Guests on Volume 110: Kevin Belmonte, on how G. K. Chesterton embraced a "defiant joy" in spite of the cynical pessimism of many of his contemporaries; David Lyle Jeffrey & Gregory Maillet, on why Christians cannot afford to regard literature as a mere entertaining diversion; Mark Noll, on what motivates anti-intellectualism among Christians and why it is a theologically indefensible prejudice; Alan Jacobs, on W. H. Auden's understanding of the vocation of "poet" and on the spiritual and historical background to Auden's 1947 book-length poem, The Age of Anxiety; and Jonathan Chaplin, on the outlines and sources of the social and political thought of Herman Dooyeweerd and on his understanding of the relationship between theology and Christian philosophy.
Guests on Volume 111: Siva Vaidhyanathan, on why trusting Google to organize the world's knowledge is an odd (and dangerous) thing to do; John Fea, on the history of the idea of America as a Christian nation and on how the Founders were—as statesmen—less interested in the truth of religion than in its political utility; Ross Douthat, on how commitment to historical Christian orthodoxy has eroded among American religious institutions since the 1960s; Ian Ker, on why G. K. Chesterton deserves wider recognition as a significant literary critic; Larry Woiwode, on how his decision to become a writer grew out of a desire to make connections with other people; and Dana Gioia, on the remarkable life of poet John Donne and how his spiritual and intellectual struggles created the conditions for his unique poetic voice.
Guests on Volume 112: Christian Smith, on why "emerging adults" feel compelled to keep all their options open, in life and in thought; David Schindler, on how modern liberalism fails to acknowledge the reality of God's love in the order of Creation; Sara Anson Vaux, on the moral vision of director Clint Eastwood; Melvyn Bragg, on the origins and profound cultural influence of the King James Bible; Timothy Larsen, on how Victorians were united in their preoccupation with the Bible, whether or not they believed in God; and Ralph C. Wood, on the sacramental vision of G. K. Chesterton, and on the enigmatic message of The Man Who Was Thursday.
Guests on Volume 113: Steven Shapin, on whether or not there is a single thing called "science," and whether scientists are united by a single "scientific method"; Arthur Boers, on why the ways in which technologies shape our lives should be recognized as spiritual and pastoral challenges; Christine Pohl, on why a deliberate commitment to certain shared practices is necessary for the sustaining of community; Norman Wirzba, on how attentiveness to our eating and our care of the land are central aspects of culture and of godly faith; Craig Bartholomew, on carelessness concerning embodied experience and our "crisis of place"; and David I. Smith, on how the forms of pedagogical practices ought to be crafted to correspond to the content of teaching.
Guests on Volume 114: Susan Cain, on how the 20th-century displacement of character by "personality" encouraged Americans to sell themselves (and marginalized introverts); Brad S. Gregory, on the danger of assuming that previous epochs of history have no lasting influence, and how unintended consequences of the Reformation shrunk Christian cultural influence; David Sehat, on why the story of religious liberty in America is more complicated than is often acknowledged; Augustine Thompson, O.P., on the myths and realities of St. Francis of Assisi; Gerald R. McDermott, on how love and beauty are more fundamental in the thought of Jonathan Edwards than the image of an angry God; and Marilyn Chandler McEntyre, on lessons inThe Scarlet Letter about wise ways of reading complex texts.
