Anchored by the Classic Learning Test

An examination of the current moment demonstrates that the United States is mired in a social crisis which is intensifying political polarization. What role do institutions play in staving off further discord? Yuval Levin is the founding editor of National Affairs and the Director of Social, Cultural, and Constitutional Studies at the American Enterprise Institute.  He joins Jeremy to discuss his book A Time to Build and delves into a conversation on the role of institutions in shaping people and common goals. Yuval touches on the ways in which institutional failures are engendering social difficulties, paying particular attention to the shifting role of higher education. While the cultural debate concerning free speech on campus seems to have captured the attention of the American public, Yuval notes that renewed discussion on the purpose of higher education—one that focuses on the pursuit of truth through teaching and learning—may hold promise not only for the formative experience of college itself, but may also provide answers to the growing enrollment quandary in the U.S. today. Send questions or comments to anchored@cltexam.com.Host Jeremy Tate @JeremyTate41Guest Yuval LevinA Time to Build: From Family and Community to Congress and the Campus, How Recommitting to Our Institutions Can Revive the American DreamNational Affairs

Spencer Klavan is associate editor of the Claremont Review of Books and The American Mind.  As host of the increasingly popular Young Heretics podcast, he engages his audience with the wealth of wisdom found in the great works of  Western culture, albeit with one caveat—identity politics are checked at the door. Spencer joins Jeremy to discuss cancel culture on campus and the consequences of universities surrendering their role in soulcraft. Spencer further touches on the concept of Damnatio memoriae and its relation to recent events, and how citizens' realization that their power in society extends beyond mere voting may positively impact civil society. Send questions or comments to anchored@cltexam.com.Host Jeremy Tate @JeremyTate41Guest Spencer Klavan @SpencerKlavanYoung Heretics podcastHonor in a World Gone Mad

Dr. Angel Adams Parham is the Rev. Joseph H. Fichter Distinguished Professor of Social Science and Associate Professor of Sociology at Loyola University-New Orleans, where her work focuses on the comparative and historical sociology of race. In this episode, she talks with Jeremy about her dual role as a college professor and a Classical homeschooling parent. She also discusses the recent efforts by the group Decolonization at Brown to take down the statues of Marcus Aurelius and Caesar Augustus at the Ivy League university. She notes the importance of an approach to these types of events which puts the past into conversation with the present. To illustrate this point, she discusses the Stoic philosopher Epictetus and his connection to Toussaint Louverture, the leader of the Haitian Revolution. Send questions or comments to anchored@cltexam.com.Host Jeremy Tate @JeremyTate41Guest Dr. Angel Adams Parham The Statues Must Go: Brown Should Not Celebrate Colonialism

Why do students at Brown University want to tear down statues of Marcus Aurelius and Caesar Augustus? Italian journalist Alessandra Bocchi has reported from Hong Kong, Libya, and across Europe, and she is currently the Joseph Rago Memorial Fellow at The Wall Street Journal. She joins Jeremy to discuss her recent WSJ op-ed, "Ancient History Isn't Colonialism," in which she argues that the efforts of the group Decolonization at Brown miss the mark when it comes to the Western Tradition. She also discusses differences between the Italian and U.S. secondary school systems, and Jeremy reflects on CLT's mission to reinvigorate study of the Classics in U.S. schools. Send comments or questions to anchored@cltexam.comHost Jeremy Tate @JeremyTate41 Guest Alessandra Bocchi @alessabocchiAncient History Isn't ColonialismThe Statues Must Go: Brown Should Not Celebrate Colonialism

Is there sufficient viewpoint diversity in K-12 education today? Daniel Buck is a teacher and freelance author who has written for such publications as National Review, City Journal, The American Mind, Quillette, and others. He joins Jeremy to discuss the questions that he began asking as a school teacher which led him to not only change his personal views on education, but also to advocate for a renewed national conversation concerning the proper aims of education. He further discusses the conversations that were facilitated when he began publicly addressing the "echo chamber" of education, and how this led to the founding of The Chalkboard Review, an online journal of educational commentary that features a diverse range of voices on all things education—left, right, and center. Send questions or comments to anchored@cltexam.com.Host Jeremy Tate @JeremyTate41Guest Daniel Buck @MrDanielBuckThe Chalkboard ReviewTrue Education is Beautiful—The American Mind, Claremont Institute

Dr. Anthony Bradley, professor of religious studies and director of the Center for the Study of Human Flourishing at The King’s College NYC, joins Jeremy to discuss the problem with overcriminalization and why criminal justice reforms have often proven difficult—he discusses the ways in which civic institutions can avert people's continued entry into the criminal justice system while also reducing recidivism rates. Additionally, Anthony explores the role of fatherhood and the research he has conducted that illustrates its role not only in positive social outcomes and academic development, but also within other categories that are not immediately apparent. Send questions or comments to anchored@cltexam.com.Host Jeremy Tate @JeremyTate41Guest Dr. Anthony Bradley @drantbradleyEnding Overcriminalization and Mass Incarceration: Hope from Civil Society

Machiavelli and the merciless use of power is oftentimes used to illustrate Renaissance political philosophy.  Dr. James Hankins, professor of history at Harvard University and one of the foremost authorities on Renaissance political thought, joins Jeremy to discuss how his book Virtue Politics challenges the common portrayal of Machiavelli as the exemplary thinker of the Renaissance. Dr. Hankins discusses the humanists' revival of the ancient view that politics are not sound unless individuals of the polity are morally sound, as well as the ways in which humanist thought indicated that the long-term resilience of institutions fundamentally relies on the virtuous character of those inhabiting the institutions. Dr. Hankins also shares his thoughts on classical education today, and shines light on the important teaching distinctions within the modern university. Send questions or comments to anchored@cltexam.com.Host Jeremy Tate @JeremyTate41Guest Dr. James Hankins Virtue Politics: Soulcraft and Statecraft in Renaissance Italy

The issue of free speech on campus has become an increasingly visible debate for higher education. Dr. Sigal Ben-Porath (University of Pennsylvania professor, fellow at Harvard's Edmond J. Safra Center for Ethics, and former chair of Penn's Committee on Open Expression) joins Jeremy to discuss what she has found to be the most common misconceptions concerning student views on free expression. While discussing the vital nature of free speech to colleges' mission, she outlines ways in which colleges can articulate a dual commitment to free speech and inclusivity, which may serve to ease campus tensions. The conversation also moves to the importance of returning to well-rounded civic education in the United States, as well as the ways in which the historical precedent of school choice—which pre-dates America's Founding—should reframe the discussion on this critical issue. Send any questions or comments to anchored@cltexam.com.Host Jeremy Tate @JeremyTate41Guest Dr. Sigal Ben-PorathFree Speech on CampusMaking Up Our Mind: What School Choice is Really About

Dr. Louis Markos, an authority on C. S. Lewis and a professor in English at Houston Baptist University, joins Jeremy Tate to discuss his new book The Myth Made Fact: Reading Greek and Roman Mythology through Christian Eyes. Dr. Markos discusses how a famous conversation between J.R.R. Tolkien and C.S. Lewis inspired him to write a book which seeks to connect the wisdom of Greco-Roman mythology to Christian faith, thus informing a "ministry of myth." He also discusses the academy's current crisis of over-specialization in the humanities which has worn away at its heritage and inhibited the development of more public intellectuals. Host Jeremy Tate @JeremyTate41Guest Dr. Louis Markos The Myth Made Fact: Reading Greek and Roman Mythology through Christian Eyes

Andrew Zwerneman, president of Cana Academy, joins Jeremy Tate to discuss his new book History Forgotten and Remembered.  Andrew discusses the reasons why society has grown out of the habit of thinking historically. He also touches on why thinking historically should involve the concept of living between "two great acts of giving"—that of being given the culture we inhabit, and the act of conveying what we cultivate today to future generations. He also discusses why a fragmentary approach to  history (which retells history by viewing only egregious events in our past) is harmful to the study of history and ultimately to society.Host Jeremy Tate @JeremyTate41Guest Andrew Zwerneman Cana AcademyHistory Forgotten and Remembered