Several stories in the autumn issue of Notre Dame Magazine, which will be in your mailbox soon, defy easy summary: Alasdair MacIntyre’s influential philosophy and Paul Elie’s intricate essay about — Rome? James Joyce? Modernism in the Eternal City? — to name just two. Those and many others reward immersive reading, illuminating the world with the insights of thinkers who have helped shape it, or writers and subjects exploring the meaning of their own experiences. Jason Kelly ’95 and John Nagy ’00M.A. discuss the autumn issue’s eclectic mix and invite readers into the dialogue that the stories are meant to inspire.