The Wisdom Of
Kristian Urstad and Stephen Webb
In this podcast we explore great works of philosophy and literature and art, and try to pull out of them what’s most interesting and inspiring! Whether they come from the works of Plato, or Dostoevsky or Picasso, here we explore ideas that move mountains and rock the soul! So, come join us, won’t you? Come worship at the alter of ideas, and come celebrate the dancing of thought. Welcome to the Wisdom Of!
Episodes
Mentioned books
Feb 6, 2021 • 30min
Morality - Dostoevsky's Crime and Punishment
Crime and Punishment is a novel by the Russian author Fyodor Dostoevsky. It's about a man who commits a murder and has to deal with his guilt.
Jan 30, 2021 • 31min
Happiness - John Keats
John Keats is a Romantic poet. In this episode, we discuss a letter he wrote in 1817 where he talked about something he called "Negative Capability".
Jan 24, 2021 • 32min
Happiness - F. Scott Fitzgerald's The Great Gatsby
The Great Gatsby is a 1925 novel by American writer F. Scott Fitzgerald. Set in the Jazz Age on Long Island, the novel depicts narrator Nick Carraway's interactions with mysterious millionaire Jay Gatsby and Gatsby's obsession to reunite with his former lover, Daisy Buchanan.
Jan 16, 2021 • 36min
Happiness - Camus' The Myth of Sisyphus
The Myth of Sisyphus is a philosophical essay about the absurd, published in 1942.
Jan 10, 2021 • 34min
Happiness - Tolstoy's Anna Karenina
Anna Karenina is a story of love and adultery set against the background of aristocratic society in Moscow and Saint Petersburg.
Jan 2, 2021 • 40min
Happiness - Epicurus' Letter to Menoeceus
Epicurus’ Letter to Menoeceus is a brief summary of his philosophy of happiness, to his friend and disciple of the letter’s name.
Dec 29, 2020 • 33min
Happiness - Herodotus
In The Histories, Herodotus tells the story of the encounter between King Croesus and Solon. They discuss what it means to be happy.
Dec 23, 2020 • 30min
Love - Thomas Mann's Death in Venice
Mann's Death in Venice is about a great writer who visits Venice and becomes obsessed with a beautiful youth.
Dec 19, 2020 • 28min
Love - Dostoevsky's The Brothers Karamazov
Dostoevsky's The Brothers Karamazov is a story of patricide, and it centers around the clashes of values and world views of the Karamazov family.
Dec 9, 2020 • 28min
Love - Mary Shelley's Frankenstein
In Mary Shelley's Frankenstein, Frankenstein sets out to create a person in what is one of the most unusual scientific experiments ever conceived.
