Socrates in the City: Recent Episodes
Socrates in the City
What happens when Silicon Valley begins to rethink some of its deepest assumptions? In this episode of Socrates Dialogues, Mary Harrington is joined by Michael Solana—CMO of Founders Fund, founder of Pirate Wires, and once dubbed “the most opinionated man in America”—for a wide-ranging conversation on the ideological shifts reshaping technology, politics, and culture. Together they explore the changing political landscape within the tech industry, where a new wave of wealth and executive leadership has sparked a growing openness to conservative ideas, even as much of the broader workforce has remained more politically balanced. Solana examines what California’s political evolution reveals about the future of American politics and economic thought, while unpacking his provocative concept of the “Luigi Left,” the surprising folk hero status of Luigi Mangione, and what it says about rising economic populism and an increasing acceptance of political violence. As their conversation turns toward innovation, ambition, and America’s future, they explore whether our changing relationship with technology demands a renewed spirit of exploration—and perhaps the biggest question of all, whether the United States should set its sights on owning the moon.
The post Michael Solana and Mary Harrington: Is Silicon Valley Becoming Conservative? first appeared on Socrates in the City.
What makes a good interview, good? In this episode of Socrates in the Studio, Eric Metaxas sits down with writer, cultural commentator, and Socrates in the City contributor, Mary Harrington to explore the mission and heart behind Socrates in the City and the enduring value of meaningful conversation.
Harrington reflects on her journey—from a mother writing a political blog to becoming one of the most compelling intellectual voices of our time—and discusses the surprising path that led her there. Together, they delve into the craft of interviewing, the mutual discovery that unfolds through genuine dialogue, and the fascinating science behind Mary’s “mind palace” as a tool for memory and learning. The conversation explores the wisdom of the medieval worldview, what modern society has forgotten about scholarship, intellectual formation, the pursuit of truth, and why the oldest forms of wisdom may be more timely than ever.
The post Eric Metaxas and Mary Harrington: The Lost Art of Conversation first appeared on Socrates in the City.
For decades, Western culture has asked, “What is my purpose?” Many have been told that meaning is subjective, truth is relative, and every grand narrative should be questioned. Yet in the midst of rising skepticism, anxiety, and the rapid growth of the religious “nones,” a surprising shift seems to be taking place: people are searching for meaning once again. In this thought-provoking Socrates in the City conversation, Eric Metaxas is joined by Paul Anleitner, who discusses the ideas behind his new book “Based on a True Story: Vibe Shifts, the End of Deconstruction, and the Reboot of Meaning,” exploring why our deepest human longing is not merely for comfort or success, but for purpose. From the cultural revolutions of Woodstock to the enduring appeal of Rocky Balboa and the music of the Eagles, and from the moral worlds of The Cosby Show to the ironic detachment of Curb Your Enthusiasm, Anleitner traces how popular culture has reflected—and shaped—our changing understanding of truth, identity, and fulfillment. Why has deconstruction become such a defining feature of modern life, and why does it seem to be losing its grip? Are we finally moving beyond nihilism toward a renewed search for transcendent meaning? Together, they examine why Christianity continues to offer a compelling answer to humanity’s oldest and most important question: What is the meaning of life?
The post Eric Metaxas and Paul Anleitner: What is the Meaning of Life? first appeared on Socrates in the City.
What if the story of the world has been told from the wrong starting point? In this episode of Socrates in the Studio, Eric Metaxas sits down with historian Peter Frankopan to discuss his groundbreaking book, The Silk Roads: A New History of the World, and the compelling case for rethinking the story of world history. Rather than viewing history through a predominantly Western lens, throughout this conversation Frankopan invites us to look eastward, where the great trade routes connecting Asia, the Middle East, and Europe shaped civilizations, economies, and empires for centuries.
From the luxurious goods that inspired Columbus to sail in search of India and China—not America—to the surprising connections between Eastern commerce and events like the Boston Tea Party, this conversation uncovers the hidden networks that transformed the world. As global power continues to shift in the twenty-first century, the conversation explores how understanding the Silk Roads is essential to making sense of today’s geopolitical landscape, while also confronting the often-overlooked costs of empire, slavery, economics, and the countless unseen people whose labor built the modern world.
The post Eric Metaxas and Peter Frankopan: Why Was Columbus Sailing West? first appeared on Socrates in the City.
How do changing definitions of gender impact medical care? In this episode of Socrates Dialogues, philosopher and bestselling author Kathleen Stock joins Mary Harrington to examine one of the defining moral questions of our time: should society legalize assisted dying, and how do changing perceptions of gender impact this?
Stock, best known for her fearless work on gender identity and women’s rights, brings that same lens to the end-of-life debate — asking whether men and women experience pressure toward assisted death differently, how caregiving and vulnerability are gendered in ways policy rarely acknowledges, and whether the language of autonomy obscures the particular risks facing women as this option becomes normalized.
Drawing from her book Do Not Go Gentle, Stock and Harrington explore what dignity requires, what underfunded palliative care reveals about who society expects to bear suffering quietly, and what happens when death becomes another service medicine can provide. The conversation weaves together Stock’s long-standing concerns about gender and sexuality with the deeper questions of suffering, compassion, and identity at the heart of the assisted dying debate.
The post Kathleen Stock and Mary Harrington: When Gender Ideology Became Law first appeared on Socrates in the City.
What if history’s most influential figures have been misunderstood? In this special Fourth of July episode of The Revolution, Lord Andrew Roberts, Baron of Belgravia—renowned historian, professor, and bestselling biographer—joins Socrates in the City host Eric Metaxas to explore the complex humanity behind some of history’s greatest leaders. Known for bringing iconic figures to life beyond the myths and caricatures that often define them, Roberts offers fresh insight into personalities ranging from King George III and Napoleon to Winston Churchill. Together, they examine the pivotal decisions, relationships, and moments that shaped the course of history, asking provocative questions along the way: If King George III had been surrounded by better advisors, could the American Revolution have been avoided? Looking beyond the familiar narrative of the Founding, this conversation uncovers the lesser-known side of Britain’s most famous monarch, his role in the Revolutionary War, and the lasting legacy of the choices made by those who stood closest to power.
The post Eric Metaxas and Andrew Roberts: Did the Founders Lie About King George III? first appeared on Socrates in the City.
Are we the heirs of Athens, Rome, and Jerusalem—or more precisely, Athens, Rome, and the Burning Bush of the desert?
In this episode of The Revolution, Socrates in the City host Eric Metaxas is joined by the prolific author and theologian Os Guinness to discuss his book “The Magna Carta of Humanity: Sinai’s Revolutionary Faith and the Future of Freedom” as America approaches its 250th anniversary and the world marks the 500th anniversary of William Tyndale’s English Bible. This conversation examines the spiritual and intellectual foundations of the American experiment and the ongoing legacy.
Tracing a path from the covenant at Mount Sinai through the Reformation and into the founding of the United States, the discussion explores how biblical ideas of liberty, moral responsibility, and human dignity shaped a revolution unlike those driven by utopian visions. Drawing on the insights of Alexis de Tocqueville and Os Guinness’ “golden triangle of freedom,” the conversation contrasts America’s faith-infused origins with the rise of modern secular ideologies such as Marxism and fascism, while confronting the competing narratives and cultural pressures facing young Americans today. At its heart is a question as urgent as ever: what beliefs must a people hold in order to remain both free and human?
The post Eric Metaxas and Os Guinness: Can Freedom Survive without Faith? first appeared on Socrates in the City.
In this episode of The Revolution, Socrates in the City host Eric Metaxas is joined by author and descendant of Benjamin Franklin, Mark Skousen, to discuss the fascinating history of one of the first Americans. Throughout the conversation, the two explore Franklin’s remarkable evolution from loyal British subject to passionate advocate for independence, including the little-known edit he made to the Declaration of Independence and why it mattered.
Skousen shares the dramatic events that shaped his political transformation, from his efforts at reconciliation to the infamous Cockpit Incident, a public humiliation that changed the course of his life—and perhaps the course of history. In this conversation, we discover the surprising story of the man often called “the First American” and the pivotal role he played in the birth of a nation.
The post Eric Metaxas and Mark Skousen: What Turned Benjamin Franklin Into a Revolutionary? first appeared on Socrates in the City.
What does America mean, and what ideas gave rise to the greatest experiment in self-government the world has ever known? At the official release party for “REVOLUTION: The Birth of the Greatest Nation in History,” Eric Metaxas shares the inspiration behind his sweeping and definitive account of the American Revolution, uncovering surprising stories and overlooked figures that helped shape the nation’s founding.
From the moral courage and deep convictions of the American patriots to the extraordinary sacrifices required to secure liberty, this conversation explores the character, ideals, and faith that animated the Revolution. As America celebrates the Supercentennial year of its birth, Metaxas invites us to rediscover the beauty, complexity, and enduring promise of the American story.
The post Eric Metaxas: What is the Meaning of America? first appeared on Socrates in the City.
In this episode of The Revolution, host Eric Metaxas is joined by Ira Stoll, author of Samuel Adams: A Life, as they explore the enduring legacy of Samuel Adams, the often-overlooked visionary who helped lay the intellectual and moral groundwork for the American Revolution long before the first shots were fired.
Through his passionate defense of liberty, relentless organizing, and ability to rally ordinary citizens to an extraordinary cause, Adams became one of the driving forces behind America’s fight for independence. Recorded in Lexington—just steps from the historic grounds where the Revolution began—this conversation brings history vividly to life while examining how Adams’ ideas and courage continue to shape the American spirit today.
The post Eric Metaxas and Ira Stoll: This Founding Father Defies Leftist Narratives first appeared on Socrates in the City.
How did George Washington become the indispensable leader of the American Revolution? In this episode of The Revolution, bestselling historian Nathaniel Philbrick joins Socrates in the City host Eric Metaxas to trace Washington’s extraordinary journey through the triumphs, failures, and hard-earned lessons that transformed him from an inexperienced commander into the indispensable leader of the American cause.
Set against the backdrop of a war that was as chaotic as it was creative, Philbrick reveals how Washington’s character, resilience, and unwavering sense of duty grew alongside the Revolution itself. Throughout the conversation, Philbrick explores the partnership with French General Rochambeau and the brilliant campaign that culminated at Yorktown as well as the deeply personal side of Benedict Arnold’s shocking betrayal and the profound challenges Washington faced behind the scenes. Set against the chaos and creativity of a nation being born, this conversation offers a compelling portrait of the man who grew alongside the Revolution and emerged as the founder the moment required.
The post Eric Metaxas and Nathaniel Philbrick: Washington and Arnold, Honor and Betrayal in the Revolutionary War first appeared on Socrates in the City.
In this episode of Socrates Dialogues with Mary Harrington, Harrington is joined by author and professor Spencer Klavan to explore the enduring conversation between Athens and Jerusalem, asking what Plato might have to do with Tertullian, and why it still matters. Drawing on the great books and the tension between the life of the mind and the life of the world, they unpack the five central crises of modernity: reality, the body, meaning, religion, and regimes.
Offering an exclusive preview of Klavan’s forthcoming book, the discussion turns to the power of language as the meeting point between mind and matter, and revisits the story of the Tower of Babel as both a historical touchstone and a striking lens for understanding today’s fractured cultural landscape.
The post Spencer Klavan and Mary Harrington: The West is Having a Crisis (Actually, Five) first appeared on Socrates in the City.
Why do most revolutions collapse into chaos, tyranny, or bloodshed, while the American Revolution produced one of the most enduring republics in history? In this episode of The Revolution, Socrates in the City’s newest program, host Eric Metaxas is joined by American author and legal scholar, Jonathan Turley to discuss his book, Rage and the Republic: The Unfinished Story of the American Revolution. They use Thomas Paine’s journey as the lens through which to explore that question. A man who stood at the center of both the American and French Revolutions, Paine embodied the brilliance and danger of revolutionary fervor itself: visionary yet reckless, prophetic yet deeply flawed. Alongside his unlikely friendship with Benjamin Franklin, this conversation examines why America succeeded where so many revolutions failed, the tension between liberty and rage, and the enduring invitation of the American experiment today.
The post Eric Metaxas and Jonathan Turley: Rage and the Republic first appeared on Socrates in the City.
In this Socrates in the Studio conversation, host Eric Metaxas is joined by author and editor of The Epoch Times, Jan Jekielek, to discuss his new book, Killed to Order: China’s Organ Harvesting Industry and the True Nature of America’s Biggest Adversary, which explores the disturbing realities behind one of the world’s most controversial transplant systems.
This conversation discusses the hidden costs of life-saving organ replacement surgeries, exploring the dark truth of forced organ harvesting tied to political repression, corruption, and state power in modern China. Moving through the intersections of history, ideology, and authoritarian control, Jekilek unpacks how vulnerable populations — including Falun Gong practitioners, Uyghurs, and other marginalized groups — have allegedly become targets within a vast and deeply opaque transplant industry. The conversation also explores the rise of transplant tourism, the ethics surrounding global medical demand, and the broader moral questions raised when medicine, profit, and political power converge.
The post Eric Metaxas and Jan Jekielek: Killed to Order: China’s Organ Harvesting Industry first appeared on Socrates in the City.
In this profound and deeply personal episode of Socrates in the Studio, Eric Metaxas sits down with renowned philosopher, professor, and bestselling author Peter Kreeft to wrestle with one of humanity’s oldest and most difficult questions: How can a good God allow suffering?
Blending philosophical depth with wisdom born from lived experience, Dr. Kreeft offers a thoughtful and compassionate exploration of pain, loss, love, and the mystery of human suffering through the lens of faith. Drawing from sources as varied as The Chronicles of Narnia, the biblical story of Book of Job, and the life and suffering of Jesus himself, the conversation moves beyond abstract theology into the deeply personal realities that shape every human life. Together, they examine whether suffering is merely something to endure—or whether it can become a path toward wisdom, transformation, compassion, and ultimately a deeper understanding of the love of God.
The post Eric Metaxas and Peter Kreeft: Atheism’s Greatest Argument Against God first appeared on Socrates in the City.
In this episode of Socrates Dialogues, Mary Harrington is joined by author Freya India for a candid and culturally incisive conversation on the growing commodification of women in the digital age. They trace how social media, pop culture, and influencer platforms, from Call Her Daddy to Cardi B, have reshaped the expectations placed on young women. At the center is the rise of the “Instagram face,” a curated, hyper-perfected ideal that blurs individuality and encourages constant self-surveillance. This conversation explores what it means to internalize an ever-present gaze and questions the modern mental health industry’s role, suggesting future generations may look back with alarm at how deeply it reinforced these pressures on young girls.
The post Freya India and Mary Harrington: Are Women Becoming Objects? first appeared on Socrates in the City.
In this Socrates in the Studio conversation, host Eric Metaxas is joined by author and professor Carl Trueman to discuss his newest book “The Desecration of Man” exploring the modern crisis of meaning through the lenses of philosophy, theology, art, and culture—tracing humanity’s journey from enchantment to disenchantment, from sacred order to nihilism.
Drawing on figures like Thomas Aquinas and the great philosophers of the Western tradition, they examine how religious symbolism, artistic expression, and moral imagination once shaped a vision of what it meant to be human—and how that vision has eroded in the wake of Darwinian materialism, technological obsession, and the decline of transcendent belief. From the haunting symbolism of the Belfast Cathedral’s stained glass to the ideological architecture of the European Parliament, the conversation probes the rise of herd mentality, the loss of spiritual sight, and the phenomenon of “Promethean shame”: the growing suspicion that humanity sees itself as flawed, obsolete, or inferior to its own machines. As transhumanism promises a redesigned future beyond the limits of the human person, the discussion asks a deeper question: what happens when man attempts to replace God—and in doing so, forgets himself?
The post Eric Metaxas and Carl Trueman: How the Rejection of God Degrades Our Humanity first appeared on Socrates in the City.
In this Socrates in the City conversation, Eric Metaxas is joined by Margarita Mooney Clayton, author and founder of the Scala Foundation, to discuss her new book “When Mary Calls: Surprising Encounters with the Mother of God.” In our current day, more and more people are looking to Mary as a spiritual mother and guide. Throughout this conversation, Mooney Clayton shares the enduring and often miraculous influence of Mary in times of danger, loss, and spiritual renewal.
Bridging theological differences across Christian traditions, their conversation considers Mary’s mysterious yet deeply personal role, not only as the second Eve in the story of redemption, but as a living spiritual mother who continues to call, guide, and draw souls closer to God.
The post Eric Metaxas and Margarita Mooney Clayton: Surprising Encounters with the Mother of God first appeared on Socrates in the City.
In this episode of Socrates Dialogues with Mary Harrington, novelist Lionel Shriver joins Harrington for a wide-ranging and incisive conversation on her novel A Better Life and the deeper cultural longings it exposes. Together, they probe the enduring myth of “a better life” and how it shapes modern views on immigration in both the United States and the United Kingdom. They also dive into the fertility crisis, shifting expectations around modern masculinity, and broader social currents redefining family, identity, and belonging in the West. Thought-provoking and unflinching, this dialogue explores what we mean when we seek a better life, and whether the promise still holds.
The post Lionel Shriver and Mary Harrington: Is the “Better Life” Dream Collapsing? first appeared on Socrates in the City.
In this episode of Socrates in the Studio, Eric Metaxas sits down with author and longtime friend Peter Giersch to explore his striking new book “Talking of Michelangelo: Death, Judgment, Heaven, and Hell in the Burgundy Region.” What begins as a journey through the quiet beauty of Burgundy unfolds into something far more profound: a meditation on mortality, meaning, and the soul’s ultimate destination. Part memoir and part travelogue, Giersch recounts a pivotal week spent on an Ignatian retreat—a week that became a turning point in his life of faith. Together, he and Metaxas wrestle with enduring questions: What does it mean to truly confront judgment? How should we understand sin—not merely as doctrine, but as lived reality?
The post Eric Metaxas and Peter Giersch: Are Heaven and Hell Real? first appeared on Socrates in the City.
In this Socrates Dialogues conversation with Mary Harrington, James Orr joins her as he traces his journey from the life of the mind to the heart of public affairs, reflecting on how a scholar becomes a political advisor without abandoning the pursuit of truth. Through this conversation, James Orr explores the meaning of scholasticism and its enduring influence, the shaping power of philosophy on the intellectual life of Europe, and the lasting political visions of Aristotle and Plato as they echo into modernity. Moving between the ancient and the contemporary, the abstract and the practical, the discussion wrestles with one of philosophy’s most enduring questions: the tension between existence and essence – and what it means for how we live, govern, and understand society today.
The post James Orr and Mary Harrington: Why Aristotle Would Disagree With Modern Politics first appeared on Socrates in the City.
How has the West drifted from its grounding in God, and what has been lost along the way? In this Socrates in the Studio conversation, author and scholar Mary Eberstadt joins Eric Metaxas to examine one of the most pressing cultural and spiritual questions of our time.
Drawing on her influential works, including Adam and Eve After the Pill, How the West Lost God, and others, Eberstadt unpacks the far-reaching consequences of the sexual revolution, particularly its impact on relationships between men and women and on the broader redefinition of intimacy, identity, and family. She challenges prevailing assumptions by asking who has truly benefited from these cultural shifts, and the answers may surprise you. They present a compelling case for embracing challenge and struggle, not as obstacles to avoid, but as essential forces that shape us into deeper, more fully realized human beings.
The conversation ultimately turns to the question of womanhood, exploring which vision of religion most authentically uplifts and supports women, and how competing cultural narratives continue to shape—or sometimes distort—our understanding of what it means to flourish.
The post Mary Eberstadt: The Dark Side of the Sexual Revolution first appeared on Socrates in the City.
“The idea of there being human rights is as fantastical as believing that the Lord Jesus Christ rose from the dead on the third day…”
In this spirited dialogue, host Mary Harrington is joined by historian and bestselling author Tom Holland to explore why Rome’s long shadow still falls across the modern imagination, and why Americans are particularly drawn to learning about this great empire. Drawing from Holland’s latest book, Pax: War and Peace in Rome’s Golden Age, the two discuss the wealthiest and most formidable state in the history of humankind. The conversation also ranges from Athens to Jerusalem to Rome, examining how these cities helped forge the moral and political grammar of the West. Along the way, they venture through the legacy of the Persian Empire, the upheavals of the Crusades, and how those ancient impulses continue in the minds of modern people.
The post Tom Holland and Mary Harrington: The Rise and Reach of Rome first appeared on Socrates in the City.
What is behind society’s obsession with monkeys? In this thought-provoking conversation, Socrates in the City host Eric Metaxas sits down with author and playwright Jonathan Leaf to explore the ideas behind his provocative new book, The Primate Myth, and to ask what lies beneath the persistent effort to connect humanity and primates. They discuss why this fascination has endured so powerfully across culture, science, and media.
From the mass popularity of Punch the Monkey to a broader cast of famous animals that have captured the public imagination, they examine the historical, cultural, and even political forces shaping this narrative, questioning whether the perceived relationship between humans and primates is grounded in genuine scientific insight or something more constructed. Along the way, they uncover surprising animal behaviors, trace unexpected ideological influences, and grapple with why this idea continues to resonate so strongly, inviting listeners to reconsider what they think they know about human origins, identity, and the stories we choose to believe.
The post Eric Metaxas and Jonathan Leaf: Decades of Chimp Propaganda first appeared on Socrates in the City.
Mary Harrington is joined by Louise Perry to discuss many topics ranging from the sexual revolution to the collapsing birth rates around the world to the strange pressures of feeling the need to react to each week’s “deranged mass emotional moment.” They argue that stepping offline—and building families and thinking deeply, for example—may actually be the ultimate countercultural move in an age addicted to speed and outrage.
The post Louise Perry and Mary Harrington: The Feminization of Society first appeared on Socrates in the City.
How does the book of Genesis line up with modern science? In this Socrates in the City conversation, Eric Metaxas is joined by astrophysicist Hugh Ross as they explore the surprising truths found in the Bible. The two explore the multitude of ways Genesis gets the science right, but still challenges us, from the origins of the universe to the reality of the Ice Age, along with a personal story about Ross’s Gideon Bible that’s been carried for years. This conversation explores the nuances, mysteries, and surprising truths of the relationship between science and faith.
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Episode three of Socrates Dialogues with Mary Harrington returns, this week with artist Jonathan Pageau, for a conversation that is as delightful as it is wide-ranging. From medieval cosmology to internet memes (we love how Mary describes them as “clusters of meaning”), from Dante to C.S. Lewis, we wonder if there’s a topic that wasn’t covered. The duo discuss how one of the modern world’s troubles lies in forgetting how to see, having traded a symbolic vision of reality for a mechanistic one that leaves the soul rather undernourished.
Along the way, there are conversation detours into the importance of words and language, war, and the apocalyptic imagery of Revelation, and even a surprisingly tender conclusion: that even amidst the thorniest political questions, a shared orientation toward what transcends us may yet allow for unity and love.
The post Jonathan Pageau and Mary Harrington: Reality in a Disenchanted Age first appeared on Socrates in the City.
In this episode of Socrates Dialogues with Mary Harrington, she is joined by philosopher and writer Nina Power, who examines the changing philosophies of education and academic life, questioning the sustainability of what she describes as the “Ponzi scheme” of woke institutional culture. She reflects on the value of intellectual freedom, the dignity of varied vocations, and the necessity of a society that honors different paths, priorities, and forms of excellence beyond the narrow confines of elite academia.
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What are the stories that make up your life? In our newest Socrates in the Studio episode, Socrates in the City founder and host Eric Metaxas sits down with writer, poet, and mythographer Martin Shaw for a conversation that is as searching as it is spellbinding. Shaw’s latest book, Liturgies of the Wild, traces the astonishing and often unbelievable tales that have marked his own journey—from a 101-day immersion in oral storytelling to his unexpected homecoming in the Orthodox Church. Together, Eric and Martin explore the sacred threads that run through storytelling and the way ancient tales continue to speak into modern restlessness. This expansive and captivating interview reveals the surprising ways our lives are woven together by narrative and the One True Myth at the heart of them all.
The post Eric Metaxas and Martin Shaw: Discovering the True Myth first appeared on Socrates in the City.
In this premiere episode of Socrates Dialogues with Mary Harrington, author and broadcaster Justin Brierley joins her to explore the shifting terrain of the New Atheist movement and the surprising cracks forming in its once-confident certainties. Drawing on years of conversations and cultural observation, Brierley examines what he calls a “quiet revival”—a renewed openness to faith, meaning, and transcendence emerging beneath the surface of our secular age.
The post Mary Harrington and Justin Brierley: The Quiet Revival of Christianity first appeared on Socrates in the City.
What gets to be called art—and who decides? In this wide-ranging Socrates Dialogues conversation, New York-based thinkers, writers, and art admirers Heather Mac Donald and Roger Kimball explore the definition of art and the history of the unmaking of beauty in modern contemporary art. Drawing on examples from Duchamp, Warhol, Serrano, Hirst, and others, the two discuss how the banal, the transgressive, and the political have reshaped the aesthetic experience of art, often robbing it of spiritual resonance.
This episode of Socrates in the City is brought to you by Cornerstone University. Cornerstone University students are not only tomorrow’s Christian influencers; they are today’s Christian leaders. Prepare for your God-given calling with 65+ accredited market-ready degree programs from associate to doctorate offered online and on campus in the vibrant city of Grand Rapids, Michigan. Join us in boldly influencing the world for Jesus Christ at cornerstone.edu.
The post Roger Kimball and Heather Mac Donald: How Political Correctness Hijacked the Arts first appeared on Socrates in the City.
What does it mean to speak the truth in an age hostile to the Truth? And why is it that those who dare to do so — whether Socrates, Jesus Himself, or our own contemporary, Charlie Kirk — find themselves at odds with the powers that be? In this Socrates in the Studio conversation, professor of philosophy Peter Kreeft joins host Eric Metaxas to reflect on the cost of truth-telling. Throughout the conversation, Dr. Kreeft shares his own remarkable journey from Calvinist to Catholic, gives insights into why a good God allows suffering, and reminds us that history tells the story of martyrdom as the seed of the Church. The two make the case for why Socrates merits recognition as a martyr, and how, although some may disagree theologically, we can find common ground in Truth.
This episode of Socrates in the City is brought to you by Cornerstone University. Cornerstone University students are not only tomorrow’s Christian influencers; they are today’s Christian leaders. Prepare for your God-given calling with 65+ accredited market-ready degree programs from associate to doctorate offered online and on campus in the vibrant city of Grand Rapids, Michigan. Join us in boldly influencing the world for Jesus Christ at cornerstone.edu.
The post Peter Kreeft and Eric Metaxas: Charlie Kirk, Martyrdom, and Dying for the Truth first appeared on Socrates in the City.
What is the history of Stoicism and how does one practice it today?
Socrates in the City host Eric Metaxas sits down with professor and philosopher Massimo Pigliucci, author of the popular How to be a Stoic and Beyond Stoicism, to discuss the history and development of Stoicism, and the line between emotion, reason, and virtue. They discuss the influence of stoicism in pop culture, from ancient Greek icons to modern-day Star Trek. Throughout Pigliucci’s work, he highlights the balance of skepticism and trust as a road to wisdom, as exemplified by Socrates himself.
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Is there an unnamed force ― which we all feel ― reshaping what it means to be human? Socrates in the City host Eric Metaxas is joined by the furiously gifted writer, Paul Kingsnorth, to discuss his newest book, Against The Machine: On the Unmaking of Humanity. Throughout the compelling ― and at times chilling ― discussion, Kingsnorth asks if society is unmaking humanity by replacing a Christian worldview with technical progress, creating a type of technological tower of Babel. The two discuss advances in AI, humanity’s bent to create God from the Garden of Eden, Frankenstein, transhumanism, and Kingsnorth’s hope for the future of our modern world. This episode of Socrates in the City is brought to you by Cornerstone University. Cornerstone University students are not only tomorrow’s Christian influencers; they are today’s Christian leaders. Prepare for your God-given calling with 65+ accredited market-ready degree programs from associate to doctorate offered online and on campus in the vibrant city of Grand Rapids, Michigan. Join us in boldly influencing the world for Jesus Christ at cornerstone.edu.
The post Paul Kingsnorth: Against the Machine first appeared on Socrates in the City.
“Evil labors with vast power and perpetual success – in vain: preparing always only the soil for unexpected good to sprout in.” —J.R.R. Tolkien
What does it mean to cling to truth, beauty, and goodness in the shadow of history’s darkest hours? Can goodness truly spring forth from evil?
These questions lie at the heart of this Socrates in the City conversation with historian Joseph Loconte. The discussion focuses on J.R.R. Tolkien and C.S. Lewis, two literary giants who wrote their masterpieces in the aftermath of World War II. In his latest book, The War for Middle-earth: J.R.R. Tolkien and C.S. Lewis Confront the Gathering Storm, 1933–1945, Loconte—together with SITC host Eric Metaxas—traces how the devastation of World War II shaped both the friendship and the imaginations of C.S. Lewis and J.R.R. Tolkien, inspiring them to create works that continue to illuminate the battle between good and evil.
The post Joe Loconte: The War for Middle – Earth first appeared on Socrates in the City.
What is happiness? Socrates in the City host Eric Metaxas sits down with Dr. Arthur Brooks to discuss one of the most prevalent questions in our society: What is happiness? The question behind his newest book, The Happiness Files. Based on his long career and his lived experience as a Professor and scholar, Dr. Brooks shares not only what happiness is, but the deeper questions of love, loss, and meaning. Throughout this conversation, they explore the scientific theories of happiness, what challenges we face in modern society to achieving it, and Dr. Brook’s signature game for his students, “What is my idol?”
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Can we prove the existence of God? In this Socrates in the City conversation, host Eric Metaxas speaks with William Lane Craig—Emeritus Research Professor of Philosophy at Talbot School of Theology, renowned Christian apologist, and one of today’s most influential philosophers. Drawing from his new book, Systematic Philosophical Theology, and more than four decades of experience and research, Craig examines some of the most pressing questions at the crossroads of Christian doctrine and contemporary analytic philosophy. Together, they explore Dr. Craig’s long history of leading apologetic studies, the historical roots of Adam and Eve, the role of Neanderthals in the human story, humanity’s earliest traces of civilization, and how science and faith meet in many surprising ways.
The post William Lane Craig: Is the Existence of God Provable? first appeared on Socrates in the City.
Is there an innate human knowledge of Truth? Socrates in the City host Eric Metaxas sits down with Robert P. George, Princeton University Professor of Jurisprudence and Director of the James Madison Program, to discuss his new book, Seeking Truth and Speaking Truth. Their conversation delves into the nature of humanity, examining how our understanding of it influences our perception of truth, and the interplay between biblical perspectives, classical traditions, and modern philosophies. From moral contrasts to reflections on great philosophers, they examine belief, feeling, and the shared foundations of truth.
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How did Socialism become mainstream in New York City? In this timely and insightful conversation, Socrates in the City host Eric Metaxas speaks with NYC-based journalist Olivia Reingold about her coverage of the 2026 NYC Mayoral race’s front runner, Zohran Mamdani. Reingold unpacks the shifting tide in the political and economic thought of Gen Z, how Mamdani’s campaign—run almost entirely online—may become a blueprint for future digital-first political movements, and what a socialist mayor could signal for America’s political future.
The post Olivia Reingold: What Political Polarization Means for America first appeared on Socrates in the City.
What are the Jewish and Christian foundations of Western society—and why do they matter today? In this insightful conversation, Socrates in the City host Eric Metaxas speaks with journalist and author Melanie Phillips about her newest book, The Builder’s Stone. Phillips explores Jewish identity, the history of Israel, and the spiritual roots that have shaped our culture. She also reflects on her career in journalism, the cost of truth-telling, and the common misconceptions that cloud our understanding of faith, history, and identity.
The post Melanie Phillips: How Jews and Christians Built the West—and Why Only They Can Save It first appeared on Socrates in the City.
What is the relationship between the Declaration of Independence and the Constitution? Are these simply historical documents, or could they reflect something divinely inspired? In this conversation, Socrates in the City host Eric Metaxas sits down with Hillsdale College President Dr. Larry Arnn to explore the spiritual architecture of America’s founding in his book, The Founder’s Key. Drawing from his deep scholarship, Dr. Arnn illuminates how the bold creativity behind the American experiment was rooted in timeless truths—and how its carefully crafted separation of powers reflects both human humility and a reverence for divine order.
The post Larry Arnn: The Progressive Assault on the American Idea first appeared on Socrates in the City.
Is there an ethical way to approach the boundaries and limitations of humanity? William Hurlbut is a Senior Research Scholar in the Dept. of Neurology and Neurological Sciences and an Adjunct Professor in the Dept. of Neurobiology at Stanford University Medical Center as well as an expert on the intersection of theology and science. He joins Socrates in the City host, Eric Metaxas, to discuss the dangers of genetic engineering, embryonic testing, and both the international and ethical complications of it all. Through this insightful conversation, Hurlbut shares the new developments in transhumanism and explores the boundaries of humanity.
The post William Hurlbut: The Boundaries of Humanity first appeared on Socrates in the City.
Do all roads lead to Rome? And do all paths lead to faith? Ross Douthat, a New York Times Opinion columnist joins Socrates in the City host Eric Metaxas to discuss his new book, Believe, and share his case for why a renewed religious society aligns better with scientific data, history, and our desires for something beyond ourselves. Through his book, Douthat shares the popular arguments against religion, the relationship between faith and science, and how his own personal experience of faith has shifted and grown over time.
The post Ross Douthat: Why Everyone Should Be Religious first appeared on Socrates in the City.
Has toxic empathy led modern Christians to live in a Stockholm Syndrome-like way towards an opposing world? John West, Vice President of the Seattle-based Discovery Institute, where he also serves as Managing Director of the Institute’s Center for Science & Culture, shares how the overwhelming influence of toxic empathy and desire to appease popular culture can be fatal to our faith. Using the famous Stockholm bank robbery of the 1970, West joins Socrates in the City host Eric Metaxas, to discuss how Christians have subconsciously grown up in cultural captivity, and how we can rebel against it.
The post John West: Stockholm Syndrome Christianity first appeared on Socrates in the City.
What do Woody Allen, Dostoevsky, and Cain and Able have in common? What are the underlying psychological themes and influences in modern horror? Andrew Klavan, an award-winning writer, screenwriter, and media commentator joins Socrates in the City host Eric Metaxas to discuss his new book, The Kingdom of Cain. Klavan explores how artists’ imaginative engagement with the darkness can point the way to living beautifully in the midst of a tragic world. Using the frame of three historic murders, he examines how the transformation that occurs in art grants us a vision for how transformation can take root in our lives.
The post Andrew Klavan: Finding God in the Literature of Darkness first appeared on Socrates in the City.
Is the West in decline? Dr. James Lindsay is the author of books like Cynical Theories, The Marxification of Education, and most recently, The Queering of the American Child. He joins Socrates in the City host, Eric Metaxas to discuss his experiences in uncovering the hypocrisy of academic journals and the critical theory, cultural and academic marxism, and other hidden agendas these publications endorse. They explore how these trends are impacting academia in the West and beyond.
The post James Lindsey: Exposing the Insanity of Modern Academia first appeared on Socrates in the City.
Iain McGilchrist is a former Fellow of All Souls College, Oxford, an associate Fellow of Green Templeton College, Oxford, and a Fellow of the Royal College of Psychiatrists to name a few. A leading scholar in the field of neurology he has published original research on neuroimaging in schizophrenia, the phenomenology of schizophrenia, and is the author of, The Master and his Emissary:The Divided Brain and the Making of the Western World. He joins Socrates in the City host, Eric Metaxas to discuss the myths and misconceptions between the left and right hemispheres of our brain. McGilchrist highlights the importance of understanding the balance within our brains, and how this has shaped and changed Western Civilization.
The post Iain McGilchrist first appeared on Socrates in the City.
Headmaster of Michaela school, Katherine Birbalsingh sits down with host Eric Metaxas to discuss the challenges of speaking about the deficiencies in the UK school system and how it led her to begin her school and initiate a reform of Classical Education against the ‘soft bigotry of low expectations’.
The post Katherine Birbalsingh: Is Classical Education the Key to Reviving the West? first appeared on Socrates in the City.
What has Athens to do with Jerusalem? What does the world of philosophy have to do with the world of religion? Professor of Philosophy of Religion at the Faculty of Divinity, Dr. James Orr joins host Eric Metaxas to have a conversation on the Twilight of the West, the relationship between orthodoxy and orthopraxy, and the enduring influence of Hellenistic and Hebraic thought in our enlightened world.
The post James Orr: Maintaining Orthodoxy in an Evolving West first appeared on Socrates in the City.
Is the West inherently bad? Konstantin Kisin, Writer, social commentator, co-host of TRIGGERnometry and comedian, sits down with Socrates in the City host Eric Metaxas to discuss how the rise of ‘woke culture’ undermines the multifaceted history of the West. They explore the limits of free speech, the balance between fear and change, and the relationship of shame and truth.
The post Konstantin Kisin: Can Western Civilization Survive without Free Speech? first appeared on Socrates in the City.
Host Eric Metaxas welcomes lawyer, activist, and Independent Presidential candidate Mr. Robert F. Kennedy Jr. to the Socrates in the City stage with a standing ovation for a conversation on America. In keeping with the forum’s history, Mr. Metaxas asks Mr. Kennedy the big questions, questions on “life, God, and other small topics”. Conversation topics are wide-ranging and include everything from government corruption to drug addiction to RFK Jr.’s faith in God to the murder of his uncle and father, and include references to cultural figures such as Upton Sinclair, Carl Jung, Albert Camus, and… Anthony Fauci. The duo even discuss a recent dinner with RFK Jr., Hilary Clinton, and Mike Pompeo in attendance, the last of whom said something noteworthy to the guest. This captivating exchange took place before a live audience in New York City in June 2024.
The post Robert F. Kennedy Jr. – America: Past, Present, and Future first appeared on Socrates in the City.
The esteemed editor of The New Criterion — a monthly review of the arts and intellectual life – and president of Encounter Books, Roger Kimball, and Socrates host Eric Metaxas, sit down for a delightful conversation on the intellectual life, touching on subjects from the inversion of virtue to political correctness to the effects of the sexual revolution on culture to Artificial Intelligence.
The post Roger Kimball: The Intellectual Life first appeared on Socrates in the City.
Wallstreet businessman turned author Michael Wilkerson sits down with host Eric Metaxas to answer the question of if and why America matters. After his business in Africa was paused during the 2020 Covid shutdowns, Wilkerson’s eyes were opened to the partisan, cultural, and ideological divides in America, and he wondered if the nation could still be good, or even great. Taking an in-depth look at history — from the settlers to Abraham Lincoln and beyond — Wilkerson argues that a new century requires a new vision of American greatness.
The post Michael Wilkerson: Why America Matters first appeared on Socrates in the City.
The day after his Socrates in the City event on C.S. Lewis and Scientism, The Discovery Institute’s Dr. John West sits down with Host Eric Metaxas to discuss his documentary Human Zoos: America’s Forgotten History of Scientific Racism.
Human Zoos tells the shocking story of how thousands of indigenous peoples were put on public display in America in the early decades of the twentieth century. To watch the full documentary, head to https://humanzoos.org/.
The post John West: Human Zoos: America’s Forgotten History of Scientific Racism first appeared on Socrates in the City.
Scientist and attorney Casey Luskin sits down with Socrates in the City host Eric Metaxas to explore these big questions: Is science objective? How did humans come into existence? How do you reconcile faith and science? Luskin is the editor of The Comprehensive Guide to Science and Faith and co-author of Science and Human Origins and Associate Director of the Center for Science and Culture.
The post Casey Luskin: The Comprehensive Guide to Science and Faith first appeared on Socrates in the City.
English Professor at Houston Baptist University, Louis Markos, returns for a second conversation with Socrates in the City’s Eric Metaxas. For this entertaining Studio conversation, the duo illustrate how ancient myths point to Christ, discussing C.S. Lewis, Pandora’s Box, Genesis, and much else along the way.
The post Louis Markos: Myth Made Fact: Reading Greek and Roman Mythology through Christian Eyes first appeared on Socrates in the City.
Louis Markos, English Professor at Houston Baptist University, joins host Eric Metaxas for a fascinating conversation on how the work of Plato — Socrates’s student and Aristotle’s teacher — has shaped the Christian faith. In this lively discussion, the two look at Plato’s best-known texts and talk about how it affected figures like Augustine, Dante, and C. S. Lewis.
The post Louis Markos: From Plato to Christ: How Platonic Thought Shaped the Christian Faith first appeared on Socrates in the City.
The Stream’s John Zmirak and host Eric Metaxas sit down to discuss Zmirak’s new book: No Second Amendment, No First. No Second Amendment, No First is nothing less an urgent call for moral clarity, and a full-throated reminder of what is at stake in the war for our nation’s soul.
The post John Zmirak: No Second Amendment, No First first appeared on Socrates in the City.
Writer and cultural commentator Andrew Klavan returns for an in-depth conversation with host Eric Metaxas on his nonfiction book, The Truth and Beauty. The two discuss the Romantic’s response to the collapse of European thought and belief and what that means for us today.
The post Andrew Klavan: The Truth and Beauty Part Two first appeared on Socrates in the City.
Is there a “law” hidden beneath the written law? Hadley Arkes, professor of law for nearly fifty years, and host Eric Metaxas sit down to discuss how the framers of the Constitution regarded the “self-evident” truths of the Natural Law as foundational.
The post Hadley Arkes: Mere Natural Law first appeared on Socrates in the City.
What does truth have to do with beauty, and what does beauty have to do with goodness? Princeton Theological Seminary’s Margarita Mooney Clayton and host Eric Metaxas sit down to discuss the meaning of beauty as defined by figures such as St. Augustine, Plato, and C.S. Lewis, and its great significance for a materialistic generation.
The post Margarita Mooney Clayton: The Wounds of Beauty first appeared on Socrates in the City.
Medical doctor, public health policy expert, and senior fellow at Stanford University’s Hoover Institute Dr. Scott Atlas joins host Eric Metaxas to share details from his time on the White House’s COVID-19 Task Force.
The post Scott Atlas: The Fight to Stop COVID-19 from Destroying America first appeared on Socrates in the City.
Dr. Anthony Bradley and host Eric Metaxas discuss the unique position of fraternities to provide men with support, friendship, and mentors, and create opportunities for heroism and hope in an age of anxiety and socioeconomic change.
To watch the full interview, head to Socrates+ at socratesinthecityplus.com.
The post Anthony Bradley: Heroic Fraternities first appeared on Socrates in the City.
Public intellectual and author Heather Mac Donald and host Eric Metaxas discuss ideologies that are infecting Western institutions. The two argue that lowering standards in the name of inclusion leads to mediocrity, and worse, and offer some solutions.
For the full interview, head to Socrates+ at socratesinthecityplus.com.
The post Heather Mac Donald: When Race Trumps Merit first appeared on Socrates in the City.
Socrates in the City host Eric Metaxas sits down with investigative journalist James O’Keefe and founder of O’Keefe Media Group, for a conversation on the cost of truth telling. The two discuss many things including the history of whistleblowing, why O’Keefe has hope for the future of journalism, and his recent work with stories that include a fleeing IRS agent, an FBI raid, and getting banned from all Equinox gyms.
This conversation took place in February 2024 in New York City.
The post James O’Keefe: American Muckraker: Rethinking Journalism for the 21st Century first appeared on Socrates in the City.
Beloved for the Chronicles of Narnia and his books of Christian apologetics, C.S. Lewis was also was a prophetic critic of the growing power of scientism in modern society, the misguided effort to apply science to areas outside its proper bounds. In this wide-ranging interview, Eric Metaxas speaks with John West about his book “The Magicians Twin: C.S. Lewis on Science, Scientism, and Society.” They discuss Lewis’ warnings about the dehumanizing impact of scientism on ethics, politics, faith, reason, and science itself. Issues explored include Lewis’s views on bioethics, eugenics, evolution, intelligent design, and what he called “scientocracy.”
The post Dr. John West: C. S. Lewis and Scientism first appeared on Socrates in the City.
It was on October 7, 2023 when Hamas terrorists brutalized Israelis in the deadliest attack since the Holocaust. The whole world watched in horror as millions tried to process what took place and why. Socrates in the City host Eric Metaxas and guest — and dear friend — Dennis Prager sat down together to process and discuss Israel’s place in the world and the Middle-East crisis. Despite the topic, this conversation is not without light-hearted moments, and you’ll see why this duo — a Jew and a Greek — have been friends for many years.
This Socrates in the City event took place on December 6th, 2023.
The post Dennis Prager: Israel’s Place in the World first appeared on Socrates in the City.
The stunning details of the discovery of biblical Sodom, including the moment archeologist Dr. Steven Collins first kneeled at the site to finding Trinitite-like glass to unearthing the gates where Lot sat, is full of dramatic twists and turns.
This interview took place at Socrates in the City in Fort Worth, Texas, October 12th, 2023.
The post Steven Collins: Discovering the City of Sodom first appeared on Socrates in the City.
On the eve of his 59th wedding anniversary, the tenth man to walk on the Moon, astronaut Charlie Duke is interviewed by Eric Metaxas for a special Socrates in the City event commemorating the 50th anniversary of the Apollo 16 Moon landing. The two discuss General Duke’s career leading up to his momentous trip to the Moon, details and dangers that nearly derailed the historic event, and then Metaxas asks — to the 36 year-old Charlie Duke who has just returned from the Moon in 1972 — “you’ve just returned from the Moon, now what are you going to do?” General Charlie Duke ends the evening by asking Eric, “may I have a closing statement?” and gives a word for the ages. In reflecting on the conversation, Eric Metaxas, founder and host of Socrates in the City, says, “it was difficult not to be moved at a few junctures in the conversation, and Charlie himself got choked up a few times. We also had a few laughs, which is not unimportant. It was a genuinely magical evening.”
This event took place at the Union League Club in New York City in May 2022. Learn more about Socrates in the City at socratesinthecity.com.
The post Charlie Duke: The Apollo 16 Moon Landing first appeared on Socrates in the City.
A conversation between Dr. James Tour and Socrates in the City host Eric Metaxas on the topic “How Did Life Come into Being?” This event took place at the River Oaks Country Club in Houston, Texas in October 2022. Learn more about Socrates in the City at socratesinthecity.com. Dr. Tour is presently the T. T. […]
The post James Tour: How Did Life Come into Being? first appeared on Socrates in the City.
A conversation between Eugenia Constantinou and Socrates in the City host Eric Metaxas regarding Ms. Constantinou’s recent book: “The Crucifixion of the King of Glory.” This event took place at the Union League Club in New York City on February 28th, 2023. Learn more about Socrates in the City at socratesinthecity.com. Dr. Eugenia Constantinou is […]
The post Eugenia Constantinou: The Crucifixion of the King of Glory first appeared on Socrates in the City.
Os Guinness and Socrates in the City host Eric Metaxas discuss Mr. Guinness’ recent books: “The Magna Carta of Humanity” and “Zero Dark America.” This event took place at the Union League Club in New York City on December 6th, 2022. Learn more about Socrates in the City at socratesinthecity.com. Os Guinness, author and speaker, […]
The post Os Guinness: The Magna Carta of Humanity first appeared on Socrates in the City.
From the Battle of Brooklyn in 1776, to the California Gold Rush, to the Guano Islands Act of 1856, Socrates in the City guest Michael Medved and host Eric Metaxas discuss the idea that America’s existence and expansion has been divinely devised. Medved begins the conversation with a story about the miraculous life of his […]
The post Michael Medved: God’s Hand on America first appeared on Socrates in the City.
North Korean defector Yeonmi Park joins Socrates in the City host Eric Metaxas to discuss her latest book WHILE TIME REMAINS. In this uniquely sobering SITC interview, Ms. Park details her early years: foraging for plants and eating bugs to stay alive in “Socialist Paradise,” her family’s involvement in the black market, escaping to China and being sold into slavery, and seeking freedom in South Korea by way of the Gobi Desert. The conversation then moves to Yeonmi’s time studying at Columbia University in New York City. With insight from her time spent in a dictatorship filled with indoctrination, censorship, and mob rule, Park speaks to the current American landscape. The interview took place on March 30th, 2023 — 16 years to the day of her escape from North Korea in 2007 — at the Union League Club in New York City.
The post Yeonmi Park: While Time Remains first appeared on Socrates in the City.
A conversation between esteemed author Andrew Klavan and Socrates in the City host Eric Metaxas regarding Mr. Klavan’s recent book, The Truth and Beauty: How the Lives and Works of England’s Greatest Poets Point the Way to a Deeper Understanding of the Words of Jesus.
This event took place at the Union League Club in New York City in September 2022.
The post Andrew Klavan: The Truth and Beauty first appeared on Socrates in the City.
Eric Metaxas interviews Stephen C. Meyer on the scientific evidence for the existence of God as outlined in Dr. Meyer’s book THE RETURN OF THE GOD HYPOTHESIS. Their conversation explores evidence from cosmology, showing that the material universe had a beginning; evidence from physics, showing that the universe was been “finely tuned” to allow for […]
The post Stephen Meyer: The Return of the God Hypothesis first appeared on Socrates in the City.
From the Socrates in the City archives: Baroness Caroline Cox sits in the British House of Lords as a crossbencher and is a frequent contributor to Lords debates on Sudan, South Sudan, Syria, Nigeria, and Burma. At this 2011 event in Manhattan, Baroness Cox discusses threats to the West’s cultural and political heritage in the […]
The post Baroness Caroline Cox: The Threat to the West's Cultural and Political Heritage first appeared on Socrates in the City.
Eric Metaxas takes the role of panelist, joining professor and journalist David Batstone in talking about the issue of slavery with guest-host Scot Sherman. Metaxas discusses his hero William Wilberforce, whose story he tells in the bestseller AMAZING GRACE: WILLIAM WILBERFORCE AND THE HEROIC CAMPAIGN TO END SLAVERY, and Batstone retells the harrowing true story […]
The post Not for Sale and Amazing Grace first appeared on Socrates in the City.
Famed former British Cabinet Minister and Member of Parliament Jonathan Aitken examines the concepts of “Ruin, Rehabilitation, and Redemption” in the lives of Richard Nixon and Charles Colson, with an astonishing twist — that of his own experience with ruin, rehabilitation, and redemption — at Socrates in the City in New York City in 2004.
The post Jonathan Aitken: Ruin, Rehabilitation and Redemption first appeared on Socrates in the City.
Distinguished Fellow of The Center for Bioethics, physician, and Consulting Professor in the Department of Neurobiology at Stanford University Medical Center William Hurlbut explores how dramatic advances in molecular biology and human biology have resulted in inquiry that raises questions about the relationship between the material form and the moral meaning of developing life. After unpacking […]
The post William Hurlbut: The Science and Politics of Stem Cells: Is There a Way Forward? first appeared on Socrates in the City.
Former California Poet laureate and Chairman of the National Endowment for the Arts Dana Gioia diffuses the widely-held notion that poetry is a sophisticated, intellectual art for the elite. Mr. Gioia offers a personal and accessible look at how art does something for us that nothing else will do, and how poetry is a human […]
The post Dana Gioia: Can Poetry Matter? first appeared on Socrates in the City.
Host Eric Metaxas welcomes British theoretical physicist Sir John Polkinghorne to this 2003 Socrates in the City event in New York City. Sir Polkinghorne presents on themes from his book BELIEF IN GOD IN AN AGE OF SCIENCE, discussing the collegiality between science and theology and detailing what he refers to as some of the […]
The post Sir John Polkinghorne: Belief in God in an Age of Science first appeared on Socrates in the City.
The eminent political philosopher Jean Bethke Elshtain examines the origins and meanings of “sovereignty” as it relates to all the ways we attempt to explain our world: God, state, and self. This 2010 lecture, hosted by Eric Metaxas, ends with a lively Q&A and was originally part of Dr. Elshtain’s 2006 Gifford Lectures.
The post Jean Bethke Elshtain: Who Gets The Final Say: God, Government or Me? first appeared on Socrates in the City.
Boston College Professor of Philosophy Peter Kreeft explores the ages-old question of “Why?” from a philosophical perspective, touching on themes from his book, MAKING SENSE OUT OF SUFFERING, in a lecture given in New York City in January 2003.
The post Peter Kreeft: Making Sense Out of Suffering first appeared on Socrates in the City.
British theoretical physicist Sir John Polkinghorne examines how scientific discoveries of the 20th century, particularly quantum theory and chaos theory, disrupted the “clockwork universe” view of the world that prevailed for about 200 years after Newton. Polkinghorne explores how a world that does not behave in a reliable way, that is described not deterministically but […]
The post Sir John Polkinghorne: Can a Scientist Pray? first appeared on Socrates in the City.
Eric Metaxas hosts an interview with two guests: columnist Cal Thomas and political pundit Bob Beckel are political adversaries—AND good friends. Be prepared for surprisingly poignant moments amidst lively banter in a conversation centered around Thomas’s book, WHAT WORKS: COMMON SENSE SOLUTIONS FOR A STRONGER AMERICA.
The post Cal Thomas and Bob Beckel: Common Sense Solutions for a Stronger America first appeared on Socrates in the City.
The legendary Roger Scruton explores the ideas, perspectives, and implications of the “New Atheism” at this New York City Socrates in the City event hosted by Eric Metaxas in 2008.
The post Sir Roger Scruton: The New Atheism first appeared on Socrates in the City.
British Orthodox rabbi, theologian, and author Rabbi Sir Jonathan Sacks presents the case that multicultural British society requires a new approach to national identity, arguing that responsibility — specifically building and creating together — gives societies a strong sense of identity and belonging. This 2009 lecture and Q&A is moderated by Socrates in the City […]
The post Rabbi Sir Jonathan Sacks: The Home We Build Together first appeared on Socrates in the City.
Eric Metaxas interviews entrepreneur and investor Peter Thiel on his bestselling book ZERO TO ONE. Using Apollo 11 and Woodstock as reference points, Thiel and Metaxas explore the idea that we live in an age of technological stagnation, and cover a range of topics — globalization, Greta Thunberg, academia, the worst of the cardinal sins, […]
The post Peter Thiel: Zero to One first appeared on Socrates in the City.
Socrates in the City’s own Eric Metaxas turns over his hosting duties to legendary TV talkshow host Dick Cavett, for an extra special Socrates event on the subject of MIRACLES: WHAT THEY ARE, WHY THEY HAPPEN, AND HOW THEY CAN CHANGE YOUR LIFE.
The post Eric Metaxas: Miracles first appeared on Socrates in the City.
At Socrates in the City Oxford, Eric Metaxas interviews Colin Nicholl, a Cambridge Ph.D. and New Testament scholar who spent four years studying with astronomers to explore the fascinating premise that the Star of Bethlehem was actually a comet, as told in his book, THE GREAT CHRIST COMET. Filmed at St. Aldate’s Church in Oxford, […]
The post Colin Nicholl: The Great Christ Comet first appeared on Socrates in the City.
N.T. Wright, one of the world’s leading New Testament scholars, discusses his book SURPRISED BY SCRIPTURE: ENGAGING CONTEMPORARY ISSUES. This lecture took place in New York City in July 2011.
The post N.T. Wright: Surprised by Scripture first appeared on Socrates in the City.
Host Eric Metaxas introduces special guest Dick Cavett — adding a musical tribute on a set that nods to the decades-long Dick Cavett Show — and converses with the TV talkshow legend about experiences that went into his book, BRIEF ENCOUNTERS. This Socrates in the City event took place on New York City’s Upper West […]
The post Dick Cavett: Brief Encounters first appeared on Socrates in the City.
Author and social critic Os Guinness examines the idea that he argues gave rise to the most distinctive features of the West, in this 2004 New York City lecture and Q&A moderated by Socrates in the City host Eric Metaxas.
The post Os Guinness: One True God: The Scandal or the Glory of the West? first appeared on Socrates in the City.
Eric Metaxas and Socrates in the City present an evening with John Lennox, Professor of Mathematics at Oxford University, at the Union Club in New York City in January 2013. Dr. Lennox explores a method for reading and interpreting the first chapters of Genesis without discounting either science or Scripture. Afterward Metaxas is heard asking, […]
The post John Lennox: Seven Days that Divide the World first appeared on Socrates in the City.
Eric Metaxas continues his conversation in Boston with scholar Thomas Howard about C.S. Lewis, J.R.R. Tolkien, Howard’s journey to Catholicism, and more! Eric considers Howard’s book CHANCE OR THE DANCE? one of the greatest books of the 20th century.
The post Thomas Howard: Chance or the Dance – Part 2 first appeared on Socrates in the City.
Eric Metaxas goes to Boston to talk with scholar Thomas Howard about the questions explored in his book, CHANCE OR THE DANCE? Eric considers this one of the greatest books of the 20th century.
The post Thomas Howard: Chance or the Dance – Part 1 first appeared on Socrates in the City.
Eric Metaxas interviews Stephen C. Meyer about the ultimate mystery of the universe as drawn from recent scientific discoveries in physics, cosmology, and biology, at the Dallas Conference on Science and Faith in January 2019.
The post Stephen Meyer: The Return of the God Hypothesis first appeared on Socrates in the City.
Bestselling author, journalist, and foreign policy commentator David Aikman looks to history and Scripture as he explores the question, “Does God have a foreign policy?” in this 2002 Socrates in the City lecture in New York City.
The post David Aikman: Does God Have a Foreign Policy? first appeared on Socrates in the City.
After serving in prison, Chuck Colson—known as President Nixon’s “hatchet man”—became an evangelical author and criminal justice reform advocate. At this vintage 2010 Socrates in the City event in New York City, Mr. Colson discusses his six-part video series called DOING THE RIGHT THING, exploring what he perceives as America’s crisis of ethics in every […]
The post Chuck Colson: Doing The Right Thing: A Six-Part Exploration of Ethics first appeared on Socrates in the City.
Eric Metaxas interviews the perspicacious Peter Hitchens, brother of the late Christopher Hitchens, about his book THE RAGE AGAINST GOD.
The post Peter Hitchens: The Rage Against God and How Atheism Led Me to Faith first appeared on Socrates in the City.
Eric Metaxas interviews Canon J. John, a British apologist, author, and speaker.
The post Canon J. John: Conversations About Faith first appeared on Socrates in the City.
The eminent political philosopher Jean Bethke Elshtain discusses C.S. Lewis’s 1944 essay “The Abolition of Man” and explores the idea of a rock-bottom claim on human dignity. Her brilliant talk ends with a brilliant Q&A session. Hosted by Eric Metaxas, this lecture was given in New York City in 2005.
The post Jean Bethke Elshtain: Who Are We? C.S. Lewis and the Question of Man first appeared on Socrates in the City.
Christian Wiman discusses his book, MY BRIGHT ABYSS: MEDITATION OF A MODERN BELIEVER, with Eric Metaxas at the Socrates in the City Gala in June 2013, at the Union League Club in New York City.
The post Christian Wiman: Meditation of a Modern Believer first appeared on Socrates in the City.
“Inimitable” is a word to be used sparingly, but it is THE word for Mark Helprin. Don’t be fooled by the staid topic — instead, prepare to be amazed by Mr. Helprin’s conversation with host Eric Metaxas, who considers him the greatest living fiction writer!
The post Mark Helprin: His Life and Work first appeared on Socrates in the City.
Host Eric Metaxas and Oxford professor John Lennox explore the question, “Has science buried God?” — discussing the fine-tuned universe, evolution, logic, history, and more! “It’s like we’re an old Vaudeville team” says Metaxas, who eggs the legendary Lennox into retelling his equally legendary roast chicken anecdote. The interview was hosted by the Colson Center […]
The post John Lennox: Has Science Buried God? first appeared on Socrates in the City.
Socrates in the City host Eric Metaxas interviews Joseph Loconte, historian and professor, on his book THE SEARCHERS: A QUEST FOR FAITH IN THE VALLEY OF DOUBT in May 2012.
The post Joseph Loconte: A Quest for Faith in a Valley of Doubt first appeared on Socrates in the City.
N.T. Wright, one of the world’s leading New Testament scholars, discusses his book SIMPLY CHRISTIAN: WHY CHRISTIANITY MAKES SENSE in New York City in 2006.
The post N.T. Wright: Simply Christian first appeared on Socrates in the City.
The prescience of author and social critic Os Guinness is again on display in this lecture about “Sustainable Freedom and the American Future” from September 2012.
The post Os Guinness: A Free People's Suicide first appeared on Socrates in the City.
Eric Metaxas talks with Ard Louis, professor of theoretical physics at Oxford University about “science and faith and life,” pushing past the oft-asked questions on these topics.
The post Ard Louis: Science and Faith first appeared on Socrates in the City.
Eric Metaxas interviews Walter Hooper, friend and secretary of C.S. Lewis, about Lewis’s life and writings–uncovering fascinating stories about the beloved Oxford don.
The post Walter Hooper: The Life and Writing of C.S. Lewis - Part 3 first appeared on Socrates in the City.
Eric Metaxas interviews Walter Hooper, friend and secretary of C.S. Lewis, about Lewis’s life and writings–uncovering fascinating stories about the beloved Oxford don.
The post Walter Hooper: The Life and Writing of C.S. Lewis - Part 2 first appeared on Socrates in the City.
Eric Metaxas interviews Walter Hooper, friend and secretary of C.S. Lewis, about Lewis’s life and writings–uncovering fascinating stories about the beloved Oxford don.
The post Walter Hooper: The Life and Writing of C.S. Lewis - Part 1 first appeared on Socrates in the City.
Author and social critic Os Guinness discusses the plea he offers up in his book by the same title — a plea to end the polarization of American politics and culture, which he says threatens to reverse the very principles our founders set into motion that have long preserved liberty, diversity, and unity in the U.S. This 2008 […]
The post Os Guinness: The Case for Civility and Why Our Future Depends on It first appeared on Socrates in the City.
Has Science buried God? Eric Metaxas tracks down Oxford’s John Lennox in France for answers, and the brilliant professor delivers!
The post John Lennox: The Question of Science and God - Part 2 first appeared on Socrates in the City.
Has Science buried God? Eric Metaxas tracks down Oxford’s John Lennox in France for answers, and the brilliant professor delivers!
The post John Lennox: The Question of Science and God - Part 1 first appeared on Socrates in the City.
For more than twenty-five years Harvard psychiatrist Armand Nicholi taught a course comparing the philosophical arguments of Sigmund Freud and C.S. Lewis. In this 2003 lecture, Nicholi explores how the worldviews of these seminal figures shaped their understanding of the problem of pain and suffering, the nature of love and sex, and the ultimate meaning […]
The post Armand Nicholi: Sigmund Freud & C.S. Lewis on Love, Sex, and the Meaning of Life first appeared on Socrates in the City.
Eric Metaxas interviews the legendary Dick Cavett on “What is the Price of Fame?” at Socrates in the City.
The post Dick Cavett: What is the Price of Fame? first appeared on Socrates in the City.
Oxford theologian, intellectual historian, and scientist Alister McGrath challenges the widely held assumption that the world is becoming more secular and makes the case for why atheism cannot provide the moral and intellectual guidance essential for coping with the complexities of modern life.
The post Alister McGrath: The Twilight of Atheism first appeared on Socrates in the City.
Thinker and writer Frederica Mathewes-Green poses the question: can we have direct access to God? Based on her study and personal experience with Eastern Christian Spirituality, Mathewes-Green suggests that we all have a latent capacity that links us to the divine, in relationship and also in identity. This lecture takes place in New York City […]
The post Frederica Mathewes-Green: Can We Access God Directly? first appeared on Socrates in the City.
Named one of the “25 Most Influential Evangelicals in America” by TIME MAGAZINE in 2005, the late Richard John Neuhaus was a prominent cleric, writer, and unofficial advisor to George W. Bush. In this 2005 lecture, he argues that a good citizen does more than abide by laws, but must give a moral account of […]
The post Richard John Neuhaus: Can an Atheist Be a Good Citizen? first appeared on Socrates in the City.
In this 2005 lecture, longtime New York University Professor of Psychology Paul Vitz explores phenomenal changes in the field of psychology as it ventures into new territory.
The post Paul Vitz: Has Psychology Discovered Virtue? first appeared on Socrates in the City.
At a special Socrates in the City event that just happened to be on Flag Day, host Eric Metaxas explores America uniqueness as a nation not bounded by ethnic identity, and other mind-boggling concepts from the Founding Fathers as told in his book IF YOU CAN KEEP IT.
The post Eric Metaxas: If You Can Keep It first appeared on Socrates in the City.
Baroness Cox sits in the British House of Lords as a crossbencher and is a frequent contributor to Lords debates on Sudan, South Sudan, Syria, Nigeria, and Burma. In this 2005 lecture in New York City, she asks: is ideological Islam compatible with liberal democracy? She challenges the audience to build bridges, not walls, and […]
The post Baroness Cox: The 'West,' Islam, and Islamism first appeared on Socrates in the City.
Globalization, as defined by author and social critic Os Guinness in this 2006 talk, is the process whereby the speed, scope, and simultaneity of our communications allows us to conduct our human affairs anywhere in the world regardless of place, time, or government. Guinness explores some dysfunctions of globalization where life becomes a task, not […]
The post Os Guinness: Globalization and Its Human Challenges first appeared on Socrates in the City.
Lauren Winner confronts cultural lies about sex with nuance and wit in this 2005 lecture given in New York City.
The post Lauren Winner: What is Sex? The Naked Truth About the Facts of Life first appeared on Socrates in the City.
Eric Metaxas moderates a lively panel discussion with author Thomas Howard, director Norman Stone, actor Antone Rodgers, and author Bel Kaufman following a screening of the film, C.S. LEWIS: BEYOND NARNIA in April 2004 in New York City. Tom Howard recalls his first meeting with C.S. Lewis and the conversation ends with a fierce debate […]
The post Thomas Howard: Beyond Narnia first appeared on Socrates in the City.
Radio talk show host Hugh Hewitt has conducted more than 10,000 interviews, and as a rule he opts not to interview comedians because “three hours later you don’t know what happened, the paper’s all gone, people are laughing, and nothing’s been done.” Here the radio host ends up on the other side of an interview […]
The post Hugh Hewitt: The Happiest Life first appeared on Socrates in the City.
As a self-described secular Jew, author, and academic, David Berlinski, in an attempt to unveil scientific rhetoric and pretensions, declares to the theory of evolution: thou art weighted in the balances and found wanting. In this lecture given in June 2012 at the Union League Club in New York City, Berlinski directs these unanswered questions […]
The post David Berlinski: The Devil’s Delusion first appeared on Socrates in the City.
Eric Metaxas interviews biochemist Michael Behe on “The New Science about DNA that Challenges Evolution” as told in Behe’s book, DARWIN DEVOLVES. Filmed at the Historic Hotel Bethlehem in Bethlehem, Pennsylvania in February 2019.
The post Michael Behe: Darwin Devolves first appeared on Socrates in the City.
In this poignant and at times heart-rending conversation, Eric Metaxas talks with writer and editor Rod Dreher about his book, THE LITTLE WAY OF RUTH LEMING: A Southern Girl, a Small Town, and the Secret of a Good Life. This interview was recorded in New York City in April 2013.
The post Rod Dreher: The Little Way of Ruthie Leming first appeared on Socrates in the City.
Contrasting the modernist “cube” of the Great Arch of La Defense in Paris with the “cathedral” — Notre-Dame — George Weigel looks at both civilizations and argues that Europe’s shift to secular philosophy has produced a crisis of civilizational morale and a failing future. Weigel, Distinguished Senior Fellow of the Ethics and Public Policy Center, […]
The post George Weigel: The Cube and The Cathedral first appeared on Socrates in the City.
Fordham Professor Emeritus of Philosophy Merold Westphal makes the case for taking a closer look at Marx, Nietzsche, and Freud and their responses to religion as a guide in “living the examined life.” This lecture was given in April 2011 at the Union Club in New York City.
The post Merold Westphal: Atheism for Lent first appeared on Socrates in the City.
Longtime New York University Professor of Psychology Paul Vitz offers a psychological basis for what has for centuries been considered wisdom by taking a fascinating look at the parent-child relationships of influential thinkers such as Feuerbach, Nietzsche, and Freud. This talk was given in New York City in March 2004.
The post Paul Vitz: The Importance of Fatherhood first appeared on Socrates in the City.
Darwin, the scientific method, Danny DeVito, and Cher all manage to find a place in this mind-boggling and entertaining conversation between Stephen Meyer and Eric Metaxas, at the Union League Club in New York City in September 2013.
The post Stephen Meyer: Darwin’s Doubt first appeared on Socrates in the City.
Best-selling phenomenon Malcolm Gladwell talks with host Eric Metaxas about his book, DAVID AND GOLIATH, along the way touching on why his mom’s a genius, acromegaly, getting busted at immigration, the “practical” side of “grace”, “stop and frisk”, the ill-effects of attending a prestigious college, his own changed view of the power of faith, and […]
The post Malcolm Gladwell: David and Goliath first appeared on Socrates in the City.
N.T. Wright, one of the world’s leading New Testament scholars, discusses his book SURPRISED BY HOPE: Rethinking Heaven, the Resurrection, and the Mission of the Church.
The post N.T. Wright: Surprised by Hope first appeared on Socrates in the City.
Eric Metaxas interviews Oxford Fellow Michael Ward about his discovery of a secret code in C.S. Lewis’s Chronicles of Narnia, which Ward explores in his book PLANET NARNIA.
The post Michael Ward: Planet Narnia first appeared on Socrates in the City.
“You’re not going to have an easy time. Because I’m going to put you on the hot seat.” So declares our first nonagenarian guest, Alice von Hildebrand, to Socrates host Eric Metaxas as they begin this conversation about her life and writings. If you think the years have dulled Dame von Hildebrand’s fire, wit, and […]
The post Alice von Hildebrand: Man and Woman first appeared on Socrates in the City.
Professor Peter Kreeft discusses a philosopher’s thoughts on eternity in a lecture given in September 2003.
The post Peter Kreeft: Where Do We Go From Here? A Philosopher's Thoughts on Eternity first appeared on Socrates in the City.
In a lecture given in September 2009, English literature scholar Alan Jacobs introduces us to the world of original sin, which he describes as not only a profound idea but a necessary one.
The post Alan Jacobs: What's So Bad About Original Sin? first appeared on Socrates in the City.
Republican politician and former Governor of Arkansas Mike Huckabee discusses the role of faith in politics in a lecture give in June 2009.
The post Mike Huckabee: The Role of Faith in Politics first appeared on Socrates in the City.
Thinker and philosopher Os Guinness explores “the Framers’ Forgotten Question and How We Are Doing Today” in a lecture given in May 2010.
The post Os Guinness: Can Freedom Last Forever? first appeared on Socrates in the City.
The three-time Emmy-Award winning theoretical physicist Michael Guillen explores the question: can a smart person believe in God? This lecture was given in April 2005.
The post Michael Guillen: Can a Smart Person Believe in God? first appeared on Socrates in the City.
President Nixon’s “hatchet man,” who after serving in prison became an evangelical author and prison reform advocate, Chuck Colson explores the benefits of seeking purpose, meaning, and truth in life. This lecture was given in May 2006.
The post Chuck Colson: The Good Life first appeared on Socrates in the City.
NIH Director and former director of the Human Genome Project, physician-geneticist Francis Collins takes a look at the human genome and what he calls “the language of God,” at the Socrates in the City 2008 Christmas Gala Dinner in New York City.
The post Francis Collins: The Language of God first appeared on Socrates in the City.
Taken from his book BONHOEFFER: PASTOR, MARTYR, PROPHET, SPY, Eric Metaxas examines lessons from the life and death of Dietrich Bonhoeffer.
The post Eric Metaxas: How Good Confronts Evil first appeared on Socrates in the City.