Josh Bowman talks with historian Richard Brookhiser, a senior editor of National Review ( https://www.nationalreview.com/ ) and a senior fellow at the National Review Institute ( https://nrinstitute.org/ ). He is a prolific author of many books, mostly on the American Founders and their ideas, and many other articles and essays besides.

We specifically discuss Brookhiser’s new biography of American painter, John Trumbull (1756 - 1843), entitled Glorious Lessons (Yale Univ., 2024) https://yalebooks.yale.edu/book/9780300283310/glorious-lessons/ 

Richard Brookhiser Website: https://richardbrookhiser.com/ 

Many paintings by John Trumbull are available online at the Yale University Art Gallery: https://artgallery.yale.edu/collection?f%5B0%5D=creator%3AArtist%3A%20John%20Trumbull%20%28American%2C%201756%E2%80%931843%29 

Declaration of Independence (painting)

https://artgallery.yale.edu/collections/objects/69 

Battle of Bunker’s Hill

https://artgallery.yale.edu/collections/objects/41 

The Resignation of General Washington

https://artgallery.yale.edu/collections/objects/124 

To learn more about the Herbert J. Storing Book Prize, and to make a nomination, visit:

https://ciceroniansociety.org/conference/storing-award/ 

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

0:00 Introduction

2:27 Who John Trumbull Was

5:53 Battle of Bunker's Hill

12:44 Spy Arrest

16:08 Jefferson's Wingman

18:26 Declaration of Independence

26:00 Washington's Resignation

35:23 Historical Painting

41:28 Displaced

45:23 Other Opportunities

Josh Bowman talks with Matthew K. Michels OblSB, who is a professional bookbinder and writer, and the owner of Black Cowl Bindery. He is also an Oblate of the Order of Saint Benedict associated with Saint Vincent Archabbey in Latrobe, Pennsylvania.

In addition to talking about the craft of bookbinding, we also discuss the idea of human scale, running a small business, common arts education, the trades, vocation, virtue, localism, Westerns, beer, and more! It's also painfully obvious that you're listening to two Midwesterners. 

Check out Black Cowl Bindery at https://www.blackcowlbindery.com/ 

We mentioned and highly recommend Matthew Crawford’s book, Shop Class as Soulcraft, though we apologize for getting the name wrong. (We said “shop craft” instead): https://www.penguinrandomhouse.com/books/301618/shop-class-as-soulcraft-by-matthew-b-crawford/ 

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

0:00 Introduction

1:56 What a Bookbinder Does

5:48 How He Got Started

10:00 Common Arts Education

16:15 Why Tradesmen Should Read

19:36 Glorifying God Through the Trades

25:10 Small Business

34:17 Local Connections

39:31 Westerns and Masculine Virtue

46:55 Where to Learn More

Josh Bowman talks with Nick Ellis, Founder and CEO of Christian Halls International, whose mission is to “strengthen local communities by offering Christ-centered tutorial-based education that fosters intellectual, spiritual, and vocational formation.”

We discuss the idea of place, place-based education, the classical education movement, the future of universities, and more.  

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 

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

0:00 Introduction

2:10 What Christian Halls Is

20:42 Placeless Academics

27:35 Martial Arts Dojo Model

34:27 Define Place

42:20 Obstacles

47:48 Renewed Telos of Education

53:22 Next Steps

Josh Bowman talks with Joshua Kraut, Associate Professor of French at Hope College in Holland, Michigan. Dr. Kraut is currently studying and translating the works of contemporary French philosopher Fabrice Hadjadj (b. 1971), who is the topic of this conversation. 

Click here for two translated books by Hadjadj:https://ignatius.com/authors/fabrice-hadjadj/ 

Joshua Kraut's talk for the Saint Benedict Institute on Hadhadj: https://youtu.be/tpF9_JDKJ34?si=oj_w8k1xUpkARyvz 

Hadjadj also directs the Philanthropos Institute: https://www.philanthropos.org/ 

Joshua Kraut’s profile at Hope College: https://hope.edu/directory/people/kraut-josh/index.html 

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

0:00 Introduction

3:03 The French GK Chesterton

7:25 Catholic Conversion

15:20 Sabbath of the Earth

27:05 Relinquishment

34:20 Stewardship  

Josh Bowman talks with Simon Tarr, dean of both The Honors College and the School of Communication and the Arts at Regent University. We discuss Christian higher education, what an “honors college” is - or could be - and the idea of prestige.

To learn more about the Honors College, visit: https://www.regent.edu/honors-college/  

The Regent University Honors College is Tullia Sponsor for the upcoming Ciceronian Society Conference, March 13-15, 2025 in Harrisonburg, VA.

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

0:00 Antarctica

4:19 Virtual Reality

7:07 Honors College, What Is It?

13:07 Renewal-Based Model

19:47 Presence of Grace in Education

27:49 Prestige

38:23 Rethinking Higher Education

Josh Bowman shares some end of year reflections on where the Ciceronian Society has been, where we’re headed, and why we believe our resilient and growing band of Christian intellectuals is doing something important.

To give to the Ciceronian Society, visit: https://ciceroniansociety.org/donate/ 

To register for the 2025 Conference, visit: https://ciceroniansociety.org/conference/2025-conference-registration/ 

To submit a manuscript to Pietas, go to: https://ciceroniansociety.org/journal/call-for-papers/ 

“The Watchmen” by Alan Jacobs (Harper’s Magazine, Sept. 2016): https://harpers.org/archive/2016/09/the-watchmen/ 

Josh Bowman speaks with the headmaster and founder of St. Dunstan’s Academy, Thomas Fickley, and Fr. Mark Perkins, who serves as their chaplain and assistant headmaster.

St. Dunstan’s Academy is an all-boys boarding school in Virginia built on four main pillars: Christian formation, classical academics, farming, and the skilled trades.

To learn more, visit: https://stdunstansacademy.org/

0:00 Introduction

1:59 St. Dunstan

6:48 Restoration of Innocence

13:48 Goal of a St. Dunstan's Academy Education

21:29 Common Arts

27:46 Day in a Student's Life

32:39 Skepticism

41:50 Fruit vs Outcomes

47:51 Conclusion

If you enjoy learning and writing about any of the topics discussed in this Podcast, we encourage you to visit our website to sign-up for our newsletter. https://ciceroniansociety.org/ 

Josh Bowman chats with Nathan Beacom, Founder and Director of the Lyceum Movement, which “hosts social, festive events that explore the big ideas of art, philosophy, history and more.”

To learn more about Nathan’s work, visit https://www.lyceummovement.org/ 

0:00 Introduction
1:14 What the Lyceum Movement Is
5:04 Origins
10:56 Response/Success
13:13 Six Habits
18:47 Irreconcilable Differences
25:41 Community & Next Steps
32:17 Religious Differences & New Secularity
40:15 Conference

Mentioned in this episode:

Neil Postman, Amusing Ourselves to Death - https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Amusing_Ourselves_to_Death 

Seth Kaplan, Fragile Neighborhoods - https://sethkaplan.org/ 

Emotionally Healthy Discipleship - https://www.emotionallyhealthy.org/ 

If you enjoy learning and writing about any of the topics discussed in this Podcast, we encourage you to visit our website to sign-up for our newsletter. https://ciceroniansociety.org/ 

Alan Cornett and Chris Anadale discuss roots, bourbon tourism, agriculture, and more. Alan is host of the Cultural Debris Podcast, cofounder of Cultural Debris Excursions, and a former assistant to Russell Kirk. His family has lived in Kentucky since the 18th century.

0:00 Roots
5:17 Economics
11:33 Wet and Dry
16:50 Lexington
21:21 Cincinnati
23:24 Soil and Agriculture
29:55 Kirk and Localism

One in an occasional series on place, hosted by Christopher Anadale.

To support the Ciceronian Society or learn more about our UPCOMING CONFERENCE at the Hotel Madison in Harrisonburg, Virginia, March 13-15, 2025, please visit https://ciceroniansociety.org/ 

Links:

https://x.com/alancornett 

https://x.com/culturaldebris 

https://culturaldebrisexcursions.com/ 

Claire Aguda and Chris Anadale discuss place, church, and her community in West Chester, Pennsylvania. Claire Aguda works at the Russell Kirk Center for Cultural Renewal. She is currently a PhD student at Faulkner University. She has worked in the conservative intellectual movement for several years. Claire is a longtime friend of the Ciceronian Society, which she describes as the place where "people take their faith seriously, take their work seriously, but they don't take themselves seriously."

0:00 Place, Culture, and Economics

6:25 Inheritance

8:10 Transient Places

11:30 Building Community

14:50 Churches

17:45 West Chester

21:45 Exclusion

27:40 Challenges Facing Localism

One in an occasional series on place, hosted by Christopher Anadale.

To support the Ciceronian Society or learn more about our UPCOMING CONFERENCE at the Hotel Madison in Harrisonburg, Virginia, March 13-15, 2025, please visit https://ciceroniansociety.org/ 

Links:

https://www.faulkner.edu/graduate/graduate-degrees/doctor-of-philosophy-in-humanities/ 

https://kirkcenter.org/scs/  

https://www.greaterwestchester.com/lightsupchristmasparade.html