The Academy Podcast

In this episode, Andrew speaks with this year's Lyceum Project guest, author and policy analyst Leah Libresco Sargeant. They talk about her conversion from Atheism to Catholicism, about her love of math, about her two books, about feminism, about Congress and the possibilities for a Christian politics, and about how we should all embrace depending on others and on God.

The ninth annual Lyceum Project presents a lecture by Leah Libresco Sargeant: "The Demands of Human Dependence."

In this Lyceum Conversation Starter, Andrew reflects a bit on J-Term at Midtown, looks forward to an upcoming Lyceum Conversation, and tries to start a conversation about memory. He explores the role of memory in the life of learning and the life of faith, gestures at the connection between memory and the transformation of the self, and thinks a little bit about the consequences for our own lives of the ancient notion of memory as an art with four pillars.

In this Lyceum Conversation Starter, Andrew describes the Academy's annual preparations for a Christmas Feast and some of our thinking about why to celebrate so regularly and so formally. Then, Andrew reveals the three ancient points of connection between Christmas and Happiness, points revealed in the writing of G. K. Chesterton in commendation of another and older English novelist, Charles Dickens. The episode concludes with three questions to consider as you begin your Christmas celebrations.

In this inaugural episode of Lyceum Conversation Starters, Andrew first explains the idea behind the series, and then explores the inaugural topic: Advent. This is the first of a series called "Lyceum Conversation Starters" wherein Andrew will discuss certain topics in a more abbreviated fashion. Stay tuned for more episodes in the future!

In this episode, Andrew talks with Alex Burdge, teacher of humanities at the Rhetoric School, about teaching Homer's Iliad, the ancient poem of war, as a veteran of war himself. We also talk about T. S. Eliot, the University of Kansas, classical guitar, and the role of Critical Theory in Alex's journey toward faith. Included in the episode are lengthier quotations from Robert Fagle's English translation of Homer's Iliad as well as a few mentions of a book by Timothy Patitsas, The Ethics of Beauty. A brief word of caution, this episode may be inappropriate for especially young listeners, as it deals with the experience of war, including some violent and disturbing images.

Welcome to season 6 of Lyceum Conversations! In this episode, Andrew gives an overview of episodes you can expect to hear over the course of 2023-24. We're very excited about what we have lined up, and we certainly hope you will find it informative and interesting as we explore Classical Christian Education at The Academy.

In this episode, Andrew speaks with Josh Spears, Chair of Theology and principal of the Academy's South Campus, about theology, about prayer, about the ground of all learning, and about cabinetry. This is the second in a series of conversations about Classical Christian Education at the Academy.

Eric, Nathan and Josh. Special Guests. Nonsense. Pretentious Accessibility. It’s all back. We promise. More episodes. We’ll give the clamoring crowds what they want. Stay tuned.

In this episode, Andrew speaks with Jeff Bilbro, associate professor of English at Grove City College and the editor-in-chief of Frontporch Republic, about one of his books, Reading the Times: A Literary and Theological Inquiry Into the News and an upcoming, related project. There's also conversation about technology, experiencing nature, 19th century America, and Jeff's boat, "The Brain of Hannah." ---- Theme Music: "Camelot Monastery" by Darren Curtis

In this episode, Andrew speaks with Anne Bradford, Chair of Languages at the Academy and a Latin teacher at North Campus Dialectic, about Latin at the Academy, about memory, about song, and about knitting circles. This is the second in a series of conversations about Classical Christian Education at The Academy. ---- Theme Music: "Camelot Monastery" by Darren Curtis

In this episode of Lyceum Conversations, Andrew Black, Lyceum Director and teacher at the Academy's Midtown Campus and the new Lyceum Director, tells you about himself. We'd love to hear what you think. Do you want to hear more content like this? We have more long-form interviews upcoming so be on the lookout. Email us anytime at: TheAcademyPodcastOK@gmail.com. ---- Theme Music: "Camelot Monastery" by Darren Curtis

In this episode, Andrew speaks with Colin Creech, chair of Science and teacher at the Academy's Midtown Campus, about Natural Philosophy, the study of science, and cooking on a train. This is the first in a series of conversations about Classical Christian Education at the Academy. We'd love to hear what you think. Do you want to hear more content like this? We have more long-form interviews upcoming so be on the lookout. Email us anytime at: TheAcademyPodcastOK@gmail.com. ---- Theme Music: "Camelot Monastery" by Darren Curtis

It's Auction Week at The Academy! Jamie Howell takes over the podcast to host a special episode dedicated to all things auction and what to expect this Friday. If you're on the fence about going, get off and come to the auction and have the greatest time of your life! ---- Auction Website: http://one.bidpal.net/academyauction2022

Aaaaaaaaaaand…..we’re back. Eric, Nathan and Josh are live on the mic with your somewhat consistently mediocre accessibly pretentious nonsense. The triad bounce seamlessly between a deep dive into kombucha, butterfly knives and Conair before transitioning smoothly to our new series for Season Five: a kind of classical school lexicon (lexicon being pretentious for dictionary; we had to, right?!). We throw around jargon at the Academy, so we thought we’d take some time to unpack a number of those words and ideas to give a sense of what ‘classical Christian education’ means here at the Academy. We're always happy to hear from you, dear listener (all 8 of you). Email us at TheAcademyPodcastOK@gmail.com.

"From Mystic Rituals to Christian Liturgy: A History of Ascent, its Influence on Dante's Paradise and our own Lives." Our common Christian goal is unity with God. This is also the goal of ascent. This project argues that Boethius’ The Consolation of Philosophy and Bonaventure’s Journey of the Mind into God prominently influence Dante’s articulation of ascent in his poem Paradise. Furthermore, as Christians, we ought to observe Dante’s spiritual ascension and strive to ascend as well. The project seeks to demonstrate that Dante was indeed influenced by Boethius and Bonaventure, and, somewhat consequently, Dante’s ascent reflects our own Christian pilgrimage.

“Blurring the Lines: Reality, The Road, and the Importance of Fictional Storytelling.” In a world steeped in modernist ideals and practicality, fictional storytelling is often undervalued or regarded with suspicion, a medium of little importance. Though fiction can seem endlessly confounding, the argument is whether the formational truths of fiction matter to us today. This project explores the place of fiction in our pursuit of reality and virtue through an examination of fiction’s origins in human imagination and impact on the self. Finally, the project examines an example offiction-at-work, Cormac McCarthy’s The Road.

"'Attending to the Otherness of the Other': How Study Abroad Experiences Can Lead to a Deeper Love for our Neighbors." Our graduates graciously love their neighbor, especially the most broken and marginalized. Studying abroad is a popular idea for many reasons, some of them quite superficial. This project argues that we can broaden our global understanding through travel and immersive experiences. These experiences include, but are not limited to, study abroad. The project also explores how to best study cultures different from our own. It connects these suggestions with an emphasis on Christian hospitality and humility ,especially toward neighbors in other cultures. Ultimately, we can love our cultural neighbors by engaging with and learning from them.

"A Liturgy for Suffering: The Power of Music and the Problem of Evil." Music is a universal language and suffering is a universal human experience. How can music help us in our suffering? This project explores the work of Joseph Ratzinger and Andrew Peterson, alongside the music of Andrew Peterson and Modest Mouse, to argue for music’s unique role in redeeming human suffering.

“Fun in Education- Its Effects on Learning, Retention, and School Performance.” Throughout our early years at school, it is common for teachers to incorporate fun activities into the classroom to help students learn better. But how might education change if a focus on fun remained in the classrooms of older students? This paper explores the benefits fun has on education, such as supporting retention of the material taught, giving students a love of learning, and managing students’ stress levels.