In this episode of the ClassicalU Podcast, Jesse Hake speaks with Dr. Shannon Valenzuela about her new course releasing this spring on medieval literature and the harmonics of story. Beginning with Boethius’s Consolation of Philosophy and culminating in Dante’s Divine Comedy, Dr. Valenzuela shows how medieval authors understood stories as reflections of cosmic order, proportion, pattern, and harmony—a “story…

In this Christmas-season episode, Jesse Hake speaks with author, retired parish priest, and former university chaplain Addison Hodges Hart about Father Christmas, St. Nicholas, and the meaning of the Nativity, drawing on stories and poetry ranging from Tolkien’s Letters from Father Christmas, C. S. Lewis’ The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe and “The Turn of the Tide”,…

In this episode of the ClassicalU Podcast, philosopher D. C. Schindler joins Jesse Hake for a conversation on the metaphysical and theological foundations of classical education. Interview questions address epistemology, anthropology, the nature of true authority, and the dangers of mixing culture wars and Christian nationalism with classical education. Drawing from thinkers like Balthasar, Pieper, and…

In this conversation, Jesse Hake welcomes Dr. Christopher Perrin to explore leadership in the virtue and liberal arts tradition. Drawing from the ClassicalU courses Leadership and the Liberal Arts and Essential School Leadership, Dr. Perrin reflects on how classical and Christian traditions of virtue shape a truly human vision of leadership—one rooted not in dominance but in service,…

In this wide-ranging conversation, sociologist, educator  and ClassicalU course presenter Angel Adams Parham joins Jesse Hake to explore the idea of an “American classical education.” Drawing, in part, upon her work on “The Black Intellectual Tradition” and Women in the Liberal Arts Tradition, Angel makes a compelling case for expanding our understanding of classical education to include voices like…

In this rich and wide-ranging conversation, scholar Louis Markos joins host Jesse Hake to discuss his upcoming ClassicalU course, and forthcoming companion book on Dante’s Divine Comedy. Markos explores Dante’s visionary architecture of Hell, Purgatory, and Paradise, not merely as allegory, but as a deeply experiential and spiritually transformative journey. Sharing his creative process for writing in…

In this episode of the ClassicalU Podcast, host Jesse Hake interviews John Mays, the founder of the Novare Science curriculum. The discussion centers around Mays’ new course, “Cultivating Wonder Throughout the School” as a help to educators integrating a sense of wonder and mystery into their teaching across various subjects. Mays shares his journey from focusing on…

Kim Warman, lower school dean and teacher at Coram Deo Academy in Carmel, Indiana, shares insights from her new ClassicalU course, Launching Your Classical Classroom, which provides practical support for new grammar school teachers. She reflects on her own educational journey, having experienced both non-classical and classical education before attending Hillsdale College and teaching at several…

In this episode, Jesse Hake speaks with ClassicalU presenter Russ Gregg, who co-founded Hope Academy and the Spreading Hope Network. Drawing on decades of work bringing classical Christian education to under-resourced urban communities, Gregg reflects on his transition from leading a single school to enabling the launch of over twenty schools across the U.S., supported by both…

In this ClassicalU podcast episode, Jesse Hake speaks with Dr. Christopher Perrin and Carrie Eben about their new book The Good Teacher, which expands into ten principles from ClassicalU’s original course titled “Eight Essential Principles of Classical Pedagogy.” The conversation traces the book’s origins, how Carrie and Christopher collaborated, and the vision behind their claim that…