Located in the heart of Duluth, the Lyric Kitchen Bar offers straightforward food and drink to locals and area visitors. The food is great and the atmosphere is relaxing. So please join freethinkers like yourself at 5:30 pm on Wednesday, February 19th and bring a friend. Let them know the joy of company that respects science and, dare we say, reality. The restaurant is on the main/street level of the Holiday Inn complex on Superior Street. You can enter the parking ramp from First Street and bring your ticket to be validated by our server. (218) 249-9000.

Let’s gather again at the home of Our Flounder this Saturday, February 22nd. We can celebrate the anniversary of Galileo Galilei’s publication of Dialogue Concerning the Two Chief World Systems on that date in 1632! The fun starts in the late afternoon, between 3:00 and 4:00 pm.

“Neither snow nor rain nor heat nor gloom of night shall stay these thinkers from their disappointed hounds.”  Bring something to share: maybe something you’ve cooked or some spirits to lubricate the discussion.  Laugh, compare notes on your latest thoughts, or just relax and listen–nodding occasionally.

Dr. Bill’s elegant home is at 2931 Greysolon Road in Duluth.  Please remember that you can park anywhere on Greysolon, but not on 30th Avenue!  Info: (218) 724-4176.

Sunday, March 1st

Depravity, Sin, and the Religious History of the American Founding.

This month’s talk focuses on the career and thought of John Witherspoon, the only minister to sign the Declaration of Independence. It questions common ideas about the “Enlightenment” origins of American constitutional theory, including in the interventions of Founders such as James Madison.

Our speaker Gideon Mailer came to the University of Minnesota system from the University of Cambridge, UK. From 2008-2012 he was an elected Title A Fellow of St John’s College, University of Cambridge, where he lectured and supervised in American and Atlantic history and in the history of intellectual thought. Before his Junior Research Fellowship at St. John’s, Cambridge, he took his PhD (2008), MA, and BA (hons) from Cambridge. His research focuses on the social, intellectual, constitutional, ecological, and religious history of North America and the wider Atlantic World from 1600-1865.

He has written books and articles about the impact of the Scottish Enlightenment and Protestant Evangelicalism on the American Founding and later American history. His published a book in 2017, paperback second edition in 2019, on the history of religion and the American Revolution, focusing on the only clergyman to sign the American Declaration of Independence and his influence on constitutional founders such as James Madison: John Witherspoon’s American Revolution (Chapel Hill: University of North Carolina Press, Omohundro Institute of Early American History and Culture, 2017).

  9:00  Coffee and Conversation
  9:30  Breakfast Buffet Available
10:00  Formal Program Begins

Duluth Radisson Harborview
505 West Superior Street
Duluth, MN 55802
(218) 727-8981

Howard D. Mooers is a professor in the Department of Geology within the Swenson College of Science and Engineering at the University of Minnesota Duluth. He has a doctorate from our satellite campus in the Twin Cities and has been a Fellow of the Geological Society of America since 1997.

He has presented numerous conference papers and published in journals such as Limnology and Oceanography, Quarternary Research, and the Canadian Journal of Earth Sciences.

  9:00     Coffee and Conversation
  9:30     Breakfast Buffet Available
10:00     Formal Program Begins
 
Duluth Radisson Harborview
505 West Superior Street
Duluth, MN 55802
(218) 727-8981

Let’s gather again at the home of Our Flounder for Thinkin’ ’bout Drinkin’ on Scottish poet Robbie Burns’ birthday: Saturday, January 25th.  The fun starts in the late afternoon, around 4:00 pm. Neither snow nor rain nor heat nor gloom of night will stay us thinkers from our anointed sounds.  Bring something to share: maybe something you’ve cooked (haggis?) or some spirits (Scotch?) to lubricate the dialogue.  Reflect, laugh, relax, and maybe complain about the weather.  Dr. Bill’s lovely home is at 2931 Greysolon Road in Duluth.  Remember, you can park anywhere on Greysolon, but not on 30th Avenue!  (218) 724-4176.

January 15th, 5:30 pm

On Wednesday, January 15th, we’ll join our host Sue Anderson again at Valentini’s Vicino Lago (Valentini’s in the vicinity of the lake, or Valentini’s by the Lake) on London Road. Arrive at 5:30 pm to enjoy the relaxed atmosphere and authentic Italian food. If you’re on a budget, you can try one of the little 9″ pizzas. Stay a little longer and you can sing along with Kevin Buck, musician. For over 85 years, Valentini’s has been a great place to share stories and spirits with other freethinkers and some of their friends.

1400 London Road | Duluth, MN 55805 | (218) 728-5900