Krishnan Venkatesh + Ron Wilson Ceremony & Beauty: The Pillow Book of Sei Shōnagon

What is it to write? What roles do ceremony, beauty, and material play in the act of writing? Not only is The Pillow Book of Sei Shōnagon an early classic of Japanese literature, written in the 10th century by a lady of the Heian-era court, it is also—five hundred years before Montaigne—the world’s first sustained portrayal of an individual self as she lives, thinks, and feels from day to day.

Zena Hitz + David Townsend What is Freedom & How Do We Cultivate It?

Liberal education is education for freedom. What kind of freedom does it or should it cultivate? Freedom without discipline is anarchy, and life without freedom is tyranny—or so says Annapolis tutor David Townsend, who joins host Zena Hitz in this probing conversation into the nature of freedom, the ways in which individuals and communities can cultivate it, and the need for self-discipline in tempering our freedoms.

Sarah Davis + Paola Villa Home & Hunger: The Crossroads of Food and Thought

What is home? Santa Fe tutor Paola Villa, Italian by birth, begins this episode with the Elvis Presley cliché “Home is where the heart is.” But for Villa, the heart is the crossroads between the stomach and the brain—and, in her native language, “to know” and “to taste” have the same root, a reminder that food and mind are one, each mediated through the tongue. This episode, rich in metaphor and poetry, connects gastronomy, language, thought, and community to a theme to which all humans can relate: wanting to know and be at home in the world.

Krishnan Venkatesh + Michael Golluber Sophrosyne: In Search of Moderation

Sophrosyne is the ancient Greek word for moderation, which is one of the four classical virtues. But what does Socrates’ definition of moderation really mean and how is it connected to another classical virtue: courage? Santa Fe tutor Michael Golluber explores this question by juxtaposing Plato’s Charmides against his own passion for the good life, which includes good food, good wine, and, of course, good conversation.

Zena Hitz + Mary Elizabeth Halper Can A Book Be A Friend?

Is a book dead or alive? Can one be friends with a book, or with the author behind the book? What are the promises and hazards of such friendships? Should we seek stability, loyalty, and reassurance of our deepest convictions and impulses? Or do real friends provide conflict, mystery, and depth, challenging and surprising us continually with new insights and contradictions? This episode explores the very personal relationships that humans have with books—and with the complex questions they bring up in all of us.

Louis Petrich + George Russell Lincoln’s ‘New Birth of Freedom’

In the Gettysburg Address, President Lincoln proclaimed that soldiers gave their life at the battle of Gettysburg for a “new birth of freedom.” But what did he mean? This conversation explores important Lincoln speeches and ideas within their Civil War context, eventually delving into the difficult contemporary question: how has, and hasn’t, the nation realized Lincoln’s vision at Gettysburg?

Sarah Davis + Grant Franks The Thrill of Literature—and of the Universe

Is it important to feel when we read literature? Or when we learn math and science? On a related front, what is the role of order and disruption in literature, in life, and in our observation of the universe? Through dramatic moments and characters in the Iliad, the Aeneid, The Brothers Karamazov, Principia Mathematica, and Beyond Good and Evil, this episode investigates what makes us feel and how to feel about deep feeling.

Krishnan Venkatesh + David Carl The Fool’s Paradise: To Where Does Travel Lead?

Why do writers travel? Why do some authors write their most influential works in foreign countries? Does the unknown bring new insights and transformation, or do new lands provide nothing more than romantic myths for the imagination? In the essay “Self-Reliance,” Emerson says “Traveling is a fool’s paradise … My giant goes with me wherever I go.” Is he right? Or is getting lost the best way of finding higher truths?

Louis Petrich + Chester Burke Science as a Liberal Art

Annapolis tutor Chester Burke has spent many years teaching and shaping the laboratory program of St. John’s College, where mathematics and science are studied as liberal arts. This means that all students read the foundational texts of some of history’s greatest mathematical and scientific minds while performing original observations, demonstrations, and experiments. This episode springboards from classical physics into the startling world of quantum mechanics via the works of Galileo, Leibniz, Maxwell, Schrödinger, Bohr, Einstein, Heisenberg, Faraday, Descartes, and more.

Krishnan Venkatesh + Claudia Hauer Practicing for Death: Integrating Mind and Body, East and West

Socrates says that the intellectual practice of philosophy is a practice for dying. But what if the body is the vessel that can best prepare us for the end of life? In this episode, martial artists (and Santa Fe tutors) Krishnan Venkatesh and Claudia Hauer explore the problem of the philosophical separation of mind and body through the lens of two essayists—the 13th-century Japanese author Dogen and the 16th-century French essayist Montaigne.

Louis Petrich + Stella Zhu The Challenge of Translation

If one could perfectly translate a literary work, would that translation make the original idea of the author universally understood by all readers? Or do the greatest translations bring new layers of creativity and meaning to a work, making its latent textures relevant for another culture or time—such as feminist translations of the Odyssey and Christian translations of Plato—even as they may dampen the original intentions of the author? This episode explores the complexities of translation, including the role of interpretation and emotion, as humans attempt to understand and communicate ideas across linguistic boundaries.

Sarah Davis + Julie Reahard Vanquishing the Enemy: Sports, War, and . . . Seminar?

What is the relationship between sports and war? And what is seminar's relationship to both? In this episode, St. John's host Santa Fe tutor Sarah Davis and Santa Fe tutor Julie Reahard talk about Reahard’s passion for sports, her long-running commitment to the St. John's ice hockey team, and whether her experiences on the court are similar to those that play out on the battlefield of great texts like the Iliad and War and Peace.

Louis Petrich + Howard Zeiderman We, the Terrible Listeners

Why is it difficult for people to talk to one another? Annapolis tutor Howard Zeiderman proposes a likely culprit: the difficulty that most humans have with listening. This episode explores the value of hearing and understanding those who are unlike us, and of building true community through the committed practice of listening.

Louis Petrich + Erica Beall Can War be Beautiful?

The power and beauty of Homer’s imagery in the Iliad is undeniable, and his scenes of battle often prompt vexing questions about ancient and modern virtues. Can killing and dying in war be beautiful? Is a just cause required for glory to be gained? This episode delves into the dramatic contrasts that make Homer’s work powerful, inviting us to question our own modern perspectives on this ancient text.

Sarah Davis + David Mcdonald To Think or to Do: The Unification of False Dichotomies

In the ancient world, art and religion provided a sense of meaning and order that was upended by science and technology. Today, our world is defined by consumerism, self-expression, and a gnawing lack of meaning. Can the contemplative life of the mind play a central role in addressing this void?

Louis Petrich + Eva Brann Sonnet 94: Shakespeare’s Unmoved Mover

This episode takes us through a close reading of Shakespeare’s Sonnet 94, which many consider to be his most enigmatic. Annapolis tutor Eva Brann brings a clear argument to the poem, taking us quatrain by quatrain through the poet’s descriptions of the beloved’s power over the poet through cold detachment and contingent self-mastery.