Factory farming. The atom bomb. Infanticide. Socrates contributor Mary Harrington explains why she views progress as a disguised form of metaphysics — “a secularized eschatology” — and how much evil has been justified in its name. She details how she arrived at the surprising conclusion that it’s possible to be a feminist without believing in progress.

In this archived Socrates in the City talk, Bill Bennett reflects on the enduring task of raising boys into good men. Drawing from his work on character and moral formation, Bennett addresses the role of virtue, discipline, and example in shaping the next generation.With clarity and conviction, he makes the case that manhood is not accidental but cultivated—and that the formation of character remains essential to the health of families, communities, and society at large.

In this vintage, yet timely Socrates in the City Conversation, Dinesh D’Souza and Bart Ehrman debate and explore what it means to pursue a kinder, more humane world, whether through Christian discipleship or secular moral conviction. Drawing on the model of Christ’s suffering and the call to imitate His self-giving love, the conversation provides examples of how Christians and atheists alike can meet on common ground in the shared work of compassion, justice, and human dignity. The conversation unfolds with candor, good humor, and the kind of sharp, generous intellectual engagement that engages the life of the mind, inviting all of us to think more deeply about faith, morality, and the world we hope to build together.

In this Vintage Socrates in the City lecture, N.T. Wright, one of the world’s leading New Testament scholars, discusses his book Surprised By Scripture: Engaging Contemporary Issues. In this brilliant lecture, Wright highlights the surprising nature of the Scripture and its relationship with modern science, the role of men and women in society, and the importance of faith in public life. The lecture highlights the holistic nature of Scripture from environmental and scientific care to engaging with those of different backgrounds or beliefs.

In this vintage Socrates in the City lecture, author and social critic Os Guinness discusses the plea he offers up in his book, The Case for Civility, a plea to end the polarization of American politics and culture, which he says threatens to reverse the very principles our founders set into motion that have long preserved liberty, diversity, and unity in the U.S. This 2008 lecture took place in New York City. We are thrilled to share this conversation once again as Os Guinness reflects on the timeless nature of religion in public life.

Are reason and spirituality fundamentally at odds—or were they always meant to work together? In this talk, Dallas Willard explores the classical insight of Socrates, Plato, and generations of great thinkers who understood that life’s most important questions—meaning, morality, art, selfhood, even God—belong to a realm that is both rational and spiritual. Modern culture has torn these apart, leaving questions of faith, value, and the human person adrift in subjectivity. Yet knowledge, rightly understood, is possible in the spiritual domain just as in any other: it involves bringing realities before the mind, examining them, forming sound judgments, and acting responsibly on what is true.