Canonball

Send us Fan MailIn this episode of Canonball, Evan and I discuss the play "Medea," which Euripides wrote and which was first performed in 431 BC. The cover art for this episode is the painting "Jason and Medea," which John William Waterhouse completed in 1907.

Send us Fan MailIn this episode of Canonball we discuss "Mozart On The Way To Prague" by Eduard Mörike, which was published in 1856.Here is the final scene of Don Giovanni, Mörike's description of which we discuss at around 28:32 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ioc9shJa_lIHere is a website of translations of Mörike's poetry:https://www.cingolani.com/Moerike_English.html

Send us Fan MailIn today's episode of Canonball we discuss Francis Petrarch's "Scattered Rhymes," which were written over 40 years and finalized as a collection shortly before Petrarch's death in 1374. 

Send us Fan MailIn this episode of Canonball we discuss "Where Is Science Going?" by Max Planck, which was published in 1932.

Send us Fan MailIn this episode of Canonball we discuss "Novum Organum," which Francis Bacon wrote and which was published in 1620.

Send us Fan MailIn this episode of Canonball, Evan and I discuss the play "Eumenides," which is the third part of Aeschylus' only extant trilogy "Oresteia," which premiered in 458 BC.The cover art for this episode is from a painting titled Pallas Athena that Rembrandt completed in 1657.

Send us Fan MailThis is a summary of what I think is the best approach to learning a language, based on my experience mastering a foreign language as an adult. Here you can download the software that I mentioned, Anki: https://apps.ankiweb.net/Here is a page of links to word-frequency lists for German; similar lists can be found online for many other languages: https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/Wiktionary:Frequency_lists/GermanThe cover art is from the painting "Before the Audience," which Jean-Leon Gerome completed in 1881. 

Send us Fan MailIn this episode of Canonball we discuss "The Life Of Saint Louis," which Jean de Joinville completed in 1309. The cover art for this episode is a painting titled Louis IX that Émile Signol completed in 1844.The other painting I mentioned is Saint Louis Mediating Between the King of England and His Barons which Georges Rouget completed in 1820 and can be found here. 

Send us Fan MailIn this episode of Canonball we discuss the fragments of Heraclitus, who lived in the sixth and fifth centuries BC. The cover art for this episode is The Burning of the Houses of Lords and Commons, which JMW Turner completed in 1834 or 1835. 

Send us Fan MailIn this video, Evan and I discuss "The Libation Bearers," which is the second play in the Aeschylus' trilogy Oresteia.The cover art for this episode is from Orestes Pursued by the Furies, which William-Adolphe Bouguereau completed in 1862.

Send us Fan MailIn this episode of Canonball we discuss "The Civilization Of The Renaissance In Italy," which was written by Jacob Burckhardt and published in 1860. Get a copy of my edition of Mary Shelley's Frankenstein at my website: VollrathPublishing.com

Send us Fan MailThe data below are in the format indicated in the first line: The first word given is the term that I searched on opensyllabus.org, followed by its frequency in 2008, its frequency in 2024, and the percent change. So, for example, the first term in the list, that of the name of Diderot, declined by 90 percent in 16 years. Term  2008 frequency 2024 frequency percent changeDiderot 0.027714 0.0025916 -90.64876957Thucydides 0.10137 0.011824 -88.33579955Petrarch 0.060532 0.0074508 -87.69113857Aristophanes 0.090434 0.0115 -87.2835438Tacitus 0.039382 0.0053452 -86.42730181Boccaccio 0.040112 0.0055071 -86.27069206Erasmus 0.026255 0.0037254 -85.81070272Francis Bacon 0.033548 0.0051832 -84.54989865Virgil 0.061991 0.010042 -83.80087432Victor Hugo 0.009481 0.0016197 -82.91635903Xenophon 0.035736 0.006317 -82.32314753Montesquieu 0.040841 0.0076128 -81.35990794Dostoevsky 0.060532 0.011338 -81.26941122Voltaire 0.080953 0.015388 -80.99143948John Dryden 0.012041 0.0023654 -80.3554522Horace 0.078036 0.015388 -80.280896Hesiod 0.040112 0.0084227 -79.00204428Thomas Hobbes 0.080953 0.017331 -78.59128136Aeschylus 0.058344 0.012634 -78.34567393Tolstoy 0.080953 0.018303 -77.39058466Homer 0.18451 0.042923 -76.73676224Seneca 0.081682 0.019923 -75.60906932Dante 0.11231 0.028669 -74.47333274Moliere 0.043758 0.011338 -74.08930938Euripedes 0.081682 0.021381 -73.82409833Samuel Johnson 0.032089 0.0084227 -73.75206457Goethe 0.030631 0.0082607 -73.03156933Ovid 0.061991 0.017169 -72.30404414Sophocles 0.14149 0.041303 -70.80853771Edmund Burke 0.034277 0.010366 -69.75814686Friedrich Nietzsche 0.18816 0.057339 -69.52646684John Locke 0.074593 0.022806 -69.42608556Edmund Spenser 0.010279 0.0031979 -68.88899698Chaucer 0.11742 0.037092 -68.41083291David Hume 0.057615 0.018303 -68.23223119Cicero 0.064179 0.020409 -68.19987846Cervantes 0.053239 0.017007 -68.05537294Christopher Marlowe 0.014684 0.0050494 -65.61291201Herodotus 0.043029 0.014902 -65.36754282John Milton 0.044488 0.01555 -65.04675418Charles Dickens 0.032089 0.011662 -63.65732806Kant 0.30631 0.11176 -63.51408704Jonathan Swift 0.048134 0.018465 -61.63834296Plato 0.46019 0.17671 -61.60064321Shakespeare 0.48863 0.19226 -60.65325502Marcus Aurelius 0.013127 0.0055071 -58.04753561Aristotle 0.39966 0.17655 -55.82495121Schiller 0.098456 0.046163 -53.11306573Descartes 0.199983 0.096699 -51.64638994John Donne 0.026431 0.012876 -51.28447656John Keats 0.037195 0.018465 -50.35623068Mary Shelley 0.039382 0.019761 -49.82225382Epictetus 0.024067 0.017817 -25.9691694Edgar Allan Poe 0.02555 0.028276 10.66927593Average decline: -69.83809964The cover art for this episode is Imaginary View of the Grand Galarie in the Louvre in Ruins, which Hubert Robert completed in 1796.

Send us Fan MailIn this episode of Canonball we discuss "The Revolt Of The Masses" which Jose Ortega y Gasset first published as a series of essays in 1929 before it was published as a book in 1930. Get a copy of my edition of Mary Shelley's Frankenstein at my website: VollrathPublishing.com

Send us Fan MailIn this episode of Canonball we discuss the play "Agamemnon," by Aeschylus, which is the first part of Aeschylus' only extant trilogy "Oresteia," which premiered in 458 BC.I was very pleased to have my good friend Evan join me for this discussion. I hope you enjoy it as much as I did. The cover art for this episode is from the painting Clytemnestra Hesitating Before Striking Agamemnon, which French painter Pierre-Narcisse Guerin completed in 1817. Get a copy of my edition of Mary Shelley's Frankenstein at my website: VollrathPublishing.com

Send us Fan MailIn this episode of Canonball we discuss "The Protestant Ethic And The Spirit Of Capitalism," which was written by Max Weber and published in 1904.Get a copy of my edition of Mary Shelley's Frankenstein at my website: VollrathPublishing.com

Send us Fan MailThis is a talk I gave at a bookstore in Western Maryland in October 2025 discussing the world in which Mary Shelley was living when she wrote Frankenstein. Pick up my edition of Mary Shelley's Frankenstein at my website: https://www.vollrathpublishing.comAt 3:36 I reversed the names of the Islands of St. Helena and Elba; Napoleon was of course first imprisoned on Elba, then St. Helena.00:00 Intro00:40 The French Revolution, The Napoleonic Wars, And Mary's Parents04:51 The Industrial Revolution And Science Fiction11:49 Mary's Influences And Education14:50 Mary's Elopement With Percy 17:15 The Mt. Tambora Eruption19:28 Bringing It All Together20:50 Reading German Ghost Stories In A Mansion Overlooking Lake Geneva22:36 Did Mary Really Write A Short Story At The Villa Diodati?25:37 Artificial Intelligence And Creating Consciousness – The Relevance Of Frankenstein Today26:57 Closing

Send us Fan MailIn this episode of Canonball we discuss "The Spirit Of The Laws," which was written by Montesquieu and published in 1748.Get a copy of my edition of Mary Shelley's Frankenstein at my website: VollrathPublishing.com

Send us Fan MailIn this episode of Canonball we discuss "Fathers And Sons," which was written by Ivan Turgenev and published in 1862.Get a copy of my edition of Mary Shelley's Frankenstein at my website: VollrathPublishing.com

Send us Fan MailIn this episode of Canonball we discuss "We," which was written by Yevgeny Zamyatin and first published in 1924. Get a copy of my edition of Mary Shelley's Frankenstein at my website: VollrathPublishing.com

Send us Fan MailIn this episode of Canonball we continue discussing "The New Science," which was written by Giambattista Vico and first published in 1725, before being republished in a revised edition in 1730, and a final edition in 1744. See also Part I for more on Vico. Get a copy of my edition of Mary Shelley's Frankenstein at my website: VollrathPublishing.com

Send us Fan MailIn this episode of Canonball we begin discussing "The New Science," which was written by Giambattista Vico and first published in 1725, before being republished in a revised edition in 1730, and a final edition in 1744. See also Part II for more on Vico. Get a copy of my edition of Mary Shelley's Frankenstein at my website: VollrathPublishing.com

Send us Fan MailIn this episode of Canonball we discuss "The Devil's Dictionary," which was written by Ambrose Bierce and first published as a book in 1906 before being republished in 1911.Get a copy of my edition of Mary Shelley's Frankenstein at my website: VollrathPublishing.com

Send us Fan MailIn this episode of Canonball we discuss "The Last Man," which was written by Mary Shelley and published in 1826.Get a copy of my edition of Mary Shelley's Frankenstein at my website: VollrathPublishing.com

Send us Fan MailThis is a short story I wrote. I hope you enjoy it. Get a copy of my edition of Mary Shelley's Frankenstein at my website: VollrathPublishing.com

Send us Fan MailIn this episode of Canonball we discuss "Statesman," which is one of the dialogues of Plato, who lived in the fifth and fourth centuries BC.The cover art for this episode is Plato as depicted in a portion of the oil painting The Death of Socrates, which French painter Jacques-Louis David completed in 1787.Get a copy of my edition of Mary Shelley's Frankenstein at my website: VollrathPublishing.com

Send us Fan MailIn this episode of Canonball we discuss "Sophist," which is one of the dialogues of Plato, who lived in the fifth and fourth centuries BC.The cover art for this episode is Plato as depicted in a portion of the oil painting The Death of Socrates, which French painter Jacques-Louis David completed in 1787.Get a copy of my edition of Mary Shelley's Frankenstein at my website: VollrathPublishing.com

Send us Fan MailIn this episode of Canonball we discuss "Theaetetus," which is one of the dialogues of Plato, who lived in the fifth and fourth centuries BC.The cover art for this episode is Plato as depicted in a portion of the oil painting The Death of Socrates, which French painter Jacques-Louis David completed in 1787.Get a copy of my edition of Mary Shelley's Frankenstein at my website: VollrathPublishing.com

Send us Fan MailIn this episode of Canonball we discuss "Cratylus," which is one of the dialogues of Plato, who lived in the fifth and fourth centuries BC.The cover art for this episode is Plato as depicted in a portion of the oil painting The Death of Socrates, which French painter Jacques-Louis David completed in 1787.Get a copy of my edition of Mary Shelley's Frankenstein at my website: VollrathPublishing.com

Send us Fan MailIn this episode of Canonball we discuss "Phaedo," which is one of the dialogues of Plato, who lived in the fifth and fourth centuries BC.The cover art for this episode is Plato as depicted in a portion of the oil painting The Death of Socrates, which French painter Jacques-Louis David completed in 1787.Get a copy of my edition of Mary Shelley's Frankenstein at my website: VollrathPublishing.com

Send us Fan MailIn this episode of Canonball we discuss "Crito," which is one of the dialogues of Plato, who lived in the fifth and fourth centuries BC.The cover art for this episode is Plato as depicted in a portion of the oil painting The Death of Socrates, which French painter Jacques-Louis David completed in 1787.Get a copy of my edition of Mary Shelley's Frankenstein at my website: VollrathPublishing.com

Send us Fan MailIn this episode of Canonball we discuss "Apology," which is one of the dialogues of Plato, who lived in the fifth and fourth centuries BC.The cover art for this episode is Plato as depicted in a portion of the oil painting The Death of Socrates, which French painter Jacques-Louis David completed in 1787.Get a copy of my edition of Mary Shelley's Frankenstein at my website: VollrathPublishing.com

Send us Fan MailIn this episode of Canonball we discuss "Euthyphro," which is one of the dialogues of Plato, who lived in the fifth and fourth centuries BC.The cover art for this episode is Plato as depicted in a portion of the oil painting The Death of Socrates, which French painter Jacques-Louis David completed in 1787. Get a copy of my edition of Mary Shelley's Frankenstein at my website: VollrathPublishing.com

Send us Fan MailIn this episode of Canonball we discuss "Growth Of The Soil," which was written by Knut Hamsun and published in 1917.Get a copy of my edition of Mary Shelley's Frankenstein at my website: VollrathPublishing.com

Send us Fan MailIn this episode of Canonball we discuss "The Beautiful And Damned," which was written by F. Scott Fitzgerald and published in 1922. Get a copy of my edition of Mary Shelley's Frankenstein at my website: VollrathPublishing.com

Send us Fan MailIn this episode of Canonball we discuss "The Ingenious Gentleman Don Quixote Of La Mancha," which was written by Miguel De Cervantes and originally published in two parts, in 1605 and 1615.A correction: Edith Grossman's translation is 940 pages. Get a copy of my edition of Mary Shelley's Frankenstein at my website: VollrathPublishing.com

Send us Fan MailToday I wanted to let you know where I've been and what to expect going forward, then offer my thoughts on a few topics.  Get a copy of my edition of Mary Shelley's Frankenstein at my website: VollrathPublishing.com

Send us Fan MailIn this episode of Canonball we discuss Volume II of "The Decline Of The West," which, subtitled "Perspectives Of World-History," was written by Oswald Spengler and published in 1922. Get a copy of my edition of Mary Shelley's Frankenstein at my website: VollrathPublishing.com

Send us Fan MailIn this episode of Canonball we discuss Volume I of "The Decline Of The West," which, subtitled "Form And Actuality," was written by Oswald Spengler and published in 1918. Get a copy of my edition of Mary Shelley's Frankenstein at my website: VollrathPublishing.comAlso do not hesitate to reach out using the contact form found there.

Send us Fan MailIn this episode of Canonball we discuss Volume III of "The Gulag Archipelago" by Aleksandr Solzhenitsyn, which was written between 1958 and 1968 and published in 1973.Get a copy of my edition of Mary Shelley's Frankenstein at my website: VollrathPublishing.comAlso do not hesitate to reach out using the contact form found there.

Send us Fan MailIn this episode of Canonball we discuss Volume II of "The Gulag Archipelago" by Aleksandr Solzhenitsyn, which was written between 1958 and 1968 and published in 1973.Here is a recording of Liebestod, from Tristan and Isolde, which I mentioned:https://youtu.be/07YFIWL_XSI?t=292Get a copy of my edition of Mary Shelley's Frankenstein at my website: VollrathPublishing.comAlso do not hesitate to reach out using the contact form found there.

Send us Fan MailIn this episode of Canonball we discuss Volume I of "The Gulag Archipelago" by Aleksandr Solzhenitsyn, which was published in 1973.One correction: Since recording this I have found reports that Solzhenitsyn did apply for U.S. citizenship in 1985. I cannot see that he ever received it, though his wife and children did. Get a copy of my edition of Mary Shelley's Frankenstein at my website: VollrathPublishing.comAlso do not hesitate to reach out using the contact form found there.

Send us Fan MailIn this episode of Canonball we discuss "Vanity Fair," which was written by William Makepeace Thackeray and first published in serialized form in 1847-1848. Get a copy of my edition of Mary Shelley's Frankenstein at my website: VollrathPublishing.comAlso do not hesitate to reach out using the contact form found there.

Send us Fan MailIn this episode of Canonball we discuss selected writings by George Orwell. I forgot to mention that Orwell was shot in the neck in the Spanish Civil War. Get a copy of my edition of Mary Shelley's Frankenstein at my website: VollrathPublishing.comAlso do not hesitate to reach out using the contact form found there.

Send us Fan MailIn this episode of Canonball we discuss "The Foundations Of Arithmetic," which was written by Gottlob Frege and published in 1884.Get a copy of my edition of Mary Shelley's Frankenstein at my website: VollrathPublishing.comAlso do not hesitate to reach out using the contact form found there.

Send us Fan MailIn this episode of Canonball we discuss "The Life And Opinions Of Tristram Shandy, Gentleman," which was written by Laurence Sterne and published in 1759.Get a copy of my edition of Mary Shelley's Frankenstein at my website: VollrathPublishing.comAlso do not hesitate to reach out using the contact form found there.

Send us Fan MailIn this episode of Canonball we discuss "Motley Stones" which was written by Adalbert Stifter and published in 1853.Get a copy of my edition of Mary Shelley's Frankenstein at my website: VollrathPublishing.comAlso do not hesitate to reach out using the contact form found there.

Send us Fan MailIn this episode of Canonball we discuss "Science And Method," which was written by Henri Poincare and published in 1908.Get a copy of my edition of Mary Shelley's Frankenstein at my website: VollrathPublishing.comAlso do not hesitate to reach out using the contact form found there.

Send us Fan MailIn this episode of Canonball we discuss "The Value Of Science," which was written by Henri Poincare and published in 1904.Get a copy of my edition of Mary Shelley's Frankenstein at my website: VollrathPublishing.comAlso do not hesitate to reach out using the contact form found there.

Send us Fan MailIn this episode of Canonball we discuss "Science And Hypothesis," which was written by Henri Poincare and published in 1902.Get a copy of my edition of Mary Shelley's Frankenstein at my website: VollrathPublishing.comAlso do not hesitate to reach out using the contact form found there.

Send us Fan MailIn this episode of Canonball we discuss "Notes From Underground," which was written by Fyodor Dostoevsky and published in 1864.Get a copy of my edition of Mary Shelley's Frankenstein at my website: VollrathPublishing.comAlso do not hesitate to reach out using the contact form found there.