How did the grandeur of Rome dissolve into the fragmented landscapes of medieval Europe? In this series, we trace the long arc from antiquity to feudalism through the lens of Perry Anderson’s classic work, Passages from Antiquity to Feudalism. Exploring the collapse of slave-based economies, the transformation of rural life, and the shifting power of kings, lords, and the Church, we uncover how social structures, not just battles, forged the medieval world. This is history told as a story of systems — the struggles between land and labor, empire and village, freedom and servitude — that still echo in today’s institutions.

Join us for a singular deep dive into Meditations, the private reflections of Marcus Aurelius. In this episode, we unpack his insights on virtue, self-discipline, and the art of facing life’s challenges with clarity and purpose. Ancient wisdom meets modern reflection—perfect for anyone seeking to think more deeply about how to live well.

In this episode of Light & Origin, we examine Alasdair MacIntyre’s After Virtue, a piercing critique of modern moral philosophy and a call to recover the lost coherence of virtue ethics. Tracing the collapse of teleological thinking from Aristotle through the Enlightenment to today’s emotivist fragmentation, MacIntyre argues that our moral language has become unmoored from any shared framework of meaning. We explore how this ethical drift has shaped culture, politics, and personal identity—and why a return to classical traditions of character, narrative, and community might be the only way forward.