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Combat and Classics logoCombat and Classics is a series of podcasts and online seminars that explores the nature of man in conflict and cooperation through socratic dialogue and the great books. For more info visit combatandclassics.org

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Combat & Classics #29: Emerson’s Divinity School Address

July 9, 2019 by Sanya Kerksiek 1 Comment

How does speech move the human soul? How can a leader use speech inspire others to action? Lise, Jeff, and Brian tackle those questions in their discussion of Ralph Waldo Emerson’s address to the graduating class of Harvard’s divinity school in 1838.

Get more C&C on the PEL site or at combatandclassics.org.

Combat & Classics #28: Aristotle’s “Politics” Bk. I, Part 4

June 5, 2019 by Sanya Kerksiek Leave a Comment

Jeff, Lise, and Brian continue a “close-read” series on Aristotle’s Politics. They continue to tackle Aristotle’s discussion of slavery, which raises questions about nature, law, and virtue.

Get more C&C on the PEL site or at combatandclassics.org.

Combat & Classics #27: Interview with Jennifer Wright

November 26, 2018 by Sanya Kerksiek Leave a Comment

Brian sits down with with Jennifer to talk about her informed and fun take on history, as well as her career path from St. John’s College to professional writer.

Get more C&C on the PEL site or at combatandclassics.org.

Combat & Classics #26: Edgar Allan Poe’s “The Fall of the House of Usher”

November 20, 2018 by Brian Wilson 2 Comments

What is the relationship between the natural world and the human world?
In this belated Halloween episode, Lise, Jeff, and Brian discuss Edgar Allan Poe’s short story “The Fall of the House of Usher.”

Get more C&C on the PEL site or at combatandclassics.org.

Combat & Classics #25: Aristotle’s Politics, Part 3

October 30, 2018 by Brian Wilson Leave a Comment

What is slavery? What does slavery have to do with the household or the state? Brian, Lise, and Jeff dig deeper into the Politics in part 3 of their discussion of this series.

Get more C&C on the PEL site or at combatandclassics.org.

Combat & Classics #24: Hemingway’s “Hills Like White Elephants”

October 23, 2018 by Brian Wilson 6 Comments

How do human beings confront a crisis? Anne Kniggendorf and Matt Young join Brian for a conversation about Ernest Hemingway’s short story “Hills Like White Elephants.”
Get more C&C on the PEL site or at combatandclassics.org.

Combat & Classics #23: Aristotle Politics Bk. I, part 2

October 10, 2018 by Brian Wilson Leave a Comment

Lise, Jeff, and Brian continue their conversation about Book I of Aristotle’s Politics.
They address Aristotle’s discussion of how a city comes to be, and his assertion that humans reach their full potential by living in a city.

Get more C&C on the PEL site or at combatandclassics.org.

Combat & Classics #22: Interview with Matt Young

August 26, 2018 by Brian Wilson Leave a Comment

Brian interviews Matt Young, Marine Corps veteran, English professor, and author of Eat the Apple, a memoir that has been described as “The Iliad of the Iraq war.”
Get more C&C on the PEL site or at combatandclassics.org.

Combat & Classics #21: Aristotle’s Politics Bk. I

August 7, 2018 by Brian Wilson Leave a Comment

Jeff, Lise, and Brian roll up their sleeves and dig in to Aristotle’s Politics.
How are this and other “Great Books” relevant to how we live our lives? What is good political rule? What does it mean to be “just” within a political system? The team tackles those questions and much more in this episode.
Get more C&C on the PEL site or at combatandclassics.org.

Combat & Classics #20: Interview With Doug Lensing

July 11, 2018 by Brian Wilson Leave a Comment

Douglas Lensing joins the show to talk about his path from the Navy to St. John’s College and his paper “Passion and Mind: Homer’s Formula for Victory in the Iliad.”
Get more C&C on the PEL site or at combatandclassics.org.

Combat & Classics #19: Hemingway’s “A Clean, Well-Lighted Place”

June 5, 2018 by Brian Wilson Leave a Comment

Is human life “nada”—nothing? In their discussion of Hemingway’s (very) short story, Brian, Lise, and Jeff examine the contrast between youth and old age and the states of being hurried versus unhurried.

Get more C&C on the PEL site or at combatandclassics.org.

Combat & Classics #18: Racine’s “Phèdre”

April 2, 2018 by Brian Wilson Leave a Comment

Can you simultaneously hate and love the same thing? What is the relationship between virtue and love? Lise, Jeff, and Brian tackle those questions and more in this episode on Jean Racine’s play, Phèdre.
Get more C&C on the PEL site or at combatandclassics.org.

Combat & Classics #17: Freud’s “On Transience”

March 20, 2018 by Brian Wilson 1 Comment

Jeff, Lise, and Brian discuss “On Transience,” in which Freud ruminates on the transitory nature of, and beautiful things in, life. The piece prompts a conversation about a variety of topics Freud raises, from death to libido to war.

Get more C&C on the PEL site or at combatandclassics.org.

Combat & Classics #16: Interview with Anne Kniggendorf

March 14, 2018 by Brian Wilson Leave a Comment

Brian interviews St. John’s College alum and US Navy veteran Anne Kniggendorf. They have an engaging discussion about the relationship between liberal arts and the military.

Get more C&C on the PEL site or at combatandclassics.org.

Combat & Classics #15: Mary Shelley’s “Frankenstein”

January 30, 2018 by Brian Wilson 12 Comments

Why did Victor Frankenstein create his monster? What role did beauty, love, science, and education play in his endeavor? Join Lise, Brian, and Jeff in a discussion of this classic, widely known novel.

Get more C&C on the PEL site or at combatandclassics.org.

Combat & Classics #14: Chekhov’s “Rothschild’s Violin”

December 21, 2017 by Brian Wilson Leave a Comment

How should human life be valued? Is death something to suffer, or something that provides relief? Jeff, Lise, and Brian discuss those questions and more in examining this short story by Anton Chekhov.

Listen to more Combat and Classics.

Combat & Classics #13: Plato’s “Phaedo”

November 3, 2017 by Brian Wilson 1 Comment

Should we fear death? Jeff, Lise, and Brian discuss Plato’s Phaedo, in which Socrates is joined by his friends to discuss that and other questions while awaiting the time for Socrates’s execution later the same day.

If you enjoy this, check out The Partially Examined Life’s Crito episode.

Hear more Combat & Classics.

Combat & Classics #12: Sophocles’ “Philoktetes”

September 27, 2017 by Brian Wilson 2 Comments

What role do lying and deception play in achieving strategic objectives? Jeff, Lise and Brian discuss that and other questions as raised by Sophocles in Philoktetes, in which a soldier (Philoktetes) is recovered from an island where he was left after being wounded. His significance arises from his possession is the famed bow of Heracles, which the characters Odysseus and Continue Reading …

PEL Special: Combat & Classics #11 on Rousseau’s “Discourse on the Arts and Sciences”

August 7, 2017 by Mark Linsenmayer Leave a Comment

A new podcast for the PEL Podcast Network! Meet Jeff, Lise, and Brian, who are joined by Wes and Dylan to discuss Rousseau’s claim that the arts and sciences lead to “moral corruption.”

Get more C&C on the PEL site or at combatandclassics.org.

Combat & Classics #10: Anton Chekhov’s “The Student”

July 5, 2017 by Brian Wilson 1 Comment

In this episode, Lise, Jeff and Brian discuss “The Student,” a (very) short story by Anton Chekhov. The central character is Ivan, a student, or disciple, whose depression is transformed into elation during the course of his conversation with a peasant mother and daughter about the suffering of Peter as he realizes his betrayal of Jesus.
Listen to more Combat and Classics.

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