Episodes 299
Avg. Duration 56m
Activity Highly Active
Apple Rating 4.9 (4,450)
Since Nov 2020
Latest Episode Jun 2026

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Schedule
Weekly
Format
Episodic
Consistency
44%
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About This Podcast

The classical education you never knew you were missing. Join scholar and writer Spencer Klavan on a tour through the great works of the West. In a world gone mad, we're not alone: the great men and women who went before us have wisdom to guide us. With their help, we can recover truth, beauty, and the stuff that matters.

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Recent Episodes

Dante's Inferno, Episode 5: Can Pagans Be Saved?

Jun 12, 2026 1h 10m

Hell is murky. Today we enter limbo, which is technically the least painful section of hell but actually leaves me with some of the toughest questions in the poem. What does Dante make--what do…

Dante's Inferno, Episode 4: Nothing Is Very Strong

May 22, 2026 1h 10m

ABANDON ALL HOPE, YE WHO ENTER HERE: We've made it at last to the gates of hell, and we're on our way to the river of Acheron. On the way, we'll meet the "neutrals" and the cowards—those who never…

Dante's Inferno, Episode 3: Lady of the Mind

May 01, 2026 1h 2m

Where can I find a woman like...Dante's girl? On this episode of Young Heretics, we finally get the high-fallutin' invocation of the Muses we've come to expect from any epic poem. But it's not…

BONUS: J.J. Kimche on Science and Religion

Apr 24, 2026 1h 2m

I'm very pleased to introduce a new Young Heretics feature. Since I've been teaching at the University of Austin, Texas, I've had the chance to get to know some brilliant, energetic, and charismatic…

Dante's Inferno, Episode 2: The Poet and the Beasts

Apr 17, 2026 1h 4m

Lions, and wolves, and leopards...oh my! Dante the pilgrim is balanced on a knife-edge, tipping over into the start of a new century, a new period of life, a new world. It's creation and crucifixion…

S4E1 Dante's Inferno, Episode 1: Middle-Aged Heretics in Hell

Apr 03, 2026 1h 3m

Welcome to Young Heretics, the classical education you didn't know you were missing. It's Good Friday...in the year 1300. And also now! Because Dante's Divine Comedy is a poem for all time and our…

The Second Annual Inkling Awards

Jan 30, 2026 1h 1m

Welcome back!! Happy 2026!! After a holiday hiatus, we're starting the year off strong with the Second Annual Inkling Awards for Literary Excellence. As an exciting new term of teaching kicks off for…

Adventures in Old English: The History and Meaning of Advent

Dec 19, 2025 1h 3m

It's the most wonderful time of the year: that's right, the Lent of St. Martin! Okay okay, Christmas is the most wonderful time of the year, but the lead-up--known as the season of Advent--is an…

Is This the End of the Aeneid?

Oct 31, 2025 1h 4m

It's time to talk about the shocking, the dramatic, the THRILLING and also, the kind of confusing end of Virgil's Aeneid. What a journey it's been! The story is never truly over, but as we leave…

Doin' It Live

Oct 17, 2025 1h 11m

The planets are aligning, the moment is almost here, the fates are sealed...or are they?? Today, in our penultimate episode, right as Aeneas looks poised to take up the mantle of his destiny and live…

Aeneas Gets a Hot Latina Baddie

Oct 06, 2025 1h 8m

Today on Young Heretics: a violent and unjust seizure of indigenous land!!! At least, according to Juno and the Furies, goddesses of retribution and blood guilt. Actually, the situation in Rome and…

THE PROPHECY HAS BEEN FULFILLED

Sep 15, 2025 1h 3m

...And also, pizza. Kind of. This might be one of the coolest parts of Virgil ever, and even though I've been reading the Aeneid since high school, I feel like I only just figured it out. One of the…

Make Love, Not War

Aug 29, 2025 1h 2m

And now for something completely different. The Odyssey portion of our tour is over, and the Iliad portion will now begin. But wait! Wasn't the Iliad a poem about war? And isn't Aeneas supposed to do…

Augustus to Virgil: Are you Mad at Me? 🥺

Aug 15, 2025 1h 8m

It's time we finally talked about the elephant in the room: does Virgil actually like Augustus? Or is he just pretending? This doesn't seem to have been much of a question in the ancient world--the…

Is There Life Out There?

Aug 01, 2025 1h 6m

Everyone, everywhere, thinks about the afterlife. If you think you don't, you're wrong: you do. Because what you believe about life after death is an expression of how you think the universe is…

Do You Even Prophesy, Bro?

Jul 18, 2025 1h 7m

One of the West's great recurring characters, the Sibyl of Cumae, takes center stage today. Deranged, holy, prophetic, and apparently totally jacked, she guided Rome throughout its history and now…

ARE YOU NOT ENTERTAINED???

Jun 27, 2025 1h 13m

If, like me, you're still sore about what they did to the Gladiator franchise, let this episode be part of your healing journey. It's certainly part of Aeneas': with the fleet grounded back in…

I Will Go Down with This Ship

Jun 10, 2025 1h 8m

There are some indelible scenes inscribed forever into the psyche of the West, and the death of Dido is one of them. When William Congreve wrote that "Heav'n has no Rage, like Love to Hatred turn'd,…

Once in Royal David's City, ft. Doron Spielman

May 29, 2025 37m

Major Doron Spielman has dedicated much of his life to excavating the City of David, the ancient archaeological site just outside modern Jerusalem which confirms much of the Jewish history recorded…

Dido and Aeneas need Couples Therapy

May 23, 2025 1h 12m

I'm not saying that the catastrophe in Carthage could have been avoided. I'm just saying, everyone--the two main characters especially--behaved very badly. Now the deed is done, the nymphs are…

Frequently Asked Questions

How many episodes does Young Heretics have?

Young Heretics has published 299 episodes since November 2020, covering topics in Education, Society & Culture.

Is Young Heretics still active?

Young Heretics is currently highly active with new episodes weekly. Average episode length is 56m.

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