Share

cover art for The Commons

The Commons

Conversations on School Life


Latest episode

  • 6. The Problem of Quiet Classrooms: Technology & Isolation

    18:09||Season 4, Ep. 6
    In this final episode of season four, Brian Phillips reflects on changes in classroom culture and the role technology has played in those changes. The days of walking into a high school or college classroom and asking students to quiet down seem long gone. So what does that mean for teachers?

More episodes

View all episodes

  • 5. Understanding Hollywood’s "War" on Family

    47:45||Season 4, Ep. 5
    In this episode, Brian Phillips and Matt Bianco discuss how parents are portrayed in film and the media. Is the apparent “war on the family” intentionally destructive, or are parent portrayals rooted in something else entirely?
  • 4. Loving the Natural Sciences: An Interview with Gordon Wilson

    45:17||Season 4, Ep. 4
    In the episode, Brian Phillips talks with Dr. Gordon Wilson (Senior Fellow of Natural History at New St. Andrews College) about his recent works: A Different Shade of Green: A Biblical Approach to Environmentalism & the Dominion Mandate and The Riot & the Dance (which includes a biology text and two stunning feature-length documentary films).
  • 3. Dealing with Difficult People, with Matthew Bianco

    18:03||Season 4, Ep. 3
    In this week's episode, Brian Phillips and Matt Bianco talk about conflict, difficult people, and learning to deal wisely with both.
  • 2. A Spirit of Inquiry: An Interview with Dr. Pano Kanelos (President of St. John’s College)

    45:41||Season 4, Ep. 2
    In this episode of The Commons, Brian Phillips interviews Dr. Pano Kanelos (President of St. John’s College), to discuss life at St. John’s, classical education at the college level, and the spirit of inquiry.
  • 1. Classical Educators & the Church: An Interview with Dana Gage

    40:11||Season 4, Ep. 1
    Welcome back to season four of The Commons with Dr. Brian Phillips! In episode 4.1 classical educator and pastor’s wife Dana Gage joins Brian Phillips for a talk about how classical education and church life intersect. Gage tells her story of what it’s like to serve as both a teacher and pastor’s wife in NYC, and further discusses her article, “Neglecting the House of God?”If you like this episode please be sure to rate and review wherever you get podcasts.
  • 14. On School Aesthetics, with Brian Daigle

    43:18||Season 3, Ep. 14
    Classical educators frequently discuss Truth, Goodness, and Beauty, but of these three, Beauty is the most misunderstood. In this episode of The Commons, a podcast about school leadership, Dr. Brian Phillips is joined by Brian Daigle of Mud House Art for a conversation about Beauty and aesthetics in our schools and homeschools.