Uncommon Sense - The Official Podcast of the Society of Gilbert Keith Chesterton

Why is music so important that we require it at Chesterton? And how does it relate to anything else? Dr. Joshua Russell may have an answer for you. Joshua is the headmaster of Chesterton Academy of the Sacred Heart where he also teaches courses in history, literature, music, and writing. On top of all of that, he is a concert pianist. Listen to how Joshua explains how music reflects culture and how it’s tied to everything else.

Chesterton in Iraq? The last place anyone imagined there could be a Chesterton Academy, let alone, to find out there is devotion to G.K. Chesterton in Iraq! But yes—the Kurdish regional Ministry of Education has approved a Chesterton Academy to open in Erbil, Kurdistan, an autonomous region within Iraq. Listen to the story of the exciting trip to Erbil from Laura Hassan, Director of International Programs for the Society of GK Chesterton, and Andrew Youngblood, the Director of Curriculum for the Chesterton Schools Network.

Join the Apostolate in prayer by starting a group within the Frances Chesterton Rosary League (FCRL). Victoria Darkey, our coordinator of the FCRL, explains how easy it is and how important this mission is to the Apostolate of Common Sense. Learn why Gilbert’s wife Frances is the patron of the Rosary League and the significant role she played in her husband’s spiritual life.

A professor of economics at Rawls College of Business—Texas Tech University, Alex Salter leads us on a fast-paced defense of Distributism and the main idea economists miss about it. We also discuss his up coming book on the topic, Property and Liberty.

Could the 1964 Walt Disney film Mary Poppins be about the Holy Mother of God? Julian Ahlquist explains his intricate theory about this cinematic masterpiece, and it’s practically perfect in every way.

Alyssa Bormes, author or The Catechism of Hockey, teaches theology at Chesterton Academy, and she gets a front row seat to watching miracles happen.

David Cooney, writer of the blog Practical Distributism, joins us to explain the principles of Distributism and what he thinks of the new name, Localism. We also discuss the GameStop phenomenon and what the stock market would look like in a localist society.

If you’re a longtime fan of the podcast, you’ll recognize the voice of our next guest, Nancy Brown, who hosted our Uncommon Sense podcast for over ten years. Nancy talks about her book, The Woman Who Was Chesterton, her current role as project manager for our online school, Chesterton Cor Jesu, and the Frances Chesterton Rosary League. Join us!

Joseph Pearce is a Catholic apologist who has written bestselling books on G.K. Chesterton, J.R.R. Tolkien, and Shakespeare. In this episode, Joseph takes us on a journey through his past, his present and his future. The debt he owes to Chesterton plays a large part. We talk about everything from his knowledge on Shakespeare to his interview with Solzhenitsyn to how much he can bench press.