Dr. Benjamin Storey on American Restlessness

02/20/25 • 57 min

“It is an atmosphere we breathe in, rather than an argument we consider.” Thus wrote T. S. Eliot about the very idea of happiness Americans have adopted for their own. When raising sons in modern America, we should understand what cultural air they—and we—are breathing. Is that “pursuit of happiness” keeping our hearts and minds restless?

In their book, Why We Are Restless, Dr. Benjamin Storey and his wife Dr. Jenna Silber Storey explore the inheritance of American-style happiness: where did it come from? Who has wrestled with it before? And how should we really engage with it? Ben Storey sits down with us to discuss this week on HeightsCast.

Chapters:

00:08:44 Montaigne’s recipe for happiness

00:15:16 “Immanent contentment”: now is enough

00:17:19 Pascal’s reach for God

00:20:11 Rousseau’s earthly transcendence

00:29:09 The American Dream

00:33:45 Democracy and restlessness

00:39:38 The highs and lows of infinite possibility

00:45:02 Advice for high school seniors

00:49:30 Advice for parents

Links:

Why We Are Restless: On the Modern Quest for Contentment by Benjamin Storey and Jenna Silber Storey

Also on the Forum:

ChatGPT Holds These Truths to Be Self-Evident by Mark Grannis

The Importance of History, Part I featuring Dr. Matthew Spalding

Chapters:

00:08:44 Montaigne’s recipe for happiness

00:15:16 “Immanent contentment”: now is enough

00:17:19 Pascal’s reach for God

00:20:11 Rousseau’s earthly transcendence

00:29:09 The American Dream

00:33:45 Democracy and restlessness

00:39:38 The highs and lows of infinite possibility

00:45:02 Advice for high school seniors

00:49:30 Advice for parents

Links:

Why We Are Restless: On the Modern Quest for Contentment by Benjamin Storey and Jenna Silber Storey

Also on the Forum:

ChatGPT Holds These Truths to Be Self-Evident by Mark Grannis

The Importance of History, Part I featuring Dr. Matthew Spalding

Previous Episode

John Cuddeback on Teaching Men

At our 2024 Teaching Conference, Dr. John Cuddeback of Christendom College unpacked what boys need from their fathers and teachers in order to grow into the men they truly desire to be. And what boys desire, he argues, comes from their God-given nature: one that resonates with fatherhood, moral character, and the ability to speak truth.

Chapters:

6:21 Today’s rejection of masculinity

10:11 Education: formation of right appetites

15:33 What they enjoy and what pains them

18:52 What boys should desire

21:26 To be fathers

29:15 To be men of character

31:33 To articulate the truth

33:32 How we educate: by example

36:16 By curating influences

37:57 By great art

42:49 By direct articulation, in friendship

Links:

LifeCraft, John Cuddeback’s website featuring free courses, videos, and articles

True Friendship: Where Virtue Becomes Happiness by John Cuddeback

The Intentional Household Podcast hosted by John and Sofia Cuddeback

Also on the Forum:

Made in the Image and Likeness: On Man and Masculinity featuring Bishop Erik Varden

Friendship for Fathers featuring John Cuddeback

The Man Fully Alive: On Our Vision featuring Alvaro de Vicente

Next Episode

Alvaro de Vicente on Dumb Phones, Feature Phones, and the New Tech Landscape

If we’ve decided against smart phones for our kids, can dumb phones come to the rescue? New options for families have hit the tech market, offering few or select features, and giving parents new things to consider when it comes to kids and phones in 2025. Headmaster Alvaro de Vicente offers a framework for thinking about smart phones, dumb phones, and feature phones in a culture still weighed down by anxiety and distraction.

Chapters:

4:04 Deciding when 5:17 Phones as tools 10:05 The dumb phone: what problem is it solving? 16:11 The feature phone: constant connection 17:30 Healthy friendship 22:03 An age of distraction, even offline 23:44 The need for silence 26:29 School policies 27:14 Family policies

Links:

School Phone Bans Alone Do Not Improve Grades or Wellbeing, The Guardian, February 5, 2025

Apple Just Reinvented Its Biggest App, The Atlantic, September 14, 2016

The Anxious Generation: The Great Rewiring of Childhood by Jonathan Haidt

Only the Lover Sings: Art and Contemplation by Josef Pieper

Featured opportunities:

Parents’ Conference: Passing the Faith On to the Next Generation at The Heights School (April 12, 2025) link coming soon

Also on the Forum:

Technology in the Home: Perspective, Principles, and Practices by Michael Moynihan

Forming iGen: On the Forces that Shaped Them featuring Alvaro de Vicente

When Is Your Son Ready for a Smart Phone? featuring Alvaro de Vicente

Smart Phones: Why Wait When He’s “the Only One” featuring Joe Cardenas