Combat 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 
We're joined today by actor Matt Eitzen, who is also a Shakespeare and Roman History aficionado. You can catch Matt in upcoming productions at The Guinea Pig Theater in Dallas, Texas through this link: https://www.facebook.com/theguineapigdallas/. You can rent Brian's favorite interpretation, Caesar Must Die on YouTube Continue Reading …
Combat & Classics #30: Shakespeare’s “King Lear”
Brian is joined by guest George Eckerle, St. John's College grad and co-founder (with Brian) of the Plato Project, a series of online seminars for discussion of Plato’s complete works. In this episode they discuss one of William Shakespeare’s most well-known tragedies, King Lear. Get more C&C on the PEL site or at combatandclassics.org. Continue Reading …
Combat & Classics #26: Edgar Allan Poe’s “The Fall of the House of Usher”
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. Continue Reading …
Combat & Classics #16: Interview with Anne Kniggendorf
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. Check out Anne’s website and her article, mentioned in the pod. Continue Reading …
Combat & Classics #15: Mary Shelley’s “Frankenstein”
I beheld the wretch – the miserable monster whom I had created. –Frankenstein 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. Continue Reading …
Phi Fic #2 “The Moviegoer” by Walker Percy
Looking for the meaning of life? You and me both, my friend. And so is Binx Bolling, protagonist in The Moviegoer by Walker Percy. Join us as Mary and Daniel praise this story for its examination of the existential crisis presented in beautiful language and Southern charm, and as Nathan salutes Bolling’s view of life's preciousness. So step away from the dishes to be washed and Continue Reading …
Phi Fic #1 “In the Penal Colony” by Franz Kafka
Are we guilty from the first moment of life? Is the machine Franz Kafka devised not merely a metaphor for how we live our lives, but “actually here, all around…”? That’s what Kafka Tamura says in Kafka On the Shore by Haruki Murakami, and what Daniel says here in our discussion on In The Penal Colony by Franz Kafka when he cites our failing bodies, our internal machines, that Continue Reading …
Phi Fic #0 “Blood Meridian” by Cormac McCarthy
We talk about the novel Blood Meridian by Cormac McCarthy with Nathan Hanks, Jordan Payne, and special guest Dylan Casey from the Partially Examined Life Podcast. This origin/zero-episode is taken from an older (2013) recording of the Philosophical Fiction group, before our current group of readers got together. Worth Mentioning: No Country for Old Men/The Crossing/Cities of Continue Reading …