The Book Club

The Book Club episodes:

• 04.16.2024

  Derryck Green: To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee

  Once required reading for high school students, To Kill a Mockingbird now comes with trigger warnings. The book, which confronts and calls out the evils of racism, is considered by some to be too offensive for our modern-day woke sensibilities. Why? Set...

  
• 01.17.2024

  Pastor Rob McCoy: Sermon on the Mount

  Michael Knowles is joined by Pastor Rob McCoy to discuss the Sermon on the Mount, one of the most beloved and frequently cited passages in the gospels of the New Testament. Together, Michael and Pastor McCoy explore the various interpretations...

  
• 11.21.2023

  Charles Kesler: Aristotle's Nicomachean Ethics

  Is the purpose of life happiness, and if so, how can we achieve it? Written nearly 2,500 years ago, Aristotle's Nicomachean Ethics is as relevant today as it's ever been. Michael Knowles is joined by Professor Charles Kessler to discuss...

  
• 09.19.2023

  Julie Hartman: The Scarlet Letter by Nathaniel Hawthorne

  What if your sins were on display for all the world to see? Michael Knowles is joined by Julie Hartman to discuss The Scarlet Letter, which tells the story of a young woman who is shunned by her community after bearing an illegitimate...

  
• 08.16.2023

  Andy Puzder: The Fountainhead by Ayn Rand

  How do you stay true to yourself in a world that demands conformity? Ayn Rand’s The Fountainhead—centered around a talented architect who refuses to compromise his principles or conform to the expectations of others—examines whether we should uphold the “common good”...

  
• 07.18.2023

  Owen Anderson: The Book of Job

  If you lost every good thing in your life, would you still praise God? The Book of Job from the Old Testament is considered one of the great masterpieces of early literature. Michael Knowles is joined by Owen Anderson, Professor...

  
• 05.16.2023

  Solveig Gold: The Cave by Plato

  How do you know if you’re trapped in a false reality? Can you see the truth or are you simply looking at shadows on the wall? Solveig Gold joins Michael Knowles to discuss Plato’s “Allegory of the Cave” from his...

  
• 04.19.2023

  The Book Club: The Canterbury Tales by Geoffrey Chaucer with Catherine Illingworth

  What makes The Canterbury Tales the most popular work of English literature ever? Penned by Geoffrey Chaucer in the 14th century, this medieval collection of stories depicts a diverse group of characters and covers topics ranging from chivalry and deceit to religious...

  
• 03.21.2023

  John Yoo: Leviathan by Thomas Hobbes

  Life is “nasty, brutish, and short.” That’s why we need a social contract—an exchange of freedom for security to avoid a dog-eat-dog state of nature. At least, that’s what Thomas Hobbes posited in Leviathan. Michael Knowles and guest John Yoo,...

  
• 02.22.2023

  The Book Club: The Iliad by Homer with Joshua Katz

  What can we learn from ancient Greek poetry? A foundational text of Western Civilization—The Iliad by Homer—is one of the oldest pieces of literature still read by modern audiences. Why? Because we recognize ourselves in its timeless themes of war,...

  
• 01.19.2023

  The Book Club: The Pilgrim's Progress by John Bunyan with Allie Stuckey

  Christians have been mocked, humiliated, and persecuted for their faith for hundreds of years. The Pilgrim’s Progress, written by Puritan preacher John Bunyan while he was in prison for holding religious services, is an encouraging reminder that difficulties and hardships...

  
• 01.03.2023

  The Book Club: Civilization and Its Discontents by Sigmund Freud with Stephen Marmer

  Civilization and Its Discontents by Sigmund Freud—the father of psychoanalysis—explores the perpetual struggle between self and society. Clinical psychiatrist and professor of psychiatry at UCLA Dr. Stephen Marmer joins Michael Knowles for a deep dive into Freud’s anti-utopian work that...

  
• 12.16.2022

  The Book Club: Democracy in America by Alexis de Tocqueville with Pete Peterson

  Could anyone have predicted the future of America 200 years ago? Alexis de Tocqueville foresaw a society fraught with materialism and “soft despotism" in his classic study of self-governance, freedom, and equality, Democracy in America. Pete Peterson, Dean of the...

  
• 12.16.2022

  The Book Club: Anna Karenina by Leo Tolstoy with Inez Stepman

  What happens if you follow your heart, pursuing love and happiness above all else, devoid of duty or virtue? Nothing good according to Leo Tolstoy, author of Anna Karenina. Inez Stepman, senior policy analyst at Independent Women’s Forum, joins Michael...

  
• 09.30.2022

  The Book Club: Reflections on the Revolution in France by Edmund Burke with Yoram Hazony

  The American Revolution led to the birth of a new, free nation, while the French Revolution led to blood and terror. What was the difference and what can we learn from history before it’s rewritten or forgotten entirely? Political theorist...

  
• 07.22.2022

  The Book Club: The Closing of the American Mind by Allan Bloom with Max Eden

  Something is deeply amiss in contemporary American culture. Young people have lost touch with reality and have become trapped by moral relativism. Is post-modern education to blame? Education expert Max Eden joins Michael Knowles for an eye-opening discussion of Allan...

  
• 06.21.2022

  The Book Club: Lord of the Flies by William Golding with Lauren Chen

  In a world without consequences, are humans naturally good or is there darkness within us all? Lauren Chen sits with Michael Knowles to discuss the classic novel Lord of the Flies about a group of British schoolboys who become stranded...

  
• 05.24.2022

  The Book Club: The Book of Exodus with Dennis Prager

  Why should Biblical literacy matter today? What happens to society when people fear public opinion more than God? Joining Michael Knowles in this episode of The Book Club is the author of the best-selling Bible commentary in America, Dennis Prager....

  
• 05.24.2022

  The Book Club: A Tale of Two Cities by Charles Dickens with Allen Estrin

  “It was the best of times, it was the worst of times…” Is history repeating itself? Set during the French Revolution, Charles Dickens’ A Tale of Two Cities offers parallels to American Society today. PragerU’s Allen Estrin joins Michael Knowles...

  
• 12.22.2021

  The Book Club: Jane Eyre by Charlotte Brontë with Madeleine Kearns

  Jane Eyre by Charlotte Brontë is one of the most beloved books in literature. In this episode of The Book Club, Michael Knowles and Madeleine Kearns take you through the pages of the Victorian novel to examine the themes of...

  
• 09.23.2021

  The Book Club: Darkness at Noon by Arthur Koestler with Brad Thompson

  George Orwell and Aldous Huxley warned of the evils of communism in the pages of 1984 and Brave New World; however, Arthur Koestler’s Darkness at Noon is a lesser-known but impactful novel that describes the horrors of the Stalinist USSR....

  
• 09.01.2021

  The Book Club: Atlas Shrugged by Ayn Rand With Eric Daniels

  Ayn Rand’s Atlas Shrugged, named by readers in 1991 as the most influential book after the Bible, is a novelized warning about the allure and evils of socialism. What happens when the most productive members in society give up? How...

  
• 09.01.2021

  The Book Club: Race and Culture by Thomas Sowell With Farah Jimenez

  On this episode of The Book Club, Michael Knowles and Farah Jimenez discuss Race and Culture, Thomas Sowell’s powerful analysis on why culture has a profound impact on the socioeconomic outcomes of different minority groups. Is systemic racism really to...

  
• 06.29.2021

  The Book Club: The Screwtape Letters by C. S. Lewis with Seth Dillon

  What if you could listen in on a conversation between two devils? C.S. Lewis’s "The Screwtape Letters" takes you through letters between Screwtape, a high-ranking demon in the underworld, and his inexperienced nephew, Wormwood, and their plan to deceive man...

  
• 06.29.2021

  The Book Club: Frankenstein by Mary Shelley with Gina Bontempo

  The first science fiction novel ever written (over 200 years ago), Frankenstein is a tragic and cautionary tale about failed humanity, the dangers of scientific knowledge, an overreaching scientist playing “God,” and the universal desire for a sense of belonging....

  
• 04.20.2021

  The Book Club: The Death of Ivan Ilyich by Tolstoy with Matt Walsh

  Leo Tolstoy’s novella speaks volumes on mortality, conformity, societal expectations, and what it means to live an authentic life. Ivan Ilyich suffers on his deathbed until he is able to fully confront his mortality. This same denial of death and...

  
• 03.23.2021

  The Book Club: King Lear by Shakespeare with Douglas Murray

  Broken families are detrimental to society— it’s been proven throughout history. Douglas Murray and Michael Knowles summarize William Shakespeare’s tragedy, King Lear, and its themes of power, justice, blindness, and chaos played out through the severed relationship between a father...

  
• 02.16.2021

  The Book Club: Middlemarch by George Eliot with Heather Mac Donald

  Is a life of duty and self-sacrifice noble or ridiculous? What can 21st-century readers take away from Middlemarch, A Study of Provincial Life, one of the great English novels? Heather Mac Donald joins Michael Knowles for a discussion of George...

  
• 01.19.2021

  The Book Club: Galileo with Brian Keating

  Galileo proved that the Earth revolved around the sun and was punished for challenging existing scientific theory. Are we seeing parallels today? Brian Keating and Michael Knowles discuss Galileo’s The Dialogue Concerning the Two Chief World Systems and how modern...

  
• 12.15.2020

  The Book Club: Genesis with Bishop Robert Barron

  Biblical illiteracy is at an all-time high. Many Americans believe the Bible is archaic, even irrelevant to the changing culture. In this episode, Bishop Robert Barron and Michael Knowles take you through Genesis, the first book of the Bible, to...

  
• 11.17.2020

  The Book Club: Symposium by Plato with Spencer Klavan

  Love is an innate desire of every human being, but how do you define it and what is its purpose in relationships? Michael Knowles and Spencer Klavan take you through one of the most collective philosophical texts on love in...

  
• 10.20.2020

  The Book Club: Divine Comedy by Dante with Catherine Illingworth

  A man who has nothing left to lose is led through hell, purgatory, and heaven in this incomparable masterpiece. Dante scholar Catherine Illingworth joins Michael Knowles to discuss his favorite work of art ever composed: Dante’s Divine Comedy. Subscribe so you...

  
• 09.15.2020

  The Book Club: Up From Slavery by Booker T. Washington with Carol Swain

  What is the key to racial reconciliation in our nation? Dr. Carol Swain joins Michael Knowles on this month’s episode of The Book Club to examine the life of Booker T. Washington, a former slave turned educator, as seen through...

  
• 08.20.2020

  The Book Club: 1984 by George Orwell with Dave Rubin

  George Orwell’s novel, 1984, portrays a dystopian world where Big Brother reigns supreme. Today, however, Orwell’s warning against totalitarianism reads more like a newspaper than a work of fiction. Dave Rubin, host of The Rubin Report, joins Michael Knowles to...

  
• 08.18.2020

  The Book Club: Brave New World by Aldous Huxley with Sen. Ted Cruz

  Sen. Ted Cruz joins Michael Knowles this month for a very special episode of The Book Club! They discuss Aldous Huxley’s dystopian novel Brave New World and why it is an indictment of tyranny and totalitarianism. Don’t miss it. In our...

  
• 06.16.2020

  The Book Club: Of Human Bondage by W. Somerset Maugham with Larry Elder

  How do you find meaning in a world filled with cruelty? Michael Knowles and Larry Elder discuss the universal search for unconditional love as seen in the pages of W. Somerset Maugham’s fictional novel, Of Human Bondage. In our fast-paced...

  
• 05.19.2020

  The Book Club: The Federalist Papers by Alexander Hamilton, James Madison with Ben Shapiro

  Do you understand the Constitution? What makes America different? Ben Shapiro joins Michael Knowles to discuss The Federalist Papers, a collection of essays written by Alexander Hamilton, James Madison, and John Jay. They discuss the founders’ vision for a limited...

  
• 04.21.2020

  The Book Club: Intellectuals by Paul Johnson with Allen Estrin

  Thinkers from Karl Marx to Noam Chomsky have shaped political thought and transformed societies. In this episode of The Book Club, Michael Knowles and PragerU’s executive director, Allen Estrin, discuss Intellectuals by Paul Johnson and how the book highlights both...

  
• 03.18.2020

  The Book Club: Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austen with Abigail Shrier

  Pride and Prejudice is one of the most famous and most beloved romantic novels of all time. In this episode of The Book Club, Michael Knowles and Abigail Shrier explore the themes of love, virtue, and social hierarchy discovered in...

  
• 02.19.2020

  The Book Club: Hamlet by William Shakespeare with Andrew Klavan

  William Shakespeare’s Hamlet is the greatest play ever written. In this episode of The Book Club, Michael Knowles and Andrew Klavan discuss the themes of this classic work — inaction, appearance versus reality, doubt and truth — and how they...

  
• 01.20.2020

  The Book Club: Man’s Search for Meaning by Viktor Frankl with Dennis Prager

  What is mankind’s greatest pursuit? In the world premiere of The Book Club, Michael Knowles and Dennis Prager take you through psychiatrist Viktor Frankl’s moving memoir of life in a Nazi death camp, and how this experience shaped his thinking....