I perform and lecture as Catholic writer/convert G.K. Chesterton.Dr. John C. “Chuck” Chalberg is a professional historian who performs as a number of historical figures. At the top of the list is Catholic convert and apologist, G.K. Chesterton, a writer famous for his wisdom, paradoxes, and great good humor.
Chalberg becomes Chesterton, whether he is performing his one-man show as Chesterton or lecturing as Chesterton. When he is not writing for such publications as “Touchstone,” “The Weekly Standard,” “Chronicles,” “The New Oxford Review,” “Gilbert!,” among a few others, he has also been known to become Theodore Roosevelt and baseball’s Branch Rickey, among a few others.
Chalberg holds a B.A. from Regis University and an M.A. and Ph.D. in American history from the University of Minnesota. He has taught American history at the college level for many years. He has performed at various summer chautauquas across the country. He has also performed for a large number of colleges, including Notre Dame, Boston College, Gonzaga, Georgetown, Seton Hall, Duquesne, Villanova among many others. He has brought Branch Rickey to the Baseball Hall of Fame at Cooperstown and Theodore Roosevelt to various business conferences. He is the G.K. Chesterton who appears on EWTN’s “The Apostle of Common Sense.”
Lectures/Talks as G.K. Chesterton:
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Dueling with Darwin. Hear Chesterton talk about and question the Darwinian view of the world. In this talk he will also defend the Catholic Faith.
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On Saint Francis. This talk, which is based largely on his biography of St. Francis, details this great saint’s life and thought.
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On St. Thomas. This talk, which is based largely on his biography of St. Thomas Aquinas, details this great saint’s life and thought.
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On America. Hear Chesterton talk about modern American life and hear his “take” on great issues and great figures in American history.
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The Family. This talk is Chesterton’s defense of the traditional family. Its basic premise is this from Chesterton himself: “Without the family we are helpless before the state.”
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Orthodoxy. Based on Chesterton’s great book of the same title, this talk presents his defense of Catholic orthodoxy.
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Eugenics and Other Evils. Hear Chesterton take on not just eugenics, but much of the entire progressive project. This presentation also includes his attack on abortion.
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On Distributism. Hear Chesterton’s understanding of Catholic economics, including a defense of the principle of subsidiarity and a defense of Pope Leo XIII.
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On Heretics. This is Chesterton’s answer to much of modern thought. Hear him take on George Bernard Shaw among many others.
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The Road to World War II. Chesterton did not live to see World War II, but he did see it coming. Hear his views on England’s role in the world, the Great War, and the rise of Germany.
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The Catholic Church and Conversion. Based on the book by the same title, this is Chesterton’s explanation of the conversion process. Along the way he will detail his own conversion.
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Where All Roads Lead. Based on the book by the same title, Chesterton explains why all roads lead to Rome.
Each of these talks is filled with Chestertonian asides. Some of them are planned and some of them aren’t, as Chalberg “channels” Chesterton. Many of these asides are occasions for Chalberg/Chesterton to express the great good humor of at least one of the two. Chesterton was sometimes accused of being little more than a jokester. The charge was unfair. But as was often the case, Chesterton had a response: “The opposite of funny is not serious; the opposite of funny is not funny.”
