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Learn What Great Books Teach Us About Friendship in New PeppTalk Episode

Listen to a new episode of PeppTalkPepperdine's podcast dedicated to sparking conversations of personal and global significance, featuring world-renowned professors, faculty, and students from across the University.

In partnership with Pepperdine's Boone Center for the Family and hosted by Alexa Borstad and Coby Dolloff, the series tackles relationships. Whether single or married, a parent or a grandparent, a senior professional or just starting out in the workplace, relationships play a significant role in our daily lives. And we all experience the stress that they can produce—the misunderstandings, the confusion, the hope for a different interaction. If healthy relationships are at the center of a flourishing, successful life, why don’t we have an easier time navigating them?

The podcast’s relationship series dives deep into these very questions, offering insights and guidance. The series’ latest episode explores the surprising connection between great works of literature and friendship.

Episode 10: "What Is True Friendship?" - What is true friendship—and why does it matter now more than ever? In this thought-provoking episode of PeppTalk, award-winning author and Great Books scholar Jessica Hooten Wilson joins hosts Borstad and Dolloff for a conversation on the meaning of friendship in a fragmented, fast-paced world. Drawing from classical thinkers, Christian tradition, and her own experience in the classroom, Hooten Wilson explores how friendships of virtue are essential for human flourishing. Together, the threesome unpack timeless texts—from Aristotle to C. S. Lewis—and discuss how the Great Books invite you into a richer understanding of friendship as a moral and spiritual practice. Whether you're a student, a seeker, or simply someone longing for deeper connection, this episode will inspire you to rethink the relationships that shape your life