The Optimistic Curmudgeon

Josh interview Dr. Tracy Gardner about her work in psychometrics, its application to national testing design, and the science of reading. Dr. Gardner has worked for the @ClassicLearningTest , @Pearson , and is now the...

Mandi Gerth draws from her book Thoroughness and Charm: Cultivating the Habits of the Classical Classroom to explain what teaching is, how teachers can draw on the wisdom of Machiavelli to understand their authority and...

Dr. Brad Birzer of Hillsdale College analyzes the Stranger Things series finale. Birzer argues that Stranger Things is a mythology of the 1980s, and he thinks the finale episode wraps up the series well. The younger...

Annie Crawford and Ashley Lande join Josh Herring for a discussion of psychedelics, their stories, and what people actually long for when they turn to ecstatic experiences. The conversation begins with definitions...

Josh Bowman, Executive Director of the Ciceronian Society, explains the nature of the Ciceronian Society, and reflects on why the church needs Christian academics. He also reflects on why Christian academics need the...

Chase Spears, host of Finding Your Spine, joins Josh to discuss his essay "Only a Conservative Military can Defend America." They discuss Secretary of War Pete Hegseth, the role of the military, what it would take to...

Graham Dennis is a Dean of Academics for Veritas Academy and an elder in the CREC; he also holds a PhD in philosophy. In this wide ranging conversation, he introduces a particular way of reading culture through the lens...

Nathan Gwinn of Freedom of Education tells his story as a teacher, a principal, and an author of the Franklin Standards, a new approach to reinvigorating science education. The way we teach science matters. In avoiding...

Frank Clement of America's Christian Credit Union joins Josh for a discussion of classical education, Christian banking, and the role that financial institutions can play helping new organizations begin. Check out their...

Martin Cothran, co-founder of @memoriapress , discusses his entry into classical education, the challenges facing classical education today, and the reason he and Cheryl Lowe founded Memoria Press. Cothran is the author...

Junius Johnson discusses Edmund Spenser's great poem, The Faerie Queene. With a great focus on allegory, symbolism, pageantry, and characters, this conversation is a great place to start if you want to get into Spenser...

Josh interviews his students in Modern Communications as part of a bonus episode commemorating the Fifth of November. Guy Fawkes, traditions, integralism, constitutional order, "Jeeniors," and more. What happens when...

Thaddeus Kozinski makes a compelling case for why every student should read Plato's Republic with an excellent teacher. Plato discourses on justice, reality, the human condition, and highlights the possibilities...

Timothy Knotts of @Classical_Conversations explains the latest CC textbook: Reasoning Together Philosophy. He outlines the nature, tradition, and value of philosophy, highlighting the need for homeschool families to be...

Larissa Phillips, columnist at @thefreepress , shares her journey into and out of feminism. Raised in a radical Leftist family, Larissa experienced first hand the limitations of her own physiology. Over the course of...