The New Thinkery

This week, the guys are joined for the third time by author, political commentator, and policy scholar Steven F. Hayward, who is replacing David for this episode. The group take a trip to the silver screen to review  Cloud Atlas , based on a book of the same name. Discussion ranges from the unique, nested story sequence, characters, and more.

The guys are back this week with a break from the philosophy books, opting instead for another of Shakespeare's great plays. They generally discuss the plot, characters, themes, and more in this episode. This is just the first episode on Hamlet to set the stage, so to speak. There will be deep dives into each act in the future.  

This week, the guys are joined by Jacob Howland, author of Glaucon's Fate: History, Myth, and Character in Plato's Republic, among other impressive works, and the McFarlin Professor of Philosophy Emeritus at the University of Tulsa. Howland goes through his analysis and conclusion of Glaucon's fate in Plato's Republic , as well as touhch on additional points concerning the full work. Plus: Greg's...

This week, the guys dive into the underground world of E. M. Forster's The Machine Stops . People live in pods, communication is done almost solely by instant messaging/video conferencing, and the omnipotent Machine takes care of people's bodily and spiritual needs. The guys analyze the situation and realizations that arise as the machine breaks down and people are condemned to their fate.

This week, the guys turn to Dostoevsky's story within The Brothers Karamazov : The Grand Inquisitor. Centering on two chapters within the book, discussion and analysis ranges from the idea of a benevolent God, to unanswered implications about human nature and freedom, and much more. 

This week, the guys convene a day early to bring you an analysis of the Declaration of Independence. Discussion takes the guys through the history of the Declaration, a look at its progenitors, its meaning, and how it fits with America's other important documents like the Constitution.

This week, the guys are joined once again by two esteemed guests: Dr. Hannes Kerber, Postdoctoral Fellow for the Program on Constitutional Government at Harvard, & Dr. Svetozar Minkov, Professor of Philosophy at Roosevelt University. Part II focuses on Strauss' interpretation of Plato's Euthyphro , broken into sections revolving around several important questions Strauss tried to resolve for himse...

This week, the guys are joined by not one, but  two esteemed guests: Dr. Hannes Kerber, Postdoctoral Fellow for the Program on Constitutional Government at Harvard, & Dr. Svetozar Minkov, Professor of Philosophy at Roosevelt University. The group discuss Kerber & Minkov's new, groundbreaking edited work: Leo Strauss on Plato's 'Euthyphro': The 1948 Notebook, with Lectures and Critical Writings . P...

This week, the guys are on their own as they dive into Book III of Aristotle's Nicomachean Ethics . Discussion focuses primarily on an assessment of Aristotle's views on how we ought to evaluate people's actions under different circumstances. Further analysis covers the source of virtue and vice, and how humans tend to frame decisions when deemed good or bad, as well as problems with Aristotle's t...

This week, the guys are joined once more by Dr. Eric Adler, Professor and Chair of Classics at the University of Maryland. The group turn to the silver screen as they analyze the cult classic,  The Big Lebowski . Amid the antics of the characters throughout the film, the guys analyze whether there is a coherent message lying underneath the calls to just "chill out, man."

This week, the guys are joined by a bonafide artist and Greg's colleague, Daniel McDonald, Chair of the Department of Art + Design and professor of art. The group discuss Spanish philosopher José Ortega y Gasset's essay, The Dehumanization of Art , which sought to understand why modern art was moving in a nonrepresentational direction. McDonald offer's an artist's perspective on Ortega y Gasset's...

This week, the guys are joined by Dr. Charlotte Thomas, Professor of Philosophy among several other titles at Mercer Unviersity and executive director of ACTC. The group discuss Dr. Thomas' book The Female Drama: The Philosophical Feminine in the Soul of Plato's Republic . The discussion roughly follows books V-VII of the  Republic and its arguments around justice and what is needed to bring it ab...

This week, the guys are joined once again by Dr. Eric Adler, Professor and Chair of Classics at the University of Maryland. The group discuss most of the contents of  Germania from the traits of the people and land, to their practices, culminating in Tacitus' thoughts on their value to the Romans. Plus: Dr. Adler ties in one of Tacitus' other works, the  Annals , into the discussion. 

This week, the guys are joined by Dr. Thomas Cleveland, Director of Academic Programs at the Jack Miller Center. The group discuss what it means to understand, to know, and to gain wisdom. They then discuss what people may do in search of knowledge, and the distinction between wisdom and knowledge.

This week, the guys return to Ancient Greece as they gather to discuss Socrates' personal life as a family man. They analyze whether philosophers can even have families, whether Socrates' family was serious or ironic, whether his intellectual or biological progeny are his real family, and more. Plus: a special announcement from Greg!

This week, the guys are joined by David's colleague and friend, Spencer Klavan. Together, the group discuss the overarchiing themes, influence, and historical context of Euripides' The Bacchae . Plus: an analysis of uniquely feminine power. 

This week, the guys take a look at the introductory section of Allan Bloom's  The Closing of the American Mind . In their analysis, the guys cover the significance of Bloom's writings in the context of American political thought as well as the merits of his argument in his introduction.

This week, the guys are joined for a second time by Dr. Justin Gottschalk to talk about the prologue to Nietzsche's Thus Spoke Zarathustra . The group analyze the history, themes, value, and modern interpretations of what is arguably Nietzsche's hardest to grasp text.

Returning to the Ancients this week, the guys are here to discuss Xenophon's  Hunting with Dogs . Using an edition put together by Michael Ehrmantraut and  The New Thinkery 's own Greg McBrayer, the guys dive into the text, analyzing the underlying themes of the work, as well as some hidden intentions put in by Xenophon that have confused scholars for quite some time. 

This week, the guys return to Leo Strauss' crucially important book,  Natural Right and History . A discussion of the history of the work moves naturally to an analysis of the themes of chapter one, how thoroughly it expands on the concept of historicism before ripping into it, as well as some contextualization of the chapter when compared to other thinkers of Strauss' time. Plus: a brief note for...

This week, the guys take another trip down to the silver screen to analyze Jean Renoir's 1937 movie,  The Grand Illusion . Hidden underneath the POW escape plot of the movie are deep and serious themes about the role of what was at the time Europe's dying aristocracy, among others. The guys break it all down.

With the gang back together this week, the guys jump into a short essay on a punchy topic, the problem of freedom, using Jacob Klein's essay by the same name as a starting point. They discuss the framing of freedom, its types, and to what extent freedom itself is a good or bad thing. Plus: an announcement toward the end of the show!

This week, David is away, which means Alex and Greg are getting right to the point. They discuss chapter seven of  The Prince , which focuses primarily on Cesare Borgia and his political career. Machiavelli seems to put ample praise on Borgia while also noting the stumbling block he would succumb to. Plus: a quick analysis of where the famous line, "the ends justifies the means" comes from.

This week, the guys are joined by Dr. Spencer Klavan, David's coworker and author of multiple books on philosophy and saving the West. The group take a quick look at stoicism and ancient life before diving into an insightful and funny analysis of  The Life of Zeno . 

This week the guys are joined for the fourth time by Dr. Michael P. Zuckert, the Nancy R. Dreux Professor of Political Science, Emeritus at the University of Notre Dame. The group convene early this week in observation of President's Day and discuss some of Lincoln's speeches, other writings, and thoughts surrounding dicoveries and inventions, and their purpose in the young republic. Plus: the guy...