Online Great Books Podcast

Scott and Karl read "The Greeks and Greek Civilization" which sums up the relevant lectures the notable Swiss historian Jacob Burckhardt first gave in 1872. Karl says, "I now have a little portable guide to all the Greek literature that I want to read." Scott adds, "Burckhardt explains what might be going on around the world around Socrates that allows him to drink the hemlock." The duo acknowledges Jacob Burckhardt's ability to research and analyze Greek culture at great length, but whether or not he fully admires the ancient Greeks is up for debate.  Tune in to learn more about the true 'Greek spirit' of the ancient world that Burckhardt provides. Brought to you by onlinegreatbooks.com. 

Beyond producing a body of pioneering research in thermodynamics, Faraday left an educational legacy: his great lectures on the “Chemical History of a Candle.”  Originally published in 1861, this series of six lectures showcases Faraday's ability to clearly display scientific principles to a general population, landing him the reputation of one of the first 'popular scientists.' Scott says, "When people say to trust the science these days, they aren’t doing Faraday's type of science." Why a candle? Faraday believes that choosing a candle as the topic of investigation is the best way to introduce viewers to the nature of science. Scott adds, "In terms of physical investigations, a candle is about as close as you can get to the beginning." Karl says, "There are wonders around you that you should be gobsmacked by every time you see it. A candle is one of those things." The duo agrees, this book would be a good addition to your home library collection, especially if you are interested in homeschooling. Brought to

Tune in for Part Two of Scott and Karl's discussion on Hilaire du Berrier's Background to Betrayal.  Published in 1965, it remains the only book du Berrier ever produced and a crucial resource on the history of Indochina and our government's policies in Vietnam.  Brought to you by onlinegreatbooks.com. 

In 1965, the Birch Society's publishing house, Western Islands, printed du Berrier's Background to Betrayal: The Tragedy of Vietnam. While hard to come by, it remains the most authoritative source in English on the crucial history of Indochina up to that point and is indispensable for an understanding of the tragic consequences of our government's policies in Vietnam.  Scott and Karl believe that du Berrier's book on Vietnam has stood up against the test of time while so many of the experts who opposed him have been vanquished by the truth of history. Tune in as the duo begins their discussion of this hard-to-find book and the equally fascinating author. 

Scott and Karl read and discuss James S. Taylor's 1998 book,  Poetic Knowledge: The Recovery of Education. Taylor describes his work as an “attempt to resuscitate a nearly forgotten mode of knowledge.”  This "poetic knowledge" is not the knowledge of poetry. Rather, it is an intuitive, obscure, mysterious way of knowing reality. As Karl points out, "Poētēs in Greek means making... you're a maker of things. I think that's a reasonable way to think about it." The author traces the history of poetic knowledge through Plato, Aristotle, Aquinas, Benedict, and the beginning of its demise with Descartes. Tune in for a fascinating look at what has been and what might be again when we turn theoretical into practical knowledge. Brought to you by onlinegreatbooks.com.

Scott and Karl delve into James Howard Kunstler's 2008 end-of-days novel, World Made by Hand.  James Howard Kunstler is an American author, social critic, public speaker, and blogger, perhaps best known for his 2005 novel, The Long Emergency. He has an active podcast, KunstlerCast, where you can find more of his honest urban commentary.  World Made by Hand is from your typical post-apocalyptic novel. Scott says, "It's not an unpleasant world that he pictures for us after the simplification." Karl believes that Kunstler is even optimistic despite the novel being set in a post-oil American future.  Scott points out, "This is a world where everything feels big. They grieve more, there's more death and it's closer, but they care more about the people that they do have, too." Tune in to hear the duo's discussion of this dystopian science-fiction novel. Brought to you by onlinegreatbooks.com. 

Scott and Karl finish their discussion of Father Francis Bethel's biography, John Senior and the Restoration of Realism.  According to Scott, if you have concerns about yourself, how you interact with the world, and where the world is going— you need to read some John Senior as well as this biography.  In his works, John Senior discusses how there are ways of life that actually require realism. The duo talks about the pockets of our world where realism exists versus a way of life where unreality rules.  Tune in to finish Scott and Karl's discussion on what a full restoration of realism would look like, or if it's even possible. Brought to you by onlinegreatbooks.com. 

Scott and Karl begin their discussion of Father Francis Bethel's biography that examines the life and thought of "cultural critic, university professor, and sometime cowboy," John Senior.  John Senior is the founder of Clear Creek Abbey, a Benedictine Abbey in Cherokee County, Oklahoma. He is the author of both The Death of Christian Culture and The Restoration of Christian Culture. As Karl points out, this biography doesn't so much delve into the details of Senior's life but focuses on his ideas.  Scott says, "One of [Senior's] assumptions, and I think he's right, is that Proper Christian culture is the underpinning behind the real metaphysics that built the West and the metaphysics that tied, past tense, science to reality. Senior thinks we are getting away from being tied to the real world and that our metaphysics is busted." It's clear to see how John Senior is one of Scott's heroes. Tune in to the first half of the duo's discussion on the restoration of realism. Brought to you by onlinegreatbooks.com. 

To round out 2022, Scott and Karl decided to revisit Shelby Foote's 2,968-page, 1.2 million-word history of the American Civil War. Collectively, Foote's history of the Civil War includes three compelling volumes: Fort Sumter to Perryville, Fredericksburg to Meridian, and Red River to Appomattox.   Scott and Karl begin talking about the tenuous nature of history yet how Foote still manages to bring his narrative power to this great epic. Scott says, "Shelby Foote made Ken Burn's career... Shelby Foote talks about things that happened 120 years ago like it was this morning." The duo agrees—there are great lessons to be learned in these books. Tune in to hear more of Scott and Karl's take on this monumental trilogy. Brought to you by onlinegreatbooks.com.

We're back! Scott and Karl explore Helen and Scott Nearing's The Good Life (1954) and Continuing the Good Life (1979) in a new, long-form podcast.  In the 20th century, Scott and Helen Nearing became the new models of self-sufficient lifestyles and rural homesteading. Having abandoned their life in New York City in 1932, rural Vermont became the place the couple could escape a capitalist life. Scott says, “They were trying to live out the 1930s communist ideal.” Over the next 60 years, the Nearings developed a system of living called the good life, inspiring others who are city-weary to do the same. But as Karl points out, "This is not Walden."  Tune in to learn more about Scott and Karl's take on the back-to-the-land movement. Brought to you by onlinegreatbooks.com. 

Scott and Karl are back after a brief hiatus to finish their discussion of Dean Koontz's 2003 thriller, Odd Thomas.  While the ending might make you emotional, this book satisfies its genre— it's suspenseful, memorable, and thoroughly entertaining. Still, Scott points out that reading this type of fiction in the present times is getting harder and harder.  Tune in for Part Two of the duo's conversation. Brought to you by onlinegreatbooks.com 

This week, Scott and Karl begin their discussion of Dean Koontz's Odd Thomas, a best-selling thriller novel published in 2003. Koontz is known for being a masterful storyteller with a talent for creating richly drawn characters. While this novel is definitely a thriller, Scott points out it reads like a noir detective story.  If you are looking for an entertaining read, this book checks all the boxes for the duo. As Karl points out, "[Koontz] appears to have reasonably good metaphysics. Evil is evil, it's understandable, and the good guys are actually good."  Tune if for Part One of Scott and Karl's conversation. Brought to you by onlinegreatbooks.com. 

Scott and Karl finish their discussion of the first novel in Isaac Asimov’s classic science-fiction masterpiece, Foundation. The novel is set in the future, when the world is barely remembered, and humans have colonized the galaxy. While this series helped to redefine the science-fiction genre, the duo takes issue with the ways this make-believe society responds to the problems Asimov lays out and the use of mathematics and probability to predict the future. As Karl points out, "Scientific progress as a moral good makes no sense."  Tune in to hear Part Two of Scott and Karl's conversation. Brought to you by onlinegreatbooks.com. 

This week, the duo tackles Karl's pick— the first novel in Isaac Asimov’s classic science-fiction masterpiece.  Largely regarded as a launch pad for space-age science fiction, Foundation is a collection of five short stories which were first published together as a book by Gnome Press in 1951. The series tells the story of the Foundation, an institute founded by psychohistorian Hari Seldon to preserve the best of galactic civilization after the collapse of the Galactic Empire. Scott says, "Asimov and all that stuff from this era is one of the reasons the boomers are the way they are. They were inculcated with a worldview that is out of fiction. They think everything is always going to improve, that science has the answer, and they see that history and the scope of time is a character and acts in and of itself so they don't have a responsibility."  Tune in to hear Part One of the duo's conversation and learn why Karl calls this "a good bad book." Brought to you by onlinegreatbooks.com. 

Scott and Karl finish their discussion of Dorothy M. Johnson’s Indian Country, a collection of some of the greatest short stories about the American West. Scott says, "I don't want to talk about the book too much because it's that good. I love the characters, I love the setting, I love Dorothy Johnson, I love the themes, I love the style."  While this work is out of print, the duo agrees it is worth your while to hunt down a used copy and have a read. Each of the eleven tales shines with implicity, Karl calls them "iceberg stories" because there is so much in them that isn't written.  Tune in to hear the rest of Scott and Karl's conversation about Dorothy Johnson's skillful presentation of early frontier life. Brought to you by onlinegreatbooks.com. 

This week, Scott and Karl read Dorothy M. Johnson’s Indian Country, a collection of eleven stories showing a frontier alive with complex struggles. You may be familiar with two of her most famous stories, “A Man Called Horse” and “The Man Who Shot Liberty Valance” which are included in this collection.  Johnson, a Montana-based author, brings to western fiction a clear ideal of individuality and honor. Scott says, "The sense of life that comes out of this book and right into your face is astounding to me. The character of the author is all over the thing, I couldn't imagine her writing anything other than a western.” Tune in to learn more about a book that Karl classifies as "desert literature"— set in a mysterious, forgotten place where all of one's actions become magnified. Brought to you by onlinegreatbooks.com. 

This week, Scott and Karl finish their discussion of Edward Gibbon's The History of the Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire which follows the Roman Empire over thirteen centuries - its rulers, wars and society, and, of course, the events that led to its collapse. Towards the beginning of the show, Karl asks, "how do lasting emporiums last?" The duo unpacks thought-provoking questions about the idea of an empire whose history touches on nearly any imaginable type of human occurrence and serves up parallels for modern events.   Tune in for Part Two of the duo's conversation. Brought to you by onlinegreatbooks.com. 

This week, Scott and Karl tackle a massive narrative of one of the world's greatest civilizations. Edward Gibbon's The History of the Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire follows the Roman Empire over thirteen centuries - its rulers, wars and society, and, of course, the events that led to its collapse. Published between 1776 and 1788 in six volumes, Gibbon gained himself the reputation of being the first modern historian of ancient Rome. But does he belong on the Great Books list? Scott says, "If you are putting together this list, there are things that have happened that you must have books about. The fall of Rome, there needs to be something that covers it. What would it be? I guess this."  Gibbon, who devoted most of his life to this project, scored immediate success that was resounding. Speaking about Gibbon's influence, Karl says, "This is a sellout book informing educated Europeans about ideas of empire."  Scott adds, "I think modern people carry ideas about the Romans that came from Gibbon even if the

Scott and Karl test out an alternative format, and enjoy huge success! Also, enrollment is open, now through this weekend. Visit OnlineGreatBooks.com to learn more.