The Great Books

Podcasts | The Great Books

Latest Episodes

Episode 82: King John by William Shakespeare

May 7, 2019

John J. Miller is joined by Khalil Habib to discuss William Shakespeare's 'King John.'

Episode 81: To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee

April 30, 2019

John J. Miller is joined by Dedra Birzer of Hillsdale College to discuss Harper Lee's To Kill a Mockingbird.

Episode 80: My Early Life by Winston S. Churchill

April 23, 2019

John J. Miller is joined by Richard Langworth of Hillsdale College to discuss Winston S. Churchill's My Early Life.

Episode 79: A Confederacy of Dunces by John Kennedy Toole

April 16, 2019

John J. Miller is joined by Jessica Hooten Wilson of John Brown University to discuss John Kennedy Toole's A Confederacy of Dunces.

Episode 78: Les Miserables by Victor Hugo

April 9, 2019

John J. Miller is joined by David Bellos to discuss Victor Hugo's Les Miserables.

Episode 77: A Connecticut Yankee in King Arthur’s Court by Mark Twain

April 2, 2019

John J. Miller is joined by Susan Orr Traffas to discuss Mark Twain's A Connecticut Yankee in King Arthur's Court.

Episode 76: ‘The Theory of Moral Sentiments’ by Adam Smith

March 26, 2019

John J. Miller is joined by Russ Roberts of EconTalk to discuss Adam Smith's The Theory of Moral Sentiments.

Episode 75: ‘Don Quixote,’ by Cervantes

March 19, 2019

John J. Miller is joined by Todd Mack of Hillsdale College to discuss Cervantes's Don Quixote.

Episode 74: The Martian Chronicles, by Ray Bradbury

March 12, 2019

John J. Miller is joined by Robert M. Woods to discuss Ray Bradbury's The Martian Chronicles.

Episode 73: The House of the Seven Gables, by Nathaniel Hawthorne

March 5, 2019

John J. Miller is joined by Kelly Scott Franklin of Hillsdale College to discuss Nathaniel Hawthorne's The House of the Seven Gables.

Most Popular

Politics & Policy

Ten Questions for the ‘Squad’

By A. G. Hamilton

Democratic infighting reached a fever pitch last week with bickering and personal attacks between members of the “Squad” and other House Democrats. During that period, Squad members Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, Ilhan Omar, Rashida Tlaib, and Ayanna Pressley mostly avoided doing interviews. However, that all ... Read More

Politics & Policy

The Anti-Semitic BDS Movement Advocates Illegal Discrimination

By David French

Yesterday, in a rather stunning feat of what looks like malicious trolling, Representative Ilhan Omar co-sponsored a resolution designed to support the anti-Semitic Boycott, Divestment, and Sanctions movement against the state of Israel. The resolution itself is clever. It doesn’t mention Israel, and is crafted ... Read More

Video

Culture with Kat Timpf: Dear Cornell University: Questioning ‘Reason’ Is Part of a ‘Scary Trend’

Kat Timpf reports that Cornell University is preparing to ask students whether or not Americans should use concepts like ‘rationality.’ Read More

U.S.

The Rise of the Chinese-American Right

By Rong Xiaoqing

On June 13, during a nasty storm, a group of Chinese New Yorkers gathered in front of the gates of Gracie Mansion, the New York mayor’s residence on the Upper East Side, to protest. Inside, Mayor Bill de Blasio was meeting with two dozen or so representatives of the Asian-American community to discuss his ... Read More

Film & TV

Fake Live-Action and a PC Agenda Ruin the New Lion King

By Armond White

Everybody already knows that Disney’s new remake of The Lion King is a sham; that its “live-action” selling point misrepresents the fact that the real-looking animals are actually digitally generated images. Only the casual acceptance of this blatant deception is new. Disney’s “family ... Read More

Politics & Policy

The War over America’s Past Is Really about Its Future

By Victor Davis Hanson

The summer season has ripped off the thin scab that covered an American wound, revealing a festering disagreement about the nature and origins of the United States. The San Francisco Board of Education recently voted to paint over, and thus destroy, a 1,600-square-foot mural of George Washington’s life in ... Read More

Immigration

In Trump’s First Two Years, Border Deaths Declined

By Christopher Tremoglie

A tragic photograph of the bodies of Oscar Alberto Martínez and his 23-month-old daughter, Angie Valeria, who drowned attempting to cross the Rio Grande River from Mexico into Texas, renewed outrage about the border crisis. Politicians expressed their indignation at the image while, predictably, blaming the ... Read More

Politics & Policy

Sanders Campaign Workers Demand $15 Hourly Wage

By Jack Crowe

Unionized campaign staffers working for Senator Bernie Sanders (I., Vt.) are engaged in a dispute with management over the candidate's alleged failure to live up to his socialist ideals. The field organizers have for months demanded an annual salary equivalent to a $15 hourly wage but have been met with ... Read More

World

Who Is Boris Johnson?

By Kyle Smith

By next week at this time, Boris Johnson will be prime minister of the United Kingdom. Not since Margaret Thatcher has such an outsized personality resided in Number 10 Downing Street. Not since Winston Churchill has such a wit presided over Her Majesty’s Government. Wit is actually the chief reason for ... Read More

Religion

Judge, if You Must, but Curb the Glee: Notes from Las Vegas

By Kevin D. Williamson

Las Vegas, Nevada — "Judge not, lest ye be judged” is the most abused line in the Bible and possibly the most tortured and misunderstood sentence in English. (Perhaps the passage is clearer in Matthew’s original Greek or in other translations. Hit me up, New Testament scholars.) “Judge not!” is ... Read More