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.”