Are liberalism and Christianity compatible? Is the American tradition of liberty at odds with Christian teaching? What role might the church have in the civic and economic formation of citizens?

Josh Bowman interviews Dylan Pahman and John Pinheiro about a new reader they’ve edited called The Christian Roots of American Liberty.

The Christian Roots of American Liberty: A Reader
https://shop.acton.org/collections/featured-products/products/the-christian-roots-of-american-liberty

https://www.amazon.com/Christian-Roots-American-Liberty-Reader/dp/B0GR8WTJB8

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2026 Fall Symposium: “Scholars and Educators in a Brave New World”, Oct 22-24 in Holland, MI

2027 Spring Conference in Virginia Beach, VA, March 11-13

Proposals due Sept 1, 2026: https://ciceroniansociety.org/conference-spring/call-for-conference-papers/

0:00 Introduction to The Sower Episode 90
2:12 Why Write This Book (Christian Roots of American Liberty) Now?
11:26 What Does Liberalism Mean?
25:39 Does Liberty Require Christianity?
37:00 Private Property Rights
40:52 Submission to Authority
48:38 The Church's Role in Civic and Economic Formation

To learn more about the Ciceronian Society, our events, this Podcast, our journal, Pietas, to sign up for our newsletter, and to make your tax deductible gift, please go to https://ciceroniansociety.org/

Check out our other weekly podcast, Cicero On Duties: https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PL1B7f66VCvfaF3PYETBIJG4AGMpanUNE3

Hillsdale College historian Wilfred McClay discusses: the Sorcerer's Apprentice, allusion, Ariadne, Peter Lawler, Walker Percy, Ted McAllister, Blake, Burke, Chesterton, Emerson, Jaroslav Pelikan, tradition, heritage, Dana Gioia's poem "Planting a Sequoia," Mary Austin, WH Auden, Tocqueville, The Golden Thread, and the nightmarish possibility of an AI Thomas Jefferson.

Poem: https://danagioia.com/planting-a-sequoia/

Keynote address from the 2026 Ciceronian Society Conference in Omaha, Nebraska, March 13, 2026. Introduction by Claire Aguda-Baker, presentation by Wilfred McClay, question & answer period.

0:00 Claire Aguda-Baker introduces Wilfred McClay
7:44 Wilfred McClay, Dreaming of Ariadne: Thoughts on Cultural Restoration
53:54 How can we teach allusion to college students?
1:05:27 Orality is hard for us
1:10:25 History as Legend vs Fact

To learn more about the Ciceronian Society, our events, this Podcast, our journal, Pietas, to sign up for our newsletter, and to make your tax deductible gift, please go to https://ciceroniansociety.org/

Check out our other podcast, Cicero On Duties, publishing weekly throughout 2026: https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PL1B7f66VCvfaF3PYETBIJG4AGMpanUNE3

The widely circulated first draft of the Virginia Declaration of Rights was a key influence on the Declaration of Independence.

Chris Anadale interviews law professor Nathaniel Fouch about the influence of the Declaration of Independence on state constitutions, the authority of America's founding principles, different responses to Jefferson's egalitarian rhetoric, and more.

Nathaniel Fouch is Assistant Professor of Law at Capital University School of Law in Columbus Ohio, where he teaches Criminal Law and Torts and studies state constitutional law, legal history, jurisprudence, appellate law, and religious liberty and conscience rights. He earned his Juris Doctor at the University of St. Thomas School of Law. He was also a Nisbet Fellow at our society's March 2026 conference in Omaha, where he presented a paper titled "The Relationship Between the Declaration of Independence and State Constitutions."

Christopher Anadale is podcast editor for the Ciceronian Society, and Associate Professor of Philosophy at Mount St. Mary's University in Emmitsburg, Maryland.

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0:00 Introduction to The Sower Episode 88
1:24 Summary of the Declaration of Independence's Influence on State Constitutions
10:44 Why the Declaration's Authority is Still Relevant in 2026
15:55 PAUL DEHART FAN CLUB CHECK IN
19:22 George Mason's First Draft of the Virginia Declaration of Rights
24:37 Three Responses to Jefferson's Claim in the Declaration
31:47 Two Tools for Learning More About State Constitutions
38:35 What Parents and Teachers Can Do Now

Avalon: https://avalon.law.yale.edu/

State Constitutions: https://stateconstitutiontool.org/

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The 2026 Fall Symposium: “Scholars and Educators in a Brave New World”, Oct 22-24 in Holland, MI

Proposals due June 1, 2026: https://ciceroniansociety.org/fall-symposium/fa26cfp/

2027 Spring Conference in Virginia Beach, VA, March 11-13

Proposals due Sept 1, 2026: https://ciceroniansociety.org/conference-spring/call-for-conference-papers/

To learn more about the Ciceronian Society, our events, this Podcast, our journal, Pietas, to sign up for our newsletter, and to make your tax deductible gift, please go to https://ciceroniansociety.org/

Check out our other podcast, Cicero On Duties, publishing weekly throughout 2026: https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PL1B7f66VCvfaF3PYETBIJG4AGMpanUNE3

A content focused certificate program for classical school teachers & other adults.

Josh Bowman and Josh Herring discuss the Ciceronian Society’s most ambitious project to date: The Logres Institute for Classical Liberal Studies, which will be directed by Dr. Herring.

The Logres Institute aims to provide the education you wish you had received. Designed with the busy professional in mind, our certification programs deliver the content knowledge needed to teach in the classical classroom. Efficient, affordable, and tailor-made for the classical classroom, each certification program instills the basic structure upon which you can continue to build your comprehension of the classical liberal arts.

Logres Institute for Classical Liberal Studies
https://www.logresinstitute.org/

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0:00 Introduction the The Sower Episode 87
3:48 Overview of the Logres Institute
9:11 Importance of Learning in Community
16:55 What a Typical Logres Institute Course Looks Like
25:25 Price of a Logres Institute Course
31:43 What Does "Logres" Mean?
35:58 Christian Character of the Logres Institute
46:27 Logres Institute Courses
53:45 Our Vision for the Logres Institute

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The 2026 Fall Symposium: “Scholars and Educators in a Brave New World”, Oct 22-24 in Holland, MI

Proposals due June 1, 2026: https://ciceroniansociety.org/fall-symposium/fa26cfp/

2027 Spring Conference in Virginia Beach, VA, March 11-13

Proposals due Sept 1, 2026: https://ciceroniansociety.org/conference-spring/call-for-conference-papers/

To learn more about the Ciceronian Society, our events, this Podcast, our journal, Pietas, to sign up for our newsletter, and to make your tax deductible gift, please go to https://ciceroniansociety.org/

Check out our other weekly podcast, Cicero On Duties: https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PL1B7f66VCvfaF3PYETBIJG4AGMpanUNE3

We honor Jane Calvert for her book Penman of the Founding: A Biography of John Dickinson.

Plenary panel from the 2026 Ciceronian Society Conference in Omaha, Nebraska, March 12, 2026. Featuring speakers Joshua Bowman, Michael Maibach, James Patterson, and Jane Calvert.

Book: https://www.amazon.com/Penman-Founding-Biography-John-Dickinson/dp/0197541690

Joshua Bowman, Introduction
Michael Maibach, About Prof. Storing
James Patterson, Prize Award
Jane Calvert & James Patterson, Conversation
Question & Answer

0:00 Episode 86 Introduction
2:18 Welcome to Omaha! (Bowman)
14:17 About Professor Herbert Storing (Maibach)
20:03 The 2026 Herbert J. Storing Prize Award (Patterson)
23:47 Interview with Jane Calvert about John Dickinson
1:09:39 Audience Questions about John Dickinson

To learn more about the Ciceronian Society, our events, this podcast, our journal, Pietas, to sign up for our newsletter, and to make your tax deductible gift, please go to https://ciceroniansociety.org/

Check out our other podcast, Cicero On Duties, publishing weekly throughout 2026: https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PL1B7f66VCvfaF3PYETBIJG4AGMpanUNE3

Working to make it normative to stay in your local place for higher education.

Josh Bowman interviews Dr. Nick Ellis, Founder and CEO of Christian Halls International (CHI), which is “reimagining collegiate education through local learning communities that form virtuous people who contribute to flourishing places.”

We revisit the unique model (unique at least in America) of CHI and how this quickly-growing network of educators and tutors is transforming the way we think about education and flourishing in our local communities.

To learn more about this exciting example of educational entrepreneurship, visit https://christianhalls.org/

Dr. Nicholas Ellis of Christian Halls International at TPUSA Faith's The Believers Summit - https://youtu.be/e2gHWgX3-jw?si=yFLIvHN_JWjvmY9v

0:00 What Christian Halls Is
10:22 Subsidiarity and Sphere Sovereignty
18:41 What Local Flourishing Means
34:29 Humanities Education in Local Context
40:50 Remedial Education & the Two Guilds
48:49 Distinctive Multigenerational Formation
58:34 How to Get Involved with Christian Halls International

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The 2026 Fall Symposium: “Scholars and Educators in a Brave New World”, Oct 22-24 in Holland, MI

Proposals due June 1, 2026: https://ciceroniansociety.org/fall-symposium/fa26cfp/

2027 Spring Conference in Virginia Beach, VA, March 11-13

Proposals due Sept 1, 2026: https://ciceroniansociety.org/conference-spring/call-for-conference-papers/

To learn more about us, our events, this Podcast, our journal, Pietas, to sign up for our newsletter, and to make your tax deductible gift, please go to https://ciceroniansociety.org/

Josh Bowman interviews Dr. Josh Herring on his new book, Sons of Adam, Daughters of Eve: C.S. Lewis's Images of Gender. We discuss Lewis’s fiction and non-fiction, and how the great Christian apologist, scholar, and author gives us ways to think through masculinity and femininity. 

Josh Herring is the Curriculum Program Manager for the Rafiki Foundation and Director of the Logres Institute for Classical Liberal Studies.

To purchase the book, visit our friends at the Davenant Institute: https://davenantinstitute.org/sons-of-adam-daughters-of-eve

Logres Institute for Classical Liberal Studies: https://www.logresinstitute.org/

Rafiki Foundation: https://rafikifoundation.org/

0:00 Upcoming Ciceronian Society Events & Projects
3:02 Why Write About the Radioactive Topic of CS Lewis on Gender?
6:20 What Does it Mean to Grow Up into a Man or Woman?
10:46 Overcoming Opposition from the Lewis Estate
15:45 Why Listen to CS Lewis on Femininity?
22:33 Why Gender Theory is So Dangerous
30:45 CS Lewis's Essay "Priestesses in the Church"
36:15 CS Lewis's Use of Spencer & Faerie Queen
46:26 CS Lewis's Use of Milton & Paradise Lost
49:32 Positive & Negative Masculinity & Femininity
1:01:45 Other Images of Masculine & Feminine in Literature
1:09:59 4 Books (for Christians) on Images of Gender in Literature

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The 2026 Fall Symposium: “Scholars and Educators in a Brave New World”, Oct 22-24 in Holland, MI

Proposals due June 1, 2026: https://ciceroniansociety.org/fall-symposium/fa26cfp/

2027 Spring Conference in Virginia Beach, VA, March 11-13

Proposals due Sept 1, 2026: https://ciceroniansociety.org/conference-spring/call-for-conference-papers/

To learn more about us, our events, this Podcast, our journal, Pietas, to sign up for our newsletter, and to make your tax deductible gift, please go to https://ciceroniansociety.org/

How do we humanize economics? Are formal & final causes necessary for economics?

Plenary panel from the 2026 Ciceronian Society Conference in Omaha, Nebraska, March 12, 2026. Featuring presentations by Michael Thomas, Steven Miller, Paul Mueller, and Diana Thomas. Panel sponsored by the Menard Family Center for Economic Inquiry at Creighton University, https://www.creighton.edu/menard-center-for-economic-inquiry

Michael Thomas, Introduction
Steven Miller, Catholic Social Teaching and Comparative Economic Systems: On Free Enterprise and the Common Good
Paul Mueller, Philosophical Versus Technical Economies
Diana Thomas, Dignity Relies on Providence
Michael Thomas, Closing Remarks, Humanomics: Is it a Complement or Substitute?

0:00 Episode Intro
1:16 Michael Thomas, Panel Intro
6:47 Steven Miller
23:36 Paul Mueller
39:23 Diana Thomas
53:39 Michael Thomas, Closing Remarks
1:03:58 Q & A

To learn more about us, our events, this Podcast, our journal, Pietas, to sign up for our newsletter, and to make your tax deductible gift, please go to https://ciceroniansociety.org/

Check out our other podcast, Cicero On Duties, publishing weekly throughout 2026: https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PL1B7f66VCvfaF3PYETBIJG4AGMpanUNE3

Chris Anadale interviews Madeleine Austin and Matthew Young about the value of place and their home of Pittsboro, North Carolina.

Madeleine Austin lives in Pittsboro, North Carolina. She is a graduate of the Virginia Military Institute and the University of North Carolina-Chapel Hill. When Madeleine is not playing her banjo, she works as an intelligence officer in the U.S. Army Reserves. She also received the Ciceronian Society's 2025 Batchelder Award for the Study of Place, for which she was interviewed on Episode 60 of The Sower.

Matthew Young lives on a small farm in Chatham County, North Carolina, with his wife Camille and their four children. He is an assistant professor of political theory at Elon University, where he teaches courses spanning the history of political thought and constitutional law. His writing focuses on the difficulties of toleration and civil discourse. His book manuscript draws on seventeenth century sources to show that toleration is dependent on hope. He holds degrees in political science from Berea College and the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.

Christopher Anadale is podcast editor for the Ciceronian Society and Associate Professor of Philosophy at Mount St. Mary's University in Emmitsburg, Maryland. His runs a philosophy YouTube channel.

Mentioned in this Episode: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pittsboro,_North_Carolina

To learn more about us, our events, this Podcast, our journal, Pietas, to sign up for our newsletter, and to make your tax deductible gift, please go to https://ciceroniansociety.org/

Check out our other podcast, Cicero On Duties, publishing weekly throughout 2026: https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PL1B7f66VCvfaF3PYETBIJG4AGMpanUNE3 

Chris Anadale interviews scholar Marco Andreacchio about Shakespeare as a philosophical poet.

Marco Antonio Andreacchio was awarded a doctorate from the University of IIlinois for his interpretation of Sino-Japanese philosophical classics in dialogue with Western counterparts and a doctorate from Cambridge University for his work on Dante’s Platonic interpretation of religious authority. He has taught at various higher education institutions and published systematically on problems of a political-philosophical nature.  His monographs include Medieval Teachers of Freedom and two recent works on Shakespeare—The Passion of Reason (focusing on Hamlet and Midsummer Night's Dream), and Shakespeare's Romeo and Juliet in Dante's Spirit. He is currently completing studies of various other Shakespearean plays rediscovered as Platonic Dialogues articulated in light of the rise of a modern world.

Christopher Anadale is podcast editor for the Ciceronian Society and Associate Professor of Philosophy at Mount St. Mary's University in Emmitsburg, Maryland. His philosophy YouTube channel is https://www.youtube.com/christopheranadale 

Romeo and Juliet Book: https://www.amazon.com/Shakespeares-Juliet-Anglo-Italian-Renaissance-Studies/dp/104124617X

To learn more about us, our events, this Podcast, our journal, Pietas, to sign up for our newsletter, and to make your tax deductible gift, please go to https://ciceroniansociety.org/

Check out our other podcast, Cicero On Duties, publishing weekly throughout 2026: https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PL1B7f66VCvfaF3PYETBIJG4AGMpanUNE3