The Optimistic Curmudgeon

Josh Herring: What is The Optimistic Curmudgeon? (Season Finale - 1x12)

Ethan Delves hosts this conversation with Josh Herring; they discuss how The Optimistic Curmudgeon got started, what its goals are, how it differs from a previous podcasting adventure, and more. This is the last episode of Season 1 - we'll be back in mid-January with Season 2!

Will Begley: Justice, Mercy, Sex, and Power in Shakespeare‘s Measure for Measure (1x11)

Dr. Will Begley (PhD, UNC Chapel Hill), Latin Instructor at Thales Academy Rolesville, joins Josh for a discussion of  Shakespeare's Measure for Measure. We explore the proper balance of justice and mercy, themes of fornication and adultery, the ways civilizations try to navigate the universal human drive for sexual interactions, and a novel reading of the play! Why is Measure for Measure the play of its genre? Listen to find out!

Ben Voth: Debate Prevents Genocide(1x10)

Dr. Ben Voth, professor at Southern Methodist University and author of Debate As Global Pedagogy: Rwanda Rising, joins Josh to discuss a variety of topics he has researched and written about over the years. The episode begins with the ways race relations have improved in the United States since the Civil Rights era. Dr. Voth explains Afropessimism and Afroidealism as two competing paradigms  in contemporary Communication studies. The second half of the episode focuses on Dr. Voth's work with teaching debate in Rwanda, and Voth's conviction that debate reduces the possibility of genocide. 

Donald J. Devine: The Administrative State is a Bureaucratic Failure (1x9)

Dr. Donald J. Devine discusses his time in the Reagan administration, the current failures of the administrative state, and his most recent book, The Enduring Tension: Capitalism and the Moral Order. Devine argues that centralizing power is the flaw in our current governance, but that decentralizing power is the genius of western civilization. 

Paul Mueller: Modern Monetary Theory is Unreal Economics (1x8)

Dr. Paul Mueller of The King's College (Manhattan) discusses Modern Monetary Theory, its origins, and contemporary application of MMT in the movements of the Biden administration. Along the way, he and Josh discuss the housing market, inflation, and the connections between economic theory and reality. Check it out!

John Henry Crosby: You are Your Body: A Personalist Conversation (1x7)

John Henry Crosby of the Von Hildebrand Project comes on The Optimistic Curmudgeon for a ranging conversation about personalist philosophy. Josh and John Henry discuss Personalism, its position as a philosophical anthropology, the ways in which personalism elevates the view of the body and of human dignity, and the implications for applying personalism in both work place and transgender considerations. 

Bob Luddy and Emily Launer: Keys to Success in Business (1x6)

Bob Luddy, CEO of CaptiveAire Systems and founder of Thales Academy, and Emily Launer, head of Human Resources for CaptiveAire and the Luddy Schools, share the keys to business success: Grit, perseverance, alertness, character, lifelong learning, and ignoring distractions. Join Josh, Bob, and Emily as they discuss the way living excellently leads to longterm happiness and success.

Jason Jewell: Graduate Education, Russell Kirk, and Conservatism Today (1X5)

Dr. Jason Jewell discusses the unique graduate studies program in the humanities he runs at Faulkner University, his scholarship on Russell Kirk, and his views on where the conservative movement is today.

Sam Gregg: Morality, Economics, Realism, and the Gold Standard - 1x3

Dr. Sam Gregg comes on The Optimistic Curmudgeon to share about the many ways in which realism grounds human thought and action. He and Josh have a wide ranging conversation about different application of moral ideas, and the way reality grounds economics. 

Bob Luebke: Discrepancies in the Data for Teachers' Salaries

Josh interview Dr. Bob Luebke of the John Locke Foundation about the differences between the appearance and the reality of teacher salary changes in the state of North Carolina over 201-2019. Along the way, they also discuss the school choice movement, policy changes for improving public education, and the effect teachers' unions have on North Carolina education.