The Optimistic Curmudgeon

Winston Brady explains the story behind his Inferno, the importance of sin, redemption, and divine grace for ultimate happiness, and several puzzles hidden within Evan Esko's journey across Hell. Featuring lust, gluttony, murder, an Ent, Mephistopheles, suicide, Jimi Hendrix, Kurt Cobain, Thomas Jefferson, LBJ, Ernest Hemingway., and more. Here is the link to order your copy: https://shorturl.at/w...

John Wilsey discusses the nature of religious conservatism, its place in the American tradition, and why conservatives are the best disposed group in America today to defend everyone's religious liberty. He explains the nature of patriotism, defending the idea of being American, and roots his arguments in Burkean conservatism. With callbacks to episode 5x5 featuring Ben Cnreshaw, Dr. Wilsey explai...

Joe Rigney discusses his new book, Leadership and Emotional Sabotage: Resisting the Anxiety That Will Wreck Your Family, Destroy Your Church, and Ruin the World, and the need for men in particular to rediscover their authority. Rigney argues that rightly used authority is a blessing to those under it and in the absence of that authority chaos reigns. He is concerned that those in leadership need t...

Andrew Zwerneman discusses the nature of history, how it should be taught, and its role in a classical education. History is a primary method of shaping the moral imagination, and Zwerneman describes the pivotal role of the classical educator in forming students to cultivate historical consciousness. Find all of Andrew resources and more at Cana Academy - https://www.canaacademy.org/

Rob Thornett, a classical educator with Great Hearts Academies, explains how classical methods and approaches help students discover the good that education can give them. Rob is a global traveler, and has taught in various international settings. This conversational episode is based on Rob’s article in Quillette: https://quillette.com/2024/02/09/the-odyssey-of-classical-education/ Find more of Ro...

Scott Yenor describes more than 20 woke pieces of legislation passed in California in recent years and the terrible effects they have on California education. Dr. Yenor explains what’s really going in some key educational buzzwords: culturally responsive teaching, social emotional learning, action civics, critical social justice, and restorative justice.  Here is the report this episode is based o...

Paul Krause, editor in chief of Voegelin View, joins Josh for this season's Great Books discussion on Jonathan Swift's Gulliver's Travels. Krause situates Swift in his moment in time, and explains the depths of satirical insight Swift applies to questions of human nature.  What do the Houyhnhnm, Yahoos, Brobdingnagians, Lilliputians, Laputans, and commentators on Aristotle show about human nature?...

Ferenc Horcher discusses the life, scholarship, and humanity of Sir Roger Scruton. Author of Art and Politics in Roger Scruton’s Conservative Philosophy, Horcher explains the connections between Scruton's life and the development of his philosophy. Along the way, Horcher explains Scruton's aesthetic, conservatism, and cultivation of the finer things in life. The conversation concludes with conside...

Between Elon Musk's Neuralink, Amazon's Upload, and the promises of both AI programs like Chat GPT and Google Gemini and investments into virtual reality (Meta), the potential for exchanging the material world for some other kind of existence has never been more clear. But can an alternate reality lead to happiness? Dr. Peter Forrest, Dean of Humanities at Thales College, considers these questions...

Katy Faust and Stacy Manning discuss the realities of raising conservative kids in a woke city. They offer realistic advice and solid analysis with a gentleness of spirit that will resonate with all parents. The book is Raising Conservative Kids in a Woke City - get your copy today!

Josh delivered this talk at the 2023 Thales Press Classical Summit; it is a distillation of his dissertation which explores C.S. Lewis's theory of gender. Lewis believed that gender is a fundamental real relationship the governs reality; he wrote about this in both nonfiction and his fiction, and his theory prophetically solves the transgender malaise that has consumed modern culture. #gender #tra...

Karen Elliott, Executive Director of The Rafiki Foundation, shares about her organization's work in developing and practicing classical education in 10 different African countries. Karen shares about her background, why she loves classical education, and the unique possibility classical education offers to help African education leaders elevate their own communities. Check out the episode, and sha...

Dr. Nathan Orlando of Benedictine College discusses International Relations and the influence of Aristotle's Politics on contemporary diplomacy. (This episode was recorded in September of 2023, so please pardon the lack of reference to Israel and Hamas's current war).

Ben Crenshaw (PhD Cand., Hillsdale College) explains his view of Christian nationalism, the importance of Christian foundations for the American political order, and why this debate matters for accurate American historical scholarship. Ben is building on his paper presented at the 2023 ISI American Politics and Government. With shout outs to Stephen Wolfe's Case for Christian Nationalism and The A...

Dr. Clifford Humphrey discusses his article in The American Reformer, " The Ends of Mere Classical Education: Which Way Western Man? " He defines classical education, and articulates the importance of classical schools clearly defining their aims if they want to remain distinct from other educational options. 

Keith Foskey, @YourCalvinist,tells the origin of his denominations videos. Along the way, he explains theological liberalism, Calvinism, and progressive ideas that are creeping into the church world. Foskey sees his comedy as a form of ministry, and explains his inspiration from Dennis "The Swan" Swanberg. Foskey concludes with considering how laughter is like a medicine for the soul, and what pri...

Daniel Pitt discusses his years studying with the late Sir Roger Scruton. Daniel is a scholar focusing on traditionalist conservatism, and his interview shares insights into the life of Roger Scruton, Russell Kirk, and Richard Weaver. Daniel is a scholar at the University of Sheffield, and brings a deep love of conservatism to the questions of piety, politics, and obligations. 

Dr. Jenna Robinson discusses the Martin Center for Academic Renewal's recent articles about the connection between accreditation and DEI at UNC Chapel HIll. She explains the history of accreditations, and the way positive sounding language is used to mask a new expectation of orthodoxy. Dr. Robinson closes with specific suggestions for how UNC Chapel HIll could change its current trajectory, and i...

I read my article "Top Down Education is Crumbling" about the #schoolchoice movement and the way school choice functions as an application of #federalism . This essay was published on @StatePolicy 's new website, @American_Habits on June 26, 2023.

I read my review of Abigail Favale's Genesis of Gender, published with the Acton Institute on May 2, 2023. Here is the link: https://rlo.acton.org/archives/124445-the-genesis-paradigm-vs-the-gender-paradigm.html #gender #transgender #pronouns #Christianity #love #feminism #bible #scholarship  Be sure to follow Abigail Favale on X at @Favaleabs

In this episode, I welcome back Bob Luddy to give us an update on the current state of the economy. We discuss inflation, Bob's most recent article in The American Spectator, the National Debt, the impact of debt on both an individual's finances and a government's ability to act, and the looming threat of China. Bob does not see the national debt as a partisan issue; both the GOP and DNC are equal...

Abigail Favale argues in her new book The Genesis of Gender that gender ideology corrodes humanity's ability to live well. She proposes instead that a "Genesis Paradigm" that perceives creation as God's good gift enables human flourishing. Favale argues that we've gotten sex wrong as a culture by separating biological purpose from pleasure. She answers Matt Walsh's question, "What is a woman?" wit...

Jeremy Adams, Auguste Meyrat, and Shane Trotter join Josh for a rousing discussion of school choice. All four are teacher-writers, and between the four they represent charter, public, and private education in Texas, California, and North Carolina. Their conversation was sparked by Daniel Buck's essay in Law and LIberty (https://lawliberty.org/forum/the-perils-of-school-choice/). Share this episode...

Josh Herring reads his essay "What is the Future of Classical Education?" published in Law and Liberty on May 3. https://lawliberty.org/what-is-the-future-of-classical-education/

Spencer Klavan, podcastor with The Daily Wire and associate editor at The Claremont Review of Books, discusses his new book How to Save the West. He describes various crises plaguing the West, applies ancient wisdom to solve modern problems, and cracks amazing jokes in this episode. If you're worried about the Metaverse, transgenderism, or our current regime crisis, check this episode out!