Young Heretics

We did it! The final installment of the Republic series is here. In this last and possibly most infamous book of his masterwork, Plato calls for a complete and total shutdown on artists until he figures out what the hell is going on. In this episode of Young Heretics, Spencer Klavan discusses Plato's challenge to art, and the ways we might grapple with it today. -- Indeed is the hiring partner whe...

Drawing on Plato's highly sophisticated account of the relationship between psychology and politics, Spencer Klavan delivers an important message for the ages: turn off your dang phone! At least before bed. In Book IX of the Republic, Plato's Socrates explores what it means to be tyrannical—to be enslaved to your own desires—and how we can avoid that fate. -- Public Goods is the one stop shop for...

If your ship of state really is sinking, what can you possibly do about it? As we reach the conclusion of our series on Plato's Republic, psychology and politics converge upon some striking answers to this very pressing question. In this episode of Young Heretics, Spencer Klavan talks through Socrates's survey of kinds of state and kinds of people, and reveals why you should turn off your durn pho...

In the 13th century, the world held its breath as it waited for a new kind of art to be born. Then came Cimabue—or was it Duccio? In this episode of Young Heretics, Spencer Klavan walks through the fascinating and complicated history of early Florentine Renaissance art, asking along the way what it might mean for us to seek rebirth out of a dark age. -- Truebill is the new app that helps you ident...

How dark were the middle ages, really? And are we living through our own period of decline today? By studying the good and the bad of how art developed after the fall of the Roman Empire, Spencer Klavan reflects on our own time of fracture and uncertainty. It may be we are due for our own rebirth, and sooner than we think. -- Public Goods is the one stop shop for sustainable, high quality everyday...

Today begins a journey through Florence, the hub of rebirth in what Giorgio Vasari called the "rinascita" and we call the Renaissance. Vasari will be our tour guide through this explosive period of transformation. Much like movies and TV in our day, the art of the Medieval period had exhausted its possibilities. Then as now, we might ask: what comes next? -- How can you learn Latin, Ancient Greek,...

Does history only ever move in one direction? Is decay inevitable? In this episode of Young Heretics, Spencer Klavan argues that it is not, using the example of America's greatest founding figure—George Washington. Washington's refusal to seize more power than he needed made him the anti-Caesar, and the perfect hero for our nation. -- Public Goods is the one stop shop for sustainable, high quality...

Shakespeare's great tragedy, Julius Caesar, carries the story of Caesar forward beyond the Rubicon and beautifully dramatizes the tragic machinery of history that led Rome's republic to its downfall. Did Caesar have a choice? Do we? In this episode of Young Heretics, Spencer Klavan discusses all this and more in the latest installment of the Shakespeare series. -- Truebill is the new app that help...

When was Rome doomed? What about America? In this episode of Young Heretics, Spencer Klavan tells the famous story of Julius Caesar's choice to invade Rome, but with a twist: since no one knows exactly what happened in that fateful moment, the story becomes an opportunity for reflection on the great conflict between destiny and free will. This is the first of a series on the fall of Rome and the f...

It's often said that our politics has become "post-truth." But how far back does that problem go, really, and what are its deeper causes? In this episode of Young Heretics, Spencer Klavan examines these questions with the help of Plato's Republic, bringing our series on Athens, democracy, relativism, and virtual reality to a close. -- Indeed is the hiring partner where you can attract, interview,...

There's a lot of hype around Web 3 and the Metaverse. But what can the sales pitches for these new technologies tell us about the governing philosophy of our elites? In this episode of Young Heretics, Spencer Klavan applies Platonic insight to modern tech proposals to show what's really going on behind the news cycle. -- Public Goods is the one stop shop for sustainable, high quality everyday esse...

From Athens' late-stage democracy to the totalitarian regimes of the 20th century, freedom is the freedom to say that two plus two equals four. Why should that be so? In a discussion ranging from the quadrivium, to Dante's Paradiso, on into Star Trek, Spencer Klavan explores the close connection between lies and violence. -- Indeed is the hiring partner where you can attract, interview, and hire a...

Plato's cave is one of the most famous metaphors ever. But what does it really mean? At long last, this Young Heretics series on the Republic has gotten us far enough to understand what Plato is saying about Athenian society—and our own—in book 7. Plus: how do you find your purpose in life? BIG ANNOUNCEMENT: Pre-order your copy of Spencer Klavan's new book, "How to Save the West: Ancient Wisdom fo...

How do you find the truth in a world designed to keep it from you? In this episode of Young Heretics, Spencer Klavan talks through statesmanship, philosophy, and the relationship between the two in a culture that rewards power, but not truth. From the cave to Twitter, most of what passes for philosophy is just regime enforcement—Spencer unpacks Plato's advice for turning the mind toward the true,...

In the final installment of his Young Heretics series on rights, Spencer Klavan asks how we can ever make changes and reforms to longstanding laws without hurtling down the slippery slope. Can we advance to meet the challenges of the day without dissolving into madness? Using Chesterton, Newman, Burke, Lewis, and the Seneca Falls declaration, Spencer shows how the tree of tradition can bear new fr...

We're so used to talking about "human rights" and "human dignity" that it's easy to just nod along when people start declaring the brotherhood of man. But how did we get here? In this episode of Young Heretics, Spencer Klavan argues that God is a load-bearing pillar—cut him out, and sooner or later the whole building comes crashing down. From the Enlightenment to the present day, if your rights ar...

If all men are brothers, then who is their father? If we have rights, who gives them to us? In today's episode of Young Heretics, Spencer Klavan embarks on a series of episodes to trace the history of natural law and natural right that underlies our modern debates about abortion, euthanasia, and so much more. -- Indeed is the hiring partner where you can attract, interview, and hire all in one pla...

Is Joe Biden your president? Was Donald Trump? Whatever your political outlook, bad leadership is a crisis. Shakespeare's Richard II is one of the West's most profound meditations on what happens when a human leader doesn't live up to his country's divine mandate. -- Public Goods is the one stop shop for sustainable, high quality everyday essentials made from clean ingredients. Receive $15 off you...

Ron DeSantis and the Florida Legislature have taken action against Disney in the battle over parents' rights. But are conservatives betraying their free-market values? What even are those values, and why do conservatives hold them? In this episode of Young Heretics, Spencer Klavan explores the history behind corporate law in America and the deeper truths that underlie free enterprise. -- Truebill...

In an era of emotional partisanship, it's tempting to retreat into pure, cold reason. But that way madness lies—Spencer Klavan discusses rationalism throughout the ages, from Plato and Bacon to Bayes, Aella, and Slate Star Codex. We need our minds, but we need our hearts too—they have their reasons that reason knows not of. -- Public Goods is the one stop shop for sustainable, high quality everyda...

Is there such a thing as too much justice? How about too much reason? In Plato's Republic, Book V, Socrates follows the constraints of his argument to conclude that the ideal city would be one of eugenics and sexual communism. In this episode of Young Heretics, Spencer Klavan discusses some of Plato's most controversial arguments, and the danger of snuffing out your gut instincts. -- Bambee is an...

The Romantic poets lived in an age much like ours: science was ascendant, religion was collapsing, and revolutions in mores and politics were tearing down everything that seemed certain. How did they find their way through their turbulent time—and how can we find our way through ours? In this episode of Young Heretics, Andrew Klavan joins Spencer Klavan to discuss his new book on the subject, "The...

We are officially 100 episodes into the Young Heretics journey. Looking back with gratitude at the growth of the show during its lifetime, Spencer Klavan gives an assessment of where the West currently stands, where hope lies, and why a classical education is more urgent than ever. Plus: a secret Locals announcement. To get access to Spencer's secret announcement only on Locals, use promo code ANN...

If women ran the world...Aristophanes' Assemblywomen is a play about the abolition of the family, the imposition of matriarchy, and communism of absolutely everything—including sex. In this episode of Young Heretics, Spencer Klavan explains the play's raunchy humor and its surprising significance for today. To get access to live chats, the Young Heretics mailbag, and more exclusive content, use pr...

God is not ashamed of the female body: that is Christine de Pizan's simple yet radical assertion. It was radical when she made it in the 1400s, and it is radical now, when a new kind of rhetoric is reducing women to "menstruators" and turning human beings generally into collections of parts for sale. Spencer Klavan concludes his series on womanly virtues with a reflection on Christine's enduring m...