Joel Christensen discusses with Ivan six things about The Odyssey which should be better known.

Joel P. Christensen is Professor of Classics at the CUNY Graduate Center where he also serves as Provost and Senior Vice President for Academic Affairs. Joel has previously taught at UT San Antonio and Brandeis University. His research interests include early Greek poetry, myth, and literary theory. With Elton Barker, Joel has published Homer: A Beginner’s Guide (2013) and Homer’s Thebes (Harvard University Press 2020). Joel has also authored The Many-Minded Man: The Odyssey, Psychology, and the Therapy of Epic (2020) with Cornell University Press, Storylife: On Epic, Language, and Living Things with Yale in 2025, and Why Odysseus? With Palgrave/Macmillan (2026). He is also editor of the Oxford Critical Guide to the Odyssey (2026) and author of numerous articles on Homer, myth, Greek poetry, and its reception in the modern world.

1. Ancient Audiences rarely ever read the Odyssey in its entirety
2. The Odyssey was sung and performed for generations before it was written down
3. We don't know how The Odyssey was written down
4. The Homeric Odyssey isn't the only version of the story that used to exist
5. Odysseus was disliked by many early Greek audiences
6. The ending of the Odyssey is extremely strange and most people ignore it!

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Jessica Fellowes discusses with Ivan six things which should be better known.

Jessica Fellowes is an author, journalist and public speaker. The Mitford Murders is her debut series as a novelist and has been nominated for awards in Britain, France, Germany and Italy, and sold into eighteen territories. Jessica is also the author of five official companion books to ‘Downton Abbey,’ various of which hit the New York Times and Sunday Times bestseller lists. Former columnist for the Mail on Sunday and deputy editor of Country Life, she has written business books with Sophie Cornish MBE, 'The Devil You Know' with forensic psychologist Kerry Daynes and short stories for Vogue Italia and L’Uomo Vogue. Jessica makes frequent appearances on radio, podcasts and television, has a Substack – ‘Your Fellowes Reader’ – and lives in Oxfordshire with her family.

1. The work of school governors https://boardsforeducation.org.uk/
2. Hitster https://hitstergame.com/en-gb/
3. The advantages of hearing aids https://www.outsideclinic.co.uk/blog/impact-of-hearing-aids
4. Jessica Fellowes https://substack.com/@jessicafellowes
5. The Sale Room https://www.the-saleroom.com/en-gb
6. Singled Out by Virginia Nicholson https://www.virginianicholson.co.uk/singled-out

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Sarah Wilson discusses with Ivan six things which should be better known.

Sarah Wilson is a multi-New York Times bestselling author, journalist, social philosopher, international keynote speaker and philanthropist. Sarah leads dynamic, global conversations about modern philosophy, creativity, existential risk, and climate change via her keynote speaking, Wild podcast, and her Substack and social communities. She lives nomadically, but is based between Paris and Sydney, and is a compulsive hiker and adventurer. Her new book is I Eat the Stars, which is available at https://www.waterstones.com/book/i-eat-the-stars/sarah-wilson/9781837827213.

1. Fractal flourishing https://accidentalgods.life/fractal-flourishing/
2. Maison de Balzac https://sarahwilson.substack.com/p/how-balzac-made-me-feel-joyous-about
3. Sufficiency https://sarahwilson.substack.com/p/sufficiency-as-a-way-of-living-a
4. Vanessa Andreotti https://decolonialfutures.net/hospicingmodernity/
5. Ikaria https://www.bluezones.com/explorations/ikaria-greece/
6. Mug cakes https://uk.pinterest.com/meganusafwife/muggin-recipes/

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