Shows
The Ancient City, by Fustel de CoulangesBook 5 Chapter 3: Christianity Changes the Conditions of GovernmentThe rise of Christianity completed the destruction of the social order based on the ancient religion of ancestor worship.In this final chapter of the book, Fustel catalogs the changes in politics, in worship, in law, and in self-understanding that the new religion produced.---Based on: https://youtu.be/cEx0tT0jHb4
2025-12-2221 min
The Ancient City, by Fustel de CoulangesBook 5 Chapter 2: The Roman ConquestIn this long chapter Fustel tells the stages of Rome's conquest of the ancient cities.In every city they conquered, the Romans destroyed whatever remained of the municipal system connected to the old religion.---Based on: https://youtu.be/4YQKkJTnNPM https://youtu.be/U6IMsJWKbI8 https://youtu.be/mKlhPB8S7BQ https://youtu.be/s-sRs_720QI
2025-12-191h 13
The Ancient City, by Fustel de CoulangesBook 5 Chapter 1: New Beliefs. Philosophy Changes the Principles and Rules of Politics.Book 5, The Municipal Regime Disappears, begins with this chapter on the role philosophy played in social change.With Anaxagoras and others came new ideas of divinity, and new principles and rules for political life.---Based on: https://youtu.be/78LOM37iv0s
2025-12-1726 min
The Ancient City, by Fustel de CoulangesBook 4 Chapter 13: Revolutions of SpartaBook 4 ends with Fustel's account of the path Sparta took through oligarchy and democracy.In all of Greece, Sparta was the city most torn by revolutions.---Based on: https://youtu.be/lYR1_CsZpjM
2025-12-1521 min
The Ancient City, by Fustel de CoulangesBook 4 Chapter 12: Rich and Poor. The Democracy Falls. Popular Tyrants.Democracy and equality made the gap between wealth and poverty more noticeable, without redressing it.The conflict between rich and poor ended in the seizure of property by popular tyrants.---Based on: https://youtu.be/X71ZKp9eGuk
2025-12-1222 min
The Ancient City, by Fustel de CoulangesBook 4 Chapter 11: Rules of Democratic Government. Examples of Athenian Democracy.In this chapter Fustel examines steps the new Athenian democracy took to protect against innovations in the law.Democracy was a very demanding and time consuming practice as well. ---Based on: https://youtu.be/1Vp1ieC6hJ8
2025-12-1019 min
The Ancient City, by Fustel de CoulangesBook 4 Chapter 10: An Aristocracy of Wealth Attempts to Establish Itself. Establishment of Democracy. Fourth Revolution.An interim stage between the old order and democracy, Fustel says, was the attempt by the wealthy class to rule the cities.Weakened by war, this new aristocracy fell to the fourth revolution and democracy.---Based on: https://youtu.be/wIqCDqOnZ_Y
2025-12-0818 min
The Ancient City, by Fustel de CoulangesBook 4 Chapter 9: The New Principle of Government. The Public Interest and the Suffrage.Fustel relates the social reconstruction that followed the overthrow of the old religion and its laws.Religious sanction for authority was replaced by the new principle of the public interest, and the end of government changed from performing of religious duties to securing peace and order.---Based on: https://youtu.be/dw2UIbFxkzY
2025-12-0515 min
The Ancient City, by Fustel de CoulangesBook 4 Chapter 8: Changes in Private Law. The Code of the Twelve Tables. The Code of Solon.The plebians' victory over the old religion led to changes in the definition of law itself.Law went from being a religious institution, revealed and commanded by the gods, to a human institution, serving human ends.---Based on: https://youtu.be/aTZbHoc6fBE
2025-12-0327 min
The Ancient City, by Fustel de CoulangesBook 4 Chapter 7: Third Revolution. The Plebs Enter the City.This chapter about the third wave of revolutions is by far the longest chapter in the book. Fustel first tells the general history of this drive for civic recognition, and then the specific histories of Athens and of Rome.---Based on: https://youtu.be/kW1rECKL7SQhttps://youtu.be/EXPWjg8w11U https://youtu.be/kNwsLiFj0Ks
2025-12-011h 38
The Ancient City, by Fustel de CoulangesBook 4 Chapter 6: The Clients Become FreeIn this chapter, Fustel describes the process that led to freedom for the client classes at Athens and at Rome.When the masters ceased to see their authority as just, he says, they defended it badly, or ended by renouncing it.---Based on: https://youtu.be/9xE8I2yLYGs
2025-11-2838 min
The Ancient City, by Fustel de CoulangesBook 4 Chapter 5: Second Revolution. Changes in the Constitution of the Family. The Right of Primogeniture Disappears. The Gens is Dismembered.Aristocrats worked a political revolution in order to prevent a social revolution, Fustel tells us.But aristocratic rule was undermined by the gradual decline of the family. ---Based on: https://youtu.be/IpA-dVFO50A
2025-11-2612 min
The Ancient City, by Fustel de CoulangesBook 4 Chapter 4: The Aristocracy Governs the CitiesPolitical royalty was suppressed while religious royalty continued. Family chiefs ruled, drawing their power and legitimacy from the same religious source.---Based on: https://youtu.be/rQYQQyBTg9g
2025-11-2412 min
The Ancient City, by Fustel de CoulangesBook 4 Chapter 3: First RevolutionIn the first wave of revolutions in ancient cities, aristocrats gradually limited and replaced their kings. Fustel walks us through this process at Sparta, Athens, and Rome.---Based on: https://youtu.be/kE0Zne3vQIU
2025-11-2132 min
The Ancient City, by Fustel de CoulangesBook 4 Chapter 2: The PlebiansIn this chapter, Fustel begins to describe another inferior class that helped to advance the revolutions that eventually overturned this social and religious order of the ancient cities, the plebians.What characterizes plebeians especially is that they are completely outside of the civic and domestic religion, this religion of ancestor worship at the sacred fire.---Based on: https://youtu.be/acvrH4NM9PA
2025-11-1914 min
The Ancient City, by Fustel de CoulangesBook 4 Chapter 1: Patricians and ClientsHaving described the ancient religion and how it structured family and political life, Fustel turns in Book 4 to describing the revolutions that over a period of centuries overturned and destroyed this civic order.In this first chapter, he notes the two causes of revolution: the natural progression of ideas, and the emergence of a social group who were hostile to the existing social order, the clients.---Based on: https://youtu.be/gtzx6dc5eEY
2025-11-1715 min
The Ancient City, by Fustel de CoulangesBook 3 Chapter 17: The Omnipotence of the State. The Ancients Knew Nothing of Individual Liberty.Individual liberty was unknown in the ancient cities. The religious roots of the state gave it absolute authority over all areas of life.---Based on: https://youtu.be/9SgQR6dBURs
2025-11-1410 min
The Ancient City, by Fustel de CoulangesBook 3 Chapter 16: The Roman. The Athenian.Fustel walks us through the daily religious life of a Roman and of an Athenian. Both lived lives permeated by religious ceremony and duty at every moment.---Based on: https://youtu.be/y0AMSKcyC_w
2025-11-1223 min
The Ancient City, by Fustel de CoulangesBook 3 Chapter 15: Relations Between the Cities. War. Peace. The Alliance of the Gods.The ancient religion meant that war between cities was always religious war, war between the gods.And so peace treaties were religious ceremonies as well.---Based on: https://youtu.be/Q0bGveGsc5w
2025-11-1015 min
The Ancient City, by Fustel de CoulangesBook 3 Chapter 14: The Municipal SpiritReligion separated cities absolutely, and made a union of cities not merely difficult but impossible.Conquered cities might face enslavement or extermination, but never annexation.---Based on: https://youtu.be/WNOX11ngxA4
2025-11-0711 min
The Ancient City, by Fustel de CoulangesBook 3 Chapter 13: Patriotism. Exile.The ancient man's country was his sacred fatherland, Fustel tells us, and so his patriotism reflected his total devotion to his religion. Exile was the interdiction of worship, and involved far greater loss than just physical exclusion.---Based on: https://youtu.be/8buzXg-y9Z4
2025-11-0508 min
The Ancient City, by Fustel de CoulangesBook 3 Chapter 12: The Citizen and the StrangerCitizenship was defined by participation in the religion of the city. All political and civil rights followed from this religious practice, and those outside the religion could not claim its rights.---Based on: https://youtu.be/oMxM5bREmos
2025-11-0310 min
The Ancient City, by Fustel de CoulangesBook 3 Chapter 11: The LawFor the ancients, Fustel says, the institution of law was part of religion, and of divine origin.Thus, law was sacred and immutable, and governed relations only between co-religionists.---Based on: https://youtu.be/RP-UgVVniPY
2025-10-3119 min
The Ancient City, by Fustel de CoulangesBook 3 Chapter 10: The MagistracyThe union of political authority and religious priesthood was reflected in the office of magistrate as well.Recounting this institution's history, Fustel warns us not to suspect insincerity or manipulation on the part of the aristocrats.---Based on: https://youtu.be/wlULQbE3FIQ
2025-10-2913 min
The Ancient City, by Fustel de CoulangesBook 3 Chapter 9: Government of the City. The King.Ancient political authority flowed from religion, not material force. The king's power and authority came from his sacred role as high priest. ---Based on: https://youtu.be/pFSmWZnlfMw
2025-10-2716 min
The Ancient City, by Fustel de CoulangesBook 3 Chapter 8: The Rituals and the AnnalsFustel contrasts ancient with modern religion: the former was about ritual, not doctrine.It was secretive and fearful.---Based on: https://youtu.be/-AcMLqaSF6I
2025-10-2416 min
The Ancient City, by Fustel de CoulangesBook 3 Chapter 7: The Religion of the CityIn this long chapter, Fustel catalogs the roles religion played in the institutions of the ancient city in its prime.These include the sharing of meals prepared on the altar, the festivals and calendar, the census, and the military.---Based on: https://youtu.be/ZgwkGNLlby0https://youtu.be/-D8qdPAKMAE https://youtu.be/NgCMOvR1n50 https://youtu.be/lN-ti_HfSyI
2025-10-2227 min
The Ancient City, by Fustel de CoulangesBook 3 Chapter 6: The Gods of the CityEach city was held together by common worship of its particular gods.Different cities worshipped their unique gods under the same names: thus there were many Athenas, many Jupiters, et cetera.---Based on: https://youtu.be/XgKCJJeP4fc
2025-10-2021 min
The Ancient City, by Fustel de CoulangesBook 3 Chapter 5: Worship of the Founder. The Legend of Aeneas.Each city worshipped its founder as the man who had called down the gods to dwell in the new city.The dominant virtue of a founder, says Fustel, is piety. ---Based on: https://youtu.be/aiWiU0Qi9uw
2025-10-1710 min
The Ancient City, by Fustel de CoulangesBook 3 Chapter 4: The CityAncient cities were very unlike ours.A city was not built up in stages, but founded all at once in a solemn religious ritual.---Based on: https://youtu.be/MQdkIaLTEw8
2025-10-1521 min
The Ancient City, by Fustel de CoulangesBook 3 Chapter 3: The City is FormedAn ancient city was not an association of individuals, writes Fustel. It was a confederation of several pre-established societies, which continued to exist in the city.---Based on: https://youtu.be/b8E4p7a7dPw
2025-10-1318 min
The Ancient City, by Fustel de CoulangesBook 3 Chapter 2: New Religious BeliefsIn this chapter Fustel describes the twofold nature of ancient religious sentiment.Some gods were drawn from human intelligence and experience of the soul, and other gods were identified in external objects and physical forces in nature.---Based on: https://youtu.be/jeDpijYOdUI
2025-10-1016 min
The Ancient City, by Fustel de CoulangesBook 3 Chapter 1: The Phratry and the Cury. The Tribe.Book 3, The City, begins by tracing the expansion of religious ideas and rituals from the family level to larger social groups.The phratry, the cury, and the tribe each had their own altar, their own priests, and their own sacred meals.---Based on: https://youtu.be/dUbmzIR1DHk
2025-10-0808 min
The Ancient City, by Fustel de CoulangesBook 2 Chapter 10: The Gens at Rome and in GreeceIn this long final chapter of Book 2, Fustel addresses the historical problem of the gens, its character and foundation.The gens, he tells us, was not an association of families; it WAS the family. ---Based on: https://youtu.be/YydNy__d3U4
2025-10-0646 min
The Ancient City, by Fustel de CoulangesBook 2 Chapter 9: Morals of the Ancient FamilyThe ancient religion fortified man's moral sentiments and gave them greater authority. In this chapter, Fustel describes the religious roots of chastity, love of home, and other domestic virtues. ---Based on: https://youtu.be/3-V94JUlDS0
2025-10-0314 min
The Ancient City, by Fustel de CoulangesBook 2 Chapter 8: Authority in the FamilyIn this chapter Fustel describes the nature of the paternal power: the authority of the father and of religious law in the household.At first, all law was private and familial -- not arbitrary, but rather structured by and in support of the family's religious worship.---Based on: https://youtu.be/3Mat18OAgmA
2025-10-0123 min
The Ancient City, by Fustel de CoulangesBook 2 Chapter 7: The Right of SuccessionBecause worship of the ancestors must never end, property rights naturally led to religious laws of succession and inheritance. Fustel describes how property was entailed from father to eldest son, along with the priestly office.Based on: https://youtu.be/H9b-zbL-YQk
2025-09-2931 min
The Ancient City, by Fustel de CoulangesBook 2 Chapter 6: The Right of PropertyThe institution of private property was founded, not by labor or by common consent, but by religion. In this chapter Fustel details how the sacred nature of the hearth spread to include the house and the land, which resulted in familial property rights that were sacred and inviolable.---Based on: https://youtu.be/_Yp1glXSRjY
2025-09-2629 min
The Ancient City, by Fustel de CoulangesBook 2 Chapter 5: Kinship. What the Romans Called Agnation.Kinship in the ancient religion was governed by common worship, and so extended family relationships were traced through fathers and male cousins only. Recognition of relationship by birth, Fustel says, arose later and coexisted in tension with this system. ---Based on: https://youtu.be/LlVoHu-ELV0
2025-09-2408 min
The Ancient City, by Fustel de CoulangesBook 2 Chapter 4: Adoption and EmancipationIn this short chapter Fustel connects his picture of the ancient religion to the institutions of adoption and emancipation.Due to the family's religious character, certain rituals must be carefully performed to admit or expel a family member.---Based on: https://youtu.be/jeSFknIXgI8
2025-09-2206 min
The Ancient City, by Fustel de CoulangesBook 2 Chapter 3: The Continuity of the Family. Celibacy Forbidden. Divorce in the Case of Sterility. Inequality between the Son and the Daughter.Fustel describes various practices ensuring the continued existence of the family, and so the perpetuation of the sacred worship. Among these are celibacy, divorce, and the importance of sons.---Based on: https://youtu.be/9GJdUaKwHb8
2025-09-1913 min
The Ancient City, by Fustel de CoulangesBook 2 Chapter 2: Marriage Among the Greeks and RomansMarriage was one of the first institutions of the ancient religion. In this chapter Fustel reconstructs how women took part in the worship of their father's ancestors, and then in that of their husband's ancestors.---Based on: https://youtu.be/h9BMJqsRJeo
2025-09-1714 min
The Ancient City, by Fustel de CoulangesBook 2 Chapter 1: Religion Was the Constituent Principle of the Ancient FamilyFustel begins Book 2, The Family, by arguing that the domestic religion of ancestor worship and the sacred fire established the ancient family order. Families were made not by generation, nor by affection, nor by force, but by sharing in a common worship.---Based on: https://youtu.be/T2Lbi_4b-ZM
2025-09-1506 min
The Ancient City, by Fustel de CoulangesBook 1 Chapter 4: The Domestic ReligionBecause worship of particular ancestors was confined to their family alone, families were religiously independent of each other, and were firmly attached the soil where their dead ancestors lived.Worship was hereditary through the male line, from father to son, which made the priesthood of the father a defining feature of the ancient family. ---Based on: https://youtu.be/HtSZCRdQpFs
2025-09-1214 min
The Ancient City, by Fustel de CoulangesBook 1 Chapter 3: The Sacred FireFustel describes the practices surrounding the sacred hearth fire: its purity and its importance as a locus of worship, meals, thanksgiving, and pleas for help. He notes similar practices in India and Central Asia, and connects worship of the sacred fire with worship of the subterranean dead. ---Based on: https://youtu.be/2K0GY5mlV9k Music: Into Oblivion, by Darren CurtisThumbnail Image: Parthenon. Image by nonbirinonko from Pixabay, https://pixabay.com/photos/greece-parthenon-temple-ruins-1594689/
2025-09-1022 min
The Ancient City, by Fustel de CoulangesBook 1 Chapter 2: The Worship of the DeadThe souls of the dead became the first gods, whose happiness depended on regular offerings from the living. Fustel speculates that this ancestor worship was the European peoples' first inkling of the supernatural.---Based on: https://youtu.be/VJ2TDGG4ibY Music: Into Oblivion, by Darren CurtisThumbnail Image: Parthenon. Image by nonbirinonko from Pixabay, https://pixabay.com/photos/greece-parthenon-temple-ruins-1594689/
2025-09-0810 min
The Ancient City, by Fustel de CoulangesBook 1 Chapter 1: Notions About the Soul and DeathFustel begins by introducing the key doctrine of the ancient religion: that the souls of the dead continue to exist after death, and live under the ground. This belief helps explain the ancients' burial rites, and their intense fear of being denied a proper burial.---Based on: https://youtu.be/em7ruK_mCOc Music: Into Oblivion, by Darren CurtisThumbnail Image: Parthenon. Image by nonbirinonko from Pixabay, https://pixabay.com/photos/greece-parthenon-temple-ruins-1594689/
2025-09-0515 min
The Ancient City, by Fustel de CoulangesIntroduction: Necessity of Studying the Oldest Beliefs of the Ancients in Order to Understand Their InstitutionsIn his Introduction, Fustel describes the errors modern historians have made in studying ancient European peoples, and the harmful consequences of these mistakes. He will reconstruct the key religious beliefs of the ancients, from which all their familial and legal institutions follow. ---Based on: https://youtu.be/CT3oRQszbcY Music: Into Oblivion, by Darren CurtisThumbnail Image: Parthenon. Image by nonbirinonko from Pixabay, https://pixabay.com/photos/greece-parthenon-temple-ruins-1594689/
2025-09-0311 min
The Ancient City, by Fustel de CoulangesTitle Page & Introductory NoteThe title page reads The Ancient City: A Study on the Religion, Laws, and Institutions of Greece and Rome. By Numa Denis Fustel de Coulanges.There is an unsigned two page Introductory Note to the Anchor Doubleday edition.---Based on: https://youtu.be/CAY3yj6xXUU Music: Into Oblivion, by Darren CurtisThumbnail Image: Parthenon. Image by nonbirinonko from Pixabay, https://pixabay.com/photos/greece-parthenon-temple-ruins-1594689/
2025-09-0104 min
Life After PhilosophyEpisode 50: THE PODCASTER +17 Years MA in PhilosophyErika Ahern is a seasoned journalist, Managing Editor for Refine, CatholicVote's lifestyle newsletter, and co-host of the LOOPcast. Her writing has appeared in USA Today, Washington Examiner, and other publications. She is a contributing author and editor for CatholicVote’s 2024 book For God, Country, and Sanity: How Catholics Can Save America. She appears regularly as a guest on podcasts and talk radio. Erika holds degrees in philosophy from The Catholic University of America (BA 2003) and Emory University (MA 2008). She and her husband live outside of New Haven, Connecticut, with their seven children.Hosted by...
2025-08-1827 min
The Ancient City, by Fustel de CoulangesThe Ancient City Podcast (trailer)The Ancient City: A Study of the Religion Laws and Institutions of Greece and Rome by the French historian Fustel de Coulanges is a book a lot of people are talking about.In recent years scholars and public intellectuals have praised its insights and encouraged people to read it.The Ancient City Podcast contains every chapter of Fustel's book, with brief introductions.It's perfect for anyone who wants to read this important book but hasn't found time yet.Each episode will take you deeper into Fustel's reconstruction of the forgotten religion...
2025-08-1501 min
Life After PhilosophyEpisode 49: THE PHILOSOPHY PROFESSOR +3 Years MA in PhilosophyJoey Wolfensberger is a full time faculty member in the Humanities Department at Montgomery College, in Maryland.He graduated from Mount St. Mary’s University with a bachelor’s degree in 2020, with 4 majors: philosophy theology, sociology, and criminal justice. In 2022 he earned a MA in Philosophical Studies degree from the same institution.He has taught philosophy at Montgomery College, Mount St. Mary's, and University of Maryland - Baltimore County. Hosted by Christopher Anadale
2025-08-1137 min
Life After PhilosophyEpisode 48: THE BLACKSMITH +9 Years Philosophy MajorPatrick Gill is a blacksmith of 16 years' experience and an adjunct professor of philosophy at Mount St. Mary's University.He earned a bachelor's degree in philosophy from the Catholic University of America in 2016, a Master of Business Administration degree from Mount St. Mary's in 2019, and a Master of Theological Science degree from Franciscan University of Steubenville in 2025.Hosted by Christopher Anadale
2025-08-0428 min
Life After PhilosophyEpisode 47: THE SCIENTIST +8 Years MA in PhilosophyZachary Robinson is Chief Scientist at Rising Tide, a startup that automates and optimizes business operations for last-mile logistics companies. He has 12 years of experience in algorithm development, applied mathematics, applied magnetics, digital signal processing, data analysis, software development, and more. He is a 2017 graduate of Mount St. Mary’s University with a Master of Arts in Philosophical Studies degree. He has also earned bachelor’s degrees in mathematics and physics, and an MS in Applied and Computational Mathematics from Johns Hopkins University in 2014. Zachary is also a husband and the father of two children.
2025-07-2135 min
Life After PhilosophyEpisode 46: THE DEAN +23 Years Philosophy MajorR.J. Matava is Dean of the Notre Dame Graduate School of Christendom College and Associate Professor of Theology. He has taught at Christendom since 2010.He graduated in 2002 from Mount St. Mary's University. He then earned an MA in Theology from the Pontifical Faculty of the Immaculate Conception at the Dominican House of Studies in Washington DC, and a PhD in theology from the University of St. Andrews in Scotland. He was the Liddon Fellow in theology at Keble College, Oxford, and Postdoctoral Research fellow at the Center for Medieval Philosophy at Georgetown University.
2025-07-0754 min
Life After PhilosophyEpisode 45: THE SPEECHWRITER +3 Years Philosophy MajorHarry Scherer graduated from Mount St Mary's University in 2022 with a triple major in philosophy, politics, and economics (PPE), history and Latin. He later earned a Master of Arts in human rights at The Catholic University of America. Harry’s writing has been featured in The American Conservative, the Washington Examiner, The Lamp, Newsweek, The Federalist, and other publications. He currently serves as speechwriter in the Office of the Secretary at the U.S. Department of Agriculture.0:00 Introduction1:33 Speechwriter, Friends5:33 Philosophy Politics & Economics8:20 Intellectual Life No...
2025-06-3023 min
Life After PhilosophyEpisode 44: THE JOURNALIST +1 Year MA in PhilosophyEdgar Beltrán is Rome correspondent for The Pillar, a US based Catholic news site. He completed his bachelor’s degree in philosophy in 2020 at the Universidad Católica Cecilio Acosta in Maracaibo, Venezuela. He then earned a research master’s in philosophy of mind and science at Radboud University in the Netherlands, graduating in 2024 with a thesis on Aquinas and the philosophy of neuroscience.0:00 Introduction1:27 Tweet5:42 Apostolate of Truth12:49 Conclave19:00 Pope Leo23:38 What a Journalist Does29:05 Advice to StudentsHosted by Chr...
2025-06-2337 min
Life After PhilosophyEpisode 43: THE EXPATRIATE +11 Years Philosophy MajorEamonn Clark is an American doctoral student living in Rome, and a 2014 graduate of Mount St. Mary's University. 0:00 American in Rome3:00 Conclave5:22 Doctoral Studies8:11 Teaching Prospects10:19 Clericalism11:44 Hopes for Pope Leo XIV15:49 History of the Popes18:38 Fundraising for Third World Ministries21:11 Philosophy vs Theology27:08 NFP Project30:07 Advice to StudentsHosted by Christopher AnadaleLinks: https://x.com/EamonnClarkwww.christianrenaissancemovement.com www.profide.io/subscribe ...
2025-06-1633 min
Life After PhilosophyEpisode 42: THE WANDERER +2 Years Philosophy MajorEmma Smith has worked in a homeless shelter, in a public defender's office, and on a farm. She is a 2023 graduate of Mount St. Mary's University.0:00 Introduction2:55 Volunteer DC Ministry4:43 Murder11:12 Existentialism13:18 Leaving DC for the Farm20:42 Adulthood22:58 Advice to StudentsHosted by Christopher Anadale
2025-06-0927 min
Life After PhilosophyEpisode 41: THE VOCATION DIRECTOR +19 Years Philosophy MajorFr. Chad Arnold is Director of Seminarians for the Catholic diocese of Wichita, Kansas. He earned a B.A. in Philosophy from Conception Seminary College in 2006 and was ordained a priest in 2010. 0:00 Introduction3:42 House of Formation11:00 Propaedeutic Year15:53 Every priest a philosopher?18:12 Philosophy Among the Laity20:53 Catholic Philosophy of Life23:09 Advice to DiscernersHosted by Christopher AnadaleLinks: About Four O'Clock podcast: https://open.spotify.com/show/5VV0IquSkSAnxvXvTTayon?si=371b44e25f944de4 https://catholicdioceseofwichita.org...
2025-06-0226 min
Life After PhilosophyEpisode 40: THE ENTOMOLOGIST +1 Year Philosophy MajorMakala Harrison is a graduate student in entomology at the University of Maryland and a 2024 graduate of Mount St. Mary's University. 0:00 Introduction3:21 Daddy Longlegs Project8:45 Philosophy in Retrospect11:21 Closeted Philosophers16:57 Teaching21:50 Covert Instruction26:01 Pluralism vs Common Vision31:04 Advice to StudentsHosted by Christopher Anadale
2025-05-2635 min
Life After PhilosophyEpisode 39: THE DEEP STATE, LUXURY BELIEFS, CHAT GPT & MORE (Season 3 Clips)Clips from the 11 episodes of Season 3 of Life After Philosophy, Aug-Oct 2024.Season 4 premieres summer 2025.0:00 Deep State6:25 Luxury Beliefs9:35 Chat GPT12:26 Masculine Identity15:59 Moral Exemplars20:54 Latin26:15 Modern Philosophy32:43 Alan Rickman36:18 Enhanced Experience38:26 Justice41:27 AquinasHosted by Christopher Anadale
2025-05-0947 min
Life After PhilosophyEpisode 38: THE YOUTH FORMATOR +2 Years Philosophy MinorBrett Snow is...
0:00 Religious Education
5:10 Philosophy
9:19 Faith Formation
15:34 Young Adults
22:19 Advice for Students
Hosted by Christopher Anadale
Links:
2024-10-1424 min
Life After PhilosophyEpisode 37: THE PROSECUTOR +6 Years Philosophy MajorDaniel Scully is a prosecutor in the District Attorney's Office of Queens County, New York.
He is a 2018 graduate of Mount St. Mary's University with a philosophy major and earned his JD from Fordham University School of Law in 2023.
0:00 Path to Now
5:00 Intake Bureau
10:05 Justice System
12:36 Law School
15:59 Working in the System
21:10 Discerning
24:19 Philosophy in the Prosecutor's Office
26:35 Advice to Students
Hosted by Christopher Anadale
Links:
2024-10-0732 min
Life After PhilosophyEpisode 36: THE CANCER SURVIVOR +13 Years Core PhilosophyDavid McGinley (MSMU Class of 2011) is a husband, father, CPA, and cancer survivor. He is also the brother of Stephen McGinley, interviewed in Episode 18: THE FARMER. He took philosophy courses as part of the Mount St. Mary's Core Curriculum.
0:00 Introduction
1:13 Cancer Story
11:24 Full Time Sick
15:13 Philosophy Consolation
23:44 Enhanced Experience
25:46 Advice to Students
Hosted by Christopher Anadale
Links:
https://www.cancer.org/cancer/types/testicular-cancer/about.html
2024-09-3029 min
Life After PhilosophyEpisode 35: THE PHYSICIAN +20 Years MA in PhilosophyDr. Brian Tullius graduated from Franciscan University of Steubenville in 2003 with a BA double major in in philosophy and biology, and then completed an
MA in philosophy.
He earned an MD from University of Nebraska College of
Medicine in 2008 and did a pediatric internship at Naval Medical Center San Diego, but then was selected as a flight surgeon. He got his wings in Pensacola and then went to the fleet as a flight doctor for 5 years. He returned to civilian pediatric residency and graduated in 2017.
He then went to pediatric hematology oncology fellowship at Nationwide C...
2024-09-2329 min
Life After PhilosophyEpisode 34: THE MOTHER SUPERIOR +14 Years Philosophy MajorMother Asterone Dodeka Garry (MSMU Class of 2010) is a sister of the Servants of the Lord and the Virgin of Matará community (Servadoras), part of the religious family of the Institute of the Incarnate Word (IVE).
She is also the local superior of the Servadoras missionary community in Thurmont, Maryland, and a collaborator for the Cornelio Fabro Cultural Project.
Hosted by Christopher Anadale
0:00 Philosophy & Conversion
8:20 Catholic Attitudes to Modernity
16:00 Translating Fabro
20:40 Being a Superior
25:30 Ministry
28:50 Challenges of Religious Life
34:00 Advice to S...
2024-09-1641 min
Life After PhilosophyEpisode 33: THE LATINIST +18 Years Philosophy MajorFr. Dylan Schrader is a priest of the diocese of Jefferson City, Missouri.
Fr. Schrader completed his philosophy studies at Conception Seminary College in 2006. He was ordained in 2010, and completed a PhD in systematic theology at the Catholic University of America in 2019.
He is currently pastor of parishes in Westphalia and Folk,
Missouri, and teaches regularly for the Veterum Sapientia Institute.
Hosted by Christopher Anadale
0:00 Introduction
1:15 Theology & Parish Life
5:30 Pastor as Educator
8:15 Precise Use of Language
10:12 Latin
16:50 Authoritative Texts
21:18...
2024-09-0933 min
Life After PhilosophyEpisode 32: THE POSTDOCTORAL FELLOW* +14 Years MA in PhilosophyDr. Edward David is a (former) postdoctoral fellow at Oxford University, and now Lecturer in Ethics and Values in the Department for Theology and Religious Studies, King's College London, as well as Director of the Associateship of King's College.
He earned an MA in Philosophical Studies degree from Mount St. Mary's University in 2010.
0:00 Introduction
1:12 Update August 2024
6:57 Original June 2024
10:08 Being an Outsider
18:38 Research Project
30:27 Natural Law & Zagzebski
37:23 Advice for Students
Hosted by Christopher Anadale
Links:
https://www.linkedin...
2024-09-0243 min
Life After PhilosophyEpisode 31: THE MONK +15 Years Philosophy MajorFr. Etienne Huard OSB is a Benedictine monk of Conception Abbey in Conception, Missouri.
Fr. Etienne holds a BA in Philosophy (2009) from Conception Seminary College, as well as Master of Divinity, MA in Systematic Theology, and MS in Psychology degrees.
He teaches Scripture, Theology, and Psychology at
Conception, and is the director of seminary liturgy and director of propadeutic stage of seminary human formation.
0:00 Introduction
1:17 Seminary Formation
5:00 Growth in Virtue
12:25 Loneliness & Community
21:25 Living for Truth
24:14 Masculine Identity
29:15 Advice for Men Today
2024-08-2633 min
Life After PhilosophyEpisode 30: THE CHARTER SCHOOL TEACHER +15 Years Philosophy MajorJeff Childers is a social studies teacher at Four Corners Upper School in Davenport, Florida.
He graduated from Conception Seminary College in 2009 with a BA in Philosophy.
0:00 Four Corners Upper School
5:59 Community
7:53 Student Reactions to Philosophy
11:12 Influence on Students
15:50 Trust & Hope
18:29 Technology
21:57 Chat GPT
24:48 Value of High School Philosophy
29:27 Elevator Pitch
Hosted by Christopher Anadale
Links:
https://www.fourcornersupperschool.org/
https://www.youtube.com/@jeffchilders7522
https://x.com/JeffSto04628965
2024-08-1932 min
Life After PhilosophyEpisode 29: THE SCI FI NOVELIST +32 Years Philosophy MajorRob Kroese is author of 35+ science fiction and fantasy novels and founder of Based Con. His published series include Rex Nihilo, Mammon, Saga of the Iron Dragon, and the Counterfeit Sorcerer. He graduated from Calvin College in 1993 with a BA in philosophy.
0:00 Self Publishing vs Traditional Publishing
8:38 Philosophy as Path to Poverty or Worse
13:25 Software Development
21:38 Competence
25:10 Luxury Beliefs
27:45 Parallel Institutions
40:10 Philosophy Today vs 30 Years Ago
Hosted by Christopher Anadale
BasedCon 2024 is Sept 6-8
Links:
https://badnovelist...
2024-08-1245 min
Life After PhilosophyEpisode 28: THE INTELLIGENCE OFFICER +12 Years MA in PhilosophyMatthew Shoemaker is a national security and military affairs commentator for Fox News, Newsmax, and other broadcasters.
He is a 2012 graduate of Mount St. Mary's University with an MA in Philosophical Studies. He studied Nuclear War Strategy in the PhD program at Kings College London. He earned a certificate in Strategic Defense Strategy from the US Army War College in 2020, and is an Intelligence Officer in the US Naval Reserve.
0:00 Introduction
3:30 Ethics of Nuclear Weapons Strategy
14:00 Running for Congress
18:10 Trolley Problem
22:35 Fictional Portrayals of Intel World
2024-08-0539 min
Life After PhilosophyEpisode 27: SEASON 3 TRAILERStarting Mondays in August 2024
0:00 Intro
1:07 THE INTEL OFFICER
2:22 THE SCI FI NOVELIST
3:23 THE OXFORD POSTDOC
4:18 THE CHARTER SCHOOL TEACHER
2024-07-2205 min
Life After PhilosophyEpisode 26: BEST QUOTES from Season 2A look back at the 8 Season 2 interviews.
0:00 THE FARMER Stephen McGinley
9:22 THE LANDMAN Matt Samson
12:05 THE CONVERT Landon DiPasquale
19:20 THE HISTORIAN John-Paul Heil
22:18 THE HILLBILLY THOMIST Justin Bolger
27:11 THE PROGRAMMER Alex Wakaluk
28:36 THE MONSIGNOR McLean Cummings
31:35 THE EXPECTANT MOM Lexi Pintar
2024-04-2340 min
Life After PhilosophyEpisode 25: THE EXPECTANT MOM +2 Years Philosophy MajorLexi Pintar (nee Zambito) is a 2022 graduate of Mount St. Mary's University, with a BA in Theology, Philosophy, and Latin. She and her husband Jacob are expecting their first child in March 2024.
Topics Discussed: Transition from school to the workforce, Work as an integral part of life, Leaving the workforce for home life, Josef Pieper's Leisure the Basis of Culture, Value of community, Marrying young, Advice for young women interested in philosophy.
2024-03-1842 min
Life After PhilosophyEpisode 24: THE MONSIGNOR +31 Years Licentiate in PhilosophyMonsignor McLean Cummings is Coordinator of Spiritual Formation at Mount St. Mary's Seminary in Emmitsburg, Maryland.
He graduated from Harvard University in 1987 with a philosophy major and completed a Licentiate in Philosophy at the Pontifical Gregorian University in Rome in 1993. He earned a doctorate in Moral Theology in 2009.
https://seminary.msmary.edu/index.html
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Licentiate_(degree)
2024-03-1136 min
Life After PhilosophyEpisode 23: THE PROGRAMMER +7 years Philosophy MajorAlex Wakaluk is a software engineer who builds loan origination software for a mortgage company. He graduated in 2017 from Mount St. Mary's University with a double major in philosophy and computer science. He lives in Frederick, Maryland.
Topics Discussed: Changing jobs due to stress, Asking stupid questions in order to ask smart questions, Communication with clients, Body-Mind balance, Book recommendation, Advice for current students.
Book: The Seven Deadly Sins Today, by Henry Fairlie (1978)
https://www.amazon.com/Seven-Deadly-Sins-Today/dp/0268016984
2024-03-0422 min
Life After PhilosophyEpisode 22: THE HILLBILLY THOMIST +11 Years MA in PhilosophyFr. Justin Bolger, O.P., is a Dominican Friar and the Chaplain and Director of Campus Ministry at Providence College in Rhode Island.
He entered the novitiate for the Dominican Province of St. Joseph in 2012, and graduated from Mount St. Mary’s University in 2013 with a Master of Arts in Philosophical Studies degree.
He received his B.T.S. and Masters of Divinity from the Pontifical Faculty of the Immaculate Conception in 2018 and his S.T.L. in 2020. He was ordained to the priesthood in 2020.
He is also a musician of some note: he writes and produces music for a mu...
2024-02-2632 min
Life After PhilosophyEpisode 21: THE HISTORIAN +9 years Philosophy MajorJohn-Paul Heil is a Core Fellow at Mount St. Mary's University in Emmitsburg, Maryland. He completed a BA in philosophy, history, and Italian studies in 2015, and subsequently earned an MA and PhD in History from the University of Chicago. He is currently pursuing a MTS degree in Biotechnology and Ethics from the Pontifical John Paul II Institute.
2024-02-1938 min
Life After PhilosophyEpisode 20: THE CONVERT +15 Years Philosophy MajorLandon DePasquale is Strategic Clients Director a AmericanEagle.com, a web development company.
He graduated from Wheaton College in 2009 with a philosophy major, and is a convert to Catholicism.
He offers firearms training at wolfbee.com.
Topics Discussed: Intellectual Conversion vs Conversion of the Heart, Living in Harmony with your Beliefs, "Doing Philosophy" vs Living a Well-Ordered Life, Local Community, Firearms Training and Virtue.
2024-02-1238 min
Life After PhilosophyEpisode 19: THE LANDMAN +5 Years Seminary PhilosophyMatthew Samson is a landman working with oil, gas, and mineral rights, and a Youth Coordinator for a Catholic parish in Grand Forks, North Dakota.
He studied in the Mount St. Mary's Seminary philosophy curriculum in 2018-19, and has earned bachelor's degrees in Business Management and Accounting.
https://www.landman.org/about/who-we-are/what-is-a-landman
Topics discussed: Fides et Ratio, Josef Pieper, Teaching How to Think
2024-02-0527 min
Life After PhilosophyEpisode 18: THE FARMER +14 Years Philosophy MinorStephen McGinley is a farmer and philosophy teacher. He graduated in 2010 from Mount St. Mary's University and earned an MTS in 2012 from the Pontifical John Paul II Institute for Studies on Marriage and Family.
https://goodsoilfarmllc.com/
Topics discussed: Regenerative Agriculture, Philosophy as a Way of Life, Extent of the Modern Rupture, How to Live Tolerably Well
2024-01-2958 minLife After PhilosophyEpisode 17: JOBS AFTER PHILOSOPHY from Season 1What the Season 1 interviewees are doing after philosophy.
1. Executive Director, Nebraska Catholic Conference
2. Goat Farmer & Middle School Teacher (Private)
3. Litigation Attorney
4. Pastor
5. High School English Teacher (Public)
6. Montessori Elementary Guide
7. Associate Pastor & College Chaplain
8. Cofounder of Media Company
9. Theology Professor
10. Media Design Consultant
11. Accountant
12. Volunteer Missionary
13. Works at McDonald's :(
2024-01-2505 minLife After PhilosophyEpisode 16: BEST QUOTES from Episodes 10-15What Olivia, Gary, Fr. Dominic, Jarrod, John, and Anna are doing with their lives (after philosophy).
Olivia the Missionary: Episode 15
Gary the Entrepreneur: Episode 10
Fr. Dominic the Professor: Episode 12
Jarrod the Industrial Engineer: Episode 11
John the Accountant: Episode 14
Anna the Media Consultant: Episode 13
2024-01-2507 min
Life After PhilosophyEpisode 15: THE MISSIONARY +1 Year Philosophy MajorOlivia Prevost is an urban missionary with Christ in the City, serving the homeless population of Denver, Colorado. She graduated in 2022 from Mount St. Mary's University with a philosophy major.
Topics Discussed: daily activities as a missionary; individual relationships vs systematic solutions; poverty of loneliness; Chris Arnade's book Dignity; how her ministry is an extension of her philosophy education & formation.
Olivia's Bio: https://christinthecity.org/missionary/olivia-2/
Christ in the City: https://christinthecity.org/
2023-10-0934 min
Life After PhilosophyEpisode 14: THE ACCOUNTANT +6 Years MA in PhilosophyJohn Zalesky is a government accountant, husband, and father living in Harrisburg, Pennsylvania. He was a Catholic seminarian from 2014-2016 and earned a Master of Arts in Philosophical Studies degree from Mount St. Mary's University (Class of 2017).
Topics Discussed: the work world before & after studying philosophy; "meaningful work"; integration and living a well ordered life; fatherhood and entering history.
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/john-zalesky-96828811/
2023-10-0228 min
Life After PhilosophyEpisode 13: THE CONSULTANT +7 Years Philosophy MajorAnna Bradley works in digital design consulting as a Web Content Strategy Director at Reingold Inc. in Virginia. She graduated in 2016 from Mount St. Mary's University with a double major in Philosophy and Criminal Justice and then earned an MBA.
Topics Discussed: what her job is like; usefulness of logic; going from philosophy to business study; experiences of women in philosophy; advice to current students.
Anna's LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/annarbradley/
2023-09-1826 min
Life After PhilosophyEpisode 12: THE PROFESSOR +12 Years MA in PhilosophyFr. Dominic Verner, O.P., is Assistant Professor of Theology at Providence College and a 2011 graduate of Mount St. Mary's University with a Master of Arts in Philosophical Studies degree. He entered the Dominican order in 2010, was ordained a priest in 2016, and earned his Ph.D. in Moral Theology from the University of Notre Dame in 2022.
Topics Discussed: philosophy in his vocation story; relation between teaching philosophy and teaching theology; use of the term "preach"; philosophical conversion experiences; constants & changes in student attitudes over time; his advice to potential philosophy/theology majors.
Providence College: https...
2023-08-2837 min
Life After PhilosophyEpisode 11: THE ENGINEER +18 Years Philosophy MajorJarrod Thome is Manager, Global Operations Strategy and Standards at the McDonald's corporation.
He earned a BA in philosophy (2005) from Conception Seminary College, and later a MBA and a Master's in industrial engineering.
He lives in Wichita, Kansas with his wife and four daughters.
Topics Discussed: Jarrod's education & career trajectory; raising 2 sets of twin daughters; what Discrete Events Simulation Modeling is; philosophy as source of self-knowledge, wisdom, humility; how philosophy made him better at everything, including industrial engineering; why study philosophy = to be an excellent human being.
His LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/jarrod-thome
2023-08-211h 00
Life After PhilosophyEpisode 10: THE ENTREPRENEUR +11 Years Philosophy MajorGary Gasse is the cofounder of Coronation Media in Emmitsburg, Maryland, and a 2012 graduate of Mount St. Mary's University with a double major in philosophy and theology.
Topics Discussed: Founding a company right out of college; choosing a philosophy major; benefits of liberal arts education for creative & business work; how businesses live or die by their culture; no regrets; thinking & communicating after the rise of generative AI.
Coronation Media: https://www.coronationmedia.com/
Aquinas 101 Series: https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PL_kd4Kgq4tP8e1BBGrC-eFlp86fqyvGex
2023-08-0724 minLife After PhilosophyEpisode 09: BEST QUOTES from Episodes 1-8This is some of what you’ll hear on the Life After Philosophy podcast.
Tom tells us about the philosophical roots of his public policy work
Rebecca shares how studying philosophy prepared her for law school
Brian says every part of his life was changed by philosophy
Olivia mentions an important insight from the philosopher Martha Nussbaum that informs her high school teaching today
And we might have to agree that in a sense, there is no life AFTER philosophy.
For more, check out these and other episodes of Life After Philosophy.
2023-07-3105 min
Life After PhilosophyEpisode 08: THE NEW PRIEST +4 Years Seminary PhilosophyFr. Chiedozie (Dozy) Ononuju is a newly ordained Catholic priest of the diocese of Harrisburg, Pennsylvania. Born in Nigeria, he came to the United States in 2010 and earned bachelor's and master's degrees in electrical engineering from Bucknell University before enrolling in Mount St. Mary's Seminary in 2017. He was ordained in 2023 and is now associate pastor at St. Patrick Catholic Church and chaplain at Dickinson College, both in Carlyle, Pennsylvania.
Topics Discussed: philosophy and preaching; ethos, pathos, logos; tension between practical ministry and classroom learning, lower and upper limits to the intellectual content of Christian faith; advice to new seminarians; electrical...
2023-07-2425 min
Life After PhilosophyEpisode 07: THE MONTESSORI GUIDE +16 Years Seminary PhilosophyTom Crowe is a Montessori guide in Steubenville, Ohio, and cohost, with his wife Noelle, of the American Catholic History Podcast.
He studied philosophy as a seminarian at Mount St. Mary's Seminary from 2005-2007.
Topics Discussed: living life With (not After) philosophy; hands, intellect, love; Montessori teaching philosophy; synthesis as grasping reality as a whole; importance of good classmates and good professors; humility and honesty as requirements for philosophy study.
2023-07-1727 min
Life After PhilosophyEpisode 06: THE HIGH SCHOOL TEACHER +9 Years Philosophy MajorOlivia Aungst teaches English at Catoctin High School in Thurmont, Maryland.
She was a Philosophy and English double major at Mount St. Mary's University (Class of 2014), where she studied with the late Prof. Trudy Conway. Olivia wrote her honors project on on Thomas Aquinas' virtue of misericordia in light of Portia's speech on mercy in Shakespeare's The Merchant of Venice.
Topics Discussed: value of philosophy for high school teachers & students; self-improvement; legacy of Trudy Conway; philosophy, faith & literature; integration; Olivia's advice for college students; memorable women philosophers.
2023-07-1025 min
Life After PhilosophyEpisode 05: THE PASTOR +17 Years Seminary PhilosophyFr. Joshua Miller is a Catholic priest of the Diocese of Joliet. He is the pastor of parishes in Coal City and Braidwood, Illinois.
He studied philosophy in the seminary pretheology curriculum at Conception Seminary College from 2004-2006.
Topics Discussed: his prior study for a Ph.D. in English Literature (Derrida!), reading philosophy to feed a hunger for truth, relevance of philosophy to theology, learning how to think, how philosophy improved his understanding of mathematics, the role of a pastor as teacher, people today tending to have more philosophical than theological problems, how human formation never ends, whether a common...
2023-07-0326 min
Life After PhilosophyEpisode 04: THE LAWYER +6 Years Philosophy MajorRebecca Schisler-Adams is a real estate attorney in Annapolis, Maryland.
She graduated from Mount St. Mary's University in 2017 with a double major in philosophy and sociology, and from law school at Catholic University of America in 2020. She practices civil litigation with the firm of Council Baradel, located in downtown Annapolis. She is married to another Mount grad and they have a 9 month old daughter.
Topics Discussed: the importance of logic for law school; legislation, advocacy, and the common good; the transition from undergraduate study to law school; whether real estate law is boring; parenthood and integrating the whole person; Roger...
2023-06-2628 min
Life After PhilosophyEpisode 03: THE HOMESTEADER +13 Years MA in PhilosophyBrian Fink is a homesteader, goat farmer, and middle school teacher in Michigan.
He earned an M.A. in Philosophical Studies from Mount St. Mary's University (Class of 2010), and is a former seminarian.
Topics Dicussed: living an integrated life, applied philosophy, freedom, benefits of still reading philosophy, advice for anxious zoomers, and philosophy as an antidote to modern malaise.
The video series about Josef Pieper that I mention is here: https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLPCGA67J8M2I5S9ja7bi5P4sgLKga11QB
Brian is online at https://twitter.com/b_fink and https://bfink.substack.com/.
2023-06-1927 min
Life After PhilosophyEpisode 02: THE RECENT GRADUATE +1 Year Philosophy MinorEmma Weinheimer was a student worker in the Mount St. Mary's University Philosophy Department office for 4 years.
She earned a B.A. from Mount St. Mary's University (Class of 2022) with a communications major and a philosophy minor.
Topics Discussed: working in the department, "I think" vs "I feel," acting early if you choose a Philosophy major, the importance of relationships in education, reducing the role of emotions in conversations, talking about virtue with 5th graders, Augustine/Aquinas/Aristotle, and having confidence in your concept of a good person.
2023-06-1222 min
Life After PhilosophyEpisode 01: THE ADVOCATE +7 Years MA in PhilosophyTom Venzor is Executive Director of the Nebraska Catholic Conference.
He earned an M.A. in Philosophical Studies from Mount St. Mary's University (Class of 2016) and is a former seminarian.
Topics Discussed: how public policy is philosophy in disguise, role of philosophy in seminary formation, relation of philosophy to politics, how philosophy makes us more human, importance of the affective/emotional life, marriage and gift of self in John Paul II's play "The Jeweler's Shop," reason in the public square, teaching philosophy in the world, and Tom's advice to students.
2023-06-0528 min