The Christopher Perrin Show cover art

The Christopher Perrin Show

The Christopher Perrin Show

Written by: Christopher Perrin
Listen for free

Dr. Christopher Perrin has been a leader in the renewal of classical education in the United States for 25 years. In this podcast, he traces the renewal of the American paideia exploring the recent history of the American renaissance in light of the 2500 years that have preceded it. Christopher is the founding CEO of Classical Academic Press and the founder of ClassicalU.com. The Christopher Perrin Show is part of the TrueNorth.fm podcast network.©TrueNorth.fm Social Sciences
Episodes
  • Episode 65: From Wonder to Wisdom: The Classical Journey of Education

    Episode 65: From Wonder to Wisdom: The Classical Journey of Education
    Sep 30 2026
    In this episode of The Christopher Perrin Show, Christopher Perrin reflects on wisdom as one of the chief aims of classical and liberal education. Beginning with practical wisdom, or phronesis and prudentia, he asks whether the young can become wise before age and experience have done their slow work. Drawing on Aristotle, Proverbs, Mortimer Adler, Anthony Kronman, and the older model of professors as bearers of a treasured inheritance, Perrin argues that students may grow wise by studying what is old with teachers and friends who love wisdom. He then takes listeners to the cathedral of Siena, where the medieval mosaic floor presents a journey from Lady Wisdom, Socrates, Crates, and the mountain of wisdom toward Moses, Abraham, the altar, and Christ, the power and wisdom of God. The episode unfolds the relationship between wonder and wisdom, showing how astonishment, humility, and awareness of ignorance begin the journey of philosophy and education. Perrin closes with Raphael’s image of Prudence as a young woman looking into a mirror with an old man’s face behind her, suggesting that the wisdom of the ages teaches us to know ourselves. This episode offers a rich meditation on Classical Academic Press’s renewed motto, Wonder to Wisdom, and on the lifelong climb toward wisdom, virtue, and freedom.Episode OutlineWisdom as one of the chief ends of classical and liberal educationPractical wisdom, phronesis, prudentia, and the wisdom that comes with ageWhether the young can become wise before long experience has done its workWise friends, noble teachers, old books, and the transmission of a treasured inheritanceThe cathedral of Siena and the mosaic of Lady Wisdom, Socrates, and CratesThe floor of Siena as a journey from pagan wisdom toward Moses, Abraham, the altar, and ChristWonder as the beginning of philosophy, learning, and the pursuit of wisdomClassical Academic Press’s renewed motto: Wonder to WisdomRaphael’s Prudence and the need to look backward in order to know ourselvesThe lifelong climb toward wisdom, virtue, freedom, and self-examinationKey Topics & TakeawaysWisdom as Education’s End: Classical education seeks more than information or novelty. It aims at wisdom, virtue, and freedom, forming students who can see and love what is true, good, and beautiful.Practical Wisdom and Prudence: Perrin distinguishes practical wisdom as the ability to know what to do in changing circumstances. The Greek phronesis and Latin prudentia both point to a kind of foresight gained through experience, mentoring, and disciplined reflection.Young Students and Old Wisdom: The young may lack long experience, but they can still receive wisdom by studying what is old. Wise teachers, noble friends, and great books can help students participate in an inheritance larger than themselves.Siena’s Eucharistic Journey: The cathedral floor in Siena presents wisdom as a pilgrimage, moving from Lady Wisdom, Socrates, Crates, and Mount Parnassus toward Mount Sinai, Moses, Abraham, the altar, and Christ.Wonder to Wisdom: Wonder begins the journey toward wisdom by awakening astonishment, fear, humility, and an awareness of ignorance. A good education should preserve and deepen that wonder rather than flatten it into utility.Prudence and Memory: Raphael’s Prudence suggests that wisdom requires both self-knowledge and historical memory. The young woman becomes prudent by looking into a mirror that reflects the wisdom of the old.Questions & DiscussionWhat does it mean for wisdom to be one of the chief ends of education?Consider the difference between education aimed at wisdom and education aimed mainly at information, credentials, or novelty. How would a school change if wisdom were truly one of its central goals?How can young people become wise before they have grown old?Discuss Perrin’s account of wise friends, noble teachers, old books, and inherited traditions. What kinds of study, friendship, and imitation help the young receive wisdom beyond their years?Why does Siena’s cathedral floor place pagan philosophers within a Christian journey?Reflect on the movement from Lady Wisdom, Socrates, Crates, and Mount Parnassus toward Moses, Abraham, the altar, and Christ. What does this suggest about natural wisdom, revealed wisdom, and fulfillment in Christ?What role should wonder play in teaching and learning?Consider Aristotle’s claim that philosophy begins in wonder and Perrin’s connection between wonder, fear, astonishment, and acknowledged ignorance. How can teachers provoke wonder without reducing it to entertainment?How does looking backward help us know ourselves?Discuss Raphael’s image of Prudence as a young woman with an old man’s face behind her. How do history, literature, and the wisdom of the ages help students see their own humanity more truthfully?Suggested Reading & ResourcesNicomachean Ethics by AristotleMetaphysics by AristotleThe Book of ProverbsClassicalU Course: Introduction to Classical ...
    Show More Show Less
    32 mins
  • Episode 64: Passing the Torch: Louis Markos on the Classical Christian Inheritance

    Episode 64: Passing the Torch: Louis Markos on the Classical Christian Inheritance
    Aug 26 2026
    In this episode of The Christopher Perrin Show, Christopher Perrin welcomes Dr. Louis Markos for a wide-ranging conversation about the Greco-Roman, Judeo-Christian legacy and the renewal of classical Christian education. Markos traces how his Greek heritage, early love for Homer and Plato, Jewish mentors, and long academic vocation prepared him to defend and pass on the liberal arts tradition. The conversation explores why Christians can read pagan classics with discernment, how general revelation prepares cultures for special revelation in Christ, and why the church has often received, purified, and redirected what is true, good, and beautiful outside its visible borders. Perrin and Markos discuss Athens and Jerusalem, Tertullian and Augustine, Plato and Hebrews, Paul at the Areopagus, Dante, Milton, C. S. Lewis, Mortimer Adler, John Dewey, and the dangers of both progressivism and dead classicism. They also consider how classical Christian schools form students in virtue, courtesy, confidence, joy, and participation in the great conversation. The episode closes with Markos describing his forthcoming Dante project with Classical Academic Press and pointing listeners to his ClassicalU courses on Greek and Roman mythology and Dante.Episode OutlineMarkos’s early formation: Greek heritage, Homer, Plato, Jewish mentors, and the call to become an English professorBringing Athens and Jerusalem together: the Greco-Roman and Judeo-Christian inheritance in classical Christian educationFrom Achilles to Christ and From Plato to Christ: pagan classics as preparation for the gospelDiscernment and general revelation: why Christians can receive truth, goodness, and beauty outside the churchTertullian, Augustine, Basil, Aquinas, Calvin, and the church’s long debate over pagan learningMission, culture, and baptism: plundering Egypt, reclaiming temples, and receiving what can be consecrated to ChristProgressivism, dead classicism, and the need for a living classical tradition ordered toward wisdom and virtueWhat classical Christian schools should cultivate: joy, confidence, courtesy, great books, and participation in the great conversationKey Topics & TakeawaysA Received Tradition: Markos’s love for the classical inheritance began through family, teachers, and reading. His Greek heritage, the Odyssey, Plato, and great mentors shaped his desire to pass on liberal education.Athens and Jerusalem: The episode centers on the union of the Greco-Roman and Judeo-Christian traditions. Markos argues that the pagan classics can prepare readers for Christ when received through Christian discernment.General Revelation and Discernment: Christians need not demonize every non-Christian source. General revelation means that God can speak through creation, reason, conscience, imagination, and culture, even though special revelation in Christ remains supreme.Receiving Without Syncretism: The church has often received and purified cultural goods without collapsing them into the gospel. The task is not to baptize everything, but to discern gold from dross.Classical Education as Formation: Markos contrasts true classical education with both progressivism and dead classicism. The goal is not mere drill, novelty, or college prep, but the formation of wisdom, virtue, eloquence, and rightly ordered loves.A Joyful School Culture: In a healthy classical Christian school, students show confidence without cockiness, courtesy without stiffness, joy in learning, and a sense that they belong to a larger conversation.Questions & DiscussionWhat does it mean to “pass the torch” of the classical Christian tradition?Consider how Markos received the tradition through family, teachers, books, and mentors. Who helped hand this inheritance to you, and how might you hand it on to others?How should Christians read pagan classics with discernment?Discuss the difference between receiving what is true, good, and beautiful and uncritically baptizing everything in a culture. What examples from Homer, Plato, Virgil, or Dante help clarify this distinction?Why is the distinction between general revelation and special revelation so important?Reflect on how creation, conscience, reason, imagination, and culture can prepare people for the gospel while still requiring fulfillment in Christ and Scripture.What dangers come from both dead classicism and progressivism?Compare a school that treats drill as an end in itself with one that treats novelty, utility, or ideology as the goal. What would a living tradition look like instead?What would you hope to see in the halls of a healthy classical Christian school?Discuss Markos’s description of students marked by joy, confidence, courtesy, humility, vocabulary, quiet order, and participation in the great conversation. Which of these signs is most needed in your own context?Suggested Reading & ResourcesPassing the Torch by Louis MarkosFrom Achilles to Christ: Why Christians Should Read the Pagan Classics by Louis ...
    Show More Show Less
    1 hr and 34 mins
  • Episode 63: From Wonder to Mastery: The Story of Novare Science

    Episode 63: From Wonder to Mastery: The Story of Novare Science
    Jul 29 2026
    In this episode of The Christopher Perrin Show, Christopher Perrin welcomes John Mays to tell the story of his vocation as a teacher, writer, and founder of Novare Science. Mays traces his winding path from electrical engineering and recording-studio work to public school teaching, graduate study in physics, classical education, and two decades at Regents School of Austin. Along the way, he explains how wide reading in literature, history, philosophy, and theology shaped his approach to science education. The conversation turns to the emergence of Novare Science, beginning with Mays's frustration over the “cram, pass, forget” cycle and his search for a mastery-based model that would help students retain, understand, and love what they learned. Mays describes four major integrations that make science education classical: mathematics, history, epistemology, and language. He also recounts the long entrepreneurial labor of writing, designing, printing, selling, and revising an eleven-book science curriculum over seventeen years. The episode closes with Mays's encouragement to science teachers: teach not merely with routine and assignments, but with wonder, beauty, and a vision of creation as God's loving self-disclosure—themes he develops further in his ClassicalU courses, including Teaching Science Classically: 10 Essential Principles, The Science Mastery Workshop, Science and the Symphony of Creation, and Cultivating Wonder Throughout the School. Episode OutlineJohn Mays's winding path through engineering, recording, teaching, physics, classical education, and curriculum writingDiscovering classical education and teaching physics at Regents School of AustinThe two questions behind Novare: how to teach science classically and how to overcome “cram, pass, forget”Mastery-based learning through cumulative assessments, weekly review, practice, and long-term retentionThe four classical integrations in science: mathematics, history, epistemology, and languageThe first Novare books and the growth from classroom materials into a full science curriculumNovare Science, Centripetal Press, and the eventual partnership with Classical Academic PressTextbook beauty, classroom wonder, and Mays's encouragement to science teachersKey Topics & TakeawaysA Winding Vocation: Mays's story moves through engineering, recording, public teaching, graduate physics, classical education, and curriculum writing. Each stage helped prepare him for the work that became Novare Science.The “Cram, Pass, Forget” Problem: Mays saw that students often crammed for tests, passed them, and forgot nearly everything soon after. He came to regard this as a serious failure of academic formation.Mastery and Long-Term Retention: Mays developed cumulative assessments, weekly review guides, and practice habits so students could retain what they learned. Mastery made learning more durable and satisfying.Classical Science Education: Mays describes classical science as integrating mathematics, history, epistemology, and language so students learn science as part of a larger, ordered vision of reality.Masterable and Beautiful Textbooks: Oversized textbooks can communicate that a subject cannot truly be learned. A humane science text should be carefully written, aesthetically inviting, and realistically masterable.Wonder at Creation: The best science teaching helps students see the grandeur, beauty, and order of creation rather than merely preparing for the next assignment or test.Questions & DiscussionWhat makes a vocation different from a career path?Consider John Mays's movement through engineering, recording, teaching, graduate study, and curriculum writing. How did each stage prepare him for the work that eventually became Novare Science?How does the “cram, pass, forget” cycle show up in your own school or learning experience?Reflect on classes where students pass assessments but do not retain what they learned. What classroom practices might unintentionally encourage short-term cramming rather than mastery?What would it mean to teach for mastery rather than coverage?Discuss the difference between racing through a large textbook and helping students retain a smaller, better-chosen body of knowledge. What would have to change in quizzes, homework, review, and expectations?How do mathematics, history, epistemology, and language make science education more classical?Consider how each element deepens students' understanding of science. Which of these is easiest to include, and which is most often neglected?What role should beauty and wonder play in science education?Discuss Mays's encouragement to show students the grandeur, beauty, and order of creation. What practices help students raise their eyes beyond routine assignments?Suggested Reading & ResourcesNovare ScienceCentripetal PressStudent Lab Report HandbookTeaching Science So That Students Learn Science by John MaysFrom Wonder to MasteryAccelerated Studies in Physics and ...
    Show More Show Less
    1 hr and 13 mins
adbl_web_anon_alc_button_suppression_t1
No reviews yet