Young Heretics

The name Machiavelli calls a thousand things to mind: pitiless conquest, hard-nosed realism, violent death. But who was the man, really, and why did he leave such a mark? Machiavelli was a man in full—humanist, diplomat, scholar, mastermind. In this episode of "Young Heretics," Spencer Klavan gives Machiavelli the fresh introduction he deserves. -- Learn a language and have fun doing it. Meet the Ancient Language Institute and receive 15% off with the code HERETICS: https://ancientlanguage.com/youngheretics Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

This is the story they don't want you to hear about the holiday they don't want you to celebrate. In this episode of "Young Heretics," Spencer Klavan walks through the real history of Thanksgiving—the good, the bad, and the amazing about the Pilgrims' journey from Europe to America. It's a story of faith, providence, human nature, and the small mercies of God in the sad history of human affairs. Here's the amazing story of our proud country's improbable beginnings. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Shakespeare's "Macbeth" is a gory, nail-biting, creepy romp. But it's also a brilliant depiction of how the world caves in upon a man who violates the law of God, and how intimate, personal relationships can change the course of history. In this episode of "Young Heretics," Spencer Klavan dives into his first Shakespeare episode (but certainly not his last) to take a look at how free will and fate overlap to make one of the greatest tragedies in the history of the West. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

How you think about your founding fathers determines how you think about yourself. That's something America is learning right now, and it's something of which ancient civilizations were acutely aware. In this episode of "Young Heretics," Spencer Klavan tells the story of how the Trojan hero Aeneas became Ancient Rome's central founding figure through Virgil's "Aeneid"—and what that means for politics in Rome and America. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Happy Halloween! It's a bizarre year—Halloween is basically forbidden in some of the stricter lockdown states. On this special episode of "Young Heretics," Spencer Klavan, with help from the great American master of horror Edgar Allan Poe, dives into the history of the day and explains why the people who attack it are absurd. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

This. Is. Sparta!!!! "300," the blood-soaked Zack Snyder movie adapted from Frank Miller's graphic novel, is based on stories of the Persian War told by the first historian ever, Herodotus. But how accurate is "300" really, and does it matter? In this episode of "Young Heretics," Spencer Klavan tells the real story of the 300 at Thermopylae, and argues that "300" is a better take on the whole thing than you might expect. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

The "Maltese Falcon" is a groundbreaking movie and a seminal work of American literature. It's more than pop culture, though it is pop culture at its finest. It's also a tale of what it takes to be a man in America. In this episode of "Young Heretics," Spencer Klavan defends the work's place in the canon and analyzes its enduring greatness. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

One of the biggest lies we're told is that celebrating our ancestral past is stupid, dishonest, or worse. None of that is true. "Beowulf," the Anglo-Saxon masterpiece about England's Germanic forefathers, is a sophisticated tale full of weirdness, complexity, and melancholy—plus, it's an awesome romp with lots of crazy monsters and sick fights. In this episode of "Young Heretics," Spencer Klavan uncovers the poem's greatness. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Want some self-help that actually works? Despite being complicated and somewhat intimidating, Aristotle's "Nicomachean Ethics" is actually a very practical book with advice you can use. In this episode of "Young Heretics," Spencer Klavan unpacks Aristotle's profound insights in one of the most life-changing books you'll ever read. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

If you really want to talk pandemics, then let's talk Julian of Norwich. She lived in religious seclusion, but she understood deeply that there are no guarantees in life—no safety other than in God. In this episode of "Young Heretics," Spencer Klavan talks through the weird, intense, and powerful visions of Julian and what they say about God and womanhood. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices