Join host Johnny Burtka with Fr. Andrew Stephen Damick, Peter Leithart, Hans Boersma, and Zachary Porcu for a deep conversation about re-enchantment in our technological age. This roundtable explores the revival of liturgical Christianity, the spiritual dimensions of technology, and what it means to live in an enchanted world.

TIMESTAMPS:
0:00 - What is enchantment?
7:22 - Tolkien, WWI, and "death and the machine"
23:33 - How did materialism become dominant?
36:14 - Constantine and converting pagan culture
51:37 - Technology as spiritual warfare
1:11:00 - Asceticism and spiritual formation
1:25:25 - The Incarnation and cosmic transformation
1:29:27 - What do we do? Practical steps forward

Featured Topics: Tolkien, liturgy, sacramental ontology, the Reformation, technology and Babel, saints' lives, the Jesus prayer, AI and attention, neo-paganism

Recorded live at ISI's Christmas Open House on December 15, 2025, at Butterworth's in Washington, DC.

A production of the Intercollegiate Studies Institute | isi.org

ProjectCosmos #Enchantment #Christianity #Theology #Tolkien #Technology

In this episode of Project Cosmos, Johnny Burtka brings together Dr. Larry Arnn, Pastor Corey Brooks, Jacob Imam, Jeremy Tate, and Dr. Joshua Mitchell for a powerful roundtable discussion on the future of American education as we approach the nation's 250th birthday.

📌 Project Cosmos is ISI's flagship series—intimate, living-room-style conversations where today's leading thinkers tackle the deepest political and cultural challenges facing America.

Guests:
Dr. Larry Arnn – President, Hillsdale College
Pastor Corey Brooks – Founder, Project H.O.O.D. and Leadership Academy (Chicago)
Dr. Jacob Imam – Founder, College of St. Joseph the Worker (Steubenville, OH)
Jeremy Tate – Founder & CEO, Classic Learning Test (CLT)
Dr. Joshua Mitchell – Professor of Political Theory, Georgetown University
Johnny Burtka – President, Intercollegiate Studies Institute (ISI)

⏰ Chapters:
00:00 Introduction & 10-Year Vision for Education
01:08 Pastor Corey Brooks on School Choice
07:18 Jeremy Tate on Classical Learning Test
08:18 Identity Politics & Higher Education
28:50 Inner City Education & the Gospel
1:04:15 The American Canon & Great Books
1:20:00 Marriage, Family & Gender Dynamics
1:40:00 Liberal Arts & Manual Labor
1:47:45 AI, Digital Age & Human Competence

🔔 Subscribe for more episodes of Project Cosmos, where ideas, history, and political strategy meet.

ProjectCosmos #Education #ClassicalEducation #SchoolChoice #HigherEducation #LiberalArts #Faith #Truth #AmericanFamily #JohnnyBurtka #CoreyBrooks #LarryArnn #JacobImam #JeremyTate #JoshuaMitchell #ISI #Hillsdale #Tocqueville

In this episode of Project Cosmos, Spencer Klavan, Rachel Bovard, Michael Toscano, Gladden Pappin, Leah Libresco Sargent, and Johnny Burtka gather for a thought-provoking roundtable on one of the most pressing questions of our era:

👉 How are technology, transhumanism, and AI reshaping the American family and our society’s future?

This wide-ranging conversation explores:

The promise and peril of AI and emerging technologies
Whether technology can strengthen or undermine families and communities
The intersection of faith, ethics, and the digital age
How education and human skills are changing in the face of automation
The global race for technological supremacy and its impact on policy
Family policy, fertility, and the economic challenges of modern life
Building real community and human connection in a tech-driven world

📌 Project Cosmos is ISI’s flagship series—intimate, living-room-style conversations where today’s leading thinkers tackle the deepest political and cultural challenges facing America.

Guests:
Spencer Klavan – author, classicist, and commentator
Rachel Bovard – policy director and writer
Michael Toscano – executive director, The Institute for Family Studies
Gladden Pappin – political scientist and editor
Leah Libresco Sargent – author and speaker
Johnny Burtka – President, Intercollegiate Studies Institute (ISI)

⏰ Chapters:
00:00 Introduction & Framing the Technology Debate
04:35 Technology, AI, and the American Family
14:45 Faith, Ethics, and the Role of Technology
26:40 Education, Human Skills, and AI
44:40 Policy, Innovation, and Global Competition
57:00 Family Policy, Fertility, and Economic Challenges
1:15:00 Building Community & Human Connection
1:54:43 Final Thoughts & Outro

🔔 Subscribe for more episodes of Project Cosmos, where ideas, history, and political strategy meet.

ProjectCosmos #Technology #AI #Transhumanism #AmericanFamily #JohnnyBurtka #SpencerKlavan #RachelBovard #MichaelToscano #GladdenPappin #LeahLibrescoSargent #Faith #Ethics #Policy #Family