McConnell Center Podcast

Join the   #McConnellCenter   for a discussion regarding the importance of the Edith Hamilton's book  The Roman Way,  led by Dr. John Wilsey.   Dr. John Wilsey is Professor of Church History and Philosophy and Chair of the Department of Church History and Historical Theology at Southern Seminary and Boyce College.  Dr. Wilsey's primary areas of teaching are in modern church history, history of Wes...

Join the   #McConnellCenter for a discussion regarding the importance of the Edith Hamilton's book The Greek Way, led by Dr. John Wilsey.   Dr. John Wilsey is Professor of Church History and Philosophy and Chair of the Department of Church History and Historical Theology at Southern Seminary and Boyce College.  Dr. Wilsey's primary areas of teaching are in modern church history, history of Western...

Join   #McConnellCenter  Director  Dr. Gary Gregg for a discussion regarding the importance of the play Cato: A Tragedy .  An award-winning political science teacher and expert on the U.S. presidency, Gregg has written or edited several books, including  Securing Democracy: Why We Have an Electoral College .  We all know we need to read more and there are literally millions of books on shelves wit...

Join the   #McConnellCenter   as we host Dr. John Kleber for a conversation regarding the work of Henry David Thoreau. Now one of Kentucky's most respected historians, John Kleber was a member of the third graduating class of Trinity High School in 1959. Four years later he earned a history BA at Bellarmine College, graduating summa cum laude. By 1969, Kleber had earned his Master's degree and PhD...

Join the   #McConnellCenter as we welcome Steve Ealy as he attempts to convince us of the importance of reading  All The King's Men by Robert Penn Warren! Steve Ealy is a Senior Fellow Emeritus at Liberty Fund, Inc. He has published academic articles on Robert Penn Warren, Ralph Ellison, the Qur'an, and The Federalist Papers. He received his BA in political science from Furman University, and earn...

Join the   #McConnellCenter as we welcome Dr. Abby Hall Blanco as she attempts to convince us of the importance of reading Crisis and Leviathan by Robert Higgs! Abigail Hall Blanco's research focuses on issues related to defense, war, and peace. Blanco has authored more than 40 academic articles and book chapters. She is the coauthor of four published books including How to Run Wars: A Confidentia...

Join the   #McConnellCenter  as we welcome  Dr Amy Sturgis  and she attempts  to convince us of the importance of the book The Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins! Amy holds a Ph. D. in history from Vanderbilt University and specializes in the intellectual history of speculative fiction. We all know we need to read more and there are literally millions of books on shelves with new ones printed every d...

Join the   #McConnellCenter as we welcome Dr. Reggie Van Stockum for a conversation about the importance of the work of Harlan Hubbard.  Ronald R. Van Stockum, Jr. is a lawyer, teacher, biologist, writer, guitarist, and recently an actor living on his family's old farm in Shelbyville, Kentucky. He has a Bachelor of Science in Biology from Santa Clara University, and a Masters and PhD. in Biology f...

Join the   #McConnellCenter as we welcome Dr Amy Sturgis and she attempts to convince us of the importance of the "Dark Academia" genre! Amy holds a Ph. D. in history from Vanderbilt University and specializes in the intellectual history of speculative fiction. We all know we need to read more and there are literally millions of books on shelves with new ones printed every day. How do we sort thro...

Join the   #McConnellCenter as we welcome KY Secretary of State Michael Adams to convince us to read Robert Putnam's book Bowling Alone ! Michael G. Adams is Kentucky's 86th Secretary of State. Michael graduated from McCracken County public schools, was the first in his family to get a bachelor's degree, and attended Harvard Law School on low-income aid. Michael worked for Senator Mitch McConnell...

Join the   #McConnellCenter as we welcome Dr. Amy Sturgis  to convince us to read Mary Shelley - but probably not the book of which you are thinking! Amy H. Sturgis earned her Ph. D. in Intellectual History from Vanderbilt University and specializes in Science Fiction/Fantasy/Gothic and Indigenous American Studies. She contributes the "Looking Back on Genre History" segment to the Hugo Award-winni...

Join the   #McConnellCenter as we welcome Trivius Caldwell for a discussion centered around Ralph Ellison.  Lieutenant Colonel Trivius G. Caldwell is an accomplished U.S. Army officer with over 18 years of diverse military experience. Commissioned in 2006 as a Second Lieutenant of Infantry through ROTC at Tuskegee University, he has served in a range of leadership roles, including command of two I...

Join   #McConnellCenter Director Dr. Gary Gregg for a discussion regarding the seminal work of Aldous Huxley.  An award-winning political science teacher and expert on the U.S. presidency, Gregg has written or edited several books, including Securing Democracy: Why We Have an Electoral College .  We all know we need to read more and there are literally millions of books on shelves with new ones pr...

Join   #McConnellCenter Director Dr. Gary Gregg for a conversation about Ray Bradbury's  Fahrenheit 451 . An award-winning political science teacher and expert on the U.S. presidency, Gregg has written or edited several books, including Securing Democracy: Why We Have an Electoral College .  We all know we need to read more and there are literally millions of books on shelves with new ones printed...

Join the   #McConnellCenter   as we host Dr. Aurelein Craiutu for a conversation regarding John Stuart Mill's book On Liberty . Aurelian Craiutu (Ph. D. Princeton, 1999) is Professor in the Department of Political Science at Indiana University, Bloomington, and Adjunct Professor in the Lilly Family School of Philanthropic Studies at IUPUI, Indianapolis.  We all know we need to read more and there...

Join the   #McConnellCenter   as we host Dr. Carson Holloway for a conversation about C.S. Lewis' book The Abolition of Man and exactly why reading it is important.  Carson Holloway is a Washington Fellow at The Claremont Institute's Center for the American Way of Life. His research focuses on American constitutionalism and the liberal nationalism of the American Founding. He is Ralph Wardle Diamo...

Join the   #McConnellCenter   as we host Dr. Carson Holloway for a conversation regarding the work of Joseph Story. Carson Holloway is a Washington Fellow at The Claremont Institute's Center for the American Way of Life. His research focuses on American constitutionalism and the liberal nationalism of the American Founding. He is Ralph Wardle Diamond Professor of Arts and Sciences and Professor of...

Join the   #McConnellCenter   as we host Dr. John Kleber for a conversation regarding the work of Neil Postman. Now one of Kentucky's most respected historians, John Kleber was a member of the third graduating class of Trinity High School in 1959. Four years later he earned a history BA at Bellarmine College, graduating summa cum laude. By 1969, Kleber had earned his Master's degree and PhD from t...

Join the   #McConnellCenter   as we host Dr. Andrew Rabin for a conversation on the merits of reading Dante. Dr. Andrew Rabin joined the University of Louisville English Department in 2005 after receiving his B.A. from Grinnell College and his M.A. and Ph. D. from the University of Chicago. His research examines the law and literature of early medieval England. His books include Crime and Punishme...

Join the   #McConnellCenter   as we host Dr. Barbara Perry and she does her best to convince you to read a work of James Huntington. Barbara A. Perry is the J. Wilson Newman Professor of Governance at the Miller Center, where she co-directs the  Presidential Oral History Program . She has authored or edited 17 books on presidents, First Ladies, the Kennedy family, the Supreme Court, and civil righ...

Join the   #McConnellCenter   as we host Dr. E Christian Kopff and he makes an argument as to why you need to read the works of poet, philosopher, rhetorician, and humorist, Marcus Tullius Cicero (106 BC-43 BC). Dr. Kopff was born in Brooklyn NY, November 22, 1946 and educated at St. Paul's School (Garden City NY), Haverford College PA (B.A., summa cum laude ) and the University of North Carolina...

Join the   #McConnellCenter   as we host Dr. N Susan Laehn. and she attempts to convince you to read the works of the Father of Tragedy - Aeschylus. Dr. Laehn currently serves as a part-time faculty member at the University of Louisville, Adjunct Professor of Political Science at Iowa State University, and is a Non-Resident Fellow at the McConnell Center at UofL. She is co-editor of Welcoming the...

Join the   #McConnellCenter   as we host Amy Sturgis, Ph. D., as she attempts to convince you to read Mary Shelley's Frankenstein . Dr. Sturgis, an American author, speaker, and scholar of science fiction and fantasy studies and Native American studies, speaks as part of the "Why You Should Read" series. We all know we need to read more and there are literally millions of books on shelves with new...

Join the #McConnellCenter as we host Amy Sturgis, Ph. D., to deliver a lecture titled "A Fortnight in the Wilderness." Dr. Sturgis, an American author, speaker, and scholar of science fiction and fantasy studies and Native American studies, speaks as part of the "Tocqueville's America - and Ours" series. Long considered a classic consideration of the origins, evolution, and future of democratic se...

Join the #McConnellCenter as we host Justin Litke, Ph. D., of the Catholic University of America, speaking as part of the "Tocqueville's America - and Ours" series. He presents the lecture "Tocqueville, Publius, and Henry Clay on Compromise."  Long considered a classic consideration of the origins, evolution, and future of democratic self-governance in America, we seek to read, understand, and exa...