Dante's History
The poem is allegorical, with multiple meanings. Each episode will cover a canto at a time, summarizing and interpreting the poem based on dozens of commentaries. Check the website for further reading.
Episodes
September 14, 2023 • 24 mins
In this canto, Dante and Virgil continue to observe the thieves that reside in the seventh ditch of the 8th circle of the inferno, aka The Malebolge. Virgil will tell him about us about the raging centaur that terrorizes the inhabitants here and Dante will witness a couple of grotesque transformations.
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September 6, 2021 • 17 mins
In this canto, Dante and Virgil finally make it out of the sixth subring of the 8th circle. As they cross the next bolgia, a disgruntled voice draws them down to take a closer look. They discover the seventh subring is full of snakes and thieves. Our travelers speak with one of these thieves, a political opponent of Dante's, who tells them about his greatest crime and offers the pilgrim a discouraging prophecy.
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June 17, 2021 • 21 mins
In this canto our travelers venture into the sixth bolgia of the 8th circle and walk with a procession of miserable monks who've been forced to wear heavy cloaks. We'll meet two of these sad hypocrites and learn why some of them have been crucified to the ground.
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May 12, 2021 • 16 mins
In this canto, our travelers are joined by the Malebranche who may be leading them into a trap. The demonic escorts also catch an escaped barrator who identifies a few others sinners that bartered for a positions of power and are now submerged under the boiling black pitch. The barrator then tries to trick the demons with a bargain that sounds too good to be true.
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March 16, 2021 • 22 mins
In this canto, our travelers meet the Malebranche; winged demons that patrol the 5th bolgia of the Circle of Fraud. We'll also learn about the sinners here and what the sin of barratry has to with sailing ships.
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December 7, 2020 • 29 mins
In this canto, Virgil and the pilgrim examine the fourth ditch of the 8th circle and the group of sinners who abused the gift of prophecy. We'll learn about a few ancient prophets and Dante will have Virgil make a correction to his own work.
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September 2, 2020 • 32 mins
In this canto, Dante and Virgil explore the 3rd valley of the Malebolge. We'll learn about the sin of Simony and meet a former Pope who has been buried upside down for twenty years. Dante also finds a way to insult one of his greatest political enemies.
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June 17, 2020 • 20 mins
In this episode, Dante and Virgil begin exploring the 8th circle of the Inferno: The Malebolge. The pilgrim will describe the structure of this part of hell and meet two different kinds of sinners. We'll also learn how the sinners in this part of the Inferno use fraud to exploit the sins of others.
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April 13, 2020 • 20 mins
In this canto, Dante and Virgil encounter Geryon, the beast of fraud and the pilgrim will meet the last group of violent sinners, those who make money from money.
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January 22, 2020 • 25 mins
In this canto, our travelers meet a trio of Florentine politicians who want to know about the current state of nobility in Florence. They also encounter a waterfall at the very edge of the 7th ring where Dante will be asked to give up something of his.
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August 2, 2019 • 24 mins
In this canto, Dante meets the man who taught him how to speak and write-- a politician and fellow exile who has one last lesson for the pilgrim. We'll also learn about the group of sinners punished in this sub-circle-- those who were violent against nature and order.
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April 26, 2019 • 15 mins
In this canto, Dante and Virgil continue across the middle ring of the 7th Circle of hell, where they encounter a giant warrior with a chip on his shoulder. Then Virgil teaches the pilgrim about the tragic source of all the rivers of the inferno.
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January 17, 2019 • 14 mins
In this canto, Dante and his guide enter a dark forest of mangled trees. They speak with a damned soul who took his own life. He shares his sad story and the gruesome fate that awaits those who use violence against themselves.
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October 7, 2018 • 14 mins
In this canto, Dante and his guide will be confronted by "The Infamy of Crete" and the leader of thousands of centaurs guards threatens to shoot an arrow at the pilgrim. We'll learn about the ancient philosophy of love and hate and see which famous tyrants ended up in a boiling river of blood.
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June 2, 2018 • 14 mins
In this canto, the pilgrim and his guide are forced to take a short break. Virgil uses the opportunity to describe the architecture of lower hell and explain why the act of making money from money is considered violence against nature.
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January 15, 2018 • 18 mins
In this canto our duo walk among the tombs of the city of the dead where they meet two once feuding aristocrats who must now share a grave for eternity. We'll learn about the noble Epicureans and their views on the immortal soul and get further insight into the poet's view of the past , present, and future of the civil war in his homeland of Florence.
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November 9, 2017 • 11 mins
In this canto, while Dante and Virgil wait for help to get them into the City of Dis, the pilgrim is threatened by blood-covered Furies. Then a visitor shows up and sends all the damned running in fear.
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October 8, 2017 • 12 mins
In this canto, Dante and Virgil travel through the Stygian marsh where they meet another demon ferryman and another damned Florentine citizen. Then when they reach the gates of Dis, the pilgrim is told he must turn back and this time even Virgil's won't be able to save him.
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September 3, 2017 • 11 mins
In this canto, the pilgrim and his guide encounter the demon Plutus, god of wealth in the Forth Circle. Here they observe the plight of the Avaricious and Prodigal, those who lust hoard or waste wealth. We'll learn a bit about the nature of fortune before entering the fifth circle, where the angry and sullen reside.
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May 22, 2017 • 15 mins
In this canto, the pilgrim and his guide enter the Circle of the Gluttons and encounter the hound of hell. We meet another former Florentine citizen nicknamed "Hog" and delve deeper into the poet's views on the civil war in his home town.
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