Originally published on the author’s Substack In today’s fast-paced world, the word “leisure” typically means little more than time off: weekends, vacations, or breaks from the grind. It’s seen primarily as a way to recharge, to rest before plunging back into work. But in Leisure: The Basis of Culture, German philosopher …

Originally published on the author’s Substack The past and future of American design On his first day in office, President Trump issued the executive order titled Promoting Beautiful Federal Civic Architecture, which reaffirmed his administration’s commitment to prioritizing traditional and classical architectural styles in federal building projects. The order built on …

Originally posted on the author’s Substack Dystopian literature endures because it forces us to confront uncomfortable truths about ourselves and our society. In the English-speaking world, few works of this genre are more iconic than George Orwell’s 1984, Aldous Huxley’s Brave New World, and Ray Bradbury’s Fahrenheit 451. Each of these novels presents …

Originally posted on the author’s Substack The rebirth of a nation… ‘ With all the talk of Notre-Dame cathedral and photos of its remarkable turnaround circulating, you might be tempted to ask, “why is it so important?” It’s in some sense a fair question — what, in fact, makes the Notre-Dame de …

Originally posted on the author’s Substack An age of enchantment… Between the fall of the Western Roman Empire in 476 AD and the Renaissance nearly a thousand years later, there lies an interesting in-between period — a “middle age.” The early medieval period, known to many scholars as the “Dark …

Original article And how to break the endless cycle Ancient Greek philosophers like Socrates and Plato held deep reservations about democracy. They saw it as inherently flawed and doomed to descend into tyranny. But a later thinker saw a way to avoid this inevitable cycle. The Greek historian Polybius, writing …

Original article A uniquely American vision Frank Lloyd Wright’s legacy represents one of the most significant chapters in American architectural history. In an era when modernism was shaping life to feel wholly inorganic, Wright went against the grain, shaping buildings to instead sit harmoniously with their surroundings. From his spiritual …

Original article How did a brilliant young man who considered himself too smart for Christianity become the 20th century’s greatest advocate for it? C.S. Lewis is widely considered one of the sharpest minds — and pens — of the last century. After becoming Christianity’s “most reluctant convert,” he turned his …

Originally posted on the author’s Substack Leonardo’s notebooks: a window into his boundless curiosity The iconic Renaissance man Leonardo da Vinci was more than one of history’s greatest artists. He was also a medical researcher, an inventor, and an engineer. For Leonardo, though, these streams of thought weren’t separate from …

A brief history of evil… The question of evil is foundational to human culture — but what actually is evil, why does it happen, and what does it look like? Today, we take a stab at the third question: a brief history of what evil looks like, not just in appearance but …

Originally posted on the author’s Substack What the ancients knew that we forgot… The word education has meant a lot of different things over the centuries. You may think it comes from the Latin ēdūcere, “to lead out” — because the tutor of a wealthy Roman family would lead the children to school, …

Originally published on the author’s Substack An intro to Art Nouveau… Should objects be beautiful, or should they be useful? Faced with the crushing pressure of the Industrial Revolution, one artistic movement proved that culture need not choose between the two. Let’s dive into one of history’s most under-appreciated (yet …

Originally published on the author’s Substack Incarnation and culture Christianity began as an obscure religion in a remote strip of land in the ancient world. Within 300 years, it was the official religion of the world’s most powerful empire. But it wasn’t Christianity’s political power that changed the world. It …

Originally published on Substack Miracles of engineering and faith… From pyramids to temples, many of the great works of ancient architecture were built for a similar purpose: as monuments to a single man. But there’s something different about the great cathedrals of the Medieval era — instead of being ordered …

Portrait of Marie-Antoinette, Jean-Baptiste André Gautier-Dagoty (1775) Marie Antoinette, France’s last queen before the Revolution, is often remembered more for the scandals and accusations surrounding her than for her true character. From her arrival in France as a young Austrian archduchess to her tragic death at the guillotine, she became the embodiment …

And why he thought he was a failure…   The main ingredient behind Leonardo da Vinci’s incredible success can be boiled down to one thing: curiosity. His intense curiosity was the engine of his genius, propelling him to make groundbreaking observations and contributions across various fields. From anatomy to botany, …

A modern fairytale with a tragic ending…   The world’s most stunning castle doesn’t come from the age of knights. It’s the product of one man’s extraordinary imagination, built to keep the wonder of the medieval era alive in the modern age. Neuschwanstein Castle is as stunning as a movie …

What 40,000 years of art reveals about us…   What do our clothes really cover? When we remove them, what is revealed? Nudes are among the oldest and most ubiquitous forms of art that human culture has created, but they vary widely from era to era. These five pieces tell …

Originally published on Substack So what happened to it? Diagonal Norte, Buenos Aires (1936) When you think of cities that dominate the international landscape of culture, commerce and politics, does Buenos Aires make the list? Well, a century ago, Argentina was a world power that rivaled the United States — …

Originally posted on Substack The Round City of Baghdad and House of Wisdom — when razed by the Mongols, the Tigris ran black with ink… Temples to Wisdom Only truly civilized cultures dedicate themselves to building up a storehouse of knowledge. That’s why libraries are the trademark of civilization — …