Cultural Debris

Jared Zimmerer is director of the Word on Fire Institute. Jared is a fellow disciple of Russell Kirk, and currently is pursuing doctoral research on things Kirkian. It should not surprise you that Dr. Kirk is exactly what we talk about, particularly the idea of personalism related to Dr. Kirk’s writings, and the influence of St. John Henry Newman on his thought. In the course of that, we also delv...

My guest is Erik Bootsma a classical architect who specializes in ecclesiastical architecture. Erik was trained at the University of Notre Dame School of Architecture, which focuses on traditional forms of architecture. He and I discuss the role and modern degradation of architecture, Russell Kirk on modern architecture, the church wreckovations of the 1960s, and the attempts to return to traditio...

My guest is Canadian menswear writer and broadcaster Pedro Mendes who operates the website The Hogtown Rake. I have followed Pedro for years on Instagram and also very much enjoyed his podcast series ‘Unbuttoned With Bruce Boyer.’ Pedro has an appreciation for classic men’s clothing that I share, and in this episode we discuss his new book Ten Garments Every Man Should Own: A Practical Guide to Bu...

My guest this episode is Grace Olmstead. Grace has done excellent work for several years on issues of localism, just the sort of thing we like to talk about on Cultural Debris. Like your humble host, she is a devotee of Wendell Berry’s works, and her new book Uprooted is a chronicle of approaching her own native place and her own life with the principles of localism, sustainability, and the obliga...

Holly Ordway is Cardinal Francis George Fellow of Faith and Culture of the Word on Fire Institute. Her new book, the first from the new Word on Fire Academic imprint, is Tolkien’s Modern Reading: Middle-earth Beyond the Middle Ages. It’s an important work, that genuinely breaks new ground in Tolkien studies. Holly was kind enough to chat about the book and about J.R.R. Tolkien, certainly a favorit...

My guest this episode is Elisabeth Deane, a talented artist living and working in London with her husband Jethro Buck, also an artist. On a trip to India, Elisabeth was exposed to traditional Indian miniature painting, which led her to her life’s work. She pursued studies at the Prince’s Foundation School of Traditional Arts in London. She talks about life as an artist and also her time and traini...

J. Mark Bertrand is the author of the Roland March mystery trilogy and the purveyor of the aforementioned Bible Design Blog. But Mark has seemingly been lying low the past few years, and in this podcast you’ll find out why. We explore what Mark has been up to, whether we’ll see any more books from his pen, and the inspiration he found at a coroner’s convention. The discussion drifts into what is C...

Art critic William Newton joins me in this episode to discuss how to approach art. How to learn about it, appreciate it, and also acquire it. William is an attorney, a graduate of Notre Dame Law School, but also a graduate of Sotheby’s Institute of Art in London. He has written and blogged about art for over two decades, and has recently turned his writing attention to the online magazine The Fede...

Poet Dan Rattelle joins the podcast to discuss his new collection Commonwealth from Little Gidding Press. We discuss the idea of place and how Scotland and New England have influenced his poetry. Plus, Dan and I explore a meeting between Wendell Berry and Thomas Merton, and the article he wrote about it for The Front Porch Republic. Dan Rattelle on Twitter Little Gidding Press on Twitter 'Work and...

Since we all need as much Christmas as we can get in 2020, Dr. Blake Scott Ball of Huntingdon College in Montgomery, Alabama joins the podcast for this episode. Dr. Ball is chair of the department of History and Political Science at Huntingdon. And he has a forthcoming book from Oxford University Press titled ‘Charlie Brown’s America: The Popular Politics of Peanuts.’ He and I chat about the Peanu...

When talking about classic men’s clothing particularly the American variety, one can’t talk long without bringing up Brooks Brothers. In 2018 Brooks Brothers celebrated its 200th anniversary. In 2020 Brooks filed for bankruptcy. My guest today, like me, is a decades long customer of Brooks Brothers, Dr. Samuel Goldman of George Washington University is executive director of the John L. Loeb, Jr. I...

Welcome to the first episode of Cultural Debris, released on Russell Kirk's 102nd birthday! Dr. Bradley Birzer of Hillsdale College is my guest as we discuss Russell Kirk, Brad's other projects, and end up chatting about Batman.   Dr. Bradley Birzer on Twitter Cultural Debris on Twitter 'Cultural Debris' by Russell Kirk

If you like Russell Kirk, Wendell Berry, the Inklings, the Agrarians, and the Distributists then you may like this podcast.   I will interview guests and share books and poems and other bits of cultural debris, flotsam that the culture at large may not value, but some of us in the row boat still do.   Please take a moment to subscribe and join me as from time to time we examine a bit of Cultural D...