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The Christopher Perrin Show

The Christopher Perrin Show

By: Christopher Perrin
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 Dr. Christopher Perrin has been a leader in the renewal of classical education in the United States for 25 years. In this podcast, he traces the renewal of the American paideia exploring the recent history of the American renaissance in light of the 2500 years that have preceded it. Christopher is the founding CEO of Classical Academic Press and the founder of ClassicalU.com. The Christopher Perrin Show is part of the TrueNorth.fm podcast network.©TrueNorth.fm Social Sciences
Episodes
  • Episode 57: Remembering Well: Restoring History Through Sympathy, Story, and Place

    Episode 57: Remembering Well: Restoring History Through Sympathy, Story, and Place
    Feb 25 2026
    DescriptionAndrew Zwerneman, writer and narrator for HISTORY250® and co-founder and president of Cana Academy, joins Christopher Perrin to argue that America’s cultural crisis is, at root, a crisis of memory—and that renewing history education is a work of restoration. Zwerneman traces the teachers, places, and lived experiences that formed him as a historian, then explains why the “liberal discipline of history” must resist ideological reduction and return to observation, sympathy, and fidelity to the past. Along the way, they connect historical remembrance to the deepest human questions: personhood, responsibility, freedom, and the moral imagination that societies inherit. The conversation explores how biblical and classical sources shaped the American founding, how later leaders invoked inherited principles to confront slavery and injustice, and why the West’s habit of self-criticism depends on conserving what came before. Zwerneman introduces Cana Academy and its HISTORY250® project as practical efforts to rebuild shared story through films, primary sources, maps, and teacher formation. The episode closes with a vivid picture of what great history instruction looks like: students learning to read documents, geography, art, and narrative so they can live under a shared story and recover “hallowed ground.”Episode OutlineZwerneman’s formation: family travel, early teachers, and awakening to the moral weight of historyWhy remembrance is central to human and Christian life: Exodus, Passover, and “do this in remembrance of me”Rejecting “history as a force”: recovering human agency, personhood, and moral dramaAmerican inheritance: scripture, ordered liberty, common law, and natural law in the foundingLearning from paradox: freedom and slavery at the founding; reform movements that appeal to founding idealsThe liberal discipline of history: observation, sympathy, and resisting ideologyWhat students should study: imagery, narratives, structures, data, geography, and the craft of storyCana Academy and HISTORY250®: films, documents, maps, and a “gift” aimed at cultural renewalA tour of the ideal classical history classroom: what you’d see, hear, and practiceKey Topics & TakeawaysHistory restores identity: A people who lose their story lose a clear sense of who they are—and what they owe to the dead and the unborn.Human agency is central: Against “history as a force,” the episode insists that persons mediate between past and present through decisions, sacrifices, and responsibilities.Ordered liberty requires memory: American freedom is rooted in inherited sources (biblical imagination, British rights, common law, natural law), and it decays when citizens forget the responsibilities that attend freedom.History trains moral realism without moralizing: Sympathy is not excuse-making; it is the disciplined effort to understand the human condition before passing judgment.The classroom must return to concrete realities: Great history teaching works from maps, artifacts, documents, portraits, letters, diaries, and place—so students learn “what actually happened.”Shared story creates shared sympathies: Art, poetry, and narrative shape communal feeling and help students situate their lives in a meaningful inheritance.Renewal is practical: Teacher formation, curated primary sources, and accessible tools (films, documents, maps) are presented as tangible ways to fight cultural amnesia.Questions & DiscussionWhat does it mean to study the past “in its pastness”?Discuss why people in the past may act in ways we do not recognize—or approve. How can teachers pursue truth without turning history into propaganda or therapy?How do observation and sympathy change the way we teach hard topics (war, slavery, injustice)?Identify one topic where your students tend to moralize quickly or dismissively. What sources (letters, diaries, speeches, laws, artifacts) could slow them down into careful understanding?What’s the difference between “ordered liberty” and “license”?Describe a modern example where freedom is framed as “doing whatever I want.” What habits, texts, or stories could help students reconnect freedom to responsibility and the common good?Which leaders or movements best model “reform by remembering”? Compare at least two examples discussed (e.g., Douglass, Lincoln, King, Chavez). What did each retrieve from the past to address present suffering?What belongs in a strong history curriculum besides a textbook? Make a list under five headings: imagery, narratives, structural analysis, data, and geography. Choose one heading and propose one new classroom routine (weekly map-reading, document lab, portrait study, artifact analysis, narrative-writing).What would you see in a “great classical upper school” history class?Describe the sounds and practices: seminar discussion, source analysis, narration, map work, interpretive writing, and shared reading. What is...
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    1 hr and 15 mins
  • Episode 56: A Nice Definition of Classical Education: The Language, Metaphors, and Meaning Behind “Classical”

    Episode 56: A Nice Definition of Classical Education: The Language, Metaphors, and Meaning Behind “Classical”
    Feb 11 2026
    DescriptionChristopher Perrin explores why “classical education” is both widely used and widely misunderstood—and why the language we choose matters. He surveys common assumptions people attach to the word classical (Greek and Roman history, Great Books, elitism, Eurocentrism) and explains why the modern renewal is, for better or worse, “stuck” with the adjective. Perrin argues that we cannot speak clearly about education without metaphor and analogy, since language itself is rooted in metaphor (from lingua, “tongue”). He then turns to the ancient Greek and Latin vocabularies of education—especially paideia (formation) and trophē (nourishment)—to show how earlier cultures understood education as shaping a human person, not merely transmitting information. Using Ephesians 6:4, he compares Greek and Latin renderings (Paul and Jerome) to illustrate how meaning is often “lost in translation” when rich terms are flattened into single English words. Perrin closes by suggesting that if he had to choose one word to gather the tradition, it would be formation—a metaphor that points to education’s deepest aim.Episode OutlineWhy “classical education” is misunderstood: common reactions and cultural assumptionsWhy we keep the word classical: branding, public discourse, and the need for clearer definitionMetaphor is unavoidable: language, analogy, and the “dead metaphors” we no longer noticeGreek terms for education: paideia (formation) and paidia (play), plus other educational vocabularyTrophe as nourishment: education as bringing up, feeding, and forming a childEphesians 6:4 as a case study: Paul’s Greek terms and Jerome’s Latin translation Translation problems: why one English word rarely matches a rich Greek/Latin term The need for “economy with clarity”: using more words (and better words) to describe educationA proposed center-word: formation as the best single term to gather education’s aimsWhere to continue learning: the podcast, ClassicalU, and ongoing reflections on definitionsKey Topics & TakeawaysWords carry history—and drift over time: Even identical spellings (like “educate”) may not mean what they once meant.Metaphor isn’t optional: We describe complex realities (like education) through images, comparisons, and inherited figures of speech.Education is formation, not mere information: Ancient terms frame schooling as upbringing, cultivation, and shaping character.Greek paideia is richer than a single English equivalent: Translations often require multiple terms (training, discipline, instruction) to approximate meaning.Education is nourishment (trophe): The image of feeding and raising up reinforces education’s humane, embodied, relational nature.Translation always involves choices: Comparing Paul’s Greek with Jerome’s Latin exposes what can be gained—and lost—across languages.Clear speech requires more words, not fewer: When society forgets education’s purpose, precision often demands fuller description.Questions & DiscussionWhat does it mean to study the past “in its pastness”?Discuss why people in the past may act in ways we do not recognize—or approve. How can teachers pursue truth without turning history into propaganda or therapy?What do people assume when they hear “classical education” in your context?List the top three assumptions you encounter (e.g., “Great Books only,” elitist, Eurocentric, test-driven). Draft one sentence you could use to clarify what you mean—and what you don’t mean.Where do you see metaphor doing “hidden work” in the way educators talk?Identify common metaphors you use (pipeline, outcomes, delivery, rigor, standards, growth). What do those metaphors emphasize—and what might they obscure?If education is “formation,” what exactly is being formed?Name the top three aims you believe education should form (virtue, wisdom, piety, civic responsibility, attention, love of truth). How does your school’s daily life (not just its curriculum) support those aims?How does the image of education as “nourishment” challenge modern schooling?What “diet” are students receiving—intellectually, morally, spiritually, culturally? What might “malnourishment” look like in a school (and what would renewal look like)?Suggested Reading & ResourcesMortimer Adler: The Paideia Way of Classical Education by Robert Woods, Edited by David DienerThe Good Teacher: Ten Key Pedagogical Principles That Will Transform Your Teaching by Christopher A. Perrin, PhD and Carrie Eben, MSEd Festive School by Father Nathan CarrAn Introduction to Classical Education: A Guide for Parents by Christopher A. Perrin, MDiv, PhDA Student's Guide to Classical Education by Zoë PerrinThe Liberal Arts Tradition by Kevin Clark, DLS, and Ravi Scott JainLatin Vulgate: Ephesians 6:4 Amplified Bible: Ephesians 6:4Expanded Bible: Ephesians 6:4 ClassicalUClassicalU Course: Introduction to Classical EducationClassicalU Course:...
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    18 mins
  • Episode 55: From Fragmentation to Fellowship: The Intellectual Renewal Behind Classical Education

    Episode 55: From Fragmentation to Fellowship: The Intellectual Renewal Behind Classical Education
    Jan 14 2026
    DescriptionDavid Diener, Assistant Professor of Education at Hillsdale College and president of The Alcuin Fellowship, joins Christopher Perrin to reflect on how a philosopher’s training can become a vocational doorway into the renewal of classical education. Drawing from years in K–12 school leadership and now higher education, Diener describes why classical schools often foster unusually rich intellectual community—and why that matters in an age of academic fragmentation. He also introduces Hillsdale’s Master of Arts in Classical Education (MACE), a program designed to address one of the movement’s biggest bottlenecks: forming well-equipped teachers and administrators. The conversation highlights how enduring philosophical anchors—from Plato and Aristotle to Aquinas—can be translated into concrete classroom practice. Diener then traces the role of The Alcuin Fellowship in deepening the movement’s historical and theoretical grounding, including its influence on The Liberal Arts Tradition. Finally, they look outward to the global growth of classical Christian education, including partnerships and training initiatives in Africa, such as the Rafiki Foundation, and expanding work across Latin America. David Diener has a forthcoming monograph in Spanish that will provide chapter-length essays on various aspects of classical Christian education. Additionally, he has an upcoming course on ClassicalU.com will release in the spring of 2026.Episode OutlineFrom philosophy to teaching: Diener’s academic formation, early teaching experience abroad, and why education became his focusWhy classical schools attract scholars: the “faculty-of-friends” culture and how it can outpace typical undergraduate settingsHillsdale’s MACE program: structure, distinctives, and the need for teacher formation at scaleThe Alcuin Fellowship: purpose, retreats, the “scholar-practitioner” model, and the ecosystem role it playsPublications and intellectual consolidation: how collaborative work helped birth The Liberal Arts Tradition by Kevin Clark, DLS, and Ravi Jain Global and Latin American growth: partnerships, conferences, and emerging networks across continentsKey Topics & TakeawaysFormation Through Practices: What we repeatedly do shapes what we love.Classical Schools as Intellectual Communities: Classical faculties often cultivate cross-disciplinary conversation and shared learning in ways that counter modern academic siloing.Theory-to-Practice Formation: Strong programs don’t leave philosophy abstract—they press big ideas into classroom realities and school leadership decisions.The Teacher-Leader Pipeline is the Bottleneck: Sustainable growth depends on forming more capable teachers and administrators, not merely opening more schools.Why MACE is Built the Way it is: A shared core creates common language and vision; later specialization prepares teachers and leaders for distinct roles.Fellowship as Infrastructure for Renewal: The Alcuin Fellowship functions as a hub for scholar-practitioners who think deeply and serve schools faithfully.From Local Renewal to Global Opportunity: The movement’s growth is increasingly international, with meaningful work underway in Africa and expanding initiatives in Latin America.Questions & DiscussionWhat kind of “fragmentation” have you experienced in education (or your own formation)?What practices have helped you move toward integration?Why might a classical school faculty create stronger intellectual friendship than many modern institutions?Compare your current context to a “lunch-table culture” where teachers learn together across disciplines. What would it take to cultivate that kind of shared learning where you are?What is the role of a fellowship (formal or informal) in renewing an educational tradition?Identify one fellowship function you most need: reading, conversation, research, mentoring, or mutual sharpening. What could be your next practical step to build that community?How should the classical renewal relate to other organizations and conferences in the movement?What do you hope conferences and associations provide beyond inspiration (formation, scholarship, standards, support)? How can leaders prevent “event energy” from replacing sustained local practice?What opportunities—and challenges—come with global growth of classical Christian education?Discuss the difference between exporting a model and serving a local culture with deep roots. What do “curriculum accessibility” and “teacher training resources” mean in practical terms?Suggested Reading & ResourcesThe Liberal Arts Tradition by Kevin Clark, DLS, and Ravi JainThe Liberal Arts Tradition (Audiobook) by Kevin Clark, DLS, and Ravi JainRafiki FoundationThe Rafiki Foundation PodcastAssociation of Classical Christian Schools (ACCS)Society for Classical Learning (SCL)Hillsdale CollegeHillsdale AcademyThe Alcuin FellowshipDr. Christopher Perrin on Substack
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    29 mins
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