Added 2.5.19. In this vintage 1993 episode Milt and two classicists examine how the Ancient Greeks endured a not-entirely hostile takeover by the nascent Roman Empire, and what happened after that. How, within several centuries, did a bunch of Roman provincials dwelling on seven hills and embroiled in feuds with other narrowly-focused rivals, gain control of southern Europe and develop a polity encompassing something like universal citizens’ rights and reasonably bright expectations for the future? And how was it – other than their well-known foibles and indulgences – that the Romans could not maintain their primacy? Driving this lively discussion along with the host were Daniel H. Garrison and Edwin P. Menes. Garrison was a classics professor at Northwestern University and Menes a classics scholar at Loyola University, Chicago.

Added 1.30.19. Dim that PC, pause the iPod, put down the iPhone. Quick, now: if the point of life were to perfect the soul and the intellect, how would you go about it? Surely not by sharing another “viral” cat video. Such are the challenges posed by the discipline of philosophy, Platonic branch. Diving deep but as always, keeping it accessible and lively, Milt in this 2010 episode is joined by learned guest Kenneth Seeskin, a professor of Jewish Civilization at Northwestern University. They chart what’s inside and outside the circles of the Venn Diagram connecting the Bible, and the essential Greek, Jewish, Catholic and Muslim philosophers. Philo Judaeus, Maimonides, Spinozza, St. Thomas Acquinas and the Koran all get their due. Seeskin’s books include “The Cambridge Companion To Maimonides,” “Maimonides On The Origin Of The World,” and “Jewish Philosophy In A Secular Age.”

Added 1.22.19. Born in the 1930s in the United States but greatly appreciated, analyzed and advanced by European critics and auters, the film noir genre accented the predatory side of man and the city as a vortex of temptation and depravity. The femme fatale, the “good girl,” the flawed hero – not infrequently a detective married to the bottle – all these archetypes plus the brooding, atmospheric chiarascuro  cinematography helped to define the genre. Many of the early modern films now received as classics were film noir, such as Maltese Falcon; Murder, My Sweet; Double Indemnity;  Sunset Boulevard; and Asphalt Jungle. With numerous audio scenes from such films added to the mix, Milt explores the birth and life of film noir with Hugh Ingrasci, an expert on the topic who at the time of the broadcast was an English professor at DePaul University in Chicago.

Added 1.15.19. As feminism’s gradual ascent became evident, feminist icon Gloria Steinem said, “Some of us are becoming the men we wanted to marry.” That’s still a lot to chew on. Joining Milt to discuss the changing roles and realities for men and women in the United States of the 21st Century are author and Manhattan Institute scholar Kay Hymowitz, and public relations executive Marj Halperin, a board member of the Chicago Foundation For Women and television political commentator. Serving as one locus of their conversation is Hymowitz’s then-recent book, “Manning Up: How The Rise of Women Has Turned Men Into Boys.”

Added 1.8.19. Italian immigrants with anarchist leanings are arrested with no warrant; tried based on no real evidence; and convicted and executed for a 1920 Massachusetts payroll heist that resulted in two deaths. How did authorities, the press, and the public see their way clear to this seemingly stunning miscarriage of justice? Milt explores the troubling tenor of the times with attorney and historian Theodore W. Grippo, author of, “With Malice Aforethought: The Execution of Nicolo Sacco and Bartolomeo Vanzetti.”

Added 12.10.18. Milt interviews Joe and Teresa Graedon about their then-new book, “Top Screw-ups Doctors Make And How To Avoid Them.” The noted consumer health writers had a syndicated newspaper column, and a show on PBS. They also run the informative web site peoplespharmacy.com. Each year in the U.S., report the Graedons, about 500,000 people die from health system mistakes including incorrect diagnoses, procedures gone wrong, and hospital-acquired infections. Dig in to this lively and eye-opening conversation to learn more.

Added 12.5.18. Guest Richard Epstein – a legal and political scholar – lays out the tenets of classical liberalism versus modern day progressivism. The differences are fairly vast, and instructive. He was, at the time of this interview, the author most recently of “Why Progressive Institutions Are Unsustainable.” Epstein is a professor of law and director of the Classical Liberal Institute at New York University, and a senior lecturer at The University of Chicago. His book, “Takings: Private Property And The Power Of Eminent Domain,” proved controversial for its arguments about limits on the government’s power, but has been cited in several Supreme Court rulings. He is also the author of “Simple Rules For A Complex World,” in which he argues for more limited and clear government rule-making.

Added 11.27.18. Here in the fast and furious times of late 2018, the Catholic Church’s priest sex scandal has led to intensifying debate about the legitimacy of the faith itself. But, argues one current analyst in The Federalist, it’s a problem of conduct, not doctrine. There remains much that is timeless and beneficial – and yes, ripe for change – within Catholicism, it’s present-day supporters posit. In this episode from several years back, Milt with three guests explores the nature of the Catholic faith, current issues facing the church, and why and how it is that Catholic schools can be so effective in raising the bar on academic expectations and performance for at-risk minority youth. He is joined by Patrick McCloskey, author of “The Street Stops Here: A Year At A Catholic High School In Harlem;” former Canadian broadcaster Michael Coren, author of “Why Catholics Are Right;” and Rev. Thomas Baima, then Vice-Rector of Mundelein Seminary and author of “What Is A Parish? Canonical, Pastoral And Theological Perspectives.”

Added 11.14.18. If the Greek gods of antiquity were alive today, their lives would make for maximum clickbait. Their heroic exploits were equalled only by their grand appetites for sin and self-regard. Naturally, there is much to mine from their legends. With two noted classics scholars Milt delves into the gods of the Greek pantheon in ancient mythology, and follows the thread forward in history to trace their influence on the development of modern thought, religion, moral codes, and storytelling. One guest is Phillip Freeman – then of Luther College, and now Chair of Western Culture at Pepperdine University. He was author of the then-newly released, “Oh My Gods: A Modern Re-telling of Greek And Roman Myths.” The other guest: University of Chicago professor of humanities, history and classics Jonathan M. Hall, author  – among other volumes – of “History Of The Archaic Greek World, 1200-479 B.C.“

Added 11.6.18. It’s been said that to be a U.S. Presidential contender requires “ambition, stamina, and pure shamelessness.” There’s a tradition among writers and political analysts of putting successful – and unsuccessful – U.S. Presidential campaigns under the microscope. It dates back at least as far as Theodore White’s classic of the genre titled “The Making Of The President 1960,” on JFK’s White House conquest; and includes Richard Ben Cramer’s classic “What It Takes,” on the ’88 contest. Mark Edward Taylor, an ordained minister with a doctorate in communications from Northwestern University, in his 2011 analysis “Branding Obamessiah: The Rise Of an American Idol,” posits – and seeks to painstakingly document – that President Barack Obama won his first term in office in an especially remarkable manner. It was, Taylor argues, with a carefully calibrated communications strategy inspired by religious images; religious words; a creation story; sacred rituals; true believers; and “an exceptional chief” defined as “an inexplicably impressive solution to all the nation’s problems” and by his “sense of hope in himself and the nation.” Milt and frequent guest Charles Lipson, a prolific author and professor emeritus of political science at the University of Chicago, sit down here in late 2011 with Taylor to dive deeper.