PODCAST · education
The Canon Ball
by The Canon Ball
We try to read and discuss ALL the books in the western canon! Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
Episodes
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33. Lyrical Ballads: 1805 Edition
Don't call it a comeback: Claude and Dan return after a lengthy hiatus with... Lyrical Ballads! But THIS is Wordsworth's extensively revised, reordered, and largely de-Coleridged 1805 edition. We go deep teasing out Wordsworth's tangled erotic sentiment, discuss the place of the Americas in the…
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32. Lyrical Ballads: Tintern Abbey
And we come to the conclusion of our read of the first version of Lyrical Ballads. Want to know what Claude has been on about for the past few years with the term ontological/epistemological crisis? Here’s your answer with a close exploration of Wordsworth’s “Tintern Abbey,” the poem that closes...
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31. Lyrical Ballads: William Wordsworth
In this episode, Claude and Dan continue their journey into Lyrical Ballads and cover the varied sallies of William Wordsworth. Excerpts from uncompleted plays, touching ghost story poems, further streetside harangues from beaten down people, there’s something for everyone and always a lot more...
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30. The Rime of the Ancient Mariner
We’re one poem in to Lyrical Ballads and by god is it a wild one! We’re reading through and contemplating Coleridge’s “Rime of the Ancyent Marinere” (1798 spelling), one of the weirder gothic poems in the English language and one hell of a way to start a poetic project. Why would a mariner shoot…
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BONUS: Marvell - Intelligent Speech Preview
It’s an Intelligent Speech miracle! Not only will Daniel and Claude discuss Borges, Claude will also appear on a panel with Ray Belli of Words for Granted, Kevin Stroud of History of English, and Dan Morris of Tracing the Path on Lost Connections in Language and Literature. Claude’s part of the...
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BONUS: Borges - Intelligent Speech Preview
It’s that time of year again. The Intelligent Speech Conference is just around the corner! The theme this year is “Escape,” and out of sheer perversion Daniel and Claude are going to discuss the works of Jorge Luis Borges, a writer mostly known for writing tales involving inescapable intellectual...
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BONUS: Valentine's Day 2021 - John Donne
Dear Listeners: will you be our valentine? In this special romantic bonus episode, Claude and Dan take a look at the romantic poetry of John Donne. There is even more hidden meaning and beauty than just the superficial double entendres and suggestive verse. The Canon Ball mingles the erotic and…
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29. Poetics
Claude takes Dan back to school for a crash course in poetics. We take a dive into the structure and rhythm of poetry, how people who study poetry talk about it, and what the seasoned poetry reader should keep an ear out for. Learn to tell your iambs from your dactyls! The Canon Ball is a member…
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28. Lyrical Ballads (The Background)
We did it! Out of the Faustian Aristocratic Age fire and into pure, straight up, uncut romanticism by way of Lyrical Ballads, the joint production of William Wordsworth and Samuel Taylor Coleridge. Did Lyrical Ballads break new ground? … no. Did it shatter the poetic norms of British poetry all…
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27. Faust - Part 2 (Acts 4 & 5)
This is it! The final two acts of Faust Part II! It’s the surprisingly straight-forward, if somewhat fragmented, acts IV and V of Goethe’s life’s work. Will Faust be saved? Yes! Will we applaud that fact? No! Will we get sidetracked with a disgusted and frustrated meditation on Faust’s...
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BONUS: Halloween 2020 - Poe, Freud, and "The Tell-Tale Heart"
Boo! Did we scare you? Well, ‘tis the season. We’re back with an extra special bonus episode for Halloween on Poe, Freud, and “The Tell-Tale Heart.” The Canon Ball is a member of the Agora Podcast Network, and as part of our embrace of all things creepy in the month of October, the network has...
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26. Faust - Part 2 (Act 3)
And here we are with Faust Part 2, Act 3, in which Daniel and Claude make much of a little. The act may be short, but there’s a lot to say with a long digression on Byron. The Canon Ball is a member of the Agora Podcast Network, and as part of our embrace of all things creepy in the month of...
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25. Faust - Part 2 (Act 2)
Ok, major sexual content warning on this one. And if that’s not going to get you to listen, we don’t know what will. We’re discussing the metaphysical ramifications of a floating, glowing, sentient jar of semen which must mean that we’ve made it to Act 2 of Goethe’s Faust Part 2. Come for the...
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Intelligent Speech Conference - Preview
We interrupt our Faust-a-palooza to bring you a sneak preview of our presentation for the upcoming Intelligent Speech Conference, a day-long virtual conference on June 27, featuring education and historical podcasters presenting on their fields of expertise. For all the details on how to attend,...
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24. Faust - Part 2 (Part 1)
Note: Due to technical difficulties, there's some interference and muffled audio on Daniel's side of the conversation but it shouldn't disrupt things too much. We'll make sure it's sorted out by the next episode. Some days you just want to pass out in a pleasant field and have all your major...
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23. Faust - Part 1 (Part 2)
Listener, have you ever been violently ambivalent about a work? So overwhelmed by your lack of ability to come up with a sensible reading that you doubt your own ability even to take a side? Well, we have… So here’s Faust Part 1 part 2! Ummm… maybe put the kids to bed for this one. We get a…
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BONUS: Space is the Place Ep. 1.5
In this very special episode of Space is the Place, we're thrilled to be joined by Pete Johannsen of the science fiction podcast Podside Picnic for a rough and ready outline of two centuries of SF history and a glance at some of the works we'll be reading during this series. Hosted on Acast. See...
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22. Faust - Part 1 (Part 1)
Well, we’ll be damned, it’s the first part of our dive into Goethe’s Faust. Technically this is part one of Faust Part 1. We cover everything from the three introductions to the beginning of the Gretchen plot. Essentially, this is the episode where we get bogged down in Goethe’s...
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BONUS: Space is the Place Ep. 1 - Jules Verne
In this inaugural episode of the Canon Ball side project Space Is the Place, Daniel and G.G. take a look at the beginnings of science fiction with Jules Verne's From Earth to the Moon. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
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21: A Brief Introduction to Goethe
This is it! The beginning of our Faustathon! This is big and it’s gonna take a few months, so we figured we’d start with some background information on Goethe, the man behind Faust. Like with Cervantes, the more you know about the context, the deeper and richer the content. Fortunately, Claude…
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BONUS: Agoraphobia 2019
In a special Halloween episode for Agoraphobia, Claude and Daniel discuss the origin and development of Gothic literature and the Goth aesthetic. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
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20. Samuel Johnson - Part 3
Finally! The last of our three-part series on the works of Samuel Johnson! And this is where it gets good. It’s Johnson the editor and literary critic, and despite some of his age-bound tastes and notions of quality, the actual activities in which he engages have changed relatively little. It’s...
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BONUS: Notes on Notes Toward a Supreme Fiction
We have a special treat while you’re waiting for us to get back to Samuel Johnson. A few weeks ago, Claude presented at the Intelligent Speech Conference in New York. He intended to record the speech and release it as an episode, but the recording didn’t quite come out as hoped. He still has the...
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BONUS: Intelligent Speech Conference - Contest Results
The results are in! Want to know what Claude is speaking on at the Intelligent Speech Conference in New York on June 29th? Give this quick episode a listen and you’ll find out! The Canon Ball is part of the Agora Podcast Network. If you’re already a fan of other shows on the roster, come to New...
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BONUS: Big Announcements
On today’s episode… Special Announcements! Side projects! Polls! Walking tours! And a conference! Just listen… it’ll all make sense… Hopefully… The Canon Ball is part of the Agora Podcast Network. If you’re already a fan of other shows on the roster, come to New York on June 29th for the...
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BONUS: Gene Wolfe - A Personal Appreciation
On this bonus episode, Daniel discusses science fiction author Gene Wolfe. If you’re online check us out at thecanonballpodcast.wordpress.com, find us on Facebook @TheCanonBallPodcast, and on Twitter @CanonBallPod. The Canon Ball is a member of the Agora podcast network. Check out some of the…
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19. Samuel Johnson - Part 2
Sometimes older literary works provide fascinating insights into their historical moments and into our ongoing quest to understand the human. And sometimes they’re dull as dirt. On this week’s episode, part two of our Samuel Johnson three-parter, we finally hit a major dud with Johnson’s…
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18. Samuel Johnson - Part 1
Admittedly the readings for this episode were a little dry, but we managed to have a good conversation about the life, times, and literary enterprises of Samuel Johnson. In this first part of our three part series we look at his journalism, specifically a selection of his writings in The Idler…
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17. Paradise Lost - Part 2
So this is it: the second and final part of our journey into Paradise Lost. This is a little less structured than our usual episodes, but what it lacks in organization it makes up for in personal reactions, digressions on the theological weirdness of the text, and discussions of the way the text...
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16. Paradise Lost - Part 1
Can two well-trained autodidacts make it through a discussion of Paradise Lost in one hour? Hell no! But we try! On what is now the first of a two-part episode on Milton’s puritan epic we tackle the background of the poem, a bit about the epic tradition, and some of the context for the writing....
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BONUS: Puritanism
With Claude away on paternity leave, Daniel welcomes Ben Jacobs (host of Wittenberg to Westphalia) to discuss puritanism. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
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BONUS: American Scandal - Preview Episode
The Canon Ball and the Agora Podcast Network are proud to present this special preview episode of Wondery's American Scandal. For more, visit wondery.com or find American Scandal wherever you get podcasts. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
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15. Don Quixote - Book 2
It’s Don Quixote Book 2, all of the mind-bending reality questioning of a Christopher Nolan film and none of the portentousness! Daniel and Claude and Sancho and the Don join forces to face down our delusions and accept that the “real world” may just be yet another permutation of our individual...
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BONUS: American Innovations - Preview Episode
The Agora Podcast Network and The Canon Ball podcast is proud to present this special preview episode of a new American Innovations series from Wondery. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
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14. Don Quixote - Book 1
And we’re finally on the road with book one of Don Quixote. When you look around and realize you’re just a burnt out old man why not reinvent yourself as your personal ideal? Is that any more ridiculous than inadvertently basing every move in your life on other narratives? Daniel and I discuss...
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13. Cervantes and Don Quixote
And here we go, sallying officially forth in the first of our series on Don Quixote! In this episode, we commence with some background discussion of Spain in Cervantes’ time, writing in Cervantes’ time, and the genres that went into the making of what Claude is very close to arguing is officially...
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BONUS: American Innovations - Preview Episode
The Canon Ball and the Agora Podcast Network are proud to present this preview episode of the upcoming Wondery podcast American Innovations. Listen to the full episode on Apple Podcasts or wherever you get podcasts. Find out more at wondery.com/shows/american-innovations/ Hosted on Acast. See...
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12. Don Quixote (w/ guest Chris Ludovici)
It’s our most quixotic episode yet! In that it’s an episode that’s only tangentially about Don Quixote! While Daniel and I get our materials together to tackle Cervantes, I have a talk with Chris Ludovici, author of the novel The Minors, about his experiences with Quixote and the canon. It’s a...
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11. Montaigne - Part 3
It’s our third and final episode on Montaigne! So what does an Epicurean think of marriage? What’s the middle way in the middle of a civil war? Why are rugged individualists like Emerson and Nietzsche such total plagiarists? And how exactly should one execute a bowel movement? Montaigne has the...
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10. Montaigne - Part 2
On this episode we do a deep dive into the longest of Montaigne's essays, the Apology for Raymond Sebond! And boy do we get confused! Is Montaigne a Pyrrhonist? Is Pyrrhonism a form of deconstruction? Are Montaigne's politics regressive? Are Montaigne's politics progressive? Do we answer any of...
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9. Montaigne - Part 1
On this episode of the Canon Ball Daniel and Claude get overly personal (appropriately enough) as we begin our deep dive into Montaigne’s essays! Could Montaigne, a man who shut himself in a tower to read all of what was considered the canonical texts of his day and think through their effects on...
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BONUS: American History Tellers - Preview Episode
An introduction to a new American history podcast, with a short preview of their series on the Cold War. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
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8. Montaigne (in brief)
Daniel takes another quick break while we get out reading of Montaigne together. In his stead we have Matt Shifflet returning to give us some insights into how to read Montaigne (and maybe how not to...). As an added bonus, the original podcastnik Travis J. Dow of the History of Germany podcast...
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7. The Misanthrope and Tartuffe
Daniel returns from paternity leave to join Claude as they dive back into Moliere and discuss The Misanthrope and Tartuffe. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
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6. Moliere
Daniel takes some time off for paternity leave so Claude interviews theater historian Matt Shifflet about Moliere and the history of the French theatrical world. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
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5. Paradiso
Join us for our first official episode on the Agora podcast network as Daniel and Claude try to get a view of the greatest of great beyonds. And there's crusades! And be sure to check out some of the other great podcasts on the network. In particular, try out Tiny Vampires with Raven Forrest. Got…
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4. Purgatorio
In which Daniel and Claude atone for their sins and try to figure out what happened to Virgil. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
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3. Inferno
In which Daniel and Claude begin a three part series on Dante! Let's go straight to hell! Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
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2. Chaucer
In which Daniel saves Claude's bacon with his intricate knowledge of ancient church law! Join us for a discussion of Chaucer's Canterbury Tales with extensive commentary on the why's and wherefore's of a church pardon. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
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1. Introductions
It's the Canon Ball: a podcast attempt to read ALL the books in Harold Bloom's list in the appendix of his book The Western Canon. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
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Frequently Asked Questions
How many episodes does The Canon Ball have?
The Canon Ball currently has 50 episodes available on PodParley. New episodes are automatically indexed when they're published to the podcast feed.
What is The Canon Ball about?
We try to read and discuss ALL the books in the western canon! Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
How often does The Canon Ball release new episodes?
The Canon Ball has 50 episodes. Check the episode list to see recent publication dates and frequency.
Where can I listen to The Canon Ball?
You can listen to The Canon Ball on PodParley by clicking any episode. We provide an embedded audio player for direct listening, and you can also subscribe via your preferred podcast app using the RSS feed.
Who hosts The Canon Ball?
The Canon Ball is created and hosted by The Canon Ball.
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