Cultural renewal is a generational project, and therefore an educational project. Guest Ian Lindquist suggests that Americans looking for signs of hope that such a project remains achievable should look to a growing network of primary and secondary schools preparing young Americans for life in a free society. These schools compose what is now called the classical-education movement; Ian believes the story of their success provides valuable lessons about how Americans can rise to meet the challenges posed by cultural, social, and institutional decay.

Ian is the executive director of the Public Interest Fellowship and a fellow at the Ethics and Public Policy Center in D.C. Before coming to Washington, he served as a middle- and high-school teacher, as well as assistant headmaster, with Great Hearts Academies in Phoenix, Arizona.

This podcast discusses themes from Ian’s essay in the Fall 2019 issue of National Affairs, “Classical Schools in Modern America.”