Afleveringen
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Tevi Troy, a senior fellow at the Ronald Reagan Institute, talks to Chris about his books The Power and the Money: The Epic Clashes Between Commanders in Chief and Titans of Industry (Regnery History, 2024) and What Jefferson Read, Ike Watched, Obama Tweeted: 200 Years of Popular Culture in the White House (Regnery History, 2013). Tevi explains how different titans of the entertainment industryâthe Warner brothers, Lew Wasserman, and Oprah Winfreyâdeveloped and used relationships with such presidents as FDR, Reagan, and Obama. He also considers the different ways Joe Biden and Donald Trump have engaged with popular culture to develop their images and connect with voters. Plus, how did Tevi go from earning a PhD in American Civilization to working in the White House to becoming a presidential historian?
Show Notes:
Teviâs newest book, The Power and the Money: The Epic Clashes Between Commanders in Chief and Titans of IndustryMore from Tevi about presidents and pop culture (C-SPAN)Follow Tevi on TwitterX: @TeviTroyICYMI: Chrisâs conversation with Jonah Goldberg on The RemnantChrisâs upcoming book, 13 Novels Conservatives Will Love (but Probably Havenât Read)This episode is brought to you by Root & Branch Sheets: the only bedsheets designed specifically for unwanted guests!
Opening and closing music: Brendan Benson, âSpit It Out,â used with permission from the artist. -
Megan Gafford joins Chris to discuss some of her recent writing about the fate of architecture in the 20th century. Art Deco was a beautiful, ornamental style that thrived in the United States in the 1920s and â30s. What happened to itâwhy did modernism displace it and what did we lose in the process? Plus, why do manifestos and fanaticism spoil art? Megan and Chris also discuss the architectural writings of Tom Wolfe, the new film The Brutalist, and why beauty matters in even the bleakest times.
Show Notes:
· Meganâs Substack, Fashionably Late Takesâdonât miss ââAmerica Was Supposed to be Art Decoâ: When America abandoned beauty.â
· Tom Wolfe, âThe Building That Isnât Thereâ Part 1 & Part 2 (New York Times)
· Follow Megan on TwitterX: @megan_gafford This episode is brought to you by the Gaza Largo Clubâthe Crown Jewel of Palestine!
Opening and closing music: Brendan Benson, âSpit It Out,â used with permission from the artist. -
Zijn er afleveringen die ontbreken?
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Novelist Aaron Gwyn joins the show to discuss the fiction of Cormac McCarthy. Why is McCarthyâs Blood Meridian a great American novel? What does Gwyn make of recent revelations about McCarthyâs personal life? Plus, Gwyn reads from and discusses his compelling new novella, The Cannibal Owl. What is the history, and what are the Comanche traditions, behind the work? Gwyn, who teaches creative writing and contemporary literature at the University of North Carolina at Charlotte, also discusses how students have changed over the past twenty years, the most important advice he gives young writers, and his favorite Van Halen album.
This episode is brought to you by the Gaza Largo Clubâthe Crown Jewel of Palestine!
Show Notes:
· âWhat Is the Best Work of American Fiction of the Last 25 Years?â (New York Times)
· Aaron Gwynâs course lectures on McCarthyâs Blood Meridian
· Harold Bloom talks to Brian Lamb about Blood Meridian (C-SPAN)
· B.R. Myers on Cormac McCarthyâs âandelopesâ
· âCormac McCarthyâs Secret Muse Breaks Her Silence After Half a Century: âI Loved Him. He Was My Safety.ââ (Vanity Fair)
· Aaron Gwynâs novella, The Cannibal Owl (Belle Point Press)
· Method & Madness Podcast with Aaron Gwyn and Brad Kelly
· Follow Aaron on TwitterX: @AmericanGwyn
Opening and closing music: Brendan Benson, âSpit It Out,â used with permission from the artist. -
Daniel Asia, a composer, author, and president of The Center for American Culture & Ideas, joins Chris to discuss his musical career (including his new opera), advise newbies on where they can start enjoying classical music (his answer will surprise you), and consider the place of high art in the United States. Is there a tension between democracy and excellence? Is there anything the new administration should do to boost our engagement with opera, classical, music, and the performing arts? From Tocqueville to Hermanâs Hermits, Mozart to the space aliens, this episode has it all.
Show Notes:Daniel Asiaâs compositions on Spotify and Amazon. His upcoming opera (in English!) is The Tin Angel Opera.Special thanks to our sponsor, Henniganâs Scotch Whisky. Opening and closing music: Brendan Benson, âSpit It Out,â used with permission from the artist. -
Author Ward Farnsworth joins Chris to discuss his Classical English series, as well as his books on Stoicism and the Socratic Method. Whatâand howâcan we learn from the style, rhetoric, and argument of great writers from the long 19th century? How are the ancient Stoics comparable to modern cognitive psychologists? And how can the Socratic method be an antidote for stupidity? Plus, Chris explains his fatherâs theory of the Shakespeare Principle.
Ward Farnsworth is professor and W. Page Keeton Chair at the University of Texas Law School. Heâs the author the Farnsworth Classical English series, which comprises Farnsworthâs Classical Rhetoric, Classical English Metaphor, Classical English Style, and most recently, Classical English Argument. He is also the author of The Socratic Method and The Practicing Stoic.
Show Notes:
Wardâs author page on Amazon.
Chrisâs review of Wardâs most recent book, Classical English Argument.
Special thanks to our sponsor, Eckleburg Optometry: from West Egg to West Hollywood, the giant eyes of Doctor T. J. Eckleburg keep their vigil.
Opening and closing music: Brendan Benson, âSpit It Out,â used with permission from the artist. -
Chrisâs guest is the poet and fiction writer Sally Thomas, who shares a few of her poems and discusses some of her stories. Sally and Chris also talk about her development as a writer, why she enjoys writing formal poetry, and what she does when her short-story characters wonât leave her alone.
Sally is the author of The Blackbird and Other Stories (Wiseblood, 2024) and the forthcoming poetry collection Among the Living (Able Muse Press, TBA). She also co-edits the Poems Ancient and Modern Substack and co-edited Christian Poetry in America Since 1940 (Paraclete Press, 2022).
Show Notes
Here are the poems Sally read during the conversation:
âAubade with GrackleââRemembranceââEmpty Nest GhazalâAnd hereâs one of the stories she discussed with Chris: âA Fire in the Hills.â
Special thanks to our sponsor, Bleezerâs Ice Cream.
Opening and closing music: Brendan Benson, âSpit It Out,â used with permission from the artist. -
New York Times columnist Ross Douthat joins Chris to discuss his serialized fantasy novel, The Falconâs Children. What inspired one of Americaâs most important political observers to write a work of fantasy, and to serialize it on Substack? What are his hopes for the project? And why is fantasy such a compelling literary genre?
Show Notes
Rossâs novel, The Falconâs Children
Ross on Game of Thrones and J.R.R. Tolkien
Rossâs fantasy bookshelf
Patricia Snow on Hilary Mantel
Correction: Bret Easton Ellis did not publish his most recent novel (The Shards) on Substack; it was first serialized as an audiobook. Chris was thinking of Chuck Palahnuikâs latest novel, Shock Induction, which is based on a work he published serially on Substack.
Thanks to our sponsor, Brandybuckâs Tobacco.
Opening and closing music: âSpit It Outâ by Brendan Benson, used with permission from the artist. -
Chris talks to philosophy professor and competitive trail, road, and ultramarathon runner Sabrina B. Little about virtue ethics, athletics, and her book The Examined Run: Why Good People Make Better Runners. How can distance runningâand sports in generalâform us into virtuous people? Conversely, what vices can they shape? What does it mean to live the good life? And whatâs so bad about âno pain, no gain,â anyway? Thanks to Pre-Pro Guardians for sponsoring this episode.
· Sabrinaâs book, The Examined Run: Why Good People Make Better Runners
· That awful Nike ad.
· Chrisâs recent essay about how the classical virtue of prudence plays out in a classic novel, Walter Scottâs Redgauntlet.
Opening and closing music: Brendan Benson, âSpit It Out,â used with permission from the artist. -
Chris speaks to Keith OâBrien about the life and legacy of Pete Rose. OâBrien is the author of Charlie Hustle: The Rise and Fall of Pete Rose, and the Last Glory Days of Baseball (Pantheon, 2024). Keith interviewed Rose for his remarkable book and has insights about the legend you wonât hear from anyone else. At the top of the episode, Chris shares his memories of Pete Rose, who died on September 30. Then Keith joins to tell us about how Rose, um, rose to fame, what he accomplished on the field, how he descended into the gambling addiction that ruined him. And of course, Keith and Chris discuss that perennial question: does Rose belong in the Hall of Fame? (Chris shared his opinion in the Wall Street Journal.)
Thanks to this episodeâs sponsor: The all-new BrokeBros gambling gaming app, the latest way to make baseball more exciting! With BrokeBros, youâre never far away from making a reckless financial decision!
Opening and closing music: Brendan Benson, âSpit It Out,â used with permission from the artist. -
The sketch comedy show Saturday Night Live is about to embark on its 50th season. How has the show lasted so long? How has it reflected and shaped our culture? Who are its best cast members, what are its funniest sketches, and who or whatâs been over- or underrated? Find out during Chrisâs conversation with Scot Bertram and Christian Schneider, the co-hosts of âWasnât That Special: 50 Years of Saturday Night Live,â a podcast dedicated to the showâs history.
Show notes:
Saturday Night Live, âMore Cowbellâ
Chris Farley as Matt Foley (which Chris should have told Scot is a close challenger to âmore cowbell.â)
Christian Schneider, âSaturday Night Live Will Tell You the Futureâ (National Review)
Wasnât That Specialâs interview with former SNL cast member Victoria Jackson
Opening and closing music: âSpit It Outâ by Brendan Benson, used with permission from the artist. -
Father Damian Ference, a Catholic priest of the Diocese of Cleveland, joins Chris to discuss his new book, Understanding the Hillbilly Thomist: The Philosophical Foundations of Flannery OâConnorâs Narrative Art.
What did the great American novelist and short-story writer mean when she called herself a âhillbilly Thomistââhow did the thirteenth-century Catholic philosopher shape her art?
Father Damian and Chris also discuss a compelling new movie about Flannery OâConnor, as well as a recent letter from Pope Francis about the moral value of reading literature.
Understanding the Hillbilly Thomist | Fr. Damian Ference | Word on Fire
Flannery for the Faithful and the Unfamiliar | Chris Scalia | Washington Free Beacon
Capturing a Misfit: A Review of âWildcatâ | Fr. Damian Ference | Word on Fire
The Presence of Grace and Other Book Reviews by Flannery O'Connor | University of Georgia Press
Letter of His Holiness Pope Francis on the Role of Literature in Formation
Pope Francis's Apologia for Literature | Chris Scalia | National Review Online
Opening and closing music: âSpit It Outâ by Brendan Benson, used with permission from the artist. -
Chris talks to AEI Senior Fellow and Commentary columnist Christine Rosen about her new book, The Extinction of Experience: Being Human in a Disembodied World.
How have new technologies shaped our interactions with each other and the physical world? Have they changed our understanding of what it means to be human? Plus, Christine talks about her favorite science fiction.
Links
Keats: âOde on Indolenceâ
Drew Gilpin Faust: âGen Z Never Learned to Read Cursiveâ (The Atlantic)
Commentary podcast: âOur Favorite Science Fictionâ
Ray Bradburyâs fiction (Library of America)
Sunny on Apple TV+
Thanks to our sponsors: X-Caps xtosterone supplements and SeeChange from Circle Tech.Opening and closing music: âSpit It Outâ by Brendan Benson, used with permission from the artist.
