PODCAST · education
Podcast Benomtad
by Ben Lundy
Open, philosophically-oriented conversations about almost any topic with almost anyone, but focusing on culture, spirituality and personal growth.
Episodes
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Grimm’s “The Three Snake-Leaves:” Bewitched by Beauty
A poor man’s son leaves his large family with great sorrow so he will not be a burden. He joins the army of an emperor and turns the tide of a large battle and is given treasures and the chance to marry the princess. She has a strange requirement, however: whoever marries her must agree to be...
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Hamlet & the Boy Who Could Not Shudder (Clip)
These rational characters do not accept what others say, in their fear, and go forth. Hamlet's story continues with his indecision, but this boy is oriented to action. (From a discussion on the Brothers Grimm’s “The Youth Who Went Forth to Learn What Fear Was”) Thank you for watching! Please see...
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Sticking Your Head in the Sand (Clip)
Choosing to be Oblivious: Zombies may be a warning from our unconscious. "The danger of the zombie is the danger of unconsciousness to life's problems." --Jordan Peterson The etymology of monster is "omen, divine portent," and the fact that zombies are a monster of our time must be reflected on....
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Grimm’s “The Youth Who Went Forth to Learn What Fear Was”
Who Do You Think You Are? Anyone interested in the education of the individual might enjoy a few minutes with this light, yet important tale. There is a folktale trope of the dummling who, useless at home, ventures forth to find his fate. This story’s idiot seems to lack something fundamental–the...
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Purposelessness & the Zombie Myth
The zombie might be a sign that people feel a lack of purpose in the world. Ian and I discuss this idea from John Vervaeke et. al. in their book. We go on to talk about developing meaning in life through getting back to one’s true nature, as we discuss the aspects of the zombie and its story....
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The Kingdom Protects Her from Her Father (Clip)
In the Brothers Grimm’s “Fur-of-All-Kinds,” the princess demands a fur made of all the kingdom’s animals for a marriage gift from her widowed father. It doesn’t prevent his wicked proposal, but she takes it with her on her escape. We see this as psychological protection from trauma. Later in the...
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Grimm's “Hans Hedgehog:” The Rejected Becomes the Cornerstone
A wealthy, childless peasant feels something is missing and is mocked for not having a child. He wishes, “I wish to have a child, even if it is a hedgehog!” He and his wife are given one, and they have it baptised but do not give it a godfather. The priest says its quills prevent its sleeping in…
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Zombies, Meaning, and Ritual
Zombies are everywhere in our culture, in movies and shows, and even in real life (on zombie walks). They’ve gone from being an object of horror to one of fascination, one that seems to reflect something back to us. In “Zombies in Western Culture,” Ch. 2, Vervaeke et. al. discuss the change from...
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A Dying Queen’s Wish Poisons Her Family’s Future (Clip)
In Grimm’s Fur-of-All-Kinds, the beautiful, dying queen makes her king promise that he will only remarry another as fair as she. Why does she do this? She wants to live on in his memory, and this desire powers an image that with the king becomes an obsession. An obsession that darkens the whole...
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Xenia: Ancient Greek Guest-Friendship (Clip)
This ancient Greek concept was a big part of their culture as well as Homer’s “Odyssey,” and according to translator Emily Wilson, the poem can be treated as a study in xenia. It facilitated travel in a time with far less safety, no hotels, etc. There was a series of actions to the custom…
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Our Dual Nature and the Culture Wars (Clip)
Humans participate both in the animal and the divine nature, and I think this is behind much of the culture wars. We veer between overemphasizing the divine or, especially, our immanent nature. This reminds Ian of Odysseus’ need to bear his sufferings. We, on the other hand, often try to find the...
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Sing, Muse, Remember the MAN Odysseus (Clip)
Homer’s second epic starts with an incantation of a man, a man who rejected godhood with alluring Calypso, a man who pined for years to be at home and hearth with his family. This is in contrast to the rage of Achilles that begins the first epic. Odysseus’ not forgetting through all the twists…
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Xenia: Odysseus' Blessing and Curse
In Homer’s “Odyssey,” Book 7, Odysseus, who has at this point lost all his men and washes up alone on the Scherian beach, has through his wit and bearing, and with the goddess Athena’s help, been accepted into the royal Phaeacian court. Here, he throws himself at the mercy of Queen Arete, and…
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Beauty is Sus to Us (Clip)
Modern German philosophers like Marx, Nietzsche and Freud have spread the "hermeneutics of suspicion" in our culture. We have a deep suspicion of appearances and, therefore, beautiful things (the beauty of which is often seen as merely on the surface or subjective). This is connected to the...
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Odysseus Appreciates Nausicaa's Beauty (Clip)
Pornography participates in beauty, but also is consumptive, and especially, unappreciative. This is contrasted to Odysseus' paise of Nausicaa in his speech to her, without the ritual supplication at her knees. Perhaps in trying to own beauty, we lose it. (From a discussion on Odysseus, Nausicaa…
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Beauty Herself Greets Odysseus (Clip)
Odysseus, when he sees nubile and beautiful Nausicaa when he washes up on shore at the beginning of Book 6, does not try to capture her in any way. This in a time with raiding parties and the famous r*pes of ancient myths. Ian links this true appreciation of her beauty to what he needs to go on…
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Odysseus, Nausicaa, & Beauty’s Education
Man is he who suffers, and Odysseus is the man “of twists and turns,” the builder and destroyer, the journeyer trying to reach his beloved homeland. Here Ian and I discuss what draws this man forward at his nadir in Book VI of Homer’s sequel epic. Beauty, sing to me of that man of twists and…
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Grimm's Fur-of-All-Kinds (Allerleirauh)
A dying queen demands that her husband remarry only someone as beautiful as she. After the mourning period, his advisors scramble around to find a new monarch, but the king’s eye alights on his very own daughter. She demands abstrusse wedding gifts, but they are manufactured. In desperation, she...
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Banishing the Lion from Modern Thought (Clip)
Why do we like folktales and myths? I think one reason is that they help us learn to pay attention to instinct. It’s not that I don’t think rationality is important–it is a key to a wise life. But following John Vervaeke, who sees rationality as much larger than propositional logic, and more how,...
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Save the Suffering Animals! Grimm's "The Hut in the Forest" Summary and Discussion
The Virtue of Beauty, the Beauty of Virtue: A king is cursed to live as an old man with his servant– now animal attendants–until they are saved by one with kindness for all life. A poor woodcutter goes hungry while his three daughters get lost in the wood. The birds of the forest bewilder them to...
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Emptiness Eating Itself (Clip)
In “Fight Club,” the protagonist tries to find meaning in life through filling his life with purchases. But that doesn’t give him fullness–he feels dead. So he goes to cancer support groups, and then group violence in fight clubs. The zombie culture is a feverish emptiness eating itself. It has…
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Why are Zombies Everywhere?
Zombies are everywhere in our culture, in movies and shows, and even in real life, on zombie walks. They’ve gone from being an object of horror to one of fascination, one that seems to reflect something back to us. In “Zombies in Western Culture,” zombies are analyzed as a myth of Western culture...
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God is Turned Down (Clip)
At the beginning of the story, the man has had his 13th child, and in a panic he runs out into the street looking for a godfather, and God shows up. He turns him down, pontificating to the Almighty, and showing the creator his puny reasoning and narrow focus. (From a discussion on the Brothers’...
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The Power of Foresight in Grimm's "Godfather Death"
A man works very hard but there is no one left to ask to be the godfather as his 13th child is on the way. He rushes out into the street and is approached by three prospects. The first is God, whom he rejects because of the unfair assortment of lots, the second, the Devil, he rejects because of…
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Corruption in the Garden (Clip)
The queen bathes in the stream in the garden with her angelic babe, a scene of pure life and innocence. Into this scene slinks the power-hungry cook, who manipulates the scene to look like that of a beastly killing, leading to the imprisonment of the mother and his absconding with the young...
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"The Pink (Carnation)," by the Brothers Grimm
A queen was without child, and an angel came to her and told her she would have a child who would have the power of wishing. After she had the child, the cook, who knew of the son’s ability, staged the son’s death and blamed the queen, who was imprisoned by the king for seven years. The cook, who...
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Death Reveals the True Bride
When the false bride finally arrives, the true bride again almost dies. Ian sees this as a kind of initiation, a test to see if he will finally know who she is and remember his promise--and who he really is. (From a discussion on the Brothers’ Grimm’s “The Twelve Huntsmen”) Thank you for…
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On the Brothers Grimm's "The Twelve Huntsmen:" The Guys of Truth
Death of the King A Prince, betrothed to his Beloved, is called away, for his father the King is dying. He gives his ring to his love and says he will marry her when he is king. The Promise At his father’s deathbed, bereaved, he promises to marry the King’s chosen bride for him. He forgets his...
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People are Alienated from Religion and the Real (Clip)
I summarize John Vervaeke (& Allan Bloom) on problems of religion in modernism. They often focus on identity, dogma, or stand for nothing. People don't go to it because it does not speak to them. So why are people turning more to Orthodox Christianity? (From a discussion on Religious Revival and...
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Religious Revival for Cultural Renewal
Is there a religious revival in America? We used data from Pew to answer this question, and we talk about cultural malaise and how religion falls on deaf ears, and how it may speak to us again. Chapters: 00:00 Introduction 00:30 Meditation & Contemplation 10:09 Key Questions about the Religious...
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But the Divine is Always with You (Clip)
The Carnation is the Prince: The carnation the heroine burns at the beginning of the story IS the prince at the end. He requires her to speak, but she freezes up, so he has to go into a stone... So she has to go through trials until she can freely express. But he is always there when she is ready...
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Perfection in Narcissus (Clip)
The Echo of Orpheus: Narcissus' repulse of Echo reminds me of another vain god, Orpheus, master of music. Both end up being served by poetic justice. We see perfectionism in this, and in the refusal to join in, to dance in life, leads to destruction. (A Clip from the Episode “The Myth of…
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Perfectionism, Tragedy, and Creative Blocks
We read and discuss the Spanish Folktale “The Carnation Youth,” F. Scott Fitzgerald’s tragedy both in life and in “The Great Gatsby,” and Ian’s struggles with the creative writing process. Chapters: 00:00 Introduction 00:12 Reading of “The Carnation Youth” 10:05 Letting the Perfect be the Enemy…
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Narcissus’ Pool is the Mind (Clip)
This pool is a metaphor for the mind. But there is a "healthy narcissism" that is developmentally-appropriate. (A Clip from the Episode “The Myth of Narcissus: Seeing Only Oneself”) Thank you for watching! Please check out: Audio episode:...
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Why Narcissists Don’t Seek Help (Clip)
When you lack a feeling of substance, you need to be propped up by others. (A Clip from the Episode “The Myth of Narcissus: Seeing Only Oneself”) Thank you for watching! Please check out: Audio episode: https://benomtad.podbean.com/e/the-myth-of-narcissus-seeing-only-oneself/ The Podcast…
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The Myth of Narcissus: Seeing Only Oneself
Echo was cursed to only repeat what others had said, and fell in love with Narcissus, who shunned her. She wasn’t the only one Narcissus treated coldly. He found himself in a grove with a pool of water, and, falling deeply in love with what he saw when he bent over it, he was mesmerized until he...
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Grimm's "The Seven Ravens:" Sacrifice for Family
A father had seven sons, but no daughters, and wished for and finally got one. His sons went to get water for the Christening, but dropped the bucket into it. They did not know what to do, so they stayed out, and the father in his frustration wished them to become ravens, and so they did, and…
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The Empty, Ugly Palace (Clip)
When you've got your basic needs met, like the father does when he takes shelter in Beast's castle, one looks for transcendence, including beauty. This is another story of the emptiness of the palace symbol. (A Clip from the Episode “Beauty and the Beast: The Need for Beauty”) Thank you for...
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"Beauty and the Beast:" The Need for Beauty
A rich merchant with three sons and three daughters– the eldest daughters hold out on marriage to a Duke or Earl, but the youngest, aptly-named Beauty, does so to stay with her father a few more years. The merchant falls in his fortunes, and they have to move to the country. The men apply...
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Finally Gaining Sight (Clip)
Hans, beset from childhood with violence from his parents, finally makes it in life, and is to be the king of his wife’s town. However, the people riot when the learn he is blind, and he and the princess are banished. Only when they come to a stream and learn from a blind mouse how to cure his...
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A Fairy Tale of A Good but Endangered Boy
VonSchönwerth’s “The Knight’s Sash” is a story about an intrepid son without a father, who continually does his duty, eventually wins love and devotion. We summarize and then discuss the story. A hunter’s widow and her son, Hans, were always wandering around, but they espied a castle in the…
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Acceptance of Folly & Death
LL and I do a short breathing meditation, then a zoom out contemplation. After checking in about recent challenges, we discuss Marcus Aurelius’s Meditations, Book 12, Entry 36, the last in the book, seemingly shortly before his own death, which discusses one’s place in the cosmos and the relation...
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The Bearskin and Vulnerability (Clip)
The Gold Child goes into the dangerous forest full of thieves and conceals his skin with a bearskin, and passes through unmolested.The Gold Child goes into the dangerous forest, full of thieves, and conceals his skin with a bearskin, and passes through unmolested. In life, in spiritual…
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"The Gold Children," by the Brothers Grimm
A fisherman catches a gold fish, which makes a deal with him: he’ll have a nice big house if he lets the fish go, on the condition he tell no one how he got the house. The man objects: and what’ll I have to eat? The fish says the cupboards will be full. Back home, his wife, decked out in finery,...
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Ignoring the Feminine and Dragged Down to the Depths (Clip)
In the fairy tale time logic, the fisherman's son practically becomes a priest after he is born, and after he leaves the house he doesn't see his parents again. But he is not done with the watery bargain he is doomed within from birth. When he makes it to the castle, he is shown in royal garment,...
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The Brothers Grimm’s Little Red Riding Hood
“Little Red Cap:” A little girl, beloved by her grandmother and known for her red cap, is sent by her mother to bring her grandmother a meal. Little Cap assures her mother she’ll follow all directions, and goes off on the trail. She is not afraid of the wolf when she sees him, and he peppers her...
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The Mermaid’s Manipulation (Clip)
The mermaid's deal with the fisherman: she gives him an abundant catch without telling him, and then takes it away unless he'll agree to her demand. In order to get his livelihood back he must sacrifice his child to her. He appeals to a higher authority in a Christian society, and this forstalls...
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Ancient Greek Theater was Nothing Like Our Own (Clip)
Why Dionysus May Be the Patron of Theater: A well-told story will shake you and has the power of psychological transformation. A death to your former self. A communal experience with a large part of those you grew up with and knew well, seeing a story that you knew deeply, with the reflection of...
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Von Schönwerth’s “The Red Silk Ribbon”
A fisherman employed by a Count that paid him well for how big his catches were suddenly stopped catching fish and was let go. Sat out on water, weeping. Mermaid came to him and said she was the one who gave him all the fish and then took them away, and that if he wanted more he’d have to give…
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Communism and Strong Men (Clip)
We talk of the danger of applying strict logic to every situation, without using discernment. But we live in a world with a lot of mystery to our brains. So you must have wisdom to best know how, when, and how much to apply logic. Our conversation meanders to Lois Lowry’s “The Giver,” where there...
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ABOUT THIS SHOW
Open, philosophically-oriented conversations about almost any topic with almost anyone, but focusing on culture, spirituality and personal growth.
HOSTED BY
Ben Lundy
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How many episodes does Podcast Benomtad have?
Podcast Benomtad currently has 100 episodes available on PodParley. New episodes are automatically indexed when they're published to the podcast feed.
What is Podcast Benomtad about?
Open, philosophically-oriented conversations about almost any topic with almost anyone, but focusing on culture, spirituality and personal growth.
How often does Podcast Benomtad release new episodes?
Podcast Benomtad has 100 episodes. Check the episode list to see recent publication dates and frequency.
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Who hosts Podcast Benomtad?
Podcast Benomtad is created and hosted by Ben Lundy.
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