Online Great Books Podcast

Scott and Karl break with tradition to talk about the OGB seminar standard of conduct.  As our members know, the seminar experience is really the backbone of the program. Written by Karl, these ground rules have been a great help in setting boundaries that lead to better discussions.  The duo also dives into the role of dialectic as aided discovery and how this mode of learning is crucial. Scott says, "Dialectic won't work if you don't believe in capital-T Truth. We don't have to agree on what it is, but we have to agree it is there." Tune in to learn more about the overwhelming benefits of the type of discussions had in OGB seminars. Brought to you by onlinegreatbooks.com. 

Scott and Karl wrap up their discussion with special guest  Malachy Walsh, author of Socratic Scribbling. If you don't know what goes into good writing, it may look like a mystical art form or exclusively for the gifted. Malachy argues that we can all use the socratic method to deal with the blank pages in our life, empowering us to pick our own minds for ideas we didn't even know were there. Scott says, "The Blank Page Syndrome is really because you don’t know how to do the pre-thinking. That’s key." How can you use writing to collect and sort your ideas? Socratic Scribbling provides a fresh take on how classical rhetoric can help you generate the kinds of questions and answers that improve your thinking and your phrasing. Be sure to go to socraticscribbling.com to learn more and purchase your copy. 

Scott and Karl are joined by special guest Malachy Walsh to talk about his new book, Socratic Scribbling. As a retired advertising man, Malachy had to write on demand for 30 years. In Socratic Scribbling, he reveals secrets he learned from Plato, Aristotle, Cicero, Quintillion, Shakespeare, and other Great Writers and Thinkers that helped him make his mark in advertising. Tune in for the first part of their discussion and visit socraticscribbing.com for more information and to purchase Malachy's book. 

Scott and Karl finish their two-part discussion of Unrestricted Warfare: Two Air Force Senior Colonels on Scenarios for War and the Operational Art in an Era of Globalization.  As Scott points out, this book was largely born out of an analysis of the Gulf War. Karl asks, “If the media, as these Chinese authors argue, was a weapon of war in the First Gulf War, when did it stop being a weapon of war?”  While Unrestricted Warfare is marketed as an anti-American manifesto, Karl and Scott agree that it’s a military manual, and it’s even-handed. Tune in to learn more about the nature of modern warfare, brought to you by onlinegreatbooks.com. 

This week, Scott and Karl read Unrestricted Warfare: Two Air Force Senior Colonels on Scenarios for War and the Operational Art in an Era of Globalization. Written in 1999 by two colonels in the People's Liberation Army, Qiao Liang and Wang Xiangsui, this book offers a sobering study on war in the modern era. Karl says, "We don't kill each other very much anymore. But we sure do try and impose our will on others." As the authors point out, Modern American military doctrine is typically led by technology. Scott adds, "Because of the interconnectedness of the world, this modern, unrestricted type of warfare does not have a discreet battlefield and can be brought to bear. But should it be?" Unrestricted Warfare explores this new class of weapons and how it exposes a crucial weakness that disadvantaged nations might take advantage of to successfully attack powerhouses like the United States. 

Scott, Karl, and special guest Brett McKay finish their discussion of Larry McMurtry’s Lonesome Dove.  The trio discusses the novel's unforgettable assortment of characters and their virtues (or lack thereof). Brett says, "This book makes me reevaluate my telos. What is guiding me through mortality? If you don't have it, you might end up like some of these guys in Lonesome Dove." Tune in to hear more about this classic written about the last defiant wilderness of America. Also, be sure to sign up for Brett's platform, The Strenuous Life, designed to help you put your abstract intentions into action. 

This week, Scott and Karl are joined by special guest Brett McKay, founder of The Art of Manliness, to discuss Larry McMurtry's Lonesome Dove.  An epic of the frontier, Lonesome Dove may be the grandest novel ever written about the lawless American West. It also happens to be Brett's favorite fictional novel of all time.  While western novels are some of the most genre-specific books, Lonesome Dove takes a slightly different approach. Scott says, “I turn to my Westerns for idealism, for heroism, for a picture of the good, for a picture of what freedom best-lived looks like. That ain’t in here.” As Brett points out, one of McMurtry's main themes you'll find throughout his fiction is how one can deal with uncertainty. Karl argues, "For me, it wasn’t necessarily about uncertainty. It was a novel about the border of civilization. The border has gone past these guys, and they don’t like it.” Tune in to hear Part One of the trio's conversation on this monumental novel. Brought to you by onlinegreatbooks.com. 

Scott and Karl finish their discussion of The Tower Treasure, the first volume in the Hardy Boys Mystery Stories.  The Hardy Boys books have never been out of print since first coming onto the scene in 1927, have been translated into 25 different languages, and continue to sell over a million copies annually. Is there a formula for creating a page-turner? The founders of the Hardy Boys clearly saw a way to minimize cost, maximize output, and standardize creativity. Scott says, "The Stratemeyer Syndicate that created these books had principles, and while they had commercial concerns, there's no hippy stuff. Just good characters, doing good things."  Tune in to learn more about one of the most popular and enduring teen mystery series of all time. Brought to you by onlinegreatbooks.com. 

Scott and Karl read the first volume in the Hardy Boys Mystery Stories, The Tower Treasure. While the book appears to be authored by Franklin W. Dixon, it was actually written for the Stratemeyer Syndicate by Leslie McFarlane in 1927.  There's a good chance many of our listeners grew up with Frank and Joe Hardy as literary companions. Tune in for Part One of Scott and Karl's discussion of America's favorite detective duo. Brought to you by onlinegreatbooks.com. 

Scott and Karl finish their discussion of Philip Rieff’s book The Triumph of the Therapeutic: Uses of Faith after Freud.  Thanks to Freud, idioms of therapy have successfully invaded the education and religious spheres. Scott says, "If Freudianism is around us and some of his bedrock assumptions are that man is sick because he questions the meaning and value of life and "objectively neither has any existence" we need to consider whether or not he should be seeping on in." Rieff documents with devastating insight the ways in which truth has been displaced as a value and replaced by psychological effectiveness. Karl adds, "If you're stuck in Freudianism, there's no right or wrong."  Tune in to hear more of the duo's conversation, brought to you by onlinegreatbooks.com.