Voltaire’s Candide, or Optimism Part 1: A Young Teenage Boy-Man-ish

Voltaire’s renowned 1759 satire of the idea that everything is for the best!  Candide, a young German fellow, goes on a series of increasingly worse (and more bizarre) adventures, and does his best to maintain his sunny disposition.  Theo reveals the last thing he wanted to do.  Rachel is so powerful, despite having clothes on.  Jackie plays an ultrasound prank.  Topics include: honchxheads, Dune 1984-style, the idea of human suffering, a bunch of little Stalins running around, nonbinary Leibniz, Will Smith vs. Christopher R. Ock, the Lollipop Guild, Theo’s neighbor Vernon, Flight of the Bumblebee, Hello by Adele, Game of Thrones, color guard, vegan stories, the teeth of the back, Fiona the hippo, girls’ trips, monkeys vs. apes, Lord of the Rings, skinny dipping stories, and The Chronicles of Narnia.WARNING: thanks to the contents of the book, this episode contains lots of discussion of sexual assault, violence, racism, antisemitism, and brief discussion of miscarriage.Translations by John Butt and Theo Cuffe ★ Support this podcast on Patreon ★