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PODCAST

Books of Titans Podcast

Welcome to the Books of Titans Podcast where I (Erik Rostad) seek truth & beauty in the Immortal Books. My goal is to read the Great Books written by 200 authors over the next 15 years and share what I’m learning. I’ll talk a bit about each book, tie ideas together from a variety of genres, and share the one thing I always hope to remember from each of the Immortal Books. www.booksoftitans.com

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All Episodes

43:39

#242 - The Analects by Confucius

Books of Titans Podcast ·

2025/03/21

The life of Confucius (551 - 479 BC) overlaps the life of Greek playwright Aeschylus (525 - 455 BC). Confucius makes it clear that he is a transmitter, not an originator. He’s transmitting wisdom from the past, specifically from an ancient era of perfect rulers. The Analects is a set of collected sayings of Confucius compiled by his disciples.I was expecting a religious text but this read more like wisdom literature. The focus was on the rites and rituals that provide a path to moral virtue. The

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32:28

#241 - God's Secretaries by Adam Nicolson

Books of Titans Podcast ·

2025/03/07

I started off 2025 reading straight through the King James Version of the Bible. As I was doing so, I kept wondering how that translation came about. It’s now over 400 years old. What English translation will people be reading 400 years from now? And I had other questions. Did people really speak like this? Is this the first English translation? Why is it called the King James Bible? Who translated this Bible? Have we learned things since then that give us better translations now? Why is it still

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56:33

#240 - The Bible | King James Version

Books of Titans Podcast ·

2025/02/28

I start each year reading straight through a different version of the Bible during January & February. This year, I selected the King James Version designed & illustrated by Barry Moser. This version contains 232 beautiful illustrations. This was my first time reading the full King James Version. I liked it very much.I divide this podcast episode up into three sections:* The things that stuck out in the Bible.* Highlights of the beautiful language found in the King James Version.* Info about the

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49:53

Comparing LBJ & Robert Moses

Books of Titans Podcast ·

2025/02/21

In 2021, I dedicated my reading year to series of books. I read through Harry Potter, The Lord of the Rings, all books by Russ Roberts, and the Narnia series. I also read every single book written by Robert Caro. His The Years of Lyndon B. Johnson four-book set are some of the best books I’ve ever read and I think about them often. I also read The Power Broker about Robert Moses of New York City.In this episode, I contrast these two men - Lyndon B. Johnson and Robert Moses.Show Notes: This is a

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32:18

The Gulag Archipelago

Books of Titans Podcast ·

2025/02/14

I’m digging into the podcast vault and taking us back to December 2019 when I first released this episode. In the past 5 years, I’ve thought about The Gulag Archipelago often. I’ve seen it referenced in other books and think its ideas can heal our current divides. This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit www.booksoftitans.com/subscribe

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45:15

The Beginning of Knowledge

Books of Titans Podcast ·

2025/02/07

I’m digging into the podcast vault to share this episode from exactly 5 years ago (really, Feb 7, 2020 to today, Feb 7, 2025)! This episode covers The Book of Proverbs attributed to King Solomon. I had an epiphany of sorts about a key idea in this wisdom literature - The Fear of the Lord.I had always been baffled by that statement. Is that a trembling fear? A sense of awe?What am I supposed to make of this idea of fear and what does it mean in terms of how I relate to the Lord? I actually found part

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56:48

Top Ideas from the World of Books

Books of Titans Podcast ·

2025/01/31

I’m digging into the podcast vault to share this episode from two years ago about some of the most important ideas I’ve come across from this reading project. This is a public episode. If you’d like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit www.booksoftitans.com/subscribe

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5:14

On Direction

Books of Titans Podcast ·

2025/01/28

And so he did not resist in the small ways that a man might, and in time the accumulation of such daily choices of acquiescence hardened into a kind of moral muscle memory, such that resistance was no longer even a possible option. For almost nine years the man had been rehearsing his surrender. ~ The Places Beyond the Maps, Douglas McKelveyIf I were required to pick the single most important idea I’ve come across during the 8 years of this reading project, it would be the importance of

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28:06

How Has This Reading Project Changed Me?

Books of Titans Podcast ·

2025/01/24

I received this set of questions from Brenda Slomka late in 2024. I couldn’t immediately answer them on Twitter X, so I decided to ponder them a bit and give a thoughtful response in this podcast episode. I’m glad I did it as it gave me a chance to take a step back and look at how the past 8 years of this reading project have impacted me.Here are the four questions:* What are you learning about yourself as you read?* Has your heart changed with these readings?* How has your view on the

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33:52

2025: The Reading Year Ahead

Books of Titans Podcast ·

2025/01/17

READING YEAR THEME: GREEK TRAGEDIES, COMEDIES, HISTORY, AND PHILOSOPHY2025 is the year I shift from the Greek playwrights into the philosophers. It’s year 3 of my 15-year Immortal Books reading project, where I read the greatest books ever written in chronological order.In this episode, I share my plan for the year, give a brief history of this reading project, and highlight the books I’m most excited, scared, and curious about for 2025.I mention a Short Great Books reading group I’m leading this

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28:38

The Intellectual Life by A.G. Sertillanges

Books of Titans Podcast ·

2025/01/10

Love the eternal books that express eternal truths. ~ A.G. SertillangesHave you found yourself lost in mid-life? Not sure what direction to take? No focus or purpose? This is a book about continuing intellectual curiosity throughout life, of lifelong learning. It’s a book with practical advice on how to pursue the life of the mind. I wish I had read this book in my teens.The author, A.G. Sertillanges, says this life is possible with just two hours a day. But what you quickly realize is that

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55:37

2024 Reading Year Recap

Books of Titans Podcast ·

2025/01/03

Each year, I stack all of the books from the previous year’s reading list next to me and reminisce over the reading year. It’s one of my favorite yearly podcast episodes and it’s a great way for you to hear about some books to add to your reading list.2024 was My Big Fat Greek Reading List. I’m reading through The Great Books The Immortal Books in chronological order over the next 15 years, and the time frame for this year was all Greek. Greek epic poetry, Greek tragedies, histories, and even

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23:56

Van Gogh Has a Broken Heart by Russ Ramsey

Books of Titans Podcast ·

2024/12/27

I used to think that great art had to have come from a great-souled artist with an honorable life. How else would you be able to forge David out of a slab of marble or compose an entire opera in your head? A minimum of a pure mind combined with superhuman abilities must have been required, right?Actually, art is oftentimes forged through intense suffering in the life of the artist. It’s suffering we know well as we also experience it to varying degrees. That’s the power of this book. It highlights

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31:21

The Art of Teaching by Gilbert Highet

Books of Titans Podcast ·

2024/12/20

This book was suggested by a friend of mine named William Leachman. He’s a bonafide teacher, as in he has students and teaches them in a building that says school on the outside of it. He told me I should read this book and he told me that I’m a teacher.I bristled at that. I’m not a professional. I don’t teach eager students at the local high school. But after reading this book, I hesitantly acknowledge that I am indeed a teacher. I’m a teacher to my children, to those I work with, and perhaps to

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33:00

Hellenika by Xenophon

Books of Titans Podcast ·

2024/12/13

“And after this, not many days later…”Xenophon begins his history with these words. The “after this…” refers to the writings of Thucydides, which abruptly end in the midst of the Peloponnesian War in 411BC. Xenophon takes up the mantle and takes us first to the end of the Peloponnesian War in 404BC and then on to 362BC.Xenophon’s work takes us through the decline of the Athenian empire into the rise of the Spartans, Boeotians, and then Thebans. Throughout the work, the Persians are making their

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26:23

Theo of Golden by Allen Levi

Books of Titans Podcast ·

2024/12/06

Theo of Golden is a man “fully invested in the art of living.” He’s a character you want to emulate. A good man whose kindness is made up of “little, nameless, unremembered acts.” As the reader, we get to see how these small, daily acts weave throughout a small, fictional, Georgia town.This book was gifted to me by a publisher well acquainted with the written word. It’s her job to quickly work through books and see if they have merit. She read this book and then promptly read it four additional

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51:20

The Peloponnesian War by Thucydides

Books of Titans Podcast ·

2024/11/22

Prior to reading Thucydides’ Peloponnesian War, I envisioned a sort of Braveheart-like battle with lines of Athenians rushing towards lines of Spartans. That’s not even close to what happened. Most battles were proxy battles far from either Athens or Sparta and many battles were fought by sea.The Peloponnesian War took place between 431 - 404BC. This work covers years 431 - 411BC, abruptly ends mid-year, and is then picked up by Xenophon in Hellenika.Thucydides uses speeches (141 of them) to add

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36:43

Andromache by Euripides

Books of Titans Podcast ·

2024/11/15

If you were to rank the individual suffering of those in Greek Literature, Andromache would easily rise to the top of that list. She lost her father, 7 brothers, and husband Hector to one man, Achilles. Her son was thrown from the walls of Troy. To top off the suffering cake, she was then forced to marry the son of her husband’s murderer, Neoptolemus.This tragedy begins with Andromache grasping the alter of Thetis in Thessaly, begging for her life. Her and Neoptolemus have had a son, which has made

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31:10

Heracles by Euripides

Books of Titans Podcast ·

2024/11/08

This tragedy by Euripides was written in 420BC, 10 years after Children of Heracles. Historically, this is in the midst of the Peloponnesian War. Mythologically, it’s at the point of Heracles’ life where he is completing his 12th and final labor. While away, his family is in danger. He returns, neutralizes the danger, but becomes danger himself in the form of madness brought on by the gods. In this state, he kills his wife and children with the very bow that has brought victory in his life.Awaking

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28:08

Children of Heracles by Euripides

Books of Titans Podcast ·

2024/11/01

Euripides wrote this tragedy in 430BC, a fateful year that saw the beginnings of the Peloponnesian War. It’s interesting to read this play in light of the historical atmosphere. Athens was entering a war with Sparta. The Spartans traced their descent from Heracles, and in this tragedy, the children of Heracles are near Athens (in Marathon) seeking refuge. Will Athens hold to her ideals and protect the suppliants? Will force beat deliberation? Will the innocent suffer?This is a wonderful tragedy

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