Josh Bowman talks with Dr. Carl Richard, Professor of History at the University of Louisiana Lafayette. Dr. Richard has spent decades recovering the impact of the ancient Greeks and Romans on the American Founders and on American history generally. He has also turned to the influence of the Bible and Christianity on America’s founding, and now to the history of the Presidency.
We begin by talking about the classics, including Cicero, before turning to his more recent books on the Bible’s impact, including his newest volume, So Help Us God: American Presidents and the Bible (Rowman & Littlefield, 2025). https://www.bloomsbury.com/us/so-help-us-god-9798881806330/
Carl’s Books:
The Founders and the Classics: Greece, Rome, and the American Enlightenment (Harvard, 1994)
Twelve Greeks and Romans Who Changed the World (Rowman & Littlefield, 2003)
The Battle for the American Mind: A Brief History of a Nation's Thought (Rowman & Littlefield, 2004)
Greeks and Romans Bearing Gifts: How the Ancients Inspired the Founding Fathers (Rowman & Littlefield, 2008)
The Golden Age of the Classics in America: Greece, Rome, and the Antebellum United States (Harvard, 2009)
Why We're All Romans: The Roman Contribution to the Western World (Rowman & Littlefield, 2010)
When the United States Invaded Russia: Woodrow Wilson's Siberian Disaster (Rowman & Littlefield, 2013)
The Founders and the Bible (Rowman & Littlefield, 2016)
He has also contributed a host of essays to edited volumes, including two books published by Oxford University Press.
The 2026 Ciceronian Society Conference will be held March 12-14 at Creighton University in Omaha, NE. Panel and paper proposals are due September 1, 2025.
To learn more about us, our events, this Podcast, our journal, Pietas, to sign up for our newsletter, and to make your tax deductible gift, please go to https://ciceroniansociety.org/
0:00 Introduction
2:30 Inspiration
4:13 Golden Age
7:47 Arguments For and Against the Classics
20:04 Familiarity and Peculiarity
25:53 Cicero
32:06 The Founders and the Bible
44:11 Prayer
49:59 The Future
56:26 Opportunities
Chapters
- (00:00:00) - Introduction
- (00:02:30) - Inspiration
- (00:04:13) - Golden Age
- (00:07:47) - Arguments For and Against the Classics
- (00:20:04) - Familiarity and Peculiarity
- (00:25:53) - Cicero
- (00:32:06) - The Founders and the Bible
- (00:44:11) - Prayer
- (00:49:59) - The Future
- (00:56:26) - Opportunities
Popular Podcasts
New Heights with Jason & Travis Kelce
Football’s funniest family duo — Jason Kelce of the Philadelphia Eagles and Travis Kelce of the Kansas City Chiefs — team up to provide next-level access to life in the league as it unfolds. The two brothers and Super Bowl champions drop weekly insights about the weekly slate of games and share their INSIDE perspectives on trending NFL news and sports headlines. They also endlessly rag on each other as brothers do, chat the latest in pop culture and welcome some very popular and well-known friends to chat with them. Check out new episodes every Wednesday. Follow New Heights on the Wondery App, YouTube or wherever you get your podcasts. You can listen to new episodes early and ad-free, and get exclusive content on Wondery+. Join Wondery+ in the Wondery App, Apple Podcasts or Spotify. And join our new membership for a unique fan experience by going to the New Heights YouTube channel now!
The Breakfast Club
The World's Most Dangerous Morning Show, The Breakfast Club, With DJ Envy, Jess Hilarious, And Charlamagne Tha God!
Fudd Around And Find Out
UConn basketball star Azzi Fudd brings her championship swag to iHeart Women’s Sports with Fudd Around and Find Out, a weekly podcast that takes fans along for the ride as Azzi spends her final year of college trying to reclaim the National Championship and prepare to be a first round WNBA draft pick. Ever wonder what it’s like to be a world-class athlete in the public spotlight while still managing schoolwork, friendships and family time? It’s time to Fudd Around and Find Out!