Shows / Christians Reading Classics
Christians Reading Classics
Christians Reading Classics is a podcast about classic books being read through a distinctly Christian lens. Hosted by author and classicist, Nadya Williams, Christians Reading Classics introduces—or should we say—re-introduces listeners to classic works that have inspired generations. Interviewing experts who know these books well, the hope is to inspire listeners and awaken their imagination to God's world through literary, theological, and even children's works that have stood the test of…
Episodes
- Christians Reading Classics
Edgar Allan Poe: America's Spookiest Classic with Fr. Ryan Duns and Steven Knepper
Poe doesn’t just write about ravens, floorboards, and crumbling mansions. He writes about what happens when the mind starts feeding on itself and you can’t…
- Christians Reading Classics
Moby-Dick, with Kyle Harper
Moby-Dick is a whale hunt on the surface, but underneath it’s a confrontation with a world that won’t fully make sense. Kyle Harper, a historian of whales and…
- Christians Reading Classics
All Quiet on the Western Front, with Jason Barnhart
A single sentence can hold an entire war: “All quiet on the Western Front.” That understatement is exactly why Erich Maria Remarque’s novel still haunts…
- Christians Reading Classics
Billy Budd, with Christine Norvell
A beautiful story can still be brutal, and Billy Budd proves it. Christine Norvell, author of The Sycamore Fig Tree, joins to discuss Melville’s unforgettable…
- Christians Reading Classics
Aristotle, with Philip Freeman
Aristotle is everywhere in Western civilization, but most of us meet him as a difficult assignment instead of a real human being with a complicated story. We…
- Christians Reading Classics
Howard Thurman For Our Time with Myles Werntz
We’re joined by Miles Werntz, associate professor of theology at Abilene Christian University and editor of Nothing Can Separate Us: Healing for Souls and…
- Christians Reading Classics
Brideshead Revisited by Evelyn Waugh, with Daniel McInerny
The complicated struggle of faith is no new phenomenon. Philosopher and novelist Daniel McInerny joins today to revisit Evelyn Waugh’s Brideshead Revisited and…
- Christians Reading Classics
Meditations by Marcus Aurelius, with Eric Hutchinson
Marcus Aurelius, the Roman Emperor known for his philosophical insights, penned his thoughts in a private notebook that became one of the most enduring…
- Christians Reading Classics
Mere Christianity by C.S. Lewis, with Daniel K. Williams
In this episode, we explore the enduring power of C.S. Lewis's 'Mere Christianity' and its place in the broader history of Christian apologetics. Daniel K…
- Christians Reading Classics
Crossing to Safety by Wallace Stegner, with Matt Stewart
Wallace Stegner scholar Matt Stewart talks with Nadya Williams about why quiet novels can hit harder than flashy ones and how Crossing to Safety turns…
- Christians Reading Classics
A Canticle For Leibowitz by Walter Miller with Brad Birzer
A monastery in the desert preserves the shattered remnants of civilisation after nuclear fire, and the relics include something chilling: the technical…
- Christians Reading Classics
Notes on the State of Virginia by Thomas Jefferson, with Cara Rogers Stevens
Jefferson’s Notes on the State of Virginia is one of those rare books that can feel like a museum archive, a political manifesto, and a personal notebook all…
- Christians Reading Classics
Nolan's Odyssey and Epics with Jonathan Geltner, Eric Hutchinson, and Rob Wyllie
A Hollywood blockbuster can make “The Odyssey” feel like a parade of monsters and set pieces but Homer’s epic is stranger, quieter, and more demanding than…
- Christians Reading Classics
Augustine - Enchiridion and Morals of the Catholic Church with Joseph Lanier and Travis Montgomery
A pastor asks Augustine for a short summary of the Christian life, and Augustine delivers a compact handbook that is so honest it practically stops mid-sprint…
- Christians Reading Classics
The Idiot by Fyodor Dostoevsky with Maria Baer
A foggy train pulls into St Petersburg and two young men face each other across a third-class carriage. That opening scene from Dostoevsky’s The Idiot is our…
- Christians Reading Classics
Jack London: An American Classic with Elizabeth Stice
Elizabeth Stice, professor of history at Palm Beach Atlantic University, joins to discuss Jack London as an American classic. They explore London's wild life —…
- Christians Reading Classics
The Declaration of Independence and the Classics with Brad Birzer
A single sentence can reorder a civilization, and “we hold these truths to be self-evident” is one of those sentences. Nadya Williams sits down with historian…
- Christians Reading Classics
The Declaration of Independence with Matthew Spalding and Jake Meador
The Declaration of Independence is only a few paragraphs long, but it tries to do something enormous: justify a political break while teaching a moral vision…
- Christians Reading Classics
Till We Have Faces by C.S. Lewis with Oliver Traldi
What does it mean to love someone well — and what does it cost when that love curls inward? Nadya Williams and Oliver Traldi discuss C.S. Lewis's Till We Have…
- Christians Reading Classics
East of Eden with Philip Bunn & Matthew H. Young
Steinbeck's East of Eden returns the Cain and Abel story twice over, tracing original sin, mimetic desire, and the fragile hope encoded in timshel across the…
- Christians Reading Classics
James Fenimore Cooper with Dr. Wayne Franklin
James Fenimore Cooper gets filed away as “important” long before many of us actually read him, and that gap is the problem we wanted to solve. I’m joined by…
- Christians Reading Classics
The Journals of Lewis and Clark with Craig Fehrman
We treat the Lewis and Clark journals as a true American classic, reading them for voice, humour, and human detail rather than just as a schoolbook summary…
- Christians Reading Classics
Augustine's Confessions with Joey Sherrard
We sit with Augustine’s Confessions and feel how a 1,600-year-old prayer still names our restlessness with uncomfortable accuracy. We talk with pastor and…
- Christians Reading Classics
Cassiodorus and Classical Education with Joseph Griffith and Joshua Kinlaw
Cassiodorus is the kind of historical figure who should be famous and somehow isn’t: a high-level Roman statesman who walks away from power and spends his…
- Christians Reading Classics
Petrarch's Canzoniere with A. M. Juster
Petrarch's Canzoniere — 366 poems written over 40 years in pursuit of a woman named Laura — introduced the sonnet to European literature and helped move poetry…
- Christians Reading Classics
The Great Gatsby with Katy Carl
A century after its publication, The Great Gatsby still demands more of readers than its first audience was prepared to give. This conversation explores why…
- Christians Reading Classics
Great American Sermons with John Wilsey and Daniel K. Williams [FULL EPISODE]
What does it mean for a nation to read its own sermons? This America 250 conversation takes up four of them — Winthrop's A Model of Christian Charity…
- Christians Reading Classics
Thomas Aquinas For Protestants with Miles Smith
Can a Protestant read Thomas Aquinas's Summa Theologiae without converting to Catholicism? Nadya Williams welcomes Miles Smith IV (Hillsdale College) to take…
- Christians Reading Classics
The Scarlet Letter by Nathaniel Hawthorne with Jeff Bilbro | American 250
Nadya Williams and Jeff Bilbro discuss Nathaniel Hawthorne's The Scarlet Letter — its Puritan setting, Hawthorne's fraught ancestry, and the novel's three…
Christians Reading ClassicsThe Adventures of Tom Sawyer by Mark Twain with Ivana Greco and Dixie Dillon Lane
Nadya Williams, Ivana Greco, and Dixie Dillon Lane discuss Mark Twain's The Adventures of Tom Sawyer — 150 years old this year — as a window into antebellum…
Christians Reading ClassicsMoby Dick by Herman Melville with Christina Bieber Lake
Nadya Williams and Christina Bieber Lake discuss Moby Dick — why Americans should read it, what Melville understood about arrogance and the uncontrollable, and…
Christians Reading ClassicsAtlas Shrugged by Ayn Rand with David Kee
Nadya Williams and David Kee discuss Ayn Rand's Atlas Shrugged — its origins, philosophy, and enduring relevance for American Christians. Kee, a business…
- Christians Reading Classics
Mansfield Park by Jane Austen with Beatrice Scudeler
Jane Austen's most underrated novel is also her most serious. In this conversation, books editor Nadya Williams and essayist Beatrice Scudeler explore what…
Christians Reading ClassicsThe Nichomachean Ethics by Aristotle with Sabrina Little | America 250
Nadya Williams and Sabrina Little explore Aristotle's Nicomachean Ethics — its account of virtue as habit, the teleological shape of a good life, and how…
Christians Reading ClassicsWuthering Heights with Evie Solheim
Nadya Williams and Evie Solheim discuss Wuthering Heights, what makes it a gothic classic, why Emily Brontë's moral ambiguity still provokes, how the novel…
Christians Reading ClassicsUncle Toms Cabin by Harriet Beecher Stowe with Obbie Tyler Todd | America 250
Nadya Williams and Obbie Tyler Todd explore Harriet Beecher Stowe's Uncle Tom's Cabin as part of season two's focus on classics American Christians should read…
Christians Reading ClassicsBrave New World by Aldous Huxley with Katelyn Walls Shelton | America 250
Nadya Williams and Katelyn Walls Shelton discuss Aldous Huxley's Brave New World — its haunting parallels to embryo selection, reproductive biotechnology, and…
Christians Reading ClassicsThe Education of Henry Adams with Leah Libresco Sargeant | America 250
Nadya Williams, Books Editor for Mere Orthodoxy, talks with Leah Libresco Sargeant, author of The Dignity of Dependence, about Henry Adams's The Education of…
Christians Reading ClassicsNarrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass with Shilo Brooks | America 250
Dr. Shilo Brooks joins Nadia Williams to explore Frederick Douglass's Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass (1845), examining how this 60-page masterwork…
Christians Reading ClassicsAmerica 250: Books American Christians Should Read | Season 2 Preview
In this preview episode for Season 2 of Christians Reading Classics, host Nadya Williams sets the stage for an ambitious exploration of books that American…
- Christians Reading Classics
Reading Ancient Pagans As Modern Christians
Nadya Williams explores the myth of Tantalus and its implications on the nature of success and temptation. She delves into how Tantalus' horrific actions…
- Christians Reading Classics
The Scandal of the Christian Imagination
As we wrap up season 1 of Christians Reading Classics, Nadya reflects on the scandal of the Christian imagination and the role of reading classic books in…
Christians Reading ClassicsT.S. Eliot - The Hollow Men with Eric Hutchinson
Nadya Williams and Eric Hutchinson delve into T.S. Eliot's poem 'The Hollow Men', exploring its themes, complexities, and the nature of classic literature…
- Christians Reading Classics
C.S. Lewis - The Great Divorce with Dr. Leslie Baynes
Nadya Williams and Dr. Leslie Baynes explore the works of C.S. Lewis, particularly focusing on 'The Great Divorce.' They discuss the definition of a classic…
Christians Reading ClassicsDorothy L. Sayers - Gaudy Night with Carolyn Weber
Nadya Williams and Carolyn Weber explore the literary significance of Dorothy L. Sayers' 'Gaudy Night', discussing its themes of women's roles in academia, the…
Christians Reading ClassicsFlannery O'Connor - A Good Man Is Hard To Find with Jon Parrish Peede
Nadya Williams and Jon Parrish Peede discuss the literary legacy of Flannery O'Connor, exploring her impact on American literature and the theological themes…
Christians Reading ClassicsSinclair Lewis - It Couldn't Happen Here with Daniel K. Williams
Nadya Williams and historian Daniel K. Williams examine Sinclair Lewis's 1935 novel "It Can't Happen Here," analyzing its treatment of democracy…
Christians Reading ClassicsThe Heart of a Dog - Mikhail Bulgakov with Vika Pechersky
Nadya Williams and Vika Pichersky delve into Mikhail Bulgakov's 'Heart of a Dog,' exploring its themes, characters, and the critique of Soviet society. They…
Christians Reading ClassicsC. S. Lewis - That Hideous Strength with Philip D. Bunn and Ronni Kurtz
Nadya Williams discusses C.S. Lewis's novel 'That Hideous Strength' with experts Philip Bunn and Ronni Kurtz. They explore the themes of the book, its place in…
Christians Reading ClassicsAlexis de Tocqueville - Democracy in America with John Wilsey
Nadia Williams speaks with church historian John Wilsey about Alexis de Tocqueville's "Democracy in America," marking its 190th anniversary. They explore what…
Christians Reading ClassicsThe Nicene Creed with Shawn Wilhite and Coleman Ford
Nadya Williams talks with theologians Coleman Ford and Shawn Wilhite about the Nicene Creed, marking its 1700th anniversary. They explore what makes a…
Christians Reading ClassicsJ.R.R. Tolkien - The Return of the King with Kirsten Sanders
Nadya Williams talks with theologian Kirsten Sanders about J.R.R. Tolkien's The Return of the King, exploring its vision of good and evil, the tragic…
Christians Reading ClassicsLewis Carroll - Alice in Wonderland with John Shelton
Nadya Williams and guest John Shelton explore Lewis Carroll's Alice's Adventures in Wonderland on its 160th anniversary. They discuss what makes a book a…
Christians Reading ClassicsLaura Ingalls Wilder - Little House on the Prairie with John Fry and LuElla D'Amico
In this episode of Christians Reading Classics, Nadya Williams talks with historian John Fry and children's literature scholar LuElla D'Amico about Laura…
Christians Reading ClassicsIgnazio Silone - Bread and Wine with Geoffrey Kurtz
Nadya Williams talks with Geoffrey Kurtz about Ignazio Silone's Bread and Wine, exploring its political, spiritual, and literary significance. They discuss…
Christians Reading ClassicsA. A. Milne - Winnie the Pooh with Ivana D. Greco and Dixie Dillon Lane
Nadya Williams is joined by Ivana Greco and Dixie Dillon-Lane to explore Winnie-the-Pooh as a children's classic. They discuss what makes a book timeless, how…
Christians Reading ClassicsG.K. Chesterton - The Everlasting Man with Timothy Larsen
Nadya Williams interviews Dr. Timothy Larsen on G.K. Chesterton's The Everlasting Man, exploring its enduring insights on humanity, Christ, and the joy of…
Christians Reading ClassicsIntroducing: Christians Reading Classics
Welcome to Christians Reading Classics! A new Mere Orthodoxy podcast hosted Nadya Williams. In this introductory episode, you'll learn what this podcast is all…