Solomon & Smith

Episodes

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  How Canon Debates RUINED the Bible and Star Wars | The Dogmatism of Pop Culture Myths 23.10.2026 50m

  Please help us continue having these discussions on Patreon, or follow us on other Podcast channels here: https://linktr.ee/solomon_smith00:00 Intro 03:52 What is Canon?05:38 Canon debates in Abrahamic Religions08:50 How this maps onto Star Wars (in depth)17:41 Lore, Doctrine, and Talmudic gloss19:06 Why does Canon matter so much? Ancient Greece24:17 The obsession with continuity and internal errors28:47 Pirate editions, off-brand intellectual property, Virgil, Dickens, and Cervantes33:30 True Canon exists in human imagination35:29 Adaptation: books to films - Tolkien’s obsession with Canon40:18 Tennyson and Milton - Jackson is to Tolkien what Virgil is to Homer what Christianity is to Judaism45:46 Liberty to contradict47:40 A chamber drama set on Kamino - gibberish words
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  This Film Changed English History (Forever?) | Jarman & Christopher Marlowe 16.10.2026 1h 17m

  Theo Rollason joins Milo and Jack to discuss Queer Edward II, their new film built from thirty hours of unseen footage shot during the making of Derek Jarman’s Edward II, and to trace Jarman’s film back through Christopher Marlowe to the medieval king himself. Along the way: Jarman turns Renaissance history into Thatcher-era queer politics, Marlowe makes class more scandalous than homosexuality, Tilda Swinton transforms Isabella into a vampiric villain, Edward’s murder becomes entangled with AIDS and Jarman’s own mortality, Peter Greenaway attracts some professional jealousy, and a lost archive reveals the funny, chaotic, intimate reality of making one of British queer cinema’s defining films.00:00 – Introduction05:36 – Theo Rollason enters11:52 – What Makes a Derek Jarman Film?22:01 – How Jarman Reimagined Edward II29:23 – Gay Love and Gay History37:05 – Tilda Swinton: Queen of Thatcher45:36 – Marlowe and Jarman: Kindred Artists50:48 – Death & the AIDS Crisis58:38 – 30 Hours of Lost Edward II Footage1:03:50 – Derek Jarman vs Peter Greenaway1:09:45 – What was Jarman like on set?1:16:30 – Clip from Queer Edward II
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  Epstein, Lolita, and the P*rnification of Childhood 09.10.2026 59m

  00:00 Introduction04:38 Lolita Summary10:50 Did Epstein actually read/like Lolita?14:32 Epstein's upbringing - boomer sexuality19:51 Did male boomers create modern sexuality?24:21 Differences between Epstein and Humbert28:29 Do we all want to be children forever?30:35 Our desires have been created for us32:27 The modelling industry34:55 Creation: of oneself, of others36:30 Britney Spears, Olivia Rodrigo, Sabrina Carpenter38:37 Piper Rockelle: the Gen Alpha twist on the American Dream41:53 Creation in Lolita - The ending45:34 Lolita - controversial then and now, for different reasons48:19 To write a book properly, it needs to be misread50:48 The paradoxes of our age around children and sex53:13 Why Gen Z are turning away from boomer sex57:10 Conclusion - Epstein is a boring loser.
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  Does Artistic Genius Come From the Devil? | Faust, Yeats, and the Poetic Sublime 02.10.2026 1h 32m

  Please help us continue having these discussions on Patreon, or follow us on other Podcast channels here: https://linktr.ee/solomon_smithRichard Barakat's *Faust the Magician* is available here: https://shorturl.at/CDWx0See also the below discussions:Richard Barakat: The Literary Collective (Spring 2025): https://youtu.be/rwecUdt0p28Richard Barakat: Philosophic Dialogues from La Frontera (Spring 2024): https://youtu.be/YiiZbUErFcARichard Barakat joins us to explore the strange relationship between poetry, magic, and the Devil, beginning with Marlowe and Goethe’s Faust tellings and ending with Richard’s own apocalyptic Faust for the 21st century. Along the way: Pindar raises men towards the gods, Ovid turns poetry into immortality, Yeats makes images into magical powers, paganism and Christianity collide and combine, artistic genius edges towards possession, and Faust’s desire to transcend the human becomes inseparable from the old suspicion that the arts are, somehow, the Devil’s domain.00:00 – Are the Arts the Devil’s Domain?06:24 – What Is the Magic of Poetry?10:15 – Marlowe, Goethe, and their Fausts19:37 – Pagan Gods, Christianity, and Syncretism27:43 – Pindar and Becoming Like the Gods38:52 – What Makes Great Art Ineffable?41:42 – Writing a Darker Faust for the 21st Century49:50 – Faustian Knowledge, Faustian Power52:32 – Yeats the Magician57:20 – Ovid, Transformation, and Artistic Immortality01:07:16 – Yeats: Leda and the Byzantium Poems01:22:33 – Satan's Faustian Bargain01:30:13 – Can Art Create Gods?
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  Is the Quran the EXACT Speech of God? Islamic Theology Explained | Ramon Harvey 25.09.2026 1h 38m

  Please help us continue having these discussions on Patreon, or follow us on other Podcast channels here: https://linktr.ee/solomon_smith00:00:00 Intro00:05:30 Ramon arrives - poetic epigraph00:06:30 What does it mean for God to Speak?00:09:47 Is Arabic Special? Is it older than Nature?00:12:04 Is the Quran translated into Arabic from Transcendent Speech?00:14:11 Could putting God's words in a human language degrade them?00:18:41 Are Arabic speakers especially chosen by God? Is Islam exclusive?00:23:05 Should all Muslims learn Classical Arabic?00:25:48 If you have two sentences that say the same thing in different words, could they both be from God?00:32:49 What is the basis of the Quran's authority?00:39:21 Variants of the Quran00:48:22 The first printed Qurans. Literacy.00:52:55 Can deaf illiterate people experience the Quran?00:56:55 The mysteries of meaning. How do words mean things?01:01:40 Is beauty truth? Is the Quran beautiful?01:12:37 Would God choose to reveal himself in common language?01:16:13 Did anyone ever try to write a better Quran?01:22:25 The proof of the Quran lies in its effect on people.01:27:16 Why did God stop revealing himself? Why are there no prophets after Muhammad?01:32:10 Is God active in the lives of all humans?01:34:22 Did the companions' editorial power cease after their death?
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  Consciousness is NOT an illusion... REALITY IS | William Seager 18.09.2026 1h 26m

  Please help us continue having these discussions on Patreon, or follow us on other Podcast channels here: https://linktr.ee/solomon_smith00:00:00 Intro00:07:38 Why Does Consciousness Break Science00:10:40 Is Life Special? Biophychism: Is Life Consciousness?00:14:40 Are Observations (Quantum Physics) Dependent on Consciousness?00:18:10 A Unique Element of Consciousness, distinguishing it from Life00:21:25 Why is Consciousness Not A Vague Concept?00:26:40 Are Our Brains Lying to Us? Is Consciousness an Illusion00:32:58 Is Artificial Intelligence Conscious?00:35:00 Epiphenomenalism00:39:25 The Matrix and Divorce of Mind and Reality00:42:25 How Much of Our Awareness Relies on Sense Data?00:48:40 Pure Being and Pure Consciousness00:52:12 Panpsychism, and how it solves the problem of consciousness00:56:45 Mysterianism and Colin McGinn00:59:06 Is Panpsychism just sexed-up materialism?01:03:17 Weak vs. Strong Emergence01:07:25 Is Panpsychism an Imaginary Science?01:10:45 Consciousness is Integrated Information01:14:08 Cosmopsychism01:20:13 Physical Reactivity is the Signature of Consciousness01:23:39 Could dark matter or antimatter be without consciousness?
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  The Dark Religion of American Literature | Taylor Caron on the Neo-Gnostics 15.09.2026 1h 22m

  Please help us continue having these discussions on Patreon, or follow us on other Podcast channels here: https://linktr.ee/solomon_smithTaylor returns to take Milo and Jack through ten great works of American "Gnostic" literature, beginning with Emerson’s Nature and ending, exactly a century later, with Faulkner’s Absalom, Absalom! Along the way: Jones Very believes himself to be Christ, Hawthorne discovers the stain in creation, Ahab declares war on visible reality, Whitman meets the “real Me”, Dickinson confronts an inaccessible God, and Melville, Bierce, West, and Faulkner push the American suspicion of the world into ever darker territory.Part two of our Gnostic Bonanza; the first part - on the original Gnostics - available here: https://youtu.be/brOyXDlaA-Y?si=DQGCLCq61lwZm4PGCHAPTERS00:00 Introduction03:24 I. Ralph Waldo Emerson – Nature (1836)11:15 II. Jones Very – Essays and Poems (1839)18:48 III. Nathaniel Hawthorne – Mosses from an Old Manse (1846)24:46 IV. Herman Melville – Moby-Dick (1851)34:55 V. Walt Whitman – Sea-Drift / “As I Ebb’d with the Ocean of Life” (1860)41:21 VI. Emily Dickinson – Poems (1861–65)50:53 VII. Herman Melville – Clarel (1876)59:01 VIII. Ambrose Bierce – Tales of Soldiers and Civilians (1891)1:04:10 IX. Nathanael West – Miss Lonelyhearts (1933)1:07:38 X. William Faulkner – Absalom, Absalom! (1936)1:21:04 American Gnosticism – Final Thoughts
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  The Christians Who Thought God Was Evil | Taylor Caron on the Gnostic Gospels 11.09.2026 1h 17m

  Please help us continue having these discussions by supporting us over on Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/c/SolomonSmithSolomon & Smith on Apple:https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/solomon-smith/id6808681930On Spotify:https://open.spotify.com/show/2DkVPzTS5lHkynSlHMyOL2?si=FsVpIakbR861Vg9jM3WZvQ&utm_source=copy-linkOn Amazon:https://music.amazon.com/podcasts/7ca1e4c1-2e5a-4691-9c32-35c05fc01f05On iHeart:https://iheart.com/podcast/343165456In this episode of Solomon and Smith, Jack and Milo speak with Taylor Caron about the Gnostics: those strange, alluring, heretical early Christians who believed that the physical world was corrupt, that its creator was not the highest God, and that salvation came through secret knowledge of the divine world beyond this one.This is the first part of a two-part conversation. In this episode, we begin with the original Gnostics: the lost gospels, the Nag Hammadi texts, the Gospel of Thomas, the Secret Book of John, the Gospel of Judas, Valentinus, the Gospel of Truth, Thunder, Perfect Mind, the Epistle to Flora, the Gospel of Philip, and the Second Treatise of the Great Seth. In the next part, we turn to American Gnosticism and the strange afterlife of these ideas in modern literature.What is Gnosticism? Is the material world evil? Was Yahweh the demiurge? Who or what is Barbello? Why does Jesus keep appearing as a child, an old woman, a voice, a double, a robe, a cosmic emissary, or a being laughing from outside the crucifixion? And how did a collection of bizarre early Christian texts found in Egypt in 1945 come to haunt modern religion, literature, conspiracy, pop culture, Harold Bloom, The Da Vinci Code, and the idea of hidden knowledge itself?Chapters:00:00 Was Valentinus better than the Bible?01:10 Introduction05:47 Taylor enters07:50 What is Gnosticism?09:30 Nag Hammadi and the lost texts11:01 The basic Gnostic worldview15:18 I. The Gospel of Thomas20:30 II. The Secret Book of John23:18 Barbello, Sophia and the demiurge29:42 III. The Hymn of the Pearl34:15 IV. The Gospel of Judas38:38 Crucifixion, flesh and anti-natalism40:09 V. Valentinus' Fragments45:24 VI. The Gospel of Truth52:16 VII. Thunder Perfect Mind56:20 VIII. The Epistle to Flora1:01:18 Jesus and the Hebrew Bible1:05:27 IX. The Gospel of Philip1:10:46 X. The Second Treatise of the Great Seth1:15:48 Orthodoxy, heresy and the stakes of the crucifixion
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  Youtube Just Made Views Worthless | Hyper Viewflation 08.09.2026 45m

  Please help us continue having these discussions by supporting us over on Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/c/SolomonSmithWhat is a view? What is attention? Does a number become more real if it is larger? Are advertisers being ushered into a hall of mirrors? And if every video, every creator, every athlete, every billionaire, and every man on earth can be given a bigger number, have we made the world better — or simply made value meaningless?We discuss YouTube views, attention inflation, dead internet paradise, advertisers, Zimbabwean trillionaires, egalitarianism, Elon Musk, Mark Zuckerberg, cinema box office inflation, World of Warcraft stat squish, the psychological horror of decline, the impossibility of measuring attention, the parable of the workers in the vineyard, angelic value, Christianity, equality, and whether every mote of dust has infinite worth.Chapters:00:00 The number goes up00:51 Introduction04:45 YouTube changes the view count08:02 Advertisers and the fantasy economy12:40 Do labels change reality?14:47 Egalitarianism, power and resentment19:03 Do big numbers hide inequality?22:35 Cinema, inflation and fake success24:22 Stat squish and the horror of smaller numbers27:14 What can value actually measure?31:07 Can attention ever be quantified?36:01 The workers in the vineyard38:01 Earthly numbers and angelic value42:36 YouTube views in heaven43:38 Christianity, equality and infinite worth
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  Why We May Never Understand Consciousness | Colin McGinn on Mind and Language 04.09.2026 1h 17m

  Please help us continue having these discussions by supporting us over on Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/c/SolomonSmithThinkers mentioned: Richard Dawkins, Noam Chomsky, Jerry Fodor, Charles Darwin, Paul Grice, Fred Dretske, Gottlob Frege, Ludwig Wittgenstein, Saul Kripke, Richard Montague, Iain McGilchrist, Alfred Tarski00:00:00 Introduction00:04:49 Knife Throwing, Other Athletic Activities00:11:57 Poetic Epigraph00:13:05 How to integrate Philosophy, Linguistics, and Biology? Should philosophers read Dawkins? Should biologists read Tarski?00:20:15 Origins of language. Are any aspects of language as old as consciousness?00:27:39 Can we only discuss language in language?00:29:06 Are all philosophical problems linguistic? Analytic philosophy00:32:45 Fodor and the Language of thought. Language without communication00:34:50 Consciousness and the limits of knowing00:39:38 Can something exist without you knowing it?00:42:40 Can we understand/build a mind? 00:43:49 Links between Mysterianism and Apathatic theology?00:48:13 Does McGinn's Mysterianism conflict with his Naturalism?00:50:10 Why do we have introspection?00:55:28 Do our brains see the world dualistically to support the existence of language?01:01:35 Wittgenstein's Investigations. Split brains. McGilchrist.01:03:43 The brain has over-invested in spatial reasoning.01:06:16 Communication without symbols, without linguistic utterance.01:11:38 Philosophers don't pay enough attention to animals. Darwin, etc.01:14:35 Philosophers read too much psychology, and don't understand it.
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  Is AI About to Kill Mathematics? | Kirwin Hampshire 28.08.2026 1h 24m

  Please help us continue having these discussions by supporting us over on Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/c/SolomonSmithKirwin's article on mathematics is available here: https://kirwinhampshire.substack.com/p/the-dark-night-of-mathematicsIn this episode of Solomon and Smith, Jack and Milo speak with Kirwin Hampshire, mathematics PhD and author of the Substack Ossuray Lost at Sea.Is mathematics discovered or invented? Is it a formal game, a spiritual art form, a machine for generating truth, or the highest expression of human creativity? And what happens when AI begins solving open problems, producing counterexamples, and doing the thing mathematicians thought belonged to the strange, private, intuitive life of the mind?We discuss what a number is, why mathematics feels certain in a way other forms of knowledge often do not, whether infinity and zero expand the limits of thought, and why mathematical discovery can feel closer to art, wizardry, or religious revelation than to ordinary technical work. Then we turn to the nightmare: AI-generated mathematics, the psychology of being scooped by a machine, and the possibility that human mathematicians may be reduced to checking, verifying, and understanding what machines have already produced.Is AI killing maths? Or is it revealing what mathematics really was all along?Topics include: AI and mathematics, mathematical creativity, open problems, counterexamples, proof, intuition, infinity, zero, Gödel, Cantor, mathematical beauty, the philosophy of maths, AI art, chess engines, human purpose, dangerous knowledge, truth versus goodness, and whether machines are about to ruin the most beautiful thing humans ever made.Chapters:00:00 AI and the human gap01:15 Introduction05:58 The challenge07:37 Kirwin enters10:00 Poetic epigraph11:37 What is a number?17:11 Maths, mind, and reality20:37 Mathematics as creativity22:30 Infinity and the machinery of thought26:45 Falling in love with maths32:15 Discovery, invention and the unfinished painting37:14 Has maths become too arcane?41:35 AI enters mathematics44:11 AI counterexamples and open problems49:39 Chess, machines and the loss of spark52:36 Humans as the AI’s assistant57:22 Intuition and the human gap1:02:34 Dangerous truth and the Copernican trauma1:06:50 The Impossible Luddite1:13:40 Why does AI hurt?1:16:12 Is AI just another tool?1:21:17 Truth, beauty and incompatible desires1:24:08 Process versus resultPerformance of the second movement from Bartók's second quartet by the Carmel Quartet, used under the following license: https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/deed.en
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  Classic Literature Is WAY More Fun Than You Think (1710-1840) | Emma Schilders 25.08.2026 1h 22m

  *Emma's list is pasted below*Please help us to continue having these conversations on Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/c/solomonsmith/membershipEmma's channel can be found at: https://youtube.com/@sarcastic_fish?si=J3bGM11vCKSxpt3p1710s - Robinson Crusoe: Daniel Defoe1720s - Roxana: Daniel Defoe1730s - Manon Lescaut: Abbé Prévost1740s - Pamela: Samuel Richardson1750s - The Female Quixote: Charlotte Lennox1760s - Barren Decade - TBR: Castle of Otranto, A Sentimental Journey1770s - The Sorrows of Young Werther: Johann Wolfgang von Goethe1780s - Dangerous Liasons: Pierre Choderlos de Laclos1790s - Justine: Marquis de Sade1800s - Corinne, or Italy: Madame de Staël1810s - Frankenstein: Mary Shelley1820s - Barren Decade - TBR: The Betrothed1830s - The Charterhouse of Parma: Stendhal1840s - The Count of Monte Cristo - Alexandre Dumas00:00:00 Intro00:04:35 What's so interesting about the 1700s?00:06:53 1710s00:11:30 1720s00:14:54 1730s00:20:19 1740s00:24:04 1750s00:29:38 1760s00:33:00 1770s00:36:00 1780s00:43:40 1790s00:49:26 1800s00:54:51 1810s01:05:34 1820s01:09:03 1830s01:13:05 1840s
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  Why Understanding Reality Isn’t Enough | Igor Kufayev 21.08.2026 1h 37m

  Please help us to continue having these conversations on Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/c/solomonsmith/membershipYou can buy Igor's books directly from his publishing house here: https://songpublishing.org/?v=b6bb43df4525In this wide-ranging conversation, artist and spiritual teacher Igor Kufayev talks with Jack and Milo about consciousness, meditation, Kashmir Shaivism (Trika Shaivism), aesthetics, creativity and the relationship between spiritual experience and everyday perception.He reflects on a profound early meditation experience that transformed his relationship with his body and consciousness, and the moment he put Heidegger aside in favour of seeking direct experience rather than intellectual understanding.The conversation moves from Western philosophy to the Bhagavad Gita, Kashmir Shaivism, Abhinavagupta and the concept of camatkāra—the rapture or astonishment of aesthetic experience. We also explore how ordinary reality became dull, whether consciousness actually creates the world we experience, and why the promise of extraordinary spiritual experiences distracts us from the extraordinary nature of everyday life.00:00:00 Introduction00:05:33 Uzbek Fruits/Raisins - Poetic epigraph00:09:07 The meaning crisis began with the search for meaning00:12:19 Bronze Age Greece, The Odyssey, Greek sculpture00:16:10 Modernity and Meaning - Life Under Socialism00:23:57 The Anatomy of Experience - Fire and Karl Marx00:32:10 Loving the West in Central Asia00:37:37 Disillusionment with Michelangelo, waiting for the Muse00:41:04 Adi Shankaracharya vs. Abhinavagupta00:47:52 Existentialism. Kung-fu Art Philosopher Musician Sage, murdered by the Mafia00:52:05 Tragedy, Faith, Sri Aurobindo00:56:39 Initiation into Meditation in a Dream01:01:56 Can you have a moment of absolute transcendence which you don't notice?01:07:10 Idealism. We animate reality by perceiving it.01:11:35 Outright rejection of Heidegger and Western Philosophy01:17:50 Outright love of Western Art01:19:47 Reading Indian Spiritual Classics01:23:55 Swami Muktananda and discovering Trika Shaivism01:26:54 Camatkara, the bridge between art and spirit01:34:32 Final Question
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  The 20 Best Books Ever Written | Cecily Carver’s Picks 18.08.2026 1h 49m

  *- Cecily's list is pasted below -*Please help us to keep having these conversations by supporting us on Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/c/solomonsmith/membershipCheck out Cecily's Substack here: https://cecilycarver.substack.com/Tremolo expertly demonstrated by Edson Lopes, who can be heard here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WTBiNRT3GPM1800sThe Earthquake in Chile - Heinrich von Kleist1810sPersuasion - Jane Austen1820sThe Tale of Kieu - Nguyen Du1830sThe Queen of Spades - Alexander Pushkin1840sCousin Bette - Honoré de Balzac1850sMadame Bovary - Gustave Flaubert1860sGreat Expectations - Charles Dickens1870sMiddlemarch - George Eliot1880sThe Portrait of a Lady - Henry James1890sThe Seagull - Anton Chekhov1900sThe House of Mirth - Edith Wharton1910sIn Search of Lost Time - Marcel Proust1920sThe Magic Mountain - Thomas Mann1930sRebecca - Daphne du Maurier1940sMildred Pierce - James M. Cain1950sLolita - Vladimir Nabokov1960sThe Prime of Miss Jean Brodie - Muriel Spark1970sFifth Business - Robertson Davies1980sHotel du Lac - Anita Brookner1990sA Place of Greater Safety - Hilary Mantel0:00 Introduction2:42 Cecily arrives6:47 1800s11:21 1810s15:05 1820s19:02 1830s22:37 1840s30:00 1850s33:52 1860s37:57 1870s42:38 1880s46:42 1890s50:51 1900s56:57 1910s1:04:03 1920s1:10:12 1930s1:13:58 1940s1:19:04 1950s1:26:01 1960s1:30:47 1970s1:34:37 1980s1:40:00 1990s1:49:31 Conclusion
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  The Trinity is Even WEIRDER Than You Thought | Karen Kilby 14.08.2026 1h 27m

  Please help us continue having these discussions by supporting us over on Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/c/SolomonSmithKaren Kilby is the Bede Professor of Catholic Theology at Durham University, and one of the most interesting contemporary thinkers on the Trinity, apophatic theology, and the limits of theological understanding.In this conversation, Jack and Milo talk to Karen about whether Christians should expect to make sense of their own beliefs. Is theology a noble intellectual discipline, a useful service to the Church, or sometimes just a very elaborate waste of time? Do theologians know more about God than ordinary believers? Or is the attempt to master God intellectually already a mistake?The discussion focuses especially on the Trinity. What does it mean to say that God is Father, Son, and Holy Spirit? Is the doctrine clearly present in Scripture, or was it developed by the early Church as Christians tried to make sense of their worship of Christ? Why three persons rather than two, four, or seventeen? What is wrong with Arianism or Unitarianism? And how can a doctrine be defended if part of its meaning is that it cannot be fully understood?Subscribe if you enjoy discussions of theology, philosophy, literature, history, and the mysteries that resist being turned into neat little systems.Topics discussed:Karen Kilby's path from mathematics to theologyFaith, questioning, and the life of the mindApophatic theology and divine mysteryWhat the doctrine of the Trinity saysScripture, Jesus, and the early ChurchGreek philosophy and theological languageOusia, hypostasis, and homoousiosArianism, Unitarianism, and orthodoxyWhy the number three matters — or does notAquinas and the limits of proofWhat theologians are actually forThe Incarnation and divine solidaritySocial trinitarianismHuman unknowability and divine unknowabilityMysteries, puzzles, science, AI, and dangerous knowledgeIf you enjoyed the conversation, please like, subscribe, and leave a comment telling us your favourite heresy — or whether you think theology is a waste of time.0:00 Is Theology a Waste of Time?1:09 Introduction8:19 Karen Kilby Arrives13:28 Faith, Questions, and Theology17:35 Apophatic Theology and Mystery20:32 What Is the Trinity?22:06 Scripture and the Early Church30:00 Greek Philosophy and New Language35:02 Why Three?40:02 Defending an Unprovable Doctrine48:22 What Are Theologians For?55:00 Incarnation and Solidarity59:28 Social Trinitarianism and Unitarianism1:10:00 Human Mystery and Divine Mystery1:20:00 Mysteries, Puzzles, and Dangerous Knowledge
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  I was a Hard Materialist... Until This INSANE Dream | Jeff Falzone 07.08.2026 2h 24m

  Please help us to continue having these conversations on Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/c/solomonsmith/membership00:00:00 Introduction00:05:34 Jeff arrives00:11:09 Footballers are the most complete human beings0013:57 Do Aliens have human aesthetics? Evolution.00:17:56 Poetic Epigraph - Goethean Darwinism00:22:04 What is a Mind?00:27:27 Hypnotism - Milton Erickson00:33:34 Dreams and Time, Lucid Dreaming00:44:50 Dreams and Technology00:49:19 Why suffering will never end, and why that's okay00:53:00 Stanford Prison Experiment - other experiments01:00:45 Post Modernism and its Discontents01:02:15 The Insane Dream that Melted Jeff's Brain01:10:07 Eugene Gendlin - pausing01:22:14 Plato's epistemology - inaccessible knowledge - ambiguity01:27:48 Are eloquent people doomed to insanity? David Foster Wallace - Hamlet01:37:45 Shakespeare's Sonnets01:45:45 Shakespeare's Self-Sabotaging Empathy01:50:55 Gateway Sonnets - Some of our favourites02:01:43 Sonnet 31 - Wow!02:04:29 Crazy Numerological Patterns in the Sonnet Sequence02:14:06 Shakespeare is Impulsive02:20:33 Final Sonnet - Crazy final gambit
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  The Greatest Books You’ve Never Read (1800-2000) | Adam Walter’s Picks 04.08.2026 1h 33m

  *- Adam's list is pasted below -*Please help us to keep having these conversations by supporting us on Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/c/solomonsmith/membershipIn this video Adam discusses his favourite works of fiction decade by decade, starting in 1800 and going 200 years, decade by decade, until they reach the borders of our present century. If you would like to be interviewed by us about your favourite books, please send an email.1800sElective Affinities - Johann Wolfgang von Goethe1810sThe Golden Pot - E.T.A. Hoffmann1820sMelmoth the Wanderer - Charles Maturin1830sThe Charterhouse of Parma - Stendhal1840sLost Illusions - Honoré de Balzac1850sSylvie - Gérard de Nerval1860sOur Mutual Friend - Charles Dickens1870sDemons - Fyodor Dostoevsky1880sThe Posthumous Memoirs of Brás Cubas - Machado de Assis1890sThe Christ and Antichrist Trilogy - Dmitry Merezhkovsky1900sHadji Murat - Leo Tolstoy1910sIn Search of Lost Time - Marcel Proust1920sRakes of the Old Court - Mateiu Caragiale1930sA Glastonbury Romance - John Cowper Powys1940sThe Death of Virgil - Hermann Broch1950sMemoirs of Hadrian - Marguerite Yourcenar1960sRiders in the Chariot - Patrick White1970sThe Obscene Bird of Night - José Donoso1980sRepetition - Peter Handke1990sThe Rehearsals - Vladimir Sharov0:00 Introduction2:23 Adam arrives7:27 1800s10:22 1810s14:28 1820s18:40 1830s21:55 1840s27:42 1850s30:30 1860s36:04 1870s42:30 1880s44:18 1890s48:32 1900s51:12 1910s59:40 1920s1:03:19 1930s1:06:46 1940s1:10:46 1950s1:12:55 1960s1:15:41 1970s1:21:58 1980s1:23:35 1990s1:28:45 Conclusion
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  The Greatest Playwright of the 17th Century (after Shakespeare) | Elaine Hobby 31.07.2026 1h 45m

  Please help us continue having these discussions by supporting us over on Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/c/SolomonSmithElaine Hobby is one of the foremost experts in the work of Aphra Behn: the greatest playwright of the Restoration, and one of the greatest woman writers of all.In this conversation, Jack and Milo talk to Elaine specifically about Aphra Behn's theatre: how did it differ from her contemporaries; what made it so great; how did a woman who began her career as a spy in the employ of Charles II find her way to the stage; and what was the secret to her enduring popular success?The discussion also covers the history of the Restoration stage, returning as it did from the ban under Cromwell's Commonwealth. How did women end up acting, a profession once restricted to men? How did Charles II's personal tastes influence the theatre? We also analyse the types and plots used by Behn in her plays, and the way she bends traditional structure to her art. Was her theatre entirely comic? Or does it contain a pathos, or even a subversive character?Subscribe if you enjoy discussions of literature, philosophy, history, and the greatest plays ever written.Topics discussed: Elaine Hobby's fascination with Aphra Behn and her period Women on the stage The backstory of Aphra Behn Her travels and her espionage The nature of the Restoration Stage Behn's early hits The Lucky Chance The Feigned Courtesans The Rover, her biggest and most enduring hit The Emperor of the Moon Rakes, racounteurs, and clever women Aphra Behn's ideas on marriage and friendshipIf you enjoyed the conversation, please like, subscribe, and leave a comment telling us your favourite Behn play - or if you're planning on reading her after watching!0:00 Introduction7:09 Elaine Hobby Arrives15:21 Feminism and the Rediscovery of Women Writers22:40 Charles II, the Restoration, and Women on Stage33:04 The Mysterious Early Life of Aphra Behn38:02 Espionage, Antwerp and the Surinam Question48:05 What Made Behn’s Plays Different?55:05 The Rover: Sex, Money, Women1:10:53 Behn and the Marriage Comedy1:17:30 Reading and Performing Restoration Drama Today1:24:00 The Emperor of the Moon and Theatrical Spectacle1:42:59 Why Behn Still MattersThe music used is Fanny Hensel's Piano Trio, performed by the Claremont Trio under the following license: https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/3.0/
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  The Greatest Films of Every 5 Years (part two - 1970-2024) | Jack and Milo’s Picks 28.07.2026 2h 52m

  Please help us continue having these discussions by supporting us over on Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/c/SolomonSmith- Our full lists are pasted below -1970-1974Jack's Pick: Amarcord, dir. Federico FelliniMilo's Pick: Aguirre, the Wrath of God, dir. Werner Herzog1975-1979Jack's Pick: Monty Python's Life of Brian, dir. Terry JonesMilo's Pick: All That Jazz, dir. Bob Fosse1980-1984Jack's Pick: Koyaanisqatsi, dir. Godfrey ReggioMilo's Pick: The Draughtsman's Contract, dir. Peter Greenaway1985-1989Jack's Pick: Women on the Verge of a Nervous Breakdown, dir. Pedro AlmodóvarMilo's Pick: Ran, dir. Akira Kurosawa1990-1994Jack's Pick: 32 Short Films About Glenn Gould, dir. François GirardMilo's Pick: The Long Day Closes, dir. Terence Davies1995-1999Jack's Pick: Eyes Wide Shut, dir. Stanley KubrickMilo's Pick: The Thin Red Line, dir. Terrence Malick2000-2004Jack's Pick: Mulholland Drive, dir. David LynchMilo's Pick: The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring, dir. Peter Jackson2005-2009Jack's Pick: King Kong, dir. Peter JacksonMilo's Pick: My Winnipeg, dir. Guy Maddin2010-2014Jack's Pick: The Master, dir. Paul Thomas AndersonMilo's Pick: The Master, dir. Paul Thomas Anderson2015-2019Jack's Pick: The Love Witch, dir. Anna BillerMilo's Pick: A Hidden Life, dir. Terrence Malick2020-2024Jack's Pick: Killers of the Flower Moon, dir. Martin ScorseseMilo's Pick: ???00:00:00 Introduction00:02:42 1970-197400:14:47 1975-197900:27:26 1980-198400:42:45 1985-198900:58:39 1990-199401:16:57 1995-199901:42:26 2000-200402:02:27 2005-200902:16:29 2010-201402:22:48 2015-201902:34:34 2020-202402:42:07 The Final Film
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  You’ve Never Heard of Russia’s Strangest Literary Genius | Oliver Ready on Dostoevsky and Sharov 24.07.2026 1h 50m

  Oliver Ready is one of the world's greatest translators of Russian literature, most famous for his translation of Fyodor Dostoevsky's Crime and Punishment. In this conversation with Jack and Milo, he speaks about what makes Dostoevsky's prose so distinctive, direct, and contemporary, and why Vladimir Sharov may be the greatest Russian novelist you've never read.The discussion covers Dostoevsky's literary reputation, Nabokov's famous criticism of his work, the art of literary translation, Russian history, and, in the latter part, Sharov's astonishing novels, which blend theology, politics, history, and surreal imagination into something unlike anything else in modern literature.Subscribe if you enjoy discussions of literature, philosophy, history, and the greatest novels ever written.Topics discussed: Oliver Ready's translation of Crime and Punishment What makes Dostoevsky's writing unique Nabokov vs. Dostoevsky Vladimir Sharov's extraordinary novels Before and During The Rehearsals Russian literature and literary translation Soviet history, theology, and magical realism How translators recreate style across languagesBooks Mentioned Crime and Punishment — Fyodor Dostoevsky The Brothers Karamazov — Fyodor Dostoevsky Notes from Underground — Fyodor Dostoevsky The Double — Fyodor Dostoevsky Before and During — Vladimir Sharov The Rehearsals — Vladimir Sharov Be as Children — Vladimir Sharov The Master and Margarita — Mikhail BulgakovIf you enjoyed the conversation, please like, subscribe, and leave a comment telling us your favourite Russian novel—or whether you're planning to read Vladimir Sharov after watching.00:00:00 General Introduction00:04:00 Vladimir Sharov Synopsis and Discussion00:13:10 Oliver Ready Arrives, Discussion of Insomnia00:17:44 Poetic Epigraph00:20:14 Dostoevsky's Reputation, Nabokov's Slander00:24:40 Translating Crime and Punishment, prose style etc.00:39:05 Do certain authors suit English better than others?00:42:37 Translating Sharov vs. Dostoevsky00:45:55 Post Soviet Literary Culture, Sharov's place in it00:50:12 Sharov's uncompromising style and voice00:54:20 Does Sharov make sense to a non-Russian?01:00:43 Before and During, and the Religiosity of Communism01:06:00 Innocence, Experience, and the Gulags01:10:47 Master and Margarita, Russian History as Commentary to the Bible01:18:38 Sharov, Magic Realism, and originality01:24:20 What was Sharov like?01:31:44 The Russian Tradition of the Fantastical01:36:38 Sharov's fairytales, Sharov's crowds, Sharov's walks01:41:28 Ready's first exposure to Sharov01:45:00 White Moss, Reductive 'Problematic' criticism of other cultures01:48:25 Sharov 'Not Obvious Enough'