The Academy Podcast
The official podcast of The Academy of Classical Christian Studies, located in Oklahoma City, OK.
Episodes
"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 o...
“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 rea...
"'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 i...
"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.
“Legalism and Relationships: Man, World, and God.”
Legalism is a pervasive problem in American Churches. This project uses a Kuyperian analysis to argue that, though doubtless also a theological error, legalism is a problem with significant personal and relational consequences. Adequately understanding the sbad effects of legalism is a first step toward its rejection.
“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 st...
“The Pressures of Being a Person: How Nutrition, Athletics and Mental Health Connect.”
Athletes are universally admired and upheld. At the same time, athletes are derided for both their moral and their athletics failures. This project attempts to present athletes as whole people through exploring the science of nutrition and its connection to the mental health needed both by athletes and others. Proper nutrition, causally connected ...
"Loving our Immigrant Neighbor: Seeking Truth through Psychology and Poetry."
Immigrants inhabit a reality seemingly far removed from our own. This project examines the lesser-known immigration realities of Chinese and Hispanic immigrants using the poems these immigrants have written. Far from a straightforward reading of the poems, the project attempts to see the poems as expressive of the personal constructs of these immi...
“Shakespearean Division: Questioning Racism and Genre in The Merchant of Venice and Othello.”
William Shakespeare is the most famous Western playwright. His plays are still read, discussed, performed, and analyzed even after 400 years. However, a debate increasingly surrounds problematic themes in his works, one of which is racism. In two plays specifically, Othello and The Merchant of Venice, racism seems readily apparent. Even tho...
“Using the Past for the Present: How HistoricalKnowledge can Better Ourselves and our Community.”
The academic study of history is sometimes wrongly viewed as the study of mildlyinteresting facts. This causes people to overlook the importance of historical knowledge,its ability to better both ourselves and the world around us. This project argues thereare unique benefits to historical study. Its study is crucial in shaping educatedp...
“Board Games in the Kingdom: Loving our Neighbor through Creative Play.”
This project describes the importance of play in building relationships. It examinesplay through the disciplines of mathematics and theater. Through these areas ofcreative play, board games provide environments to develop relationships betweendifferent ages. This presentation also explains how, on account of this research, acommunity project was conducted that ...
"Carrying our Crosses: Suffering in the Gospels and Dostovesky's Crime and Punishment."
Fyodor Dostoevsky’s Crime and Punishment explores how, as Christians, redemptive sufferingconnects us to Christ and breeds virtue in our hearts. Through textual examples and characteranalysis, this project explains how the novel addresses suffering as a definitive part of thehuman experience. The paper then connects this idea to Jesus...
“The Price of Amateurism.”
A recent Supreme Court decision, alongside the NCAA decision to allow players to be compensated for the use of their Name, Image, and Likeness(NIL) has complicated our thinking about the role of amateurism in college athletics.This project argues that both the NCAA change and the Supreme Court’s decision are necessary responses to a moral wrong and racial injustice. As such, college fans oughtto welcome, ...
"'The things that matter are the things that need breath': Homelessness in Oklahoma City and our Responsibility to Relationally Invest."
Homelessness in our community is something we often ignore. Yet, as Christians, webelieve that every individual was created in the image of God. This project arguesthat we must reflect our belief in our daily lives. We can do this by recognizing andanswering the call to bring the ho...
“The Art of Being Terrified: The Visions of AldousHuxley, George Orwell, and Cormac McCarthy.”
How often do you lie awake at night with fear for the future? Brave New World,1984, and The Road are all dystopian novels that attempt to influence our thinkingand behavior. This is accomplished through terrifying visions of what humanity couldface. These visions, somewhat indirectly, invite Christians to search harder for Christand His g...
“To Forget is to be Lost: The Problems of Modernity and the Solution of Film.”
Our memories have been slowly disintegrating for centuries. This disintegration isdue in no small part to the philosophical project widely known as Modernism andattributable to thinkers like René Descartes. This project explores the problems derivedfrom Modernism: the isolation of self by the destruction of any greater narrative andthe appointment of the ...
Our inaugural(?) episode of Season 3 in which Nate and Josh wonder aloud at how Eric didn't get more podcasts out and how scripts make for freedom and how the school is doing and how Nathan's gladhanding provided such opulence for his office.
Send us your questions, comments, criticisms to TheAcademyPodcastOK@gmail.com.
Well, it's been a long while since we released a podcast. Eric attempts to steer the ship without Josh & Nathan, but thankfully is joined by Jamie Howell who manages to keep this from turning into a total disaster. We talk upcoming episodes, "Hollywood" Spears, daytime TV from the 80s, and Jamie threatens to take over the podcast.
If for some reason you have a comment or question, you can email the show at TheAcademy...
In this season finale, we reflect on a strange year, Nathan glad hands (with plenty of hand sanitizer) and inexplicably, we flip the 7 with some numerology.
For the three of you still listening, send us your hate mail at TheAcademyPodcastOK@gmail.com.
It’s an action packed Lyceum Conversation with David Zahl of Mockingbird Ministries. We invited Nathan to join us as we wander our way through the virtues of grunge, why we chase enoughness and why Josh is right about Star Wars.
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