In this episode of the ClassicalU Podcast, Jesse Hake talks with Karen T. Moore and Grant Horner, PhD about their CU course: Teaching Through Italy: A Guide to In Situ Studies and the transformative power of encountering great books, art, history, and faith in the places that shaped them. Drawing on decades of teaching and travel, Karen and Grant describe how standing before the Laocoön, walking through Pompeii and Ostia, or reading Vergil’s Aeneid on location can collapse the distance between books and the world and awaken fresh wonder in teachers and students. They discuss their developing book and ClassicalU course, both designed to help educators integrate literature, history, theology, language, art, and material culture whether they travel to Italy or bring Italy into their classrooms. Karen and Grant also preview their Teaching Through Italy study program with The Vergilian Society, December 28, 2027–January 8, 2028, which will lead educators through Rome, Campania, and Florence while pairing texts with archaeological sites, museums, works of art, and conversations about how to bring these experiences back to students. Applications are now open for this In Situ study program and the Vergilian Society’s other 2027 tours and workshops; visit the tour application to apply, and scholarship opportunities are also available. Throughout the conversation, Karen and Grant return to the contagious wonder and delight of the lifelong learner and to the ways teachers can carry that enthusiasm back into their own classrooms.

Listeners may also be interested in Junius Johnson’s free webinar, Finding Theology in The Voyage of the Dawn Treader, on October 15, 2026, from 5:30–6:45 p.m. CT, exploring how to read C. S. Lewis’s Narnia stories theologically.

In this episode of the ClassicalU Podcast, Jesse Hake welcomes Zach Howard, professor at Bethlehem College and Seminary, to explore the formation of teachers and the continuing renewal of classical Christian education. Howard traces his own path from homeschooling and Hillsdale College to teaching at Mars Hill Academy and studying Augustine, experiences that deepened his conviction that education should form students for human flourishing rather than merely prepare them for careers. Drawing on his scholarship on Augustine, he considers how rhetoric, memory, imagination, and vivid images can shape our loves and direct our desires toward what is true and good.

The conversation also introduces Bethlehem’s new Master of Arts in Classical Christian Education, launching in summer 2027 to provide teachers and school leaders with theological, philosophical, and practical formation through in-person summer intensives. Howard explains Bethlehem’s particular emphasis on theological grounding, face-to-face formation, and cultivating educators who are both deeply rooted in the classical tradition and prepared for the realities of the classroom.

Zach also hosts the Midwest Educators Seminar, co-hosted with the Society for Classical Learning, October 9–10, 2026, at Bethlehem College and Seminary. Speakers include John Piper, Eric Cook, Eric Twist, Keith Phillips, and two Classical Academic Press authors who also present on ClassicalU: Kevin Clark (co-author of The Liberal Arts Tradition) and Tammy Peters (author of Well-Ordered Language). Registration is open now.

Listeners may also be interested in other ClassicalU courses mentioned such as “Spreading the Feast: Classical Education for all”, “The Abolition of Man by C.S. Lewis”, and “The Festive and Praying School”.

In this episode of the ClassicalU Podcast, Jesse Hake welcomes Classical Academic Press video producer Cody Wanner for an illuminating conversation about storytelling, wonder, and his growing encounter with classical Christian education. Cody reflects on formative experiences such as hearing The Hobbit read aloud by his sixth-grade math teacher and explains why poetic knowledge and awakening wonder have become central to his understanding of education. The conversation turns to their recent work capturing stories from graduates of the University of Kansas Integrated Humanities Program, including its radical emphasis on attentive listening, meaningful limits, and learning through beauty.

Drawing connections to pickleball, flow state, and the rules that make genuine play possible, Cody explores the paradox that boundaries and discipline can actually create greater freedom. Jesse and Cody also consider the formative power of heroes and stories, from The Hobbit and The Count of Monte Cristo to The Princess Bride, and why good education allows students to wrestle honestly with both virtue and human frailty. The episode concludes with a behind-the-scenes look at capturing great teaching for ClassicalU and Cody’s reflections on the creativity, resilience, and shared purpose he has encountered among his colleagues at Classical Academic Press. Listeners will come away with an invitation to rediscover education as an encounter with wonder, disciplined freedom, great stories, and the beauty of learning well.

Listeners may also be interested in learning more about the Kansas Integrated Humanities Program in James S. Taylor's Poetic Knowledge: The Recovery of Education. To explore these themes further, consider the following ClassicalU Courses: The Good Teacher, The Festive and Praying School, and The Art of Poetry.