The Moral Imagination
Episodes
Episode 61: Magatte Wade on Rethinking Poverty, Prosperity, and What Africa needs to Flourish
21 Dec 2025
Contributed by Lukas
In this episode of the Moral Imagination Podcast I speak with Magatte Wade about her book, The Heart of Cheetah, her personal journey, entrepreneurial...
Episode 60: Augustine Wetta, O.S.B. St. Benedict's 12-Step Guide to Genuine Self-Esteem
27 Mar 2025
Contributed by Lukas
In this episode of the Moral Imagination Podcast I speak with Fr. J. Augustine Wetta about his book Humility Rules: Saint Benedict's Twelve-Step Guid...
Episode 59: Catherine Pakaluk, Ph.D - A Life Marathon: On having a large family in a consumerist culture amidst declining marriage and birth rates
25 Jul 2024
Contributed by Lukas
In this episode of the Moral Imagination Podcast I speak with Catherine Pakaluk about her book Hannah’s Children: The Women Quietly Defying the Birt...
Ep. 58 William Easterly Ph.D. : Poverty, Technocracy, and the Tyranny of Experts
25 Apr 2024
Contributed by Lukas
Photo Credit: Tyler Follon - Wingman VisualsIn this episode of the Moral Imagination Podcast, I speak with Professor ...
Ep.57 The Decline of Christianity, the Rise of the “Nones” and Philosophies of the Person that Shape Unbelief
26 Feb 2024
Contributed by Lukas
This episode of the Moral Imagination Podcast is a talk I gave at AmPhil’s Center for Civil Society conference in November, 2023 on the “R...
Ep.56 Ambassador Eduard Habsburg: Building a Family Legacy — The Habsburg Way: 7 Tools for Turbulent Times
14 Feb 2024
Contributed by Lukas
In this episode of the Moral Imagination Podcast I speak with Hungarian Ambassador to the Holy See and the Sovereign Order of Malta, Ambassador E...
Ep.55 Seth Kapan on Fragile Neighborhoods — Relationships and Place-Based Solutions to Social and Material Poverty
01 Feb 2024
Contributed by Lukas
In this episode of the Moral Imagination Podcast I speak with Seth Kaplan about his book Fragile Neighborhoods: Repairing American Society ...
Ep.54 Cajetan Cuddy O.P on The Psychology of St. Thomas Aquinas
10 Aug 2023
Contributed by Lukas
In this episode I speak with Fr. Cajetan Cuddy O.P. about Thomistic Psychology: A Philosophic Analysis of the Nature of Man, by Fr. Robert Edwar...
Vigen Guroian: Fairy Tales, Classical Learning, and The Moral Imagination
05 Apr 2023
Contributed by Lukas
In this episode I speak with Professor Vigen Gurioan about the revised and expanded edition of his book Tending the Heart of Virtue: How Classic Stori...
Ep. 52 Philip Ovadia MD Metabolic Health, Diet, Cholesterol, Heart Disease, and Modern Medicine
16 Feb 2023
Contributed by Lukas
In this episode I speak with heart surgeon, Dr. Philip Ovadia MD, about metabolic health, diet, science, cholesterol, insulin resistance, the US gover...
Ep. 51 Titus Techera: Dune and Bladerunner Science Fiction, Dystopia and Humanity in American Life
01 Feb 2023
Contributed by Lukas
In this episode I speak with Titus Techera about Dune, Bladerunner, science fiction, dystopian film, technocratic view of humanity, and the formative ...
Ep.50 On Benedict XVI -Reason, Freedom, Beauty, and the Intellectual Sources of Secularism and the New Evangelization
06 Jan 2023
Contributed by Lukas
Pope Benedict XVI / Joseph Ratzinger passed away on December 31 at the age of 95 years old. His writing and teaching have been a major influence on ...
Ep. 49 Flagg Taylor, Ph.D: The Parallel Polis
22 Dec 2022
Contributed by Lukas
In this episode I speak with Flagg Taylor about the life and writing of Vaclav Benda, and his idea of the parallel polis, decentralization, and crea...
Ep. 48 Jonathan Bi: Rene Girard - Social Pressure, True and False Desires, Sacrifice, and Belief
16 Dec 2022
Contributed by Lukas
In this episode I speak with Jonathan Bi about the ideas of Rene Girard, social pressure, authentic and false desires, victims and scapegoats, persecu...
Ep. 47 Rachel Ferguson, Ph.D: Exclusion & Opportunity - Black Liberation Through the Marketplace
28 Oct 2022
Contributed by Lukas
In this episode I speak with Rachel Ferguson about her book Black Liberation Through the Marketplace: Hope, Heartbreak, and the Promise of America, co...
Ep. 46 Bill Rivers: Last Summer Boys A Novel about Family, Honor, and the Power of Community
20 Oct 2022
Contributed by Lukas
peak with Bill Rivers about this novel, Last Summer Boys. The novel is about a rural Pennsylvania family and the adventures of three boys and a cousin...
Ep. 45 Paul McLaughlin PsyD, Mark R. McMinn PhD: Can Wisdom be Cultivated?
21 Sep 2022
Contributed by Lukas
In this episode I speak with two psychologists, Paul McLaughlin PsyD and Mark R. McMinn PhD, about their book A Time for Wisdom. The provide a unique ...
Ep. 44 Deion Kathawa: Technology, Religion, and Humanity in a Post-Human Age
19 Aug 2022
Contributed by Lukas
In this episode of The Moral Imagination Podcast I speak with Deion Kathawa about his essays at Public Discourse Technology and Dignity. We discuss ...
Ep. 43: Orthodox Judaism, Leo Strauss, and Baruch Spinoza’s Critique of Religion
19 Jul 2022
Contributed by Lukas
In this episode I speak with Jeffrey Bloom and Rabbi Jeremy Kagan about the book Spinoza, Strauss, and Sinai: Orthodox Judaism and Modern Questions of...
Ep. 42: Jeremy Tate: Whoever Owns the Test Owns the Curriculum: Classic Learning v. Industrial Model
01 Jul 2022
Contributed by Lukas
In this episode, I speak with Jeremy Tate, the founder of the Classic Learning Test about school testing, curriculum, and the classical versus industr...
Podcast Episode 41: Michael Ward: A Guide to C.S. Lewis’ The Abolition of Man
07 Jun 2022
Contributed by Lukas
In this episode, I speak with Michael Ward about his book, After Humanity: A Guide to C.S. Lewis The Abolition of Man. I think The Abolition of Man ...
Podcast Ep. 40 Mary Eberstadt: Who are You? Family, Politics, and the Hunger for Identity
14 May 2022
Contributed by Lukas
In the episode I speak with Mary Eberstadt about her latest book Primal Screams: How the Sexual Revolution Created Identity Politics. She argues that ...
Ep. 39 Marcel Guarnizo: What is Justice
13 Apr 2022
Contributed by Lukas
What is Justice? What do we owe to each other? The theme of justice is core issue of all human societies and pervades myth and philosophy. Plato’...
Ep. 38: Dr. Margarita Mooney Nicaraguan Journey: From Technocracy to Solidarity through Small Acts of Love
23 Mar 2022
Contributed by Lukas
In the episode, I speak with Professor Margarita Mooney about her time in Nicaragua and how these experiences shaped her scholarly work and teaching a...
Ep. 37: James Poulos: Digital Politics & Spiritual War
11 Mar 2022
Contributed by Lukas
In this episode, I speak with James Poulos about his book, Human, Forever: The Digital Politics of Spiritual War. We discuss a wide variety of themes...
Ep. 36: Carter Snead: Law, Power, and Bioethics: What it Means to Be Human,
01 Sep 2021
Contributed by Lukas
In this episode, I speak with Professor Carter Snead about his book, What it Means to be Human: The Case for the Body in Public Bioethics. We discuss ...
Ep. 35: Jessica Hooten Wilson, Ph.D.: Literature and Totalitarianism
23 Aug 2021
Contributed by Lukas
In this episode, I speak with Professor Jessica Hooten Wilson about her writing and research on literature and totalitarianism. We discuss how both vi...
Ep. 34: Heidi White: What is Classical Education?
04 Aug 2021
Contributed by Lukas
What is education for? In the episode, I speak with Heidi White about classical education and human flourishing. We discuss why classical education is...
Ep. 33: Elizabeth Corey, Ph.D.: Life Beyond Politics
21 Jul 2021
Contributed by Lukas
In this episode, I speak with Elizabeth Corey about life beyond politics, friendship, learning, and the work of Michael Oakeshott. We discuss a wide r...
Ep. 32: James Madden, Ph.D.: The Recovery of the Self: Embodied and Embedded Persons
14 Jul 2021
Contributed by Lukas
In this episode, I speak with James Madden about his book, "Mind, Matter, and Nature", about philosophy of mind, and what it means to be an embodied a...
Ep. 31: Titus Techera and Flagg Taylor: Communism and Film: Deceit, Privacy, Art, and the Effects of Tyranny on the Soul
29 Mar 2021
Contributed by Lukas
In this episode, I speak with Titus Techera and Flagg Taylor about several films that address communism and the effects of tyranny and deceit on the h...
Ep. 30: Jay Richards: Fasting, Prayer, and Ketosis: How Modern Science and Ancient Christian Tradition Support a Fasting Lifestyle & Help Us Put Food in its Proper Place
18 Mar 2021
Contributed by Lukas
In this episode, I speak with Jay Richards about his book "Eat, Fast, Feast: Heal Your Body While Feeding your Soul". We discuss how modern science an...
Ep. 29: Noelle Mering: Awake Not Woke: A Personalist Alternative to Thinking About Social Justice
06 Mar 2021
Contributed by Lukas
In this episode, I speak with Noelle Mering about her new book, Awake Not Woke: A Christian Response to the Cult of Progressive Ideology. Noelle analy...
Ep. 28: George Gilder: Crypto vs Google: Blockchain, Cryptocurrency, Decentralized Computing, and Life After Google and Big Data
25 Feb 2021
Contributed by Lukas
In this episode, I talk with George Gilder about "Life After Google: The Fall of Big Data & The Rise of the Blockchain Economy" and his newest book on...
Ep. 27: Decentralization, Localism, and Mutual Aid: The Thought of Robert Nisbet
19 Feb 2021
Contributed by Lukas
This episode features a lecture of mine from 2011 on the thought of Robert Nisbet. Nisbet is an important figure and his thought is very relevant to o...
Ep. 26: David Deavel Ph.D: What Happiness are We Pursuing? Solzhenitsyn and American Culture
05 Feb 2021
Contributed by Lukas
A British journalist asked Alexander Solzhenitsyn: can free people desire to be slaves? He answered Yes. The West is "full of such people". In this ep...
Ep. 25: David Clayton: Beauty and the Cosmos
28 Jan 2021
Contributed by Lukas
What is beauty? Does it have an objective character, or is it merely subjective and in the eye of the beholder? How do we experience beauty, and how d...
Ep. 24: Andreas Widmer: Principled Entrepreneurship: Why Business is Always Personal
22 Jan 2021
Contributed by Lukas
In the episode, I speak with Andreas Widmer about his work on principled entrepreneurship. Andreas argues that many of the challenges we are seeing in...
Ep. 23: Flagg Taylor Ph.D: Living in Truth: Vaclav Havel on Existential Dissent & the Re-discovery of Conscience
14 Jan 2021
Contributed by Lukas
In this episode, I speak with Flagg Taylor about the writing and life of Vaclav Havel. We discuss his essays, plays, and other works. We also discuss ...
Ep. 22: Luke Sheahan: Suppressing Dissent: Why Freedom of Association and Decentralization Matter for Liberty, Community, Innovation, and Human Flourishing
06 Jan 2021
Contributed by Lukas
Alexis de Tocqueville wrote that the tyrant doesn't care if you love him, as long as you don't love one another. In this episode, I speak with Luke Sh...
Ep. 21: Luke Burgis: The Economy of Desire: Rene Girard on Commerce and our Everyday Life
17 Dec 2020
Contributed by Lukas
In this episode, I speak with Luke Burgis about Rene Girard, the mimetic cycle, imitation, desire, and scapegoating, and how these things play out in ...
Ep. 20: What is the Moral Imagination? + 15 Ways to Build it and Recover Our Humanity
10 Dec 2020
Contributed by Lukas
What is the moral imagination? Why is it important? In this episode, I discuss the concept of the moral imagination and 15 ways to develop it. I discu...
Ep. 19: Carrie Gress, Ph.D: Theology of Home: Family, Motherhood and the Alternative to Dominant Feminism
04 Dec 2020
Contributed by Lukas
In this episode, I speak with the Carrie Gress about her book "Theology of Home". We discuss themes of the value of homemaking, the hearth, family, mo...
Ep. 18: Chris Arnade: Dignity, Poverty, Faith, & Seeking Respect in Back Row America
25 Nov 2020
Contributed by Lukas
In this episode, I speak with Chris Arnade about his book "Dignity: Seeking Respect in Back Row America". We discuss themes from his book including po...
Ep. 17: Obianuju Ekeocha: Ideological Colonialism and Resisting the Cultural Annexation of Africa
19 Nov 2020
Contributed by Lukas
In this episode, I speak with Obianuju Ekeocha about the problem of ideological colonialism in Africa in the 21st Century. We discuss how Western gove...
Ep. 16: Dr. Michael Egnor: Does Neuroscience Refute Free Will?
12 Nov 2020
Contributed by Lukas
Does neuroscience prove there is no free will? Is consciousness reducible to a neural network? Are we determined by our brains? In this episode, I spe...
Ep. 15: Gary Saul Morson Ph.D: Thinking Like Lenin
04 Nov 2020
Contributed by Lukas
In this episode, I speak with Professor Gary Saul Morson about the thought of Vladamir Lenin and how Lenin's ideas and way of seeing the world influen...
The Triumph of the Yuppie: Carlo Lancellotti on Augusto del Noce, Secularization, Revolution, and the Crisis of Modernity
28 Oct 2020
Contributed by Lukas
In this episode, I speak with Professor Carlo Lancellotti about the late Italian philosopher Augusto Del Noce and the Crisis of Modernity. Del Noce di...
Ep. 13: Dr. Michael Egnor, M.D: Are We our Brains? Philosophy and the Foundations of Neuroscience
21 Oct 2020
Contributed by Lukas
Does your brain think? Does your frontal lobe decide? Or do you think and you decide? What is the relationship between the brain and and the mind; bet...
Ep. 12: Jaron Lanier: Behavior Modification, Virtual Reality, and Re-inventing the Internet
14 Oct 2020
Contributed by Lukas
In this episode, I speak with technologist, musician, and author, Jaron Lanier about technology, behavior modification, artificial intelligence and vi...
Ep. 11: Bradley Birzer, Ph.D: Leviathan Inc.: Robert Nisbet, Decentralization, & Localism
07 Oct 2020
Contributed by Lukas
In this episode, I speak with Brad Birzer about the American Sociologist Robert Nisbet and his critique of the Modern Nation State. Nisbet was a stron...
Ep. 10: Diana Rodgers: Kale vs Cow: Nutrition, Land Regeneration, and the Case for Better Meat
30 Sep 2020
Contributed by Lukas
In this episode, I speak with Diana Rodgers about nutrition, factory farming, subsidies, antibiotics, and why animals are good for the land. Diana is ...
Ep. 9: Anthony Bradley, Ph.D: Personalism as a Response to Over-Criminalization and Mass Incarceration
23 Sep 2020
Contributed by Lukas
In this episode, I speak with Dr. Anthony Bradley about his book, "Ending Overcriminalization and Mass Incarceration: Hope from Civil Society". Dr. An...
Ep. 8: Glen Weyl, Ph.D: Alternatives to Technocracy & the Ideology of Artificial Intelligence
16 Sep 2020
Contributed by Lukas
In this episode, I speak with Glen Weyl about the ideology of artificial of intelligence, central planning, Communist China, and the problem of techno...
Ep. 7: Joel Salatin: Simple Truths About Man, Nature, Stewardship, & Farming
31 Oct 2019
Contributed by Lukas
Michael welcomes to the show Joel Salatin, prolific writer, renowned public speaker, and self-described "Christian libertarian environmentalist capita...
Ep. 6: Dr. Patrick Lee: What Does it Really Mean to be a Human Being?
24 Oct 2019
Contributed by Lukas
Michael welcomes Dr. Patrick Lee, director of the Center for Bio-Ethics at Franciscan University in Steubenville, Ohio, to discuss his book, "Body-Sel...
Ep. 5: Jay Richards, Ph.D: Philosophical Materialism
17 Oct 2019
Contributed by Lukas
Professor Jay Richards returns to discuss the second half his book, The Human Advantage: The Future of Work in an Age of Smart Machines. This half of ...
Ep. 4: Dr. Gregory Thornbury: Rene Girard and the Mimetic Cycle
09 Oct 2019
Contributed by Lukas
Dr. Gregory Thornbury, Vice President for Development at the New York Academy of Art and former President of King's College in New York, joins Michael...
Ep. 3: Jay Richards Ph.D: The Future of Work in an Age of Smart Machines
02 Oct 2019
Contributed by Lukas
Professor Jay Richards of the Catholic University of America's Busch School of Business and the Discovery Institute joins Michael to discuss his book,...
Ep. 2: Dan Mahoney: Solzhenitsyn and the Gulag Archipelago Dan Mahoney
02 Oct 2019
Contributed by Lukas
Professor Dan Mahoney of Assumption College joins Michael to discuss Aleksandr Solzhenitsyn and his seminal work, the Gulag Archipelago. Get full acce...
Ep. 1: James Otteson Ph.D: Aristotle and the Good Life
17 Jun 2019
Contributed by Lukas
Professor James Otteson of Wake Forest University and the Eudaimonia Institute joins Michael to discuss Aristotle, Eudaimonia, human flourishing, and ...