Synesis: History of Ideas Podcast

In the second part of the conversation, we continue discussing conservatism with Thomas Charrayre, further exploring the intellectual landscape of the Cold War. We return to the thought of Raymond Aron, Michael Oakeshott, and Leo Strauss, reflecting on how each of them grappled with the challenges posed by modern democracy, the question of political authority, and the fate of the liberal tradition...

In today's episode, Mateus talks with Thomas Charrayre, a PhD candidate in political theory at Sciences Po Paris. His dissertation examines Cold War conservatism through the works of Raymond Aron, Michael Oakeshott, and Leo Strauss, exploring how they rethought democracy, authority, and the liberal tradition in the shadow of totalitarianism. Without proclaiming to be "conservatives,"...

Today, Mateus and João start a new series within Synesis, where young scholars may share their research. We welcome Otto Lehto, a Research Fellow at NYU Center for Bioethics & Postdoctoral Fellow at NYU School of Law's Classical Liberal Institute. Through four articles ("Power to the Powerless: Evolutionary Liberalism and Social Emancipation"; "Evolution, Complexity and Inte...

In this episode André interviews catholic theologian Grant Klapan about his latest book "Faith and Reason through Christian History: A Theological Essay" (The Catholic University of America Press, 2022) and the relationship between faith and reason as understood in modern catholicism and its German roots, and the way the Magisterium of the Catholic Church changed its attitude toward modern philoso...

Mateus, João and Mitch (guest interviewer) talk with Matthew McManus (Spelman College) about his "The Rise of Post-Modern Conservatism: Neoliberalism, Post-Modern Culture, and Reactionary Politics" (Palgrave MacMillan, 2019) and "Myth and Mayhem: A Leftist Critique of Jordan Peterson" (Zer0 Books, 2020). In it, we address the transformations conservative and reactionary ideologies have suffered in...

Mateus and João interview Professor David Lay Williams from DePaul University (USA) to talk about his book, "The Greatest of All Plagues: How Economic Inequality Shaped Political Thought from Plato to Marx" (Princeton University Press, 2024). Drawing from great thinkers of the Western Canon, David shows how inequality has always been considered a keen political problem in the West - until the rise...

In this interview, Mateus interviews Jonathan Rose, renowned Historian, Professor of History, Director of the Graduate Program in Book History at Drew University, and the founding president of the Society for the History of Authorship, Reading and Publishing. We discuss his book, The Intellectual Life of the British Working Classes, Yale University Press (2021, 3ed), the importance of Liberal Educ...