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Old School with Shilo Brooks: Daily Summaries Delivered
by The Free Press
Fewer of us than ever are reading books for pleasure. Shilo Brooks is on a mission to change that. Old School is a podcast about great books and how reading them can make us stronger, better men. The show features intimate conversations with fascinating men—from fitness gurus to philosophers—about the books that shaped their lives.
Latest Episodes
The most recent episodes — sign up to get AI-powered summaries of each one.
- Jun 25, 20262 min
A Note From Shilo
A message from our host. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
- Jun 18, 202657 min
What ‘The Future Is Female’ Has Meant for Men
For decades, the fight for gender equality has squarely focused on lifting women up—in the workplace, politics, and beyond. But according to Richard Reeves, president of the American Institute for Boys and Men, it’s the men who now need support. From childhood, boys are falling behind in school. Men are trailing women in college completion by an even wider margin than existed (in the opposite direction) when Title IX became law in 1972. They also die by suicide about four times more often, with especially troubling increases among younger men over the past two decades. In this episode, Reeves sits down with Shilo Brooks to discuss why the struggles facing boys and men have become politically impossible to discuss, why they need to stop hearing that “the future is female” and that their masculinity is “toxic,” and what the specific policies are that he believes will help them. Old School is proudly brought to you by the Jack Miller Center. If you believe in the importance of civic education and want to help prepare the next generation to carry on our democracy, join us at JackMillerCenter.org. Become a paid subscriber to The Free Press today to enjoy exclusive bonus episodes and reduced ads. Click here to subscribe. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
- Jun 11, 202652 min
Walter Isaacson on the Sentence That Created America
If America has a mission statement, it is this: “We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness.” In a special conversation recorded at the George W. Bush Presidential Center, acclaimed biographer Walter Isaacson discusses his new book, The Greatest Sentence Ever Written, and the extraordinary story behind the Declaration of Independence’s most famous line. What happened behind the scenes as Thomas Jefferson, John Adams, Benjamin Franklin, and the other founders argued over, revised, and refined the words that would become America’s founding creed? Plus: the tension between individual liberty and the common good, the complicated relationship between Jefferson and Adams, and the enduring challenge of living up to ideals that were revolutionary in 1776 and remain aspirational today. Old School is proudly brought to you by the Jack Miller Center. If you believe in the importance of civic education and want to help prepare the next generation to carry on our democracy, join us at JackMillerCenter.org. Become a paid subscriber to The Free Press today to enjoy exclusive bonus episodes and reduced ads. Click here to subscribe. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
- Jun 4, 202655 min
The WWII Novel That Explains America
In this special episode, Shilo Brooks is joined by Pulitzer Prize–winning historian Jon Meacham at the Jack Miller Center’s annual summit on civic education. They took the stage at the National Constitution Center in Philadelphia, the perfect setting for a discussion about one of Meacham’s favorite books: The Winds of War. Written by Herman Wouk and published in 1971, The Winds of War is an epic historical novel that follows an American family through the tumult of World War II. In their smart, often funny, and deeply moving conversation, Meacham also reflects on why World War II was such a pivotal moment in shaping the unique American identity; the other essential books, events, and moments every citizen should know about to better understand America; and the differences between patriotism and nationalism. At a moment when our politics feel so fractured, studying history reminds us of an enduring truth: Ordinary people can rise to extraordinary challenges. Old School is proudly brought to you by the Jack Miller Center. If you believe in the importance of civic education and want to help prepare the next generation to carry on our democracy, join us at JackMillerCenter.org.Become a paid subscriber to The Free Press today to enjoy exclusive bonus episodes and reduced ads. Click here to subscribe. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
- May 28, 202654 min
Agatha Christie and the Kidnapping That Inspired Her Greatest Mystery
In this episode, Shilo sits down with veteran journalist Joe Nocera for a deep dive into the world’s best-selling novelist, Agatha Christie. Nocera’s new investigative podcast is all about the Charles Lindbergh, Jr., kidnapping, one of history’s most infamous crimes, and a key inspiration behind Christie’s Murder on the Orient Express. They dig into why mystery fiction matters so deeply, the puzzle-like satisfaction of solving the crime, the bloodless elegance of Christie’s plots, and the rare comfort of a story that always resolves with true justice. They break down how Christie drew directly from the Lindbergh kidnapping to craft her most famous work and examine what the Lindbergh case reveals about a society so hungry for retribution that it may have sent the wrong man to the electric chair. Old School is proudly brought to you by the Jack Miller Center. If you believe in the importance of civic education and want to help prepare the next generation to carry on our democracy, join us at JackMillerCenter.org. Become a paid subscriber to The Free Press today to enjoy exclusive bonus episodes and reduced ads. Click here to subscribe. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
- May 21, 202651 min
Inside the Supreme Court with Amy Coney Barrett
In this special episode, taped live at the George W. Bush Presidential Center, Shilo sits down with Supreme Court Justice Amy Coney Barrett for a wide-ranging interview on the law. They discuss Barrett’s lifelong love of reading, her tumultuous confirmation process, the Constitution and what it should take to amend it, how she approaches cases where her interpretation of the law differs from her personal beliefs, why the Court is not the hyper-partisan institution that people think it is, and much more. It’s a thoughtful conversation that offers a more nuanced look at the highest court in the land. Old School is proudly brought to you by the Jack Miller Center. If you believe in the importance of civic education and want to help prepare the next generation to carry on our democracy, join us at JackMillerCenter.org. Become a paid subscriber to The Free Press today to enjoy exclusive bonus episodes and reduced ads. Click here to subscribe. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
- May 19, 202643 min
A New Series From The Free Press | The Lindbergh Conspiracies
Hi Old School listeners! Veteran reporter Joe Nocera has launched a six part series about the Lindbergh kidnapping. Enjoy episode one here and then head on over to The Lindbergh Conspiracies feed for the rest of the season. Joe will be joining me next week to discuss Agatha Christie and how she was inspired by this very case. --- EP01 | The Broken Window One night in March 1932, the infant son of aviator Charles Lindbergh is taken from his nursery. A warped window, a ladder, and a ransom note mark the beginning of a case that will grip the world and launch a hundred conspiracy theories. Ninety-four years later, we return to the scene of the crime to ask: What really happened that night? Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
- May 7, 202649 min
Roald Dahl: Genius and Bigot
For tickets to our live recording with Jon Meacham in Philadelphia, click here and register. Use code TFP for a 20 percent discount. Roald Dahl gave the world Matilda, James and the Giant Peach, and Charlie and the Chocolate Factory. He was also a vicious antisemite. A Broadway play about Dahl’s legacy; the new Michael Jackson biopic; Kanye West’s attempted redemption arc; all of these have the culture asking again: How do we approach brilliant art produced by morally compromised artists? Throughout history, some of the world’s preeminent literary geniuses have also been deeply bigoted, even monstrous people. In this episode, Shilo is joined by Eli Lake, host of Breaking History, for a conversation about these geniuses, from Voltaire to Norman Mailer, and why we should read their work despite their odious prejudices. Old School is proudly brought to you by the Jack Miller Center. If you believe in the importance of civic education and want to help prepare the next generation to carry on our democracy, join us at JackMillerCenter.org. Become a paid subscriber to The Free Press today to enjoy exclusive bonus episodes and reduced ads. Click here to subscribe. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
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About Old School with Shilo Brooks
Fewer of us than ever are reading books for pleasure. Shilo Brooks is on a mission to change that. Old School is a podcast about great books and how reading them can make us stronger, better men. The show features intimate conversations with fascinating men—from fitness gurus to philosophers—about the books that shaped their lives.
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