Once upon a time in the Middle Ages, in a geographic area comprised of a patchwork collection of hundreds of separate Duchies ruled over by hundreds of Dukes, a loyalty was misplaced. Doesn’t sound like a very inspiring fairy tale, does it? But you must admit that it does sound similar to the current landscape of social media. There are hundreds of different platforms within larger platforms for social, news and entertainment media, each with their own “Duke” (or Duchess) demanding trust and loyalty of their followers. Which one do you trust? Are you loyal to any of them? The ladies of the Mosaic Ark discussed how the misplaced trust of the eleventh century’s Hugh IV of Lusignan provided the perfect example of how trust and loyalty have always been a hotly contested issue even as it has always been demanded by people of power and influence. Please enjoy watching our lively discussion, or I’m afraid that Baldric shall have to be very severely beaten! —Streamed May 1, 2024

Agreement between Count William V of Aquitaine and Hugh IV of Lusignan: https://sourcebooks.fordham.edu/source/agreement.asp

“A little learning is a dangerous thing.” Alexander Pope wrote these words in 1711 at the tender age of 22, and thereby created one of the understatements of the millennium. At least that is what the Dragon Common Room discovered as it began writing its first epic poem, Centrism Games. Join the Ladies of the Mosaic Ark as we discuss our admiration for Pope’s skill in writing satire in iambic pentameter, how it inspired us to write Centrism Games in the same style, and how that style of writing had an almost magical ability to assist us in the focus and direction of the story we wrote. —Streamed April 24, 2024

“What is truth?” This question asked of Christ by Pilate 1,991 years ago seems to also be the question of this age. Five generations after women were granted the right to vote, every artistic endeavor (most notably in architecture) has changed for the worse and every institution has been morally compromised, nowhere more starkly than in relationships between men and women. The very foundations of our society both literally and figuratively have been degraded. But are women to blame? Are men to blame? There is confusion among the youngest adults of this fifth generation, and those not despairing are looking for answers in the past. Evita Duffy-Alfonso joins the ladies of the Mosaic Ark to discuss the challenges faced by Gen Z, and the hope that she sees in them. —Streamed April 17, 2024