Young Heretics

All your questions answered! This week, as the Thanksgiving daze settles gradually over us all, I dig into the mailbag and pull out three juicy questions I haven't had time to answer yet in the course of the show. Did Plato invent the myth of Atlantis? What kind of love does Jesus ask for from Peter after his betrayal? And what did Paul mean that personal spiritual gifts shall fall away when we see love "face to face"? It's a deep dive into questions linguistic, spiritual, and philosophical. Plus: a dig at 19th-century Germans. Check out our sponsor, the Ancient Language Institute: https://ancientlanguage.com/youngheretics/ Sign up to be in the mailbag: https://rejoiceevermore.substack.com/ Pick up my book, How to Save the West: https://a.co/d/9S57cfh

Author Lexi O. Hudson defends civility, distinguishing it from niceness. She explores the themes of civility in ancient texts and discusses the relevance of practicing it in our society. The podcast touches on the importance of hospitality, recognizing kindness, social interaction at the gym, and intellectual curiosity in fostering a civil society.

What's to be thankful for? This Thanksgiving, the answer is: everything. Gratitude is a virtue we didn't cover during our series, but Cicero calls it the mother of all virtues and Aquinas files it cheek by jowl with justice. Spencer traces the etymology and rationale of thanksgiving down to its cosmic roots, opposing it to the philosophy of death that rises to confront us everywhere. Happy Thanksgiving--and again I say, rejoice! Check out our sponsor, the Ancient Language Institute: https://ancientlanguage.com/youngheretics/ Sign up to be in the mailbag: https://rejoiceevermore.substack.com/ Pick up my book, How to Save the West: https://a.co/d/9S57cfh

Learn about how and why God prepares our reading lists as we chat with Michael Martin, a modern-day druid. From parallel worlds and alternate modernity, to living off the land and rejecting scientific materialism, we explore topics such as the challenges in the education system and shifts in politics. Discover the hidden wisdom in everyday life and the supernatural influence on our world.

Do you want to see the world as it is, or as it ought to be? This difficult question is at the heart of the millennia-old debate over morality and art. Pulling back the camera to ask how we got to our current dysfunction, Spencer moves from Homer and Isaiah to Nabokov and Matthew Arnold, looking for answers to the questions that are currently wracking the culture. The digital age has shattered a lot of our old systems, but somewhere in the aftermath there is hope for a new middle ages and a re-enchanted world. Check out our sponsor, the Ancient Language Institute: https://ancientlanguage.com/youngheretics/ Sign up to be in the mailbag: https://rejoiceevermore.substack.com/ Pick up my book, How to Save the West: https://a.co/d/9S57cfh

What does it mean to be a man in a fallen world and a degraded age? Crime novelist and professional person-I-have-never-heard-of Andrew Klavan joins the show to discuss his brilliant new novel The House of Love and Death. We discuss Klavan The Elder's literary inspirations, thoughts on chivalry, and experience writing a recurring character almost against his will. Plus: why university administrators are so annoying. Read Andrew Klavan's Cameron Winter novels Listen to The Andrew Klavan Show Sign up to my mailing list to ask mailbag questions and recommend new guests.

“There is no such thing as a moral or an immoral book. Books are well written, or badly written. That is all.” So wrote Oscar Wilde in his preface to The Picture of Dorian Gray, defending himself against charges of corruption in his art. But was he right? His own art, no less than his own sad and morally compromised private life, suggest otherwise. Spencer discusses the history of “art for art’s sake” and the impossibility of excepting art from moral judgment, in Wilde’s day as well as our own. Check out our sponsor, the Ancient Language Institute: https://ancientlanguage.com/youngheretics/ Sign up to be in the mailbag: https://rejoiceevermore.substack.com/ Pick up my book, How to Save the West: https://a.co/d/9S57cfh

Digital alienation, material politics, and the re-enchantment of the world: this week, reactionary feminist Mary Harrington joins Spencer to discuss the disorenting transformations wrought upon human societies and psyches by the advent of digital technology. The discussion ranges from Mary's realization that woke politics was destroying her life, to the war between the sexes, to the return of something that looks a lot like Medieval conditions--complete with angels and demons haunting the air. Get Mary's book, Feminism Against Progress: https://a.co/d/4WLROtO Read Mary's writing at UnHerd: https://unherd.com/author/mary-harrington/ Subscribe to Mary's Substack: https://reactionaryfeminist.substack.com/

Explore the haunted history of the enchanted world, including the Aes Sidhe and Halloween. Discuss the cultural transformations of holidays and preference for psychological terror. Dive into ancient festivals in Ireland and their connection to changing seasons. Examine the interconnectedness of science and subjectivity, exploring human souls and pagan mythology. Delve into gods and angels in the Bible, their worship, and taming the old gods. Explore purgatory, neo-paganism, and responding to spiritual forces.

Teresa Mull, assistant editor of The Spectator World, shares practical advice on navigating the woke revolution. Topics include small town living, distractions of social media, taking control of your child's education, avoiding woke companies, and the power of prayer and virtues.