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Is the Age of the Weak Man Over? w/ Joshua Gibbs

The Saint Kolbe Studios Podcast

Joshua Gibbs, director of the Classical Teaching Institute and host of the In the Trenches podcast, joins the show for a conversation covering Chesterton tweed, high school dating, Augustine’s City of God, and the future of classical education. He argues that the timid, deferential man held up as an ideal a decade ago has finally been discredited, and that pop culture is the enemy every parent and teacher has to help their kids fight. Main Ideas: * The cultural ideal of the timid, deferential man has collapsed because it was tried and it failed—declining marriage and birth rates show it never delivered what it promised. * Pop culture isn’t entertainment kids go looking for; it’s an enemy they fight daily, and teachers and parents serve them by knowing exactly what they’re up against. * Classical education is poised to split over sex-segregated schooling and technology, with a smaller group breaking away under a new name. * Faking maturity is a normal part of growing up—young people have to try on adult responsibilities and look foolish doing it before those responsibilities become real. Resources Mentioned: * Gibbs Classical — Joshua’s online classes, including Augustine’s Confessions this fall and City of God in the spring * The Classical Teaching Institute * In the Trenches podcast * Joshua Gibbs’s books Chapters: * 00:00: Introduction * 00:47: Is Chesterton LARPing Bad for the Movement? * 04:22: Growing Up by Pretending to Be an Adult * 06:13: Should You Date in High School? * 12:49: The Movie Obsession and the Contemptible Man * 17:39: Why the Weak Man’s Cultural Moment Is Over * 23:15: Pop Culture as the Enemy Your Kids Are Fighting * 28:21: The Shopping Mall as Augustine’s City of Man * 36:50: Fourth-Century Rome and Twenty-First-Century America * 42:20: AI, Handwriting, and the Future of Classical Education * 46:07: The Coming Split Over Sex-Segregated Schooling * 56:44: Where to Find Joshua Gibbs Produced by Saint Kolbe Studios This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit saintkolbestudiospodcast.substack.com