Why should we study history? How important is it in a classical education? As part of our Good Books series, we talk about two great historians of the 20th Century, Christopher Dawson & Aleksandr Solzhenitsyn. Difff bring Dawson's The Dividing of Christendom and The Crisis of Western Education and explains how Dawson masterfully explains how we have arrived at our current point in western civilisation. James then discusses Solzhenitsyn's The Gulag Archipelago and the importance of understanding the personal stories of people who suffered under communism.
There is also some general chat about the power of history, what's wrong with the way it's often taught in Australian schools, and even some moderately controversial connections between historical awareness and government responses to the pandemic.
Check out Difff's other podcast: Chiron, conversations about the past to help make sense of the present.
And James' other podcast: The Art of Inquiry, inquiries into the nature of the world and humanity with expert level guests passionate about their field.
Music: 'Inspiring Dreams' by Keys of Moon | https://soundcloud.com/keysofmoon
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