An introduction to the life and work of Philip Rieff (1922-2006), with Bill Batchelder, Michael Harding, and Chris Anadale, contributors to the 2005 volume The Philosophy of Phillip Rieff (Bloomsbury Academic).

Dr. William Batchelder is professor of history and honors program director at Waynesburg University, in southwest Pennsylvania.

Dr. Michael Harding is professor of philosophy and chair of humanities at Montgomery College, in Maryland.

Dr. Christopher Anadale is associate professor of philosophy at Mount St. Mary's University, in Maryland.

The 2026 Ciceronian Society Conference will be held March 12-14 at Creighton University in Omaha, NE. 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/

Links:

Freud: The Mind of the Moralist - Philip Rieff, Third Edition with Epilogue "One Step Further" https://www.amazon.com/Freud-Mind-Moralist-Philip-Rieff/dp/0226716392?s=books

Susan Sontag Was Not the Sole Author of Freud: The Mind of the Moralist, by Kevin Slack and William Batchelder https://voegelinview.com/susan-sontag-was-not-the-sole-author-of-freud-the-mind-of-the-moralist/

The Triumph of the Therapeutic - Philip Rieff, with an introduction by Elisabeth Lasch-Quinn https://www.amazon.com/Triumph-Therapeutic-Background-Essential-Conservative/dp/1932236805?s=books

The Feeling Intellect - Philip Rieff, Edited and with an Introduction by Jonathan Imber https://www.amazon.com/Feeling-Intellect-Selected-Writings/dp/0226716422?s=books

My Life Among the Deathworks - Philip Rieff, Edited and with an Introduction by James Davison Hunter https://www.amazon.com/Life-Among-Deathworks-Illustrations-Aesthetics/dp/0813925169?s=books

Crisis of the Officer Class - Philip Rieff, Edited by with an Introduction by Alan Woolfolk https://www.amazon.com/Sacred-Order-Social-Officer-Sensibility/dp/0813926769/134-9327847-2012820

Charisma: The Gift of Grace and How It Has Been Taken from Us - Philip Rieff, with a Forward by Daniel Frank and Aaron Manson https://www.amazon.com/Charisma-Gift-Grace-Been-Taken/dp/0375424520?s=books

Ars Vitae - Elisabeth Lasch-Quinn https://www.amazon.com/Ars-Vitae-Inwardness-Return-Ancient/dp/0268108900?s=books

Sociology and the Sacred - Ton Zondervan https://www.amazon.com/Sociology-Sacred-Introduction-Philip-Culture/dp/0802080189?s=books

The Anthem Companion to Philip Rieff - Edited by Jonathan Imber https://www.amazon.com/Anthem-Companion-Phillip-Companions-Sociology/dp/178308152X?s=books

The Philosophy of Philip Rieff - Edited by Michael Harding and William Batchelder https://www.bloomsbury.com/us/philosophy-of-philip-rieff-9781350424586/

Dune: The Perfect Deathwork - William Batchelder https://modernagejournal.com/dune-the-perfect-deathwork/242023/

The Rise and Triumph of the Modern Self - Carl Trueman https://www.amazon.com/Rise-Triumph-Modern-Self-Individualism/dp/1433556332?s=books

This special episode is an excerpt from a plenary panel at our 2025 annual conference in Harrisonburg, Virginia.

The panel title was "Jesus the Tekton: Restoring Common Arts Education," and two of the four speakers' remarks are included here.

The first speaker is Fr. Mark Perkins of St. Dunstan's Academy. After an opening prayer and introductory remarks, he presents his paper, "Timber Framing and Poetic Knowledge."

He is followed by Thomas Fickley, also of St. Dunstan's Academy, presenting on "A Place for Young Men: Resurrecting Apprenticeship."

Both men were interviewed in Episode 27 of The Sower, which you can listen to for details about St. Dunstan's. 

https://stdunstansacademy.org/

https://youtu.be/1YoLbDSz71Q?si=c6yiKXex2pVRcJI5

If you enjoyed this episode, please consider attending our March 2026 annual conference, in Omaha, Nebraska. For details, go to https://ciceroniansociety.org/.

0:00 Episode Introduction (Anadale)
2:03 Panel Introduction (Perkins)
10:57 Timber Framing and Poetic Knowledge (Perkins)
28:15 A Place for Young Men: Resurrecting Apprenticeship (Fickley)
44:49 Closing Remarks (Bowman)

Chris Anadale interviews Caleb Galloway, an Anglican woodworker and stained glass artist in Marietta, Georgia. We discuss how he got started, prospects for GenZ young men, and his upcoming project building roadside shrines.

To follow Caleb: https://x.com/Gallo_Woodworks

Orthodox Masonry: https://x.com/orthodoxmason

To learn more about the Ciceronian Society, sign up for our newsletter, or make your tax-deductible donation, please go to https://ciceroniansociety.org/

Josh Bowman chats with Commander William Spears, who serves as a submarine warfare officer in the U.S. Navy. He is also a scholar, writing on topics of leadership and military ethics. He is the author of the recently released book, Stoicism as a Warrior Philosophy (Casemate, 2025), which examines the morality of war and military service through the lens of Stoic philosophy. And that book is our topic today! We discuss the importance of the stoics, virtue, Cicero, Seneca, and more.

Link to the book: https://www.casematepublishers.com/9781636246239/stoicism-as-a-warrior-philosophy/

https://williamcspears.com/ 

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The 2026 Ciceronian Society Conference will be held March 12-14 at Creighton University in Omaha, NE.  

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 chats with Rev. Michael Langer, founder and president of Faithful Presence. As explained on its website, “Faithful Presence is a ministry in our nation's capital, equipping servants and leaders to flourish as they participate in Christ’s mission of making all things new through offering intentional spiritual, emotional, relational, vocational, ideological, cultural, and evangelical discipleship.” We discuss the nature of whole-life discipleship, its importance for Christians in the “public square,” and much more. 

To learn more, visit: https://faithful-presence.org/about

The 2026 Ciceronian Society Conference will be held March 12-14 at Creighton University in Omaha, NE.  

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 chats with Paul Gutacker, Executive Director of Brazos Fellows, based in Waco, Texas. Brazos Fellows is an annual program that welcomes a small cohort of emerging adults to commit to a common Rule of Life, embrace a rhythm of prayer, study, work, Sabbath, and community, all rooted in the life and worship of a local parish, Christ Church Waco (ACNA).

To learn more and apply to be a fellow, visit: https://www.brazosfellows.com/ 

The standard application deadline is March 1. 

Applications open on October 1, and the early consideration deadline is December 1.

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The 2026 Ciceronian Society Conference will be held March 12-14 at Creighton University in Omaha, NE.  

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 chats with Dr. Alex Fogleman, Associate Dean for Special Programs and Assistant Professor of Theology at Trinity Anglican Seminary, where he oversees the Robert E. Webber Center and the Doctor of Ministry program. He also directs the Catechesis Task Force for the Anglican Church of North America.

He is the author of Knowledge, Faith, and Early Christian Initiation (Cambridge University Press, 2023), and the subject of this episode, Making Disciples: Catechesis in History, Theology, and Practice (Eerdmans, 2025), which received awards of merit from The Gospel Coalition and Christianity Today.

We dive into church history, Christian formation, discipleship, catechesis, place, friendship, and much more.

Buy the book here:  
https://www.eerdmans.com/9781467467759/making-disciples/

Robert E. Webber Center
https://tas.edu/webber/

The 2026 Ciceronian Society Conference will be held March 12-14 at Creighton University in Omaha, NE.  

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 is joined by John D. Wilsey, James Patterson, Claire Baker, and Annie Crawford for an entertaining reflection on the seasons of Advent and Christmas. We discuss holiday favorites and how the Ciceronian themes of Tradition, Place, and ‘Things Divine’ come alive this time of year.

If you enjoy conversations like this, please consider registering for our upcoming conference, March 12-14 at Creighton University in Omaha, NE.

https://ciceroniansociety.org/conference/2026-conference-registration/

Merry Christmas!

Josh Bowman reflects on where the Ciceronian Society has been in 2025 and where we’re going in 2026. He also offers some commentary on where we as Christians find ourselves socially and culturally, and what that means for institutions like ours. 

If you’re grateful for this Podcast and for the work of the Ciceronian Society, please prayerfully consider a year-end gift. There are several ways to give, with more information found here: https://ciceroniansociety.org/donate/

To learn more about the upcoming conference and to register, visit https://ciceroniansociety.org/conference/

Link to From Christendom to Apostolic Mission, published by the Univ. of Mary: https://bookstore.umary.edu/MerchDetail?MerchID=1638495&num=0&start=9&end=12&type=1&CategoryName=Books&CatID=29630&Name=Books#.YPb7oRNKhTZ

Chris Anadale and Bill Batchelder interview Madeleine Austin, winner of the 2025 Batchelder Award for the Study of Place. Her winning paper was titled "An Everyman's Environmentalism: Love of Place as a Virtue."

Madeleine lives in Pittsboro, North Carolina with her husband, Joshua. She is a graduate of the Virginia Military Institute and the University of North Carolina – Chapel Hill, where she completed her MA in Political Theory in 2024.

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

Bill is chairman of the Ciceronian Society and Professor of History at Waynesburg University. The Batchelder Award was established in memory of Bill’s father. 

More about the Batchelder Award: https://ciceroniansociety.org/conference/batchelder-award/

Recent essay by Madeleine: https://www.frontporchrepublic.com/2025/08/the-way-from-st-martins-on-the-virtue-of-paths/

0:00 Introduction

1:45 About the Batchelder Award

7:21 Conversation

The 2026 Ciceronian Society Conference will be held March 12-14 at Creighton University in Omaha, NE.  

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/