The Optimistic Curmudgeon

Dr. Matthew Mehan calls his new book, The American Book of Fables, as a "250th birthday present" for America. Releasing today (5/19/26), this volume is filled with rhymes and songs "for Littles," fables "for Middles," and a treasure trove of witty-wise sayings and primary sources "for Bigs." Dr. Mehan has written not just a book for children or adults, but a volume for the whole family to return t...

Josh interview Dr. Tracy Gardner about her work in psychometrics, its application to national testing design, and the science of reading. Dr. Gardner has worked for the  @ClassicLearningTest  ,  @Pearson  , and is now the Vice-President for Workforce Assessment Solutions for the ACT. She is a proud  @hillsdalecollege  parent, and has been heavily influenced by the life and work of Charlie Kirk. We...

Mandi Gerth draws from her book Thoroughness and Charm: Cultivating the Habits of the Classical Classroom to explain what teaching is, how teachers can draw on the wisdom of Machiavelli to understand their authority and wield it for the good of their students, and what it means to put on the Western tradition as both a mantle and a crown. Along the way, Mandi shares wisdom from Donald and Louise C...

Dr. Brad Birzer of Hillsdale College analyzes the Stranger Things series finale. Birzer argues that Stranger Things is a mythology of the 1980s, and he thinks the finale episode wraps up the series well. The younger generations of kids, the older generation heading to college, small town life, the Upside Down, hatred of the military, music of the 1980s - we discuss it all! This is definitely a spo...

Annie Crawford and Ashley Lande join Josh Herring for a discussion of psychedelics, their stories, and what people actually long for when they turn to ecstatic experiences. The conversation begins with definitions - what is a psychedelic? What all counts? - and turns to embodiment, a symbolic reading of reality, and the way both guests found their desires met in Christ Jesus. It's a great conversa...

Josh Bowman, Executive Director of the Ciceronian Society, explains the nature of the Ciceronian Society, and reflects on why the church needs Christian academics. He also reflects on why Christian academics need the church and a network of friends within which they conduct their scholarship. The conversation moves from Cicero to modernity, with a lot of points in between. The 2026 Ciceronian Soci...

Chase Spears, host of Finding Your Spine, joins Josh to discuss his essay "Only a Conservative Military can Defend America." They discuss Secretary of War Pete Hegseth, the role of the military, what it would take to have a conservative military, and where they both find hope for a brighter future. Woke is not yet done in the US military, because "personnel is policy." We also discuss Harvard, and...

Graham Dennis is a Dean of Academics for Veritas Academy and an elder in the CREC; he also holds a PhD in philosophy. In this wide ranging conversation, he introduces a particular way of reading culture through the lens of "procreative" and "decreative." From there, the conversation turns to C.S. Lewis, Perelandra, That Hideous Strength, gender, transgender, Phillip Rieff, Life among the Deathwork...

Nathan Gwinn of Freedom of Education tells his story as a teacher, a principal, and an author of the Franklin Standards, a new approach to reinvigorating science education. The way we teach science matters. In avoiding biological truth, all kinds of social problems emerge. One primary way to counteract bad ideas is to rediscover the wonder and beauty that lie at the root of good scientific explora...

Frank Clement of America's Christian Credit Union joins Josh for a discussion of classical education, Christian banking, and the role that financial institutions can play helping new organizations begin. Check out their work here: https://americaschristiancu.com/  

Martin Cothran, co-founder of  @memoriapress  , discusses his entry into classical education, the challenges facing classical education today, and the reason he and Cheryl Lowe founded Memoria Press. Cothran is the author of two logic books, many, many articles, and teaches for  @MemoriaCollege  . We also discuss Kentucky politics, and reflect on the future of the classical education renewal movem...

Junius Johnson discusses Edmund Spenser's great poem, The Faerie Queene. With a great focus on allegory, symbolism, pageantry, and characters, this conversation is a great place to start if you want to get into Spenser. And if you've made the journey to Faerie, this conversation will be a great refresher on the best poem in 16th century England! Redcrosse Knight, Una, Duessa, Archimago, Britomart,...

Josh interviews his students in Modern Communications as part of a bonus episode commemorating the Fifth of November. Guy Fawkes, traditions, integralism, constitutional order, "Jeeniors," and more. What happens when you have a good conversation with alert, well read students? Listen, and find out!  And if you enjoy this one, be sure to check out Anya and Matthew's show, Broke but Balanced here: h...

Thaddeus Kozinski makes a compelling case for why every student should read Plato's Republic with an excellent teacher. Plato discourses on justice, reality, the human condition, and highlights the possibilities philosophy extends for comprehending our place in the cosmos. Kozinski explicates the Allegory of the Cave, and illustrates throughout the conversation the importance of classical educatio...

Timothy Knotts of  @Classical_Conversations  explains the latest CC textbook: Reasoning Together Philosophy. He outlines the nature, tradition, and value of philosophy, highlighting the need for homeschool families to be well versed in philosophy. Along the way, he discusses the nature of classical education, the role classical ed plays in creating culture, and the need for increasing biblical lit...

Larissa Phillips, columnist at  @thefreepress  , shares her journey into and out of feminism. Raised in a radical Leftist family, Larissa experienced first hand the limitations of her own physiology. Over the course of her adulthood, she found peace and joy with her husband, her children, and now her farm. This is a rambling conversation that concludes with a discussion of Larissa's work teaching...

C.R. Wiley of  @TheTheologyPugcast  explains who Tom Bombadil is. Wiley wrote In the House of Tom Bombadil with  @CanonPress  , and that book opens a wide ranging conversation about masculinity, femininity, dominion, domination, dating, Adam, and the work of the logos in Tolkien's Legendarium. It's a wonderful discussion mostly grounded in The Fellowship of the Ring. Enjoy! Links: In the House of...

Joseph Holmes advances his theory of feminism in contemporary Hollywood: only women are allowed to be positive spiritual figures. Holmes argues that Hollywood has shifted from "men bad, women good" and the "religious or atheist" dichotomy to "men are religious, women are spiritual." As such, Holmes thinks it fits Greta Gerwig's pattern to cast a female voice (rumored to be Meryl Streep) for Aslan...

Dr. Josh Herring reflects on Season 8: The Re-Enchanting Inklings, drawing out connections between guests and suggesting what this season of The Optimistic Curmudgeon says about modernity, the Inklings, and our need to encounter reality. With shoutouts and callbacks to Annie Crawford, Andrew Lazo, Christiana Hale, Holly Ordway, Landon Loftin, Austin Freeman, Brent Weeks, Steve Beebe, Michael Ward,...

Annie Crawford explains Dr. Michael ward's theory of "donegality," and shows how reading The Silver Chair as C.S. Lewis's lunar novel helps explain the difference between Aslan's Country and the muddled world below. This conversation is largely based on an article Annie wrote for An Unexpected Journal entitled "Finding Faith in Fairy Tales: Answers for Modern Skeptics from C.S. Lewis's The Silver...

Fr. Andrew Lazo offers his interpretation of C.S. Lewis's Till We Have Faces as Lewis's "best book." Lazo reads the novel through The Four Loves, and contends that Lewis's entire project, as it develops across a lifetime of spiritual writing, culminates in this final novel. This conversation also features discussion of the Mere Christians conference, differing views on definitions of love, and lot...

Christiana Hale, author of Deeper Heaven: A Reader's Guide to C.S. Lewis's Ransom Trilogy, discusses her essay on pleasure and contemplation in Life on the Silent Planet: Essays on Christian Living from C.S. Lewis's Ransom Trilogy. Medieval cosmology, Perelandra, closing out the teaching season, the Un-Man's temptations of the Green Lady, right and wrong femininity, and more feature in this wide-r...

Dr. Holly Ordway discusses her essay "Arthur in Edgestow" in Life on the Silent Planet: Lessons in Christian Living from C.S. Lewis's Ransom Trilogy. She explain Lewis's love of Arthurian legends, the choices Lewis makes in incorporating, adapting, and tweaking elements of the Arthurian legendarium in That Hideous Strength. With discussion of Charles Williams, Roger Lancelyn Green, and Merlin, thi...

Landon Loftin, author of What Barfield Thought: An Introduction to the Work of Owen Barfield with Max Leyf, discusses Barfield's role in the Inklings, focus on language, and friendship with Lewis. The conversation draws mostly from Barfield's History in English Words. Loftin goes into specific detail about Barfield's pro-life work, and the connection between humans as rational, linguistic beings a...

Dr. Austin Freeman discusses his book, Tolkien Dogmatics. Doctrines of creation, eschatology, angels, demons, and Christian living all receive major consideration. Along the way, we discuss Kevin Vanhoozer, reflect on the 2024 election (we recorded on November 5, 2024), "Leaf by Niggle," what's happening theologically in the act of creating a story, and more. Austin tells us his view of Amazon's R...