Episodes 492
Avg. Duration 28m
Activity Declining
Apple Rating 4.9 (172)
Since Sep 2020
Latest Episode May 2026

Publishing Details

Schedule
Weekly
Format
Episodic
Consistency
26%
Hosting
feeds.captivate.fm

About This Podcast

Ever wanted to read Dante's Divine Comedy? Come along with us! We're not lost in the scholarly weeds. (Mostly.) We're strolling through the greatest work (to date) of Western literature. Join me, Mark Scarbrough, as I take on this masterpiece passage by passage. I'll give you my rough English translation, show you some of the interpretive knots in the lines, let you in on the 700 years of commentary, and connect Dante's work to our modern world. The pilgrim comes awake in a dark wood, then walks across the known universe. New episodes every Sunday and Wednesday.

Podcasting 2.0 Features

episode funding medium season

Explore Statistics

Recent Episodes

S2E261 An Update about PARADISO and WALKING WITH DANTE

May 28, 2026 2m

Here's just a brief episode about where I am and how the podcast will start again in about six weeks. Hang tight and we'll be walking . . . no, actually flying through the spheres of PARADISO in a…

S2E261 Walking With Dante is going on a short hiatus

Apr 30, 2026 3m Bonus

Hey there. We're going to pause our slow-walk for a couple of months as I get out from under chemotherapy. We've come to the end of PURGATORIO and it also seems natural that we rest a little before…

S2E260 Final Thoughts On PURGATORIO

Apr 26, 2026 19m

We've reached the end of our time on the great mountain of Purgatory . . . and in the great second canticle of COMEDY.Here are some final thoughts, an attempt to bring our time with this part of the…

S2E259 The Seven Addresses To The Reader In PURGATORIO

Apr 19, 2026 25m

Dante, the poet, steps out of the story seven times in PURGATORIO to address his reader directly--sometimes to spur the reader on to action, sometimes to put a bridle on the reader's intentions or…

S2E258 Dante's Theories Of Writing Across INFERNO and PURGATORIO

Apr 12, 2026 30m

As one of three sum-up episode to conclude our time on Mount Purgatory, this one’s about Dante’s conception of what he’s doing when he’s writing, outlined in nine selected passages from INFERNO and…

S2E257 All The Hopeful Ambiguity Of The Second Canticle: PURGATORIO, Canto XXXIII, Lines 124 - 145

Apr 08, 2026 19m

We come to the end of the second canticle, of PURGATORIO . . . and it includes all the ambiguity and humanness we've come to expect, plus hopeful notes for the journey ahead into Paradise.Dante…

S2E256 At Long Last, Matelda: PURGATORIO, Canto XXXIII, Lines 103 - 123

Apr 05, 2026 33m

The procession continues away from Lethe and farther into the Garden of Eden until they come to a dark, frigid spot that stops them . . . a curious moment in this innocent landscape.And it gets more…

S2E255 Images, Schools, Obscurities, And The Promise Of Clarity: PURGATORIO, Canto XXXIII, Lines 79 - 102

Apr 01, 2026 25m

After her final discourse in PURGATORIO, Beatrice and Dante enter into a brief conversation in which he admits he already has images stamped into his brain but he doesn't know what many of them mean,…

S2E254 In Which Pilgrimage Becomes Crusade: PURGATORIO, Canto XXXIII, Lines 61 - 78

Mar 29, 2026 29m

Beatrice concludes her monologue at the end of PURGATORIO with some dazzling metaphoric pyrotechnics, a slam on Dante's intellect, and a redefinition of this journey across the known universe. It's…

S2E253 Take Notes, Dante: PURGATORIO, Canto XXXIII, Lines 46 - 60

Mar 25, 2026 23m

Beatrice continues her discourse at the end of PURGATORIO by offering Dante classical examples of her own obscurity, Christian resonances for the very hope of writing, and a challenge for him to…

S2E252 Beatrice And Her Cryptic "Five Hundred Ten And Five": PURGATORIO, Canto XXXIII, Lines 25 - 45

Mar 22, 2026 30m

As Beatrice and Dante continue to walk through Eden, she begins the final discourse that will end PURGATORIO: a cryptic, apocalyptic vision of the world (or maybe just the church?) set right. But by…

S2E251 Walking With Beatrice In Eden: PURGATORIO, Canto XXXIII, Lines 1 - 24

Mar 18, 2026 29m

From tragedy to comedy, the apocalyptic vision in Canto XXXII has come to an end and Beatrice accepts Dante as her walking companion in Eden.A relatively easy passage begins the final canto of…

S2E250 Apocalypse Even In Eden, Part Two: PURGATORIO, Canto XXXII, Lines 109 - 160

Mar 15, 2026 25m

In the last episode, we talked through some of the "superficial" factors in the grand apocalyptic vision in Eden: its structure, some diction cues, even a few rifts or cracks in its flow.In this…

S2E249 Apocalypse Even In Eden, Part One: PURGATORIO, Canto XXXII, Lines 109 - 160

Mar 11, 2026 28m

Dante is now ready for the final apocalyptic vision of PURGATORIO . . . and in the last place we might expect it: in that bastion of innocence and purity, the Garden of Eden.In seven vignettes, Dante…

S2E248 A Brief Introduction To Women In The High Middle Ages

Mar 08, 2026 21m

Before we continue with Beatrice (and even the young woman who tends the Garden of Eden), let's stop and talk all too briefly about the roles and available places for women in Dante's day, the high…

S2E247 Beatrice, Changed; Dante, Panicked; And The Reader, De-centered: PURGATORIO, Canto XXXII, Lines 70 - 108

Mar 04, 2026 34m

Dante wakes back up from his unexpected sleep to find that the grand parade is heading off into the forest (or maybe the skies). He's in a panic that Beatrice has left, too, although the young woman…

S2E246 Asleep In Eden: PURGATORIO, Canto XXXII, Lines 49 - 69

Mar 01, 2026 26m

The griffin pulls the chariot or cart up to the denuded tree--the "widowed" tree--and the tree regenerates into a color reminiscent of other moments in PURGATORIO. But which one exactly?We're…

S2E245 Games Of Interpretation In Eden: PURGATORIO, Canto XXXII, Lines 28 - 48

Feb 25, 2026 28m

The griffin rolls his chariot up to the foot of a denuded tree as Beatrice descends out of her ride. The symbolism (the allegories, in fact) become increasingly murky, difficult to parse, especially…

S2E244 Sound The Retreat In Eden: PURGATORIO, Canto XXXII, Lines 1 - 27

Feb 22, 2026 33m

Face to face with Beatrice, the pilgrim Dante is ready for more revelation. Problem is, even after Lethe he's still doing things wrong and must be corrected by the women around the griffin's…

S2E243 A Read-Through Of PURGATORIO, Cantos XXXII - XXXIII

Feb 18, 2026 21m

As we've done across the second canticle of Dante's masterpiece, COMEDY, we're taking some time to read through the final two cantos of PURGATORIO, XXXII and XXXIII.I'll read my rough English…

Frequently Asked Questions

How many episodes does Walking With Dante have?

Walking With Dante has published 492 episodes since September 2020, covering topics in Arts, Books.

Is Walking With Dante still active?

Walking With Dante is currently declining with new episodes weekly. Average episode length is 28m.

Similar Podcasts