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Online Great Books Podcast

Dec 26, 2019

In this week’s episode, Scott and Karl discuss Edward Bernays’ 1928 book Propaganda. Referred to as “the father of public relations,” and “the Machiavelli of the 20th century,” Bernays pioneered the scientific technique of shaping and manipulating public opinion which he famously dubbed “engineering of...


Dec 19, 2019

When you begin reading the Great Books, family and friends may be puzzled. They will see you toting around huge books, taking notes, and gazing off thoughtfully into the void.

Greg, one of our members, was questioned by a coworker. “Why are you reading Thucydides at lunch?” He restated this question on our OGB Slack...


Dec 12, 2019

This week, Scott and Karl read Josef Pieper’s Leisure the Basis of Culture. The duo dives into the Pieper-style definition of leisure, work, and their relationship.

Pieper shows us that the Greeks and medieval Europeans understood the great value and importance of leisure. But do we?

Most of us have been brought up on...


Dec 5, 2019

This week, Scott and Karl discuss Ralph Waldo Emerson’s “The America Scholar.” This address was delivered at Cambridge in 1837, before the Harvard Chapter of the Phi Beta Kappa Society.

According to Emerson, there’s a fundamental challenge American scholars are faced with— what is it they ought to be doing?