Hot Takes on the Classics

Description
In this special year-end episode of Hot Takes on the Classics, Tim McIntosh and Emily Maeda share their five favorite reads of 2025. Moving from plays and poetry to memoir, philosophy, theology, neuroscience, and historical fiction, they reflect on the books that most shaped their thinking this year. Along the way, they discuss stage design and historical drama, political memoir, levitating saints and historiography, divided brain theory, mystical theology, and poetic devotion. They also ask an intriguing question: Which of these contemporary works might endure as future classics? The episode closes with a preview of next season’s theme—short narratives exploring the milestones of human life.
Episode Outline
Introduction to the “Top Five Reads of 2025” format
Discussion of the “Top Five Reads of 2025”
Preview of next season: short stories and short narratives across the arc of life
Key Topics & Takeaways
Literature and Performance Across Time: The Lehman Trilogy demonstrates how stagecraft and direction can elevate historical narrative into sweeping theatrical art, while Herbert’s The Temple shows how poetry functions as an architectural whole rather than isolated lyrics.
Autobiography vs. Memoir: Dorothy Day’s A Long Loneliness offers a straightforward recounting of lived experience, in contrast to more literary memoirs like Augustine’s Confessions. The distinction between recounting and artistic shaping becomes part of the interpretive conversation.
Mysticism and the Limits of Modern Materialism: Carlos Eire’s They Flew challenges historians to take seriously supernatural claims recorded in early modern sources, raising questions about empiricism, testimony, and belief.
The Divided Brain and Cultural Imbalance: Ian McGilchrist’s The Master and His Emissary and The Matter with Things argue that Western culture overprivileges left-hemisphere abstraction at the expense of right-hemisphere wholeness, intuition, and poetic knowledge.
Devotion and Incarnation: Simone Weil’s Waiting on God and George Herbert’s The Temple exemplify deeply incarnational spiritual writing—faith expressed through attention, humility, and beauty.
The Question of the “Future Classic”: Throughout the episode, the hosts consider which of their contemporary selections might endure. While older works like Kierkegaard and Herbert are already canonical, authors like Franzen, Fosse, and McGilchrist raise the question of long-term literary legacy.
Questions & Discussion
What makes a book feel “classic” rather than merely contemporary?
Consider whether clarity of moral vision, stylistic excellence, cultural influence, or thematic universality determines lasting status.
How does rereading change a book’s power?
Reflect on whether returning to a familiar text (like The Temple) reveals layers missed in earlier readings.
Is intuition a legitimate form of knowledge?
Drawing from McGilchrist’s work, consider how intuition functions in your own decision-making and whether it can be trusted.
Can contemporary fiction capture generational change convincingly?
Discuss whether multi-generational novels like Crossroads can successfully portray cultural shifts across decades.
Which of these books do you think will still be read 100 years from now?
Identify one title from this episode and defend its potential longevity.
Suggested Reading & Resources
Devotchka
The Lehman Trilogy by Stefano Massini
Crossroads by Jonathan Franzen
The Sickness Unto Death by Søren Kierkegaard
Trilogy by Jon Fosse
Waiting for God by Simone Weil
The Temple by George Herbert
The Long Loneliness by Dorothy Day
They Flew: A History of the Impossible by Carlos Eire
The Master and His Emissary by Ian McGilchrist
The Matter with Things by Ian McGilchrist
The Life You Save May Be Your Own by Paul Elie 
The League of the Lexicon
Classical Academic Press

Description
In 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. Lewis, Cicero, Jane Austen, Tolstoy, and others, while also looking ahead to future seasons and the kinds of questions classic literature continues to provoke.
Episode Outline
Introduction and framing the season on love in contrast to the prior season on war
Why conflict is easier to dramatize than love
The need for a richer vocabulary of love beyond romantic eros
Reconsidering the importance and rarity of true friendship (philia)
Distinguishing friendship from camaraderie and social closeness
Reflections on The Wind in the Willows and Cicero as models of friendship
Love as an ontological and demanding subject rather than entertainment
Revisiting major literary masterworks on love and why they remain underrated
Affection (storge) as love of place, home, and belonging
Mysticism and love: Simone Weil and Waiting on God
The range of genres and voices explored during the season
Romantic love as a mystery in classical thought
Rapid-fire reflections and closing thoughts on the season’s legacy
Key Topics & Takeaways
Love vs. War in Literature: War is often more narratively exciting because it centers on conflict, while love is more difficult to portray precisely because it aims at harmony and unity.
The Poverty of Modern Love Vocabulary: English lacks precise terms for different kinds of love, flattening distinctions that were carefully preserved in Greek and Latin traditions.
The Recovery of Friendship (Philia): True friendship is rare, selective, and morally demanding—far more than mere companionship or camaraderie.
Affection and Love of Place (Storge): Love of home and country need not depend on superiority or perfection, but on belonging and loyalty despite flaws.
Masterworks Remain Underrated: Familiar texts like Romeo and Juliet, Pride and Prejudice, and Anna Karenina are often misunderstood because their popularity obscures their depth.
Mysticism as Energizing Love: Simone Weil’s Waiting on God presents love not as sentimental or escapist, but as demanding attention, patience, and openness.
Romantic Love as Mystery: Classical thinkers treated romantic love as something strange, destabilizing, and difficult to explain—closer to a force of nature than a manageable emotion.
Questions & Discussion
Why is love harder to portray in literature than war?
Consider how conflict, suffering, and resolution function differently in narratives about love versus narratives about violence.
Do we need more words for love today?
Reflect on how language shapes moral imagination and whether modern culture collapses distinct loves into a single category.
What distinguishes true friendship from camaraderie or social closeness?
Think about Cicero’s idea of friendship as “another self” and how that challenges modern assumptions.
Why do classic love stories remain undervalued despite their fame?
Consider whether overexposure dulls attentiveness and how rereading changes interpretation.
Is romantic love best understood as rational choice or mystery?
Compare modern expectations of romance with classical portrayals of love as destabilizing and inexplicable.
Suggested Reading & Resources
Waiting for God by Simone Weil
The Four Loves by C. S. Lewis   
On Friendship by Cicero
Wind in the Willows by Kenneth Grahame    
Romeo and Juliet by William Shakespeare 
Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austen
Anna Karenina by Leo Tolstoy
Little Women by Louisa May Alcott 
Devotchka

Description
In 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 that emerges when the self is emptied, situating her thought alongside figures such as Julian of Norwich, Plato, Dietrich Bonhoeffer, and George Herbert.
Episode Outline
Opening quotation from Waiting for God and introduction to Simone Weil
Weil’s historical context: a life spanning the two World Wars
Simone Weil as “activist mystic”: solidarity, deprivation, and integrity
Weil’s intellectual brilliance and philosophical formation
Encounters with suffering: factory work, war, and social marginalization
Waiting for God as a book of letters and essays
Letters to Father Jean-Marie Perrin and Weil’s struggle with baptism
Attention as the core of prayer, education, and love
Affliction (malheur) and consent to the void
Joy, suffering, and supernatural reversal
Weil’s encounter with George Herbert’s “Love (III)”
Closing reflections on mysticism, activism, and transformed love
Key Topics & Takeaways
Attention as Prayer: For Simone Weil, attention is not an act of willpower but a receptive openness. Taken to its highest degree, attention becomes prayer and prepares the soul to receive God.
Affliction and the Void: Weil understands affliction as more than physical suffering—it annihilates the ego and creates an empty space in which God alone can enter.
Consent Rather Than Escape: Spiritual transformation comes not from avoiding suffering but from consenting to it without illusion, allowing a mysterious reversal to occur.
Education and Desire: True learning occurs through attention and is driven by desire and joy, echoing insights found in Plato and later educators like Charlotte Mason.
Love of Neighbor as Creative Attention: Weil insists that genuine love recognizes the afflicted not as categories but as persons, offering presence and attention as acts of love.
Questions & Discussion
What does Simone Weil mean by “waiting for God”?
Consider how waiting differs from asking, striving, or controlling, and how this challenges modern ideas of prayer and productivity.
How does Weil redefine attention in both education and spiritual life?
Reflect on how her understanding of attention contrasts with the modern “attention economy.”
What role does affliction play in spiritual transformation?
Discuss whether Weil’s insistence on consent to suffering is compelling, troubling, or both.
How does Weil’s thought compare to other mystics discussed this season, such as Julian of Norwich?
Explore similarities and differences in how they understand suffering, joy, and divine love.
What does it mean to love one’s neighbor through attention?
Consider the practical implications of Weil’s claim that attention itself is an act of love.
Suggested Reading & Resources
Waiting for God by Simone Weil
Simone Weil's The Iliad or the Poem of Force by Simone Weil
Revelations of Divine Love by Julian of Norwich
The Republic by Plato translated by Allan Bloom 
The Cost of Discipleship by Dietrich Bonhoeffer
The Temple, “Love (III)” by George Herbert
Devotchka

Description
In 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 mysticism, the symbolic imagination of medieval Christianity, and why Julian’s insistence that “all shall be well, and all shall be well, and all manner of thing shall be well” can only be understood in the shadow of the Cross.
Episode Outline
Opening quotation from "Little Gidding" by T.S. Eliot and its connection to Julian of Norwich
Julian of Norwich’s historical context: anchoress life, Middle English, and medieval spirituality
The recovery, transmission, and modern rediscovery of Revelations of Divine Love
What it means to call Julian a “mystic” and how mysticism differs from systematic theology
Julian’s illness, visions, and the structure of the “shewings”
The hazelnut vision and Julian’s understanding of creation as sustained by love
Sin as “behovely” and the meaning of “all shall be well, and all shall be well, and all manner of thing shall be well”
Julian’s Trinitarian vision of love and being “oynd” with God
Christ as mother: metaphor, symbolism, and theological daring
The lasting relevance of Julian’s mystical theology for modern readers
Key Topics & Takeaways
Mysticism and Direct Vision: Julian exemplifies the mystic as one who receives interior visions that convey theological truth through symbol, image, and contemplation rather than abstract doctrine.
Love as the Structure of Reality: For Julian, divine love is not merely an attribute of God but the sustaining force of all that exists, holding creation together like a hazelnut in God’s hand.
Sin as Privation, Not Power: Sin is real and painful, but it has no independent substance; it is contained within God’s larger work of love and redemption.
The Cross as the Context of Hope: Julian’s famous assurance that “all shall be well and all manner of thing shall be well” emerges not from denial of suffering but from prolonged contemplation of Christ’s Passion.
Expansive Christological Imagery: Julian’s portrayal of Christ as mother draws on medieval symbolism to express nourishment, sacrifice, and intimate care, expanding the reader’s theological imagination.
Questions & Discussion
What distinguishes mysticism from formal theology in Julian’s writing?
Consider how vision, symbol, and lived experience function differently from doctrinal explanation.
How does the hazelnut vision reshape the way we think about creation and evil?
Reflect on whether seeing the world as sustained entirely by love alters how we interpret suffering.
What does Julian mean when she says that “Sin is behovely”?
Discuss how this idea challenges modern assumptions about moral causality and blame.
How does Julian of Norwich’s assurance “all shall be well and all manner of thing shall be well” resonate with Tolkien’s idea of eucatastrophe?
Consider how both thinkers understand hope not as the denial of suffering, but as the surprising revelation of goodness emerging through loss, failure, or apparent defeat.
How should modern readers approach Julian’s image of Christ as mother?
Consider the role of metaphor and symbolism in theology and whether discomfort signals resistance or misunderstanding.
Suggested Reading & Resources
Revelations of Divine Love by Julian of Norwich
The Book of Margery Kempe by Margery Kempe
Four Quartets,"Little Gidding" by T.S. Eliot
Thomas Aquinas: Selected Writings by Thomas Aquinas 
The Lord of the Rings by J.R.R. Tolkien 
Devotchka

Description
In 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 poetry slowly and attentively, the relationship between affliction and grace, and why Herbert continues to shape poets, theologians, and readers centuries later.
Episode Outline
Opening reading of George Herbert’s poem “Bitter-sweet”
Emily’s personal encounter with Herbert through Christine Perrin’s lecture at The CiRCE National Conference
Poetry as an experiential art: reading collections versus isolated poems
Comparing poetry collections to listening to a full album
Discussion of poetry collections by Rainer Maria Rilke, T.S. Eliot, and R.S. Thomas
George Herbert’s life: education, illness, vocation, and pastoral ministry
Herbert’s relationship to John Donne and the metaphysical poets
The Country Parson as Herbert’s only work published during his lifetime
The posthumous publication and reception of The Temple
Structural “architecture” of The Temple: Church Porch, The Church, The Church Militant
Close readings and discussion of poems from The Temple, including “The Glance,” “The Agony,” “Virtue,” “The Wreath,” and “Love (III)”.
Herbert’s use of poetic form (visual poems, repetition, symmetry)
Reflections from T.S. Eliot, W.H. Auden, Elizabeth Bishop, and Simone Weil
Poetry as the proper language for suffering and divine love
Closing reflections on poetry, attention, and formation
Key Topics & Takeaways
Poetry as Formation: Herbert’s poetry resists abstraction and demands patient attention, shaping the reader through image, rhythm, and form rather than argument.
Affliction and Divine Love: Herbert presents suffering not as a contradiction of God’s love but as one of its deepest avenues, especially in poems like “The Agony” and “Love (III).”
Architectural Meaning: The Temple is structured like a sacred space—moving inward, upward, and through the stages of the Christian life.
Form Serves Meaning: Herbert’s experimental poetic forms (wreaths, wings, typographic play) embody theological truth rather than merely decorate it.
Enduring Influence: Herbert’s work continues to shape modern poets, theologians, and seekers across belief traditions.
Questions & Discussion
Why does reading poetry slowly matter?
Consider how reading an entire poetry collection—rather than isolated poems—changes interpretation and emotional impact.
How does Herbert connect suffering and love?
Reflect on how poems like “The Agony” and “Love (III)” portray pain as a vehicle for grace rather than its opposite.
What does Herbert gain by using poetic form visually?
Discuss how poems like “The Wreath” or “Easter Wings” communicate meaning through structure, not just words.
Can poetry communicate theological truth better than prose?
Think about why figures like Erik Varden argue that poetry is uniquely suited to expressing spiritual realities.
Why does “Love (III)” remain so powerful for readers today?
Reflect on its depiction of divine hospitality, shame, and acceptance, and why it continues to resonate across centuries.
Suggested Reading
The Temple by George Herbert
The Poems of George Hebert by George Herbert
The Country Parson by George Herbert
Confessions by St. Augustine translated by Sarah Ruden
Holy Sonnets by John Donne
Duino Elegies by  Rainer Maria Rilke
Four Quartets by T.S. Eliot
R.S. Thomas: Everyman Poetry by R.S. Thomas
Waiting for God by Simone Weil
Healing Wounds by Bishop Erik Varden
Chastity: The Reconciliation of Senses by Bishop Erik Varden