The Ralston College Podcast

Ralston College presents a lecture with Andrew Doyle followed by a discussion and audience Q & A with Stephen Blackwood. Doyle discusses his new book, 'Free Speech and Why it Matters,' and offers trenchant examples of recent curtailment of the freedom of speech and thought. He provides a lively account of why free speech and free expression are vital for a thriving culture and describes the kinds of degradation that result when a wide array of ideas are not examined in the public square. The event took place online on March 4, 2021.

Should art be beautiful? This forbidden question guides Stephen Blackwood's conversation with eminent sculptor and aesthetic luminary, Alexander Stoddart. Stoddart describes, in his usual incandescent fashion, his aesthetic awakening and his views on the failings of modernist and contemporary art. He also speaks about iconoclasm, about art's battle with nature, and about the power of beauty to still the will. Finally, he offers parting advice for young artists and other seekers of meaning and beauty. The conversation took place in Stoddart's studio in Scotland. Artists, Art, and Writings Mentioned in this Episode: The paintings of Eisenhower, Churchill, and Hitler; The Buddhas of Bamayan; Venus de Milo; Richard Wagner: Tristan and Isolde; Bust of Beatrice in the Palazzo Pitti, Florence; The Statue of Liberty; Mount Rushmore; Gutzon Borglum; Christ of the Andes; The Angel of the North; Jackson Pollock; Desiderio da Settignano; Michelangelo: Staircase in the Laurentian Medicean Library, Medici tombs, Medici Chapel; Michelangelo: The Slaves; Giambologna; Adolf von Hildebrand; Copenhagen, especially the work and museum of Bertel Thorvaldsen; Hermann Ernst Freund; Arthur Schopenhauer; Antonio Canova; Lorenzo Bartolini, Plaster Cast Gallery at the Accademia Gallery

Stephen Blackwood speaks with Harry Lewis, legendary Professor of Computer Science at Harvard University (where he taught both Bill Gates and Mark Zuckerberg). They discuss the tragic limits of narrowly vocational approaches to education—with which many young people are pressured to conform—by contrast with education that fosters true self-reflection and a meaningful life. They also discuss cancel culture, college admissions, and freedom of speech.

Ralston College presents a lecture by Dr Anthony Daniels (aka Theodore Dalrymple) on Ivan Turgenev's 1862 "Fathers and Sons", followed by a conversation about the novel with Dr Stephen Blackwood. Daniels illuminates the depth of Turgenev's insight into the revolutionary mindset, and its relevance to the nihilism of our own time and culture. This event was held live on January 14th, 2021 and includes questions from participants around the world.The music mentioned is Schubert's "Litanei auf das Fest Allerseelen, D.343" played by Deborah Pae (cello) and Misha Namirovsky (piano), available at https://bit.ly/3a8UoO6.

How does humor work and why is it needed more than ever? Stephen Blackwood talks with comedian and political satirist Andrew Doyle (aka, Titania McGrath) as they explore the sovereignty of truth, the metaphysical implications of satire, the role of humor in friendship, and why the asking of real questions is always a reason for hope.

Stephen Blackwood speaks with Freeman Dyson, the late mathematical-physicist and renowned free thinker. They begin with a discussion of education and of the formative experiences that inspired Dyson's intellectual curiosity and courage. The conversation then ranges from evolution to particle physics to consciousness as they discuss the free and non-reductive character of both thought and nature. Along the way, Dyson shares many stories from his long and adventuresome life; this interview was one of his last. One can only be astounded by the depth and breadth and fearlessness of his intellect and the power of his insight and example. Requiescat in pace.

In this complementary episode to the reading of 'The Death of Ivan Ilyich,' Stephen Blackwood speaks with Dr Donna Orwin, professor of Russian literature at the University of Toronto. Dr Orwin provides context for Tolstoy and his world, and the two discuss the style, structure, and unfolding layers of meaning within this masterpiece novella.

In this first episode of a new series, Stephen Blackwood reads Leo Tolstoy's classic novella, 'The Death of Ivan Ilyich.' A masterful text from one of history's great writers, it tells the story of a man whose fatal illness forces him to confront the shallow assumptions of his life and the slowly encroaching, inevitable reality of death. 'Ivan Ilyich' is a timeless meditation on the fundamental content of life: finding purpose, loving others, and understanding our finitude. The translation Dr Blackwood is reading from—easily found online, if you'd like to follow along—is by Louise and Aylmer Maude.

How does one cultivate creativity and independence of mind? Stephen Blackwood talks to physicist and entrepreneur Stephen Wolfram about his precocious and largely self-educated early life and his ascent to become a world-class scientist, an innovator in computational theory, and the founder of a global company. They discuss how to pursue and develop one's gifts, how to think against the grain, and how to approach life with a sense of its unbounded possibility.

Stephen Blackwood talks with Cal Newport, writer and professor of computer science. They begin by reflecting on the historically unparalleled challenges and distractions of the digital age. They then discuss strategies to reclaim our mental autonomy, the generative power of non-instrumental thinking, and the fundamental dynamic of thought and life.