In this episode of the ClassicalU Podcast, Dr. David 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 John Paul II, Dr. Schindler challenges modern assumptions about knowledge and formation, proposing instead that education begins not with analysis but with awe—with a reverent participation in the givenness of being. He argues that classical education must recover a sacramental vision of reality, where truth is not merely grasped but received, contemplated, and lived.

The discussion explores the role of beauty, the distortions of technocratic modernity, and the importance of shaping educators who model metaphysical humility. Dr. Schindler also reflects on how wonder, leisure, and liturgy reorient both teaching and learning toward truth as a Person. Far from being abstract, the conversation is filled with practical implications for how we form students and communities, such as in the Postman Pledge, in the classical tradition. Listeners will come away with a renewed vision of education as a deeply human—and deeply divine—act of communion. Listeners may also be interested in these Classical U Courses: Essential Philosophy, Theology of Beauty and the Imagination: A Guide to Wonder, Teaching Modern Political Philosophy, and Boethius the Consolation of Philosophy. Listeners interested in exploring more of Dr. David Schindler’s work may enjoy these titles: Freedom from Reality, The Catholicity of Reason, The Politics of the Real, and God and the City.

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, humility, and paradoxical wisdom. He explains how the liberal arts cultivate both the intellectual habits and moral character necessary for wise leadership, especially in classical Christian schools. The discussion also highlights the Educational Leadership for Classical Christian Schools masters program offered through Gordon College, in which Dr. Perrin co-teaches a course on Leadership and the Liberal Arts with Keith Nix. Students engage figures such as Marcus Aurelius, Augustine, Boethius, and Sertillanges, while learning to apply classical insights to the real challenges of school leadership. Listeners will come away with a renewed vision of leadership as a lifelong pursuit of wisdom, virtue, and community.

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 Olaudah Equiano, Phyllis Wheatley, Benjamin Banneker, and Martin Luther King Jr. She argues that these thinkers not only embraced the ideals of freedom, justice, and human dignity but also challenged the American project to live up to them. The episode examines how figures often seen in opposition to the Western canon actually engage deeply with classical texts, bringing them to life in prophetic and transformative ways. Angel also shares success stories from her curriculum work in Nyansa Classical Community and offers hopeful signs of renewal in both K–12 and university contexts. Angel believes a true classical education must be capacious, critical, and living—one that welcomes students of all backgrounds into conversations about ancient truths with contemporary relevance. See also this episode with Dr. Kelisha B. Graves about her book on educator and civil rights activist Nannie Helen Burroughs.