Alex Andreou's Podyssey

Alex Andreou
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Aug 17, 2025 • 5min

The Miller, His Son, and Their Donkey: A Fable by Aesop for Modern Politicians

Subscribe to "Alex Andreou's Podyssey" on your favourite podcast app for the full three-part saga on Aesop - and the rest of Season 1, available now. *** SUPPORT SEASON 2 OF PODYSSEY ON ⁠⁠⁠⁠KO-FI.COM/PODYSSEY⁠⁠⁠⁠ *** What is the moral of "The Tortoise and The Hare"? What is the warning in "A Wolf in Sheep's Clothing"? What is "The Fox and The Grapes" about? You're probably wrong about all three. In the last instalment of the Aesop Trilogy, Alex delves into the fables themselves and finds the many ways in which they have been twisted and why. Welcome to Podyssey with Alex Andreou. Each week we will take one myth, one concept, person, place, or theme from Ancient Greece, take it apart, figure out its inner workings, trace its tentacles, juice it for its wisdom, refresh, clean and put it back together - all shiny and new!  *** SUPPORT SEASON 2 OF PODYSSEY ON ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠KO-FI.COM/PODYSSEY⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ *** Written and presented by Alex Andreou Expert contributions by Alexandra Angeletaki-Røe, Debbie Challis, Linda Marric, and Dr Ruth Smith Exec. Producers Naomi Smith & Kenny Campbell Music by Marianna Sangita Artwork by Simona Kanellou For Cooler Heads, in collaboration with Sandstone Global Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
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Aug 12, 2025 • 1h 20min

9. AESOP III - How to Lose a Donkey in 10 Ways

*** SUPPORT SEASON 2 OF PODYSSEY ON ⁠⁠⁠KO-FI.COM/PODYSSEY⁠⁠⁠ *** What is the moral of "The Tortoise and The Hare"? What is the warning in "A Wolf in Sheep's Clothing"? What is "The Fox and The Grapes" about? You're probably wrong about all three. In the last instalment of the Aesop Trilogy, Alex delves into the fables themselves and finds the many ways in which they have been twisted and why. Welcome to Podyssey with Alex Andreou. Each week we will take one myth, one concept, person, place, or theme from Ancient Greece, take it apart, figure out its inner workings, trace its tentacles, juice it for its wisdom, refresh, clean and put it back together - all shiny and new!  "Our Aesop-muscle has atrophied. We have forgotten how to craft and tell our stories - and in the process forgotten how to listen to the stories of others. Humanity without stories is humanity with no identity." "How the story made us feel is what we store and recall - not the hard logic, nor the facts and figures. And while it is ludicrous to say 'people have had enough of experts', it’s perfectly fair to say that they have had enough of how their teaching style makes them feel." *** SUPPORT SEASON 2 OF PODYSSEY ON ⁠⁠⁠⁠KO-FI.COM/PODYSSEY⁠⁠⁠⁠ *** Written and presented by Alex Andreou Expert contributions by Alexandra Angeletaki-Røe, Debbie Challis, Linda Marric, and Dr Ruth Smith Exec. Producers Naomi Smith & Kenny Campbell Music by Marianna Sangita Artwork by Simona Kanellou For Cooler Heads, in collaboration with Sandstone Global NOTES MUSIC Podyssey Theme: “To Margoudi ki o Alexandris”, Marianna Sangita, 2018 (with permission) Castelnuovo-Tedesco: Concerto No. 2 for Violin and Orchestra ("The Prophets”), Jascha Heifetz 1956 Dorothy Collins: “To Make A Long Story Short”, 1953 Hans Werner Henze: Moralitäten 1. Teil, conducted by the composer, 1968 Tom Lehrer: “Smut”, public domain, 1965 Sandra Church: Gypsy “Little Lamb”, 1959 Giorgos Gounaris: “To Pazari” (The Market), 1939 Jean-Philippe Rameau: “Platée”, Michel Sénéchal, 1956 Gioachino Rossini: “Duetto Buffo di Due Gatti”, Elisabeth Schwarzkopf & Victoria de los Angeles, Royal Festival Hall, 1967 Modest Mussorgsky: “The Song of The Flea”, Feodor Chaliapin, 1936 Gerónimo Giménez: La Tempranica “La Tarantula”, Victoria de los Angeles, BBC 1968 Bizet: “La Coccinelle”, Cecilia Bartoli, (fair usage for review) 1996 Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart: Die Zauberflöte “Pa-pa-pa-gena”, Walter Berry & Emmy Loose, 1955 Emma Papikyan: “Dzidzernak” (Swallow), Armenia Radio Archives, 1993 Saint-Saens: Parysatis "Le Rossignol Et La Rose" , Mado Robin, RTF archive 1954 Manos Hadjidakis: “Magiki Poli” (Magical City), Zoe Maggou, 1954 Leoš Janáček: Cunning Little Vixen - Finale, Prague National Theatre, 1958 Jerome Kern: Show Boat “Make Believe”, Marion Marlowe & Frank Parker, 1953 ART Frans Snyders: "The Cock and the Jewel", oil on canvas 1620 - Auckland Art Gallery Agnes Miller Parker: “The Cock and the Jewel”, wood engraving c1931 - private collection “The Cock and the Jewel”, Chelsea Porcelain, c1770 - Fitzwilliam Museum “The Cock and the Jewel”, pendant in gold and pearl with rubies, Dutch 16C - private collection “The Miller, His Son, And Their Ass”, John Tenniel illustrations, 1882  FILM “Fantastic Mr. Fox” 2009 “Bambi” 1942 “Spirited Away” 2001 “Howl’s Moving Castle” 2004 Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
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Aug 7, 2025 • 1h 12min

8. AESOP II - A dolphin and a seagull were hurling insults at each other

*** SUPPORT SEASON 2 OF PODYSSEY ON ⁠⁠KO-FI.COM/PODYSSEY⁠⁠ *** Welcome to Podyssey with Alex Andreou. Each week we will take one myth, one concept, person, place, or theme from Ancient Greece, take it apart, figure out its inner workings, trace its influence, juice it for its wisdom, reimagine, update and put it back together - all shiny and new!  …  Last week we explored the complicated, and largely made-up, biography that is "The Aesop Romance". In this part I talk to experts to try and understand why it is that we need a "back story" for the creators of stories that we connect with, what is the difference between a reliable and unreliable narrator, how populism has refined the art of story-telling, and why only better stories - not better facts - can help us. *** SUPPORT SEASON 2 OF PODYSSEY ON ⁠⁠⁠KO-FI.COM/PODYSSEY⁠⁠⁠ *** Written and presented by Alex Andreou Expert contributions by Alexandra Angeletaki-Røe, Debbie Challis, Linda Marric, and Dr Ruth Smith Exec. Producers Naomi Smith & Kenny Campbell Music by Marianna Sangita Artwork by Simona Kanellou For Cooler Heads, in collaboration with Sandstone Global NOTES MUSIC  Podyssey Theme: “To Margoudi ki o Alexandris”, Marianna Sangita, 2018 (with permission) ⁠⁠https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=u-LAVj5l9Uc⁠⁠ Rimsky-Korsakov: "Scheherazade; 2nd Movement"; Societe de Concerts Du Conservatoire, Ernest Ansermet 1955 https://archive.org/details/lp_scheherazade Bernice Parks: "You Intrigue Me" 1952 https://archive.org/details/78_you-intrigue-me_bernice-parks Verdi: I Vespri Siciliani "In alto mare... Coraggio!", Maria Callas 1951 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ibMCTUPC_6g Offenbach: Les Contes d'Hoffman " O Dieu, de quelle ivresse" (reprise), Raoul Jobin 1950 https://archive.org/details/lp_the-tales-of-hoffman Anton Karas: The Third Man "Harry Lime Theme", Hermann Stachow 1950 https://archive.org/details/78_harry-limes-melodi Ravel: Shéhérazade "1. Asie", Suzanne Danco 1955 https://archive.org/details/lp_le-roi-david-sheherazade Mahalia Jackson: "MyStory" 1953 https://archive.org/details/78_my-story_mahalia-jackson Verdi: Il Trovatore "Condotta all'era", Cloe Elmo 1941 https://archive.org/details/cloe-elmo-giuseppe-verdi Rossini: La Cenerentola "Questo e un nodo avviluppato", Glyndebourne Company 1955 https://archive.org/details/lp_la-cenerentola_gioacchino-rossini ART Attic red-figure Kylix, circa 5C BCE, Vatican Museum. A sample "Karagiozis" 19C folk shadow puppet figure, for comparison. Plaster casts of the Hellenistic statue believed to be of Aesop, avec and sans fig leaf. Aesopus (c. 1639-40), by Diego Velazquez. Chelsea porcelain figure of Aesop as a black man, c.1755, and candlestick depicting the fable of The Cockerel and The Jewel, c.1780, Fitzwilliam Museum. Aesop Telling his Fables, by Johann Michael Wittmer, 1855, Royal Collection. Illustration by Kawanabe Kyōsai for the Japanese 1770 edition of "Aesop's Fables for All". FILM - Coming Soon SOURCES - Coming Soon Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
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Jul 13, 2025 • 44min

7. AESOP I - Virtue Signaller or Fake News Merchant?

*** SUPPORT SEASON 2 OF PODYSSEY ON ⁠KO-FI.COM/PODYSSEY⁠ *** Welcome to Podyssey with Alex Andreou. Each week we will take one myth, one concept, person, place, or theme from Ancient Greece, take it apart, figure out its inner workings, trace its influence, juice it for its wisdom, reimagine, update and put it back together - all shiny and new!  …  Stories have had a moral, for as long as we have told stories. This week, Aesop; A crowd-sourced literary celebrity. What is the fact and what is the fiction? And why it matters. Written and presented by Alex Andreou Expert contributions by Alexandra Angeletaki-Røe, Debbie Challis, Linda Marric, and Dr Ruth Smith Exec. Producers Naomi Smith & Kenny Campbell Music by Marianna Sangita Artwork by Simona Kanellou For Cooler Heads, in collaboration with Sandstone Global NOTES MUSIC  Podyssey Theme: “To Margoudi ki o Alexandris”, Marianna Sangita, 2018 (with permission) ⁠https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=u-LAVj5l9Uc⁠ César Cui: "Orientale"; Capitol Symphony Orch, Carmen Dragon 1958 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UDx-kRbXoCU Xiomara Alfaro: "Angelitos Negros" 1957 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=j_9XyHOHiLw Gershwin: Rhapsody in Blue, Winifred Atwell 1957 https://archive.org/details/lp_winifred-atwell-plays-gershwin_winifred-atwell-ted-heath-and-his-music/disc1/01.01.+Rhapsody+In+Blue.mp3 Charlie Gore: "Absolutely Free", 1953 https://archive.org/details/78_absolutely-free_charlie-gore-charlie-gore-gore-young_gbia0484950b Manos Hadjidakis: "The Myth", Christiana, 1960 https://archive.org/details/lp_ilios-thalassa.mp3 Richard Strauss: Dance of the Seven Veils from "Salome", Paul Paray, 1959 https://archive.org/details/lp_the-heart-of-the-opera_antal-dorati-paul-paray-detroit-symphony-o/disc1/02.01.+Dance+Of+The+Seven+Veils+From+%22Salome%22.mp3 Manouche: "Miri Louloudi", 1989 (with permission) https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xMtzBs5bSIE Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
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May 24, 2025 • 35min

BONUS - No thing is just one thing

*** SUPPORT A SECOND SEASON ON ⁠KO-FI.COM/PODYSSEY⁠ *** This week Alex gets to quiz the show's cultural historian, Dr Debbie Challis, starting with the obvious question: What the hell is a cultural historian?  Listen to Debbie explain her complicated on-again-off-again love affair with the classical and the classic - but also Greece itself. And her battle to be heard without being labelled and filed away - something which every contributor to this podcast seems to share; a compulsion to explore not just our allotted piece of the puzzle, but how the pieces connect. _________________ The myths, tales, and concepts of ancient Greece echo and reach into every aspect of modern life. Often misunderstood, frequently romanticised, and sometimes deliberately twisted - to understand their origins and truth is to get a real glimpse into the universal themes that connect us to the past and each other. Welcome to Podyssey with Alex Andreou. Each week we will take one myth, one concept, person, place, or theme from Ancient Greece, take it apart, figure out its inner workings, trace its influence, juice it for its wisdom, reimagine, update and put it back together - all shiny and new! _____________ Written and presented by Alex Andreou Expert contributions by Alexandra Angeletaki-Røe, Debbie Challis, Linda Marric, and Dr Ruth Smith Exec. Producers Naomi Smith & Kenny Campbell Music by Marianna Sangita Artwork by Simona Kanellou For Cooler Heads, in collaboration with Sandstone Global Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
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May 11, 2025 • 57min

6. Cassandra - Everything Must Be Said Again

*** SUPPORT SEASON 2 OF PODYSSEY ON KO-FI.COM/PODYSSEY *** The myths, tales, and concepts of ancient Greece echo and reach into every aspect of modern life. Often misunderstood, frequently romanticised, and sometimes deliberately twisted - to understand their origins and truth is to get a real glimpse into the universal themes that connect us to the past and each other. Welcome to Podyssey with Alex Andreou. Each week we will take one myth, one concept, person, place, or theme from Ancient Greece, take it apart, figure out its inner workings, trace its influence, juice it for its wisdom, reimagine, update and put it back together - all shiny and new!  …  There is an elegant symmetry to Cassandra being misunderstood - still, millennia later - as a symbol for pessimism. A prophet of doom. But that wasn’t her curse at all. Her curse was to have true insight and yet be unable to get those around her to listen. And is the reason we prioritise some voices over others not the central, existential question at a time when real knowledge struggles to make itself heard over a chorus of populism? What wooden horses have we let through our cities’ gates? Written and presented by Alex Andreou Expert contributions by Alexandra Angeletaki-Røe, Debbie Challis, Linda Marric, and Dr Ruth Smith Exec. Producers Naomi Smith & Kenny Campbell Music by Marianna Sangita Artwork by Simona Kanellou For Cooler Heads, in collaboration with Sandstone Global NOTES MUSIC  Oluf Dimitri Røe: “Fajum” ON YOUTUBE  Aldo Ciccolini: Erik Satie “Gnossiennes No.1 FROM ARCHIVE Lulu Belle: “Never take ‘no’ for an answer” FROM ARCHIVE  ON ft Marianna Sangita: “Et Glimt” ON YOUTUBE     Risë Stevens: Bizet; Carmen “Card Scene” FROM ARCHIVE  Betty Lou Allen: J.S.C. Bach; Cassandra Cantata FROM ARCHIVE Fedora Barbieri: Verdi; Un Ballo in Maschera “Re dell’abisso” FROM ARCHIVE  Marisa Ferrer & Charles Cambon: Berlioz; Les Troyens "Reviens a toi, vierge adorée” FROM ARCHIVE  Anna Maria Alberghetti: “They didn’t believe me” FROM ARCHIVE  FILM Helen of Troy 1956 https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0049301/ Scream 2 1997 https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0120082/ The Matrix 1999 https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0133093/ The Eyes of Laura Mars 1978 https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0077530/ Doctor Sleep 2019 https://www.imdb.com/title/tt5606664/ Nightmare Alley 2021 https://www.imdb.com/title/tt7740496/ Agamemnon 1983 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3UyouI7BUsI Promising Young Woman 2020 https://www.imdb.com/title/tt9620292/ Kaos 2024 https://www.imdb.com/title/tt8550732/ Don't Look Up 2021 https://www.imdb.com/title/tt11286314/ ART Attic Red cup with the taking of Cassandra Terracotta amphora with the taking of Cassandra Evelyn de Morgan's Cassandra Pompeii mosaic of Ajax dragging Cassandra from Palladium. Solomon J. Solomon's Ajax & Cassandra Ronsard's "Avant le temps tes tempes fleuriront" Louise Bogan's "Cassandra" Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
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May 3, 2025 • 43min

BONUS - Archaeology: The Art of Interpreting Science

*** SUPPORT A SECOND SEASON ON KO-FI.COM/PODYSSEY *** This week we meet the show's archaeologist, Alexandra Angeletaki-Røe, and talk about her profession: What it used to be, what it is now, and what it isn't. The romantic ideas of it and how far they are from the practical reality... And why nothing can substitute being in a place, touching, smelling, hearing, and feeling the context of what is unearthed from below. _________________ The myths, tales, and concepts of ancient Greece echo and reach into every aspect of modern life. Often misunderstood, frequently romanticised, and sometimes deliberately twisted - to understand their origins and truth is to get a real glimpse into the universal themes that connect us to the past and each other. Welcome to Podyssey with Alex Andreou. Each week we will take one myth, one concept, person, place, or theme from Ancient Greece, take it apart, figure out its inner workings, trace its influence, juice it for its wisdom, reimagine, update and put it back together - all shiny and new! _____________ Written and presented by Alex Andreou Expert contributions by Alexandra Angeletaki-Røe, Debbie Challis, Linda Marric, and Dr Ruth Smith Exec. Producers Naomi Smith & Kenny Campbell Music by Marianna Sangita Artwork by Simona Kanellou For Cooler Heads, in collaboration with Sandstone Global Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
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Apr 28, 2025 • 1h 11min

5. Persephone Part II - You Do Something To Me

The myths, tales, and concepts of ancient Greece echo and reach into every aspect of modern life. Often misunderstood, frequently romanticised, and sometimes deliberately twisted - to understand their origins and truth is to get a real glimpse into the universal themes that connect us to the past and each other. Welcome to Podyssey with Alex Andreou. Each week we will take one myth, one concept, person, place, or theme from Ancient Greece, take it apart, figure out its inner workings, trace its influence, juice it for its wisdom, reimagine, update and put it back together - all shiny and new!  …  Persephone has been assigned the story of a victim, but bears none of the hallmarks. Why has this magnificent Queen been reduced to a Page 3 girl? Written and presented by Alex Andreou Expert contributions by Alexandra Angeletaki-Røe, Debbie Challis, Linda Marric, and Dr Ruth Smith Exec. Producers Naomi Smith & Kenny Campbell Music by Marianna Sangita Artwork by Simona Kanellou For Cooler Heads, in collaboration with Sandstone Global NOTES Will be added in a few hours Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
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Apr 28, 2025 • 43min

3b. BONUS - The Making of Podyssey

Naomi Smith gets the behind the scenes skinny on Podyssey from Alex Andreou. Where did the idea come from? What's coming up in Season 2? What is the most surprising fact so far? Lots of exclusive access, previews, and exclusive announcements. … The myths, tales, and concepts of ancient Greece echo and reach into every aspect of modern life. Often misunderstood, frequently romanticised, and sometimes deliberately twisted - to understand their origins and truth is to get a real glimpse into the universal themes that connect us to the past and each other. Welcome to Podyssey with Alex Andreou. Each week we will take one myth, one concept, person, place, or theme from Ancient Greece, take it apart, figure out its inner workings, trace its influence, juice it for its wisdom, reimagine, update and put it back together - all shiny and new! … Written and presented by Alex Andreou Expert contributions by Alexandra Angeletaki-Røe, Debbie Challis, Linda Marric, and Dr Ruth Smith Exec. Producers Naomi Smith & Kenny Campbell Music by Marianna SangitaArtwork by Simona Kanellou For Cooler Heads, in collaboration with Sandstone Global Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
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Apr 28, 2025 • 1h 32min

4. Persephone Part I - If You Can't Be Free, Be A Mystery

The myths, tales, and concepts of ancient Greece echo and reach into every aspect of modern life. Often misunderstood, frequently romanticised, and sometimes deliberately twisted - to understand their origins and truth is to get a real glimpse into the universal themes that connect us to the past and each other. Welcome to Podyssey with Alex Andreou. Each week we will take one myth, one concept, person, place, or theme from Ancient Greece, take it apart, figure out its inner workings, trace its influence, juice it for its wisdom, reimagine, update and put it back together - all shiny and new! … Persephone has been assigned the story of a victim, but bears none of the hallmarks. Why has this magnificent Queen been reduced to a Page 3 girl? Written and presented by Alex Andreou Expert contributions by Alexandra Angeletaki-Røe, Debbie Challis, Linda Marric, and Dr Ruth Smith Exec. Producers Naomi Smith & Kenny Campbell Music by Marianna SangitaArtwork by Simona Kanellou For Cooler Heads, in collaboration with Sandstone Global NOTES MUSIC Podyssey Theme - “To Margoudi ki o Alexandris” Marianna Sangita - YOUTUBE.“Kori” (Acoustic) Marianna Sangita - YOUTUBE“Kori” (Album Version) ON - YOUTUBECamille Saint-Saëns “Danse Macabre”, Hollywood Bowl Symphony Orchestra - ARCHIVE  Claudio Monteverdi “Addio Roma” from L’Incoronazione di Poppea - ARCHIVE Antonio Vivaldi “Autumn” from The four Seasons - ARCHIVE  Heitor Villa Lobos “Bachianas Brasileiras No.5”, Bidu Sayao - ARCHIVE  Giacomo Puccini “Flower Duet” from Madama Butterfly, Renata Tebaldi/Nell Ranking - ARCHIVE Francesco Sacrati “E dove t’aggirli” from Proserpina, Victoria de los Angeles - YOUTUBE “Sobbin’ Women” from Seven Brides for Seven Brothers, Howard Keel - ARCHIVEFrancesco Cilea “Esser madre e un inferno” from L’Arlesiana, Ebe Stignani - ARCHIVE  “Am I blue” Ethel Waters - YOUTUBE Amilcare Ponchielli “Oh Madre Mia” Act I finale from La Gioconda, Maria Callas/Maria Amadini - ARCHIVE WA Mozart “Lacrimosa” from Requiem, Eugen Jochum - ARCHIVE Kurt Weill “September Song”, Sarah Vaughan - ARCHIVE FILM“The Goddess of Spring” (1934) https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8zvnAypUSJsChildren of Men (2006) https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0206634/ Lady Bird (2017)https://www.imdb.com/title/tt4925292/ Terms of Endearment (1983) https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0086425/ Steel Magnolias (1989) https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0098384/ ARTWORK Two examples of a Melian amphoras, with Kore figure, c. 6thC BCE here and here.  “Hades Abducting Persephone” fresco Vergina 4C BCE “Statue of Isis-Persephone holding a sistrum” marble statue Gortyn 180-190 CE“Head of Persephone” earthenware Centuripae, c.420 BCE“Bronze statuette of a female votary with pomegranate” 4th–3rd century BCE“Persephone and Hades” red-figure kylix Vulci, c. 440-430 BCE“The abduction of Persephone by Hades” terracotta hydria c. 340–330 BCE“Persephone on the Throne” terracotta tablet Locri, 470 BCE“Enthroned Deity” (probably Persephone) Taranto, c. 480-470 BCEBernini Gian Lorenzo “Rape of Proserpine” Peter Paul Rubens “The Rape of Proserpine” Luca Giordano “The Abduction of Proserpina” Maxfield Parrish “Proserpina and the Sea Nymphs”Hiram Powers “Proserpine”Dante Gabriel Rossetti eighth and final version of “Proserpine”READINGTaffy Brodesser-Akner “Let’s Go to Jerusalem for Soup Again” Sor Juana Inez de la Cruz, Marian Villancico Edna St Vincent Millay “Prayer to Persephone”Rita Dove “Canary”  Rita Dove “The Bistro Styx” Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

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