In this episode, Alex takes the mic on the road, hosting a special panel on David Bolotin and the recently released volume On Plato's Republic: The 1988 Lecture Notes, which preserves Bolotin's notes and was coedited by Alex and Paul Diduch.

Joined by Louis Slawsky, Nasser Behnegar, Peter J. Hansen, Paul Ulrich, Joshua Parens, Paul Diduch, and Travis Mulroy, the group reflect above all on Bolotin himself: his presence in the classroom, his precision as a reader, and the lasting impression he made as a teacher. The book gives the panel its occasion, but Bolotin remains its real subject.

The guys have emerged from an eight-month slumber to sit down with Eric Buzzetti and Devin Stauffer to talk about their teacher Christopher Bruell and the newly edited collection Christopher Bruell: Essays of Five Decades on Philosophy and Philosophers.

They recount what it was like to study with Bruell at Boston College, why his writing is equal parts illuminating and elusive, and how his work presses readers back toward tough questions of philosophy.

Along the way, they discuss Bruell's relationship to Strauss, his long engagement with Plato, Xenophon, Aristotle, and the moderns, as well as why he resisted easy slogans about nature, happiness, and the philosophical life.

If serious reading and soul-forming education are your thing, buckle up for this 99-minute marathon.

Since launching in July 2020, The New Thinkery hasn't taken an extended break—but after nearly five years of weekly episodes, the guys are finally taking a much needed summer pause. The show will return with fresh conversations on political philosophy, literature, film, and more on September 3, 2025, with high-caliber guests on the horizon. In the meantime, revisit your favorite episodes, catch up on ones you may have missed, and spread the word. See you in September, and thank you all for listening in for the past few years!