What’s Epic About the ‘Odyssey’? Everything.

This Friday, “The Odyssey,” directed by Christopher Nolan, hits theaters. Even before the movie’s release, though, it’s proving to be a cultural event. Spirited discussions of Nolan’s cinematic interpretation of the epic poem already abound online, and they are likely to intensify after the public sees the film. Why does a 12,000-line poem that is nearly 3,000 years old still feel resonant today? In this episode of “The Sunday Daily,” Natalie Kitroeff talks about the “Odyssey” with two writers who have produced some critically acclaimed and widely read modern interpretations of Greek classics: Emily Wilson, the first woman to translate the “Odyssey” from ancient Greek, and Madeline Miller, the author of the best-selling novels “Circe” and “Song of Achilles.” On Today’s Episode: Emily Wilson (https://www.emilyrcwilson.com/) , a professor, classicist, author and translator of the “Odyssey” Madeline Miller (https://madelinemiller.com/) , the author of “Circe,” “Song of Achilles” and other books Background Reading: We’ll Help You Find Your Next Great Book. (Spoiler: It’s the ‘Odyssey.’) (https://www.nytimes.com/2026/07/09/bo...) The First Woman to Translate the ‘Odyssey’ Into English (https://www.nytimes.com/2017/11/02/ma...) Book Review: Turning Circe Into a Good Witch (https://www.nytimes.com/2018/05/28/bo...) Photo: Melinda Sue Gordon/Universal Pictures Subscribe today at nytimes.com/podcasts (http://nytimes.com/podcasts) or on Apple Podcasts and Spotify. You can also subscribe via your favorite podcast app here https://www.nytimes.com/activate-acce.... For more podcasts and narrated articles, download The New York Times app at nytimes.com/app. Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com (https://pcm.adswizz.com) for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.