ast: The 3WHH Returns to School of Athens, Milan // (Steven Hayward).

This episode will be posted a day earlier than the regular schedule due to a few news items that were discussed in our midweek taping being overtaken by other events. . .

The Three Whisky Happy Hour bartenders travelled to Milan this week to record an exclusive episode. Since we met in Italy, we taste-tested Austrian single malt whisky. We don’t think we will be rushing to import any Waldvietler whisky anytime soon. (The Negronis that we enjoyed at the bar were fantastic, I am happy for them to say. It turns out that there is no Italian whisky.

You might be wondering what we were doing in Milan. There is a critical mass of conservatives living in Italy today who want to improve their game. They invited us to Milan for a conference and to spend time with students at University of Milan school of Law. The students were outstanding and the faculty are, how can we put it?, more sound than many faculty you might find at American law schools.

While we were there, we saw many cultural attractions, including opera at La Scala and artwork at Pinacoteca. This museum not only has significant holdings of Leonardo da Vinci’s writings but also contains the original, full-sized sketch Raphael used when he planned out his “School of Athens.” Steve believes this is the most important piece of artwork that reflects the greatness of Western Civilization. John and Steve had an impromptu discussion about it at the museum (Lucretia was too tired from jet lag and missed it), and this debate grew into the first topic of discussion on this episode. There is much to correct about the simplistic interpretations Plato and Aristotle are depicted at its center. Steve’s theory about why the painting could also be interpreted as an allegory of the East Coast and West Coast Straussians feud was not discussed. We’ll be back to you.

We then move on to trying to figure out from afar what the election results are, and who should lead Republicans in Congress. Lucia, as you’ll be able to tell, seems not to be keen on keeping the current leadership. She seems to have something against GOP leaders whose names begin with “McC ” and ends with a passionate argument about Texas Governor Rick Abbott’s decision to call up a national guard to patrol the southern border.

A sound note: Because we were recording in old Europe (the University of Milan campus was built in classic brick buildings from centuries ago), our sound is a bit “boomy”. One day, maybe we’ll be able to get a mobile recording studio.

You know what you should do now: listen here or choose your favorite opera to share a moment with our hosts at Ricochet.