The Canon Ball

This is it! The beginning of our Faustathon! This is big and it’s gonna take a few months, so we figured we’d start with some background information on Goethe, the man behind Faust. Like with Cervantes, the more you know about the context, the deeper and richer the content. Fortunately, Claude has an in with a professor of German literature. In this introductory episode interviews his friend Rachel about Goethe, the Sturm und Drang, Weimar classicism, the origins of the Faust myth, and the persistence of that myth into the present. If you’re online check us out at thecanonballpodcast.wordpress.com, find us on Facebook @TheCanonBallPodcast, and on Twitter @CanonBallPod. The Canon Ball is a member of the Agora podcast network. Check out some of the other shows on the network at agorapodcastnetwork.com. Speaking of Agora, the network is interested in who our listeners are so that we can cultivate the network appropriately. So if you wouldn't mind taking a quick survey, we'd really appreciate it. Find the poll at https://tinyurl.com/AgoraPoll2019?fbclid=IwAR37-k3LKlAzkjxaQy_MtpuE94UYGY8z3XaBo5QR9zESYD6Npoui_WSlbok. One last note: if you’re in the New York area and need reading and writing tutoring, or are interested in online tutoring, let us know. Claude has a tutoring business on the side and a newborn, so he’s always looking for a few more clients. If you need some help, send an email to claudemoinc@gmail.com. We can also produce literary lectures on demand. We're not entirely certain what situations would call for that, but for some quality literary infotainment hit us up!  See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

In a special Halloween episode for Agoraphobia, Claude and Daniel discuss the origin and development of Gothic literature and the Goth aesthetic.  See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

Finally! The last of our three-part series on the works of Samuel Johnson! And this is where it gets good. It’s Johnson the editor and literary critic, and despite some of his age-bound tastes and notions of quality, the actual activities in which he engages have changed relatively little. It’s fascinating (for once)! If you’re online check us out at thecanonballpodcast.wordpress.com, find us on Facebook @TheCanonballPodcast, and on Twitter @CanonBallPod. The Canon Ball is a member of the Agora podcast network. Check out some of the other shows on the network at Agorapodcastnetwork.com. One last note: if you’re in the New York area and need reading and writing tutoring, or are interested in online tutoring, let us know. Claude has a tutoring business on the side and is always looking for a few more clients. If you need help, send an email to claudemoinc@gmail.com. We can also produce literary lectures on demand. We’re not entirely certain what situations would call for that, but for some quality literary infotainment hit us up!  See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

We have a special treat while you’re waiting for us to get back to Samuel Johnson. A few weeks ago, Claude presented at the Intelligent Speech Conference in New York. He intended to record the speech and release it as an episode, but the recording didn’t quite come out as hoped. He still has the text of the lecture though, so here’s your chance to find out what Claude thinks about dense, somewhat long, modernist poems.  If you’re online check us out at thecanonballpodcast.wordpress.com, find us on Facebook @TheCanonBallPodcast, and on Twitter @CanonBallPod. The Canon Ball is a member of the Agora podcast network. Check out some of the other shows on the network at Agorapodcastnetwork.com. One last note: if you’re in the New York area and need reading and writing tutoring, or are interested in online tutoring, let us know. Claude has a tutoring business on the side and a newborn, so he’s always looking looking for a few more clients. If you need some help, send an email to claudemoinc@gmail.com. We can also produce literary lectures on demand. We’re not entirely certain what situations would call for that, but for some quality literary infotainment hit us up!  See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

The results are in! Want to know what Claude is speaking on at the Intelligent Speech Conference in New York on June 29th? Give this quick episode a listen and you’ll find out! The Canon Ball is part of the Agora Podcast Network. If you’re already a fan of other shows on the roster, come to New York on June 29th for the Intelligent Speech Conference! Claude will be there speaking on… something… Just listen to the episode… More information can be found at intelligentspeechconference.com. Find us on Facebook @TheCanonBallPodcast, and on Twitter @CanonBallPod. And you can also find us on Flick, a downloadable app that lets us manage more direct listener conversations. Over at Flick we’re doing running commentary on the work of the month in real time. So want to know our raw, unvarnished opinions? You can find them at https://flickchat.page.link/cpXGSEUa3No6TAsZ7.  See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

On today’s episode… Special Announcements! Side projects! Polls! Walking tours! And a conference! Just listen… it’ll all make sense… Hopefully… The Canon Ball is part of the Agora Podcast Network. If you’re already a fan of other shows on the roster, come to New York on June 29th for the Intelligent Speech Conference! I’ll be there speaking on… something… Just listen to the episode… More information can be found at intelligentspeechconference.com.  Find us on Facebook @TheCanonBallPodcast, and on Twitter @CanonBallPod. And you can also find us on Flick, a downloadable app that lets us manage more direct listener conversations. Over at Flick we’re doing running commentary on the work of the month in real time. So want to know our raw, unvarnished opinions? You can find them there.  See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

On this bonus episode, Daniel discusses science fiction author Gene Wolfe. If you’re online check us out at thecanonballpodcast.wordpress.com, find us on Facebook @TheCanonBallPodcast, and on Twitter @CanonBallPod. The Canon Ball is a member of the Agora podcast network. Check out some of the other shows on the network at agorapodcastnetwork.com. The Agora Podcast Network's Intelligent Speech Conference is Saturday, June 29th from 11 am to 7 pm at the Norwood Club in Chelsea, New York. This event will bring together many of internet’s best podcasters for a day of live podcast recordings, open tables, Q and As and seminars. It’s an opportunity for listeners to meet the creators of some of their favorite podcasts and to maybe even get on mic. For more information, visit intelligentspeechconference.com. One last note: if you’re in the New York area and need reading and writing tutoring, or are interested in online tutoring, let us know. Claude has a tutoring business on the side and a newborn, so he’s always looking looking for a few more clients. If you need some help, send an email to claudemoinc@gmail.com. We can also produce literary lectures on demand. We're not entirely certain what situations would call for that, but for some quality literary infotainment hit us up!  See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

Sometimes older literary works provide fascinating insights into their historical moments and into our ongoing quest to understand the human. And sometimes they’re dull as dirt. On this week’s episode, part two of our Samuel Johnson three-parter, we finally hit a major dud with Johnson’s Rasselas. And yet, there are a few good entertaining rambles to be had out of our frustration with the text and in Daniel’s ruminations on the oddities of Johnson locating his philosophical romance in Abyssinia, or modern day Ethiopia. We also talk “The Vanity of Human Wishes” and 18th century poetics, something maybe three people besides Claude will be utterly fascinated by. Look, they can’t all be Don Quixote… If you’re online check us out at thecanonballpodcast.wordpress.com, find us on Facebook @TheCanonBallPodcast, and on Twitter @CanonBallPod. The Canon Ball is a member of the Agora podcast network. Check out some of the other shows on the network at agorapodcastnetwork.com. One last note: if you’re in the New York area and need reading and writing tutoring, or are interested in online tutoring, let us know. Claude has a tutoring business on the side and a newborn, so he’s always looking looking for a few more clients. If you need some help, send an email to claudemoinc@gmail.com. We can also produce literary lectures on demand. I’m not entirely certain what situations would call for that, but for some quality literary infotainment hit us up!  See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

Admittedly the readings for this episode were a little dry, but we managed to have a good conversation about the life, times, and literary enterprises of Samuel Johnson. In this first part of our three part series we look at his journalism, specifically a selection of his writings in The Idler and The Rambler. Is it possible to be timely and universal? Well, we can’t answer that, but we can explore how the issues of Johnson’s day continue to resonate. If you’re online check us out at thecanonballpodcast.wordpress.com, find us on Facebook @TheCanonBallPodcast, and on Twitter @CanonBallPod. The Canon Ball is a member of the Agora podcast network, a great place to advertise if you want to reach a discerning audience always willing to explore the various parts of the world around them. If you have a product to sell or a service to provide and want to spread the word that you’re open for business? Then head over to Agora and let our network of independent podcasts connect you with over a million curious and discerning listeners each month! Interested? Email us at AgoraPodcastNetwork@gmail.com and discover the difference Agora can make. One last note: if you’re in the New York area and need reading and writing tutoring, or are interested in online tutoring, let us know. Claude has a tutoring business on the side and a newborn, so he’s looking for a few more clients. If you need some help, send an email to claudemoinc@gmail.com. We can also produce literary lectures on demand. We're not entirely certain what situations would call for that, but for some quality literary infotainment hit us up!  See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

So this is it: the second and final part of our journey into Paradise Lost. This is a little less structured than our usual episodes, but what it lacks in organization it makes up for in personal reactions, digressions on the theological weirdness of the text, and discussions of the way the text has had an afterlife in poetry in English. And, of course, there’s ontological/epistemological angst thrown in. So sit back, relax, and dig into sin. If you’re online check us out at thecanonballpodcast.wordpress.com, find us on Facebook @TheCanonBallPodcast, and on Twitter @CanonBallPod. The Canon Ball is a member of the Agora podcast network. Check out some of the other podcasts on the network like The History of Egypt Podcast where Dominic Perry walks the listener through, well, ancient Egypt. The podcast is extensive, covering not just events and kings, but religious festivals, economics, and other civilizational matters to give a full view of what ancient Egyptian life was like. One last note: if you’re in the New York area and need reading and writing tutoring, let me know. I have a tutoring business on the side and a newborn, so I’m looking for a few more clients. If you need some help, send an email to claudemoinc@gmail.com. I can also produce literary lectures on demand. I’m not entirely certain what situations would call for that, but for some quality literary infotainment hit me up!  See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

Can two well-trained autodidacts make it through a discussion of Paradise Lost in one hour? Hell no! But we try! On what is now the first of a two-part episode on Milton’s puritan epic we tackle the background of the poem, a bit about the epic tradition, and some of the context for the writing. Next month we’ll dig into the meat of the poem with a full examination of Satan and evil as well as everyone’s favorite topic the ontological/epistemological crisis that Milton inscribes as original trauma into the history of poetry in English.  The Canon Ball is a member of the Agora Podcast Network. Check out some of the other podcasts on the network like Heather Tyesko’s Renaissance English History Podcast. Heather is also at work on a new project the Tudor Radio Network. Available online, it features original programming and your favorite Tudor podcasts, as well as music. No matter where you are or what time it is, you can switch it on and be guaranteed to hear something either from, or about, 16th century England. Head to TudorRadioNetwork.com for more info.  And be sure to visit us on the blog at thecanonballpodcast.wordpress.com. We’ve been getting a little more active, so check out our most recent scribblings.  One last note: if you’re in the New York area and need reading and writing tutoring, let me know. I have a tutoring business on the side and a newborn, so I’m looking for a few more clients. If you need some help, send an email to claudemoinc@gmail.com. I can also produce literary lectures on demand. I’m not entirely certain what situations would call for that, but for some quality literary infotainment hit me up!  See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

With Claude away on paternity leave, Daniel welcomes Ben Jacobs (host of Wittenberg to Westphalia) to discuss puritanism.  See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

The Canon Ball and the Agora Podcast Network are proud to present this special preview episode of Wondery's American Scandal. For more, visit wondery.com or find American Scandal wherever you get podcasts.  See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

It’s Don Quixote Book 2, all of the mind-bending reality questioning of a Christopher Nolan film and none of the portentousness! Daniel and Claude and Sancho and the Don join forces to face down our delusions and accept that the “real world” may just be yet another permutation of our individual fantasies. Is Don Quixote’s descent into the Cave of Montesinos an early exploration of the idea of the unconscious? Is Sancho secretly the most capable member of the party? Could chivalric manners be the best solution to a rising culture of xenophobia? Are the aristocracy really just a bunch of useless, corrupt, money-wasting fools? Ok, the answer to that last one is unequivocally yes, but for our discussion of the other questions, well, just listen. The Canon Ball is a member of the Agora Podcast Network, and if you enjoy our show then be sure to check out some of the others on the network like Lands of Leviathan. Each show takes on a complicated idea or issue from the fields of political science and international relations and analyzes it through the lens of pop culture material. For more information on the show, check out landsofleviathan.com, and for more information on the shows on the network, go to agorapodcastnetwork.com. And if you want more of the Canon Ball, check out our blog at thecanonballpodcast.wordpress.com.  You’ll see our occasional scribblings on canonical things as well as the order in which we’re tackling the canon. You can also find us on Twitter @canonballpod or on Facebook if you look for our group. If you like the show, please rate and review on Apple Podcasts!  See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

The Agora Podcast Network and The Canon Ball podcast is proud to present this special preview episode of a new American Innovations series from Wondery.  See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.