[Special note: The Episode covering Cantos 10, 11, and 12 was lost to history and the fires of Hell/Zoom].

Friends, a periodic warning. This podcast is not about summary, nor content, nor entertainment, nor facts. This podcast aims for aporia. That is, we aim to begin in uncertainty, and to end in paradox, silence, and doubt. And, if nothing else, these aims at least we achieve…. Today we are discussing Cantos 13, 14, and 15 of Dante’s and Virgil’s continuing descent into Hell. This turns out to be an especially dense reading, covering many thorny topics. What is the difference between suicide – a damnable act – and dying to yourself in order to live in Christ – an act which Dante celebrates? What is Dante’s relationship to homosexuality? Clearly he deems it a sin, yet the homosexuals we meet in Hell are among the noblest characters and receive the gentlest treatment of any sinners. What is the relationship between sodomy, usury, and suicide, and between these sins and their (highly allegorical) punishments? As you can tell, it’s another fun-filled episode!