Socrates in the City

What happens when we stop asking children to do hard things, develop strong habits, and take responsibility for their choices? In this episode of Socrates Dialogues with Mary Harrington, she joins Katharine Birbalsingh, often called the “strictest headmistress in the United Kingdom,” for a conversation about education, virtue, discipline, and what it means to live a meaningful life. From the negative influence of Rousseau on modern education to the distinction between big-C Conservatism and small-c conservatism, Katherine challenges the assumptions behind much of contemporary thinking about children, morality, and human nature. And what might this have to do with Christianity? Have we made Jesus too “nice,” forgetting His call to virtue, accountability, sacrifice, and transformation? Throughout the conversation, they explore the seemingly ordinary, and perhaps even ‘boring’, virtues that form a good life, why they matter, and why we may need to start teaching them to our children.
The post Katharine Birbalsingh and Mary Harrington: We’ve Made Jesus Too Nice first appeared on Socrates in the City.

In this episode of Socrates in the Studio, host Eric Metaxas is joined by philosopher and author Carrie Gress to discuss her book Something Wicked: Why Feminism Can’t Be Fused with Christianity and to explore the complicated history and ideological roots of the feminist movement. From Mary Wollstonecraft and the French Revolution to Betty Friedan and the modern iterations of feminism, Gress traces the movement’s evolution and examines its often-overlooked relationship with Christianity, revolution, and the occult. What happens when feminism’s understanding of human flourishing is built upon a distorted view of Christian teaching? Was the movement, at its origins, fueled by envy, resentment, or contempt—and what role did occult ideas play in shaping its development? Throughout this conversation, we are invited to reconsider the history of feminism and ask whether its fundamental assumptions can truly be reconciled with the Christian vision of human nature, freedom, and flourishing.
The post Eric Metaxas and Carrie Gress: Why Feminism is More Deadly Than Communism first appeared on Socrates in the City.

In this episode of Socrates in Oxford, host Eric Metaxas is joined once again by John Lennox, as he reflects on his remarkable journey of faith, scholarship, and intellectual discovery in his new autobiography, My Story: A Spiritual and Intellectual Autobiography, revealing stories and experiences never before told. From his conversion to Christianity and his friendship with C.S. Lewis, to teaching the Bible behind the Iron Curtain and witnessing the Lord’s miraculous protection and provision, Lennox traces the moments that shaped both his faith and his calling. Throughout the conversation, he explores the academic disciplines that have defined his work—including science, history, philosophy, and theology—and considers how questions of faith and reason intersect in the search for truth. Above all, Lennox offers an encouraging reminder that sharing our faith is not reserved for professional apologists or academics, but is something that can be woven naturally into every part of our lives.
The post Eric Metaxas and John Lennox: Preaching the Gospel Behind the Iron Curtain first appeared on Socrates in the City.

In this episode of Socrates Dialogues with Mary Harrington, she is joined by Miriam Cates, former Conservative MP and now broadcaster with GB News, who reflects on her journey into politics during the turbulent years of Brexit and Covid, the pressures that reshaped Westminster, and the challenges of being a Christian seeking truth in public life. 

Throughout this conversation, the two explore women’s rights, the controversy surrounding women’s spaces, and the rapidly changing understanding of family and parenthood—from surrogacy and reproductive technology to the growing number of children born into unconventional family structures. At the heart of the conversation is a deeper question: what happens when questions about children and family are framed primarily around the rights and desires of adults, rather than the needs and dignity of the child?
The post Miriam Cates and Mary Harrington: Can the Birth Rate Crisis Be Fixed? first appeared on Socrates in the City.

What is the difference between Darwinism and Neo-Darwinism? What was the great mistake Erwin Schrödinger made nearly 80 years ago? In this episode of Socrates in Oxford, host Eric Metaxas is joined by Denis Noble, the brilliant physiologist and biologist, as he challenges one of the most deeply rooted assumptions in modern science: that everything can ultimately be reduced to its smallest parts. From the rise of reductionism in biology and mathematics to the influential “selfish gene” theory, Noble examines how a particular scientific framework has come to shape our understanding of life itself. 

Drawing on his own experience debating Richard Dawkins—and even serving on the committee for Dawkins’s PhD thesis—Noble offers a fascinating insider’s perspective on one of the most significant debates in modern evolutionary biology. This conversation asks, what happens when scientists refuse to follow the evidence wherever it may lead, even if that evidence raises questions about God? Noble argues that science is never merely scientific; it is deeply philosophical, shaped by the assumptions we bring to our understanding of reality. At the heart of his argument and this conversation is an invitation for scientific humility: the courage to recognize the limits of what we know and to remain open to where the evidence might ultimately lead.
The post Eric Metaxas and Denis Noble: Why We Have Been Misled About Biology for 80 Years first appeared on Socrates in the City.