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 in a slow, attentive manner. Our host Adam Minihan is a first-time reader of Homer. We will start shallow and go deep. All are invited to join.
Will any resources be available?
YES. We are providing a free 115 Question & Answer Guide to the Iliad written by Deacon Harrison Garlick in addition to our weekly conversations. It will be available on the website (launching next week).
Go pick up a copy of the Iliad!
We look forward to reading Homer with you in 2024.
- Update frequency
- every 6 days
- Average duration
- 83 minutes
- Episodes
- 98
- Years Active
- 2023 - 2025
Prometheus Bound by Aeschylus with Dr. Jared Zimmerer
How would you respond to the will of a tyrant? Today, Dcn. Harrison Garlick is joined by Dr. Jared Zimmerer of Benedictine College to discuss Aeschylus' Prometheus Bound - the first play in an otherw…
How to Read the Bible like St. Thomas Aquinas and Dante
"Ignorance of Scripture is ignorance of Christ." Today, Dcn. Harrison Garlick is joined by Mr. Thomas Lackey and Mr. Adam Minihan to discuss how to read the Bible like Jesus, St. Paul, the Early Chur…
Lying as Contraceptive Speech: Lessons from Dante's Inferno
Lying is a sterile act that impedes the purpose of the intellect. Today, Dcn. Harrison Garlick is joined by Sean Berube and Shannon of Catholic Frequency to discuss "Lying as Contraceptive Speech." D…
Dante's Inferno Ep. 7: Cantos 32-34 with Evan Amato
The frozen heart of hell. Today, Dcn. Harrison Garlick is joined by Mr. Evan Amato to discuss the frozen wastes of the 9th Circle of Hell - the damned guilty of treachery (or complex fraud).
Check out…
Dante's Inferno Ep. 6: Cantos 26-31 with Dr. Donald Prudlo
We finish the 8th Circle of hell! Dcn. Harrison Garlick and Dr. Donald Prudlo of the University of Tulsa discuss pits 8-10 of the 8th Circle of Dante's Inferno (Cantos 26-31). Dr. Prudlo is an incred…
Dante's Inferno Ep. 5: Cantos 18-25 with Noah and Gabriel of CLT
Seducers, Flatterers, Sorcerers, and more! Dcn. Harrison Garlick is joined by Noah Tyler, CFO of the Classic Learning Test, and Gabriel Blanchard, a staff writer for CLT, to discuss the first part of…
Dante's Inferno Ep. 4: Cantos 12-17 with Fr. Thomas Esposito, O. Cist.
We enter the circle of violence. This week Dcn. Harrison Garlick is joined by Fr. Thomas Esposito, O. Cist., a Cistercian priest who teaches at the University of Dallas, to discuss the seventh circle…
Dante's Inferno Ep. 3: Cantos 6-11 with Dr. Jason Baxter
Today, we finish lower hell. Dcn. Harrison Garlick is joined by Dr. Jason Baxter of Benedictine College to discuss cantos 6-11 of Dante's Inferno.
Check out thegreatbookspodcast.com for other great bo…
Dante's Inferno Ep. 2: Cantos 2-5 with Dr. Jennifer Frey and Dr. Jessica Hooten Wilson
Dante approaches the gates of hell! Dcn. Harrison Garlick is joined by Dr. Jennifer Frey, the Dean of the new Honors College at the University of Tulsa, and Dr. Jessica Hooten Wilson, the Fletcher Jo…
Dante's Inferno Ep. 1: Intro and Canto 1 with Dr. Jeremy Holmes
We are reading the Inferno together! Dcn. Harrison Garlick is joined by Dr. Jeremy Holmes of Wyoming Catholic College to give an introduction to Dante's Inferno and discuss the first canto.
Visit the…
Aeschylus' Oresteia: The Eumenides Explained Part Two
Dcn. Harrison Garlick is joined by Dr. Frank Grabowski and Mr. Thomas Lackey to discuss the end of the Oresteia, the second part of the Eumenides.
Check out thegreatbookspodcast.com.
Check out our guid…
Aeschylus' Oresteia: The Eumenides Explained Part One
Dcn. Harrison Garlick is once again joined by Dr. Frank Grabowski and Mr. Thomas Lackey to discuss the first part of the Eumenides, the third play in Aeschylus' Oresteia.
Check out thegreatbookspodcas…
Aeschylus' Oresteia: Libation Bearers Explained Part Two
Dcn. Harrison Garlick, Mr. Thomas Lackey, and the Adam Minihan come together to discuss the second part of the Libation Bearers, the second play in Aeschylus' Oresteia.
Visit thegreatbookspodcast.com…
Aeschylus' Oresteia: Libation Bearers Explained Part One
This week Dcn. Garlick is joined by Mr. Thomas Lackey and the Adam Minihan to discuss part one of the Libation Bearers, the second play in Aeschylus' Oresteia.
Check out thegreatbooksdpodcast.com for…
Aeschylus' Oresteia: Agamemnon Explained Part Two
We are reading Aeschylus' Oresteia. This week Dcn. Garlick, Adam Minihan, Thomas Lackey, and Dr. Frank Grabowski discuss part two of Aeschylus' Agamemnon, the second part of the first play of the Ore…
Aeschylus' Oresteia: Agamemnon Explained Part One
Dcn. Garlick, Dr. Frank Grabowski, and Thomas Lackey are reunited to discuss the first part of Agamemnon, the first play in Aeschylus' Oresteia.
Check out thegreatbookspodcast.com for more informatio…
An Introduction to Aeschylus, the Father of Greek Tragedy
Dcn. Harrison Garlick and Adam Minihan are reunited to intro Aeschylus, the Father of Greek Tragedy.
Aeschylus (b. 525 BC) was a warrior, statesman, and the father of Greek tragedy. Born into nobility…
A Discussion on Hesiod's Theogony
Dcn. Harrison Garlick, Dr. Frank Grabowski, and Mr. Thomas Lackey come together to discuss Hesiod's Theogony - a poem about the origin of the gods and the cosmos.
Key conversations:
- The role of the Mus…
Why You Should Read the Greek Plays with Ascend
You can read the Greek plays with Ascend!
Dcn. Harrison Garlick flies solo this week as he explains why you should read the Greek plays. He discusses how the plays are an intellectual bridge between P…
The Tower of the Elephant by Robert E. Howard with Alberto Fernandez
This week Dcn. Garlick is joined by Alberto Fernandez, a former U.S. diplomat and Vice President of the Middle East Media Research Institute (MEMRI) in Washington, D.C., to discuss "The Tower of the …