Hot Takes on the Classics

Hosted ByEmily 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.

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.

(You may also enjoy Tim’s “The Play’s the Thing” show with CiRCE.)


All Episodes

Episode 8: The Art of War by Sun Tzu: Victory without Battle

Description In this episode of Hot Takes on the Classics, Tim McIntosh and Emily Maeda analyze Sun Tzu’s The Art of War, a foundational text in strategic thought. Written...

Episode 7: Julius Caesar’s Gallic Wars: Genocidal Maniac or Great Hero?

Description In this episode of Hot Takes on the Classics, Emily Maeda and Tim McIntosh examine Julius Caesar’s Gallic Wars, an essential work of Latin literature that chronicles Caesar’s...

Episode 6: The Psychomachia: Was C.S. Lewis Wrong About Prudentius?

Description In this episode of Hot Takes on the Classics, Tim McIntosh and Emily Maeda explore Prudentius’ Psychomachia (“The Battle of the Soul”). This groundbreaking Christian allegorical poem reimagines...

Episode 5: Virgil, The Aeneid: Can Peace Be Built on War?

Description In this episode of Hot Takes on the Classics, Tim McIntosh and Emily Maeda delve into Virgil’s Aeneid, a cornerstone of Roman literature. They discuss Aeneas as the...

Episode 4: Thucydides, Pericles’ Funeral Oration: The Greatest Speech to Read

Description In this episode of Hot Takes on the Classics, Tim McIntosh and Emily Maeda dive into Pericles’ Funeral Oration as recorded by Thucydides in The Peloponnesian War. They...

Episode 3: Thucydides, The Peloponnesian War: Not a Modern Historian, but a Participatory Chronicler

Description In this episode of Hot Takes on the Classics, hosts Tim McIntosh and Emily Maeda explore Thucydides’ The Peloponnesian War, examining the legendary conflict between Athens and Sparta....

Episode 2: The Book of Judges: Where Are the Hittites?

Description In this episode of Hot Takes on the Classics, Emily Maeda and Tim McIntosh dive into the often-overlooked Book of Judges, examining its powerful themes of faith, conflict,...

Episode 1: The Iliad: The Opposite of War is Not Peace; It’s Liturgy

Description In this debut episode of ‘Hot Takes from the Classics,’ hosts Tim McIntosh and Emily Maeda delve into one of the greatest war epics ever written, Homer’s Iliad....

Introducing: Hot Takes on the Classics

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,...