Best Christopher Perrin Podcasts (2025)

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Episode 51: Common Humanity at the Crossroads: A Conversation with Dr. Angel Parham 1:03:20

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20d ago1:03:20

1:03:20

In this special episode of The Christopher Perrin Show, Christopher welcomes Dr. Angel Parham, professor of sociology at the University of Virginia and co-author of The Black Intellectual Tradition. Together, they explore the often-overlooked legacy of classical learning in the Black intellectual tradition, tracing its vital contributions from figu…

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Episode 30: John Mays Share about Moving from Lifeless Teaching to Holy Moments 50:24

7d ago50:24

50:24

In this episode of the ClassicalU Podcast, host Jesse Hake interviews John Mays, the founder of the Novare Science curriculum. The discussion centers around Mays' new course, "Cultivating Wonder Throughout the School" as a help to educators integrating a sense of wonder and mystery into their teaching across various subjects. Mays shares his journe…

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Episode 29: From Chaos to Clarity: Practical Support for New Classical Educators 1:00:09

1M ago1:00:09

1:00:09

Kim Warman, lower school dean and teacher at Coram Deo Academy in Carmel, Indiana, shares insights from her new ClassicalU course, Launching Your Classical Classroom, which provides practical support for new grammar school teachers. She reflects on her own educational journey, having experienced both non-classical and classical education before att…

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Episode 28: Spreading the Feast of a Classical Education: A Conversation with Russ Gregg 1:00:34

2M ago1:00:34

1:00:34

In this episode, Jesse Hake speaks with ClassicalU presenter Russ Gregg who co-founded Hope Academy and the Spreading Hope Network. Drawing on decades of work bringing classical Christian education to under-resourced urban communities, Gregg reflects on his transition from leading a single school to enabling the launch of over twenty schools across…

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Episode 50: Sing to Learn: Recovering the Ancient Art of Musical Education 17:38

3M ago17:38

17:38

In this episode, Dr. Perrin gives a foretaste from his forthcoming book with Carrie Eben, The Good Teacher, as he advocates for singing as a powerful and now neglected pedagogical tool. Drawing from traditional sources like Plato and Augustine, Scripture, and personal anecdotes, he explores how music—especially in the form of singing and chanting—c…

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Episode 27: Teaching from Rest, Wonder and Wisdom with Christopher Perrin and Carrie Eben 1:01:45

3M ago1:01:45

1:01:45

In this ClassicalU podcast episode, Jesse Hake speaks with Dr. Christopher Perrin and Carrie Eben about their new book The Good Teacher, which expands into ten principles from ClassicalU’s original course titled “Eight Essential Principles of Classical Pedagogy.” The conversation traces the book's origins, how Carrie and Christopher collaborated, a…

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Episode 49: What Is Virtue? Recovering a Lost Vocabulary of Education 25:19

3M ago25:19

25:19

In this episode, Dr. Christopher Perrin draws upon his forthcoming book with Carrie Eben, The Good Teacher and invites listeners to reconsider the meaning of virtue. It once stood at the heart of education but now often eludes clear definitions. Considering personal experience and the broader tradition of liberal education, Perrin explores how the …

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Episode 48: Embodied Learning: Cultivating Beauty in Classical Education 17:43

4M ago17:43

17:43

In this episode, Dr. Christopher Perrin explores the often-neglected role of beauty in classical education, emphasizing the importance of engaging all five senses in the learning experience. He challenges the text-centered focus of modern education and invites educators to rethink school environments, advocating for spaces that reflect truth, goodn…

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Episode 26: Teaching the Epic in Ordinary Life: Marilynne Robinson, Virtue, and Classical Education with Christine Perrin 1:03:46

4M ago1:03:46

1:03:46

In this episode of the ClassicalU Podcast, we welcome back Christine Perrin to talk about the deeply Christian engagement with the epic tradition found in Marilynne Robinson’s novels. Christine has taught these novels over several years with profound blessings in the lives of students. The conversation explores the themes of homecoming (nostos) and…

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Episode 47: Balancing Rigor and Rest: A Classical Approach to Education 19:36

4M ago19:36

19:36

In this episode, Dr. Christopher Perrin explores the tension between rigor and rest in classical education, drawing on Aristotle’s concept of virtue as a balance between extremes. He examines how rigor is often emphasized as a corrective to declining academic standards but warns against its overuse, which can lead to a rigid and joyless educational…

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Episode 46: The Good Teacher: Principles Over Techniques 47:26

5M ago47:26

47:26

Great teaching isn’t about mastering techniques—it’s about embodying principles. In this episode, Dr. Christopher Perrin explores how classical education prioritizes the formation of virtue in both teachers and students through time-tested pedagogical wisdom and Christian tradition. Using the analogy of carpentry, he explains how principles provide…

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Episode 25: Ties that Bind, Scholé, and Classical Education with Dr. Joylynn Blake 57:43

5M ago57:43

57:43

The respective directors of Scholé Academy and ClassicalU, Joylynn Blake and Jesse Hake, mix work and pleasure in this unscripted conversation about the essence and inspiration of classical education. Jesse inquires about the personal history and stories that lie behind Joylynn's love for educational opportunity. Along the way, they chat about thei…

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Episode 45: Going Home with Odysseus 24:54

6M ago24:54

24:54

In this episode, Christopher Perrin explores the profound theme of the hero's arduous journey home—as depicted in Homer's The Odyssey. He discusses how Odysseus's return to Ithaca not only signifies a physical homecoming but also a reclaiming of identity and status. Consider in this epic tale the timeless human longing for home and the trials faced…

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Episode 24: Chatting About Reading, Raising Children, and More with New Team Member Rebecca Richard 51:29

6M ago51:29

51:29

Get to know ClassicalU's new full time team member Rebecca Richard as she and director Jesse Hake talk about the love of learning, late blooming, Charlotte Mason, scholé, and life at sea. You will also hear about Rebecca's personal top picks among our courses: Common Arts Education by Chris Hall, Charlotte Mason: A Liberal Education for All by Jaso…

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Episode 23: Considering Mary in Conversation with Professor Matthew Milliner (a Nativity Bonus Episode) 53:25

7M ago53:25

53:25

In this bonus Nativity episode, Jesse Hake chats with Wheaton College Professor of Art History, Matthew Milliner about Mary and his book Mother of the Lamb: The Story of a Global Icon. Among several connections made to the classical liberal arts, this conversation overlaps with much in Jesse's "Lecture 12: Mythic Cosmos" in ClassicalU's course on W…

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Episode 22: Fr. Wesley Walker of "The Classical Mind" on Hugh of Saint Victor 54:27

7M ago54:27

54:27

Jesse Hake interviews Fr. Wesley Walker on a wide range of topics related to classical Christian education, including the work and influence of Hugh of St. Victor, the importance of incorporating American literature and history into the classical curriculum, the connections between teaching and priestly vocations, and contemporary resources relevan…

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Episode 44: What We Can Learn from Odysseus, the Man of Many Twists and Turns: The Pros and Cons of Being Curious and Clever 42:10

7M ago42:10

42:10

In this episode, Dr. Perrin who teaches the Odyssey to a college class every year, traces the life and quest of Odysseus noting the ways in which his life turns and twists much like our own, and the way his yearning and the story itself anticipate a kind of fulfillment in the life and ministry of Jesus Christ.…

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Episode 21: Sarah Flynn on Classical Education in Australia and Indigenous Approaches to Knowledge 41:55

8M ago41:55

41:55

Jesse Hake chats with Sarah Flynn, a classical Christian education pioneer in Australia and founder of Logos Australis. Sarah is an educator with a background in ecology, environmental studies, and Aboriginal studies in addition to being instrumental in promoting classical education in Australia. Among other topics, Sarah and Jesse consider relatio…

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Episode 43: 20 Words You Must Know to Understand Education: What Education Really Is 44:31

8M ago44:31

44:31

In this episode, Dr. Perrin notes the ways we have forgotten the meaning of words that related to education and revives the meaning of about 20 key words we need to know in order to better understand what education really is.By Christopher Perrin

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Episode 20: Liturgical Learning: A Conversation between Christine Perrin, Junius Johnson, and Chris Perrin 1:13:33

9M ago1:13:33

1:13:33

In this episode, Christopher Perrin engages with both Junius Johnson and Christine Perrin on the topics of contemplative, embodied, sacramental, and liturgical learning. Together they consider how these truths should inform our classroom practices in light of a sacramental sense of time, the church calendar, and the fact that humans are embodied cr…

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Episode 19: Interview with Jeffrey Bilbro about Wendell Berry's Virtues of Renewal within the Classroom 37:42

10M ago37:42

37:42

Jesse Hake talks with author and Grove City College professor Jeffrey Bilbro about his forthcoming course on ClassicalU about how teachers can cultivate Wendell Berry's virtues of renewal within their classrooms. Bilbro's course is based on his book Virtues of Renewal: Wendell Berry’s Sustainable Forms and relates to material in existing ClassicalU…

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Episode 42: Education as Hospitality and Healing 36:12

11M ago36:12

36:12

In this episode, Dr. Perrin describes the way that Christian classical education must offer hospitality to students seeking an intellectual home and healing to the sickness of their souls. While this is not the whole of a robust classical education, it is integral and vital part. (Also with connections to Augustine: Rejoicing in the Truth by Jeffre…

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Episode 18: Talking to Dr. Kelisha B. Graves about Nannie Helen Burroughs and the Broken "Factory Model" of Education 1:08:38

11M ago1:08:38

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In this episode, Jesse Hake talks with author, professor, and executive leader Dr. Kelisha B. Graves about her book on educator and civil rights activist Nannie Helen Burroughs (1879 to 1961) as well as about what is broken and how we should respond to today's predominant "factory model" of education. Our conversation also considered the educationa…

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Episode 17: David Hicks on Identity and an Education in Conscience and Style 32:08

1y ago32:08

32:08

While recording for his new ClassicalU course on teaching, school leadership, and the history of education, David Hicks sat down for a conversation. In this second of two parts, he answers a question about hiring Ron DeSantis as a school teacher and shares more on our American identity crisis, on the importance of gratitude, and on Marcus Aurelius …

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Episode 16: David Hicks on Christian Life and His Forthcoming Book 54:53

1y ago54:53

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While recording for his new ClassicalU course on teaching, school leadership, and the history of education, David Hicks sat down for a conversation. In this first of two parts, he shares about the Christian life, classical architecture, monasticism, and his forthcoming book The Stones Cry Out (releasing fall of 2024 from Classical Academic Press). …

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Episode 41: Scholé over Schooling: Learning to be Mary in a Society of Martha 43:50

1y ago43:50

43:50

In this episode, Dr. Perrin discusses the difficulty and the importance of keeping with classical learning throughout the entirety of a student's education, and of finding times to be wisdom-seeking Mary in a society that expects everyone to be always-busy Martha.By Christopher Perrin

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Episode 40: The Best Teacher is a Good Book 12:09

1y ago12:09

12:09

In this episode Dr. Perrin considers this traditional maxim. Can authors and their books become meaningful teachers and even life-long friends? What is the link between an author and authority? Do we still need living teachers if we have really good books?By Christopher Perrin

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Episode 15: Junius Johnson on Teaching Music 49:03

1y ago49:03

49:03

Jesse speaks with Dr. Junius Johnson about a forthcoming new course on ClassicalU about music education. Dr. Johnson's love and knowledge regarding classical music (including his professional experience playing the French horn) are inspiring.By Jesse Hake

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Episode 39: Education for the Next Life 14:48

1y ago14:48

14:48

In this episode, Dr. Perrin traces that part of the Christian tradition of education that regarded education as a preparation not only for one's earthly life but ultimately for the next, heavenly life. Can such a heavenly focus be of real, earthly merit? The tradition says yes.By Christopher Perrin

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Episode 14: Disability and Classical Education with Dr. Amy Richards 47:13

1+ y ago47:13

47:13

Jesse speaks with Dr. Amy Richards about her all-new course entitled Disability and Classical Education: Student Formation in Keeping with Our Common Humanity and her forthcoming book with us on this topic.By Jesse Hake

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Episode 38: Repetition Is the Mother of Memory: The Permanent Learning of Petition 12:00

1+ y ago12:00

12:00

In this episode, Dr. Perrin describes the pedagogical maximum of Repetitio Mater Memoriae, noting that repetition can be a delightful activity of seeking and experiencing the same good thing again and again until it is permanently possessed.By Christopher Perrin

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Episode 37: Multum non Multa: The Pedagogical Principle of Going Deep 16:30

1+ y ago16:30

16:30

In this episode, Dr. Perrin describes the ways that teaching a few things deeply and well accelerates learning much better than by superficially covering or skimming over content.By Christopher Perrin

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Episode 13: Chatting with Junius Johnson about God and Time 58:59

1+ y ago58:59

58:59

As Junius Johnson was recording three forthcoming new courses for ClassicalU.com about Augustine, medieval history, and music, Jesse Hake recorded this conversation with him about God and time in theology and philosophy. (For more, see our course on Essential Philosophy with David Schenk as well as Junius Johnson's courses on Theology of Beauty and…

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Episode 36: Festina Lente (Make Haste Slowly): The Pedagogical Maxim of Mastering Each Step 14:16

1+ y ago14:16

14:16

In this episode, Dr. Perrin retrieves and describes one of the most essential pedagogical principles every teacher should employ--the art of going farther and faster by going slower.By Christopher Perrin

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Episode 35: John Henry Newman and True Education 19:19

1+ y ago19:19

19:19

What is an educated mind? Newman says the mature mind "discerns the end in every beginning, the origin in every end, the law in every interruption, the limit in each delay; because it ever knows where it stands, and how its path lies from one point to another." In this episode, Dr. Perrin summarizes Newman on what the grand goal of education truly …

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Episode 12: Danielle Bennette Dukes and Teaching with a Golden Thread 56:54

1+ y ago56:54

56:54

Danielle Bennette Dukes reflects on her course "Teaching with a Golden Thread" and shares about ideas for a retreat in New Orleans with a small number of educators seeking to spend more time reflecting on the theme of place and its relation to our capacities as Christians to see goodness and beauty in our world and to develop this capacity in our s…

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Episode 11: Introducing our Women in the Liberal Arts Tradition course with Brian Williams 32:47

1+ y ago32:47

32:47

Brian Williams (Dean of the Templeton Honors College as well as the College of Arts & Humanities at Eastern University, and General Editor of Principia: A Journal of Classical Education) talks with Jesse Hake about “Women in the Liberal Arts Tradition” which is the third graduate course available in partnership with Templeton Honors College's MAT.…

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Episode 10: Introducing our Women in the Liberal Arts Tradition course with Joelle Hodge 45:32

1+ y ago45:32

45:32

Joelle Hodge (author and Classical Academic Press executive leader) shares with Jesse Hake about the forthcoming ClassicalU course "Women in the Liberal Arts Tradition" that will be available for graduate credit with the Templeton Honors College's Master of Arts in Teaching (MAT) and that Joelle developed as part of her masters degree work in the M…

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Episode 34: Cutting School: Why Classical Schools Fragment Education and Turn Learning into Subjects 22:54

1+ y ago22:54

22:54

In this episode, Dr. Perrin laments the ways that classical schools, like progressives schools, regularly "cut up" the curriculum into too many disconnected fragments that become "subjects."By Christopher Perrin

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Episode 09: Recovering the Lost Tools of Leadership with David Seibel 42:16

1+ y ago42:16

42:16

David Seibel, the Head of School at Coram Deo Academy (in Carmel, Indiana), discusses his forthcoming book and ClassicalU course on Recovering the Lost Tools of Leadership.By Jesse Hake

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Episode 08: Karen Moore on Latin Education & Her Education 29:35

1+ y ago29:35

29:35

In episode 8, Jesse talks with Latin educator Karen Moore about her experiences as a teacher, her recent graduate studies, and as she visits to record two new courses on ClassicalU: one on Virgil’s Aeneid and another on Teaching Latin with Art & Archaeology.By Jesse Hake

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Episode 33: Piling It On: Why Classical Schools Have Too Many Periods and Teach Too Many Subjects 13:27

2y ago13:27

13:27

In this episode, Dr. Perrin explains the why classical schools still retain elements of their progressive counterparts and simply try to teach too much.By Christopher Perrin

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Episode 07: Karen Moore and the Tournament of Laurels Idea 32:39

2y ago32:39

32:39

In this episode, Jesse chats with Karen Moore about her work with the new Tournament of Laurels event for Latin students. Karen has a couple of new courses coming soon on ClassicalU.com, and don’t miss her existing course on Essential Latin. (Please note that this episode will be followed by another with Karen Moore focused on her own teaching expe…

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Episode 32: Friendship and Community in Education (Featuring Davies Owens) 50:18

2y ago50:18

50:18

In this episode, Davies Owens (from Basecamp Live) and I co-host the podcast and talk about the ways friendship and fellowship should be at the heart of classical education.By Christopher Perrin

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Episode 31: Powerful Education in the Great Tradition 50:18

2y ago50:18

50:18

In this episode Christopher Perrin discusses how formative and powerful a great education can be. Tradition is formative but a great tradition is transformative.By Christopher Perrin

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Episode 06: Interview with Nate Antiel 1:21:50

2y ago1:21:50

1:21:50

In this episode, ClassicalU Director Jesse Hake speaks with Nate Antiel who is an editor with Classical Academic Press, currently working primarily on our new Humanitas line. He also supports the team of the classcial education journal Principia. Nate also has teaching experience in the Trinity Schools and holds three masters degrees related to lit…

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Episode 30: The Two Canons: The Biblical Books and the Great Books 44:56

2y ago44:56

44:56

It took a long while to fix the canon of Scripture; it also takes a while to determine that a book is truly a Great Book. Dr. Perrin argues that the process by which both canons are established is similar.By Christopher Perrin

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Episode 29: The Virtue of Faith 17:02

2y ago17:02

17:02

In this episode, Dr. Perrin continues to explore faith as a theological virtue.By Christopher Perrin

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Episode 28: The Theological Virtues 30:31

2y ago30:31

30:31

In this episode, Dr. Perrin explores how theological virtues such as faith, hope, and love complement the four cardinal virtues.By Christopher Perrin

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Episode 05: Interview with Bill Carey 50:41

2y ago50:41

50:41

In this episode ClassicalU Director Jesse Hake speaks with Bill Carey about computer programming and mathematics. A course named "Socratic Mathematics," led by William Carey, was recently just published to ClassicalU and several additional recorded conversations between Bill and Dr. Christopher Perrin are available to watch.…