Anchored by the Classic Learning Test

Dr. Joe Rigney is the second president of Bethlehem College & Seminary (Took office June 1, 2021). On this episode, he discusses tenets of C.S. Lewis' The Abolition of Man, to include commentary on the destructive nature of modern turns toward subjectivism in philosophy and education generally. Dr. Rigney also discusses Lewis' use of the term "Tao" to demonstrate the concept of objective morality and truth as transcending cultures and illustrating a universal human reality. He also discusses his vision as Bethlehem's new president, to include a discussion on the college's decision to turn down federal funding—this fact has allowed the school to maintain its principals and academic virtues in the face of growing hot-button cultural issues.  Dr. Rigney also discuss a core mission of the university in helping students graduate debt-free.Host Jeremy Tate @JeremyTate41Guest Dr. Joe Rigney @joe_rigneyBethlehem College & Seminary

Dr. Glenn Loury is the Merton P. Stoltz Professor of Social Sciences and Professor of Economics at Brown University. In this episode, Dr. Loury discusses his response to a letter written by Brown University President Christina Paxson, in which she noted that structures of power and histories of oppression and prejudice define American society. Of the letter he wrote: "it asserted controversial and arguable positions as though they were axiomatic certainties." He also talks with Jeremy about his new course at Brown centered on freedom of expression, which includes works from such minds as Plato, Socrates, Milton, John Stuart Mill, and George Orwell. Additionally, he references Allan Bloom's The Closing of the American Mind  and reflects on his teaching career and the shifting nature of higher education. Host Jeremy Tate @JeremyTate41Guest Dr. Glenn Loury @GlennLouryI Must Object: A rebuttal to Brown University’s letter on racism in the United States

Education historian Jack Schneider and journalist Jennifer Berkshire join Jeremy to discuss their book, The Wolf at the Schoolhouse Door: The Dismantling of Public Education and the Future of School  in which they describe policies and political undertakings such as school vouchers, attacks on teachers’ unions, tax credit scholarships, virtual schools, etc., as part of a larger organized effort to undo U.S. public education. The authors discuss competing visions in modern education, and the conflict between a lost history of educational practice and an anxiety about the future direction of education—they also discuss the  dangers of treating school as a means of advancing a modern economy, while also recognizing the importance of addressing inclusivity and economic disadvantage in discussions involving educational practice and philosophy. Host Jeremy Tate @JeremyTate41Guests Jack Schneider @Edu_Historian and Jennifer Berkshire @BisforBerkshireA Wolf at the Schoolhouse DoorHave You Heard? podcast

Dr. Stephen Blackwood has held fellowships at Harvard, Cambridge, and the University of Toronto, and is the founding president of Ralston College in Savannah, GA. In this episode, he discusses his childhood growing up on on Prince Edward Island and the ways in which his formative years taught him that human life does not exist in the abstract, but rather in the particulars—places, times, landscapes, and cultural moments all inform humanity. He also discusses his friendship with Jordan Peterson and the notion that Dr. Peterson's positive vision of human potential has served as an antidote to the alienation and crisis of meaning felt by many in the current social moment. Dr. Blackwood also discusses his vision for Ralston College; its vision entails the promotion of free inquiry in pursuit of truth and human flourishing, especially at a time when these directives have left many modern universities.Host Jeremy Tate @JeremyTate41Guest Dr. Stephen Blackwood @stephenblackwdRalston College

Faith Moore is a freelance writer, editor, and a stay-at-home mom. She has been published in The Wall Street Journal, The New York Daily News, The Daily Wire, and more. She joins Jeremy to discuss her recent Federalist article, "Instead of Canceling Snow White, Learn to Read Fairy Tales." In this episode, she discusses her response to the authors of an SFGate article in which they describe Disneyland's depiction of the famous kiss scene from Snow White as problematic. She further discusses the ways in which the current cultural zeitgeist is assigning literal meanings to fairy tales whose generational relevance continues because of their symbolism and moral depictions. She shines light on important aspects of Grimm's Fairy Tales, and the universality of fairy tale themes when considering the similarity of story themes across cultures. Host Jeremy Tate @JeremyTate41Guest Faith Moore @FaithKMoore"Instead of Canceling Snow White, Learn to Read Fairy Tales"Saving Cinderella: What Feminists Get Wrong About Disney Princesses And How To Set It Right

Heather Mac Donald is the Thomas W. Smith Fellow at the Manhattan Institute, a contributing editor of City Journal, and a New York Times bestselling author. In this week's episode, Heather discusses her time as a graduate student in comparative literature at Yale and the events that led her to uncover the faults in deconstruction and other postmodernist theories. She illustrates how current trends in higher education have impeded a manner of education which philosopher Michael Oakeshott referred to as the "transmission of an inheritance from one generation to the next."  She also discusses her article, "The Bias Fallacy"— she outlines why efforts to remove objective measures of accomplishment in the name of equity is nihilistic, as well as efforts to vilify Western civilization.Host Jeremy Tate @JeremyTate41Guest Heather Mac Donald"The Bias Fallacy" in City Journal

Brent Everett Dickinson is a multi-disciplinary conceptual artist and associate professor of art at Azusa Pacific University in California.  In 2017, Dickinson founded the MMHTT (Marcel Maus Hermeneutical Think Tank), a multimedia web project driven by philosophical concepts such as power, authorship, immanence, performativity, and deterritorialization. In this week's discussion, Dickinson delves into the interplay between philosophy and art, as well as conceptions of beauty, stirring the debate as to whether beauty is truly objective. Dickinson also discusses "Chaosmos" (a term coined by James Joyce) in relation to the production and sustainment of culture—he notes that Western culture is one that perpetually produces the new, and thus conservatism and progressivism act in accord to some degree.Host Jeremy Tate @JeremyTate41Guest Brent Everett Dickinson 

Erika Donalds is the founder and CEO of the Optima Foundation—its goal is the successful launch of Hillsdale College Barney Charter School Initiative classical academies and other schools of excellence across the state of Florida. She also served on the Advisory Committee on Education and Workforce Development for Florida governor Ron DeSantis. In this episode, she joins Jeremy to discuss the events that led her to question the Common Core State Standards and other top-down approaches to education, and she illustrates the benefit of classical education in her son's life, and how this revelation led her down the path to becoming a school choice advocate and facilitator. Host Jeremy Tate @JeremyTate41Guest Erika Donalds @ErikaDonaldsOptima Foundation

Dr. Peter Wood, president of the National Association of Scholars (NAS), joins Jeremy to discuss the recent NAS report, "Corrupting the College Board: Confucius Institutes and K-12 education." He discusses the connection between the College Board and Hanban, the Beijing-based headquarters of the Confucius Institutes—an organization that provides Chinese government-funded language and cultural education within both U.S. colleges and K-12 schools. In recent years, the Confucius Institutes have received criticism from professors due to their role in Chinese government influence on academic freedom, overt censorship of academic materials, and surveillance of classroom activities. Dr. Wood delves into the growing relationship between the College Board and Hanban at a time when  American scholars were growing increasingly alarmed by the pernicious influence of the Chinese state-funded academic initiatives on U.S. campuses. He also sheds light on the implications of these developments for academic integrity within U.S. K-12 schools. Host Jeremy Tate @JeremyTate41Guest Dr. Peter WoodCorrupting the College Board: Confucius Institutes and K-12 EducationRegister now for the CLT10 on April 28th!

Sean-Michael Pigeon, Young Voices Contributor and Yale University student, joins Jeremy to discuss his recent USA Today op-ed, "Don't Blame the Tests: Getting Rid of Standardized Testing Means Punishing the Poor." He discusses studies over the past decade which examined score disparities in relation to socio-economic status and led to public questions concerning higher education access—ultimately, the current social moment deems standardized tests as a driver of systemic unfairness. Sean-Michael discusses this movement as promoting equity by attacking "academic sorting." He notes that school districts across the country are eliminating advanced learning classes and traditional A-F grading systems in an effort to reduce unequal outcomes, but are in effect eliminating opportunities for marginalized communities to showcase their talent. He argues that this approach will only exacerbate the ability of the wealthy and well-connected to dominate academic systems.Host Jeremy Tate @JeremyTate41Guest Sean-Michael Pigeon @pigeon_seanUSA Today: Don't Blame The TestsApril 13th Remotely Proctored CLT: Register Here