What is the Bible?

Who decided which books would be included within it?

How can we make sense of it and its various paradoxes?

How is the Bible seen, and applied, in different parts of the world?

How did the Bible gain its cultural significance while being such a difficult book?

What have we lost in the west from the Bible’s loss of cultural prominence?

Which version of the Bible should you read?

How is the Bible adapting in the digital age?

In this episode, Professor Bruce Gordon of Yale's Divinity School addresses these questions and more.

(Episode recorded on 6th November 2024.)

Donald Trump’s election victory in 2024 raised significant questions about America’s role in the world, not least concerning the defence of Ukraine against belligerent Russia. Traditional European allies are alarmed at the prospect of America turning its back on them, while traditional enemies celebrate the end of globalism through Trump 2.0. Could the idea of a multipolar world appeal to both MAGA America and the enemies of the west? How might key players in and around the Trump administration influence America’s role in the world going forward? To discuss these questions and more, Dr Benjamin R. Teitelbaum returns to the Real Clear Values podcast to share his insights.

(Episode recorded: 12th March 2025.)

In Danny Mitchell's second appearance on the Real Clear Values podcast, we focus on role models in both fighting and family. And we get into all sorts besides that, including Michael Bisping's aristocratic family history, PED using MMA fighters, and cleaning gravestones in Doncaster.(Episode recorded: 4th November 2024.)

Simon Fagg, Founder of With Leadership, brings deep expertise in purposeful leadership and organisational values. In this episode, we dive into the core values of With Leadership, their real-world impact, and how to drive meaningful, lasting organisational change.

Professor Malcolm Gaskill’s book, The Ruin of all Witches: Life and Death in the New World, has received high praise from many quarters.

It is a tragic tale of the struggles of life in Springfield, Massachusetts in 1651, speaking to neighbourhood rivalries, social and political power structures, early modern gender roles, and what it meant to be accused of witchcraft in the New World.

In this episode we discuss all of these themes and more, exploring how Malcolm adeptly explains the past without explaining it away and finding a simple but powerful moral to the story that can be applied in any era.

(Episode originally released on 2nd February 2023.)

Peter Williamson's biography of Benito Mussolini is a valuable and insightful contribution to scholarship on the Italian dictator.

In this episode, I talk to Peter about the development of Mussolini's philosophy and political ideology, his approach to governance and leadership, and the factors that led to his undoing.

This episode is an excellent complement to previous episodes on Mussolini featuring Professors Richard Bosworth and John Foot respectively. And it holds powerful lessons for those in positions of leadership, as well as those in pursuit of power.

Peter's biography of Mussolini is called Duce: The Contradictions of Power and was published by Hurst Publishers in April 2023.

Have you ever felt like you're an imposter? Like you're not good enough to do what you're doing and you're a whisker away from being found out? If so, this episode is for you, as Gary Frey discusses his book Silence the Imposter: 7 Weapons to Silence Imposter Syndrome. We dig into why Gary wrote the book, his personal journey in silencing the imposter, and some valuable principles and practices that anyone can use to silence the bully that is imposter syndrome.

The fascist's rise to power in Italy was brutally violent, but it was also organised and strategic. In this episode, Professor John Foot of University of Bristol, and author of Blood and Power, tells the story of how the Italian fascists, with Mussolini at the helm, were able to seize power through organised political violence. And he also tells the story of Mussolini's ignominious demise.

Having fought in the UFC and Bellator, Danny Mitchell is a highly experienced fighter, MMA coach and gym owner. He's also a man of faith. In this episode, we discuss Danny's fighting and faith journeys, the parallels between the two, and some key principles to live by to avoid a fall.

Everyone's heard of Sigmund Freud, but how many are familiar with the origins of Freud's work in psychoanalysis? Professor Seamus O'Mahony explores this in his book, The Guru, the Bagman & the Sceptic: A Story of Science, Sex & Psychoanalysis. In this episode, we dig into the origins of Freud's thinking, the acolytes who promoted his work and a key sceptic, Wilfred Trotter, who had a notably contrasting approach to caring for his patients.