The Academy Podcast

"From Mystic Rituals to Christian Liturgy: A History of Ascent, its Influence on Dante's Paradise and our own Lives." Our common Christian goal is unity with God. This is also the goal of ascent. This project argues that Boethius’ The Consolation of Philosophy and Bonaventure’s  Journey of the Mind into God prominently influence Dante’s articulation of ascent in his poem Paradise. F...

"A Liturgy for Suffering: The Power of Music and the Problem of Evil." Music is a universal language and suffering is a universal human experience. How can music help us in our suffering? This project explores the work of Joseph Ratzinger and Andrew Peterson, alongside the music of Andrew Peterson and Modest Mouse, to argue for music’s unique role in redeeming human suffering. Send us Fa...

“Fun in Education- Its Effects on Learning, Retention, and School Performance.” Throughout our early years at school, it is common for teachers to incorporate fun activities into the classroom to help students learn better. But how might education change if a focus on fun remained in the classrooms of older students? This paper explores the benefits fun has on education, such as supporting retenti...

“The Pressures of Being a Person: How Nutrition, Athletics and Mental Health Connect.” Athletes are universally admired and upheld. At the same time, athletes are derided for both their moral and their athletics failures. This project attempts to present athletes as whole people through exploring the science of nutrition and its connection to the mental health needed both by athletes and others. P...

“Legalism and Relationships: Man, World, and God.”  Legalism is a pervasive problem in American Churches. This project uses a Kuyperian analysis to argue that, though doubtless also a theological error, legalism is a problem with significant personal and relational consequences. Adequately understanding the sbad effects of legalism is a first step toward its rejection.  Send us Fan Mail

"Loving our Immigrant Neighbor: Seeking Truth through Psychology and Poetry." Immigrants inhabit a reality seemingly far removed from our own. This project examines the lesser-known immigration realities of Chinese and Hispanic immigrants using the poems these immigrants have written. Far from a straightforward reading of the poems, the project attempts to see the poems as expressive of ...

“Using the Past for the Present: How HistoricalKnowledge can Better Ourselves and our Community.” The academic study of history is sometimes wrongly viewed as the study of mildlyinteresting facts. This causes people to overlook the importance of historical knowledge,its ability to better both ourselves and the world around us. This project argues thereare unique benefits to historical study. Its s...

“Shakespearean Division: Questioning Racism and Genre in The Merchant of Venice and Othello .” William Shakespeare is the most famous Western playwright. His plays are still read, discussed, performed, and analyzed even after 400 years. However, a debate increasingly surrounds problematic themes in his works, one of which is racism. In two plays specifically, Othello and The Merchant of Venice , r...

“Board Games in the Kingdom: Loving our Neighbor through Creative Play.” This project describes the importance of play in building relationships. It examinesplay through the disciplines of mathematics and theater. Through these areas ofcreative play, board games provide environments to develop relationships betweendifferent ages. This presentation also explains how, on account of this research, ac...

"Carrying our Crosses: Suffering in the Gospels and Dostovesky's Crime and Punishment ." Fyodor Dostoevsky’s Crime and Punishment explores how, as Christians, redemptive sufferingconnects us to Christ and breeds virtue in our hearts. Through textual examples and characteranalysis, this project explains how the novel addresses suffering as a definitive part of thehuman experience. Th...

“The Price of Amateurism.”  A recent Supreme Court decision, alongside the NCAA decision to allow players to be compensated for the use of their Name, Image, and Likeness(NIL) has complicated our thinking about the role of amateurism in college athletics. This project argues that both the NCAA change and the Supreme Court’s decision are necessary responses to a moral wrong and racial injustice. As...

"'The things that matter are the things that need breath': Homelessness in Oklahoma City and our Responsibility to Relationally Invest." Homelessness in our community is something we often ignore. Yet, as Christians, webelieve that every individual was created in the image of God. This project arguesthat we must reflect our belief in our daily lives. We can do this by recognizi...

“To Forget is to be Lost: The Problems of Modernity and the Solution of Film.” Our memories have been slowly disintegrating for centuries. This disintegration isdue in no small part to the philosophical project widely known as Modernism andattributable to thinkers like René Descartes. This project explores the problems derivedfrom Modernism: the isolation of self by the destruction of any greater...

“The Art of Being Terrified: The Visions of AldousHuxley, George Orwell, and Cormac McCarthy.”  How often do you lie awake at night with fear for the future? Brave New World , 1984 , and The Road are all dystopian novels that attempt to influence our thinkingand behavior. This is accomplished through terrifying visions of what humanity couldface. These visions, somewhat indirectly, invite Christia...

Our inaugural(?) episode of Season 3 in which Nate and Josh wonder aloud at how Eric didn't get more podcasts out and how scripts make for freedom and how the school is doing and how Nathan's gladhanding provided such opulence for his office. Send us your questions, comments, criticisms to TheAcademyPodcastOK@gmail.com.  Send us Fan Mail

Well, it's been a long while since we released a podcast. Eric attempts to steer the ship without Josh & Nathan, but thankfully is joined by Jamie Howell who manages to keep this from turning into a total disaster. We talk upcoming episodes, "Hollywood" Spears, daytime TV from the 80s, and Jamie threatens to take over the podcast. If for some reason you have a comment or questio...

In this season finale, we reflect on a strange year, Nathan glad hands (with plenty of hand sanitizer) and inexplicably, we flip the 7 with some numerology.  For the three of you still listening, send us your hate mail at TheAcademyPodcastOK@gmail.com. Send us Fan Mail

It’s an action packed Lyceum Conversation with David Zahl of Mockingbird Ministries. We invited Nathan to join us as we wander our way through the virtues of grunge, why we chase enoughness and why Josh is right about Star Wars. Send us Fan Mail

We originally recorded this episode in February 2020 to be our inaugural Lyceum Conversation. Much like our annual Lyceum Project, our hope in these Lyceum Conversations is to bring the best scholars to speak on important issues.  Well. In case you've not been keeping up with the news, things got weird shortly thereafter. With the shut down of the school and the state and the country and the...

It’s been a bit. What with Nathan’s glad handing, Eric’s obsession with strange news stories and Josh‘s meek and humble nature, we’ve had a bit of a gap since our last episode. But we’ve been minding that gap. Paying close attention. So we bring you a full dose of accessible pretension, a veritable vaccine of nonsense. We reflect on a year’s worth of pandemic schooling, The Bunker Tapes, Josh bein...

In this Nathanless episode, Eric and Josh finally get control of the podcast, finally get just the right balance of pretension and accessibility, finally get a word in edgewise.  To our tens of listeners, we want to hear from you. Email the show at The AcademyPodcastOK@gmail.com Send us Fan Mail

In our second annual Xmas Xtravaganza we talk multi-step gifts, revisit scrapple-fueled thigh masters, reflect on St Thomas,  the mystery of the Incarnation and leave you with a very special Xmas surprise. Email the show at: theacademypodcastok@gmail.com _______________________ Music: Carol of the Bells by Alexander Nakarada (www.serpentsoundstudios.com)  Licensed under Creative Commons BY Attribu...

In this fourth(?) episode of season two, we invite our rhetoric (high school) prefects (student leaders) to join us and talk all things 9th-12th grade accessible pretension. We get insight into the hearts and minds of our leadership and the culture of our school. We also get to the bottom of a make-or-break Advent issue. It’s about to get real for some parents.  Send us Fan Mail

It's Advent! The strangest in a while for sure. So, Nathan and Josh help Eric understand the protocols for a proper Advent season all the while situating Advent within the Apostle's Creed. There may be some measure of controversy about what counts as good Christmas music and Eric may or may not bring some good news. We're still not sure.  Send us Fan Mail

It's been a minute but only because it's been a bit crazy around here. We talk through the crazy. We re-center in the Creeds. We feast on Thanksgiving. We give Eric more trouble. We give you, Listener, accessible pretension. Be Ye warned: we discuss a number of sophomoric topics with language that may cause a triggering event.  Have thoughts on the show? Topics you want to see covered? H...