Please pardon this interruption to your regularly scheduled

Tik-Toc reactions and political hot takes.

We are going to have a much hotter political take

because we together are going to delve through the politics of my favorite poet,

one of perhaps the greatest artist ever in history, Dante Eligieri, the author of The Inferno, as well as Purgatorio, as well as Paradiso, known together

as the Divine Comedy. I gave a lecture this summer at the ISI Honors Program on the

politics of pilgrimage, the redemption of politics in Dante's divine comedy, as well

as his other writings.

A little bit more academic and perhaps a little drier

than much of what comes on this channel.

But I know that all of you out there

are very serious people.

Krem du la Krem, real kinds of sophisticated intellects.

And so I hope you enjoy this journey through hell and purgatory and heaven and politics.

Thank you so much for a very warm introduction and a great plug for Mayflower cigars.

It's wonderful to be here. Thank you for having me. A real privilege

to join everyone for the ISI honors program. I want especially to thank Johnny for indulging me with this invitation.

Virtually every other lecturer in this program is a scholar with advanced degrees

and a laundry list of publications.

I, on the other hand, possess no particularly advanced degree.

I'm a podcaster and a cigar salesman. I have written just two books and only one of them has any words in it.

I am here because over cigars one evening after a campus speaking event last year

...