The New Thinkery

This week, the guys are joined once again by Dr. Eric Adler, Professor and Chair of Classics at the University of Maryland. The group discuss most of the contents of Germania from the traits of the people and land, to their practices, culminating in Tacitus' thoughts on their value to the Romans. Plus: Dr. Adler ties in one of Tacitus' other works, the Annals, into the discussion. 

This week, the guys are joined by Dr. Thomas Cleveland, Director of Academic Programs at the Jack Miller Center. The group discuss what it means to understand, to know, and to gain wisdom. They then discuss what people may do in search of knowledge, and the distinction between wisdom and knowledge.

This week, the guys return to Ancient Greece as they gather to discuss Socrates' personal life as a family man. They analyze whether philosophers can even have families, whether Socrates' family was serious or ironic, whether his intellectual or biological progeny are his real family, and more. Plus: a special announcement from Greg!

This week, the guys are joined by David's colleague and friend, Spencer Klavan. Together, the group discuss the overarchiing themes, influence, and historical context of Euripides' The Bacchae. Plus: an analysis of uniquely feminine power. 

This week, the guys take a look at the introductory section of Allan Bloom's The Closing of the American Mind. In their analysis, the guys cover the significance of Bloom's writings in the context of American political thought as well as the merits of his argument in his introduction.

This week, the guys are joined for a second time by Dr. Justin Gottschalk to talk about the prologue to Nietzsche's Thus Spoke Zarathustra. The group analyze the history, themes, value, and modern interpretations of what is arguably Nietzsche's hardest to grasp text.

Returning to the Ancients this week, the guys are here to discuss Xenophon's Hunting with Dogs. Using an edition put together by Michael Ehrmantraut and The New Thinkery's own Greg McBrayer, the guys dive into the text, analyzing the underlying themes of the work, as well as some hidden intentions put in by Xenophon that have confused scholars for quite some time. 

This week, the guys return to Leo Strauss' crucially important book, Natural Right and History. A discussion of the history of the work moves naturally to an analysis of the themes of chapter one, how thoroughly it expands on the concept of historicism before ripping into it, as well as some contextualization of the chapter when compared to other thinkers of Strauss' time. Plus: a brief note for your feedback.

This week, the guys take another trip down to the silver screen to analyze Jean Renoir's 1937 movie, The Grand Illusion. Hidden underneath the POW escape plot of the movie are deep and serious themes about the role of what was at the time Europe's dying aristocracy, among others. The guys break it all down.

With the gang back together this week, the guys jump into a short essay on a punchy topic, the problem of freedom, using Jacob Klein's essay by the same name as a starting point. They discuss the framing of freedom, its types, and to what extent freedom itself is a good or bad thing. Plus: an announcement toward the end of the show!