Congratulations to Dr. Bradford P. Wilson, sworn in as the 12th Archivist of the United States last Thursday by Justice Amy Coney Barrett at the National Archives!
JMP's Executive Director for nearly two decades, he brings a lifetime of constitutional scholarship to the role.
ow!
JMP's Executive Director for nearly two decades, he brings a lifetime of constitutional scholarship to the role.
ow!
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Our Undergraduate Fellows visited the U.S. Supreme Court yesterday! Their first trip of the year, as guests of Justice Neil Gorsuch.
On the docket: Maxwell v. Dinis, on habeas challenges to BOP earned-time-credit calculations under the First Step Act, and Younge v. Fulton ffice, on raising an unpleaded affirmative defense at summary judgment.
On the docket: Maxwell v. Dinis, on habeas challenges to BOP earned-time-credit calculations under the First Step Act, and Younge v. Fulton ffice, on raising an unpleaded affirmative defense at summary judgment.
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Madison's Notes has a new episode: "The Supernatural Public Square."
Academics used to say that as science progressed, supernatural claims would disappear from society. However, certain maverick scholars today are arguing for the legitimate study of religious experiences.
One , a New Testament historian and Princeton Theological Seminary Professor (@ptseminary), who joins host @RyanShinkel in S6E8 to discuss modern religious experiences.
Drawing on his book, Encountering Mystery (2022), they dig into events such as mystical encounters, responses to prayers, out-of-body & near-death experiences, and visions of angels and dead loved ones.
Along the way, they also discuss David Hume, William James, and George Harrison, current research into psychedelics, Jesus Christ's post-mortem appearances, and the emerging study of supernatural phenomenon.
Please like, subscribe, share, and enjoy!
Academics used to say that as science progressed, supernatural claims would disappear from society. However, certain maverick scholars today are arguing for the legitimate study of religious experiences.
One , a New Testament historian and Princeton Theological Seminary Professor (@ptseminary), who joins host @RyanShinkel in S6E8 to discuss modern religious experiences.
Drawing on his book, Encountering Mystery (2022), they dig into events such as mystical encounters, responses to prayers, out-of-body & near-death experiences, and visions of angels and dead loved ones.
Along the way, they also discuss David Hume, William James, and George Harrison, current research into psychedelics, Jesus Christ's post-mortem appearances, and the emerging study of supernatural phenomenon.
Please like, subscribe, share, and enjoy!
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In 2025, while the LA fires smouldered, David Lynch died. Countless people mourned a director who only made just ten movies and one TV series. Why?
Because, says @JamesPoulos, his filmmaking offered a spiritual perspective for religious skeptics:
"It’s very American to want to ee what’s inside without getting any abyss on you. Instead, David Lynch showed that if you want to see, but not be touched by, the dark side, then you are spiritually kidding yourself."
But could his ethos lead to a religious orientation? Listen to the full interview to find out.
Because, says @JamesPoulos, his filmmaking offered a spiritual perspective for religious skeptics:
"It’s very American to want to ee what’s inside without getting any abyss on you. Instead, David Lynch showed that if you want to see, but not be touched by, the dark side, then you are spiritually kidding yourself."
But could his ethos lead to a religious orientation? Listen to the full interview to find out.
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Years ago a Marylin Manson music video showed riot cops dressed in pink & dancing in a big circle.
It inspired the writer @JamesPoulos to posit a theory about the post-1990s American political regime which he dubbed, "The Pink Police State."
Do we still live under one? How does? Listen to his interview on Madison's Notes with host @RyanShinkel to find out:
It inspired the writer @JamesPoulos to posit a theory about the post-1990s American political regime which he dubbed, "The Pink Police State."
Do we still live under one? How does? Listen to his interview on Madison's Notes with host @RyanShinkel to find out:
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Traveling to sustaining a human presence on the Moon is far easier than doing so on Mars. Yet for all that, could colonies on red planet be long-term safer for humankind than on the lunar surface?
@jamespoulos thinks so. Listen to his Madison's Notes interview to find out how.
@jamespoulos thinks so. Listen to his Madison's Notes interview to find out how.
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Our Visiting and Postdoctoral Fellows had Tuesday Coffee this morning.
They discussed @GregoryConti19's @Compact essay, "The AI Apocalypse Is Already Here," which made for a rich and wide-ranging talk.
Please share and comment below.
They discussed @GregoryConti19's @Compact essay, "The AI Apocalypse Is Already Here," which made for a rich and wide-ranging talk.
Please share and comment below.
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Elites are now racing to control new technology. But for whoever emerges victorious, who is ruling them? The quest to rule technology, says @jamespoulos, leads to the question: "what is self-mastery?"
"The minute you master yourself, you start asking if it’s really you that’s e asks. "How do you find a kind of mastery that preserves the self without becoming a snake eating its own tail?"
Listen to his Madison's Notes interview with host @RyanShinkel to find out:
"The minute you master yourself, you start asking if it’s really you that’s e asks. "How do you find a kind of mastery that preserves the self without becoming a snake eating its own tail?"
Listen to his Madison's Notes interview with host @RyanShinkel to find out:
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Four big camps are fighting to control digital technology and American politics, says philosopher @JamesPoulos:
• Vitalists who want to optimize the human body in reaction to technology like AI outperforming humans.
• Rationalists who want to supervise and slow things like oper safety regulations.
• Post-rationalists who want to weaponize AI to implement a final purification of the social order.
• Nihilists who believe AI will replace humanity, which is a good or bad thing depending on whom you ask.
All these camps and cults are seeking mastery, but, says Poulos, what is mastery? How should we think about it?
Listen to Madison's Notes with host @RyanShinkel to find out.
• Vitalists who want to optimize the human body in reaction to technology like AI outperforming humans.
• Rationalists who want to supervise and slow things like oper safety regulations.
• Post-rationalists who want to weaponize AI to implement a final purification of the social order.
• Nihilists who believe AI will replace humanity, which is a good or bad thing depending on whom you ask.
All these camps and cults are seeking mastery, but, says Poulos, what is mastery? How should we think about it?
Listen to Madison's Notes with host @RyanShinkel to find out.
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An American ship captain once bragged to Alexis de Tocqueville not only about how fast he could travel to Asia and back, but also how quickly he replaced his current ship with a better model.
This story inspired Tocqueville to depict Americans' love of technology and the pride es his analysis have any lessons for how we should deal with technology today?
Listen to Madison's Notes with guest @JamesPoulos to find out:
This story inspired Tocqueville to depict Americans' love of technology and the pride es his analysis have any lessons for how we should deal with technology today?
Listen to Madison's Notes with guest @JamesPoulos to find out:
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Digital technology has overthrown the dream of a politically united and economically integrated world.
In reaction, civilizational states are on the rise in Russia, China, Turkey, and India.
How should the U.S. respond with our own constitutional traditions?
Listen to est @jamespoulos and host @RyanShinkel to find out.
In reaction, civilizational states are on the rise in Russia, China, Turkey, and India.
How should the U.S. respond with our own constitutional traditions?
Listen to est @jamespoulos and host @RyanShinkel to find out.
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What is the digital catastrophe?
On Madison's Notes, author @JamesPoulos explains why all of our elite political expectations were overturned by the modern technology designed to fulfill them.
What are our ruling expectations now? Listen to his interview with host @RyanShinkel to find out:
On Madison's Notes, author @JamesPoulos explains why all of our elite political expectations were overturned by the modern technology designed to fulfill them.
What are our ruling expectations now? Listen to his interview with host @RyanShinkel to find out:
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Congratulations to Vincent Phillip Muñoz (@VPhillipMunoz) for receiving one of the 2026 Teaching Excellence Awards from the Jack Miller Center (@JackMillerCtr).
As the Senior Scholar Winner, Phillip Muñoz is the Tocqueville Professor of Political Science and Concurrent Professor d founded the University's Center for Citizenship & Constitutional Government (@NDConStudies).
He was also a 2008-2009 Visiting Fellow with the James Madison Program and is a cherished member of the James Madison Society. Well done, Professor!
Please like, comment, and share with your friends.
As the Senior Scholar Winner, Phillip Muñoz is the Tocqueville Professor of Political Science and Concurrent Professor d founded the University's Center for Citizenship & Constitutional Government (@NDConStudies).
He was also a 2008-2009 Visiting Fellow with the James Madison Program and is a cherished member of the James Madison Society. Well done, Professor!
Please like, comment, and share with your friends.
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The transcript for the episode, "How to Stay Human Forever," with guest @jamespoulos and host @RyanShinkel is now available on Madison's Footnotes.
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As the first in our Spotlight Series highlighting our current Visiting and Postdoc Fellows, this week we introduce you to Reece Edmends, a 2026-27 Postdoctoral Research Associate.
Reece explored Roman forts in England with his family as a kid, and his passion for ancient history research in the politics and philosophy of ancient Rome.
He is currently working on a monograph, "Augustan Liberty," exploring the meaning of 'liberation' during the reign of the emperor Augustus. Alongside that, he is studying how Cicero's natural-law republicanism was informed by the late Republic, and how the idea of sovereignty sprang up within medieval jurisprudence.
After receiving his PhD in Classics at Princeton in 2026, Reece then served as a postdoc and lecturer in the Princeton Classics Department. On the personal side, he is soon to get married to his fiancée Claire, and aspires to take up golf.
Reece explored Roman forts in England with his family as a kid, and his passion for ancient history research in the politics and philosophy of ancient Rome.
He is currently working on a monograph, "Augustan Liberty," exploring the meaning of 'liberation' during the reign of the emperor Augustus. Alongside that, he is studying how Cicero's natural-law republicanism was informed by the late Republic, and how the idea of sovereignty sprang up within medieval jurisprudence.
After receiving his PhD in Classics at Princeton in 2026, Reece then served as a postdoc and lecturer in the Princeton Classics Department. On the personal side, he is soon to get married to his fiancée Claire, and aspires to take up golf.
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Check out the latest Madison's Notes conversation with host @RyanShinkel interviewing the author, philosopher, and magazine editor @jamespoulos on "How to Stay Human Forever."
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Madison's Notes has a new episode on "How To Stay Human Forever."
With every new digital technology rolled out, many Americans face a greater sense of impending doom. But what if it has already happened?
To talk about that digital catastrophe and America's religious and E7 host @RyanShinkel interviews the philosopher, author, and @frontier_mag_ editorial director @JamesPoulos.
They discuss McLuhan & Baudrillard, Lincoln, civilizational states, crypto, AI, & digital sovereignty, effective altruists vs. vitalists vs. gnostics vs. post-humanists, the Pink Police State, Mars colonies, and David Lynch.
Link is below. Please share and enjoy.
With every new digital technology rolled out, many Americans face a greater sense of impending doom. But what if it has already happened?
To talk about that digital catastrophe and America's religious and E7 host @RyanShinkel interviews the philosopher, author, and @frontier_mag_ editorial director @JamesPoulos.
They discuss McLuhan & Baudrillard, Lincoln, civilizational states, crypto, AI, & digital sovereignty, effective altruists vs. vitalists vs. gnostics vs. post-humanists, the Pink Police State, Mars colonies, and David Lynch.
Link is below. Please share and enjoy.
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A driver's license often requires an eye exam. But should citizenship in a republic also require an "eyeball test"?
@Princeton political philosopher Philip Pettit thinks so, but it's not what you might think.
Freedom, he says, means non-domination, that anyone can look anyone fear or deference. But what happens when we don't look other in the eye because our eyes are glued to our phones?
Could we still be called free? Listen to Pettit's full interview on Madison's Notes to find out: apple.co/4ye1QBt
@Princeton political philosopher Philip Pettit thinks so, but it's not what you might think.
Freedom, he says, means non-domination, that anyone can look anyone fear or deference. But what happens when we don't look other in the eye because our eyes are glued to our phones?
Could we still be called free? Listen to Pettit's full interview on Madison's Notes to find out: apple.co/4ye1QBt
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Get ready for a new episode of Madison's Notes!
This week, host @RyanShinkel and author @jamespoulos will discuss the crisis of modern digital technology.
It will drop on Wednesday. Stay tuned!
This week, host @RyanShinkel and author @jamespoulos will discuss the crisis of modern digital technology.
It will drop on Wednesday. Stay tuned!
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Did the philosophers Benjamin Constant and Isaiah Berlin mislead generations of scholars?
In 1819, Constant argued that ancient peoples thought liberty meant an active participation in the common good with the individual's rights as an afterthought.
Then in 1958, Berlin said rsions of liberty, one positive and another negative, were distinct and irreconcilable.
Since then, intellectual history divides freedom into these two parallel camps: ancient and positive vs. modern and negative. But @Princeton philosopher Philip Pettit says they have it all wrong.
To find out why, listen to his interview on Madison's Notes with host @RyanShinkel: apple.co/4ye1QBt
In 1819, Constant argued that ancient peoples thought liberty meant an active participation in the common good with the individual's rights as an afterthought.
Then in 1958, Berlin said rsions of liberty, one positive and another negative, were distinct and irreconcilable.
Since then, intellectual history divides freedom into these two parallel camps: ancient and positive vs. modern and negative. But @Princeton philosopher Philip Pettit says they have it all wrong.
To find out why, listen to his interview on Madison's Notes with host @RyanShinkel: apple.co/4ye1QBt
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Definitions of political freedom often have big consequences.
In the American Revolution, the British side defined freedom as non-interference. If the colonists were left alone, they were free, though under imperial control.
But the revolutionaries said freedom was they were under the whims of Parliament and Crown, in principle they could not be free.
On Madison's Notes this week, @Princeton political philosopher Philip Pettit defended the American definition, but what were his reasons? Listen below to find out.
In the American Revolution, the British side defined freedom as non-interference. If the colonists were left alone, they were free, though under imperial control.
But the revolutionaries said freedom was they were under the whims of Parliament and Crown, in principle they could not be free.
On Madison's Notes this week, @Princeton political philosopher Philip Pettit defended the American definition, but what were his reasons? Listen below to find out.
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The transcript for "The Nature of Freedom," a conversation with @Princeton Professor Philip Pettit and host @RyanShinkel, is now available on Madison's Footnotes.
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Madison's Notes has a new episode on "The Nature of Freedom."
While philosophers often define freedom into rival conceptions—ancient vs. modern, positive vs. negative, freedom from something vs. for something—what if these dichotomies were false?
To settle this issue, in S6, l interviews Philip Pettit, a @Princeton professor, political philosopher, and author of books like Republicanism (1997) and The State (2023), to discuss his theory of freedom as non-domination within the republican tradition.
Along the way, they talk about Henrik Ibsen's Doll House, Suetonius, Machiavelli, Bentham, what Benjamin Constant and Isaiah Berlin got wrong, Quentin Skinner's intellectual history, plus the relationships between freedom and technology, the love of honor and citizenship, and political liberty with its other forms.
Please share and enjoy.
While philosophers often define freedom into rival conceptions—ancient vs. modern, positive vs. negative, freedom from something vs. for something—what if these dichotomies were false?
To settle this issue, in S6, l interviews Philip Pettit, a @Princeton professor, political philosopher, and author of books like Republicanism (1997) and The State (2023), to discuss his theory of freedom as non-domination within the republican tradition.
Along the way, they talk about Henrik Ibsen's Doll House, Suetonius, Machiavelli, Bentham, what Benjamin Constant and Isaiah Berlin got wrong, Quentin Skinner's intellectual history, plus the relationships between freedom and technology, the love of honor and citizenship, and political liberty with its other forms.
Please share and enjoy.
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“Our relationship to the tool," says Matthew Gasda, "depends on whether our vision of the task at hand is extractive or sacred.
"When a task is sacred, the tool is a bridge, a means of extending ourselves into that sacred object or event. It allows us to get out of ourselves, d away from the narcissistic impulse."
For his full Madison's Notes interview, see here: apple.co/4yJk9OI
"When a task is sacred, the tool is a bridge, a means of extending ourselves into that sacred object or event. It allows us to get out of ourselves, d away from the narcissistic impulse."
For his full Madison's Notes interview, see here: apple.co/4yJk9OI
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The creative arts are being overrun by digital slop. But if you want to save art, what should you do?
Fund it, says playwright Matthew Gasda (@FOMO_sacer).
Right now, unlike older industrial barons from ages past who supported cultural and civic institutions, elite patronage low.
What should they be funding to spark real cultural renewal? Listen to Gasda's Madison's Notes interview with host @RyanShinkel to find out: apple.co/4yJk9OI
Fund it, says playwright Matthew Gasda (@FOMO_sacer).
Right now, unlike older industrial barons from ages past who supported cultural and civic institutions, elite patronage low.
What should they be funding to spark real cultural renewal? Listen to Gasda's Madison's Notes interview with host @RyanShinkel to find out: apple.co/4yJk9OI
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The theologian and anarchist Ivan Illich had a simple test for new technology: does make us weaker, or does it increase conviviality?
Does a new tool make us more dependent on them, or is community stronger and collective joyfulness more greatly felt in our being together?
For o social media and AI, listen to Madison's Notes with guest Matthew Gasda (@FOMO_sacer) and host @RyanShinkel: apple.co/4yJk9OI
Does a new tool make us more dependent on them, or is community stronger and collective joyfulness more greatly felt in our being together?
For o social media and AI, listen to Madison's Notes with guest Matthew Gasda (@FOMO_sacer) and host @RyanShinkel: apple.co/4yJk9OI
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When bots rule the internet and physical space is full of distractions, almost no places still have normal analog life. Instead, they need to be built from scratch.
What about secular monasteries—cultural places where artists and pilgrims can go for contemplation and silence, thing about monasteries is, as Alasdair MacIntyre noted, served a local community as the center of its economic and religious life.
Could such centers succeed without an economic purpose and a religious vision? To find out, listen to Madison's Notes with guest Matthew Gasda and host @RyanShinkel: apple.co/4yJk9OI
What about secular monasteries—cultural places where artists and pilgrims can go for contemplation and silence, thing about monasteries is, as Alasdair MacIntyre noted, served a local community as the center of its economic and religious life.
Could such centers succeed without an economic purpose and a religious vision? To find out, listen to Madison's Notes with guest Matthew Gasda and host @RyanShinkel: apple.co/4yJk9OI
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Did the literary critic Harold Bloom solve the problem of writing and AI?
All writing, he said, is reckoning with precursors. As new poets agonize over transcending past great works, they actually misunderstand their predecessors. Instead, they create new works based on mistaken le can look at AI's output and attribute meaning that isn't there, but can still be useful, or so says author Matthew Gasda on Madison's Notes.
For the full interview, see here: apple.co/4yJk9OI
All writing, he said, is reckoning with precursors. As new poets agonize over transcending past great works, they actually misunderstand their predecessors. Instead, they create new works based on mistaken le can look at AI's output and attribute meaning that isn't there, but can still be useful, or so says author Matthew Gasda on Madison's Notes.
For the full interview, see here: apple.co/4yJk9OI
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Humans are always in the thrall of technology.
Critics like Heidegger valued the per-industrial farmer, but even farmers use tools that were new inventions at one point.
But not all inventions are the same. With digital technology, we're at risk of forgetting what life was like we're in danger of idolatry.
Indeed, some people in Silicon Valley believe they are building a new being to replace humanity. How should artists respond to this?
Listen to Madison's Notes with writer Matthew Gasda and host @RyanShinkel to find out: apple.co/4yJk9OI
Critics like Heidegger valued the per-industrial farmer, but even farmers use tools that were new inventions at one point.
But not all inventions are the same. With digital technology, we're at risk of forgetting what life was like we're in danger of idolatry.
Indeed, some people in Silicon Valley believe they are building a new being to replace humanity. How should artists respond to this?
Listen to Madison's Notes with writer Matthew Gasda and host @RyanShinkel to find out: apple.co/4yJk9OI
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Chess players and sports athletes have long used computers to improve their own performance. How is AI changing that?
Imagine a quarterback like Tom Brady using live simulations to not only train, but to strategize during the game.
Is this a helpful way to think about AI and other instead of just creating more slop?
To find out, listen to Madison's Notes with writer Matthew Gasda (@FOMO_sacer) and host @RyanShinkel: apple.co/4yJk9OI
Imagine a quarterback like Tom Brady using live simulations to not only train, but to strategize during the game.
Is this a helpful way to think about AI and other instead of just creating more slop?
To find out, listen to Madison's Notes with writer Matthew Gasda (@FOMO_sacer) and host @RyanShinkel: apple.co/4yJk9OI
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Authors often grow stale after years of writing: playwrights, columnists, and bloggers.
How AI can use their own work as formulas to produce something that reads like their most routine work.
But is there an opportunity here? Does this require writers and other artists to step Matthew Gasda (@FOMO_sacer) thinks so. For his full Madison's Notes interview with host @RyanShinkel, see here: apple.co/4yJk9OI
How AI can use their own work as formulas to produce something that reads like their most routine work.
But is there an opportunity here? Does this require writers and other artists to step Matthew Gasda (@FOMO_sacer) thinks so. For his full Madison's Notes interview with host @RyanShinkel, see here: apple.co/4yJk9OI
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Jorge-Luis Borges' stories were often written in the 1930s-40s, yet they foreshadow modern technology.
In Borges' "Pierre Menard, the Author of the Quixote," an eccentric Frenchman lives like Quixote for years, and before dying, writes some pages exactly like Cervantes' text. mulation of every scenario that generates a text which, depending on the author as machine or human, creates opposite meanings.
Using this thought experiment, when AI can replicate human text, how should we interpret this?
To find out, listen to Madison's Notes with author Matthew Gasda (@FOMO_sacer) and host @RyanShinkel: apple.co/4yJk9OI
In Borges' "Pierre Menard, the Author of the Quixote," an eccentric Frenchman lives like Quixote for years, and before dying, writes some pages exactly like Cervantes' text. mulation of every scenario that generates a text which, depending on the author as machine or human, creates opposite meanings.
Using this thought experiment, when AI can replicate human text, how should we interpret this?
To find out, listen to Madison's Notes with author Matthew Gasda (@FOMO_sacer) and host @RyanShinkel: apple.co/4yJk9OI
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AI produces words, just as humans do. But while humans are conscious, that doesn't mean AI is too.
So what is consciousness, and how does it relate to language?
For a discussion on these questions and more, listen to Madison's Notes with host @RyanShinkel and the playwright cer): apple.co/4yJk9OI
So what is consciousness, and how does it relate to language?
For a discussion on these questions and more, listen to Madison's Notes with host @RyanShinkel and the playwright cer): apple.co/4yJk9OI
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AI has destroyed the take-home essay, but it was a long time coming.
Even before that, modern education used students like bots who, trained on information, churned out results.
So how can teachers recover liberal learning and have their students take pride in their own work?
uthor Matthew Gasda (@FOMO_sacer), that they have souls. But what does that entail?
To find out, listen to Gasda on Madison's Notes with host @RyanShinkel: apple.co/4yJk9OI
Even before that, modern education used students like bots who, trained on information, churned out results.
So how can teachers recover liberal learning and have their students take pride in their own work?
uthor Matthew Gasda (@FOMO_sacer), that they have souls. But what does that entail?
To find out, listen to Gasda on Madison's Notes with host @RyanShinkel: apple.co/4yJk9OI
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How does technology change language?
In Frankenstein, Mary Shelley drew from the industrial revolution and called humans biological machines.
Later, Franz Kafka wrote of people stuck in a bureaucracy as caught in a labyrinth or a castle. And David Foster Wallace described ching pill-poppers.
Now, AI is changing language. Today, we are all LLMs. But how should we describe humans versus machines?
To find out, listen to Madison's Notes with guest Matthew Gasda (@FOMO_sacer) and host @RyanShinkel:
In Frankenstein, Mary Shelley drew from the industrial revolution and called humans biological machines.
Later, Franz Kafka wrote of people stuck in a bureaucracy as caught in a labyrinth or a castle. And David Foster Wallace described ching pill-poppers.
Now, AI is changing language. Today, we are all LLMs. But how should we describe humans versus machines?
To find out, listen to Madison's Notes with guest Matthew Gasda (@FOMO_sacer) and host @RyanShinkel:
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After reading Anna Karenina, author Matthew Gasda (@FOMO_sacer) woke up one night with a Karenina-like heroine in his mind.
Inspired by Tolstoy, he began writing his novel, The Sleepers. That is how dead authors inspire living ones.
But can AI replicate that process? How does ts training data differ from actual human writing?
Listen to Gasda's interview with Madison's Notes host @RyanShinkel to learn more: apple.co/4yJk9OI
Inspired by Tolstoy, he began writing his novel, The Sleepers. That is how dead authors inspire living ones.
But can AI replicate that process? How does ts training data differ from actual human writing?
Listen to Gasda's interview with Madison's Notes host @RyanShinkel to learn more: apple.co/4yJk9OI
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Before AI, American culture had already grown stale, formulaic, and algorithmic.
The mainstream became what critic Matthew Gasda (@FOMO_sacer) calls the "same-stream," it predigests and reduces all complexities of art before anyone can encounter them.
AI is only accelerating done about it?
Listen to Gasda's Madison's Notes interview with host @RyanShinkel to find out: apple.co/4yJk9OI
The mainstream became what critic Matthew Gasda (@FOMO_sacer) calls the "same-stream," it predigests and reduces all complexities of art before anyone can encounter them.
AI is only accelerating done about it?
Listen to Gasda's Madison's Notes interview with host @RyanShinkel to find out: apple.co/4yJk9OI
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AI is affecting all kinds of crazy things in the arts.
One playwright trained an LLM based on his own writing, and then impersonated one for his latest novel.
In it, after the protagonist sells his life's work to AI, the bot turns out to be more honest as a machine than he ever was it like for Matthew Gasda (@FOMO_sacer) to write all that? Listen to his Madison's Notes interview with host @RyanShinkel to find out: apple.co/4yJk9OI
One playwright trained an LLM based on his own writing, and then impersonated one for his latest novel.
In it, after the protagonist sells his life's work to AI, the bot turns out to be more honest as a machine than he ever was it like for Matthew Gasda (@FOMO_sacer) to write all that? Listen to his Madison's Notes interview with host @RyanShinkel to find out: apple.co/4yJk9OI
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The transcript for "Writing Against the Machine" with author Matthew Gasda (@FOMO_sacer) and host @RyanShinkel is now available on Madison's Footnotes: substack.com/@madisonsnotes…
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Is AI the death knell to art?
Some say it's replaced old forms of creativity, others say to avoid at all costs. But what if there's a third way?
AI, says playwright Matthew Gasda (@FOMO_sacer), is a competitor and sparring partner. If it easily replicates our tropes, invent iently copies us, tell fresher stories.
What should those be? Listen to Gasda's full Madison's Notes interview with host @RyanShinkel to find out: apple.co/4yJk9OI
Some say it's replaced old forms of creativity, others say to avoid at all costs. But what if there's a third way?
AI, says playwright Matthew Gasda (@FOMO_sacer), is a competitor and sparring partner. If it easily replicates our tropes, invent iently copies us, tell fresher stories.
What should those be? Listen to Gasda's full Madison's Notes interview with host @RyanShinkel to find out: apple.co/4yJk9OI
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Madison's Notes has a new episode: "Writing Against the Machine."
When AI can generate automatically what takes artists hours, days, even years to produce, one asks: what is the good of human creation?
To answer that question, in Season 6, Episode 5, host @RyanShinkel playwright, essayist, and novelist Matthew Gasda (@FOMO_sacer) to talk about the future of the creative arts.
They discuss how Gasda trained an AI on his plays and impersonated one for his new novel, plus Borges' many paradoxes, Harold Bloom's Anxiety of Influence, DF Wallace & Kafka, Tolstoy's Confession, culture monasteries, and seeing AI as a competitor to defeat.
Please enjoy: apple.co/4yJk9OI
When AI can generate automatically what takes artists hours, days, even years to produce, one asks: what is the good of human creation?
To answer that question, in Season 6, Episode 5, host @RyanShinkel playwright, essayist, and novelist Matthew Gasda (@FOMO_sacer) to talk about the future of the creative arts.
They discuss how Gasda trained an AI on his plays and impersonated one for his new novel, plus Borges' many paradoxes, Harold Bloom's Anxiety of Influence, DF Wallace & Kafka, Tolstoy's Confession, culture monasteries, and seeing AI as a competitor to defeat.
Please enjoy: apple.co/4yJk9OI
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The James Madison Program is now accepting applications for our 2027-2028 class of visiting and postdoctoral fellows.
Questions about the fellowships or the James Madison Program may be directed to Thomas Bell (Thomas.Bell@Princeton.edu).
For Visiting Fellows: jmp.princeton.edu/fellowships/vi…
For Postdoctoral Fellows: jmp.princeton.edu/fellowships/po…
Questions about the fellowships or the James Madison Program may be directed to Thomas Bell (Thomas.Bell@Princeton.edu).
For Visiting Fellows: jmp.princeton.edu/fellowships/vi…
For Postdoctoral Fellows: jmp.princeton.edu/fellowships/po…
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TOMORROW:
Join us for a lecture by Akhil Reed Amar, the Sterling Professor of Law and Political Science at Yale University, for the @Princeton University Constitution Day Lecture titled, "America at 250: From “Created Equal” to Birthright Citizenship."
Hosted by Princeton res and co-sponsored by the James Madison Program, this event will be held on Wednesday, September 16 at 5:00-6:30 pm in McCosh Hall, Room 50.
For more details, please see here: bit.ly/4iXBM8A
Join us for a lecture by Akhil Reed Amar, the Sterling Professor of Law and Political Science at Yale University, for the @Princeton University Constitution Day Lecture titled, "America at 250: From “Created Equal” to Birthright Citizenship."
Hosted by Princeton res and co-sponsored by the James Madison Program, this event will be held on Wednesday, September 16 at 5:00-6:30 pm in McCosh Hall, Room 50.
For more details, please see here: bit.ly/4iXBM8A
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IN TWO DAYS:
Join us for a lecture by Akhil Reed Amar, the Sterling Professor of Law and Political Science at Yale University, for the @Princeton University Constitution Day Lecture titled, "America at 250: From “Created Equal” to Birthright Citizenship."
Hosted by Princeton res and co-sponsored by the James Madison Program, this event will be held on Wednesday, September 16 at 5:00-6:30 pm in McCosh Hall, Room 50.
For more details, please see here: bit.ly/4iXBM8A
Join us for a lecture by Akhil Reed Amar, the Sterling Professor of Law and Political Science at Yale University, for the @Princeton University Constitution Day Lecture titled, "America at 250: From “Created Equal” to Birthright Citizenship."
Hosted by Princeton res and co-sponsored by the James Madison Program, this event will be held on Wednesday, September 16 at 5:00-6:30 pm in McCosh Hall, Room 50.
For more details, please see here: bit.ly/4iXBM8A
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Twenty five years since 9/11, we remember the victims and salute the heroes of that day. At the James Madison Program, we say: Never Forget.
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Mark Twain's novels show us the possibility of virtue as well as the irony of our absurd attempts to practice it—or so says @IvanKenneally.
"There is great solidarity," he writes, "found both in the acknowledgment that nobility is real and that we are all groping in the dark to ow did Twain achieve this paradox? Listen to Kenneally's Madison's Notes interview with host @RyanShinkel to find out: apple.co/3SOdfrU
"There is great solidarity," he writes, "found both in the acknowledgment that nobility is real and that we are all groping in the dark to ow did Twain achieve this paradox? Listen to Kenneally's Madison's Notes interview with host @RyanShinkel to find out: apple.co/3SOdfrU
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Would building an AI Mark Twain to ask it questions be useful or unnecessary?
Actually, says @IvanKenneally, it'd be even worse: a defacement.
Rather, we have everything we need in Twain's books: "the books are themselves self-contained wholes and complete organisms" that help ore clearly.
How so? Besides reading Twain for yourself, listen to Madison's Notes with Kenneally and host @RyanShinkel to find out: apple.co/3SOdfrU
Actually, says @IvanKenneally, it'd be even worse: a defacement.
Rather, we have everything we need in Twain's books: "the books are themselves self-contained wholes and complete organisms" that help ore clearly.
How so? Besides reading Twain for yourself, listen to Madison's Notes with Kenneally and host @RyanShinkel to find out: apple.co/3SOdfrU
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NEXT WEEK:
Join us for a lecture by Akhil Reed Amar, the Sterling Professor of Law and Political Science at Yale University, for the @Princeton University Constitution Day Lecture titled, "America at 250: From “Created Equal” to Birthright Citizenship."
Hosted by Princeton res and co-sponsored by the James Madison Program, this event will be held on Wednesday, September 16 at 5:00-6:30 pm in McCosh Hall, Room 50.
For more details, please see here: bit.ly/4iXBM8A
Join us for a lecture by Akhil Reed Amar, the Sterling Professor of Law and Political Science at Yale University, for the @Princeton University Constitution Day Lecture titled, "America at 250: From “Created Equal” to Birthright Citizenship."
Hosted by Princeton res and co-sponsored by the James Madison Program, this event will be held on Wednesday, September 16 at 5:00-6:30 pm in McCosh Hall, Room 50.
For more details, please see here: bit.ly/4iXBM8A
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"Comedy," wrote Ralph Waldo Ellison, "is a disguised form of philosophical instruction."
Here Ellison was discussing Mark Twain's power to teach through classical irony and comic-tragic absurdity.
But have we lost our sense of irony and absurdity? And what can comedians and l learn from Mark Twain?
Listen to Madison's Notes with scholar @IvanKenneally and host @RyanShinkel to find out: apple.co/3SOdfrU
Here Ellison was discussing Mark Twain's power to teach through classical irony and comic-tragic absurdity.
But have we lost our sense of irony and absurdity? And what can comedians and l learn from Mark Twain?
Listen to Madison's Notes with scholar @IvanKenneally and host @RyanShinkel to find out: apple.co/3SOdfrU
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Can virtue be defined? Mark Twain answered no.
In Huckleberry Finn, his character Jim is noble, but here Twain thought it can be shown, not told.
"Twain’s looking for a phenomenology of nobility," says @IvanKenneally, and "can represent it poetically, but it’s never going to that so? Listen to Kenneally's full Madison's Notes interview with host @RyanShinkel to find out: apple.co/3SOdfrU
In Huckleberry Finn, his character Jim is noble, but here Twain thought it can be shown, not told.
"Twain’s looking for a phenomenology of nobility," says @IvanKenneally, and "can represent it poetically, but it’s never going to that so? Listen to Kenneally's full Madison's Notes interview with host @RyanShinkel to find out: apple.co/3SOdfrU
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In Huckleberry Finn, Mark Twain wrote the most iconic con men in all of literature: The Duke and the Dauphin.
Together they impersonate lost European royals, give lectures, lead revivals, collect funds, and then quickly leave town. But why do their marks believe them so easily? ain, is that Americans love aristocracy, and lacking one, try to recreate it on democratic terms. So what problems does this obsession cause?
Listen to Madison's Notes with guest @IvanKenneally and host @RyanShinkel to find out: apple.co/3SOdfrU
Together they impersonate lost European royals, give lectures, lead revivals, collect funds, and then quickly leave town. But why do their marks believe them so easily? ain, is that Americans love aristocracy, and lacking one, try to recreate it on democratic terms. So what problems does this obsession cause?
Listen to Madison's Notes with guest @IvanKenneally and host @RyanShinkel to find out: apple.co/3SOdfrU
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Is all knowledge explicit?
In Life on the Mississippi, Mark Twain shows that as he became a steamboat pilot, knowing all the technical skills that could be written down was not enough.
A pilot had to develop an intuition about how the Mississippi would keep changing at any believed moral knowledge worked the same way: not everything was explicit, but tacit. How so?
Listen to Madison's Notes with guest @IvanKenneally and host @RyanShinkel to find out: apple.co/3SOdfrU
In Life on the Mississippi, Mark Twain shows that as he became a steamboat pilot, knowing all the technical skills that could be written down was not enough.
A pilot had to develop an intuition about how the Mississippi would keep changing at any believed moral knowledge worked the same way: not everything was explicit, but tacit. How so?
Listen to Madison's Notes with guest @IvanKenneally and host @RyanShinkel to find out: apple.co/3SOdfrU
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What is human nature beyond social and political convention?
In his novels, Mark Twain tried to answer just that by depicting American society akin to Plato's Cave: we know that it shapes us, but on our own cannot escape its enclosure.
But could Twain's novels help us do that? otes with writer @IvanKenneally and host @RyanShinkel to find out: apple.co/3SOdfrU
In his novels, Mark Twain tried to answer just that by depicting American society akin to Plato's Cave: we know that it shapes us, but on our own cannot escape its enclosure.
But could Twain's novels help us do that? otes with writer @IvanKenneally and host @RyanShinkel to find out: apple.co/3SOdfrU
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Mark Twain thought the United States could only handle a few philosophers, but always needed politicians.
For instance, Huck Finn is a curious wanderer who adopts various moral postures and struggles with his own conscience.
Whereas Tom Sawyer is a trickster who's always dent and lacks deep interior struggle.
America, in other words, needs a lot more Tom Sawyers than Huck Finns. But what's the right balance?
Listen to the full Madison's Notes episode on Mark Twain's political philosophy with guest @IvanKenneally and host @RyanShinkel to find out: apple.co/3SOdfrU
For instance, Huck Finn is a curious wanderer who adopts various moral postures and struggles with his own conscience.
Whereas Tom Sawyer is a trickster who's always dent and lacks deep interior struggle.
America, in other words, needs a lot more Tom Sawyers than Huck Finns. But what's the right balance?
Listen to the full Madison's Notes episode on Mark Twain's political philosophy with guest @IvanKenneally and host @RyanShinkel to find out: apple.co/3SOdfrU
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Can learning go too far?
Mark Twain believed Americans often read the great books as instruction manuals that confirmed their own homegrown prejudices.
Twain even blamed Sir Walter Scott's medieval romances, for example, for causing the Civil War when the South devoured those heraldic pageantry.
But he believed there were deeper ways of reading the classics. What were they?
Listen to Madison's Notes with guest @IvanKenneally and host @RyanShinkel to find out: apple.co/3SOdfrU
Mark Twain believed Americans often read the great books as instruction manuals that confirmed their own homegrown prejudices.
Twain even blamed Sir Walter Scott's medieval romances, for example, for causing the Civil War when the South devoured those heraldic pageantry.
But he believed there were deeper ways of reading the classics. What were they?
Listen to Madison's Notes with guest @IvanKenneally and host @RyanShinkel to find out: apple.co/3SOdfrU
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Is conscience overrated? Mark Twain thought so!
He viewed it, like Freud's superego, as something easily deformed by social convention.
Tom Sawyer, for instance, only wants his vanity pleased, so his desire for respectability contaminates all his other motives.
How so? Listen otes interview with @IvanKenneally and host @RyanShinkel to find out: apple.co/3SOdfrU
He viewed it, like Freud's superego, as something easily deformed by social convention.
Tom Sawyer, for instance, only wants his vanity pleased, so his desire for respectability contaminates all his other motives.
How so? Listen otes interview with @IvanKenneally and host @RyanShinkel to find out: apple.co/3SOdfrU
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Happy Labor Day from the James Madison Program!
As a long weekend is a great time to catch up on podcasts, check out the latest episode on Madison's Notes, as guest @IvanKenneally discusses Mark Twain with host @RyanShinkel:
apple.co/3SOdfrU
As a long weekend is a great time to catch up on podcasts, check out the latest episode on Madison's Notes, as guest @IvanKenneally discusses Mark Twain with host @RyanShinkel:
apple.co/3SOdfrU
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Mark Twain used Tom Sawyer and Huck Finn to show opposite ways of thinking about morality.
Tom Sawyer is learned and desires respect. He follows conventional thinking and becomes a hypocrite.
Whereas Huck Finn's outcast and illiteracy protected his natural sympathy for fellow double," and assume different moral postures.
Yet Twain said we cannot avoid hypocrisy and need sympathy. What did he think was the right balance?
Listen to Madison's Notes with guest @IvanKenneally talking about Mark Twain's political philosophy to find out: apple.co/3SOdfrU
Tom Sawyer is learned and desires respect. He follows conventional thinking and becomes a hypocrite.
Whereas Huck Finn's outcast and illiteracy protected his natural sympathy for fellow double," and assume different moral postures.
Yet Twain said we cannot avoid hypocrisy and need sympathy. What did he think was the right balance?
Listen to Madison's Notes with guest @IvanKenneally talking about Mark Twain's political philosophy to find out: apple.co/3SOdfrU
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Mark Twain believed Americans were overly sensitive to criticism. So he used humor to diffuse his critiques of our social prejudices.
The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn was a perfect example of this, from his many character's disguises, rouses, and cons to the comic burlesque What was that ending, why did later critics loathe it, and what did they misunderstand?
Listen to Madison's Notes with essayist @IvanKenneally and host @RyanShinkel to find out: apple.co/3SOdfrU
The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn was a perfect example of this, from his many character's disguises, rouses, and cons to the comic burlesque What was that ending, why did later critics loathe it, and what did they misunderstand?
Listen to Madison's Notes with essayist @IvanKenneally and host @RyanShinkel to find out: apple.co/3SOdfrU
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In Mark Twain, Tom Sawyer reads everything: Robin Hood, Arabian Nights, The Man in the Iron Mask & The Count of Monte Cristo.
But he misunderstands each book, using them for lines or games without interiorizing their meaning.
Meanwhile, Tom's illiterate friend, Huck Finn, teach books found in a sinking ship, and even writes his own memoir.
For Mark Twain, their different ways of reading show two opposing forms of democratic education. Which one is better? Which one do we need?
Listen to Madison's Notes with guest @IvanKenneally and host @RyanShinkel to find out: apple.co/3SOdfrU
But he misunderstands each book, using them for lines or games without interiorizing their meaning.
Meanwhile, Tom's illiterate friend, Huck Finn, teach books found in a sinking ship, and even writes his own memoir.
For Mark Twain, their different ways of reading show two opposing forms of democratic education. Which one is better? Which one do we need?
Listen to Madison's Notes with guest @IvanKenneally and host @RyanShinkel to find out: apple.co/3SOdfrU
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Does a real adventure follow a script or is it improvised?
Mark Twain's Tom Sawyer wants adventures, but always determines how they end. Yet Huck Finn, who constantly improvises, goes on odysseys not knowing how they end.
He shows, says @IvanKenneally, "what adventure means, xperiment. Let’s go out into the world and see what we find in serial acts of discovery, which means danger and peril."
For Kenneally's full interview with Madison's Notes host @RyanShinkel, see here: apple.co/3SOdfrU
Mark Twain's Tom Sawyer wants adventures, but always determines how they end. Yet Huck Finn, who constantly improvises, goes on odysseys not knowing how they end.
He shows, says @IvanKenneally, "what adventure means, xperiment. Let’s go out into the world and see what we find in serial acts of discovery, which means danger and peril."
For Kenneally's full interview with Madison's Notes host @RyanShinkel, see here: apple.co/3SOdfrU
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Tom Sawyer is America's premier literary trickster. He's also the most conventional character in all of Mark Twain, says scholar @IvanKenneally:
• Desiring admiration, Tom wants to be an outlaw, but a respectable one.
• He reads vociferously, but uses novels as scripts for Huck Finn impersonates Tom, it was the easiest one he ever tried.
Why does Tom Sawyer lack imagination? Listen to Kenneally's full Madison's Notes interview with host @RyanShinkel to find out: apple.co/3SOdfrU
• Desiring admiration, Tom wants to be an outlaw, but a respectable one.
• He reads vociferously, but uses novels as scripts for Huck Finn impersonates Tom, it was the easiest one he ever tried.
Why does Tom Sawyer lack imagination? Listen to Kenneally's full Madison's Notes interview with host @RyanShinkel to find out: apple.co/3SOdfrU
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Only three heroes exist in all of Mark Twain's many books:
Not Tom Sawyer, nor Huck Finn, but Joan of Arc, Pudd'nhead Wilson, and Jim—who is the noblest character Twain ever wrote.
A slave heading north to work to reclaim his family, Jim knew scripture as well as French, bore ignity, and always helped his friends.
What happened to him in the end? Listen to Madison's Notes with guest @IvanKenneally and host @RyanShinkel to find out: apple.co/3SOdfrU
Not Tom Sawyer, nor Huck Finn, but Joan of Arc, Pudd'nhead Wilson, and Jim—who is the noblest character Twain ever wrote.
A slave heading north to work to reclaim his family, Jim knew scripture as well as French, bore ignity, and always helped his friends.
What happened to him in the end? Listen to Madison's Notes with guest @IvanKenneally and host @RyanShinkel to find out: apple.co/3SOdfrU
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Who is America's Homer? Some say Melville, others Whitman, maybe Hemingway.
Mark Twain long ago gave his own answer: Mark Twain!
He believed, like Homer for Greece, Dante for Italy, and Shakespeare for England, that he was capturing and shaping the American character.
Did he son's Notes with essayist @IvanKenneally and host @RyanShinkel to find out:
Mark Twain long ago gave his own answer: Mark Twain!
He believed, like Homer for Greece, Dante for Italy, and Shakespeare for England, that he was capturing and shaping the American character.
Did he son's Notes with essayist @IvanKenneally and host @RyanShinkel to find out:
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Mark Twain is having a renaissance of recent interest.
In 2024, Percival Everett wrote James, a retelling of The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn, while in 2025 Ron Chernow wrote an 1,100 page biography of the Missouri author.
Yet both misunderstand Twain's ambitions, says IvanKenneally, to describe and form the American character.
Twain was not just a humorist, but a philosopher's in author's garbs. To find out why, listen here: apple.co/3SOdfrU
In 2024, Percival Everett wrote James, a retelling of The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn, while in 2025 Ron Chernow wrote an 1,100 page biography of the Missouri author.
Yet both misunderstand Twain's ambitions, says IvanKenneally, to describe and form the American character.
Twain was not just a humorist, but a philosopher's in author's garbs. To find out why, listen here: apple.co/3SOdfrU
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Mark Twain wrote one of the most greatest friendships in American fiction:
Huck Finn, an illiterate outcast boy escaping an abusive father, and Jim, an enslaved noble soul going north to win his family's freedom.
Together, they sailed up and down the Mississippi River, using nder con men and into misadventures.
How did Twain depict their friendship?
Besides reading his book, listen to Madison's Notes with writer @IvanKenneally and host @RyanShinkel to find out: apple.co/3SOdfrU
Huck Finn, an illiterate outcast boy escaping an abusive father, and Jim, an enslaved noble soul going north to win his family's freedom.
Together, they sailed up and down the Mississippi River, using nder con men and into misadventures.
How did Twain depict their friendship?
Besides reading his book, listen to Madison's Notes with writer @IvanKenneally and host @RyanShinkel to find out: apple.co/3SOdfrU
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The interview transcript with guest @IvanKenneally and host @RyanShinkel on "The Political Philosophy of Mark Twain" is now available on Madison's Footnotes: madisonsfootnotes.substack.com/p/the-politica…
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In The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn, things are never what they seem:
• Tom Sawyer is wily, gets his friends to playact stories, yet he misunderstand everything he reads, from Arabian Nights to Alexandre Dumas.
• Huck Finn disguises himself nine times, always improvises, n just to keep going back to it.
• The escaped slave Jim is actually the smartest guy around. And the con men called the Duke and Dauphin fool townsfolk after townsfolk.
What is Mark Twain doing here? Listen to Madison's Notes with @IvanKenneally to find out: apple.co/3SOdfrU
• Tom Sawyer is wily, gets his friends to playact stories, yet he misunderstand everything he reads, from Arabian Nights to Alexandre Dumas.
• Huck Finn disguises himself nine times, always improvises, n just to keep going back to it.
• The escaped slave Jim is actually the smartest guy around. And the con men called the Duke and Dauphin fool townsfolk after townsfolk.
What is Mark Twain doing here? Listen to Madison's Notes with @IvanKenneally to find out: apple.co/3SOdfrU
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Madison's Notes is back with "The Political Philosophy of Mark Twain."
Many recall the Missouri author created some of America's most iconic characters—Tom Sawyer, Huck Finn, Pudd'nhead Wilson, and Jim—yet few know that Twain was one of our most incisive political thinkers.
So host @RyanShinkel interviews @IvanKenneally, a Twain scholar who wrote for the @hedgehogreview on The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn.
They discuss Huck & Jim's many disguises, Tom's fealty to European escape novels, the con men Duke & Dauphin, technical versus tacit knowledge, Ron Chernow & Percival Everett, the nature of nobility and irony, plus what Twain can teach philosophers & comedians today.
Please enjoy: apple.co/3SOdfrU
Many recall the Missouri author created some of America's most iconic characters—Tom Sawyer, Huck Finn, Pudd'nhead Wilson, and Jim—yet few know that Twain was one of our most incisive political thinkers.
So host @RyanShinkel interviews @IvanKenneally, a Twain scholar who wrote for the @hedgehogreview on The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn.
They discuss Huck & Jim's many disguises, Tom's fealty to European escape novels, the con men Duke & Dauphin, technical versus tacit knowledge, Ron Chernow & Percival Everett, the nature of nobility and irony, plus what Twain can teach philosophers & comedians today.
Please enjoy: apple.co/3SOdfrU
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