Odyssey: A Daily Odyssey through Homer’s The Odyssey

Odyssey: A Daily Odyssey into Homer’s The Odyssey is a daily read-along podcast for anyone who’s ever thought, “I should really read The Odyssey someday.”
Every day for one year, host Landen Celano reads one page from The Odyssey, (using Butcher & Lang English prose translation), then follows it with smart, spoiler-aware commentary: close reading, Greek mythology context, Homeric weirdness, and whatever tangents the text demands.
If you’re here because you’re hyped for Christopher Nolan’s upcoming Odyssey film: welcome. This show isn’t about the movie. It’s about finally experiencing the ancient story itself, in order, one page at a time.
Read along on YouTube (the text appears on screen), or grab the same Butcher & Lang translation from Project Gutenberg. Want a more traditional audiobook experience? Patreon subscribers get commentary-free audio at the end of each chapter.
New episodes daily. Despite rain, sleet, snow, and hydra encounters.
Odyssey: A Daily Odyssey into Homer’s The Odyssey is a daily read-along podcast for anyone who’s ever thought, “I should really read The Odyssey someday.”
Every day for one year, host Landen Celano reads one page from The Odyssey, (using Butcher & Lang English prose translation), then follows it with smart, spoiler-aware commentary: close reading, Greek mythology context, Homeric weirdness, and whatever tangents the text demands.
If you’re here because you’re hyped for Christopher Nolan’s upcoming Odyssey film: welcome. This show isn’t about the movie. It’s about finally experiencing the ancient story itself, in order, one page at a time.
Read along on YouTube (the text appears on screen), or grab the same Butcher & Lang translation from Project Gutenberg. Want a more traditional audiobook experience? Patreon subscribers get commentary-free audio at the end of each chapter.
New episodes daily. Despite rain, sleet, snow, and hydra encounters.
Episodes
Episodes



Aug 18, 2026
Aug 18, 2026
13 min
The underworld reveals not only the dead, but the consequences that never end. Power, pride, and defiance are weighed here without mercy.
In The Odyssey, Book 11, Odysseus beholds the great figures who dwell in Hades as warnings and examples. Minos, son of Zeus, sits in judgment over the dead, dispensing fate with a golden sceptre. Orion ranges the mead of asphodel, forever hunting the beasts he once slew in life. Then come the condemned: Tityos stretched helpless as vultures tear at him; Tantalus tormented by water and fruit forever just beyond his reach; and Sisyphus straining eternally to roll his stone uphill, only to see it fall again. These sights lay bare the inescapable justice of the gods.
This passage shows Hades not as chaos, but as order without release — where deeds echo endlessly and punishment has no nightfall.
⸻
New to the journey? Start from the beginning at: http://theodysseypodcast.com
Support the project on Patreon and receive full-length, story-only audio after each book: https://patreon.com/gruntworkpod
Listen wherever you get your podcasts, or follow along on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC036TeD3DkuF1VSCQJfKGtw
⸻
Odyssey is a daily podcast reading one page at a time from Homer’s classic epic — every day. Whether you’re starting from the beginning or joining mid-journey, each episode brings you deeper into the story of The Odyssey.
Aug 18, 2026
13 min



Aug 17, 2026
Aug 17, 2026
8 min
Not all wounds can be spoken away. Even among the dead, pride and grief keep their distance.
In The Odyssey, Book 11, Odysseus watches Achilles depart in quiet joy, comforted at last by news of his son. Around them, other spirits gather to question the living — all except Ajax, son of Telamon. Still enraged over the contest for Achilles’ armor, Ajax stands apart, refusing even now to answer Odysseus’ words of regret and reconciliation. Odysseus confesses his sorrow for Ajax’s death and the doom the gods laid upon the Achaeans, but Ajax turns away in silence and vanishes into Erebus.
This passage reveals the limits of understanding and apology, where some divisions endure beyond death itself.
⸻
New to the journey? Start from the beginning at: http://theodysseypodcast.com
Support the project on Patreon and receive full-length, story-only audio after each book: https://patreon.com/gruntworkpod
Listen wherever you get your podcasts, or follow along on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC036TeD3DkuF1VSCQJfKGtw
⸻
Odyssey is a daily podcast reading one page at a time from Homer’s classic epic — every day. Whether you’re starting from the beginning or joining mid-journey, each episode brings you deeper into the story of The Odyssey.
Aug 17, 2026
8 min



Aug 16, 2026
Aug 16, 2026
10 min
The greatest hero of the war speaks plainly at last. Fame survives death — but joy does not.
In The Odyssey, Book 11, Achilles answers Odysseus’ praise with a truth that cuts through every heroic promise: he would rather live as the poorest laborer on earth than rule over all the dead. He asks instead about what still matters to him — his father Peleus and his son Neoptolemus. Odysseus cannot speak of Peleus, but he brings Achilles comfort by recounting Neoptolemus’ courage, wisdom, and unmatched valor at Troy, from the councils of war to the ambush of the horse, and his safe return with honor.
This passage delivers one of the epic’s starkest reversals, where glory is outweighed by life itself, and legacy is found not in fame, but in the fate of one’s children.
⸻
New to the journey? Start from the beginning at: http://theodysseypodcast.com
Support the project on Patreon and receive full-length, story-only audio after each book: https://patreon.com/gruntworkpod
Listen wherever you get your podcasts, or follow along on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC036TeD3DkuF1VSCQJfKGtw
⸻
Odyssey is a daily podcast reading one page at a time from Homer’s classic epic — every day. Whether you’re starting from the beginning or joining mid-journey, each episode brings you deeper into the story of The Odyssey.
Aug 16, 2026
10 min



Aug 15, 2026
Aug 15, 2026
9 min
The greatest hero of the war stands stripped of glory. Fame has followed him into death — but not joy.
In The Odyssey, Book 11, Odysseus’ sorrowful exchange with Agamemnon is interrupted by the arrival of Achilles, accompanied by the shades of Patroclus, Antilochus, and Ajax. Achilles recognizes Odysseus at once and marvels that any living man would dare descend to the house of Hades. Odysseus answers with reverence, reminding Achilles of the unmatched honor he held among the living and the authority he now commands among the dead.
This encounter sets the stage for one of the poem’s starkest reckonings: the contrast between heroic fame and the emptiness that follows it beyond life.
⸻
New to the journey? Start from the beginning at: http://theodysseypodcast.com
Support the project on Patreon and receive full-length, story-only audio after each book: https://patreon.com/gruntworkpod
Listen wherever you get your podcasts, or follow along on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC036TeD3DkuF1VSCQJfKGtw
⸻
Odyssey is a daily podcast reading one page at a time from Homer’s classic epic — every day. Whether you’re starting from the beginning or joining mid-journey, each episode brings you deeper into the story of The Odyssey.
Aug 15, 2026
9 min



Aug 14, 2026
Aug 14, 2026
9 min
From grief comes counsel, sharp and unsparing. Survival, Agamemnon insists, depends not only on courage, but on caution at home.
In The Odyssey, Book 11, Odysseus answers Agamemnon by tracing the long suffering of the house of Atreus back to Helen and the treacheries of women bound to war. Agamemnon replies with hard-earned advice: never reveal all that is in one’s heart, and return in secret, not openly, to one’s own land. Yet he makes one crucial exception — Penelope, he says, is wise and faithful, unlike Clytemnestra. He then asks after his own son, Orestes, hoping still that vengeance and survival may yet be his.
This passage turns the underworld into a place of instruction, where the dead warn the living how to endure what awaits them beyond the grave.
⸻
New to the journey? Start from the beginning at: http://theodysseypodcast.com
Support the project on Patreon and receive full-length, story-only audio after each book: https://patreon.com/gruntworkpod
Listen wherever you get your podcasts, or follow along on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC036TeD3DkuF1VSCQJfKGtw
⸻
Odyssey is a daily podcast reading one page at a time from Homer’s classic epic — every day. Whether you’re starting from the beginning or joining mid-journey, each episode brings you deeper into the story of The Odyssey.
Aug 14, 2026
9 min



Aug 13, 2026
Aug 13, 2026
15 min
War does not claim this king — welcome does. The deepest wounds are dealt at home.
In The Odyssey, Book 11, Odysseus asks Agamemnon how death found him after Troy. The fallen king answers with bitter clarity: not storm or battle, but murder at a banquet. Betrayed by Aegisthus and struck down with the aid of Clytemnestra, Agamemnon and his companions were slaughtered like cattle amid feasting bowls and laden tables. His tale lingers on the cruelty of the scene and the shame that treachery has cast upon his house — and upon all who hear it.
This passage reframes the danger of return, warning that the end of war does not end peril, and that trust itself may be fatal.
⸻
New to the journey? Start from the beginning at: http://theodysseypodcast.com
Support the project on Patreon and receive full-length, story-only audio after each book: https://patreon.com/gruntworkpod
Listen wherever you get your podcasts, or follow along on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC036TeD3DkuF1VSCQJfKGtw
⸻
Odyssey is a daily podcast reading one page at a time from Homer’s classic epic — every day. Whether you’re starting from the beginning or joining mid-journey, each episode brings you deeper into the story of The Odyssey.
Aug 13, 2026
15 min



Aug 12, 2026
Aug 12, 2026
9 min
The night invites more truth, and Odysseus agrees to speak again. What follows is not glory, but warning.
In The Odyssey, Book 11 continues as King Alcinous praises Odysseus’ wisdom and urges him to go on, asking after the fate of the comrades who sailed with him to Troy. Odysseus consents, turning from his own trials to the bitter end of others. In the underworld, the shade of Agamemnon rises, surrounded by those murdered with him, and recognizes Odysseus at once. He weeps and reaches out — powerless now — a king undone not in war, but by treachery at home.
This passage opens a darker reckoning: that survival after war carries dangers as great as any faced on the battlefield.
⸻
New to the journey? Start from the beginning at: http://theodysseypodcast.com
Support the project on Patreon and receive full-length, story-only audio after each book: https://patreon.com/gruntworkpod
Listen wherever you get your podcasts, or follow along on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC036TeD3DkuF1VSCQJfKGtw
⸻
Odyssey is a daily podcast reading one page at a time from Homer’s classic epic — every day. Whether you’re starting from the beginning or joining mid-journey, each episode brings you deeper into the story of The Odyssey.
Aug 12, 2026
9 min



Aug 11, 2026
Aug 11, 2026
10 min
The tale reaches its limit, and night presses close. Memory gives way to judgment — not of the dead, but of the living who have listened.
In The Odyssey, Book 11 concludes as Odysseus finishes naming the women of old — Maera, Clymene, and Eriphyle — before declaring that the night is too far spent to tell all he has seen. Silence falls over the Phaeacian hall, broken at last by Queen Arete, who praises Odysseus’ bearing and wisdom and urges generous hospitality. King Alcinous agrees: Odysseus will not depart at once, but will stay one more night while the Phaeacians prepare a fitting gift and safe passage home.
This passage closes the long descent into memory and myth, returning Odysseus at last to the world of human judgment, generosity, and choice.
⸻
New to the journey? Start from the beginning at: http://theodysseypodcast.com
Support the project on Patreon and receive full-length, story-only audio after each book: https://patreon.com/gruntworkpod
Listen wherever you get your podcasts, or follow along on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC036TeD3DkuF1VSCQJfKGtw
⸻
Odyssey is a daily podcast reading one page at a time from Homer’s classic epic — every day. Whether you’re starting from the beginning or joining mid-journey, each episode brings you deeper into the story of The Odyssey.
Aug 11, 2026
10 min



Aug 10, 2026
Aug 10, 2026
10 min
Some are remembered for glory, others for ruin — and some for both at once. In the underworld, honor and loss share the same shadow.
In The Odyssey, Book 11, Odysseus continues to behold the spirits of renowned women. He sees Leda, mother of Castor and Polydeuces, whose sons share immortality by turns, living and dying in a strange divine balance. He encounters Iphimedeia, whose sons Otus and Ephialtes dared to challenge Olympus itself, only to be struck down before manhood. He also sees Phaedra, Procris, and Ariadne — figures bound to betrayal, abandonment, and divine punishment.
This passage gathers myths of love, ambition, and destruction, showing how closeness to gods can grant honor — or bring swift annihilation.
⸻
New to the journey? Start from the beginning at: http://theodysseypodcast.com
Support the project on Patreon and receive full-length, story-only audio after each book: https://patreon.com/gruntworkpod
Listen wherever you get your podcasts, or follow along on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC036TeD3DkuF1VSCQJfKGtw
⸻
Odyssey is a daily podcast reading one page at a time from Homer’s classic epic — every day. Whether you’re starting from the beginning or joining mid-journey, each episode brings you deeper into the story of The Odyssey.
Aug 10, 2026
10 min



Aug 9, 2026
Aug 9, 2026
10 min
The underworld becomes a gallery of triumph and ruin. Glory and suffering stand side by side, bound by blood and choice.
In The Odyssey, Book 11, Odysseus continues to question the spirits of legendary women. He sees Alcmene, mother of Heracles, and Megara, his wife, marked by heroic strength and tragic aftermath. He encounters Epicaste, mother of Oedipus, whose unwitting marriage and terrible end reveal how hidden truths destroy entire houses. Then comes Chloris, queen of Pylos, mother of Nestor, whose lineage is shaped by trials, impossible demands, and the hard fulfillment of prophecy.
This passage gathers the great myths into a single reckoning, showing how even the most renowned lives are shaped — and often broken — by the designs of gods and fate.
⸻
New to the journey? Start from the beginning at: http://theodysseypodcast.com
Support the project on Patreon and receive full-length, story-only audio after each book: https://patreon.com/gruntworkpod
Listen wherever you get your podcasts, or follow along on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC036TeD3DkuF1VSCQJfKGtw
⸻
Odyssey is a daily podcast reading one page at a time from Homer’s classic epic — every day. Whether you’re starting from the beginning or joining mid-journey, each episode brings you deeper into the story of The Odyssey.
Aug 9, 2026
10 min



Aug 8, 2026
Aug 8, 2026
9 min
From grief, the past unfolds into legend. The dead speak not only of sorrow, but of origins that shaped the living world.
In The Odyssey, Book 11, Odysseus begins to question the spirits of famed women sent forth by Persephone. First among them is Tyro, who tells of her union with Poseidon in the guise of the river Enipeus and of the sons born from that meeting — Pelias and Neleus — founders of mighty lines. After her comes Antiope, who bore Amphion and Zethus to Zeus, builders of seven-gated Thebes. Through these voices, heroic history rises from the underworld, binding gods, mortals, and cities yet standing.
This passage shifts the descent into Hades from personal loss to mythic memory, where the roots of power and place are traced through the women who bore them.
⸻
New to the journey? Start from the beginning at: http://theodysseypodcast.com
Support the project on Patreon and receive full-length, story-only audio after each book: https://patreon.com/gruntworkpod
Listen wherever you get your podcasts, or follow along on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC036TeD3DkuF1VSCQJfKGtw
⸻
Odyssey is a daily podcast reading one page at a time from Homer’s classic epic — every day. Whether you’re starting from the beginning or joining mid-journey, each episode brings you deeper into the story of The Odyssey.
Aug 8, 2026
9 min



Aug 7, 2026
Aug 7, 2026
9 min
Even love cannot cross every boundary. In the land of the dead, closeness is promised — and denied.
In The Odyssey, Book 11, Odysseus tries again and again to embrace his mother’s spirit, only to grasp emptiness, as she slips away like a dream. Anticleia explains the law of death: flesh and bone are undone, and the soul drifts free, unable to be held. She urges him to return to the sunlight and remember what he has seen. As their exchange ends, the spirits of renowned women gather at the trench, summoned by Persephone herself, and Odysseus prepares to question them one by one.
This passage confronts the final cruelty of the underworld — that knowledge may be gained, but touch is forever lost.
⸻
New to the journey? Start from the beginning at: http://theodysseypodcast.com
Support the project on Patreon and receive full-length, story-only audio after each book: https://patreon.com/gruntworkpod
Listen wherever you get your podcasts, or follow along on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC036TeD3DkuF1VSCQJfKGtw
⸻
Odyssey is a daily podcast reading one page at a time from Homer’s classic epic — every day. Whether you’re starting from the beginning or joining mid-journey, each episode brings you deeper into the story of The Odyssey.
Aug 7, 2026
9 min



Aug 6, 2026
Aug 6, 2026
11 min
The underworld yields its most painful truth: not prophecy, but home remembered through loss.
In The Odyssey, Book 11, Odysseus speaks at last with the spirit of his mother, Anticleia, asking how she died and what has become of those he left behind. She tells him that Penelope remains faithful, worn down by grief but steadfast in purpose; that Telemachus holds his place with quiet dignity; and that Laertes lives on in sorrow, withdrawn from the world. Anticleia herself did not die by sickness or the gods’ arrows, but by longing — her heart broken by the absence of her son.
This passage transforms the journey to the dead into a reckoning with love’s cost, where survival itself has left wounds behind.
⸻
New to the journey? Start from the beginning at: http://theodysseypodcast.com
Support the project on Patreon and receive full-length, story-only audio after each book: https://patreon.com/gruntworkpod
Listen wherever you get your podcasts, or follow along on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC036TeD3DkuF1VSCQJfKGtw
⸻
Odyssey is a daily podcast reading one page at a time from Homer’s classic epic — every day. Whether you’re starting from the beginning or joining mid-journey, each episode brings you deeper into the story of The Odyssey.
Aug 6, 2026
11 min



Aug 5, 2026
Aug 5, 2026
9 min
Prophecy gives way to something more piercing than fate. Among the dead, recognition comes at a terrible price.
In The Odyssey, Book 11, Odysseus asks Teiresias how his mother’s spirit might know him, and learns the law of the dead: only those who drink the blood may speak truth. When Teiresias departs, Odysseus allows Anticleia to draw near. With the first taste, she recognizes her living son and speaks in wonder and sorrow, asking how he has come among the shadows — and why, after all his wanderings, he has still not reached Ithaca.
This passage shifts the underworld from prophecy to personal loss, as knowledge gives way to longing that no journey can quickly mend.
⸻
New to the journey? Start from the beginning at: http://theodysseypodcast.com
Support the project on Patreon and receive full-length, story-only audio after each book: https://patreon.com/gruntworkpod
Listen wherever you get your podcasts, or follow along on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC036TeD3DkuF1VSCQJfKGtw
⸻
Odyssey is a daily podcast reading one page at a time from Homer’s classic epic — every day. Whether you’re starting from the beginning or joining mid-journey, each episode brings you deeper into the story of The Odyssey.
Aug 5, 2026
9 min



Aug 4, 2026
Aug 4, 2026
12 min
At last, the dead speak with authority. Knowledge comes — but it comes weighted with warning and cost.
In The Odyssey, Book 11, the shade of Teiresias drinks the sacrificial blood and reveals the path ahead. Odysseus’ return will be hard, shadowed by the wrath of Poseidon, yet not impossible if restraint is kept — especially when the herds of Helios are found. Disobedience there will mean ruin, loss of crew, and a bitter homecoming. Even so, Teiresias foretells vengeance against the suitors, a final journey inland with an oar upon Odysseus’ shoulder, and at the end, a gentle death from the sea, closing a long life.
This passage sets the terms of fate itself, binding choice, consequence, and eventual peace into a single prophecy.
⸻
New to the journey? Start from the beginning at: http://theodysseypodcast.com
Support the project on Patreon and receive full-length, story-only audio after each book: https://patreon.com/gruntworkpod
Listen wherever you get your podcasts, or follow along on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC036TeD3DkuF1VSCQJfKGtw
⸻
Odyssey is a daily podcast reading one page at a time from Homer’s classic epic — every day. Whether you’re starting from the beginning or joining mid-journey, each episode brings you deeper into the story of The Odyssey.
Aug 4, 2026
12 min



Aug 3, 2026
Aug 3, 2026
13 min
The dead do not come in silence. They speak with memory, regret, and unfinished need.
In The Odyssey, Book 11 continues as Elpenor answers Odysseus from beyond the grave, recounting the drunken fall that sent him untimely to Hades. He begs not for rescue, but for remembrance — a funeral, a mound by the sea, and a marker so that his story will not vanish with him. Odysseus gives his word. Even as that vow is made, another presence appears: the shade of Odysseus’ mother, Anticleia, newly dead, drawing near in sorrowful silence.
This passage binds the journey to the underworld with obligation, as the living are claimed by the duties they owe the dead.
⸻
New to the journey? Start from the beginning at: http://theodysseypodcast.com
Support the project on Patreon and receive full-length, story-only audio after each book: https://patreon.com/gruntworkpod
Listen wherever you get your podcasts, or follow along on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC036TeD3DkuF1VSCQJfKGtw
⸻
Odyssey is a daily podcast reading one page at a time from Homer’s classic epic — every day. Whether you’re starting from the beginning or joining mid-journey, each episode brings you deeper into the story of The Odyssey.
Aug 3, 2026
13 min



Aug 2, 2026
Aug 2, 2026
9 min
The dead answer the call. From darkness, voices rise — and one is painfully familiar.
In The Odyssey, Book 11 continues as Odysseus performs the rites Circe commanded, digging a trench and pouring offerings to summon the spirits of the dead. As blood fills the pit, shades gather in a great, fearful multitude: the young, the old, the slain, and the grieving. Sword drawn, Odysseus holds them at bay, waiting for Teiresias. Before the prophet appears, another soul comes first — Elpenor, left unburied behind.
This passage marks the moment when ritual becomes reckoning, and the journey to the dead confronts Odysseus with the cost already paid.
⸻
New to the journey? Start from the beginning at: http://theodysseypodcast.com
Support the project on Patreon and receive full-length, story-only audio after each book: https://patreon.com/gruntworkpod
Listen wherever you get your podcasts, or follow along on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC036TeD3DkuF1VSCQJfKGtw
⸻
Odyssey is a daily podcast reading one page at a time from Homer’s classic epic — every day. Whether you’re starting from the beginning or joining mid-journey, each episode brings you deeper into the story of The Odyssey.
Aug 2, 2026
9 min



Aug 1, 2026
Aug 1, 2026
13 min
The sea carries them farther than any chart allows. Daylight fades, and the world itself seems to end.
In The Odyssey, Book 11 begins as Odysseus and his crew set sail once more, guided by a favoring wind sent by Circe herself. They travel steadily until the sun sinks and darkness overtakes the voyage, bearing them to the farthest limits of the world. There lies the land of the Cimmerians, shrouded in perpetual mist, where sunlight never reaches and night reigns without end.
This passage marks the true threshold of the journey — the crossing from the realm of the living toward the shadows beyond.
⸻
New to the journey? Start from the beginning at: http://theodysseypodcast.com
Support the project on Patreon and receive full-length, story-only audio after each book: https://patreon.com/gruntworkpod
Listen wherever you get your podcasts, or follow along on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC036TeD3DkuF1VSCQJfKGtw
⸻
Odyssey is a daily podcast reading one page at a time from Homer’s classic epic — every day. Whether you’re starting from the beginning or joining mid-journey, each episode brings you deeper into the story of The Odyssey.
Aug 1, 2026
13 min



Jul 25, 2026
Production Update: Returning August 1st!
Jul 25, 2026
Jul 25, 2026
7 min
Announcement!
We will be returning our daily episodes starting August 1st, 2026. Listen to this episode for announcements and updates.
Jul 25, 2026
7 min



Jul 21, 2026
Jul 21, 2026
24 min
Christopher Nolan's The Odyssey has finally arrived, and after seeing it, I sat down for an hour to gather my thoughts while everything was still fresh.
In this preview of the Patreon-exclusive bonus episode, I discuss my initial impressions of the film, covering the performances, casting, writing, themes, spectacle, adaptation choices, and how it compares to Homer's epic. It's not a formal review so much as an extended conversation about what worked, what surprised me, what I found myself wrestling with, and where I think the film succeeds—or falls short.
If you've seen The Odyssey and want to spend another hour thinking through it with someone who has lived with the poem for years, I hope you'll enjoy the discussion.
To listen to the full episode subscribe over at https://patreon.com/gruntworkpod!
Jul 21, 2026
24 min



Jul 12, 2026
Production Update: Back Recording
Jul 12, 2026
Jul 12, 2026
3 min
We’ve got a quick programming update.
Both the show and our companion series are taking a short hiatus while we get a few things in order behind the scenes. Everything is okay, we’re simply taking a little time to catch up on life, tackle a few larger projects, and make sure we can return at the level of quality you expect from us.
We’ll be sharing updates on our timeline as we have them. If you’d like to stay in the loop and support the show while we’re away, our Patreon is the best place to do that: https://patreon.com/gruntworkpod
Thank you, as always, for listening, reading along with us, and making these shows part of your routine. We appreciate your patience, and we look forward to being back with new episodes soon.
Jul 12, 2026
3 min



Jun 30, 2026
Production Update: Short Hiatus
Jun 30, 2026
Jun 30, 2026
6 min
We’ve got a quick programming update.
Both the show and our companion series are taking a short hiatus while we get a few things in order behind the scenes. Everything is okay, we’re simply taking a little time to catch up on life, tackle a few larger projects, and make sure we can return at the level of quality you expect from us.
We’ll be sharing updates on our timeline as we have them. If you’d like to stay in the loop and support the show while we’re away, our Patreon is the best place to do that: https://patreon.com/gruntworkpod
Thank you, as always, for listening, reading along with us, and making these shows part of your routine. We appreciate your patience, and we look forward to being back with new episodes soon.
Jun 30, 2026
6 min



Jun 29, 2026
Jun 29, 2026
15 min
Morning comes with motion — and with loss. Even as the way forward is revealed, death claims one more without warning.
In The Odyssey, Book 10 draws toward its close as Circe prepares Odysseus for departure and he rouses his men to leave her halls. Yet one companion, Elpenor, lies drunken and forgotten on the roof. Startled by the noise of departure, he falls to his death, his spirit passing unseen to Hades. Odysseus reveals to the crew the grim truth of their next voyage: not homeward yet, but toward the realm of the dead to seek Teiresias. Grief answers the news, though it offers no escape.
This passage binds preparation and tragedy together, reminding us that even moments of transition carry irrevocable cost.
⸻
New to the journey? Start from the beginning at: http://theodysseypodcast.com
Want to talk theories, themes? Join the conversation on our Discord: https://discord.gg/Sg2prdm
Support the project on Patreon and receive full-length, story-only audio after each book: https://patreon.com/gruntworkpod
Listen wherever you get your podcasts, or follow along on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC036TeD3DkuF1VSCQJfKGtw
⸻
Odyssey is a daily podcast reading one page at a time from Homer’s classic epic — every day. Whether you’re starting from the beginning or joining mid-journey, each episode brings you deeper into the story of The Odyssey.
Jun 29, 2026
15 min



Jun 28, 2026
Jun 28, 2026
7 min
The unthinkable voyage is given form at last. What was terror without shape becomes a path marked step by step.
In The Odyssey, Book 10, Circe answers Odysseus’ despair by laying out the precise route to the realm of the dead. She promises that the North Wind itself will guide his ship across Oceanus to the groves of Persephone, and she gives exact instructions for the rites he must perform to summon the spirits. Only after these offerings, she tells him, will the shade of Teiresias appear to speak the truth Odysseus seeks.
This passage transforms dread into duty, turning the journey to Hades from an impossibility into a grim, deliberate task.
⸻
New to the journey? Start from the beginning at: http://theodysseypodcast.com
Want to talk theories, themes? Join the conversation on our Discord: https://discord.gg/Sg2prdm
Support the project on Patreon and receive full-length, story-only audio after each book: https://patreon.com/gruntworkpod
Listen wherever you get your podcasts, or follow along on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC036TeD3DkuF1VSCQJfKGtw
⸻
Odyssey is a daily podcast reading one page at a time from Homer’s classic epic — every day. Whether you’re starting from the beginning or joining mid-journey, each episode brings you deeper into the story of The Odyssey.
Jun 28, 2026
7 min



Jun 27, 2026
Jun 27, 2026
9 min
At last, the thought of home rises again — only to be checked by a darker command. The way forward demands a journey no living sailor has ever sought.
In The Odyssey, Book 10, Odysseus asks Circe to release him and his men to continue their homeward voyage. She agrees, but reveals the price of departure: before Ithaca, Odysseus must travel to the house of Hades and Persephone to seek counsel from the blind seer Teiresias. At this decree, Odysseus’ resolve collapses into despair, for the path now leads not across the sea, but into the realm of the dead.
This passage marks a grave turning point, where the longing for return is answered with the most fearful voyage yet.
⸻
New to the journey? Start from the beginning at: http://theodysseypodcast.com
Want to talk theories, themes? Join the conversation on our Discord: https://discord.gg/Sg2prdm
Support the project on Patreon and receive full-length, story-only audio after each book: https://patreon.com/gruntworkpod
Listen wherever you get your podcasts, or follow along on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC036TeD3DkuF1VSCQJfKGtw
⸻
Odyssey is a daily podcast reading one page at a time from Homer’s classic epic — every day. Whether you’re starting from the beginning or joining mid-journey, each episode brings you deeper into the story of The Odyssey.
Jun 27, 2026
9 min







