The Sower

Josh Bowman talks with David Michael Phelps, president of Harmel Academy. (This 2025 episode combines 2 episodes previously published in 2023.) Harmel Academy is a post-secondary Catholic trade school in Grand Rapids, Michigan, pioneering an exciting new strategy for the formation and education of men. To learn more, go to https://www.harmelacademy.org/ Select books mentioned: A. G. Sertillanges,...

Josh Bowman talks with Dr. Carl Richard, Professor of History at the University of Louisiana Lafayette. Dr. Richard has spent decades recovering the impact of the ancient Greeks and Romans on the American Founders and on American history generally. He has also turned to the influence of the Bible and Christianity on America’s founding, and now to the history of the Presidency. We begin by talking...

Josh Bowman talks with legal scholar Jack Ferguson about his recent article exploring Cicero’s impact on the American Founders. We discuss natural law, republicanism, executive power, and more. Jack’s article is “The Ciceronian Origins of American Law and Constitutionalism” from The Harvard Journal of Law and Public Policy, which can be found here: https://journals.law.harvard.edu/jlpp/wp-content/...

This episode concludes a series interviewing our first ever cohort of conference fellows. Josh Bowman talks with Matthew Chambers, a Nisbet Fellow, who teaches humanities at ECPI University in Virginia Beach and who is also entering his dissertation phase as a PhD Candidate in Humanities at Faulkner University. We discuss the relationship between the teachings of the early church and that of the A...

James Patterson joins Dr. Glenn Moots for a conversation on Christian Nationalism. (This 2025 episode combines 2 episodes previously published in 2023.) Glenn Moots is a prolific writer and teacher from Northwood University in Michigan. Learn more about Glenn Moots here: https://www.northwood.edu/directory/faculty/glenn-moots/   Glenn’s adapted talk from the National Conservative conference, which...

Josh Bowman talks with Albert Norton, a practicing attorney and author of several books on the tension between religion and postmodernism. His most recent book is The Discovered Self, just released, concerning what he regards as a dangerous inward turn to the therapeutic worldview.  Our main topic is his 2023 book The Mountain and the River: Genesis, Postmodernism, and the Machine . Our conversati...

This episode continues a series interviewing our first ever cohort of conference fellows. Here, Josh talks with Sean Sirks, a graduate student at Virginia Tech and one of this year’s Nisbet Fellows. We discuss the philosophy of mathematics, numbers, metaphysics, and Shakespeare’s King Lear.  Visit our website to learn more about our conference fellowship program, and come back in Fall 2025 to lear...

Josh Bowman talks with Jenna Robinson, president of the James G. Martin Center for Academic Renewal. We specifically address the Martin Center’s advocacy for reforming teacher education through public policy at the state level, and especially as it pertains to reading. We also hit on the philosophy of education, indoctrination, pedagogy, and the notion of “place” in the development of teachers.  T...

Josh Bowman continues a series interviewing our first ever cohort of Ciceronian Society Conference fellows, talking with Nisbet Fellow T. Michael Wise of Sunbury, Ohio. Michael is a retired licensed funeral director completing his Ph. D at The Southern Baptist Theological Seminary in the Historical & Theological Studies Department under Dr. John D. Wilsey. His research interests are in the Ant...

Chris Anadale interviews Rachel Ferguson about neighborhood stabilization, human scale, building social & racial trust, and causes for hope in the cities. Dr. Ferguson is director of the Free Enterprise Center at Concordia University of Chicago, an Affiliated Scholar at the Acton Institute, and a member of the Ciceronian Society advisory board. Links to People, Books, and Organizations mention...

Josh Bowman talks with Theodore Madrid, a Ph. D. candidate studying politics at Hillsdale College's Graduate School of Statesmanship. This episode begins a series interviewing our first ever cohort of conference fellows. Theodore is specifically a “Nisbet Fellow,” and our conversation ranges over the work of John Carroll, Montesquieu, Adam Smith, religious liberty, and the role of commercialism an...

Josh Bowman talks with John D. Wilsey about his new book Religious Freedom: A Conservative Primer (Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing, 2025) https://www.eerdmans.com/9780802881908/religious-freedom/ , which will be released April 24, 2025. John is Professor of Church History and Philosophy and Chair of the Department of Church History and Historical Theology at The Southern Baptist Theological Seminary. F...

Josh Bowman talks with historian Richard Brookhiser, a senior editor of National Review ( https://www.nationalreview.com/ ) and a senior fellow at the National Review Institute ( https://nrinstitute.org/ ). He is a prolific author of many books, mostly on the American Founders and their ideas, and many other articles and essays besides. We specifically discuss Brookhiser’s new biography of America...

Josh Bowman talks with Matthew K. Michels OblSB, who is a professional bookbinder and writer, and the owner of Black Cowl Bindery. He is also an Oblate of the Order of Saint Benedict associated with Saint Vincent Archabbey in Latrobe, Pennsylvania. In addition to talking about the craft of bookbinding, we also discuss the idea of human scale, running a small business, common arts education, the tr...

Josh Bowman talks with Nick Ellis, Founder and CEO of Christian Halls International, whose mission is to “strengthen local communities by offering Christ-centered tutorial-based education that fosters intellectual, spiritual, and vocational formation.” We discuss the idea of place, place-based education, the classical education movement, the future of universities, and more.   To learn more about...

Josh Bowman talks with Joshua Kraut, Associate Professor of French at Hope College in Holland, Michigan. Dr. Kraut is currently studying and translating the works of contemporary French philosopher Fabrice Hadjadj (b. 1971), who is the topic of this conversation.  Click here for two translated books by Hadjadj: https://ignatius.com/authors/fabrice-hadjadj/   Joshua Kraut's talk for the Saint Bened...

Josh Bowman talks with Simon Tarr, dean of both The Honors College and the School of Communication and the Arts at Regent University. We discuss Christian higher education, what an “honors college” is - or could be - and the idea of prestige. To learn more about the Honors College, visit:  https://www.regent.edu/honors-college/    The Regent University Honors College is Tullia Sponsor for the upco...

Josh Bowman shares some end of year reflections on where the Ciceronian Society has been, where we’re headed, and why we believe our resilient and growing band of Christian intellectuals is doing something important. To give to the Ciceronian Society, visit: https://ciceroniansociety.org/donate/   To register for the 2025 Conference, visit: https://ciceroniansociety.org/conference/2025-conference-...

Josh Bowman speaks with the headmaster and founder of St. Dunstan’s Academy, Thomas Fickley, and Fr. Mark Perkins, who serves as their chaplain and assistant headmaster. St. Dunstan’s Academy is an all-boys boarding school in Virginia built on four main pillars: Christian formation, classical academics, farming, and the skilled trades. To learn more, visit: https://stdunstansacademy.org/ 0:00 Intr...

Josh Bowman chats with Nathan Beacom, Founder and Director of the Lyceum Movement, which “hosts social, festive events that explore the big ideas of art, philosophy, history and more.” To learn more about Nathan’s work, visit https://www.lyceummovement.org/   0:00 Introduction 1:14 What the Lyceum Movement Is 5:04 Origins 10:56 Response/Success 13:13 Six Habits 18:47 Irreconcilable Differences 25:...

Alan Cornett and Chris Anadale discuss roots, bourbon tourism, agriculture, and more. Alan is host of the Cultural Debris Podcast, cofounder of Cultural Debris Excursions, and a former assistant to Russell Kirk. His family has lived in Kentucky since the 18th century. 0:00 Roots 5:17 Economics 11:33 Wet and Dry 16:50 Lexington 21:21 Cincinnati 23:24 Soil and Agriculture 29:55 Kirk and Localism One...

Claire Aguda and Chris Anadale discuss place, church, and her community in West Chester, Pennsylvania. Claire Aguda works at the Russell Kirk Center for Cultural Renewal. She is currently a PhD student at Faulkner University. She has worked in the conservative intellectual movement for several years. Claire is a longtime friend of the Ciceronian Society, which she describes as the place where "peo...

Josh Bowman RETURNS to talk about his childhood home of Monroe, on the shore of Lake Erie. Dr. Joshua Bowman is Executive Director of the Ciceronian Society, former host of The Sower, and a father, husband, Michigander and follower of Christ. He is well known to anyone who has attended one of our conferences. 0:00 Monroe 6:10 Not Idealizing Rural Life 11:50 War of 1812 17:30 Present Day Monroe 27:...

Tyler Syck discusses his hometown and the future of Appalachia. Jeffery Tyler Syck is an Assistant Professor of Politics and the founding Director of the Center for Public Service and Outreach at the University of Pikeville in his hometown. 0:00 Pikeville 2:30 Counties 4:55 Returning Home 11:15 Tourists & Settlers 14:00 University 17:55 Future of Appalachia 23:55 Roots 26:55 Mountains One in a...

In this episode, the Ciceronian Society’s “new” Executive Director, Josh Bowman, discusses the upcoming 2025 conference(s), a new award, and new conference fellowships. Give to the Ciceronian Society: https://ciceroniansociety.org/donate/  Spring 2025 Conference Website: https://ciceroniansociety.org/conference/   Conference Call for Papers - Due Sept. 2, 2024: https://ciceroniansociety.org/confer...