Young Heretics

"We're not a good species": that's the rallying cry of Les Knight, founder of the Voluntary Extinction Movement. But the idea that humanity was a mistake didn't just spring out of nowhere. It was built up gradually over centuries, as a side-effect of the scientific revolution. Goethe's Faust is a brilliant attempt to recover and sanctify the role of humanity in creating reality. It is more important now than ever. Check out our sponsor, the Ancient Language Institute: https://ancientlanguage.com/youngheretics/ Pre-order my new book, Light of the Mind, Light of the World: https://a.co/d/2QccOfM Subscribe to be in the mailbag: https://rejoiceevermore.substack.com I maked this: "China's Three-Body Problem--and Ours," at Law & Liberty: https://lawliberty.org/chinas-three-body-problem-and-ours/   

Is it OK to be white? Claremont Institute Senior Fellow is out with a provocative new book about anti-white discrimination in America, and what's to be done about it. We got into a really interesting discussion about race, culture, and politics--including questions like whether Western culture is "white" and what racial harmony in 21st-century America can and should look like. Take a listen, and then check out Jeremy's book: The Unprotected Class: How Anti-White Racism is Tearing America Apart: https://www.amazon.com/Unprotected-Class-Anti-White-Destroying-America/dp/1684514584 Find Jeremy on Substack: https://jeremycarl.substack.com Check out our sponsor, the Ancient Language Institute: https://ancientlanguage.com/youngheretics/ Pre-order my new book, Light of the Mind, Light of the World: https://a.co/d/2QccOfM Subscribe to my new joint Substack with Andrew Klavan (no relation): https://thenewjerusalem.substack.com I maked this: "Civil LARP," a review of Alex Garland's Civil War: https://www.washingtonexaminer.com/opinion/beltway-confidential/2963967/civil-larp-the-journalists-are-at-it-again/

Blue and black? Or yellow and white? For eons, mankind has grappled with this essential question. Wars have been fought. Families have been torn asunder. Brother has turned against brother and father against son. But now, at last, we can resolve this most important of debates with help from none other than--Ludwig Goethe? Turns out the whole affair brings up all the important issues we need to start moving from Marlowe's Faust to Goethe's, and on the way to pick up a whole new vision for the future of science. Check out our sponsor, the Ancient Language Institute: https://ancientlanguage.com/youngheretics/ Pre-order my new book, Light of the Mind, Light of the World: https://a.co/d/2QccOfM Subscribe to be in the mailbag: https://rejoiceevermore.substack.com I maked this: "Civil LARP," a review of Alex Garland's Civil War: https://www.washingtonexaminer.com/opinion/beltway-confidential/2963967/civil-larp-the-journalists-are-at-it-again/

It's not every podcast that comes with a disclaimer, but this one is just spicy enough that it needs a warning on the label. I got a great and fascinating question about how to translate a passage from John's Gospel...and the answer will take me into Mary's status in the church, the meaning of the word "the," and the cosmic significance of each of our lives. How's that for a Friday afternoon?* Pre-order my new book, Light of the Mind, Light of the World: https://a.co/d/2QccOfM Check out our sponsor, the Ancient Language Institute: https://ancientlanguage.com/youngheretics/ Subscribe to my new joint Substack with Andrew Klavan (no relation): https://thenewjerusalem.substack.com *Words words words is a subsidiary of Young Heretics hosted by Spencer Klavan and represents exclusively the views of one dudebro books podcaster on exclusively those lexical matters he chooses to address. It has not been approved by the USCCB and is not intended to throw shade on or resolve disputes among Christians including but not limited to Catholics, Anglicans, evangelicals, baptists, anabaptists, katabaptists, parabaptists, pseudobaptists, and baptists with funny hats, regarding issues pertaining but not limited to the perpetual virginity of Mary, her immaculate conception, her experience of labor, her preference for the Browns over the Packers, or her views on the seasoning of fish. Side effects may include morphological fixation and fine grained knowledge of Biblical Greek; if either of these persist longer than a languid afternoon spent leafing through dictionaries and sighing like a character in a Victorian novel, consult your pastor.

Gather round, me hearties, and attend the tale of Pierre-Simon Laplace--a demon-haunted man. This is a story I've been itching to tell for a while, about the birth of quantum physics and the revenge of the Atomic Swerve. It stretches all the way back to Marcus Aurelius and all the way forward to the AI revolution, with some incredible tea to spill along the way (including a cameo from Napoleon). Buckle up, kids: this is a fun one. Check out our sponsor, the Ancient Language Institute: https://ancientlanguage.com/youngheretics/ Pre-order my new book, Light of the Mind, Light of the World: https://a.co/d/2QccOfM Subscribe to be in the mailbag: https://rejoiceevermore.substack.com I maked this: Gateway to the Stoics and Gateway to the Epicureans: https://a.co/d/cS72QtB https://a.co/d/2Kwu4Yu

In his new book, Pagan America, Federalist Senior Editor John Daniel Davidson argues that America is not only becoming, but functionally already is, a pagan society. We talk about what that means, why it's happened, and what can be done about it. It's a fascinating discussion touching on a lot of themes that have really been mainstays of the show this year. Also take a listen to my introduction for a wild tesetimonial to liturgical providence (and to find out what happened with my car). Read John's Book, Pagan America: The Decline of Christianity and the Dark Age to Come: https://a.co/d/3UXz7VS Follow John on Twitter: https://twitter.com/johnddavidson Check out our sponsor, the Ancient Language Institute: https://ancientlanguage.com/youngheretics/ Pre-order my new book, Light of the Mind, Light of the World: https://a.co/d/2QccOfM Subscribe to my new joint Substack with Andrew Klavan (no relation): https://thenewjerusalem.substack.com I Maked This: "After Chivalry" at Fairer Disputations: https://fairerdisputations.org/after-chivalry/

You've probably seen that meme of the IQ bell curve, where the guy with the lowest IQ and the guy with the highest IQ both agree, while the guy in the middle copes and seethes. Well, this week I am here to tell you that it really do be like that. Chris Marlowe and my Uber driver are in agreement that the soul is real, while Dr. Faustus and professional midwit Yuval Harari want to tell you humans can be hacked. The choice is yours! Literally. Stay tuned until the end for a new weekly segment, "I Maked This." Check out our sponsor, the Ancient Language Institute: https://ancientlanguage.com/youngheretics/ Pre-order my new book, Light of the Mind, Light of the World: https://a.co/d/2QccOfM Subscribe to my new joint Substack with Andrew Klavan (no relation): https://thenewjerusalem.substack.com I Maked This: "After Chivalry" at Fairer Disputations: https://fairerdisputations.org/after-chivalry/  

On this Good Friday, we're doin' it live: translating Aquinas, that is. I talk through some extremely sticky medieval philosophy of language, but it's all worth it because at the end it turns out that existence is bananas and humanity really is made in God's image, which, come on, is good payoff for 30 minutes. A blessed Easter weekend to you; hope you spend it doing and thinking about the stuff that well and truly matters. Pre-order my new book, Light of the Mind, Light of the World: https://a.co/d/2QccOfM Check out our sponsor, the Ancient Language Institute: https://ancientlanguage.com/youngheretics/ Subscribe to my new joint Substack with Andrew Klavan (no relation): https://thenewjerusalem.substack.com

The universe just keeps getting weirder and weirder, man. New data from the James Webb Space Telescope might actually be the most important news story that no one's talking about. It invites us to consider whether we're going to freak out, like the Commies, or rejoice in the glory of God, like civilized people. It's possible Christopher Marlowe can help us tell the difference. But probably we'll just keep yelling at each other online! Pre-order my new book, Light of the Mind, Light of the World: https://a.co/d/2QccOfM Check out our sponsor, the Ancient Language Institute: https://ancientlanguage.com/youngheretics/ Subscribe to my new joint Substack with Andrew Klavan (no relation): https://thenewjerusalem.substack.com Read the latest about James Webb:  https://www.eurekalert.org/news-releases/1037233 https://www.astronomy.com/science/we-just-discovered-the-impossible-giant-young-galaxies-shake-up-our-understanding-of-the-early-universe/

Lying awake one night, I pulled out my Japanese grammar dictionary, as you do. And I suddenly realized some of the stuff in there--i.e., in Japanese, a language the Ancient Greeks had never heard of--could have been taken right out of Plato's Cratylus. What the heck is that about? And what does it have to do with the name of God? Answers to these and other questions, taken straight from my groggy 2am brain, on today's installment of Words, Words, Words. Pre-order my new book, Light of the Mind, Light of the World: https://a.co/d/2QccOfM Check out our sponsor, the Ancient Language Institute: https://ancientlanguage.com/youngheretics/ Subscribe to my new joint Substack with Andrew Klavan (no relation): https://thenewjerusalem.substack.com

Will the real Merlin please stand up? Every major new development in scientific knowledge comes with a period of upheaval in what it means to do magic--or in what counts as magic, and what counts as science. This week, in providential synchronicity with a listener question, I wanted to talk about two twentieth-century depictions of Merlin in the age of industrial technology. Was he friend, foe, or fraud? Mark Twain and C.S. Lewis will help us decide. Also somebody, please, tell me what I'm supposed to think about the latest royal scandal. Pre-order my new book, Light of the Mind, Light of the World: https://a.co/d/2QccOfM Check out our sponsor, the Ancient Language Institute: https://ancientlanguage.com/youngheretics/ Subscribe to my new joint Substack with Andrew Klavan (no relation): https://thenewjerusalem.substack.com Sign up to be in the mailbag: https://rejoiceevermore.substack.com/ Read Sabine Hossenfelder on Oppenheim's new theory of "post-quantum" gravity:  https://nautil.us/the-end-of-the-dark-universe-531983/ https://nautil.us/what-physicists-have-been-missing-506607/?_sp=9994ab18-0835-44f3-9a87-f15989a55825.1710844533125  

Are the kids alright? Before you leap to respond "absolutely not," listen to content creator Isabel Brown argue that in fact there really is honest-to-goodness hope among members of--wait for it--Gen Z. As an ancient Millennial myself, I think this is great news. Isabel lays out the case for why Gen Z might actually be trending conservative culturally in her new book, The End of the Alphabet. Bored with the wokescolds and searching for meaning, the newest generation to come of age may have more going for it than its skeptics claim. Check out Isabel's Book, The End of the Alphabet: https://a.co/d/fO4QMWN Pre-order my new book, Light of the Mind, Light of the World: https://a.co/d/2QccOfM Subscribe to my new joint Substack with Andrew Klavan (no relation): https://thenewjerusalem.substack.com Check out our sponsor, the Ancient Language Institute: https://ancientlanguage.com/youngheretics/ Sign up to be in the mailbag: https://rejoiceevermore.substack.com/

These days we tell a tidy little story: once there was magic, now there's reason. But there's another, older story that might be closer to the truth: once there was fake magic, now there's real magic. In fact, not only is that the story that many luminaries of the scientific revolution told--it's also a story that extends back before the scientific revolution, to the days of Merlin and King Arthur in the Medieval chronicles of English history. Scientists, meet Merlin: you guys have a lot in common. Pre-order my new book, Light of the Mind, Light of the World: https://a.co/d/2QccOfM Check out our sponsor, the Ancient Language Institute: https://ancientlanguage.com/youngheretics/ Subscribe to my new joint Substack with Andrew Klavan (no relation): https://thenewjerusalem.substack.com Sign up to be in the mailbag: https://rejoiceevermore.substack.com/ Read Scott Yenor's essay on the women of country music: https://claremontreviewofbooks.com/the-first-ladies-of-country-music/  

Oh, we're really in it now. On today's translation segment, I take a question that will lead us into the heart of magic, language, and human nature: what's in a name? Specifically, what's in God's name? Throughout the Bible, not just God but God's name is invoked as a stand-in for God himself. Figuring out why will take us through Greek philosophy, Medieval theology, Jewish wisdom literature, and magical thinking of the most intense kind. Let's dive in. Check out our sponsor, the Ancient Language Institute: https://ancientlanguage.com/youngheretics/ Pre-order my new book, Light of the Mind, Light of the World: https://a.co/d/2QccOfM Subscribe to my new joint Substack with Andrew Klavan (no relation): https://thenewjerusalem.substack.com Take a look at Ralston College's MA in the Humanities: https://www.ralston.ac/humanities-ma Sign up to be in the mailbag: https://rejoiceevermore.substack.com/

Are you a good magician, or a bad magician? This week, I start diving into the weird and complicated world of magic, from Disney to the Book of Acts. There's lots to say here, but let's start with what we want to avoid, namely: stealing people's voices and usurping the throne. In a deep cut from back when Disney wasn't awful, I hereby present: the Ursula-Jafar Theory of Bad Magic. Check out our sponsor, the Ancient Language Institute: https://ancientlanguage.com/youngheretics/ Pre-order my new book, Light of the Mind, Light of the World: https://a.co/d/2QccOfM Subscribe to my new joint Substack with Andrew Klavan (no relation): https://thenewjerusalem.substack.com Sign up to be in the mailbag: https://rejoiceevermore.substack.com/

YOU ARE ENTIRELY A STAR CHILD! Maybe you've seen the internet meme where someone--or perhaps some program--translates the lyrics of Smash Mouth's "All Star" into Aramaic and then back into ornate, florid English. For '90s kids who grew up screaming those lyrics, this is hilarious. But it's also kind of revealing about our assumptions when it comes to register in translation. Why does the process of going into Aramaic, then back into English, end you up in a higher register than the original? Answers to these and other questions on a new installment of Words, Words, Words. Plus, here's a new essay on translation by yours truly in the Claremont Review of Books: https://claremontreviewofbooks.com/homer-without-heroes/  Pre-order my new book, Light of the Mind, Light of the World: https://a.co/d/2QccOfM Subscribe to my new joint Substack with Andrew Klavan (no relation): https://thenewjerusalem.substack.com Check out our sponsor, the Ancient Language Institute: https://ancientlanguage.com/youngheretics/ Sign up to be in the mailbag: https://rejoiceevermore.substack.com/

They’re putting chips! In people’s brains! We have to talk about it. But this is Young Heretics—so let’s not talk about it from a panicked, world-is-ending catastrophe mindset, or from a naïve, tech-will-save us progressive mindset. With one eye on tradition and one eye on the future, I want to embark this week on an attempt to seriously argue that what we’re doing with tech is, and always has been, actual magic—with all the enticements and dangers that come along with that. Pre-order my new book, Light of the Mind, Light of the World: https://a.co/d/2QccOfM Subscribe to my new joint Substack with Andrew Klavan (no relation): https://thenewjerusalem.substack.com Take a look at Ralston College's MA in the Humanities: https://www.ralston.ac/humanities-ma Check out our sponsor, the Ancient Language Institute: https://ancientlanguage.com/youngheretics/ Sign up to be in the mailbag: https://rejoiceevermore.substack.com/

I'm joined today by Johnny Burtka, whose new Gateway to Statesmanship is a collection of writings on one of our most neglected virtues. Statesmanship is the art of leading in complex and difficult times, especially when all of the options on the table involve painful trade-offs (sound familiar?). Johnny and I discuss the changing conditions of history, the fight over "Christian nationalism," and what it would mean for a modern politician to recover the ancient virtue of prudence. Pick up Johnny's book, Gateway to Statesmanship: https://a.co/d/5XJ3C0j Pre-order my new book, Light of the Mind, Light of the World: https://a.co/d/2QccOfM Subscribe to my new joint Substack with Andrew Klavan (no relation): https://thenewjerusalem.substack.com Check out our sponsor, the Ancient Language Institute: https://ancientlanguage.com/youngheretics/ Sign up to be in the mailbag: https://rejoiceevermore.substack.com/

Since last we spoke, I have literally traveled around the world--and I can say with certainty there's nowhere I'd rather be than here. This week, a few reflections from my trip to Cambodia about what every culture has to grapple with when it comes to depicting God--and what's unique to the Bible. No one has ever seen God. So how can anyone know him? It's a question fundamental to both art and science, and absolutely everyone everywhere has to face it. Pre-order my new book, Light of the Mind, Light of the World: https://a.co/d/2QccOfM Subscribe to my new joint Substack with Andrew Klavan (no relation): https://thenewjerusalem.substack.com Check out our sponsor, the Ancient Language Institute: https://ancientlanguage.com/youngheretics/ Sign up to be in the mailbag: https://rejoiceevermore.substack.com/

Why is the Gen Z Bible a joke and not a translation? In this installment of our series on register, I'm doing a close reading (yes, actually) of a passage from the Gen Z Bible. Bear with me, because there's actually a method to my madness, and it speaks to the strengths and weaknesses of another, much more widely used version of the bible--the Message. Pre-order my new book, Light of the Mind, Light of the World: https://a.co/d/2QccOfM Subscribe to my new joint Substack with Andrew Klavan (no relation): https://thenewjerusalem.substack.com Check out our sponsor, the Ancient Language Institute: https://ancientlanguage.com/youngheretics/ Sign up to be in the mailbag: https://rejoiceevermore.substack.com/