Spring 2026
Game Night: Athens Besieged (special 90-minute event)
Spartans are outside the gates—will you starve or surrender, and how? Get details about the game
Tuesday, Jan. 13, 2026 | 5 p.m. at Smith 5097
Full and Frank Exchange of Views on Free Trade
Does America’s economy need the rest of the world?
Tuesday, Jan. 20, 2026 | 5 p.m. at Smith 5097 | Dr. Jacob Hall, Assistant Professor, Chase Center
All Things Immigration
How should we weigh the costs and benefits of different sorts of immigration?
Tuesday, Jan. 27, 2026 | 5 p.m. at Smith 5097 | Dr. Dan DiMartino, Manhattan Institute
Movie Night: Legally Blonde (96 minutes, plus discussion)
Who belongs in the legal profession?
Tuesday, Feb. 3, 2026 | 5 p.m. at Smith 5097 | Reese Witherspoon takes on Harvard Law
Is Marxism Dead? (Special Wednesday event)
Does Marx have anything to teach us about political thought, economics, and social movements?
Wednesday, Feb. 11, 2026 | 5 p.m. at Smith 5097 | Dr. Chris Cutrone, "The Last Marxist"
Jazz and Civil Rights
How does music contribute to citizenship?
Tuesday, Feb. 17, 2026 | 5 p.m. at Smith 5097 | Jack Marchbanks, host and producer of Jazz Sunday, WCBE Radio
European and American Constitutionalism
Does the American story include Europe, too?
Tuesday, Feb. 24, 2026 | 5 p.m. at Smith 5097 | Dr. Márton Sulyok, Georgetown Center for the Constitution
Movie Night: Marshall (2 hours, plus discussion)
How can we tackle longstanding American injustices?
Tuesday, March 3, 2026 | 5 p.m. at Smith 5097 | Starring Chadwick Boseman as Supreme Court Justice Thurgood Marshall
How Did The World Get So Ugly?
Should we seek to return to Victorian sensibilities on form and function?
Tuesday, March 10, 2026 | 5 p.m. at Smith 5097 | Dr. James Hooks, Assistant Professor, Chase Center
French Political Theory
What can Montesquieu and Toqueville teach Americans about themselves?
Tuesday, March 31, 2026 | 5 p.m. at Smith 5097 | Dr. Luke J. Foster, Hillsdale College, Washington, D.C., campus
Movie Night: "All The President's Men" (2 hours, 20 minutes, plus discussion)
What can we learn by following the money?
Tuesday, April 7, 2026 | 5 p.m. at Smith 5097 | Robert Redford. Dustin Hoffman. Watergate. Great movie!
What Are Schools For?
What are the philosophical and political presuppositions of both the proponents and critics of systematized public schooling?
Tuesday, April 14, 2026 | 5 p.m. at Smith 5097 | Dr. Dallas Terry, Kinder Institute
Movie Night: "Dave" (1 hour, 50 minutes, plus discussion)
What could an ordinary citizen accomplish as president?
Tuesday, April 28, 2026 | 5 p.m. at Smith 5097 | Kevin Kline and Sigourney Weaver in a political comedy
Fall 2025
Plato's Republic and You
Tuesday, September 2, 2025 | 5pm at Smith 5097 | Dr. James Hooks
Originalism: What is it? Is it a Good Idea?
Tuesday, September 9, 2025 | 5pm at Smith 5097 | Profs. Ned Foley and Chris Green
Natural Property Rights
Monday, September 22, 2025 | 5pm at Smith 5097 | Prof. Eric Claeys
Tales From Seven Presidencies
Tuesday, September 30, 2025 | 5pm at Smith 5097 | President Gordon Gee
To Begin the World Over again: Ronald Reagan and the Founding Fathers at the End of the Cold War
Tuesday, October 7, 2025 | 5pm at Smith 5097 | Dr. Matthew Frakes
A View From the Legislature
Tuesday, October 14, 2025 | 5pm at Smith 5097 | Senator Jerry C. Cirino
It Don't Mean a Thing: Albert Murray and The Politics of the Blues Idiom
Tuesday, October 21, 2025 | 5pm at Smith 5097 | Dr. Nicholas Anderson
Give Me Liberty or Give Me Death: The Idea of Freedom in American Political Thought
Tuesday, October 28, 2025 | 5pm at Smith 5097 | Dr. Adam Seagrave
No Safety for Union Men: Military Occupation in Virginia during the Civil War
Tuesday, November 18, 2025 | 5pm at Smith 5097 | Dr. Brianna Frakes
The Supreme Court and Wrongful Convictions
Thursday, December 4, 2025 | 5pm at Smith 5097 | Prof. Nathan Goetting