The TAC Podcast

Shakespeare's sonnets have captivated readers for more than 400 years. But what makes them some of the greatest poems ever written? In this episode of The TAC Podcast, John Finley and Chris Decaen take a close look at two of Shakespeare's most celebrated sonnets, Sonnet 18 ("Shall I compare thee to a summer's day?") and Sonnet 29 ("When in disgrace with fortune and men's eyes"), uncovering the rem...

Abraham Lincoln is remembered for some of the greatest speeches in American history. But what made them so powerful? In this episode of Th e TAC Podcast, John Finley and Chris Decaen explore Lincoln's greatest public addresses, including the Cooper Union Address, the Gettysburg Address, and the First and Second Inaugural Addresses, to uncover the principles that made him one of America's greatest...

Why did Abraham Lincoln believe America could not endure half slave and half free? Why did Stephen Douglas insist that the nation should stop debating the morality of slavery altogether? In this episode, TAC tutors John Finley and Chris Decaen examine the final two Lincoln-Douglas debates of 1858, the famous political contest that helped launch Lincoln onto the national stage just two years before...

For centuries, some of the greatest writers in the Western tradition have wrestled with a troubling question: What does evil actually look like? In this episode, join TAC tutors John Finley and Chris Decaen as they examine four unforgettable portrayals of the devil in literature: Dante's silent and defeated Satan, Milton's charismatic rebel in Paradise Lost, Dostoevsky's unsettling visitor in The...

Is a liberal arts education a "luxury item" for the elite, or a necessary foundation for the human soul? In this episode of The TAC Podcast, host John Finley is joined by alumnus and tech veteran Nathan Haggard to tackle the modern objections to a Great Books education. From the "All-In" podcast's criticisms to Elon Musk's focus on first principles, we examine why the world's most successful techn...

"Who can say what truth is?" In a world of competing ideologies and "brain hacks," is it possible to find solid ground on the most important questions of human existence? In this episode of The TAC Podcast, we dive into TAC's "Great Books" approach to education, where students are immersed in diametrically opposed worldviews — from the virtue ethics of Aristotle to the radical critiques of Nietzsc...

In this episode of The TAC Podcast, we explore one of the most influential and challenging works of modern literature: T.S. Eliot's "The Waste Land." Written in the aftermath of the First World War, the poem presents a kaleidoscopic vision of a society in decay, mirroring the fragmentation of the Western tradition. We discuss the recurring themes of sterility, the breakdown of relationships betwee...

Is it possible to have a "just war" in an era of nuclear and biological weapons? How does a U.S. Ambassador navigate the "media-induced war" between the Pope and the President? In this episode of The TAC Podcast, we sit down with Brian Burch, U.S. Ambassador to the Holy See and founder of Catholic Vote, following his commencement address at Thomas Aquinas College. We dive deep into the concept of...

In this episode of The TAC Podcast, we dive into the dark and radical world of Thomas Hobbes' Leviathan. We explore Hobbes's view of the human being as a machine, the terrifying reality of the "State of Nature," and why he believes the Sovereign is the only thing standing between us and total chaos. Is Hobbes a realist or a cynic? Join us as we unpack his views on materialism, speech, and the eter...

Are the writings of Abraham Lincoln and Frederick Douglass merely American, or do they belong among the great texts of the Western tradition? Dr. Adam Seagrave joins us to explore how the American founding contributes to the perennial questions of justice, freedom, and human dignity. At the center of the conversation is slavery—not only as a historical reality, but as a contradiction within the Am...

In this episode of The TAC Podcast, we begin our journey through one of the most influential works in Western philosophy: Aristotle's Nicomachean Ethics. We start at the very beginning—Book One—where Aristotle sets an extraordinary aim: to define the "human good" and discover what it is that all human beings are truly aiming at. Is happiness just a feeling, or is it something more? We discuss Aris...

How can God tolerate such evil in the world, especially the horrors inflicted upon the innocent? In Episode 10 of The TAC Podcast, we dive deep into Dostoevsky's final masterpiece, The Brothers Karamazov. We explore the "unassailable" arguments of Ivan Karamazov, the psychological "coiling" of the brothers, and why the novel puts its readers through an emotional and spiritual ringer. From the "Gra...

In this episode of The TAC Podcast, John Finley sits down with longtime friend and former Apple enterprise leader Nathan Haggard to explore the intersection of classical philosophy and the rapidly evolving world of Artificial Intelligence. Nathan shares his unique journey from studying the Great Books at Thomas Aquinas College to spending 16 years at the forefront of the tech industry. Together, t...

In this episode, our hosts discuss Shakespeare's Macbeth, one of the most haunting and powerful tragedies in the Western tradition. Set against a world of prophecy, ambition, guilt, and bloodshed, the conversation explores the mysterious interplay between supernatural evil and human freedom, asking how Macbeth becomes both agent and victim in his own destruction. Through close attention to the wei...

In this episode, John and Chris continue their exploration of the heavens, turning to Copernicus, Kepler, and the profound transformation of our understanding of the cosmos. What begins as a seemingly simple question—why doesn't it feel like the Earth is moving?—opens into a deeper inquiry about observation, explanation, and the nature of scientific truth. Without new instruments or discoveries, C...

In this episode, John Goyette sits down with Matt Peterson, a TAC alumnus and media executive to explore the rapidly shifting landscape of artificial intelligence, digital technology, and the future of education. As AI reshapes the job market and disrupts entire industries, the conversation turns to a surprising claim: that a liberal education is not becoming obsolete, but increasingly necessary....

In this episode, John and Chris discuss Jane Austen's Emma, a novel at once comic, subtle, and morally penetrating. Through the story of one remarkable young woman, the conversation explores friendship, marriage, self-knowledge, social life, and the quiet but demanding work of virtue in ordinary human relationships. Set in the small world of village life, Emma may seem far removed from our own, ye...

In this episode, we explore Plato's Euthyphro, a brief but profound dialogue that raises enduring questions about piety, justice, truth, and the nature of the divine. Set in the shadow of Socrates' trial, the conversation explores what it means to live rightly before God, whether piety is grounded in divine command or in the truth of things, and why these questions still matter. The discussion off...

What is The Communist Manifesto, and what kind of argument does it advance? In this episode, we examine Marx and Engels' brief but historically consequential text as a work of political rhetoric grounded in a broader historical claim: that the "mode of economic production and exchange" constitutes the foundation of social and intellectual life, and that human history is best understood as a sequen...

Why devote an entire semester to Ptolemy when his cosmology is, in a fundamental respect, false? In this episode, we discuss Ptolemy's Almagest as one of the most ambitious and intellectually disciplined attempts to give a comprehensive, mathematically rigorous account of the visible cosmos. Although the geocentric hypothesis ultimately proves incorrect, Ptolemy's achievement remains exemplary: he...

Is mainstream education failing the next generation? In this episode of the TAC Podcast, we sit down with Jeremy Wayne Tate, founder and CEO of the Classic Learning Test (CLT), to explore how standardized testing has reshaped American education — and why a classical alternative may be the key to renewal. From the rise of the SAT and Common Core to the growing influence of AI in classrooms, Tate ar...

Welcome to the official podcast of Thomas Aquinas College. Each week, senior members of the teaching faculty open a window into the intellectual life of the College through conversations rooted in the Great Books and the pursuit of first principles. Together, they explore the foundational questions that have shaped Western civilization. Grounded in the liberal arts tradition, the podcast invites l...