The Gutenberg Podcast: Recent Episodes
Gil Greco
From Gutenberg College in Eugene, OR, The Gutenberg Podcast explores the great books and ideas that helped to shape Western Culture. Every episode is a conversation between host Gil Greco and one of the College faculty members meant to educate and give listeners a feel for the unique Gutenberg College experience.
Eliot Grasso gives a very brief introduction to the Reformations of the 16th Century, including a discussion of Medieval Catholic metaphysics and the protestations of Matin Luther.
Chris Swanson sits down to discuss Aldous Huxley's Brave New World, why a world built on maximizing pleasure could be as awful as World War I, and how suffering is important to human life.
Naomi Rinehold discusses Aristotle's Politics, how elements of corrupt systems of government can be used to create justice, the limitations of Athenian citizenry, and how the American Constitution typifies some of Aristotle's ideas.
Brian Julian discusses Plato's "Analogy of the Cave", the nature of ultimate justice, and why smart people don't know everything.
Charley Dewberry fills in some Western Civilization history by discussion Alexander the Great, Hellenization, and what sort of glory we should be looking for.
Eliot Grasso discusses Alasdair MacIntyre's After Virtue, why ethical and political discourse is so difficult, and how pursuing teleological ethics--as admirable as that might be--differs from Christian Existentialism.
Brian Julian joins to discuss Sartre's atheistic existentialism, why reading non-Christians is important, and a surprising proof for God's existence.
Long-time listeners will note a new mix for the music in this episode. Eliot Grasso wrote and produced the first version of "The Old Woman and Her Foundlings". The new version was produced by Wesley Coleman.
Errata- Brian mentions a philosopher who did not get along with Sartre, but his name cuts out in the current edit. That philosopher was Albert Camus.
Chris Swanson returns to the podcast's first novel: Leo Tolstoy's Anna Karenina. This episode also features a crash course on Russian naming conventions, a primer on Kierkegaard's Stages of Life, and a discussion on why all happy families are alike.
Eliot Grasso returns to discuss Genesis 1-4, why such a short passage is so complex, and some dynamics at work in interpretation.
Naomi Rinehold is back to talk about Aristotle's Nicomachean Ethics--but this time, it's from a Great Conversation reading, and it's about Justice.
Charley Dewberry starts this new season by discussing prehistory, the Bronze Age, and how surprisingly "advanced" ancient civilization was.
Chris Swanson wraps up the podcast's second year by talking about Christian Existentialism.
Naomi Rinehold discusses a lecture series delivered by C.S. Lewis, the Old Testament idea of sorcery, and sin mycorrhiza.
Dr. Eliot Grasso joins the podcast to discuss Jacques Ellul's Propaganda, why the nature of propaganda is so often misunderstood, and how loving our enemies can break the monster's glass spine.
Eliot quotes from the following works:
Ellul, Jacques. The Technological Society. Translated by John Wilkinson, Vintage Books, 1964.
Ellul, Jacques. Propaganda: The Formation of Men’s Atitudes. Vintage Books, 1973.
Charley Dewberry discusses E. F. Schumacher's Small is Beautiful, how not to fall off horses, and how we can choose to not serve Mammon when we have interstate highways.
Chris Swanson joins the podcast to discuss Thomas Kuhn's The Structure of Scientific Revolutions, the difference between paradigms and worldviews, and why the scientific community has less dissent than other academic disciplines.
[Producer's Note: I was told I had posted the wrong file Friday afternoon. I corrected the episode file, but folks who use Apple Podcasts informed me that the problem was not fixed. This is my duct-tape-and-bailing-wire attempt to get the correct episode up for our Apple Podcasts listeners. I'll do my best in the future not to make this same mistake again.
P.S. If you don't listen on Apple Podcasts, you can go ahead and mark this one as "listened" or "played".]
Chris Swanson joins the podcast to discuss Thomas Kuhn's The Structure of Scientific Revolutions, the difference between paradigms and worldviews, and why the scientific community has less dissent than other academic disciplines.
Eliot Grasso joins the podcast to talk about Vladimir Lenin's The State and Revolution, and the sobering consequences its brand of revolutionary thought had for the 20th Century.
Brian Julian expounds on the question of how statements can be true, asks whether truth requires verification, and contrasts Correspondence Theory and William James.
Charley Dewberry explains how World War I ended a particularly optimistic view of the Enlightenment, and discusses the sobering reality of man's rebellion against God.
Charley Dewberry discusses the long 19th Century--from the end of Napoleon to the end of World War I--and the changes and costs of modernism.
Chris Swanson sits down to discuss Auguste Comte, Positivism, and the optimistic political thought of the 19th century.
Nancy Scott makes her debut on the podcast, discussing Soren Kierkegaard's authorship, elucidation of Jesus, and opposition to the comforts of Christendom.
Chris Swanson lays out the consequences of the French Revolution, the rise and fall of Napoleon, and the death of Feudalism.
Brian Julian joins the podcast to talk about Rousseau's Social Contract, the "General Will", and why sometimes the questions authors are asking are more helpful than their answers.
Eliot Grasso stops by to broadly survey the history from the Middle Ages to the French Revolution, all while discussing how institutional failure leads to people looking for alternatives.
Brian Julian discusses Kant's major contribution to epistemology, where that has lead to in contemporary philosophy, and how we should think about Kant's insights as Christians.
Chris Swanson returns to discuss Thomas Reid, Reid's critique of the "Ideal System", and how Common Sense relates to philosophy.
Naomi Rinehold offers an unconventional way to think about David Hume's Inquiry Concerning Human Understanding, along with how to think about the difference between an author's meaning and an author's significance.
Charley Dewberry discusses the projects of Locke and Berkeley in preparation for upcoming episodes about David Hume and Thomas Reid.
Chris Swanson lays out Descartes's project, what Descartes was responding to, and how Descartes has influenced Western Civilization.
Eliot Grasso sits down to talk about Francis Bacon and his most famous work, Novum Organum, and whether Bacon should be remembered as either a villain or a good scientist.
Charley Dewberry lays out why the Science Curriculum--focused on the Copernican Revolution--is central to the Gutenberg project.
Naomi Rinehold returns to discuss what Boccaccio's Decameron contributed to the Renaissance and the value of such comedic works during times of crisis.
Charley Dewberry explains how Genghis Kahn and the Mongols formed the first economic--instead of political--empire, and how this has affected Western Civilization.
Brian Julian walks us through Anselm's ontological proof of God's existence, some critiques of that proof, and whether proof is even necessary for faith.
Eliot Grasso helps digest some key features of Western Medieval Civilization, and its need to harmonize church infrastructure, Greek philosophy, and the teaching of the Bible.
Chris Swanson discusses Rome's transition from Republic to Empire, what factors contributed to that transition, and how that might be important for understanding our own place in history.
Eliot Grasso returns to talk about Polybius, a Greek historian who wrote about why the Roman republic was politically stable despite the tendency of governments to disintegrate.
Naomi is back to talk about stoicism, epicureanism, cynicism, and skepticism. This is a good one folks!
Charley Dewberry joins Gil to talk about therapeutic philosopher Lucretius, atomism, and the scientific method.
Naomi Rinehold returns to talk about Aristotle's notion of friendship and what it can teach us about our relationships today.
Cidney Swanson explains the origins of theater and its significance in ancient Greek Culture.
Tutor Eliot Grasso discusses the relationship between host and guest in ancient Greek culture.
Gutenberg College president, Chris Swanson, explains why this ancient narrative is still relevant today.
Host Gil Greco talks to Gutenberg College president Dr. Chris Swanson about the concepts of rhetoric and dialectic.
The Gutenberg Podcast is a production of Gutenberg College in Eugene, OR. You're invited to come join the conversation at gutenberg.edu.