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PODCAST

Hot Takes on the Classics

Emily Maeda & Tim McIntosh

Hot Takes on the Classics is no dusty, academic approach to great books. It’s a gossipy, exciting discussion about the best literature ever written. Hosted by Tim and Emily, who are veteran teachers and long-time friends, Hot Takes is packed with playful debate, meaningful speculation, and hearty laughs.

arts books

All Episodes

30:40

Episode 23: What We Learned About Love

Hot Takes on the Classics ·

2026/02/10

DescriptionIn this penultimate episode of Hot Takes on the Classics’ season on love, Emily Maeda and Tim McIntosh step back to reflect on what a sustained engagement with classic texts has revealed about love itself. Drawing on philosophy, novels, poetry, and plays explored throughout the season, they consider why love is harder to portray than war, why modern culture lacks an adequate vocabulary for love, and why friendship has been undervalued. The conversation revisits themes from C.S

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36:52

Episode 22: Waiting on God - Simone Weil: An...

Hot Takes on the Classics ·

2025/12/30

DescriptionIn this episode of Hot Takes on the Classics, Emily Maeda and Tim McIntosh close their season on love by turning to Simone Weil’s Waiting for God. Through a wide-ranging conversation, they explore Weil’s life as an “activist mystic,” her radical commitment to solidarity with the afflicted, and her understanding of attention as the heart of prayer, learning, and love of neighbor. The episode examines Weil’s reflections on affliction, consent to suffering, and the paradoxical joy

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43:47

Episode 21: Revelations of Divine Love: St. Julian's...

Hot Takes on the Classics ·

2025/12/23

DescriptionIn this episode of Hot Takes on the Classics, Emily Maeda and Tim McIntosh explore Revelations of Divine Love by Julian of Norwich, the first known book written in English by a woman. They discuss Julian’s life as a fourteenth-century anchoress, her extraordinary visions during a near-fatal illness, and her enduring theological vision of divine love as all-encompassing, sustaining, and ultimately victorious over sin and suffering. Along the way, they reflect on the nature of

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63:28

Episode 20: The Temple: The Architecture of the Soul...

Hot Takes on the Classics ·

2025/12/16

DescriptionIn this episode of Hot Takes on the Classics, Tim McIntosh and Emily Maeda explore The Temple by George Herbert, one of the most profound devotional poetry collections in the English language. Through close readings of Herbert’s poems and reflections on his life, suffering, and vocation, the hosts examine how Herbert uses poetic form, architectural structure, and startling imagery to express the depths of divine love. Along the way, they reflect on the experience of reading

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53:21

Episode 19: The Art and Music of Love: Theresa, Dido,...

Hot Takes on the Classics ·

2025/12/09

DescriptionIn this episode of Hot Takes on the Classics, Emily Maeda and Tim McIntosh explore how Western art and music have depicted the many faces of love—from divine ecstasy to tragic longing to the gentle affections of pastoral life. They move through Beethoven’s Pastoral Symphony, Purcell’s Dido and Aeneas, Bernini’s Ecstasy of St. Teresa, and Bruegel’s The Wedding Dance, examining how artists across eras have tried to portray the beauty, complexity, and vulnerability of human and

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41:18

Episode 18: A Treatise Concerning Religious...

Hot Takes on the Classics ·

2025/12/02

DescriptionIn this episode of Hot Takes on the Classics, Emily Maeda and Tim McIntosh take a deep dive into Jonathan Edwards’s A Treatise Concerning Religious Affections, one of the most important theological works ever published in America. They explore Edwards’s historical moment in the midst of the First Great Awakening, the cultural divide between “old lights” and “new lights,” and Edwards’s effort to distinguish genuine spiritual transformation from mere emotional excitement. Along the

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49:44

Episode 17: The Confessions of St. Augustine: The...

Hot Takes on the Classics ·

2025/11/25

DescriptionIn this episode of Hot Takes on the Classics, Emily Maeda and Tim McIntosh explore one of the most influential works in Western thought—St. Augustine’s Confessions. Through Augustine’s prayerful reflections, they trace the restless search of a soul divided between desire and grace, and how divine love—caritas—gathers a disintegrated self into unity. Emily and Tim discuss Augustine’s literary innovation, his relationship with his mother Monica, his encounter with Ambrose, and the

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50:24

Episode 16: The Gospel of St. John - Cosmic Love

Hot Takes on the Classics ·

2025/11/18

Description In this episode of Hot Takes on the Classics, Emily Maeda and Tim McIntosh turn to the fourth and final love in C.S. Lewis’s taxonomy—agape, or divine charity—through the Gospel of St. John. They explore how John’s vision of love transforms an ordinary Greek term into the heartbeat of Christian revelation. Emily and Tim trace the word’s evolution from the Greek poets through the Septuagint to the New Testament, discuss the literary brilliance of John’s Gospel, and reflect on how

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48:25

Episode 15: Anna Karenina: The Marriage Plot

Hot Takes on the Classics ·

2025/11/11

DescriptionIn this episode of Hot Takes on the Classics, Emily Maeda and Tim McIntosh close out their episodes on Eros with Leo Tolstoy’s monumental novel Anna Karenina. They explore how Tolstoy intertwines two contrasting marriage plots—Anna’s tragic affair and Levin’s redemptive union with Kitty—to illuminate the tension between passion, virtue, and meaning in modern love. Along the way, Emily and Tim discuss Tolstoy’s critique of high society, the “woman question” in 19th-century Russia,

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47:58

Episode 14: The Making of a Great Marriage: Pride and...

Hot Takes on the Classics ·

2025/11/04

DescriptionIn this episode of Hot Takes on the Classics, Emily Maeda and Tim McIntosh unpack Jane Austen’s Pride and Prejudice, exploring how this beloved novel redefines what makes a good marriage. The hosts trace Elizabeth Bennet’s spirited self-knowledge and Mr. Darcy’s humbling transformation to show how love matures through mutual respect, truth-telling, and growth. Along the way, they laugh over Mr. Collins’s oblivious proposals, the absurdities of Mrs. Bennet’s matchmaking, and the

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39:55

Episode 13: Romeo and Juliet: The Wisdom of Young Love

Hot Takes on the Classics ·

2025/10/28

DescriptionIn this episode of Hot Takes on the Classics, Emily Maeda and Tim McIntosh revisit Shakespeare’s Romeo and Juliet, asking what makes this story so enduring and how it reshapes tragedy. They trace Romeo’s shift from infatuation to eloquent devotion, highlight Juliet’s prudence and wit, and map the play’s pivot from sparkling comedy to swift catastrophe. The hosts also consider parallels to sectarian conflict and the way the lovers’ deaths reconcile a city divided by an “ancient

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56:31

Episode 12: The Divine Comedy: Disordered Eros

Hot Takes on the Classics ·

2025/10/21

DescriptionIn this episode of Hot Takes on the Classics, Emily Maeda and Tim McIntosh dive into Dante Alighieri’s The Divine Comedy, one of the most ambitious works in world literature. They examine how Dante portrays love—especially eros—when it becomes disordered, destructive, or distorted. From Francesca and Paolo in Inferno to the purifying flames of Purgatorio, the poem moves from the consequences of misplaced desire to the redemptive ordering of love toward God. Emily and Tim reflect

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60:51

Episode 11: The Phaedras: Love is a Madness

Hot Takes on the Classics ·

2025/10/14

DescriptionIn this episode of Hot Takes on the Classics, Emily Maeda and Tim McIntosh explore Plato’s Phaedrus, a dialogue that weaves together questions of love, rhetoric, and the soul. They trace Socrates’ speeches on the nature of desire, his paradoxical claim that love is both divine madness and a path to truth, and Plato’s broader concerns about the power and danger of persuasion. Emily and Tim unpack how Phaedrus challenges modern categories of romance, friendship, and eros, while

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49:28

Episode 10: The Wind in the Willows: A Classic Tale...

Hot Takes on the Classics ·

2025/10/07

DescriptionIn this episode of Hot Takes on the Classics, Emily Maeda and Tim McIntosh explore Kenneth Grahame’s The Wind in the Willows, a beloved children’s classic that also raises profound questions about friendship, loyalty, and home. They reflect on the gentle affection between Mole and Rat, the comic recklessness of Toad, and the novel’s vision of rural England as a space of beauty and belonging. Along the way, they connect Grahame’s tale with other literary traditions, from Homer’s

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53:56

Episode 9: Huckleberry Finn: Can a Man and Child be...

Hot Takes on the Classics ·

2025/09/30

DescriptionIn this episode of Hot Takes on the Classics, Tim and Emily explore Mark Twain’s Adventures of Huckleberry Finn, asking whether a man and a child can truly be friends. They unpack the novel’s uneven yet profound legacy, including its powerful portrayal of Huck and Jim’s unlikely bond, its place in the tradition of banned books, and its lasting influence on American literature. Along the way, they compare Twain’s work with Uncle Tom’s Cabin, Dostoevsky, Faulkner, Hemingway, and

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38:24

Episode 8: Cicero, On Friendship: Virtue–The Basis of...

Hot Takes on the Classics ·

2025/09/23

DescriptionIn this episode of Hot Takes on the Classics, Emily Maeda and Tim McIntosh turn to Cicero’s On Friendship, a dialogue exploring what makes friendship possible, lasting, and good. They unpack Cicero’s conviction that friendship is only possible between those committed to virtue, and that true friendship is one of life’s greatest gifts—second only to wisdom. The hosts trace Cicero’s Roman context, his defense of republican ideals, and his enduring insights into the moral

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38:39

Episode 7: Epic of Gilgamesh: Superhuman Friendship

Hot Takes on the Classics ·

2025/09/16

DescriptionIn this episode of Hot Takes on the Classics, Tim McIntosh and Emily Maeda journey into the world’s oldest surviving epic, The Epic of Gilgamesh. They explore how the story dramatizes philia, or friendship, through the bond between Gilgamesh and Enkidu—a friendship that transforms a tyrant into a true man. From their first clash to their adventures slaying monsters, and finally to Enkidu’s death, the hosts unpack the role of friendship as a civilizing force, a mirror of

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54:29

Episode 6: East of Eden, John Steinbeck: The American...

Hot Takes on the Classics ·

2025/09/09

DescriptionIn this episode of Hot Takes on the Classics, Emily Maeda and Tim McIntosh dive into John Steinbeck’s East of Eden, exploring how the novel wrestles with the tension between familial affection (storge), honesty, and moral responsibility. The hosts examine Steinbeck’s portrayal of family bonds marked by both tenderness and devastation, paying special attention to the complex relationships between parents, children, and siblings. Together, the hosts probe Steinbeck’s vision of

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45:23

Episode 5: Sorry, Professor – Jo’s Heart Belonged to...

Hot Takes on the Classics ·

2025/09/02

DescriptionIn this episode of Hot Takes on the Classics, Emily and Tim dive into Louisa May Alcott’s Little Women, a quintessential American novel exploring the power of familial affection, or storge. Through the domestic world of the March sisters, the novel celebrates love that is rooted in everyday acts of care, sacrifice, and support. Tim and Emily discuss the enduring impact of the book—especially its deep appeal for young women—and the formation of character through simple joys,

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51:50

Episode 4: Beyond Sentimentality – The Odyssey’s...

Hot Takes on the Classics ·

2025/08/26

DescriptionIn this episode of Hot Takes on the Classics, Emily Maeda and Tim McIntosh explore Homer’s Odyssey as a foundational story of familial love and longing. They examine Odysseus as the archetypal man of arete, whose journey is motivated by storge—a profound affection for home, wife, and son. From Penelope’s weaving to Telemachus’ awakening, the episode explores how the epic gives voice to the restorative power of love rooted in place and people. Emily offers a powerful hot take:

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