Shows
The Great EightEpisode 12 - Flannery O'Connor, with Prof. Mary JohnsonEmma Weinheimer interviews Mary Johnson about Flannery O'Connor's "The Fiction Writer and His Country" and "The Life You Save May Be Your Own."
Prof. Johnson is a professor of English at Mount St. Mary's University.
0:00 Context
8:10 Message vs Story
13:30 The Fiction Writer and His Country
23:45 Parables
29:25 The Life You Save May Be Your Own
35:00 Disabled Characters
39:35 Lessons for Living Well
45:00 Parker's Back
47:40 Great Books2024-10-2350 min
The Great EightEpisode 11 - Plato's Republic, with Dr. John HerseyEmma Weinheimer and Joshua Hochschild interview John Hersey about Plato's Republic.
Dr. Hersey is a professor of Philosophy at Mount St. Mary's University.
0:00 Context
8:30 Justice
14:30 Book One
21:00 Thrasymachus
26:30 Personality
29:45 Cave Allegory
38:45 Return to the Cave
43:05 Relation to Justice
48:50 Cardinal Virtues
54:10 Totalitarian?2024-10-1657 min
The Great EightEpisode 10 - Nietzsche's Twilight of the Idols, with Dr. Christopher AnadaleEmma Weinheimer and Joshua Hochschild interview Chris Anadale about Nietzsche & Twilight of the Idols.
Dr. Anadale is a professor of Philosophy at Mount St. Mary's University.
0:00 Background
6:45 Content of Twilight
10:45 Why Read Nietzsche?
20:10 Spiritual Writer?
24:00 Postmodernity
30:10 Will to Power
36:40 Overman
42:00 Education Quote2024-10-0950 min
The Great EightEpisode 9 - Arthurian Legends, with Dr. Susann SamplesEmma Weinheimer and Joshua Hochschild interview Susann Samples about Arthurian Legends.
Dr. Samples is a professor of German and Spanish at Mount St. Mary's University.
0:00 Background
10:40 Kalamazoo
17:30 English vs German Versions
21:45 Christian Stories
29:40 Morgan le Fay & Guinevere
32:20 Arthur as an Ideal
39:20 No Single Text
43:00 Historical Arthur2024-10-0246 min
The Great EightEpisode 8 - Beowulf & The Song of Roland, with Prof. Stephen McGinleyEmma Weinheimer and Joshua Hochschild interview Stephen McGinley about Beowulf and The Song of Roland.
Prof. McGinley is a professor of Philosophy at Mount St. Mary's University.
Recorded 2020-21
0:00 Introduction
4:20 Context
9:00 Beowulf & Roland
13:50 Human Questions
17:15 Grendel
22:20 Huxley's Brave New World
29:35 Song of Roland
33:40 Chesterton's The Ball and the Cross
35:30 Reading in Community2024-09-2540 min
The Great EightEpisode 7 - Sophocles' Antigone & Philoctetes, with Dr. Kurt BlaugherEmma Weinheimer and Joshua Hochschild interview Kurt Blaugher about Sophocles' plays Antigone and Philoctetes.
Dr. Blaugher is a professor of theater at Mount St. Mary's University.
Recorded 2020-21
0:00 Core Curriculum
4:45 Sophocles' Context
9:00 Function in Greek Society
11:40 Antigone
16:30 Divine vs Human Law
21:30 End of the Play
25:30 Philoctetes
30:20 Challenges of Performing
34:55 Mount St Mary's Trivia
37:00 New Translations for Veterans
2024-09-1842 min
The Great EightEpisode 6 - Augustine's Confessions, with Dr. Paige HochschildEmma Weinheimer interviews Paige Hochschild about St. Augustine's Confessions.
Dr. Hochschild is a professor of Theology at Mount St. Mary's University.
Recorded 2020-21
0:00 Augustine's Context
6:10 Boethius
8:35 Structure of Confessions
16:15 Walkthrough Books 1-9
20:20 Recurring Themes
24:45 Book 2 Community
28:35 Book 3 Manichees
32:30 Book 4 Concubine
34:20 Book 5 Intellectual Pride
41:00 Book 6 Continence
46:20 Books 9-10 Sin
49:35 Books 12-13 Time & Space
53:30 Final Thoughts
2024-09-1155 min
The Great EightEpisode 5 - Hobbes' Leviathan, with Dr. Barrett TurnerEmma Weinheimer and Joshua Hochschild interview Barrett Turner about Thomas Hobbes' Leviathan.
Dr. Turner is a professor of Theology at Mount St. Mary's University.
Recorded 2020-21
0:00 Introduction
6:50 Hobbes' Context
13:02 Political Authority
17:20 Content of Leviathan
20:35 Alternative Salvation
23:17 Logic of the Social Contract
29:47 Liberty without Justice
31:25 Historical Account
34:25 Plato's Glaucon
37:15 Tyranny & Conscience
42:22 Leviathan Books 3 & 4
45:38 Practical Effects
52:05 Advice for Readers2024-09-0455 min
The Great EightEpisode 4 - Confucius' Analects, with Dr. Joshua BrownEmma Weinheimer and Joshua Hochschild interview Joshua Brown about four books of Chinese thought.
Dr. Brown is a professor of Theology at Mount St. Mary's University.
Recorded 2020-21
0:00 Introduction
6:00 Context
11:55 Content
20:20 Philosophy vs Theology
23:50 Teaching to Students
26:55 Self-Cultivation
30:00 Reading Advice
32:50 Doctrine of the Mean
38:25 The Great Learning
41:50 Taoism
45:35 Relation to Christian Tradition2024-08-2854 min
The Great EightEpisode 3 - Aquinas' Summa Theologiae, with Dr. Justin MatchulatEmma Weinheimer and Joshua Hochschild interview Justin Matchulat about St. Thomas Aquinas' Summa Theologiae.
Dr. Matchulat is a professor of Philosophy at Mount St. Mary's University.
Recorded 2020
0:00 Background
5:55 What Sort of Text
11:10 Theology
14:48 Content Overview
19:50 Other Voices
28:10 Favorite Article
35:00 Stories about St. Thomas
40:20 Reading Advice2024-08-2147 min
The Great EightEpisode 2 - Machiavelli's The Prince, with Dr. Greg MurryEmma Weinheimer and Joshua Hochschild interview Greg Murry about Machiavelli's The Prince.
Dr. Murry is a professor of History at Mount St. Mary's University.
Recorded 2020
0:00 Machiavelli's Legacy
6:20 Relevance for Today
10:00 Structure of the Text
15:50 Machiavelli vs Cicero
21:45 Christianity
25:30 Audience
32:50 Student Reactions
38:00 Not Satire
41:40 Great Books
49:05 How Machiavelli is Wrong2024-08-1454 min
The Great EightEpisode 1 - Shakespeare's The Merchant of Venice, with Dr. Sean LewisEmma Weinheimer and Joshua Hochschild interview Sean Lewis about Shakespeare's The Merchant of Venice.
Dr. Lewis is a professor of English at Mount St. Mary's University.
Recorded 2020
0:00 Core Curriculum
5:20 Shakespeare's Context
10:58 Plot of Merchant of Venice
19:20 Shylock
27:57 Humanizing the Other
32:48 Justice vs Mercy
40:00 Audience Reactions
46:13 Great Books2024-08-0754 min
The Great EightWelcome to The Great EightEmma Belske (Weinheimer) introduces the series:
"Hello, I'm Emma Belske. From 2021-2022, while I was a student at Mount St. Mary's University, I interviewed several professors about texts that they love teaching and reading.
I'm happy to share these recording with you now, as The Great Eight Podcast. Enjoy!"2024-07-2400 min