Podcast
Socrates in the City
Hosted by Socrates in the City · EN
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Episodes
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Eric Metaxas and Nathaniel Philbrick: Washington and Arnold, Honor and Betrayal in the Revolutionary War
1w ago01:15:08Tap to summarizeHow did George Washington become the indispensable leader of the American Revolution? In this episode of The Revolution, bestselling historian Nathaniel Philbrick joins Socrates in the City host Eric Metaxas to trace Washington’s extraordinary journey through the triumphs, failures, and hard-earned lessons that transformed him from an inexperienced commander into the indispensable leader of the American cause. Set against the backdrop of a war that was as chaotic as it was creative, Philbrick reveals how Washington’s character, resilience, and unwavering sense of duty grew alongside the Revolution itself. Throughout the conversation, Philbrick explores the partnership with French General Rochambeau and the brilliant campaign that culminated at Yorktown as well as the deeply personal side of Benedict Arnold’s shocking betrayal and the profound challenges Washington faced behind the scenes. Set against the chaos and creativity of a nation being born, this conversation offers a compelling portrait of the man who grew alongside the Revolution and emerged as the founder the moment required.The post Eric Metaxas and Nathaniel Philbrick: Washington and Arnold, Honor and Betrayal in the Revolutionary War first appeared on Socrates in the City.
Transcribe →Spencer Klavan and Mary Harrington: The West is Having a Crisis (Actually, Five)
1w ago01:42:01Tap to summarizeIn this episode of Socrates Dialogues with Mary Harrington, Harrington is joined by author and professor Spencer Klavan to explore the enduring conversation between Athens and Jerusalem, asking what Plato might have to do with Tertullian, and why it still matters. Drawing on the great books and the tension between the life of the mind and the life of the world, they unpack the five central crises of modernity: reality, the body, meaning, religion, and regimes. Offering an exclusive preview of Klavan’s forthcoming book, the discussion turns to the power of language as the meeting point between mind and matter, and revisits the story of the Tower of Babel as both a historical touchstone and a striking lens for understanding today’s fractured cultural landscape.The post Spencer Klavan and Mary Harrington: The West is Having a Crisis (Actually, Five) first appeared on Socrates in the City.
Transcribe →Eric Metaxas and Jonathan Turley: Rage and the Republic
1w ago00:54:08Tap to summarizeWhy do most revolutions collapse into chaos, tyranny, or bloodshed, while the American Revolution produced one of the most enduring republics in history? In this episode of The Revolution, Socrates in the City’s newest program, host Eric Metaxas is joined by American author and legal scholar, Jonathan Turley to discuss his book, Rage and the Republic: The Unfinished Story of the American Revolution. They use Thomas Paine’s journey as the lens through which to explore that question. A man who stood at the center of both the American and French Revolutions, Paine embodied the brilliance and danger of revolutionary fervor itself: visionary yet reckless, prophetic yet deeply flawed. Alongside his unlikely friendship with Benjamin Franklin, this conversation examines why America succeeded where so many revolutions failed, the tension between liberty and rage, and the enduring invitation of the American experiment today.The post Eric Metaxas and Jonathan Turley: Rage and the Republic first appeared on Socrates in the City.
Transcribe →Eric Metaxas and Jan Jekielek: Killed to Order: China’s Organ Harvesting Industry
1w ago01:01:16Tap to summarizeIn this Socrates in the Studio conversation, host Eric Metaxas is joined by author and editor of The Epoch Times, Jan Jekielek, to discuss his new book, Killed to Order: China’s Organ Harvesting Industry and the True Nature of America’s Biggest Adversary, which explores the disturbing realities behind one of the world’s most controversial transplant systems. This conversation discusses the hidden costs of life-saving organ replacement surgeries, exploring the dark truth of forced organ harvesting tied to political repression, corruption, and state power in modern China. Moving through the intersections of history, ideology, and authoritarian control, Jekilek unpacks how vulnerable populations — including Falun Gong practitioners, Uyghurs, and other marginalized groups — have allegedly become targets within a vast and deeply opaque transplant industry. The conversation also explores the rise of transplant tourism, the ethics surrounding global medical demand, and the broader moral questions raised when medicine, profit, and political power converge.The post Eric Metaxas and Jan Jekielek: Killed to Order: China’s Organ Harvesting Industry first appeared on Socrates in the City.
Transcribe →Eric Metaxas and Peter Kreeft: Atheism’s Greatest Argument Against God
1w ago00:47:58Tap to summarizeIn this profound and deeply personal episode of Socrates in the Studio, Eric Metaxas sits down with renowned philosopher, professor, and bestselling author Peter Kreeft to wrestle with one of humanity’s oldest and most difficult questions: How can a good God allow suffering? Blending philosophical depth with wisdom born from lived experience, Dr. Kreeft offers a thoughtful and compassionate exploration of pain, loss, love, and the mystery of human suffering through the lens of faith. Drawing from sources as varied as The Chronicles of Narnia, the biblical story of Book of Job, and the life and suffering of Jesus himself, the conversation moves beyond abstract theology into the deeply personal realities that shape every human life. Together, they examine whether suffering is merely something to endure—or whether it can become a path toward wisdom, transformation, compassion, and ultimately a deeper understanding of the love of God.The post Eric Metaxas and Peter Kreeft: Atheism’s Greatest Argument Against God first appeared on Socrates in the City.
Transcribe →Freya India and Mary Harrington: Are Women Becoming Objects?
2w ago01:09:26Tap to summarizeIn this episode of Socrates Dialogues, Mary Harrington is joined by author Freya India for a candid and culturally incisive conversation on the growing commodification of women in the digital age. They trace how social media, pop culture, and influencer platforms, from Call Her Daddy to Cardi B, have reshaped the expectations placed on young women. At the center is the rise of the “Instagram face,” a curated, hyper-perfected ideal that blurs individuality and encourages constant self-surveillance. This conversation explores what it means to internalize an ever-present gaze and questions the modern mental health industry’s role, suggesting future generations may look back with alarm at how deeply it reinforced these pressures on young girls.The post Freya India and Mary Harrington: Are Women Becoming Objects? first appeared on Socrates in the City.
Transcribe →Eric Metaxas and Carl Trueman: How the Rejection of God Degrades Our Humanity
2w ago01:06:47Tap to summarizeIn this Socrates in the Studio conversation, host Eric Metaxas is joined by author and professor Carl Trueman to discuss his newest book “The Desecration of Man” exploring the modern crisis of meaning through the lenses of philosophy, theology, art, and culture—tracing humanity’s journey from enchantment to disenchantment, from sacred order to nihilism. Drawing on figures like Thomas Aquinas and the great philosophers of the Western tradition, they examine how religious symbolism, artistic expression, and moral imagination once shaped a vision of what it meant to be human—and how that vision has eroded in the wake of Darwinian materialism, technological obsession, and the decline of transcendent belief. From the haunting symbolism of the Belfast Cathedral’s stained glass to the ideological architecture of the European Parliament, the conversation probes the rise of herd mentality, the loss of spiritual sight, and the phenomenon of “Promethean shame”: the growing suspicion that humanity sees itself as flawed, obsolete, or inferior to its own machines. As transhumanism promises a redesigned future beyond the limits of the human person, the discussion asks a deeper question: what happens when man attempts to replace God—and in doing so, forgets himself?The post Eric Metaxas and Carl Trueman: How the Rejection of God Degrades Our Humanity first appeared on Socrates in the City.
Transcribe →Eric Metaxas and Margarita Mooney Clayton: Surprising Encounters with the Mother of God
2w ago01:01:04Tap to summarizeIn this Socrates in the City conversation, Eric Metaxas is joined by Margarita Mooney Clayton, author and founder of the Scala Foundation, to discuss her new book “When Mary Calls: Surprising Encounters with the Mother of God.” In our current day, more and more people are looking to Mary as a spiritual mother and guide. Throughout this conversation, Mooney Clayton shares the enduring and often miraculous influence of Mary in times of danger, loss, and spiritual renewal. Bridging theological differences across Christian traditions, their conversation considers Mary’s mysterious yet deeply personal role, not only as the second Eve in the story of redemption, but as a living spiritual mother who continues to call, guide, and draw souls closer to God.The post Eric Metaxas and Margarita Mooney Clayton: Surprising Encounters with the Mother of God first appeared on Socrates in the City.
Transcribe →Lionel Shriver and Mary Harrington: Is the “Better Life” Dream Collapsing?
2w ago01:14:20Tap to summarizeIn this episode of Socrates Dialogues with Mary Harrington, novelist Lionel Shriver joins Harrington for a wide-ranging and incisive conversation on her novel A Better Life and the deeper cultural longings it exposes. Together, they probe the enduring myth of “a better life” and how it shapes modern views on immigration in both the United States and the United Kingdom. They also dive into the fertility crisis, shifting expectations around modern masculinity, and broader social currents redefining family, identity, and belonging in the West. Thought-provoking and unflinching, this dialogue explores what we mean when we seek a better life, and whether the promise still holds.The post Lionel Shriver and Mary Harrington: Is the “Better Life” Dream Collapsing? first appeared on Socrates in the City.
Transcribe →Eric Metaxas and Peter Giersch: Are Heaven and Hell Real?
2w ago01:02:20Tap to summarizeIn this episode of Socrates in the Studio, Eric Metaxas sits down with author and longtime friend Peter Giersch to explore his striking new book “Talking of Michelangelo: Death, Judgment, Heaven, and Hell in the Burgundy Region.” What begins as a journey through the quiet beauty of Burgundy unfolds into something far more profound: a meditation on mortality, meaning, and the soul’s ultimate destination. Part memoir and part travelogue, Giersch recounts a pivotal week spent on an Ignatian retreat—a week that became a turning point in his life of faith. Together, he and Metaxas wrestle with enduring questions: What does it mean to truly confront judgment? How should we understand sin—not merely as doctrine, but as lived reality? The post Eric Metaxas and Peter Giersch: Are Heaven and Hell Real? first appeared on Socrates in the City.
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