The General Eclectic

"Reality Bites Back" The General Eclectic #3.6

17 Feb 2023

Contributed by Lukas

Rod and Kale discuss the seemingly chronic breakdown of infrastructure in a variety of fronts, from churches and schools, to literal infrastructure, n...

Strange Magic: The General Eclectic #3.4 with Rod Dreher

03 Feb 2023

Contributed by Lukas

Rod and Kale discuss the retreat of Christianity and its replacement with Neo-paganism, which is really just old Paganism in a slightly different reg...

"Cardinal Screwtape is Not Obsessed with Sex": The General Eclectic with Rod Dreher #3.3

27 Jan 2023

Contributed by Lukas

Rod and Kale meet up to talk about two topics: Cardinal McIlroy's call for changes in the sexual teachings of the Catholic Church, and the horrific tr...

The General Eclectic #3.2 "The Disintegration Machine"

20 Jan 2023

Contributed by Lukas

Rod and Kale record a conversation about the prophetic vision of Lewis' That Hideous Strength as a way into the notion of the Experience Machine, and...

The General Eclectic #3.1 "The Death and Life of Benedict"

12 Jan 2023

Contributed by Lukas

Kale and Rod kick off season 3 to discuss liminal thinkers and the breaking up of old frames to see through, and the emergence of new ones. Standing i...

The General Eclectic #2.25 "Hope in the Darkness"

12 Jan 2023

Contributed by Lukas

Rod and Kale sit down for a discussion looking forward to the coming year. The first half revolves around the war in Ukraine, the circus of Trumpland ...

The General Eclectic #2.24 "Knowing What Time It Is"

16 Dec 2022

Contributed by Lukas

Rod and Kale pick up their discussion from last week about the ancient substructure of Christendom, and how an understanding of the transformation fro...

The General Eclectic #2.23 "Real Apocalypse and the Land of Revelations"

09 Dec 2022

Contributed by Lukas

Rod is fresh off a trip to Turkey, visiting the Seven Churches of the Book of Revelation. Walking the places of the early church helps bring home the ...

The General Eclectic #2.21 "We Don't Talk About Our Dark Hearts"

02 Dec 2022

Contributed by Lukas

Rod and Kale engage in a conversation about the manifestations of the dark hearts of our culture. They discuss the repugnant ideas that result from a ...

The General Eclectic #2.20 "The Hunger & Thirst for Story"

14 Nov 2022

Contributed by Lukas

Rod and Kale meet up for their weekly check in to discuss the aftermath of the red-wave-that-wasn't.   They focus their discussion on the sex and a...

The General Eclectic #2.19

09 Nov 2022

Contributed by Lukas

Season 2 Election Special—Midterm Election Preview

09 Nov 2022

Contributed by Lukas

Rod and Kale preview the midterm elections.

The General Eclectic #2.18: How Much Ruin Is There Left in a Nation?

09 Nov 2022

Contributed by Lukas

Rod and Kale talk about the shifting conversations about culture, authority, costs, and ruin. Rod learns how to read through an enchanted lens, and ...

The General Eclectic with Rod Dreher #2.17 "Our Metaphysical Catastrophe and the Darkness Underneath."

09 Nov 2022

Contributed by Lukas

    Rod and Kale kick off their weekly show with a discussion about the darkness hovering just below the surface. FBI chaplains, covering abuse, the...

The General Eclectic #2.16 "Culture Interrupted"

07 Oct 2022

Contributed by Lukas

Rod and Kale return to discuss the latest in the ongoing ferment of cultural churn. Rod is settling into his new digs in Budapest and they discuss not...

The Faith and Wonder That Build

25 Aug 2022

Contributed by Lukas

Rod and Kale return after a hiatus to discuss: war continues in Ukraine, and a dark and cold winter awaits potential breakup of the European Union? d...

Searching in the Dark Wood

14 Jul 2022

Contributed by Lukas

Rod and Kale meetup to discuss all things TGE after Rod's travel sagas land him back in England and then Budapest.   Topics covered, in order: - Oxfo...

Being Human in the Shadows of the Machine

23 Jun 2022

Contributed by Lukas

Kale sits down with Tara Ann Thieke to discuss The Machine, Spirits, Technology and the struggle to be human.   In the first half of the show they ta...

Eclipse of Authority, Myth of Control

15 Jun 2022

Contributed by Lukas

The guys discuss the aftermath of yet another mass shooting, the rush to assign blame and score it, and the need to create a sense of control in the f...

Matt Walsh: The Body Doesn't Lie

08 Jun 2022

Contributed by Lukas

Rod and Kale are joined by filmmaker, podcaster, and best-selling children's author Matt Walsh of DailyWire.com to discuss his new hit movie "What is ...

Yoram Hazony & The Next Conservatism

23 May 2022

Contributed by Lukas

Rod and Kale have Yoram Hazony on to talk about his just released book "Conservatism: A Rediscovery."   They discuss: - Can Conservatives learn to Co...

The Return of the Eclectic

20 May 2022

Contributed by Lukas

Rod and Kale return after a 6 week sabbatical to cover what has been going on politically, culturally, and personally in the past six weeks.   The ta...

Waiting for the Barbarians

04 Apr 2022

Contributed by Lukas

In their warm up, Kale and Rod talk about the Slap Heard 'Round the World at this year's Oscars and the snoozefest it has become. They move into a dis...

Confusion Induced Complacency

24 Mar 2022

Contributed by Lukas

In this episode of The General Eclectic, Rod and Kale talk about the spreading and manufacture of cultural confusion on several fronts: gender ideolog...

Her Name Is Helena

10 Mar 2022

Contributed by Lukas

Kale and Rod are joined by Helena, a young woman who has gone through a harrowing personal journey. Her testimony takes us into the world of Tumblr an...

Is Twitter a Spirit and Will it Become Flesh?

08 Mar 2022

Contributed by Lukas

Rod and Kale talk about the war in the context of the Anglo and Chinese polarity and the West's demand to be moral versus the Chinese demand to be obe...

People Are Strange, but God Is Stranger

28 Feb 2022

Contributed by Lukas

Rod and Kale are joined by Paul Vanderklay, pastor and YouTuber, to discuss Rod's latest project on Enchantment.   Rod starts off with his story of S...

Teach Not By Lies with Paul Rossi

21 Feb 2022

Contributed by Lukas

Kale is joined by Paul Rossi, independent school teacher turned activist. They discuss what is going on in our nation's most elite schools, and their ...

Fog of War, Fog of Kink

14 Feb 2022

Contributed by Lukas

In this episode, Rod and Kale discuss the underlying issue of "telos"—the end or purpose of a thing—as a necessary guide for action, whether in th...

Won't Get Fooled Again

31 Jan 2022

Contributed by Lukas

In this episode of the podcast, Kale and Rod have a conversation in three parts: Russia and Ukraine, the use and abuse of Dialogue in Church and cultu...

Scripts, Myths, and Public Liturgy

20 Jan 2022

Contributed by Lukas

Rod and Kale sit down to discuss the conspicuous displays of the anniversary of January 6th, and the power of political liturgies to manufacture conse...

Porn Is Eating the World, with Sean Clifford

14 Jan 2022

Contributed by Lukas

Rod and Kale are joined by Sean Clifford, proud husband, father of four, and an anti-pornography advocate. He is CEO of Canopy, a company dedicated to...

What Happened to Tradition? with Tim Stanley

06 Jan 2022

Contributed by Lukas

Rod and Kale bring on writer and social critic Tim Stanley to discuss his book on Tradition. Tim argues for the dynamism of Tradition versus the bone-...

Pilgrimage Through the Meaning-Desert

15 Dec 2021

Contributed by Lukas

We open with this podcast with a discussion about good books, and why we read what we read, and in particular, how fiction can draw you in, grab you...

Mary, Mary: Reactionary

07 Dec 2021

Contributed by Lukas

Mary Harrington, contributing editor at Unherd, writer and self-professed "Reactionary Feminist", joins Rod and Kale today to discuss both her speech ...

The Trueman Doctrine

01 Dec 2021

Contributed by Lukas

Rod and Kale are joined by Carl Trueman, professor and author of The Rise and Triumph of the Modern Self. Carl gives a big picture overview of the bo...

Liquid Modernity Is Civilizational Acid

25 Nov 2021

Contributed by Lukas

In this episode Rod and Kale discuss Liquid Modernity as the acidic solvent upon the foundations of civilization. We are witnessing the pulling apart ...

A Momentary Stay Against Woke-Confusion?

10 Nov 2021

Contributed by Lukas

In this episode Rod and Kale discuss the surprising Republican victory in Virginia and his recent trip to the National Conservatism Conference in Orla...

Into the Deep with Ross Douthat

27 Oct 2021

Contributed by Lukas

Rod and Kale are joined by New York Times columnist (and friend) Ross Douthat to discuss his new book The Deep Places: A Memoir of Illness & Recovery...

Are We Heretics?

20 Oct 2021

Contributed by Lukas

Rod and Kale talk about Elizabeth Zerofsky's piece in the New York Times about the postliberal American Right. In the conversation, they wonder out l...

The Trap House of Horrors & Slouching Towards Civil War

14 Oct 2021

Contributed by Lukas

Rod joins Kale to discuss several new eruptions of the ongoing culture wars: the latest kerfuffle at Yale and another sign that a Civil War (of sorts...

The Experience Machine and the Crisis of the Real

07 Oct 2021

Contributed by Lukas

Rod and Kale talk about Robert Nozick's Experience Machine thought experiment. A longtime teacher tweeted out her shock that after years of teaching t...

Is it Time for a Catechism of the Underground Church?

01 Oct 2021

Contributed by Lukas

What happens when you put an Anglican, an Eastern Orthodox, and a Catholic in a zoom room?   Kale and Rod are joined by Fr. Daniel French, Anglican p...

Will Hungary Become a Conservative Retreat?

23 Sep 2021

Contributed by Lukas

Kale hosts a conversation with Rod and Michael Brendan Dougherty, senior writer at National Review. They discuss: Orban, Fidesz, and the "conservati...

Hurricanes, Popes, Overton Windows, and Inner Rings

22 Sep 2021

Contributed by Lukas

Rod and Kale catch up after Rod's return from Italy and his meeting with Pope Francis. They talk about: The aftermath of Hurricane Ida's destruction...

From Reluctant Trump Watcher to Administration Appointee

03 Sep 2021

Contributed by Lukas

Kale is joined today by his brother Mark Zelden, a long-time Capitol Hill guy, to discuss the Trump administration from the inside. Mark talks about t...

Broken Windows and (Non)Binary Wiggles

31 Aug 2021

Contributed by Lukas

Rod and Kale discuss Rod's upcoming trip to Italy to promote Live Not By Lies as well as a trip to San Galgano and the strange story that has been par...

Catastrophe and the Revelation of The Real

26 Aug 2021

Contributed by Lukas

Rod and Kale discuss the immediate aftermath of the United States' withdrawal from Afghanistan and the 20 years in the making debacle. How did this h...

Mid-Century Madness and the Roots of our Discontents

16 Aug 2021

Contributed by Lukas

Rod and Kale discuss: 1. The sad phenomenon of a culture that has lost hope--why don't we want kids? 2. Mid-century Madness and the failures of the ...

Who Guards the Guards?

29 Jul 2021

Contributed by Lukas

Rod is back and joins Kale to discuss two main topics: the revelation of government surveillance using the Pegasus software and Pope Francis' latest...

The General Eclectic Podcast #27: "Maps and Terrains, Ideas and Realities"

19 Jul 2021

Contributed by Lukas

Kale is joined today by Dr. Larry Chapp, blogger and retired professor, in discussing Ross Douthat's latest piece at First Things. The mid-century in...

Gradually Then Suddenly: Against Nostalgic Conservativism

07 Jul 2021

Contributed by Lukas

Rod and Kale reconnect this week to discuss decline and fall scenarios, particularly in the context of a Tanner Greer piece called "Culture Wars are L...

The Grace of Story: What to Read, How to Read, Why to Read with Jessica Hooten Wilson

02 Jul 2021

Contributed by Lukas

Kale is joined by Dr. Jessica Hooten Wilson to discuss the literary tradition and why we must read. He starts by asking Jessica why teaching literatur...

Cathedral Narrative, Broken Windows, and the Logic of Civilization

24 Jun 2021

Contributed by Lukas

Rod returns to talk about the disconnect between official narratives and on-the-ground reception of Live Not By Lies by refugees from Venezuela and fo...

What Will Happen to the Right, Now?

18 Jun 2021

Contributed by Lukas

Kale is joined in this episode by Emile Doak, Executive Director of the American Conservative to discuss the big rethink on the Right. What will the R...

Will the Western Liberal Order Hold and Save?

10 Jun 2021

Contributed by Lukas

Rod, fresh back from his amazing trip to Bucharest promoting Live Not By Lies, returns with Kale to talk about his deepening appreciation for the cult...

Authority Leak, Narratives, and Protecting the Shield

03 Jun 2021

Contributed by Lukas

Rod and Kale reconnect after his return from Poland, Rod reports on his ongoing conversations with Western academics and intellectuals about what is g...

Spiritual Abuse in a Therapeutic Age

28 May 2021

Contributed by Lukas

Fresh off an oyster-laden trip to Paris, replete with great conversations about Live Not By Lies and a couple of compelling "green shoots" of hope a...

Who Owns the Future?

20 May 2021

Contributed by Lukas

Rod and Kale ruminate on what our moment heralds for us in the West. Rod's offers further thoughts on his experience of watching his home from afar, a...

This Time, It's Personal

14 May 2021

Contributed by Lukas

Rod and Kale react to the news that John Lennon's Boomer Anthem "Imagine" plays across Germany in their "synodal" moment. As they rush to bless same-s...

A Chat from the Ruins

06 May 2021

Contributed by Lukas

Kale and Rod catch up on Rod's stay in Budapest. In this wide-ranging conversation, they discuss social media and the default socialization of the you...

Locked Down in Budapest and Reading the Signs of the Times

22 Apr 2021

Contributed by Lukas

Rod and Kale discuss his arrival in Budapest, and the alternate worlds of Covid lockdowns. Being away from America, and reading about America, has Rod...

The Rise of the CEOs

15 Apr 2021

Contributed by Lukas

Rod and Kale discuss the shift in corporate virtue signaling and the move to make the states pay for their crimes. Are corporations more powerful tha...

A Conversation with Ross Douthat on Christian Cul-de-sacs, Decadence, and Competing Cosmologies

08 Apr 2021

Contributed by Lukas

Kale discusses a recent Substack in which Ross articulates the dilemmas facing Christian's in light of our current cultural exhaustions, what Ross wor...

Woke Facebook Cabal, Selma Envy, and How Societies Remember

01 Apr 2021

Contributed by Lukas

In The General Eclectic #13, Rod and Kale discuss woke parents and school committees, social credit and social media, Lil Nas X and anti-Christian cul...

Be Weird, It's Important

25 Mar 2021

Contributed by Lukas

In The General Eclectic #11 Rod and Kale recap more of the Woke March, but pivot to a larger discussion about more field notes from the emergent Soft...

The Return of Jordan Peterson, Community, and Institutional Decadence

19 Mar 2021

Contributed by Lukas

In episode #11, we discuss the return of Jordan Peterson, both in the form of his new book Beyond Order (Beyond Order: 12 More Rules for Life: Peterso...

Normalizing Nihilism & the Capture of Cultural Production

11 Mar 2021

Contributed by Lukas

In #10 Rod and Kale discuss the normalization of cultural nihilism and the capture of the modes of production. We discuss:  -The California Enshrinem...

The Long March

09 Mar 2021

Contributed by Lukas

In this episode we talk about the continued "long march through the institutions" of all things woke and the looming specter of Gramsci. They discuss...

Intro

05 Mar 2021

Contributed by Lukas

Welcome to The General Eclectic, a new podcast from The American Conservative featuring Rod Dreher, hosted by Kale Zelden