Jack Brustkern

Feb 2

Let's talk Adam Smith

This past fall, I sat in on a wonderful course taught by the respected Professor Henry Clark discussing Adam Smith and his ideas. In order to learn the material well I made the goal of giving a lecture (to a singular patient and generous family member) which I recorded, for on the one hand to motivate myself to be thorough and disciplined in my study of Smith, and also to have something to look back on and share with others if they ever happy to have a hankering for some Smith.

Jack Brustkern

Feb 2

Personal reflections and learnings about our neighbors on the street

This past fall, I began working full time in researching questions surrounding homelessness to inform state homelessness policy. A few ideas in particular have sprung up such that I’ve been writing and reflecting on them actively myself, and I thought I’d publish a piece with a few of these learnings and musings together. These learnings have come from a whole lot of time spent reading medical reviews, listening to those who have worked with the homeless for a long time, and listening to the ...

Jack Brustkern

Jan 31

Sketches in the Extreme: Dostoevsky’s Sodom and Paradise

Last quarter I took the best course I have ever taken. Dostoevsky rocked my world. You really have to go to the books to get the good stuff, but here’s the final paper I wrote for the course, looking into Dostoevsky’s depiction of paradise and sodom:Dostoevsky deals in extremes. His characters find themselves in the depths of Sodom in one scene and the heights of Paradise in the next. Their coming into these extremes is primarily the result of the state of these characters’ souls and states o...

Jack Brustkern

Feb 2

Let's talk Adam Smith

This past fall, I sat in on a wonderful course taught by the respected Professor Henry Clark discussing Adam Smith and his ideas. In order to learn the material well I made the goal of giving a lecture (to a singular patient and generous family member) which I recorded, for on the one hand to motivate myself to be thorough and disciplined in my study of Smith, and also to have something to look back on and share with others if they ever happy to have a hankering for some Smith.

Jack Brustkern

Feb 2

Personal reflections and learnings about our neighbors on the street

This past fall, I began working full time in researching questions surrounding homelessness to inform state homelessness policy. A few ideas in particular have sprung up such that I’ve been writing and reflecting on them actively myself, and I thought I’d publish a piece with a few of these learnings and musings together. These learnings have come from a whole lot of time spent reading medical reviews, listening to those who have worked with the homeless for a long time, and listening to the ...

Jack Brustkern

Jan 31

Sketches in the Extreme: Dostoevsky’s Sodom and Paradise

Last quarter I took the best course I have ever taken. Dostoevsky rocked my world. You really have to go to the books to get the good stuff, but here’s the final paper I wrote for the course, looking into Dostoevsky’s depiction of paradise and sodom:Dostoevsky deals in extremes. His characters find themselves in the depths of Sodom in one scene and the heights of Paradise in the next. Their coming into these extremes is primarily the result of the state of these characters’ souls and states o...