue, aporetic dialogue, forgotten Platonic dialogues, noble lie, Republic, virtue is knowledge, knowledge and power, sophist, polymath, Eudicus, Embassy scene Iliad, teleology, Forms, Socratic irony, beneficial falsehood, Dr. Frank Grabowski, Dr. Brett Larson, Thomas Lackey, Ascend the Great Books Podcast, political philosophy, Allan Bloom, Roots of Political Philosophy.Next week we discuss Plato's Ion!
- Aug 11, 20261h 1m
Plato's Lovers with Dr. Larson and Dr. Grabowski
Today on Ascend: The Great Books Podcast, Dcn. Garlick, Dr. Larson, and Dr. Grabowski discuss Plato's Lovers--a strange, short, and somewhat forgotten dialogue seeking the definition of philosophy. We are celebrating ONE YEAR of our sister-company, The Ascent, a top 100 Substack on Christian spirituality. Check out our WRITTEN GUIDE to the Lovers. Plato’s Lovers is a short, strange, and easily overlooked dialogue that asks one of the most important questions in the entire Platonic corpus: What is philosophy? Set in a grammar school where two rival older lovers—one an athlete, the other a cultured “know-it-all”—compete for the attention of younger boys discussing astronomy, the conversation quickly becomes an erotic and educational contest. Socrates enters the scene and quietly reorders the loves on display, showing that philosophy is not the accumulation of many things, that self-knowledge must come before any claim to rule, and that the true lover of the young is the one who leads their souls toward wisdom.In this episode of Ascend, Dcn. Garlick is joined by Dr. Grabowski and Dr. Larson to unpack the dialogue’s subtle images of the soul, its playful yet serious treatment of eros, and its surprising role as an appetizer for the Republic. The accompanying written guide offers a clear outline, preliminary questions, and dense Q&A—perfect for first-time readers, small groups, or anyone who wants to follow the argument more carefully. Chapters00:00 Introduction to Plato's 'The Lovers'02:07 The setting and context of the dialogue06:19 Who is the dialogue for? Audience and purpose11:12 The erotic dimension of philosophy and education16:10 The strangeness of the dialogue's setting22:02 What is philosophy? The first definitions27:36 The analogy of athletic training and measured learning37:25 Usefulness, goodness, and self-knowledge41:11 The political implications and the role of the philosopher50:11 The dramatic and rhetorical aspects of the dialogue57:32 The aporetic ending and its significanceKeywordsPlato’s Lovers, Rival Lovers, Erastai, what is philosophy, polymathy, much learning, Socratic dialogue, aporetic dialogue, forgotten Platonic dialogues, eros, erotic education, true love of the soul, tripartite soul, music and gymnastics, mousikē, gymnastikē, self-knowledge, know thyself, Socrates as third lover, Dionysius grammar school, anonymity in Plato, via negativa, aporia, preparation for the Republic, Dr. Frank Grabowski, Dr. Brett Larson, Ascend the Great Books Podcast, Platonic education, philosophy and politics, soul craft before statecraft.
- Aug 4, 20261h 11m
Plato's Hipparchus with Dr. Frank Grabowski
Today on Ascend: The Great Books Podcast, Dcn. Garlick and Dr. Grabowski discuss a short, strange, and somewhat forgotten Platonic dialogue - The Hipparchus.Check out our 15 Q&A Written Guide to the Hipparchus - great for small groups, homeschooling, autodidacts, and more!What begins as a simple question—“What is the love of gain?”—quickly becomes a sharp and unsettling examination of the democratic soul. With no dramatic setting and a nameless interlocutor, the dialogue feels almost like overhearing Socrates in the marketplace, pressing an ordinary Athenian citizen on whether the desire for more is always shameful, or whether the soul might rightly love higher forms of gain: nobility, honor, and even wisdom itself.What makes the conversation especially rewarding is how Socrates deliberately chooses a shocking example—the tyrant Hipparchus—and reimagines him as a lover of wisdom who sought to educate the city. In doing so, the dialogue quietly draws a parallel between the supposed tyrant and Socrates himself, both of whom attract the youth, challenge conventional order, and are ultimately rejected by a democratic culture that cannot tolerate excellence. Along the way, listeners encounter an early sketch of the tripartite soul, a critique of the leveling effects of egalitarianism, and an aporetic ending that leaves the interlocutor “compelled rather than persuaded.” Brief, strange, and surprisingly profound, this episode is an excellent preparation for the Republic and a compelling invitation to reconsider what the soul truly seeks.Chapters00:00 Introduction to Plato's Hipparchus and its significance01:54 Main themes: Love of gain, democracy, and wisdom04:03 The character of Socrates and the setting of the dialogue06:03 Hipparchus as a figure in political myth and history07:58 Translation choices and interpretive approaches10:00 The dialogue's structure and lack of dramatic setting11:56 The definition of love of gain and greed13:54 Socrates' critique of the love of worthless things16:06 Hipparchus as a symbol of love of wisdom and fame18:04 The political implications of Hipparchus' love of wisdom20:00 The role of the democratic man and the love of gain21:49 Socrates' pedagogical method and the nature of knowledge23:52 The significance of the tyrant example and Hipparchus' myth26:04 The character of the interlocutor and the setting of the dialogue28:03 The introduction of Hipparchus and its layers of meaning30:10 The political myth of Hipparchus and its revisionist history32:00 Hipparchus' love of wisdom and the Herms34:08 The allegory of knowledge and the tripartite soul35:53 The love of gain as a love of wisdom and truth38:08 The democratic man, shame, and the pursuit of philosophy40:00 The role of philosophers in democratic society42:01 The character of Socrates as a gadfly and teacher43:48 The process of being compelled towards truth45:54 Bloom's interpretation: Socrates as a political and epistemological figure48:00 The significance of the short dialogues for understanding Socrates50:12 The importance of humility and piety in reading Plato51:57 Next week's discussion: Rival Lovers and the nature of wisdomKey words: Plato Hipparchus, love of gain, philokerdia, Socratic dialogue, political philosophy, Alan Bloom, Thomas Pangle, Roots of Political Philosophy, democratic man, egalitarianism, leveling effect, tripartite soul, thumos, nous, appetitive soul, tyrant Hipparchus, Herms, Socrates as gadfly, aporetic dialogue, compulsion versus persuasion, preparation for Plato’s Republic, philosopher-king, Great Books podcast, Ascend the Great Books Podcast, Deacon Harrison Garlick, Frank Grabowski, classical education, ancient philosophy, Plato short dialogues, forgotten Platonic dialogues.
- Jul 29, 20261h 29m
Rediscovering Holy Eros
Today on Ascend: The Great Books Podcast, Deacon Garlick invites you into a rich, methodical exploration of eros: the primal desire to satiate in beauty and be happy. What if the restlessness in your soul—the endless craving for more beauty, more fulfillment, more rest—is not a curse but a divine gift?Reclaiming Holy Eros https://www.theascent.io/p/reclaiming-holy-erosWomen as Icons of God, Beauty-itself https://www.theascent.io/p/the-beauty-of-woman-as-an-icon-ofPorn as a Poor Expression of Eros https://www.theascent.io/p/the-poor-erotics-of-porn Far from the pornographic or puritan distortions that dominate modern thinking, this ancient concept runs like a golden thread through Homer, Hesiod, Plato’s Symposium, the Old and New Testaments, the Church Fathers, Dante, and even Pope Benedict XVI’s Deus Caritas Est. Deacon shows how eros is the very question of the human condition—an upward call that moves the soul from lesser beauties to greater ones until it finds rest in Beauty itself.Drawing on his own spiritual labors, the host walks listeners through Plato’s ladder of love, the marital imagery of God’s covenant with Israel, the Song of Songs, Christ’s union with the Church, and the harmony between erotic ascent and the self-giving love of agape. Along the way he recovers a lost grammar of desire that is both natural and supernaturally elevated by grace—one that produces virtue, fecundity, and genuine theosis. The result is not abstract theory but a living path: a latticework upon which your own understanding of restlessness, happiness, and the call to become more Christlike can grow.Whether you have wrestled with the restlessness of the heart, wondered how pagan wisdom and Christian revelation speak to one another, or simply want a deeper vision of love that orders the soul toward God, this conversation offers something rare: a beautiful, coherent tradition that answers the deepest questions of what it means to be human. Listen, and begin the ascent.Chapters00:00 Introduction to Eros and its significance in Christian spirituality01:54 Eros in Homer, Hesiod, and the primordial cosmos07:12 Plato's Symposium and the ladder of love15:07 Eros in the Old Testament: Marriage and divine love20:00 Eros in the New Testament: Christ and the Church30:06 Eros and the ascent to divine beauty40:11 Eros, virtue, and happiness in Christian thought50:02 Eros and grace: the divine ascent and participation in God01:00:10 The harmony of eros and agape in Christian life01:10:08 Practical implications: loving God and neighbor through eros01:20:01 Conclusion: recovering holy eros as the heart of human and divine loveKeywordsHoly Eros, Christian eros, Plato Symposium ladder of love, divine beauty, eros and agape, Deus Caritas Est Pope Benedict XVI, Song of Songs, marital imagery God and Israel, Christ bridegroom Church bride, Ephesians 5, St Augustine restless heart, Gregory of Nyssa, bridal mysticism, Bernard of Clairvaux, John of the Cross, Diotima, ascent to God, theosis, pagan and Christian erotics, Homer Hesiod Aristotle eros, natural and supernatural love, virtue and beauty, Ascend Great Books Podcast, Deacon Harrison Garlick, reclaiming holy eros, spiritual ascent, rest in God.
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About Ascend - The Great Books Podcast
Welcome to Ascend! We are a weekly Great Books podcast hosted by Deacon Harrison Garlick and Adam Minihan. What are the Great Books? The Great Books are the most impactful texts that have shaped Western civilization. They include ancients like Homer, Plato, St. Augustine, Dante, and St. Thomas Aquinas, and also moderns like Machiavelli, Locke, and Nietzsche. We will explore the Great Books with the light of the Catholic intellectual tradition. Why should we read the Great Books? Everyone is a disciple of someone. A person may have never read Locke or Nietzsche, but he or she thinks like them. Reading the Great Books allows us to reclaim our intellect and understand the origin of the ideas that shape our world. We enter a "great conversation" amongst the most learned, intelligent humans in history and benefit from their insights. Is this for first-time readers? YES. Our goal is to host meaningful conversations on the Great Books by working through the texts in chronological order.
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