Uncommon Sense - The Official Podcast of the Society of Gilbert Keith Chesterton

div]:bg-bg-000/50 [&_pre>div]:border-0.5 [&_pre>div]:border-border-400 [&_.ignore-pre-bg>div]:bg-transparent [&_.standard-markdown_:is(p,blockquote,h1,h2,h3,h4,h5,h6)]:pl-2 [&_.standard-markdown_:is(p,blockquote,ul,ol,h1,h2,h3,h4,h5,h6)]:pr-8 [&_.progressive-markdown_:is(p,blockquote,h1,h2,h3,h4,h5,h6)]:pl-2 [&_.progressive-markdown_:is(p,blockquote,ul,ol,h1,h2,h3,h4,h5,h6)]:pr-8"> _*]:min-w-0 gap-3 standard-markdown"> In this episode, Grettelyn Darkey and Joe Grabowski walk through three newly unearthed Chesterton essays from the latest issue of Gilbert Magazine—exploring almsgiving, portraiture, and a delightful transatlantic linguistic puzzle—and invite you to discover why the magazine is one of the best-kept secrets in Chesterton studies.
In This Episode:
Why Chesterton's "promiscuous charity" upends our instinct to vet the needy before giving—and what that reveals about the giver's own soul
The overlooked personal dimension of almsgiving versus institutional philanthropy, and how Chesterton draws on virtue ethics to expose the difference
A debate as old as the daguerreotype: does a photograph capture truth, or does a painted portrait go deeper—and what does Chesterton mean when he says truth is a "moral state"?
Chesterton's fondness for paradox applied to art, literature, and the limits of realism
How a single American phrase, "rare steak," sent Chesterton on a linguistic rabbit trail through Irish immigration and transatlantic idiom in 1934
Chapters:
00:00: Introduction
00:24: Welcome & the Gilbert Read-Along Format
02:12: The Significance of Almsgiving
04:07: "On Giving Money to Beggars"—Chesterton's Humor and Opening
10:03: Prudence, Charity, and Getting the Monkey Off Your Back
14:40: Personal Giving vs. Institutional Philanthropy
20:49: Transitioning to "Portraits"
22:00: Photography vs. Portrait Painting in 1901
26:29: Truth in Art and Chesterton's Paradox
36:28: "A Query for Philologists"—Why Americans Call It "Rare"
Resources Mentioned:
Gilbert Magazine
What I Saw in America by G.K. Chesterton
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Produced by Saint Kolbe Studios

Joe Grabowski sits down with Nick Bash, a Biola University alum who studied filmmaking alongside the Rhetoric Honors Great Books Program, to discuss his senior thesis short film The Last Bonaparte—a loose adaptation of Chesterton's The Napoleon of Notting Hill.
In This Episode:
How film, as a relatively young art form, is still learning to match the depth and immersion of literature
What Chesterton's Orthodoxy revealed to Nick about joy, and how that discovery drove the making of The Last Bonaparte
The communal nature of filmmaking and how the process of telling a story begins to mirror its themes
How setting the film in 2084 draws on Orwellian themes to sharpen Chesterton's critique of standardization and bureaucracy
Why Tolkien's philosophical writings on creativity convinced Nick that faithful Christian storytelling means crafting a story, not a sermon
Chapters:
00:00: Introduction
00:36: Nick's Background: Biola, Great Books, and Chesterton
03:06: Film as a Young Art Form
05:50: Drama, Embodiment, and the Communal Art of Filmmaking
09:39: Film as Synthesis of the Arts
14:02: Reclaiming Joy in a Machine-Oriented World
18:52: Chesterton, Orwell, and the Year 1984
25:34: Tolkien on Adventure and Sub-Creation
28:42: Story vs. Allegory
Resources Mentioned:
The Last Bonaparte
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Produced by Saint Kolbe Studios

In this episode, Joe talks about one of Chesterton's most famous, but still too little studied, poems, "The Donkey." Learn a bit more about the poem through a New Critical based reading, consider just some of the allusions that may have shaped the poem in Chesterton's mind, and - perhaps - discover anew a great source for Lenten meditation!
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Happy Saint Patrick's day! In this episode, Joe talks about some of Chesterton's insights upon and sympathies with the Irish, particularly their faith and culture.
Mentioned in this video:
"Irish Politics and Irish Religion" by G.K. Chesterton: https://library.chesterton.org/irish-politics-and-irish-religion-33426/
On Chesterton and Michael Collins: https://www.catholicarena.com/latest/chestertoncollins220822
On the "Turning the Tide" report: https://theway.ie/new-report-shows-shifting-religious-trends-and-signs-of-renewal-among-young-adults-in-ireland/
Archbishop Eomon Martin's introduction of the report: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7LO_7U2ME-k
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Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/chestertonsociety
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/AmericanChestertonSociety
X: https://twitter.com/chestertonsoc
SUPPORT
Consider making a donation: https://www.chesterton.org/give/
Join the Knights of the Apostolate: https://www.chesterton.org/knights
Visit our Shop at https://www.chesterton.org/shop/

In this episode, Joe talks about a (in)famous Chesterton quotation, often misunderstood, sometimes misapplied. He digs into its origins and context(s) and shares some interesting facts about it you may not know!
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Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/AmericanChestertonSociety
X: https://twitter.com/chestertonsoc
SUPPORT
Consider making a donation: https://www.chesterton.org/give/
Visit our Shop at https://www.chesterton.org/shop/