The New Thinkery

This week, the guys are joined by Sabrina Little, assistant professor in the department of Leadership and American Studies at Christopher Newport University. The group discuss athletics, especially running, and how virtue can boost athletic performance. Little's new book, The Examined Run: Why Good People Make Better Runners, and her accomplishments in ultramarathons serve as helpful points of ingress into a more thorough exploration of the relationship.

This week, the guys return once again to the prophetic teachings of Leo Strauss. This time, the focus is on Strauss' understanding of Genesis, which the guys dissect in an effort to disentangle the Ancient Greek and biblical influences that went into Strauss' interpretation.

This week, in observance of Constitution Day, the guys wax poetic about the virtues of the Founding... is what you probably expected this to say. Instead, Greg wrote an entire academic paper about Lincoln's hushed critique of the Founding, so the guys sit down to unpack the paper's core arguments, as well as how Lincoln was, and wasn't, successful at bringing Christianity into the political ethos of his time.

This week, the guys are joined once again by Dr. Eric Adler, Professor and Chair of Classics at the University of Maryland, to talk about the beginning of Livy's History of Rome. Given Rome's impressively long history, it's no surprise that it took Livy over 140 books to recount it just up to the beginning of the Roman Empire. The group tackle Livy's telling of the founding of Rome, as well as its monarchy. Plus: a comparison between Roman and Greek history, and why Rome's first historians wrote their books in Greek, not Latin.

This week, the guys are joined by Walter Sterling, the freshly minted president of St. John's College in Santa Fe to discuss one of the twentieth century's most important poems, T. S. Eliot's "The Waste Land." The group work their way through the work's oppressive density and prose to get at the crucial themes and messages underlying it all. Plus: a tangential discussion about Saint John's College and Sterling's background with the college.

It's back to school season, and to mark the occasion, the full host complement is joined by Dr. Pano Kanelos, founding president of the University of Austin. Together, the ensemble dissect key moments in Hamlet. That includes a potential recontextualization of the best-known soliloquy in the world, Hamlet's "To be or not to be" speech. Plus: a look at the University of Austin as it prepares to welcome its inaugural class.

Joining Alex and Greg this week is Professor Robert Wyllie of Ashland University. He guides the group through the thought-provoking world of Byung-Chul Han, one of today's most interesting living philosophers, using his new ciritcal introduction to Han as a baseline. Professor Wyllie delves especially into Han's early work, exploring his weighty ideas on technology, culture, and the human condition in a way accessible to newcomers and veteran listeners alike. Tune in for a thinker that bridges the gap between Korean and German thought!

This week, Alex and Greg delve into Jan Patočka's 1975 essay "The Spiritual Person & the Intellectual," exploring its profound insights on the nature of human existence and the role of intellectuals in society. Joined by Flagg Taylor of Skidmore College, the group examine Patočka's challenge to modernity and his vision for a more spiritually grounded intellectual life, as well as recounting relevant points in his personal life, including his death at the hands of communists.

This week, the guys delve into the rich world of Greek tragedy with professor Michael Davis from Sarah Lawrence College. The group explore the themes of fate, justice, and human nature as discussed in Davis' latest book, Electras: Aeschylus, Sophocles, and Euripides. Focusing on the powerful narratives of the Electra plays by these tragedians, they unpack the complexities of ancient drama and its continued relevance in contemporary thought.

Join the guys this week as they explore the nuanced concept of piety in Aristotle's Nicomachean Ethics with esteemed scholar Mary Nichols. Nichols is Professor Emerita of Political Science at Baylor University, where she taught from 2004-2018, and brings her profound insights and expertise to this rich discussion. Delve into the philosophical depths of virtue, ethics, and piety with one of the leading voices in the field.