The Book Club | PragerU
Episodes
Bryan Callen: Death of a Salesman by Arthur Miller
17 Feb 2026
Contributed by Lukas
In this episode of The Book Club, Michael Knowles sits down with actor and comedian Bryan Callen to discuss Arthur Miller’s Death of a Salesman, one...
Rich Zeoli: Animal Farm by George Orwell | The Book Club | PragerU
18 Nov 2025
Contributed by Lukas
Why does every utopia eventually turn into a tyranny? In Animal Farm, George Orwell tells the story of a farm revolution that begins with a promise of...
Alexandra Hudson: Pascal's Pensées | The Book Club | PragerU
21 Oct 2025
Contributed by Lukas
Can reason alone lead us to truth? In Pensées, Blaise Pascal—the brilliant mathematician and Christian apologist—wrestles with the deepest questi...
Sir Niall Ferguson: War and Peace by Leo Tolstoy | The Book Club
15 Jul 2025
Contributed by Lukas
How does war reshape not only nations—but the souls of those who live through it? In War and Peace, Leo Tolstoy sets Napoleon’s invasion of Russia...
Viva Frei: The Old Man and the Sea by Ernest Hemingway
27 May 2025
Contributed by Lukas
Is the pursuit of a dream worth it, even if it’s torn apart in the end? In The Old Man and the Sea, Ernest Hemingway tells the story of Santiago, an...
Neil Shenvi: The Abolition of Man by C. S. Lewis
18 Mar 2025
Contributed by Lukas
What’s wrong with saying “my truth” and embracing moral relativism? In The Abolition of Man, C.S. Lewis warns that abandoning objective truth do...
Michael Malice: The Call of the Wild by Jack London
21 Jan 2025
Contributed by Lukas
What does it take to survive when civilization falls away? The Call of the Wild is more than a story about a dog thrust into the harsh wilderness duri...
Joseph Fornieri: On Liberty by John Stuart Mill
19 Nov 2024
Contributed by Lukas
Can you do whatever you want—even harm yourself—as long as you don’t harm others? In On Liberty, John Stuart Mill warns against threats to per...
Will Witt: The Picture of Dorian Gray by Oscar Wilde
20 Aug 2024
Contributed by Lukas
Would you sell your soul to stay young forever? In Oscar Wilde’s famous novel, The Picture of Dorian Gray, a handsome young man’s wish for eternal...
Libby Emmons: A Doll's House by Henrik Ibsen
18 Jun 2024
Contributed by Lukas
Is Henrik Ibsen’s A Doll’s House the feminist landmark it’s often portrayed to be? Or is it a critique of radical individualism and the underm...
Derryck Green: To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee
16 Apr 2024
Contributed by Lukas
Once required reading for high school students, To Kill a Mockingbird now comes with trigger warnings. The book, which confronts and calls out the evi...
Pastor Rob McCoy: Sermon on the Mount
17 Jan 2024
Contributed by Lukas
Michael Knowles is joined by Pastor Rob McCoy to discuss the Sermon on the Mount, one of the most beloved and frequently cited passages in the gospels...
Charles Kesler: Aristotle's Nicomachean Ethics
21 Nov 2023
Contributed by Lukas
Is the purpose of life happiness, and if so, how can we achieve it? Written nearly 2,500 years ago, Aristotle's Nicomachean Ethics is as relevant toda...
Julie Hartman: The Scarlet Letter by Nathaniel Hawthorne
19 Sep 2023
Contributed by Lukas
What if your sins were on display for all the world to see? Michael Knowles is joined by Julie Hartman to discuss The Scarlet Letter, which tells t...
Andy Puzder: The Fountainhead by Ayn Rand
16 Aug 2023
Contributed by Lukas
How do you stay true to yourself in a world that demands conformity? Ayn Rand’s The Fountainhead—centered around a talented architect who refuses...
Owen Anderson: The Book of Job
18 Jul 2023
Contributed by Lukas
If you lost every good thing in your life, would you still praise God? The Book of Job from the Old Testament is considered one of the great masterpie...
Solveig Gold: The Cave by Plato
16 May 2023
Contributed by Lukas
How do you know if you’re trapped in a false reality? Can you see the truth or are you simply looking at shadows on the wall? Solveig Gold joins Mic...
The Book Club: The Canterbury Tales by Geoffrey Chaucer with Catherine Illingworth
19 Apr 2023
Contributed by Lukas
What makes The Canterbury Tales the most popular work of English literature ever? Penned by Geoffrey Chaucer in the 14th century, this medieval coll...
John Yoo: Leviathan by Thomas Hobbes
21 Mar 2023
Contributed by Lukas
Life is “nasty, brutish, and short.” That’s why we need a social contract—an exchange of freedom for security to avoid a dog-eat-dog state of ...
The Book Club: The Iliad by Homer with Joshua Katz
22 Feb 2023
Contributed by Lukas
What can we learn from ancient Greek poetry? A foundational text of Western Civilization—The Iliad by Homer—is one of the oldest pieces of literat...
The Book Club: The Pilgrim's Progress by John Bunyan with Allie Stuckey
19 Jan 2023
Contributed by Lukas
Christians have been mocked, humiliated, and persecuted for their faith for hundreds of years. The Pilgrim’s Progress, written by Puritan preacher J...
The Book Club: Civilization and Its Discontents by Sigmund Freud with Stephen Marmer
03 Jan 2023
Contributed by Lukas
Civilization and Its Discontents by Sigmund Freud—the father of psychoanalysis—explores the perpetual struggle between self and society. Clinical ...
The Book Club: Democracy in America by Alexis de Tocqueville with Pete Peterson
16 Dec 2022
Contributed by Lukas
Could anyone have predicted the future of America 200 years ago? Alexis de Tocqueville foresaw a society fraught with materialism and “soft despotis...
The Book Club: Anna Karenina by Leo Tolstoy with Inez Stepman
16 Dec 2022
Contributed by Lukas
What happens if you follow your heart, pursuing love and happiness above all else, devoid of duty or virtue? Nothing good according to Leo Tolstoy, au...
The Book Club: Reflections on the Revolution in France by Edmund Burke with Yoram Hazony
30 Sep 2022
Contributed by Lukas
The American Revolution led to the birth of a new, free nation, while the French Revolution led to blood and terror. What was the difference and what ...
The Book Club: The Closing of the American Mind by Allan Bloom with Max Eden
22 Jul 2022
Contributed by Lukas
Something is deeply amiss in contemporary American culture. Young people have lost touch with reality and have become trapped by moral relativism. Is ...
The Book Club: Lord of the Flies by William Golding with Lauren Chen
21 Jun 2022
Contributed by Lukas
In a world without consequences, are humans naturally good or is there darkness within us all? Lauren Chen sits with Michael Knowles to discuss the cl...
The Book Club: The Book of Exodus with Dennis Prager
24 May 2022
Contributed by Lukas
Why should Biblical literacy matter today? What happens to society when people fear public opinion more than God? Joining Michael Knowles in this epis...
The Book Club: A Tale of Two Cities by Charles Dickens with Allen Estrin
24 May 2022
Contributed by Lukas
“It was the best of times, it was the worst of times…” Is history repeating itself? Set during the French Revolution, Charles Dickens’ A Tale ...
The Book Club: Jane Eyre by Charlotte Brontë with Madeleine Kearns
22 Dec 2021
Contributed by Lukas
Jane Eyre by Charlotte Brontë is one of the most beloved books in literature. In this episode of The Book Club, Michael Knowles and Madeleine Kearns ...
The Book Club: Darkness at Noon by Arthur Koestler with Brad Thompson
23 Sep 2021
Contributed by Lukas
George Orwell and Aldous Huxley warned of the evils of communism in the pages of 1984 and Brave New World; however, Arthur Koestler’s Darkness at No...
The Book Club: Atlas Shrugged by Ayn Rand With Eric Daniels
01 Sep 2021
Contributed by Lukas
Ayn Rand’s Atlas Shrugged, named by readers in 1991 as the most influential book after the Bible, is a novelized warning about the allure and evils ...
The Book Club: Race and Culture by Thomas Sowell With Farah Jimenez
01 Sep 2021
Contributed by Lukas
On this episode of The Book Club, Michael Knowles and Farah Jimenez discuss Race and Culture, Thomas Sowell’s powerful analysis on why culture has a...
The Book Club: The Screwtape Letters by C. S. Lewis with Seth Dillon
29 Jun 2021
Contributed by Lukas
What if you could listen in on a conversation between two devils? C.S. Lewis’s "The Screwtape Letters" takes you through letters between Screwtape, ...
The Book Club: Frankenstein by Mary Shelley with Gina Bontempo
29 Jun 2021
Contributed by Lukas
The first science fiction novel ever written (over 200 years ago), Frankenstein is a tragic and cautionary tale about failed humanity, the dangers of ...
The Book Club: The Death of Ivan Ilyich by Tolstoy with Matt Walsh
20 Apr 2021
Contributed by Lukas
Leo Tolstoy’s novella speaks volumes on mortality, conformity, societal expectations, and what it means to live an authentic life. Ivan Ilyich suffe...
The Book Club: King Lear by Shakespeare with Douglas Murray
23 Mar 2021
Contributed by Lukas
Broken families are detrimental to society— it’s been proven throughout history. Douglas Murray and Michael Knowles summarize William Shakespeare’...
The Book Club: Middlemarch by George Eliot with Heather Mac Donald
16 Feb 2021
Contributed by Lukas
Is a life of duty and self-sacrifice noble or ridiculous? What can 21st-century readers take away from Middlemarch, A Study of Provincial Life, one of...
The Book Club: Galileo with Brian Keating
19 Jan 2021
Contributed by Lukas
Galileo proved that the Earth revolved around the sun and was punished for challenging existing scientific theory. Are we seeing parallels today? Bria...
The Book Club: Genesis with Bishop Robert Barron
15 Dec 2020
Contributed by Lukas
Biblical illiteracy is at an all-time high. Many Americans believe the Bible is archaic, even irrelevant to the changing culture. In this episode, Bis...
The Book Club: Symposium by Plato with Spencer Klavan
17 Nov 2020
Contributed by Lukas
Love is an innate desire of every human being, but how do you define it and what is its purpose in relationships? Michael Knowles and Spencer Klavan t...
The Book Club: Divine Comedy by Dante with Catherine Illingworth
20 Oct 2020
Contributed by Lukas
A man who has nothing left to lose is led through hell, purgatory, and heaven in this incomparable masterpiece. Dante scholar Catherine Illingworth jo...
The Book Club: Up From Slavery by Booker T. Washington with Carol Swain
15 Sep 2020
Contributed by Lukas
What is the key to racial reconciliation in our nation? Dr. Carol Swain joins Michael Knowles on this month’s episode of The Book Club to examine th...
The Book Club: 1984 by George Orwell with Dave Rubin
20 Aug 2020
Contributed by Lukas
George Orwell’s novel, 1984, portrays a dystopian world where Big Brother reigns supreme. Today, however, Orwell’s warning against totalitarianism...
The Book Club: Brave New World by Aldous Huxley with Sen. Ted Cruz
18 Aug 2020
Contributed by Lukas
Sen. Ted Cruz joins Michael Knowles this month for a very special episode of The Book Club! They discuss Aldous Huxley’s dystopian novel Brave New W...
The Book Club: Of Human Bondage by W. Somerset Maugham with Larry Elder
16 Jun 2020
Contributed by Lukas
How do you find meaning in a world filled with cruelty? Michael Knowles and Larry Elder discuss the universal search for unconditional love as seen in...
The Book Club: The Federalist Papers by Alexander Hamilton, James Madison with Ben Shapiro
19 May 2020
Contributed by Lukas
Do you understand the Constitution? What makes America different? Ben Shapiro joins Michael Knowles to discuss The Federalist Papers, a collection of ...
The Book Club: Intellectuals by Paul Johnson with Allen Estrin
21 Apr 2020
Contributed by Lukas
Thinkers from Karl Marx to Noam Chomsky have shaped political thought and transformed societies. In this episode of The Book Club, Michael Knowles and...
The Book Club: Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austen with Abigail Shrier
18 Mar 2020
Contributed by Lukas
Pride and Prejudice is one of the most famous and most beloved romantic novels of all time. In this episode of The Book Club, Michael Knowles and Abig...
The Book Club: Hamlet by William Shakespeare with Andrew Klavan
19 Feb 2020
Contributed by Lukas
William Shakespeare’s Hamlet is the greatest play ever written. In this episode of The Book Club, Michael Knowles and Andrew Klavan discuss the them...
The Book Club: Man’s Search for Meaning by Viktor Frankl with Dennis Prager
20 Jan 2020
Contributed by Lukas
What is mankind’s greatest pursuit? In the world premiere of The Book Club, Michael Knowles and Dennis Prager take you through psychiatrist Viktor F...