The Inaugural Classical Mind Battle of the Books
From The Classical Mind by Jared Henderson & Wesley Walker
March 16, 2026 · 30 min
About this episode
In this episode, hosts Fr. Wesley Walker and Dr. Junius Johnson introduce a competitive book tournament inspired by March Madness, inviting listeners to vote on their favorite classical texts.
Round 1: Voting will be open from Monday (3/16) until Monday (3/23) ***Vote Now!*** Round 2: Voting will be open from Monday (3/23) until Saturday (3/30) Round 3: The first semi-final round will be Monday (3/30) until Wednesday (4/1); the second semi-final round will be Thursday (4/2) until Saturday (4/4) Round 4 (the final): Voting will be open from Monday (4/6) until Monday (4/13) In this special bonus episode, Fr. Wesley Walker and Dr. Junius Johnson pivot from their usual textual analysis to the “Battle of the Books.” Harnessing the competitive energy of March Madness, they set out to seed the last twelve books discussed on the podcast into a tournament bracket, where the ultimate winner will be decided by listener votes. The seeding process is guided by two primary criteria: the quasi-objective historical influence of the text and the quasi-subjective literary or theological quality of the work. The books included in the tournament are: * Lilith by George MacDonald * Billy Budd, Sailor by Herman Melville * Proslogion by Anselm * The Taming of the Shrew by William Shakespeare * Frankenstein by Mary Shelley * The Aeneid by Virgil * Peter Pan by J.M. Barrie * The Federalist…
People in this episode
Host: Fr. Wesley Walker
Guest: Dr. Junius Johnson
Topics covered
- book tournament
- literary analysis
- listener engagement
- March Madness
- classical literature
Keywords
- Battle of the Books
- voting
- classical literature
- March Madness
- tournament
Mentioned in this episode
Books & works: Lilith, Billy Budd, Sailor, Proslogion, The Taming of the Shrew, Frankenstein, The Aeneid, Peter Pan, The Federalist Papers, The Journey of the Mind to God, Love in the Ruins
More episodes of The Classical Mind
- The Importance of Being Earnest with Dr. Grace Hamman · June 9, 2026 · 1h 8m
- Paradiso with Dr. Jonathan Juilfs · May 12, 2026 · 1h 25m
- Purgatorio with Heidi White · April 28, 2026 · 1h 24m
- "The Tapestry": A Conversation about a New CiRCE Language Arts/Grammar Curriculum with Buck Holler · April 1, 2026 · 14 min
- Inferno · March 10, 2026 · 1h 16m
- BONUS EPISODE: An Introduction to The Divine Comedy by Dante Alighieri · February 10, 2026 · 57 min
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