John Ehrett is a lawyer in Washington, D.C. He returns today to talk with me about a recent article of his entitled, "Christendom After Comcast." We talk about the desire to return to a better way of life, the paths many people suggest, and what prevents that return from happening. Specifically, we discuss how cable television was one of many eleme…

Today I interview Dr. Donald Williams, former Literature professor at Toccoa Falls College. We discuss his book, Mere humanity : G.K. Chesterton, C.S. Lewis, and J.R.R. Tolkien on the Human Condition. We discuss what those men have to say about being human and even why their writings effect us generations after they lived. Dr. Williams has written …

Today I spoke with Nathan Gill, a Hillsdale graduate, classical education teacher, and administrator. He wrote an article at The American Reformer titled, "Toward a More American Classical Education." We talk about why it's important to not only give your children an education steeped in the wisdom of the past, but for their education to be rooted …

What is eschatology and how does it affect your life? Some think your view of the millennium determines your level of social and cultural action, but is that true? Today I talk about a Ben Dunson article at the American Reformer that provides a partial answer to that question. But I suspect there's even more to the question than we realize. Ben Dun…

Have you ever taken a quiz to know where you fall on the political compass? Are you liberal, conservative, authoritarian, or libertarian? Thankfully there are more options than those. Today I talk about how we can know where we call on the spectrum and how that knowledge can better help me to love my neighbor. P.S. In this episode I said that Noah …

Joshua Klein is a woodworker, furniture maker, author, church elder, and editor of Mortise and Tenon magazine. He has written a fascinating biography of Jonathan Fisher, an eighteenth-century jack-of-all-trades pastor titled, Hands Employed Aright. He also works with the Greystone Theological Institute's mechanical arts program to mentor young men …

Having just celebrated Valentine's Day, here are five good books of marriage that can help any married couple, no matter how long they've been married.By TRC Podcast Network

The Christmas season is almost here and who better to talk about it than a man who hails from the capital of the white Christmas (Vermont) - Ryan Anderson. Ryan grew up in Vermont, moved to Washington state, and recently returned to the land of his fathers. I met him through Twitter (now "X") and have enjoyed his posts about moving home and delight…

What is "the West"? What is the role of Christians today in preserving our Western heritage? How does liberalism fit into the decline of Christendom? What is leading to the rise of Anti-Semitism among some on the right? I am joined today by John Ehrett to discuss these and other topics relating to our cultural history. John is a writer and attorney…

John Klar is a jack of all trades. A lawyer, farmer, pastor, and public servant, he took on government bureaucracy and won, restoring the right of Vermont farmers to butcher their animals on their own farms. His most recent book, Small Farm Republic, describes the collusion of corporate farming with big government and provides hopeful options for p…

How should Christians treat the world? Are we against it, for it, or something in between? In this episode, I discuss the two views and who from Scripture successfully achieves both.By TRC Podcast Network

My guest today is Mr. John Waters, a journalist and Christian convert in Ireland. He has written several books, the most recent being Give Us Back the Bad Roads, which tells the story of how Ireland changed from being the most conservative country in Europe to one of the most liberal in a period of several decades. He wrote for a major newspaper un…

Most people approach the book of Ruth with simplicity, thinking they already know it. In my interview with Pastor Rich Lusk, we discuss the beauty, wisdom, and delight to be found in this little book. It is a folk tale, a love story, and a picture of the gospel spreading to the nations, all wrapped in four short chapters. His book, Ruth: Under His …

Today I had the privilege to speak with Dr. Hal Poe, a professor at Union University in Jackson, TN. Dr. Poe is a distant relation to Edgar Allan Poe, the poet and short story writer. Dr. Poe is the author of Evermore, a fascinating book about his older cousin. Today we discuss the wide-ranging talent of this often-misunderstood writer. There are s…

How did Evangelicalism become the cultural force that it is? How did it come to be associated with conservatism? What role does money play in the growth of religious consciousness in America? These are just some of the questions I discuss with today's guest, Jake Nelson. Jake has an M.A. from the University of Tennessee and has written on the rise …

How do we serve God and live in the world? What relationship should the church have with the state? My guest today, Joel Biermann, answers those questions and more in his book, Wholly Citizens. Joel is a professor at Concordia Seminary, where he teaches systematic theology. Our discussion features a two-kingdom approach, but nothing like the two-ki…

Why do some Christians observe Lent? What is the point of fasting/asceticism? In this podcast, I talk briefly about the purpose of Ash Wednesday/Lent in the Church calendar and how it can help us become more like Christ.By TRC Podcast Network

Today I am joined by Joy Clarkson. You may recognize her last name (she's the daughter of Sally Clarkson), but her writing stands on its own. She's written a wonderful book by the title of, Aggressively Happy. In this episode, we discuss why she would call her book such a unique name, the necessary role of sadness in pursuing a happy life, and why …

What is a reactionary and why would anybody claim to be one? That's the question I discuss today with Michael Warren Davis, author of The Reactionary Mind: Why Conservative Isn't Enough. Michael has written for Crisis, The American Conservative, and many other magazines. He describes a reactionary not as one pining for a return to a pristine order,…

In this bonus episode, I read an article by David Frost, entitled, "Christmas Offers a Glimpse of a World That is Lost" from The Telegraph, a UK newspaper. He tells the story of a Christmas carol written in 1400 and later lost but was rediscovered in the mountains of Appalachia. There is a deeper meaning behind the story as well. Merry Christmas!…

Rod Dreher joins me for a wide-ranging discussion of his previous book, The Benedict Option , and his most recent book, Live Not By Lies. We talk about what changed between his writing the two books, how Christians choose to sleepwalk through much of the cultural onslaught, and what we should do in preparation for what is coming. Books: The Benedic…

In our recent paideia sermon series, we looked at many passages that give us wisdom when training our children. This article by John Stonestreet at the Colson Center speaks to that topic. He contrasts inoculation with indoctrination as two methods of preparing our children to be "in the world but not of it." In this episode, I cover the article's h…

These are just a few thoughts on the need to cultivate gratitude since it doesn't come naturally. I read a brief article by my friend Brandon Meeks on showing God's love to the least around us and talk about our responsibility to look beyond ourselves and see how we too can show God's grace to others. Brandon Meeks' Substack Newsletter…

My guest today is Dr. Scott Masson, a professor of literature at Tyndale University in Toronto. We talk about the origins and growth of cultural Marxism in North America, how ancient and medieval writers approached literature, and the importance of the liberal arts in fortifying our children against cultural corrosion. Dr. Masson is a gifted lectur…

Today I welcome Chris Wiley back to the Good Life podcast. We met in person and discussed the book he is working on, tentatively titled, How To Defeat Communism in Your Spare Time. We discuss the origins of totalitarianism and how it morphed into the bizarre form it now takes in seemingly free countries. We conclude with what everyday people can do…

Today I interview Dr. Peter Hammond, the president of Frontline Fellowship. Frontline is a mission organization taking the gospel throughout Africa and Europe. Peter was born and raised in Rhodesia and later moved to South Africa where he has worked for the last forty years. He has amazing stories to tell, including his first mission trip when he t…

For hundreds of years, Evangelical worship services have ended with an altar call - the pastor asks people to bow their heads and close their eyes while musicians play softly, and he pleads with them to make a decision for Christ. But that is a recent innovation in worship. For centuries churches ended worship with the communion meal, or a simple h…

When we read C. S. Lewis, we think of Mere Christianity or The Chronicles of Narnia. But how did he become the man who would write beautifully about so many disparate topics? Dr. Jason Baxter joins me today in a stimulating discussion on how C. S. Lewis was intellectually and spiritually formed. Dr. Baxter's book, The Medieval Mind of C. S. Lewis, …

We normally think of piety as only applying to our spiritual lives, i.e. reading our Bibles, prayer, etc. But for the ancients, piety was a matter of fulfilling responsibilities to others, a way of discharging debts owed to our authorities and those who have gone before us. In today's podcast, I talk about how Uriah the Hittite is portrayed as an e…

Timon Cline is a lawyer and historian in New Jersey who specializes in the history of Puritan New England. We've heard a lot about the religious life of the time, but we don't know nearly so much about their laws and society. Today we talk about misconceptions of Puritanism, their influences, and how they were closer in many ways to Medieval societ…

Can you honor your country when the leaders are wicked? The last story in I Samuel gives us some clues as to how to honor the memory of those who formerly were righteous but turned away.By Matt Carpenter

There have been several institutional victories recently for conservatives: the Supreme Court, the PCA, and the CRC all have made good choices in the last few weeks, some quite unexpected. Part of the reason this is so unexpected is that Americans have a tendency to leave institutions rather than remaining within and fighting and working to change …

Miles is a history professor at Hillsdale College. Originally from North Carolina, he now resides in Michigan. He has written for First Things, The American Conservative, Ad Fontes Journal, and American Reformer. In this episode, we talk about how history is an expanding subject, how to distinguish real history from conspiracy theories, the differe…

Michael Sacasas is the head of a Christian Study Center in Gainsville, Florida. He has written on the role of technology through the lens of writers like Hannah Arendt, Jacques Ellul, and Ivan Illich. Today we talk about why it's hard to define technology, the dangers of mechanistic thinking, and how limits help us pursue a good life. The Convivial…

Recently I preached on magic from Leviticus 19 and 20. There was much more material than I could talk about and quite a few questions. This is my first podcast that's not an interview. Today I talk about the relationship between magic and nature, how our modern view of magic is quite new, and how the Reformation helped unite the church against the …

Who is the only writer who makes Queen Elizabeth laugh out loud when she reads him? The answer is James Herriot, (his actual name is Alfred Wight). His books, beginning with All Creatures Great and Small, are funny, interesting, and reveal a slower way of life from a bygone era. He was a practicing vet from 1939 to 1996 in the Yorkshire region of t…

I'm joined by Dr. Michael Connolly, a history professor at Purdue University Northwest. He has written several articles about the best political perspective you've probably never heard about - Toryism. Most Americans only think of Toryism as a British idea, but it's much deeper than that. Far from being an ideology and bearing little similarity to …

Today I spoke with my daughter, Phoebe, about kids and young adult literature. We discuss some books we've read as a family and she talks about books she enjoys. We talk about books for boys, girls, and what makes for a good story. Books we discuss in this episode: The Mysterious Benedict Society - Trenton Lee Stewart Mr. Pipes and the British Hymn…

Charles McRaven is quite literally a jack-of-all-trades. He is a carpenter, blacksmith, pastor, home builder, stonemason, architect, writer, and teacher. He restored his first log cabin when he was eleven years old. In this episode, we discuss what it means to build beautifully, how stonemasonry teaches patience, and why we should see ourselves as …

Lars Walker is a librarian, historian, Viking reenactor, and writer. His fiction is outstanding. He has written a series of historical fiction about the Christian Viking ruler Erling Skjalgsson. There are four books in the series and they are all excellent, although not for kids (Vikings really were brutal). He has also written a modern dystopian f…

Dr. Greg Peters is an Anglican priest, professor at Biola University, and instructor at Nashotah House, an Anglican seminary in Wisconsin. He is a Protestant expert in the history of monasticism. Why would a Protestant study such things? There's more for us to learn than you might expect. In this episode we discuss the history as well as the differ…

Today I am interviewing Dean Abbot. He is an author, former college professor, and mentor to men across the country. He has written a couple of books, On Character and Community, and Common Good: Reflections on Everyday Vices and Virtues, the latter of which is the focus of this podcast. We talk about why philosophy is a benefit to everyone (not ju…

Today's interview was with an author whom I've admired for some time - Dr. Christopher M. Dunca. Dr. Duncan teaches political philosophy at St. Louis University and has written about some of my favorite groups: the Anti-Federalists and the Southern Agrarians. If you appreciate the ideals of community, family, and small government, this podcast is f…

Brandon Meeks is a delightful writer, speaker, and theologian. He serves as a theologian in residence for his Anglican parish in Arkansas. He has written several books and has a substack newsletter that gives a good taste of his abilities. In this podcast, we discuss how he went from an Independent Baptist to an Anglican, the importance of honoring…

While many love C.S. Lewis's Narnia Chronicles, they often neglect his lesser-known fiction, the Ransom trilogy. These books, in addition to being excellent storytelling, reflect a supernatural view of the cosmos. One of the reasons they are neglected is because they are denser and require more careful reading than the Narnia stories. That's where …

Have you ever wondered what made C. S. Lewis such a strong Christian? That exact question stirred Dr. Lyle Dorsett years ago. In researching the spiritual life of the great author, Dr. Dorsett came to lead the Marion E. Wade Center at Wheaton College, which houses the largest number of C. S. Lewis artifacts in the U.S. His book on Lewis, Seeking th…

I interview Coach Grant Teaff, a former head football coach at Baylor University. Coach Teaff is a faithful Christian and has written several books on teaching character to young adults. He is a great storyteller and is currently working with his daughter to compile various speeches and lectures through the years into a podcast. Books by Coach Teaf…

In this episode I talk with Father Daniel French, a priest in the Church of England. In addition to his role as a shepherd, he is working with others both in the U.S. and the U.K. on an underground catechism for the church, a book that addresses how Christians from various backgrounds should think about basic moral issues like transhumanism, hierar…

In this episode I interview Tara Ann Thieke, a wife, mom, and writer. We discuss children's literature, guiding our children in the world of technology, and how to sustain a hopeful spirit as parents in the midst of a dark world. Some of her articles are published below: Cats and Sixty-foot Whales - Reflections on Children's Literature How Segregat…