584: Thomas Mann's Death in Venice
Sat Jan 31 2026
With special guest Longinus, Pigweed and Crowhill review Nugget Nectar from Troegs and then turn to Death in Venice, a short but unsettling story about beauty, obsession, and moral collapse.
Longinus provides a brief biography of Thomas Mann, and then the boys walk through the story while unpacking its major themes.
This is a controversial book, and they don’t shy away from it's ugly side. Mann explores hidden desires and forbidden obsession, along with the danger of aesthetic fascination untethered from moral restraint.
Ultimately, the discussion centers on a larger question: Does beauty have a special philosophical or theological weight — and what happens when beauty replaces wisdom, when form is severed from moral truth, and when a man mistakes aesthetic experience for spiritual insight?
Along the way, the conversation draws on Nietzsche's The Birth of Tragedy, parallels from the book of Proverbs, and the underlying struggle of an Apollonian man confronted by Dionysian temptation.
📬 Send us your thoughts: pigweedshow@gmail.com
🌐 More episodes: pigweedandcrowhill.com
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With special guest Longinus, Pigweed and Crowhill review Nugget Nectar from Troegs and then turn to Death in Venice, a short but unsettling story about beauty, obsession, and moral collapse. Longinus provides a brief biography of Thomas Mann, and then the boys walk through the story while unpacking its major themes. This is a controversial book, and they don’t shy away from it's ugly side. Mann explores hidden desires and forbidden obsession, along with the danger of aesthetic fascination untethered from moral restraint. Ultimately, the discussion centers on a larger question: Does beauty have a special philosophical or theological weight — and what happens when beauty replaces wisdom, when form is severed from moral truth, and when a man mistakes aesthetic experience for spiritual insight? Along the way, the conversation draws on Nietzsche's The Birth of Tragedy, parallels from the book of Proverbs, and the underlying struggle of an Apollonian man confronted by Dionysian temptation. 📬 Send us your thoughts: pigweedshow@gmail.com 🌐 More episodes: pigweedandcrowhill.com 👍 Like, subscribe, and tell a friend