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Description

In this episode, Derek Rishmawy, Alastair Roberts, and Brad East are joined by political theorist Jason Blakely to explore the life, work, and legacy of Alasdair MacIntyre. Best known for After Virtue, MacIntyre diagnosed the deep moral confusion of modernity and called for a return to virtue, tradition, and narrative. The conversation traces his journey from Marxism to Thomism, unpacks his critique of Enlightenment liberalism, and considers how his thought challenges both the postliberal right and progressive deconstruction. Along the way, the hosts reflect on what it means to form moral communities in a world of fragmented ethics.

Chapters:

00:00 Beyond Mere Technocratic Pragmatism
02:01 Life, Work, and Legacy of Alisdair MacIntyre
07:00 After Virtue
09:53 Nuking the Enlightenment
14:20 Practice vs. Theory
16:55 In the Aristotelian Weeds
19:47 Objectivity
24:26 Where Is Sin?
28:44 Public Religion
32:51 Narrate Like the Wind!
37:50 The Religious Option
39:25 Competing Narratives
44:45 Post-Liberalism and the Benedict Option
51:03 How to Get Started