Over the summer, I’m replaying some favorite episodes of Exempla from the first season. If you’re unclear on what “Exempla” means or why the podcast has that name, this episode is for you. In this replay of the very first episode of the podcast, I explain the origin of the show and its unusual nameContinue reading “My Exempla (replay)”
Tag Archives: storytelling
Caesar and the Pirates
A young Roman nobleman named Julius Caesar is on his way to the island of Rhodes. There, he plans to study under a man named Apollonius Molon, a man renowned for his wisdom in the area of rhetoric. Caesar is not yet well-known in Rome, but he is eager to broaden his influence and heContinue reading “Caesar and the Pirates”
Ode to a Small Yellow House
It’s a strange feeling—going back to a place after not being there for a long time. Sometimes, the place has changed. Sometimes, you’ve changed. Sometimes, it’s a little of both. It feels like you’re meeting a stranger, but somehow it’s a stranger you’ve known for a very long time. That’s how I felt last May,Continue reading “Ode to a Small Yellow House”
A Spy’s Warning for Pearl Harbor
J. Edgar Hoover’s face is grim as he braces himself for his next meeting. He knows all about the despicable man about to enter the office and he’s fully prepared to put him in his place. Dušan, or Duško as he is known, is a spy. And he’s not just any spy. Duško Popov isContinue reading “A Spy’s Warning for Pearl Harbor”
Why Bats Live in Caves
Diplomatic relations have always been strained between the animals and the birds. They claim friendship, united by their shared fear of humans and hatred of reptiles, but it is an uneasy peace. From time to time, their animosity erupts into full-out war. One day, the fable is told, many years ago in a forest farContinue reading “Why Bats Live in Caves”
Peanut Butter on Trial
In Room 5131 of the Health, Education, and Welfare Building in Washington D.C. sit two groups. On one side, a group of slick corporate lawyers. On the other side, the FDA. At their side, a woman named Ruth Desmond, a woman who will come to be known as the “peanut butter grandma”.
A Fine Time to Buy a House
It’s the fall of 2020. Everything is shut down. Everyone is wearing a mask, and yet here we are, my wife and I, walking into another stranger’s house. But we’re not here to make friends… or enemies. We’re house hunting. And I can’t imagine a worse time to buy a house. Not only is everythingContinue reading “A Fine Time to Buy a House”
A Dark Pit in the Jungle
Concealed, Ko Dwah peers through the foliage at the strange scene before him. An abandoned pagoda stands in a small clearing, half-swallowed by the jungle. Next to the pagoda, a man is seated, reading a book. As Ko Dwah watches, the man rises, tucks the book under his arm, and begins to pace back andContinue reading “A Dark Pit in the Jungle”
Dirty Hands, Clean Heart
Excitement in Jerusalem is at a historic high. Things haven’t been this exciting since the reign of Solomon. People from all over the nation of Judah are gathered, full of anticipation, ready for the festivities to begin. Then, into the city, here they come—unexpected guests. Unexpected, at least, to the majority of the Jews. There’sContinue reading “Dirty Hands, Clean Heart”
Rules for a Tea Party
Curious onlookers stare out at the strange group of characters gathering on the wharf. It’s not clear quite how many there are, but it looks to be close to a hundred and more are still arriving. They wear cloaks, or blankets, or tattered clothes and they have coal dust smudged on their faces. In theirContinue reading “Rules for a Tea Party”
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