Saving Elephants | Millennials defending & expressing conservative values

Roundtable - Election 2024 - Home Stretch Oct 21, 2024

The most [assuredly not] important election of our lifetime is a little more than two weeks away. The candidates are in the home stretch as each of them make their final pitch to the dwindling undecided voter. Join another venerable group of panelists as we share our thoughts on the state of the race and our hopes and fears with a coming Harris or another Trump administration.

Panelists include: Brooke Medina, Eric Kohn, Mike Taylor, and Nate Honorè

164 – What is a Woman with Kimberly Ross Oct 15, 2024

Saving Elephants meticulously avoids many cringeworthy tropes in today’s “conservative” media and opts instead for deeper conversations on the conservative worldview and what it can offer Millennials. As such, there is much low-hanging-fruit among the fruitier parts of the Left that isn’t as vigorously explored as it is in the aforementioned “conservative” media. But that doesn’t mean these topics are off limits—just that they’re to be approached with conviction and clarity.

Josh Lewis welcomes Kimberly Ross back to the podcast for a wide-ranging discussion on what it means to be a woman, the place of feminism in conservatism, how both the Left and Right get the differences in the sexes wrong, and whether Andrew Tate is the “conservative’s” answer to Che Guevara.

About Kimberly Ross

Kimberly Ross is a freelance conservative writer. Her work regularly appears in The Washington Examiner, both online and the print magazine, and The Mirror magazine, a monthly publication from Aid to the Church in Need. She is a freelance columnist at The Freemen News-Letter and co-host of The Right Thoughts podcast. Her archive of published work can be found at RedState, Arc Digital, The Bulwark, Rare, and USA Today.

As a mother of two and self-described "first wave feminist", she is most passionate about the rights of children, women, and the issue of abortion. She considers herself an independent conservative (not to be confused with conservative independent) and is beholden to no politician.

Kimberly has a B.A. in history with graduate work in political science. You can follow Kimberly on Twitter @SouthernKeeks

Roundtable - Vice Vice Baby Oct 02, 2024

Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz and Ohio Senator JD Vance square off for the first—and likely only—vice presidential debate that’s sure to leave pundits chattering, social media accounts fighting, and late economists spinning in their graves. The debate begins at 9PM ET. Join us immediately following the debate for another livestream roundtable to restore some inkling of sanity back to this election.

Panelists include Scott Howard, Jeffery Tyler Syck, and John Giokaris.

163 – Where Does the Conservative Go from Here? Oct 01, 2024

In a world where both political parties are moving away from free market oriented policy solutions, a robust defense of our international allies, and traditional social norms, where does the conservative go from here?

Saving Elephants host Josh Lewis is joined by special returning guests Cal Davenport, Erik Kohn, and Justin Stapley for a roundtable discussion on what the future holds for the conservative movement.

This episode first dropped as a livestream on the new Saving Elephants YouTube channel., featuring full-length episodes, exclusive shorts, and even live events! Check it out here: https://www.youtube.com/@savingelephants

Roundtable - Towards a Sensible Foreign Policy Sep 25, 2024

From Eastern Europe to the Middle East to Southeast Asia to so many other places, the world's on fire. Yet neither presidential candidate is offering us a compelling vision to navigate this brave new world. Join another august assembly of panelists as we discuss what a sensible foreign policy might look like.

You can also watch this episode on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ve3XCgOkHQc&t=3446s

162 – Harmonizing Sentiments with Hans Eicholz Sep 17, 2024

The Declaration of Independence audaciously declares certain “truths” to be “self-evident”. And, in so doing, offered a justification for not only a break with Great Britain and Revolutionary War, but the foundation upon which a new nation could be built. But how uniformly were these “truths” held and understood by the Founding Fathers? Were they disparate views that were ultimately incoherent or inconsistent? Did the divergent cultures of the American North and South have fundamentally different ideas of what they conceived of America to be? Were the Founders simply protecting their material interests and reaching for any argument at hand that seemed useful to that end?

Who was most responsible for the ideas of the American founding? John Locke? Scottish Enlightenment thinkers? Egalitarianism? Modernity? Scientific rationalism? Christian teachings? Joining Saving Elephants host Josh Lewis is historian Hans Eicholz who argues it was actually a harmonization of many of these different, but not incompatible, sentiments that lead to the founding of America.

About Hans Eicholz

Hans Eicholz is a historian and Senior Fellow at Liberty Fund. Much of his work has been in the history of economic thought, looking initially at the influence of market ideas in the American founding period, but also extending up through the 19th century.

Hans is the author of Harmonizing Sentiments: The Declaration of Independence and the Jeffersonian Idea of Self-Government (2001; Second Edition, 2024), and a contributor to The Constitutionalism of American States (2008).

Roundtable - That 1st Trump vs Harris Debate Sep 11, 2024

The stakes were high in the first debate between former President Donald Trump and Vice President Kamala Harris. Did anyone, other than the American people, emerge the loser? Were any pets harmed during the debate? Did some semblance of substance somehow slip through? Saving Elephants presents another livestream cross-partisan panel to debate the debate, featuring:

Elizabeth Doll

Mike Taylor

Cal Davenport

John Giokaris

161 – American Covenant with Yuval Levin Sep 03, 2024

In this era of polarization and partisan bickering, Americans of all political persuasions are calling for the nation to come together. National unity is certainly in high demand and highly praised. But what is unity? As Yuval Levin argues in his latest book, American Covenant, “unity doesn’t mean agreement…disagreement does not foreclose the possibility of unity. A more unified society would not always disagree less, but it would disagree better—that is, more constructively and with an eye to how different priorities and goals can be accommodated. That we have lost some of our knack for unity in America does not mean that we have forgotten how to agree but that we have forgotten how to disagree…Unity does not mean thinking alike; unity means acting together.”

Joining Saving Elephants host Josh Lewis is Yuval Levin himself who contends that the American Constitution is ideally designed to address our need for unity. And becoming better acquainted with the intentions and insights of those who put our system of government together could bring us together the durable and cohesive unity we lack today.

About Yuval Levin

Yuval Levin is a political analyst, public intellectual, academic, and journalist. He is the founding editor of National Affairs, director of Social, Cultural, and Constitutional Studies at the American Enterprise Institute, a contributing editor of National Review, and co-founder and a senior editor of The New Atlantis. He also holds the Beth and Ravenel Curry Chair in Public Policy.

Yuval served as a member of the White House domestic policy staff under President George W. Bush. He was also executive director of the President’s Council on Bioethics and a congressional staffer at the member, committee, and leadership levels.

Yuval’s essays and articles have appeared in numerous publications, among them, The New York Times, The Washington Post, The Wall Street Journal, Commentary. He is the author of many books which include American Covenant, A Time to Build, and The Great Debate. Yuval discussed the last two books when he was previously on the podcast in Episode 73 – Formative Institutions with Yuval Levin

Roundtable - Kamala's DNC Speech Aug 23, 2024

It's the last night of the Democratic National Convention and who better to offer commentary on Kamala Harris' speech than a cross-partisan panel? Join us for a livestream discussion scheduled to take place shortly after Kamala's speech.

160 – FreeCons with Avik Roy Aug 20, 2024

The great fusionist project of ordered liberty advocated by Frank Meyer, William F. Buckley, and M. Stanton Evans is defended and affirmed today by a group calling themselves Freedom Conservatives, or FreeCons. And as most groups of conservatives are wont to do, they have drafted a Statement of Principles outlining what they hope to affirm. Saving Elephants host Josh Lewis is a proud signatory on this statement and welcomes in this episode one of the two originators of the Statement, Avik Roy, for a wide-ranging discussion on fusionism, how FreeCons may compare and contrast with NatCons, the need for conservatism to grapple with issues of equality, and much more.

About Avik Roy

Excerpts from https://bipartisanpolicy.org/person/avik-roy/

Avik Roy is the President of the Foundation for Research on Equal Opportunity (FREOPP.org), a non-partisan, non-profit think tank that conducts original research on expanding opportunity to those who least have it. Roy’s work has been praised widely on both the right and the left. National Review has called him one of the nation’s “sharpest policy minds,” while the New York Times’ Paul Krugman described him as man of “personal and moral courage.”

Roy has advised three presidential candidates on policy, including Marco Rubio, Rick Perry, and Mitt Romney. Roy also serves as the Opinion Editor at Forbes, where he writes on politics and policy, and manages The Apothecary, the influential Forbes blog on health care policy and entitlement reform. [He] is the author of How Medicaid Fails the Poor, published by Encounter Books in 2013, and Transcending Obamacare: A Patient-Centered Plan for Near-Universal Coverage and Permanent Fiscal Solvency, a second edition of which was published in 2016 by FREOPP. He serves on the advisory board of the National Institute for Health Care Management, is a Senior Advisor to the Bipartisan Policy Center, and co-chaired the Fixing Veterans Health Care Policy Taskforce.

Roy’s writing has also appeared in The Wall Street Journal, The New York Times, The Washington Post, USA Today, The Atlantic, National Review, The Weekly Standard, and National Affairs, among other publications. He is a frequent guest on television news programs, including appearances on Fox News, Fox Business, NBC, MSNBC, CNBC, Bloomberg, CBS, PBS, and HBO.

From 2011 to 2016, Roy served as a Senior Fellow at the Manhattan Institute for Policy Research, where he conducted research on the Affordable Care Act, entitlement reform, universal coverage, international health systems, and FDA policy. Previously, he served as an analyst and portfolio manager at Bain Capital, J.P. Morgan, and other firms.

Roy was educated at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, where he studied molecular biology, and the Yale University School of Medicine. You can follow Roy on Twitter @Avik

159 – The Prudential Lincoln with Allen Guelzo Aug 06, 2024

Was Abraham Lincoln a racist? Were his efforts at emancipation the mere cold calculations of a politician whose sole aim was to win the Civil War, or do they point to some deeper ideals of America’s first principles? Joining Saving Elephants host Josh Lewis is Lincoln historian Dr. Allen C. Guelzo for a wide-ranging conversation on how Lincoln’s efforts at ending slavery and saving the union may provide the clearest example of prudent American statesmanship in practice.

About Dr. Allen C. Guelzo

Excerpts from the James Madison Program

Dr. Allen C. Guelzo is a New York Times best-seller author, American historian and commentator on public issues. He has written for the New York Times, the Washington Post, the Los Angeles Times, The Wall Street Journal, the Christian Science Monitor, National Affairs, First Things, U.S. News & World Report, The Weekly Standard, Washington Monthly, National Review, the Daily Beast, and the Claremont Review of Books, and has been featured on NPR’s “Weekend Edition Sunday” and “On Point,” The Daily Show with Jon Stewart (2008), Meet the Press: Press Pass with David Gregory, The Civil War: The Untold Story (Great Divide Pictures, 2014), Race to the White House: Lincoln vs. Douglas (CNN, 2016), Legends and Lies: The Civil War (Fox, 2018), Reconstruction (PBS, 2019) and Brian Lamb’s “Booknotes.” In 2010, he was nominated for a Grammy Award along with David Straithern and Richard Dreyfuss for their production of the entirety of The Lincoln-Douglas Debates (BBC Audio). In 2018, he was a winner of the Bradley Prize, along with Jason Riley of The Wall Street Journal and Charles Kesler of the Claremont Institute.

He is Thomas W. Smith Distinguished Research Scholar and Director of the James Madison Program Initiative on Politics and Statesmanship. Previously, he was Senior Research Scholar in the Council of the Humanities at Princeton University, and the Director of Civil War Era Studies and the Henry R. Luce Professor of the Civil War Era at Gettysburg College. During 2010-11 and again in 2017-18, he served as the WL. Garwood Visiting Professor in the James Madison Program at Princeton University. He holds the MA and PhD in History from the University of Pennsylvania.

Among his many award-winning publications, he is the author of Abraham Lincoln: Redeemer President, which won both the Lincoln Prize and the Abraham Lincoln Institute Prize in 2000; Lincoln’s Emancipation Proclamation: The End of Slavery in America (Simon & Schuster, 2004) which also won the Lincoln Prize and the Abraham Lincoln Institute Prize, for 2005; Lincoln and Douglas: The Debates That Defined America (Simon & Schuster, 2008), on the Lincoln-Douglas debates of 1858; a volume of essays, Abraham Lincoln as a Man of Ideas (Southern Illinois University Press, 2009) which won a Certificate of Merit from the Illinois State Historical Association in 2010; and Lincoln: A Very Short Introduction (in the Oxford University Press ‘Very Short Introductions’ series. In 2012, he published Fateful Lightning: A New History of the Civil War and Reconstruction with Oxford University Press, and in 2013 Alfred Knopf published his book on the battle of Gettysburg (for the 150thanniversary of the battle), Gettysburg: The Last Invasion, which spent eight weeks on the New York Times best-seller list. Gettysburg: The Last Invasion won the Lincoln Prize for 2014, the inaugural Guggenheim-Lehrman Prize in Military History, the Fletcher Pratt Award of the New York City Round Table, and the Richard Harwell Award of the Atlanta Civil War Round Table. His most recent publications are Redeeming the Great Emancipator (Harvard University Press, 2016) which originated as the 2012 Nathan Huggins Lectures at Harvard University, and Reconstruction: A Concise History (Oxford University Press, 2018).

He is one of Power Line’s 100 “Top Professors” in America. In 2009, he delivered the Commonwealth Fund Lecture at University College, London, on “Lincoln, Cobden and Bright: The Braid of Liberalism in the 19th-Century’s Transatlantic World.” He has been awarded the Lincoln Medal of the Union League Club of New York City, the Lincoln Award of the Lincoln Group of the District of Columbia, and the Lincoln Award of the Union League of Philadelphia, in addition to the James Q. Wilson Award for Distinguished Scholarship on the Nature of a Free Society. In 2018, he was named a Senior Fellow of the Claremont Institute. He has been a Fellow of the Charles Warren Center for Studies in American History at Harvard University, and currently serves as a Trustee of the Gilder-Lehrman Institute of American History.

Together with Patrick Allitt and Gary W. Gallagher, he team-taught The Teaching Company’s American History series, and as well as courses on Abraham Lincoln (Mr. Lincoln, 2005) on American intellectual history (The American Mind, 2006), the American Revolution (2007), and the Founders (America’s Founding Fathers, 2017). From 2006 to 2013, he served as a member of the National Council of the National Endowment for the Humanities.

Dr. Guelzo’s latest book, Our Ancient Faith: Lincoln, Democracy, and the American Experiment, which is discussed in this episode is available wherever books are sold.

He lives in Paoli and Gettysburg, Pennsylvania, with his wife, Debra. They have three children and five grandchildren. His website is allenguelzo.com

Saving Elephants is coming to YouTube!

We’re thrilled to announce that Saving Elephants will be launching a YouTube channel in August with full-length episodes, exclusive shorts, and even live events! Further details coming soon...

158 – Fashionable Fusionists with Samuel Goldman Jul 16, 2024

In an age of rampant informalities, shoddy attire, and the kind of milieu that makes People of Walmart a possibility, conservatives stand athwart history yelling STOP! Joining Saving Elephants host Josh Lewis is the impeccably dressed Samuel Goldman to explore how conservatism informs the world of fashion, why legendary figures on the Right from Russell Kirk to Albert J Nock to Willmoore Kendall wore such questionably lavish accessories, the connective tissues between intellectual conservatism and 90s era punk rock, and much more.

About Samuel Goldman

Samuel Goldman is an associate professor of political science at George Washington University, where he is also executive director of the John L. Loeb, Jr. Institute for Religious Freedom and director of the Politics & Values Program.

Samuel is the Editor of FUSION, an online journal inspired by the belief that Western civilization is defined by intertwined threads of freedom and tradition, innovation and order, rights and duties. In addition to academic work, his writing has appeared in The New York Times, The Wall Street Journal, and many other publications.

His most recent book, After Nationalism: Being American in a Divided Age was published by University of Pennsylvania Press in spring 2021. His first book God’s Country: Christian Zionism in America was published by the University of Pennsylvania Press in 2018. Samuel received his Ph.D. from Harvard and taught at Harvard and Princeton before coming to GW. You can follow Samuel on Twitter @SWGoldman

For those interested in learning more about men’s fashion, Samuel recommends the following resources:

Blogs

Put This On

Die, Workwear

Necktie Salvage

Books

Dressing the Man: Mastering the Art of Permanent Fashion

True Style: The History and Principles of Classic Menswear

The Casual Style Guide

Gentleman: A Timeless Guide to Fashion

Hollywood and the Ivy Look

Saving Elephants is coming to YouTube!

We’re thrilled to announce that Saving Elephants will be launching a YouTube channel in August with full-length episodes, exclusive shorts, and even live events! Further details coming soon...

157 – Fifty Conservative Thinkers Jul 02, 2024

In an age where what passes for the archetype conservative are the likes of Candace Owens, Bill Mitchell, Sean Hannity, Matt Gaetz, Tomi Lahren, and Donald Trump, it can be discouraging for those of us who take pride in the rich legacy and colorful history of thinkers on the Right to be associated with such grifters, demagogues, and charlatans.

Trying to define conservatism is challenging and trying to compile a list of individuals who best exemplify conservatism is problematic. Yet this is becoming increasingly important in a world where “conservatism” is quickly being coopted by reactionary nationalist populists who have little to nothing in common with the namesake.

In this episode Saving Elephants host Josh Lewis offers his list of conservative thinkers well worthy of your time and attention.

Disclaimer

This list is imperfect and incomplete. If I were to revisit the list next year or possibly even next week, I’m sure there are plenty of names I’d believe should supplant the names here. Some of these individuals may even be uncomfortable with the label “conservative”, though they all share aspects of the broader conservative worldview. The names below are not listed in order of preference or importance, but they are all insightful and noteworthy.

The fifty individuals discussed in this episode are noted below. If you’d like to learn more about each one you can check out the original blog post of Fifty Conservative Thinkers for a brief bio and links.

Josh’s (Incomplete) List of Fifty Conservative Thinkers Worth Your Time

Edmund Burke

Milton Friedman

Wilhelm Röpke

David Bahnsen

F.A. Hayek

John Adams

Frederick Douglass

Thomas Sowell

James Madison

Barry Goldwater

Ronald Reagan

Bradley J. Birzer

Russell Kirk

Matthew Continetti

David French

Gertrude Himmelfarb

George Nash

Stephen J. Tonsor

Roger Scruton

Jacques Ellul

Whittaker Chambers

Michael Oakeshott

Eric Voegelin

Timothy Carney

C.S. Lewis

G.K. Chesterton

Jonah Goldberg

Wendell Berry

T.S. Eliot

Ross Douthat

Mary Eberstadt

M. Stanton Evans

Irving Kristol

George Will

William F. Buckley

Kristen Soltis Anderson

Robert Nisbet

Carly Fiorina

Arthur Brooks

Marian Tupy

Charles Marohn

Patrick Deneen

Harry Jaffa

Walter Williams

Frank S. Meyer

Alexis de Tocqueville

Lord Acton

Leo Stauss

Willmoore Kendall

Yuval Levin

156 – Reappraising the Right’s Foreign Policy with Michael Lucchese Jun 18, 2024

In February of 2004 the late Charles Krauthammer delivered the keynote address at AEI’s Annual Dinner. It was a year into the Iraqi war and several years into the War on Terror. Krauthammer’s address—entitled Democratic Realism—lauded much of the Bush administration’s approach to the war, but offered some stern warnings on how the war and rebuilding efforts might go awry. His warnings proved to be profoundly prescient as the following years led to the disillusionment of what broadly (and wrongly) became known as NeoCon foreign policy.

What had the Right missed in Krauthammer’s warnings? What foreign policy approaches has the United States historically taken, and are any of them still relevant? How might conservatism shed light on the most appropriate foreign policy we could pursue? Joining Saving Elephants host Josh Lewis is returning guest Michael Lucchese to think through the lessons learned in American foreign policy.

About Michael Lucchese

Michael Lucchese is the founder and CEO of Pipe Creek Consulting, a communications firm based in Washington, D.C., and a visiting scholar at the Liberty Fund. Previously, he was a communications aide to U.S. Senator Ben Sasse.

He received a BA in American Studies at Hillsdale College and was a Hudson Institute Political Studies fellow and an alumnus of the Röpke-Wojtyła Fellowship at Catholic University of America's Busch School of Business.

Michael is an Associate Editor at Law & Liberty and a contributing editor to Providence. His writings have also appeared in multiple publications, including the Washington Examiner and National Review, Engelsberg Ideas, and Public Discourse. Michael Lucchese is from Chicago, Illinois.

Michael was a previous guest on Saving Elephants in episode 143 – The Conservative Mind at 70 with Michael Lucchese

155 – Melodic Musings with Barney Quick May 21, 2024

How might music point us to the good, the true, and the beautiful? What is the purpose of music, and we are guilty of misusing it? Why are we so obsessed with Taylor Swift? Musician and conservative journalist Barney Quick joins Josh to discuss how conservatism might better inform our approach to music. Also discussed are whether or not the elephants can be saved at all, how an owning-the-libs approach misses the spirit of conservatism, and whether or not Principles First has lost its first principles.

About Barney Quick

Barney Quick is a journalist whose work appears in magazine features. He is a frequent contributor to Ordinary Times and a Senior Freelance Contributor for The Freeman News-Letter. He has been maintaining his blog, Late in the Day, since 2012. But you can find the bulk of his writings on his substack Precipice.

Barney is also a musician and jazz guitarist who could find lucrative gigs, but is well aware he’s chosen a musical life that isn’t going to pay a lot of bills.

Barney is an adjunct lecturer in jazz history and rock and roll history at his local community college.

You can follow Barney on Twitter @Penandguitar

154 – That Old Burkean Saw with Cal Davenport May 07, 2024

After a stint of episodes taking deep dives into obscure topics, Josh returns to some conservative first-principles by inviting long-time friend of the podcast Cal Davenport on for a wide-ranging discussion on whether or not the fusionist consensus is truly dead, why all the energy in the Right seems to be going towards the NatCons, what’s leading to the rise of populism, how to repackage conservative ideas into digestible slogans, who belongs on the Mt. Rushmore of conservative thought, and how Edmund Burke factors into all of this. Trigger warning for the Straussian listener: this episode gets a bit Burke-y.

About Cal Davenport

Cal Davenport is a veteran podcaster and writer. He has written for The Wasington Examiner, RedState, The Resurgent and more. He has worked in Congress, for political campaigns, for think tanks, and in political consulting. Cal received his M.A. in Philosophy, Politics, and Economics from Witten/Herdecke University. You can follow Cal on Twitter @jcaldavenport

153 – Full-Time with David Bahnsen Apr 16, 2024

David Bahnsen returns to the podcast to discuss his latest book: Full-Time: Work and the Meaning of Life. David holds a high view of work and, in an era where self-help gurus are teaching us how to work less to achieve a work/life balance, David wants to shift the paradigm to work/rest and celebrate the productive nature of our being. Also discussed in this episode are what the church gets wrong about work, how each generation brings different challenges and advantages to work culture, universal basic income (UBI), whether the Marxist are right and work under a capitalist system is exploitation, and what the future of retirement might mean for working Americans.

About David Bahnsen

From David’s website:

David L. Bahnsen is the founder, Managing Partner, and Chief Investment Officer of The Bahnsen Group, a bi-coastal private wealth management firm with offices in Newport Beach, CA, New York City, Minneapolis, and Nashville managing over $3.5 billion in client assets. David is consistently named as one of the top financial advisors in America by Barron’s, Forbes, and the Financial Times. He is a frequent guest on CNBC, Bloomberg, and Fox Business and is a regular contributor to National Review and Forbes. He has written his own political viewpoint blog for over a decade.

David serves on the Board of Directors for the National Review Institute and was the Vice-President of the Lincoln Club of Orange County for eight years. He is a committed donor and activist across all spectrums of national, state, and local politics, and views the cause of Buckley and Reagan as the need of the hour.

David is passionate about opposition to crony capitalism, and has lectured and written for years about the need for pro-growth economic policy. Every part of his political worldview stems from a desire to see greater freedom as a catalyst to greater human flourishing.

He is the author of the book, Crisis of Responsibility: Our Cultural Addiction to Blame and How You Can Cure It and his most recent book, There’s No Free Lunch: 250 Economic Truths.

His ultimate passions are his lovely wife of 18+ years, Joleen, their gorgeous and brilliant children, sons Mitchell and Graham, and daughter Sadie, and the life they’ve created together in Newport Beach, California.

152 – Humanist Conservatives with Jeffery Tyler Syck Apr 02, 2024

Fusionism—the viewpoint advocated by the likes of William F. Buckley and Frank Meyer of order and liberty mutually reinforcing each other—has been the dominant form of conservatism in the United States for a generation. In the era of Trump and the rise of nationalist populism on the Right, however, fusionism has steadily lost influence. Should conservatives double down on what’s worked in the past? Or is it time for a different approach that was advocated by some of the original critics of fusionism on the Right?

Joining Saving Elephants host Josh Lewis is Jeffery Tyler Syck to argue for a conservative alternative to the fusionists and NatCons: humanist conservatism. The humanist conservative is interested in preserving the diverse daily practices of human existence, as advocated by noteworthy thinkers like Michael Oakeshott, Daniel Patrick Moynihan, and Peter Viereck. It’s a quitter, more moderated form of conservatism that—Syck believes—could offer an antidote to the excess of the nationalist populous radicalism ascendant on the Right.

About Jeffery Tyler Syck

From jtylersyck.com

Jeffery Tyler Syck is an Assistant Professor of Political Science at the University of Pikeville.

Tyler’s academic research focuses on the development of American democracy and the history of political ideologies. He is the editor of the forthcoming book “A Republic of Virtue: The Political Essays of John Quincy Adams” and is completing a second book manuscript entitled “The Untold Origins of American Democracy.” This second book describes how the political debates between John Quincy Adams and Andrew Jackson forever altered the republic created by the American founders – leaving behind an increasingly majoritarian democracy. His essays and articles on politics, philosophy, and history have appeared in several public facing publications including Law and Liberty, Persuasion, and the Louisville Courier-Journal. Tyler’s academic work has recently been published in the journal Pietas.

A native of Pike County Kentucky, Tyler’s political thought and writing are strongly shaped by the culture of Appalachia. With their tightly knit communities, the mountains of Appalachia have instilled in him a love of all things local. As such his writing most often advocates for a rejuvenation of local democracy and a renaissance of rural culture.

Tyler received a Doctor of Philosophy and Master of Arts in Government from the University of Virginia. He received a Bachelor of Arts in Government and History from Morehead State University where he graduated with honors.

You can follow Tyler on Twitter @tylersyck

151 – The God of This Lower World Mar 19, 2024

What is the single most important virtue for a leader to possess? What quality can make the run-of-the-mill politician into a statesman? Is it integrity, communication skills, resilience, courage, empathy, or wisdom? All of these things are important, of course, and if any are sufficiently lacking we wouldn’t call that a good leader. But what would you say is the chief virtue?

Conservative thinkers from Burke to Kirk to Kristol to Strauss and even many of the ancient and medieval thinkers from Aristotle to Plato to St. Thomas Aquainis identified a single virtue as the chief “political” virtue. A virtue so important that Edmund Burke referred to it as the god of this lower world.

What is that virtue? That’s exactly what Saving Elephants host Josh Lewis explores in this solo episode.

Mentioned in the episode: Saul Alinsky’s interview on William F. Buckley’s Firing Line.

150 – We Don't Need No Indoctrination with Luke Sheahan Mar 05, 2024

What is the purpose of higher education? Is it primarily to prepare us for the jobs of the future? Is it to ensure the leaders of tomorrow hold the right opinions on important issues? Is it to provide a safe haven for the pursuit of Truth?

Thinkers on the Right have held differing—sometimes incompatible—views on the purpose of higher education. Joining Saving Elephants host Josh Lewis is returning guest Luke Sheahan to explore these arguments and how conservatives might respond to the rise of radicalism and wokism on college campuses.

About Luke Sheahan

From Luke’s website: Luke Sheahan is Assistant Professor in the Department of Political Science at Duquesne University and a Non-Resident Scholar at the Program for Research on Religion and Urban Civil Society (PRRUCS) at the University of Pennsylvania. He researches the intersection of First Amendment rights and political theory. Sheahan’s scholarly articles and reviews have appeared in The Political Science Reviewer, Humanitas, Anamnesis, and The Journal of Value Inquiry and he has lectured widely on religious liberty, freedom of speech, and freedom of association. He is author of Why Associations Matter: The Case for First Amendment Pluralism. He is writing a second book tentatively titled “Pluralism and Toleration: Difference, Justice, and the Social Group.”

From 2018-2019, Sheahan was Associate Director and Post-Doctoral Research Fellow at the Freedom Project at Wellesley College and from 2016-2018, Sheahan was a Postdoctoral Associate and Research Fellow in the Department of Political Science at Duke University. He received a PhD and MA in political theory from the Catholic University of America and a B.S. in political science from the Honors College at Oregon State University. He is a five-time recipient of the Humane Studies Fellowship from the Institute for Humane Studies, a 2014 recipient of the Richard M. Weaver Fellowship from the Intercollegiate Studies Institute (ISI), and a 2018 recipient of the Leonard P. Liggio Memorial Fellowship.

In 2022 the Russell Kirk Center announced the appointment of Dr. Luke C. Sheahan as the fifth editor in the history of The University Bookman, originally established by none other than Russell Kirk, seeking to redeem the time by identifying and discussing those books that diagnose the modern age and support the renewal of culture and the common good.

You can follow Luke on Twitter @lsheahan

149 – The Legacy of Roger Scruton with Fisher Derderian Feb 20, 2024

Having published more than forty books on an astoundingly wide range of topics and holding noteworthy positions at the British Academy and the Royal Society of Literature, the University of Oxford, the Ethics and Public Policy Center, and the University of Buckingham, Sir Roger Scruton was the quintessential British gentleman and scholar. He was also one of the greatest conservative intellectuals of the last century and the beginning of this century who died in 2020. Fisher Derderian joins Saving Elephants host Josh Lewis for a woefully incomplete exploration at the legacy of Scruton, including Scruton’s contributions to American conservatism, his curious admiration of Friedrich Hegel, his spirited yet charitable critics of the thinkers of the New Left, and his inscrutable views on the Christian faith.

About Fisher Derderian

Source – Scruton.org

Fisher Derderian is the Founder and Executive Director of the Roger Scruton Legacy Foundation. He met Sir Roger as a student in the MA Philosophy Programme at the University of Buckingham and the idea for the RSLF was subsequently conceived at a tutorial with Scruton.

Fisher currently resides in Orange County with his wife, Maxine, and their three children. He serves as a member of the Arts Commission for the City of Costa Mesa. Fisher holds a BA in Politics, Philosophy and Economics from The King’s College NYC and a MA in Philosophy from the University of Buckingham. You can follow Fisher on Twitter @Fisher_D

About the Roger Scruton Legacy Foundation

Source – Scruton.org

The Roger Scruton Legacy Foundation is the centre of an international network of institutions and scholars dedicated to furthering the philosophical and cultural achievements of the West championed in Scruton’s work. Through the hosting and sponsoring of events, lectures, seminars, research and projects, the RSLF supports those dedicated to the achievements of Western philosophy, architecture, art and literature who are committed to living for ‘the vanished things’ and teaching our great inheritance to the rising generations.

148 – Conservatism in Practice with Gov Mitch Daniels Feb 06, 2024

The Saving Elephants podcast has welcomed a wide array of incredible guests who are on forefront of the conservative political movement. But most of the guests discuss conservatism from the perspective of a theory or set of principles or idea. Few have had the opportunity to enact political conservatism as a practice. And few ex-politicians have been as successful as former Indiana Governor Mitch Daniels in advancing conservatism as a practice. While Daniels is reticent to label his approach “conservative” or identify as part of red team vs. blue team, his practices in executive offices from the governor’s mansion to serving in presidential administrations to leading a university have all displayed a strong tinge of conservative prudence and small-government grit.

Saving Elephants host Josh Lewis welcomes former Indiana Governor Mitch Daniels to the show to discuss his experiences as governor, advisor to Ronald Reagan, Director of OMB for George W. Bush, president of Purdue University. His accomplishments in these offices and no-nonsense approach towards governing has earned him recognition among many on the Right. Some leading conservatives—from George Will to Jonah Goldberg to Ross Douthat—have clearly stated he would have been their preferred presidential candidate in recent elections. While Daniels isn’t a presidential candidate then or now, his story provides a roadmap in our politically bleak wilderness for what qualities we should be looking for in a leader.

About Mitch Daniels from Purdue University

Mitchell E. Daniels, Jr. is the 12th president of Purdue University and the former governor of Indiana. He was elected Indiana’s 49th governor in 2004 in his first bid for any elected office, and then re-elected in 2008 with more votes than any candidate in the state's history. During his tenure, Indiana went from an $800 million deficit to its first AAA credit rating, led the nation in infrastructure building and passed sweeping education and healthcare reforms.

After a series of transformations, which included the biggest tax cut in state history, the nation’s most sweeping deregulation of the telecommunications industry and a host of other reforms aimed at strengthening the state’s economy, Indiana was rated a top five state for business climate and number one for state infrastructure and effectiveness of state government as Daniels exited office. Indiana’s business climate is now rated among the nation’s best.

At Purdue, Daniels has prioritized student affordability and reinvestment in the university’s strengths. Breaking with a 36-year trend, Purdue has held tuition unchanged from 2012 through at least the 2022-23 academic year. Simultaneously, room rates have remained steady, meal plan rates have fallen about 10%, and student borrowing has dropped 32% while investments in student success and STEM research have undergone unprecedented growth. It is less expensive to attend Purdue today than it was in 2012.

In recognition of his leadership as both a governor and a university president, Daniels was named among the Top 50 World Leaders by Fortune Magazine in 2015 and was elected to the American Academy of Arts and Sciences in 2019.

Prior to becoming governor, Daniels served as chief of staff to Senator Richard Lugar, senior advisor to President Ronald Reagan and Director of the Office of Management and Budget under President George W. Bush. He also was the CEO of the Hudson Institute, a major contract research organization. During an 11-year career at Eli Lilly and Company, he held a number of top executive posts including president of Eli Lilly’s North American pharmaceutical operations.

Daniels earned a bachelor's degree from Princeton’s Woodrow Wilson School of Public and International Affairs and a law degree from Georgetown. He is the author of three books and a contributing columnist in the Washington Post. He and his wife Cheri have four daughters and seven grandchildren.

147 – Where the Religious Right Went Wrong with JB Shreve Jan 16, 2024

One of the strangest political developments over the past several decades has been the devolution of the Religious Right and large swaths of politically active Evangelicals as they morphed from character counts moralists of the 1990s to MAGA Trumplicans. Regardless of the merits of where the Religious Right stands today, one could be forgiven for being perplexed at how they arrived here at all.

Joining Saving Elephants host Josh Lewis is JB Shreve, creator of The End of History podcast and blog, to demystify the Religious Right’s conversion to the Church of Trump. Both JB and Josh were raised in the cultural milieu of Evangelical conservatism and have an insider’s perspective on what went so wrong on the Religious Right.

About JB Shreve

JB Shreve spent his life in the highlands of western Arkansas, where he and his wife Casie raised their three children. JB worked in international ministry between 1998 and 2008 in various roles with organizations such as Bill Glass Prison Ministries, Christian Motorcyclists Association, and Open Doors with Brother Andrew.

After securing his degrees in International Relations and Middle East Studies at the Fulbright College and King Fahd Center for Middle East Studies at the University of Arkansas, JB went to work in the corporate business sector.

In 2005, JB and his family moved to northwest Arkansas, where they joined a team to build a new church Transformation Center. JB continues in an active leadership role at Transformation Center.

JB hosts two podcasts and blogs. JB Shreve & Faithful Considerations includes devotionals and bible studies, while JB Shreve & the End of History looks at our generation's current events, history, and socio-political issues. JB has written two books: How the World Ends: Understanding the Growing Chaos published in 2019 and his latest book Politically Incorrect: Real Faith in an Era of Unreal Politics.

146 – The Myth of Nationalism with Samuel Goldman Jan 02, 2024

What does is mean to be an American? And why do we Americans obsess so much over the question of what it means to be an American? This nagging question has plagued our nation since its birth and various national “myths” have been advanced to offer some form of national identity and cohesion. At times one myth has proven stronger than the others, only to be overshadowed as historical events call its sufficiency and truth into question. So where does that leave us today in an era of collective, existential crisis?

Joining Saving Elephants host Josh Lewis to explore these questions is George Washington University associate professor of political science Samuel Goldman.

About Samuel Goldman

Samuel Goldman is an associate professor of political science at George Washington University, where he is also executive director of the John L. Loeb, Jr. Institute for Religious Freedom and director of the Politics & Values Program.

Samuel is the Editor of FUSION, an online journal inspired by the belief that Western civilization is defined by intertwined threads of freedom and tradition, innovation and order, rights and duties. In addition to academic work, his writing has appeared in The New York Times, The Wall Street Journal, and many other publications.

His most recent book, After Nationalism: Being American in a Divided Age was published by University of Pennsylvania Press in spring 2021. His first book God’s Country: Christian Zionism in America was published by the University of Pennsylvania Press in 2018. Samuel received his Ph.D. from Harvard and taught at Harvard and Princeton before coming to GW. You can follow Samuel on Twitter @SWGoldman

145 – Smoking Yule Logs and Donning Gay Apparel Dec 19, 2023

In 2021, Saving Elephants host Josh Lewis joined three other veteran podcasters on a new podcast endeavor: Are We Right? Cal Davenport, Brooke Medina, and Calvin Moore, and Josh debated a wide range of topics from politics to religion to culture and invited the audience to weigh in on whether or not they’re right. While the show was tragically short-lived, a number of excellent episodes were produced and this is a re-podcast of their Christmas episode to commemorate the holiday season:

In the spirit of the season, Are We Right presents an epic Christmas-themed episode unmatched in festive gaiety since George Lucas’ The Star Wars Holiday Special. Calvin recalls fond memories of the family going to the movies at Christmastime and waxes eloquent about the proper color of Christmas lights and ranking of Christmas films. Brooke attempts in vain to engage the group in a lively debate about the merits of singing Mariah Carey Christmas songs and ruminates about the religious implications of Christmas in a manner that would make a Southern Baptist shout “Amen!”. And Josh regales the audience with a banjo solo of Angels We Have Heard on High (no, really).

You can find the podcast on iTunes, Spotify, Amazon, Audible, or wherever you listen, find us on Twitter @ TheAWRPodcast, and email us at arewerightpodcast@gmail.com.

144 – Conservative Historian Redux with AD Tippet Dec 05, 2023

Earlier this year Saving Elephants host Josh Lewis was on AD Tippet’s podcast, Conservative Historian. This episode is a re-podcast of that conversation that covered a wide variety of conservative topics from both the past and today.

About AD Tippet

AD Tippet (the podcast formerly known as Belisarius Aves) is the founder and publisher of the Conservative Historian YouTube channel and podcast. “History is too important to be left to the left,” writes AD. “The Conservative Historian provides content and opinions on conservative thinking through the prism of history.” You can follow Bel on Twitter @BelAves

143 – The Conservative Mind at 70 with Michael Lucchese Nov 21, 2023

In 1953 a little-known political theorist Russell Kirk repurposed his doctoral dissertation as a book for publication. His book, The Conservative Mind, would quickly become a bestseller, give the nascent conservative movement its name and intellectual moorings, be reviewed and debated in respectable publications across the country, and launch its author to international fame.

Seventy years later, the book is still going strong. Now on its seventh edition and reprinted in multiple languages, The Conservative Mind is among the indispensable tomes for understanding the conservative movement. In this episode, Saving Elephants host Josh Lewis is joined by Michael Lucchese to explore the enduring legacy of The Conservative Mind at seventy.

About Michael Lucchese

Michael Lucchese is the founder and CEO of Pipe Creek Consulting, a communications firm based in Washington, D.C., and a visiting scholar at the Liberty Fund. Previously, he was a communications aide to U.S. Senator Ben Sasse.

He received a BA in American Studies at Hillsdale College and was a Hudson Institute Political Studies fellow and an alumnus of the Röpke-Wojtyła Fellowship at Catholic University of America's Busch School of Business.

His writing have appeared in multiple publications, including the Washington Examiner and National Review, Engelsberg Ideas, Public Discourse, and Law & Liberty. Michael Lucchese is from Chicago, Illinois.

The Russell Kirk Center for Cultural Renewal Celebrates the 70th Anniversary of The Conservative Mind

In celebration of the 70th anniversary of Russell Kirk’s landmark book, The Conservative Mind, the Russell Kirk Center cordially invites you to join them for a special evening event with a panel of emerging conservative thinkers: Adapting Conservatism for the Current Generation

The celebration will be held at the Mayflower Hotel in Washington, D.C. on Tuesday, December 5.

Reserve Your Tickets

142 – Jiving with Jaffa with Seth Root Nov 07, 2023

While Leo Strauss was famous for influencing men and women who became intellectual heavyweights in the conservative movement—names like Allan Bloom, Irving Kristol, Harvey Mansfield, Thomas Pangle barely scratch the surface—few stand as tall as Harry Jaffa. A cantankerous and quarrelsome debater to some and a beloved architect of restoring conservatism to a more American-focused and principled-based approach to others, Jaffa lived a remarkably long and productive life. His writings persuaded William F. Buckley, Jr. away from a more sympathetically Southern conservatism and, with it, the whole of the conservative movement.

Joining Saving Elephants host Josh Lewis to explore the legacy of Harry Jaffa is returning guest Seth Root, who was last seen in episode 83 discussing the virtues of Straussianism.

About Seth Root

Seth Root is a self-described Claremont Institute hack who doesn't care for Edmund Burke, but we love him anyway. He was the cohost of the tragically defunct In The Trenches Podcast, a show for conversations with people that are right in the middle of the war of ideas. Seth was a fellow at Conservative Partnership Institute and an intern at the James Wilson Institute on Natural Rights and the American Founding. He currently works for the Oregon State Senate. You can follow Seth on Twitter @SethRoot1

141 – The Soul of Civility with Alexandra Hudson Oct 17, 2023

Everyone supports civility, in theory, when the “other side” is behaving themselves. But what is the role of civility in an era of growing political division? Is civility a weakness that can be exploited by our political opponents? Is it simply being well-mannered and exceedingly nice, or is there more to it?

Those are the very questions Alexandra Hudson set out to answer in her new book, The Soul of Civility. Alexandra joins Saving Elephants host Josh Lewis to unpackage how civility holds the timeless answers for humanity’s timeless struggle with living alongside the “other side”.

About Alexandra Hudson

From Alexandra’s website:

Alexandra Hudson is a writer, popular speaker, and the founder of Civic Renaissance, a publication and intellectual community dedicated to beauty, goodness and truth. She was named the 2020 Novak Journalism Fellow, and contributes to Fox News, CBS News, The Wall Street Journal, USA Today, TIME Magazine, POLITICO Magazine, and Newsweek. She earned a master’s degree in public policy at the London School of Economics as a Rotary Scholar, and is an adjunct professor at the Indiana University Lilly School of Philanthropy. She is also the creator of a series for The Teaching Company called Storytelling and The Human Condition. She lives in Indianapolis, IN with her husband and children.

But wait, there’s more…

During the conversation Josh and Alexandra briefly discuss Edmund Burke’s take on social contract theory. This is a complex issue and there simply wasn’t adequate time to explore it fully. So, after the conversation with Alexandra, Josh shares his thoughts on how Burke’s understanding of social contract theory might rescue Lockean liberalism from being merely a tool of the Left to something conservatives can embrace themselves.

140 – Back to Burke Oct 03, 2023

The name Edmund Burke is used quite liberally on the Saving Elephants podcast as host Josh Lewis makes no bones about being a “Burkean” conservative. But who was this Irish statesman, economist, and philosopher? What were his contributions to conservative thought? Why does Josh hold him in such high regard? And why do some conservatives argue there’s no place for Burke in conservatism?

Rather than inviting one guest to tackle these pressing questions, Josh explores the various conversations had on the podcast with past guests about Burke to help us navigate this rather complex and often misunderstood political thinker. The lineup includes:

Wes Siler

Podcast appearance: 71 – Exploring Burke with Wes Siler

Wes is the founder and Director of The Burkean Conservative, a website, social media presence, and video platform that produces content focused on educating and expanding the conservative movement on the basis of Edmund Burke's principles. You can follow The Burkean Conservative on Twitter @TheBurkeanCon.

Yuval Levin

Podcast appearance: 73 – Formative Institutions with Yuval Levin

Yuval Levin is a political analyst, public intellectual, academic, and journalist. He is the founding editor of National Affairs, director of Social, Cultural, and Constitutional Studies at the American Enterprise Institute, a contributing editor of National Review, and co-founder and a senior editor of The New Atlantis. He also holds the Beth and Ravenel Curry Chair in Public Policy.

Yuval served as a member of the White House domestic policy staff under President George W. Bush. He was also executive director of the President’s Council on Bioethics and a congressional staffer at the member, committee, and leadership levels.

Yuval’s essays and articles have appeared in numerous publications, among them, The New York Times, The Washington Post, The Wall Street Journal, Commentary. He is the author of five books, two of which are discussed in detail in the episode: A Time to Build and The Great Debate.

Jonah Goldberg

Podcast appearance: 82 – Ruminating Remnants with Jonah Goldberg

Jonah Goldberg hosts The Remnant, a podcast featuring a “Cannonball Run”-style cast of stars, has-beens, and never-weres to address the most pressing issues of the day and of all-time, mixing history, pop culture, rank-punditry, political philosophy, and, at times, shameless book-plugging, and the nudity is (almost) always tasteful. In October of 2019 Goldberg co-launched and became founding editor of the online opinion and news publication The Dispatch. He was the founding editor of National Review Online, and from 1998 until 2019 he was an editor at National Review.

A prolific writer, Goldberg writes a weekly column about politics and culture for the Los Angeles Times as well as a frequent “newsletter” The G-File. He has authored three books, the No. 1 New York Times bestseller Liberal Fascism; The Tyranny of Cliches: How Liberals Cheat in the War of Ideas; and Suicide of the West, which also became a New York Times bestseller.

Goldberg is also a regular contributor on news networks such as CNN, Fox News, and MSNBC, appearing on various television programs including Good Morning America, Nightline, Hardball with Chris Matthews, Real Time with Bill Maher, and The Daily Show. Goldberg is an occasional guest on a number of Fox News shows and a frequent panelist on Special Report with Bret Baier.

Bo Winegard

Podcast appearance: 104 – Armchair Burkeans with Bo Winegard

Bo Winegard obtained his PhD in social psychology from Florida State University, under the tutelage of Roy Baumeister. Formerly a professor at a small college in the Midwest, Bo is now an independent scholar interested in human evolution, human variation, the rise of political order, and political conservatism. He also enjoys literature, film, sports, and mediocre detective fiction.

Bo has many peer-reviewed publications on motley topics and often writes for the online media publication Quillette. He is currently working on the first of several books on human nature and political ideology.

Visit Bo’s website:

https://www.bmwinegard.com/

And his YouTube channel:

https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC8mHb9VLBbrlvzRRwwGgL5w

You can also find Bo on Twitter @EPoe187

David Bahnsen

Podcast appearance: 119 – Inflating the Apocalypse with David Bahnsen

David L. Bahnsen is the founder, Managing Partner, and Chief Investment Officer of The Bahnsen Group, a bi-coastal private wealth management firm with offices in Newport Beach, CA, New York City, Minneapolis, and Nashville managing over $3.5 billion in client assets. David is consistently named as one of the top financial advisors in America by Barron’s, Forbes, and the Financial Times. He is a frequent guest on CNBC, Bloomberg, and Fox Business and is a regular contributor to National Review and Forbes. He has written his own political viewpoint blog for over a decade.

David serves on the Board of Directors for the National Review Institute and was the Vice-President of the Lincoln Club of Orange County for eight years. He is a committed donor and activist across all spectrums of national, state, and local politics, and views the cause of Buckley and Reagan as the need of the hour.

David is passionate about opposition to crony capitalism, and has lectured and written for years about the need for pro-growth economic policy. Every part of his political worldview stems from a desire to see greater freedom as a catalyst to greater human flourishing.

He is the author of the book, Crisis of Responsibility: Our Cultural Addiction to Blame and How You Can Cure It and his most recent book, There’s No Free Lunch: 250 Economic Truths.

His ultimate passions are his lovely wife of 18+ years, Joleen, their gorgeous and brilliant children, sons Mitchell and Graham, and daughter Sadie, and the life they’ve created together in Newport Beach, California.

Jeff Nelson

Podcast appearance: 130 – Cultivating Kirk with Jeff Nelson

Jeff Nelson co-founded the Kirk Center with Annette Kirk and is currently Vice Chairman of the Center’s Board of Trustees. He served in 1986 and again in 1989 as Dr. Kirk’s personal assistant.

Dr. Nelson is Executive Vice President of the Intercollegiate Studies Institute (Wilmington, Delaware). He also served as president of the Thomas More College of Liberal Arts (Merrimack, NH). He received his B.A. at the University of Detroit, an M.A. at Yale University Divinity School, and was awarded his Ph.D. in American History at the University of Edinburgh in Scotland.

Dr. Nelson founded ISI Books, the Intercollegiate Studies Institute’s now nationally recognized publishing imprint, in 1993. Under his direction, more than 110 books were published. During that time he also edited two respected journals of thought and opinion: The Intercollegiate Review and The University Bookman, and is publisher of Studies in Burke and His Time. He also is senior fellow of both the International G. K. Chesterton Institute (Toronto, ON) and the Centre for the Study of Faith and Culture in Oxford, England; and he is secretary of the Edmund Burke Society of America.

Dr. Nelson has edited two book collections: Redeeming the Time by Russell Kirk, and Perfect Sowing: Reflections of a Bookman by Henry Regnery; he co-edited an award-winning treasury of the historian John Lukacs’ writings entitled Remembered Past; and was project director of the popular national college guide, Choosing the Right College: The Whole Truth About America’s Top Schools. Dr. Nelson was featured in a New York Times front-page news article about a major reference work he co-edited, American Conservatism: An Encyclopedia; and he is series editor of The Library of Modern Thinkers. Jeff Nelson is a frequent and popular guest on radio and television talk shows across the country.

You can follow Jeff on Twitter @JeffOttoNelson

139 – Perspectives from Across the Pond with Sarah Stook Sep 19, 2023

The United States and United Kingdom have enjoyed and, at times, endured a symbiotic history, culture, politics, and global relationship. Often understanding the quirks of one nation helps us better understand our own. Sarah Stook, journalist of American politics and history, joins Saving Elephants host Josh Lewis to discuss what Americans and Brits can learn from one another, what unique challenges face young, British conservatives, the importance of the British monarch, and whether American politics looks as off-the-rails from an outsider’s perspective as it does from those actually living in the United States.

About Sarah Stook

Sarah Stook is a freelance writer and beat reporter for Elections Daily (focused on American politics) and The Mallard (focused on politics in the United Kingdom) with an emphasis on the Republican Party, presidential elections, and the interworking of campaigns. She is a fan of historical threads, first ladies, presidents, and vintage fashion. She is a student at Lancaster University in the U.K. and is a member of the Conservative Party. You can follow Sarah on Twitter @sarah_stook

138 – The Conservative Historian with Belisarius Aves Sep 05, 2023

“History offers not simply a chronicle of events but, more importantly, opportunities to gain insights about the human condition from the experience of other times and places,” writes Thomas Sowell in his provocatively titled book Black Rednecks and White Liberals. “That is, it offers not merely facts but explanations.” Yet history’s capacity to benefit us is naturally limited by our natural biases. “History cannot be a reality check for visions when history is itself shaped by visions.” To learn how to extract beneficial explanations from history, therefore, we must first learn how to recognize our biases, pre-conceptions, worldviews, and visions.

Saving Elephants host Josh Lewis is joined by the Conservative Historian Belisarius Aves to explore the various schools of historical thought and how conservatism might instruct us to approach history.

About Belisarius Aves

Belisarius Aves (or Bel for short) is the founder and publisher of the Conservative Historian YouTube channel and podcast. “History is too important to be left to the left,” writes Bel. “The Conservative Historian provides content and opinions on conservative thinking through the prism of history.” You can follow Bel on Twitter @BelAves

137 – Political Theology with Jonathan Cole – Part 2 Aug 15, 2023

Christian or not, it’s undeniable that Western civilization, and the United States in particular, has deep historical roots in Judeo-Christian teachings. Scripture has shaped much of our culture, thought, values, and politics. But while plenty of Biblical passages appear to have political implications, there’s little consensus among the general population—to say nothing of the religiously devoted—what a political worldview based on the Bible should look like.

Saving Elephants host Josh Lewis continues his conversation with Jonathan Cole on the topic of political theology. But this time they turn their attention to more practical applications of how specific Scriptures might inform our politics and how we might avoid the pitfalls of making our politics too religious or our religion too political.

About Jonathan Cole

From Jonathan Cole’s website:

Dr Jonathan Cole is a scholar, writer, translator and lecturer specializing in political theology—the intersection between religion and politics.

He is currently Assistant Director of Research at the Australian Centre for Christianity and Culture at Charles Sturt University, Canberra, Australia, and host of The Political Animals Podcast: "Honest conversations about the political, theological and cultural ideas that shape who we are in the 21st century."

He has a PhD in political theology from CSU, an MA in Islamic theology and Middle Eastern politics from the Australian National University and a BA Hons in Modern Greek language and history from La Trobe University. He speaks Greek.

He spent 13 years working in a number of Australian federal government departments and agencies in Canberra, including seven years in intelligence, most recently as a Senior Terrorism Analyst at the Office of National Assessments (2010–2014).

Follow Jonathan on Facebook, Twitter, or Academia for his latest content.

136 – Political Theology with Jonathan Cole – Part 1 Aug 01, 2023

“I never discuss anything else except politics and religion,” English writer, philosopher, and Christian apologist G. K. Chesterton once quipped. “There is nothing else to discuss.” For some sensible, genteel Americans, politics and religion are precisely what you don’t discuss in public and—perhaps even—in private company. Others discuss both with ease yet may have trouble thinking through what their politics might say about their religion, or how their religion ought to inform their politics.

The discipline of political theology specializes in studying the intersect between politics and religion. Joining Saving Elephants host Josh Lewis is returning guest from the land Down Under, Jonathan Cole. Jonathan briefly discusses the history of political theology before turning to how we might understand political theology and how Christianity in particular has shaped the governments of Western civilization. This is the first of a two-part conversation. Catch part 2 in the next episode.

About Jonathan Cole

From Jonathan Cole’s website:

Dr Jonathan Cole is a scholar, writer, translator and lecturer specializing in political theology—the intersection between religion and politics.

He is currently Assistant Director of Research at the Australian Centre for Christianity and Culture at Charles Sturt University, Canberra, Australia, and host of The Political Animals Podcast: "Honest conversations about the political, theological and cultural ideas that shape who we are in the 21st century."

He has a PhD in political theology from CSU, an MA in Islamic theology and Middle Eastern politics from the Australian National University and a BA Hons in Modern Greek language and history from La Trobe University. He speaks Greek.

He spent 13 years working in a number of Australian federal government departments and agencies in Canberra, including seven years in intelligence, most recently as a Senior Terrorism Analyst at the Office of National Assessments (2010–2014).

Follow Jonathan on Facebook, Twitter, or Academia for his latest content.

135 – Cool Ellul with Jason Thacker Jul 18, 2023

Modern views on how future technology is likely to change our lives range from bloviatingly aspirational visions of utopia to musings on whether the latest advancement in AI will destroy humankind in our lifetime or merely enslave us all in Matrix-style battery capillaries. Yet debates on whether technology is a neutral tool for our benefit or a near-unstoppable force leading us to a particular destiny are nothing new. In 1964, French philosopher and sociologist Jacques Ellul wrote The Technological Society, in which he argued technology had a totalizing effect that could potentially dehumanize our world in its never-ending effort to make all things efficient and “useful”.

While he’s somewhat critical of Ellul’s determinism, this episode’s guest—Jason Thacker—gleans much wisdom from Ellul’s warnings. Saving Elephants host Josh Lewis and Jason Thacker discuss competing views of technology and how they might help us for a foundation for dealing with the technological challenges we face in our digital public square.

About Jason Thacker

From https://jasonthacker.com/

Jason Thacker serves as an assistant professor of philosophy and ethics at Boyce College in Louisville, KY. He also is a research fellow in Christian ethics and director of the research institute at The Ethics and Religious Liberty Commission of the Southern Baptist Convention. He is the author of several books including Following Jesus in the Digital Age and The Age of AI: Artificial Intelligence and the Future of Humanity. He also serves as the editor of The Digital Public Square: Christian Ethics in a Technological Society and co-editor of the Essentials in Christian Ethics series with B&H Academic. He is the project leader and lead drafter of Artificial Intelligence: An Evangelical Statement of Principles, and his work has been featured at Slate, Politico, The Week, USA Today, Christianity Today, World Magazine, The Gospel Coalition, and Desiring God.

He is a graduate of The University of Tennessee in Knoxville, where he earned a Bachelor of Arts in Communication Studies. He also holds a Master of Divinity from The Southern Baptist Theological Seminary, where he is currently a PhD candidate in ethics, public theology, and philosophy. He serves as an associate fellow with the Kirby Laing Centre for Public Theology in Cambridge, an advisor for AI and Faith, fellow in science and technology at the Land Center for Cultural Engagement at Southwestern Seminary, and a research fellow with the ERLC Research Institute. He is married to Dorie and they have two sons.

You can follow Jason on Twitter @jasonthacker

About The Digital Public Square

Brooke was one of the contributing writers to the recently published book The Digital Public Square. In The Digital Public Square, editor Jason Thacker has chosen top Christian voices to help the church navigate the issues of censorship, conspiracy theories, sexual ethics, hate speech, religious freedom, and tribalism. Many of the contributing writers (David French, Bonnie Kristian, Bryan Baise, and Brooke Medina) have been prior guests on the Saving Elephants show.

134 – Gilding a Mess with Avi Woolf Jul 04, 2023

In the aftermath of the Civil War and prior to the first World War lies an often overlooked era in American history known as the Gilded Age. This was an extraordinarily “messy” period where it’s often difficult to identify the heroes to extol or villains to condemn. But it is also a period that has unusually similar parallels to our own times from rapid technological advancements, growing partisanship, and the unraveling of communities and traditions. We might benefit from a closer understanding of the lessons learned in this messy period.

Saving Elephants host Josh Lewis is joined by returning guest Avi Woolf, a fellow podcaster who has been working through an in-depth and nuanced series on the Gilded Age on his podcast Avi’s Conversational Corner. He joins Josh to help decipher the mess of this era.

About Avi Woolf

Avi Woolf is a writer, editor, translator, and podcaster whose work has been published in Arc Digital, Commentary, National Review, The Bulwark, and The Dispatch. He was chief editor of the online Medium publication Conservative Pathways, and he—in his words—"hopes to help forge a path for a conservatism which is relevant for the 21st century while not abandoning the best of past wisdom.”

Avi hosts his own podcast entitled Avi’s Conversational Corner, a podcast on culture, history, and politics in a broad perspective. You can find Avi on Twitter @AviWoolf

133 – Grappling with Hate Speech with Brooke Medina Jun 20, 2023

In this brave new digital world, opportunities for hate speech seem ubiquitous and increasingly dangerous. How should a conservative balance their values of limited-government and protection of the vulnerable in social media? How do we answer the charges of “silence is violence”, or that speech and equal violence from a legal, cultural, and moral framework?

Saving Elephants host Josh Lewis is joined by frequent guest Brooke Medina to grapple with the problem of hate speech. Josh shares his experiences of being harassed while (briefly) identifying as a woman on Facebook and Brooke draws from her contributing chapter in the recently published book The Digital Public Square: Christian Ethics in a Technological Society.

About Brooke Medina

Brooke Medina serves as Vice President of Communications for the John Locke Foundation, an independent, nonprofit think tank in North Carolina. There Brooke manages a team of talented communications, design, and media professionals. Brooke oversees the implementation of the organization’s strategic communications efforts and regularly engages with the press and public through written commentary, television and radio interviews, as well as public speaking engagements. In addition to these roles, Brooke is responsible for creating and implementing the foundation’s marketing strategy.

Brooke is a graduate of Regent University, holding a B.A. in Government and a minor in English. While in college, she attended both the Koch Leaders Program and Koch Communications Fellowship, programs that focus on the philosophical underpinnings of market-based management and classical liberalism. She is currently a member of the American Enterprise Institute’s Leadership Network.

Brooke’s writing has been published in outlets such as The Hill, Entrepreneur, Washington Examiner, WORLD, Daily Signal, FEE, and other publications. She is a frequent podcast guest on a variety of shows, a C. S. Lewis aficionado, and, along with Josh, part of the quartet that make up the hosts of the Are We Right? podcast.

You can follow Brooke on Twitter @Brooke_Medina_

About The Digital Public Square

Brooke was one of the contributing writers to the recently published book The Digital Public Square. In The Digital Public Square, editor Jason Thacker has chosen top Christian voices to help the church navigate the issues of censorship, conspiracy theories, sexual ethics, hate speech, religious freedom, and tribalism. Many of the contributing writers (David French, Bonnie Kristian, Bryan Baise, and Brooke Medina) have been prior guests on the Saving Elephants show.

132 – Classical Period Non-Perverts with Jack Butler Jun 06, 2023

Among the very-online, relatively young, and mostly male cohorts of the Right is a movement growing in popularity and intensity that valorizes the very excesses the Left criticizes as toxic masculinity. This movement, promulgated by the likes of Bronze Age Pervert and Mencius Moldbug and defended or even praised by a surprising array of mainstream conservative outlets, has captured the attention of many a young man yearning for a deeper sense of purpose and pursuits in an age of secular materialism and Leftist wokism.

In this episode Saving Elephants host Josh Lewis is joined by National Review Online submissions editor Jack Butler who contends that the West’s spiritual vacuum has made it possible for pre-Christian paganism to gain a foothold in the culture and that a return to an authentic faith is the only plausible means of combatting this worrisome trend.

About Jack Butler

Jack Butler is a researcher, editor, and writer who currently works as submissions editor at National Review Online. Jack is a media fellow for the Institute for Human Ecology, and a Robert Novak Journalism Fellow at the Fund for American Studies. He was the original producer of The Remnant podcast with Jonah Goldberg and host of the Young Americans podcast. Jack is an alumnus of Hillsdale College and a graduate of St. Xavier High School in Cincinnati, his hometown. He is also an avid long-distance runner. You can follow Jack on Twitter @jackbutler4815.

131 – Witnessing Whittaker with Sam Tanenhaus May 16, 2023

In 1948 Whittaker Chambers shocked the nation when, while testifying before Congress, he gave the names of individuals he claimed were working within the United States government as Communist spies for the Soviet Union. Among those named was Alger Hiss, Chamber’s close friend and former Communist comrade. The ensuing trial quickly divided the nation into competing narratives. Who was lying and who was telling the truth? Was Chambers insane or, perhaps, seeking to destroy Hiss due to some personal grievance? Was this merely a pretext to the coming Communist “purges” under the McCarthy hearings that took place a few years later? Or had Chambers alerted the nation to the fact there were Soviet spies deep within the government and the prevailing liberal elite of that era had failed completely to respond to the threat?

Sam Tanenhaus, American historian, biographer, and journalist joins Saving Elephants host Josh Lewis to take a deep dive into the remarkable life of Whittaker Chambers, including how Chambers came to break with Communism, whether Hiss was truly guilty, the real threat of Communism of that era, what the Chambers/Hiss trial came to represent for the nation as a whole, Chamber’s association with William F. Buckley and the burgeoning conservative movement, and his lasting impact on the Right.

About Sam Tanenhaus

Sam Tanenhaus is the US Writer at Large for Prospect and the editor of both The New York Times Book Review and the Week in Review section of the Times. From 1999 to 2004 he was a contributing editor at Vanity Fair, where he wrote often on politics. His work has also appeared in The New York Times Magazine, The New Republic, The New York Review of Books, and many other publications. Tanenhaus’s book, Whittaker Chambers: A Biography, won the Los Angeles Times Book Prize and was a finalist for both the National Book Award and the Pulitzer Prize. His books also include The Death of Conservatism and a soon-to-be-released biography of William F. Buckley Jr. and is the US Writer at Large for Prospect.

130 – Cultivating Kirk with Jeff Nelson May 02, 2023

Perhaps no other individual (or person, for the benefit of the Kirkian insider) was more responsible for resuscitating intellectual conservatism back to life in the mid Twentieth century than Russell Kirk. Today, Kirk’s efforts to recover and conserve the “Permanent Things” lives on at the Russell Kirk Center for Cultural Renewal. Co-founder and Vice Chair of the Russell Kirk Center, Jeff Nelson, joins Saving Elephants host Josh Lewis to explore the legacy of Russell Kirk and its lasting impact on the conservative movement today.

About Jeff Nelson

From the Kirk Center bio:

Jeff Nelson co-founded the Kirk Center with Annette Kirk and is currently Vice Chairman of the Center’s Board of Trustees. He served in 1986 and again in 1989 as Dr. Kirk’s personal assistant.

Dr. Nelson is Executive Vice President of the Intercollegiate Studies Institute (Wilmington, Delaware). He also served as president of the Thomas More College of Liberal Arts (Merrimack, NH). He received his B.A. at the University of Detroit, an M.A. at Yale University Divinity School, and was awarded his Ph.D. in American History at the University of Edinburgh in Scotland.

Dr. Nelson founded ISI Books, the Intercollegiate Studies Institute’s now nationally recognized publishing imprint, in 1993. Under his direction, more than 110 books were published. During that time he also edited two respected journals of thought and opinion: The Intercollegiate Review and The University Bookman, and is publisher of Studies in Burke and His Time. He also is senior fellow of both the International G. K. Chesterton Institute (Toronto, ON) and the Centre for the Study of Faith and Culture in Oxford, England; and he is secretary of the Edmund Burke Society of America.

Dr. Nelson has edited two book collections: Redeeming the Time by Russell Kirk, and Perfect Sowing: Reflections of a Bookman by Henry Regnery; he co-edited an award-winning treasury of the historian John Lukacs’ writings entitled Remembered Past; and was project director of the popular national college guide, Choosing the Right College: The Whole Truth About America’s Top Schools. Dr. Nelson was featured in a New York Times front-page news article about a major reference work he co-edited, American Conservatism: An Encyclopedia; and he is series editor of The Library of Modern Thinkers. Jeff Nelson is a frequent and popular guest on radio and television talk shows across the country.

You can follow Jeff on Twitter @JeffOttoNelson

About The Russell Kirk Center

The Russell Kirk Center for Cultural Renewal is located in Kirk’s ancestral village of Mecosta, Michigan. It is at its heart a residential research and study center, a community of fellow travelers that lives together in the Center’s six cottages, and gathers in the Kirk Library of some 15,000 books and in the family house, where ideas and community join in what Dr. Kirk used to describe, borrowing from Tolkien, as the Last Homely House. Like his hero Edmund Burke, Kirk is a perennial thinker, anti-materialist and a Christian humanist. At the Kirk Center and in the writing of Kirk, generations connect, community and tradition live, the politics of prudence and humility extolled, and imagination, religion, and key societal beliefs, practices, and institutions studied with a view toward cultural renewal. Inspired by Russell Kirk, the Kirk Center cherishes the Permanent Things as the best way to enliven the conservative mind and to re-enchant our world.

And so I hope listeners of this podcast will visit the Kirk Center website, kirkcenter.org. Sign up for the Center’s newsletter, Permanent Things, and find great classic Kirk content regularly curated by Cecilia Kirk Nelson. Finally, one of the premier conservative book review publications, The University Bookman, posts new book reviews each weekend and has its own weekly e-newsletter that features reviews and interesting content from other groups and podcasts, including the occasional Saving Elephants episode.

Book Recommendations

Here are four of Jeff Nelson’s book recommendations on Russell Kirk:

First, James Person’s Russell Kirk: A Critical Biography of a Conservative Mind is a wonderful introduction to Kirk and the key areas of his thought.

Second, as mentioned, Bradley Birzer’s Russell Kirk: American Conservative is a thoroughly researched standard biographical treatment that is both insightful and lively.

Third, Gerald Russello’s The Post Modern Imagination of Russell Kirk is one of the best analyses of Kirk’s thought and the role that both ideas and imagination play in it.

Finally, for a discussion and application of Kirk’s understanding of the Moral Imagination, especially as a kind of process or mode of knowledge, through the prism of great children’s literature, Vigen Guroian’s Tending the Heart of Virtue is especially good.

129 – Epistemological Musings with Bonnie Kristian Apr 18, 2023

Our digital world is saturated in “facts” but there’s little agreement on what constitutes “truth”. If we can no longer agree on what sources of information can be reliable, is civil debate even possible? To what degree is the problem exacerbated by social media? To what degree is this simply a problem of human nature? Bonnie Kristian joins Saving Elephants host Josh Lewis to discuss the knowledge crisis and our inability to reach consensus on what constitutes truth. Bonnie also shares her thoughts the challenges of unplugging from the digital world, whether our current woes are likely to get better in the near future, becoming better consumers of news, and dealing with people who we believe hold false views.

About Bonnie Kristian

Bonnie Kristian is a journalist and author specializing in foreign policy, religion, and politics. Her column, "The Lesser Kingdom," appears in print and online at Christianity Today and her writings have appeared at The New York Times, The Week, USA Today, CNN, Politico, Reason, and The Daily Beast. She is the author of two books: Untrustworthy: The Knowledge Crisis Breaking Our Brains, Polluting Our Politics, and Corrupting Christian Community and A Flexible Faith: Rethinking What It Means to Follow Jesus Today. Bonnie is also a fellow at Defense Priorities, a foreign policy think tank.

A graduate of Bethel Seminary, she lives in Pittsburgh with her husband and twin sons. You can follow Bonnie on her Substack and on Twitter @bonniekristian

128 – Reconciling Kirk and King with John Wood Jr Apr 04, 2023

What do Russell Kirk and Martin Luther King Jr. have in common? Though they’re traditionally depicted as coming from opposing political orientations, National Ambassador for Braver Angels John Wood Jr. believes a deeper understanding of their religious convictions and societal aspirations reveals an important commonality between these two men. And this commonality points us to the restoration of tradition and community.

John Wood Jr. joins Saving Elephants host Josh Lewis as they explore what value Kirk and King symbolize in the conservative project of restoration. They also discuss whether Jesus can heal our political divide, the role of faith in politics, and what John’s experiences as a black conservative has taught him.

About John Wood Jr.

John Wood Jr. is the National Ambassador for Braver Angels—the largest bipartisan, grassroots organization in the United States that seeks to depolarize our politics. In 2014, Wood was the Republican nominee for California’s 43rd congressional district and ran against the formidable 17-term Maxine Waters. Wood has served as Vice-Chair of the Republican Party of Los Angeles County, America’s largest county-level Republican party. He is a musical artist and a noted writer and speaker on subjects including racial and political reconciliation. You can find him on Twitter at @JohnRWoodJr

127 – 40 Must-Read Conservative Books – Part 2 Mar 21, 2023

The conservative tradition embodies centuries of accumulated wisdom from some of the brightest and most inspiring thinkers you’ll find. Yet for the young conservative eager to learn more about this tradition, choosing which books to read can be a daunting task.

Most online lists of top conservative books contain familiar titles of classic tomes that inspire and challenge readers to this day. Yet far too often such lists also include authors such as Charlie Kirk, Ann Coulter, Sebastian Gorka, Dinesh D’Souza, Dan Bongino, and Mike Lindell who, while they may be gifted at inflicting liberal tears, have nothing of value to say on behalf of their supposed conservative convictions. There is so much more to conservatism than owning the libs and brandishing firearms in your social media profile picture. What’s more, many lists are inflated with works on libertarian, patriotic, religious, or cultural topics that, important though they may be, are only tangential to conservatism.

It is particularly challenging for us younger conservatives to cut through the noise on the Right today to explore the deeper, auspicious truths of our rich heritage. As such, I’ve compiled a list of 40 must-read conservative books worth your time and attention for this episode. Whether you read all, some, or only one below, you will be getting a healthy dose of conservative thought that cuts through the banality of most political discourse and gain a deeper understanding of what it means to be a conservative.

It would be an impossibility to rank these books in order of importance, relevance, insightfulness, readability, etc. As such, I have opted to list the titles alphabetically. There is no perfect place to start; just find a book that strikes your interest and dive in!

In this episode I cover the second twenty books in the list. If you want to hear the first twenty check out episode 126. Here are the books I cover in this episode:

Heaven Can Indeed Fall: The Life of Willmoore Kendall – Christopher Owen

How to be a Conservative – Roger Scruton

I, Pencil – Leonard Read

Ideas Have Consequences – Richard Weaver

In Defense of Freedom and Related Essays – Frank Meyer

Intellectuals and Society – Thomas Sowell

Natural Right and History – Leo Strauss

Neo-conservatism: The Autobiography of an Idea – Irving Kristol

The Quest for Community – Robert Nisbet

Rationalism in Politics – Michael Oakeshott

The Rebirth of Classical Political Rationalism – Leo Strauss

Reflections on the Revolution in France – Edmund Burke

The Right – Matthew Continetti

The Road to Serfdom – F. A. Hayek

Suicide of the West – Jonah Goldberg

The Vision of the Anointed – Thomas Sowell

The Theft of a Decade – Joseph Sternberg

Them – Ben Sasse

What Is Conservatism? – Frank Meyer

Witness – Whittaker Chambers

126 – 40 Must-Read Conservative Books – Part 1 Mar 07, 2023

The conservative tradition embodies centuries of accumulated wisdom from some of the brightest and most inspiring thinkers you’ll find. Yet for the young conservative eager to learn more about this tradition, choosing which books to read can be a daunting task.

Most online lists of top conservative books contain familiar titles of classic tomes that inspire and challenge readers to this day. Yet far too often such lists also include authors such as Charlie Kirk, Ann Coulter, Sebastian Gorka, Dinesh D’Souza, Dan Bongino, and Mike Lindell who, while they may be gifted at inflicting liberal tears, have nothing of value to say on behalf of their supposed conservative convictions. There is so much more to conservatism than owning the libs and brandishing firearms in your social media profile picture. What’s more, many lists are inflated with works on libertarian, patriotic, religious, or cultural topics that, important though they may be, are only tangential to conservatism.

It is particularly challenging for us younger conservatives to cut through the noise on the Right today to explore the deeper, auspicious truths of our rich heritage. As such, I’ve compiled a list of 40 must-read conservative books worth your time and attention for this episode. Whether you read all, some, or only one below, you will be getting a healthy dose of conservative thought that cuts through the banality of most political discourse and gain a deeper understanding of what it means to be a conservative.

It would be an impossibility to rank these books in order of importance, relevance, insightfulness, readability, etc. As such, I have opted to list the titles alphabetically. There is no perfect place to start; just find a book that strikes your interest and dive in!

In this episode I cover the first twenty books in the list:

A Conflict of Visions – Thomas Sowell

A Time to Build – Yuval Levin

The Abolition of Man – C. S Lewis

Basic Economics – Thomas Sowell

Black Rednecks and White Liberals – Thomas Sowell

Coming Apart – Charles Murray

The Conscience of a Conservative – Barry Goldwater

The Conservative Affirmation – Willmoore Kendall

The Conservative Intellectual Movement in America Since 1945 – George H. Nash

The Conservative Mind – Russell Kirk

The Constitution of Liberty – F. A. Hayek

Democracy in America – Alexis de Tocqueville

Edmund Burke: A Genius Reconsidered – Russell Kirk

The Fatal Conceit – F.A. Hayek

The Federalist Papers – Alexander Hamilton, James Madison and John Jay

Fools, Frauds and Firebrands – Roger Scruton

Free to Choose – Milton Friedman and Rose Friedman

God and Man at Yale – William F. Buckley Jr.

The Great Debate – Yuval Levin

The Gulag Archipelago – Aleksandr I. Solzhenitsyn

125 – Braver Angels with Elizabeth Doll Feb 21, 2023

In response to America’s rapidly polarizing political divide a number of organizations have developed to try and turn down the heat. Braver Angels is the nation’s largest movement dedicated to bridging the partisan gap. Their website boasts that they are “equally balanced between conservatives and progressives at every level of leadership”. Back in episode 118, Mónica Guzmán with Braver Angels joined Josh to discuss how we might develop our sense of curiosity to bridge the partisanships. Mónica comes from the Left. In this episode Josh welcomes Elizabeth Doll with Braver Angels who hails from the Right. They discuss how an older and younger Millennial might differ in their political memories, whether conservatives ought to be reactionaries, what the Left and Right frequently misunderstand about the “other side”, and a surprisingly unexpected dive into the vernacular of progressive America.

About Elizabeth Doll

From Braver Angels:

Elizabeth Doll joined Braver Angels in March 2022 as the Director of Braver Politics after four years of volunteering with the organization and many years working in politics in the Pacific Northwest. She began political work as a teen, when, while interning on a Congressional campaign, she became passionate about improving her community through civic engagement. Since then, Elizabeth has consulted for and worked on many state and local campaigns. She and her husband live on Bainbridge Island and when not engaged in politics, she enjoys photography, hiking, and horseback riding. You can follow Elizabeth on Twitter @doll_elizabeth

124 – The Unpopulists and the New Right with Shikha Dalmia Feb 07, 2023

Populism is on the rise today—or so we’re told. But what is populism? Is it something to be feared or should it only be concerning to those dastardly elites? Is populism a political movement of the Left or the Right? Is it only a phenomenon of the politics of today, or has populism existed in some form throughout our nation’s history? Does populism protect the individual from powerful interests or endanger our liberties? How does populism fit into the conservative tradition?

Josh is joined by Shikha Dalmia of the Mercatus Center at George Mason University to delve into these very questions. While the first half of this atypically long episode explores populism, the latter end of the conversation covers the various factions of the New Right. Factions Shikha has dubbed the Flight 93ers, the Integralists, the National Conservatives, and the Red-Pilled Anarcho Bros. While traditional conservatives can find some value in all four groups, ultimately they represent a departure from the conservative view.

About Shikha Dalmia

From Shikha’s bio at the Mercatus Center:

Shikha Dalmia is a visiting fellow with the Mercatus Center’s Program on Pluralism and Civil Exchange whose work focuses on populist authoritarianism. Previously, Dalmia was a writer at Reason Magazine and a senior analyst at Reason Foundation, a nonprofit think tank. She is a columnist at The Week, and writes regularly for Bloomberg View, The New York Times, USA Today, and numerous other publications. From 1996-2004, Dalmia was an editorial writer at Detroit News.

Dalmia has an M.A. in Mass Communication from Louisiana State University and a B.S. in Chemistry and Biology from the University of Delhi. You can subscribe to Dalmia’s substack, The UnPopulist, dedicated to defending open liberal societies from populist authoritarian attacks. And can follow Shikha on Twitter @shikhadalmia

123 – Judging Lord Acton with Dan Hugger Jan 17, 2023

1st Baron Acton, 13th Marquess of Groppoli, John Emerich Edward Dalberg-Acton who, for obvious reasons, is more commonly referred to as simply Lord Acton, was a 19th century writer, historian, and member of the British parliament whose contributions to history, faith, and politics are largely forgotten beyond his most famous quote: “Power tends to corrupt; absolute power corrupts absolutely”. Joining Josh to explore just why Acton was important and why he’s worth studying today is Dan Hugger from the apply named Acton Institute.

About Dan Hugger

From Dan’s bio: Dan Hugger is librarian and research associate at the Acton Institute for the Study of Religion & Liberty. He writes and speaks on questions of education, history, political economy, and religion, and is the editor of two books: Lord Acton: Historical and Moral Essays and The Humane Economist: A Wilhelm Röpke Reader.

About the Acton Institute

From Acton’s website: The Acton Institute was founded in 1990 in Grand Rapids, Michigan as a think-tank whose mission is to promote a free and virtuous society characterized by individual liberty and sustained by religious principles. This direction recognizes the benefits of a limited government, but also the beneficent consequences of a free market. It embraces an objective framework of moral values, but also recognizes and appreciates the subjective nature of economic value. It views justice as a duty of all to give the one his due but, more importantly, as an individual obligation to serve the common good and not just his own needs and wants. In order to promote a more profound understanding of the coming together of faith and liberty, Acton involves members of religious, business, and academic spheres in its various seminars, publications, and academic activities.

Links to resources mentioned in the conversation:

Russell Kirk’s last public address—at the Acton Institute—offering his critiques of Lord Acton

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GCz023vKs98

Lord Acton: A Study in Conscience and Politics

https://shop.acton.org/products/lord-acton-a-study-in-conscience-and-politics?_pos=3&_sid=937cdddbd&_ss=r

Lord Acton: Historical and Moral Essays

https://shop.acton.org/products/lord-acton-historical-and-moral-essays?_pos=2&_sid=937cdddbd&_ss=r

Selected Writings of Lord Acton

https://www.libertyfund.org/books/selected-writings-of-lord-acton/

Lord Acton: Historian and Moralist

https://shop.acton.org/products/lord-acton-historian-and-moralist?_pos=1&_sid=937cdddbd&_ss=r

Lord Acton

https://www.amazon.com/Lord-Acton-Roland-Hill/dp/0300181272/ref=sr_1_8?crid=V218N459WQDX&keywords=lord+acton&qid=1673632551&qu=eyJxc2MiOiI0LjAzIiwicXNhIjoiMy45MCIsInFzcCI6IjMuNzkifQ%3D%3D&sprefix=lord+acton%2Caps%2C166&sr=8-8&ufe=app_do%3Aamzn1.fos.006c50ae-5d4c-4777-9bc0-4513d670b6bc

Bradley Birzer’s piece on Seven Conservative Minds

https://www.theamericanconservative.com/seven-conservative-minds/

122 – The Political Animals with Jonathan Cole Jan 03, 2023

Late last year Jonathan Cole had Saving Elephants host Josh Lewis on his podcast, The Political Animals, to talk about the quirkiness of American conservatism, the rise of the NatCons, and whether there’s any hope for Josh’s brand of fusionist conservatism in the future. The conversation was simply too good not to share, so here is a re-podcast of Jonathan’s original episode.

About Jonathan Cole

From Jonathan Cole’s website:

Dr Jonathan Cole is a scholar, writer, translator and lecturer specializing in political theology—the intersection between religion and politics.

He is currently Assistant Director of Research at the Australian Centre for Christianity and Culture at Charles Sturt University, Canberra, Australia, and host of The Political Animals Podcast: "Honest conversations about the political, theological and cultural ideas that shape who we are in the 21st century."

He has a PhD in political theology from CSU, an MA in Islamic theology and Middle Eastern politics from the Australian National University and a BA Hons in Modern Greek language and history from La Trobe University. He speaks Greek.

He spent 13 years working in a number of Australian federal government departments and agencies in Canberra, including seven years in intelligence, most recently as a Senior Terrorism Analyst at the Office of National Assessments (2010–2014).

Follow Jonathan on Facebook, Twitter, or Academia for his latest content.

CenterClip

Saving Elephants host Josh Lewis is honored to share he’s joined the small but growing team of contributors at CenterClip, an exciting, new audio content platform featuring elevated political discourse. CenterClip is a free app with short audio clips from established political pundits, journalists, commentators, and politicians from across the political spectrum. All content is created and heard within the CenterClip app, including contributors interacting with each other’s posts covering political commentary in real time. Download the app today and enjoy its elevated discourse.

121 – Kids These Days with Scott Howard Dec 20, 2022

While Saving Elephants is targeted to younger Americans, more and more Millennials cannot be counted among “the kids these days”. Today’s college students belong to Gen Z, and they are coming of age in one of the most turbulent political shifts and ideological realignments over the past half century. What are conservatives to make of this next generation? What challenges and opportunities do they present? Joining Josh to delve into this and more is Scott Howard, Gen Z representative and student at the University of Florida who possesses a remarkably Reaganite approach to politics in spite of his young age.

Josh and Scott discuss whether Gen Z is truly more woke than older generations, what's it like being a conservative on campus, the challenges “conservative” organizations like TPUSA and spokespeople like Charlie Kirk present to those who believe conservatism is about more than spreading liberal tears, the influence of nationalist populism among the young, and whether DeSantis is a viable alternative for the Trump-skeptical Republican.

About Scott Howard

Originally hailing from South Dakota, Scott Howard is a political science major at the University of Florida. He’s a contributor to Lone Conservative, guest contributor to National Review, and writes his own newsletter The Conservative Muse.

You can follow Scott on Twitter @ConservaMuse

120 – Why Associations Matter with Luke Sheahan Dec 06, 2022

In 1953 sociologist Robert Nisbet published his most famous work The Quest for Community, arguing for the necessity of association to the human experience and the harm inflicted upon communities when they are deprived of their function. Traditional conservatism has long upheld Nisbet’s teachings as a reminder that we are not purely material beings with strictly economic interests. Josh welcomes Luke Sheahan to this episode to discuss his efforts to pick up where Nisbet left off in fighting for the viability and flourishing of human associations, how the courts have gotten off-kilter in rulings regarding our freedom to associate, and why associations matter to each and every one of us.

About Luke Sheahan

From Luke’s website: Luke Sheahan is Assistant Professor in the Department of Political Science at Duquesne University and a Non-Resident Scholar at the Program for Research on Religion and Urban Civil Society (PRRUCS) at the University of Pennsylvania. He researches the intersection of First Amendment rights and political theory. Sheahan’s scholarly articles and reviews have appeared in The Political Science Reviewer, Humanitas, Anamnesis, and The Journal of Value Inquiry and he has lectured widely on religious liberty, freedom of speech, and freedom of association. He is author of Why Associations Matter: The Case for First Amendment Pluralism. He is writing a second book tentatively titled “Pluralism and Toleration: Difference, Justice, and the Social Group.”

From 2018-2019, Sheahan was Associate Director and Post-Doctoral Research Fellow at the Freedom Project at Wellesley College and from 2016-2018, Sheahan was a Postdoctoral Associate and Research Fellow in the Department of Political Science at Duke University. He received a PhD and MA in political theory from the Catholic University of America and a B.S. in political science from the Honors College at Oregon State University. He is a five-time recipient of the Humane Studies Fellowship from the Institute for Humane Studies, a 2014 recipient of the Richard M. Weaver Fellowship from the Intercollegiate Studies Institute (ISI), and a 2018 recipient of the Leonard P. Liggio Memorial Fellowship.

In July of this year the Russell Kirk Center announced the appointment of Dr. Luke C. Sheahan as the fifth editor in the history of The University Bookman, originally established by none other than Russell Kirk, seeking to redeem the time by identifying and discussing those books that diagnose the modern age and support the renewal of culture and the common good.

You can follow Luke on Twitter @lsheahan

119 – Inflating the Apocalypse with David Bahnsen Nov 15, 2022

What is the great economic challenge of our times? Is it inflation? Rising inequality? Artificially low interest rates? Economist David Bahnsen joins Josh to discuss why excessive government debt and our slow-growth or no-growth economy risks the Japanification of the United States. While some warn of a financial apocalypse, David argues that a more realistic threat is continued lack of productive output and increasing discontents if we don’t reverse course. Also discussed are how supply side economists can respond to the Left’s critiques of the free market in the wake of the Great Recession and how Edmund Burke best represents American conservatism.

About David Bahnsen

From David’s website:

David L. Bahnsen is the founder, Managing Partner, and Chief Investment Officer of The Bahnsen Group, a bi-coastal private wealth management firm with offices in Newport Beach, CA, New York City, Minneapolis, and Nashville managing over $3.5 billion in client assets. David is consistently named as one of the top financial advisors in America by Barron’s, Forbes, and the Financial Times. He is a frequent guest on CNBC, Bloomberg, and Fox Business and is a regular contributor to National Review and Forbes. He has written his own political viewpoint blog for over a decade.

David serves on the Board of Directors for the National Review Institute and was the Vice-President of the Lincoln Club of Orange County for eight years. He is a committed donor and activist across all spectrums of national, state, and local politics, and views the cause of Buckley and Reagan as the need of the hour.

David is passionate about opposition to crony capitalism, and has lectured and written for years about the need for pro-growth economic policy. Every part of his political worldview stems from a desire to see greater freedom as a catalyst to greater human flourishing.

He is the author of the book, Crisis of Responsibility: Our Cultural Addiction to Blame and How You Can Cure It and his most recent book, There’s No Free Lunch: 250 Economic Truths.

His ultimate passions are his lovely wife of 18+ years, Joleen, their gorgeous and brilliant children, sons Mitchell and Graham, and daughter Sadie, and the life they’ve created together in Newport Beach, California.

Listener Mail

At the end of the episode, Josh responds to a listener’s question about book recommendations for those interested in conservatism. Below are the books included in his response:

The Conservative Mind: From Burke to Eliot by Russell Kirk

How to be a Conservative by Roger Scruton

What Is Conservatism? by Frank Meyer

Neo-conservatism: The Autobiography of an Idea by Irving Kristol

The Conservative Intellectual Movement in America Since 1945 by George Nash

The Right: The Hundred-Year War for American Conservatism by Matthew Continetti

Reflections on the Revolution in France by Edmund Burke

The Great Debate by Yuval Levin

Edmund Burke: A Genius Reconsidered by Russell Kirk

Basic Economics by Thomas Sowell

The Fatal Conceit by F.A. Hayek

I, Pencil by Leonard Read

Suicide of the West by Jonah Goldberg

Black Rednecks and White Liberals by Thomas Sowell

A Conflict of Vision by Thomas Sowell

Fools, Frauds and Firebrands: Thinkers of the New Left by Roger Scruton

Them by Ben Sasse

A Time to Build by Yuval Levin

118 – Fearlessly Curious with Mónica Guzmán Nov 01, 2022

Mónica Guzmán joins Saving Elephants host Josh Lewis as they reach across the political divide to explore how the Left and Right might better engage one another in respectful debate. Mónica shares her experiences as a liberal living in deep, blue Seattle yet grappling with her immigrant parent’s support for Trump. They also discuss the limitations of reason to resolve our differences, why viewing people as complex and not merely complicated helps us bridge divides, and why Mónica has hope for a brighter future.

About Mónica Guzmán

Per her website, Mónica Guzmán is Senior Fellow for Public Practice at Braver Angels, a nonprofit working to depolarize America, host of Crosscut’s interview series Civic Cocktail, and author of I Never Thought Of It That Way: How to Have Fearlessly Curious Conversations in Dangerously Divided Times.

Moni was a 2019 fellow at the Henry M. Jackson Foundation, where she studied social and political division, and a 2016 fellow at the Nieman Foundation for Journalism at Harvard University, where she studied how journalists can better meet the needs of a participatory public.

Before committing to the project of helping people understand each other across the political divide, Mónica cofounded the award-winning Seattle newsletter The Evergrey and led a national network of groundbreaking local newsletters as VP of Local for WhereBy.Us.

She was named one of the 50 most influential women in Seattle, served twice as a juror for the Pulitzer Prizes, and plays a barbarian named Shadrack in her besties' Dungeons & Dragons campaign.

117 – Conservatism Down Under with Jonathan Cole Oct 18, 2022

American conservatism has long struggled to reconcile the American Revolution with a worldview that defers to the slow accretion of cultural and historical development over generations. Yet some nations followed this more “conservative” path. How might American conservatism appear to them? Joining Josh in this episode is bona fide conservative and Australian Jonathan Cole to discuss how Australian conservatism differs from both the American and British models and what each of us might learn from the other. Also discussed are how Jonathan defines conservatism, whether it’s an ideology or the negation of ideology, why conservatives are over-focused on power dynamics and have lost sight of the whole-life perspective of conservatism, how Australians view the politics of America, how American political culture impacts Australia, and the implications of the rise of China.

About Jonathan Cole

From Jonathan Cole’s website:

Dr Jonathan Cole is a scholar, writer, translator and lecturer specializing in political theology—the intersection between religion and politics.

He is currently Assistant Director of Research at the Australian Centre for Christianity and Culture at Charles Sturt University, Canberra, Australia, and host of The Political Animals Podcast: "Honest conversations about the political, theological and cultural ideas that shape who we are in the 21st century."

He has a PhD in political theology from CSU, an MA in Islamic theology and Middle Eastern politics from the Australian National University and a BA Hons in Modern Greek language and history from La Trobe University. He speaks Greek.

He spent 13 years working in a number of Australian federal government departments and agencies in Canberra, including seven years in intelligence, most recently as a Senior Terrorism Analyst at the Office of National Assessments (2010–2014).

Follow Jonathan on Facebook, Twitter, or Academia for his latest content.

116 – Fifty Conservative Thinkers Oct 04, 2022

In an age where what passes for the archetype conservative are the likes of Candace Owens, Bill Mitchell, Sean Hannity, Matt Gaetz, Tomi Lahren, and Donald Trump, it can be discouraging for those of us who take pride in the rich legacy and colorful history of thinkers on the Right to be associated with such grifters, demagogues, and charlatans.

Trying to define conservatism is challenging and trying to compile a list of individuals who best exemplify conservatism is problematic. Yet this is becoming increasingly important in a world where “conservatism” is quickly being coopted by reactionary nationalist populists who have little to nothing in common with the namesake.

In this episode Saving Elephants host Josh Lewis offers his list of conservative thinkers well worthy of your time and attention.

Disclaimer

This list is imperfect and incomplete. If I were to revisit the list next year or possibly even next week, I’m sure there are plenty of names I’d believe should supplant the names here. Some of these individuals may even be uncomfortable with the label “conservative”, though they all share aspects of the broader conservative worldview. The names below are not listed in order of preference or importance, but they are all insightful and noteworthy.

The fifty individuals discussed in this episode are noted below. If you’d like to learn more about each one you can check out the original blog post of Fifty Conservative Thinkers for a brief bio and links.

Josh’s (Incomplete) List of Fifty Conservative Thinkers Worth Your Time

Edmund Burke

Milton Friedman

Wilhelm Röpke

David Bahnsen

F.A. Hayek

John Adams

Frederick Douglass

Thomas Sowell

James Madison

Barry Goldwater

Ronald Reagan

Bradley J. Birzer

Russell Kirk

Matthew Continetti

David French

Gertrude Himmelfarb

George Nash

Stephen J. Tonsor

Roger Scruton

Jacques Ellul

Whittaker Chambers

Michael Oakeshott

Eric Voegelin

Timothy Carney

C.S. Lewis

G.K. Chesterton

Jonah Goldberg

Wendell Berry

T.S. Eliot

Ross Douthat

Mary Eberstadt

Stanton Evans

Irving Kristol

George Will

William F. Buckley

Kristen Soltis Anderson

Robert Nisbet

Carly Fiorina

Arthur Brooks

Marian Tupy

Charles Marohn

Patrick Deneen

Harry Jaffa

Walter Williams

Frank S. Meyer

Alexis de Tocqueville

Lord Acton

Leo Stauss

Willmoore Kendall

Yuval Levin

115 – A Post-Roe World with Kimberly Ross Sep 20, 2022

With the end of Roe, the pro-life movement scores a major victory in the fight to protect the life of the unborn. But does this victory signify the end or is it merely the beginning of a new set of challenges and uncertainty in a world that doesn’t always embrace life? Saving Elephants host Josh Lewis is joined by Kimberly Ross to discuss what a post-Roe world looks like for the pro-life movement and where to go from here.

About Kimberly Ross

Kimberly Ross is a freelance conservative writer. Her work regularly appears in The Washington Examiner, both online and the print magazine, and The Mirror magazine, a monthly publication from Aid to the Church in Need. Her archive of published work can be found at RedState, Arc Digital, The Bulwark, Rare, and USA Today.

As a mother of two and self-described "first wave feminist", she is most passionate about the rights of children, women, and the issue of abortion. She considers herself an independent conservative (not to be confused with conservative independent), and is beholden to no politician.

Kimberly has a B.A. in history with graduate work in political science. You can follow Kimberly on Twitter @southernkeeks

114 – Are We Right? - Crossover Podcast Sep 06, 2022

Earlier this summer, Saving Elephants host Josh Lewis joined three other veteran podcasters to launch a new show: Are We Right? Cal Davenport, Brooke Medina, and Calvin Moore, and Josh debate a wide range of topics from politics to religion to culture and invite the audience to weigh in on whether or not they’re right. A recent episode featured Calvin quizzing Josh and Cal on why they embrace a conservative worldview. And even though Cal and Josh are in violent agreement during much of the conversation, there’s plenty of nuance and jargon to satiate the politically curious listener. This conversation was quite apropos for the Saving Elephants project, so it is being re-podcast as a Saving Elephants episode.

Hosts of Are We Right?

Cal Davenport – Fellow Burkean conservative and co-host of his own podcast, In The Trenches, Cal brings a wealth of sobriety and insights far beyond his years.

Josh Lewis – Needs no introduction.

Calvin Moore – Veteran podcaster and host of the progressive Christian podcast What's Left to Say who keeps the conversation from succumbing to violent agreement by offering the progressive alternative.

Brooke Nicole – Vice President of Communications for the John Locke Foundation and eternal optimist in an age of despair, Brooke manages to keep the boys in line and shift the ridged, patriarchal structure of the show to a softer, joyful place.

You can find the podcast on iTunes, Spotify, Stitcher, Amazon, Audible, or wherever you listen, find us on Twitter @ TheAWRPodcast, and email us at arewerightpodcast@gmail.com.

https://open.spotify.com/show/1EzCyrKtiH7qfgvvDxS7KG

https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/are-we-right/id1626743255

https://www.stitcher.com/show/are-we-right-707890

https://music.amazon.com/podcasts/d963d689-6630-4c8f-9c36-8360292c53fa/are-we-right?refMarker=null&returnFromLogin=1&

https://www.audible.com/pd/Are-We-Right-Podcast/B0B2NBFG82

113 – It's Greek to Me with Christopher Chesny Aug 16, 2022

The Orthodox Christian faith is a growing yet tiny minority in the Christendom body in the United States. Yet they are growing in strength and numbers on the broader American Right. Which suggests that Orthodoxy may exert its influence on the conservative movement of the future. What traditions does the faith hold that may bolster and modify conservatism? What challenges are there in seeking to fuse a predominantly Eastern religion with the politics of the West? How do practicing Orthodox view Russia’s war in Ukraine? Can Orthodoxy be a gateway for those who become radicalized on the Right? Returning guest and Greek Orthodox practitioner Christopher Chesny joins Josh to answer all this and more.

About Christopher Chesny

Christopher Chesny is a conservative activist who has been involved in Republican and conservative politics for almost two decades. After his political awakening at a young age after the 2000 Election and 9/11, he began to engage in the public policy process in a myriad of ways before graduating high school, and that engagement has continued through college up to the present day. This has included academic public policy research, journalism covering state governmental bodies including legislatures and executive and judicial branch agencies, being elected to various party offices and as an alternate delegate to the Republican National Convention, lobbying legislators for conservative causes both in an activist and professional capacity, managing social media accounts for conservative groups, and most significantly volunteering and sometimes professionally managing and consulting political campaigns in multiple states across the country.

Currently living in Virginia outside of Washington, D.C., Christopher was born in Oklahoma City and grew up outside Tulsa, and received his B.A. with a Major in Political Science and Minors in History and Economics from Arizona State University, and later his Master's Degree in Public Administration from the University of Oklahoma. Besides specializing in American political history and psephology (the study of elections) since the Second World War, he is a fan of history and geography from most every era in most every part of the world, especially the history of different religious faiths. Besides keeping up with current events, he is also an armchair cinephile and an avid fan of both classical music and rock 'n roll, especially alternative rock and its offshoots from the 1980s through to the present day.

You can find Chris on Twitter at @ChrisChesny89

112 – Geriatric Millennials with Eric Kohn Aug 02, 2022

Fellow geriatric millennial Eric Kohn joins Josh to discuss what keeps the Acton Institute anchored in turbulent political waters, the proper role for libertarian ideas in conservatism, the dangers of religious zeal in political ideologies, and what’s wrong with conservative kids these days.

About Eric Kohn

From Acton Institute's website:

Eric Kohn is director of marketing and communications at the Acton Institute. In that role, he works to bring Acton's vision of a free and virtuous society characterized by individual liberty and sustained by religious principles to a wider audience. Every week he hosts Acton Unwind, Acton's roundtable podcast, and he's a part-time host of Acton Line, Acton's weekly interview podcast.

He's an associate producer of the award-winning THE HONG KONGER: JIMMY LAI'S EXTRAORDINARY STRUGGLE FOR FREEDOM, the newest documentary feature film from the Acton Institute, released in 2022.

Prior to joining Acton, Eric was director of community management at the Illinois Policy Institute, one of the nation's premier state-based think tanks. He was also the founder and CEO of Curious Task Strategies, a public affairs consulting firm. For more than 10 years, Eric led the Chicago chapter of America’s Future Foundation, an organization dedicated to developing the next generation of classical liberal leaders in Chicago.

From 2019 to 2021, Eric co-hosted Sources with Knowledge along with Joe Kaiser on News/Talk 560 The Answer in Chicago. He previously hosted The Eric Kohn Program on 1530-AM WJJG, and has guest-hosted the nationally syndicated The Guy Benson Show, Illinois Watchdog Radio on Cities 92.9FM in Bloomington-Normal, and Chicago’s Morning Answer on News/Talk 560 The Answer. He has appeared as a guest host and commentator on Beyond the Beltway with Bruce DuMont, Extension 720 with Milt Rosenberg, The Michael Koolidge Show, WTTW’s Chicago Tonight, and numerous news broadcasts in the Chicagoland area. Eric’s writings have appeared in the Chicago Sun-Times, The Detroit News, the Belleville News-Democrat, and other publications.

Eric grew up in Belleville, Ill., and is a graduate of Millikin University in Decatur, Ill. He lives in Grand Rapids, Mich., with his wife and two children. You can follow Eric on Twitter @iEricKohn

111 – What Hath Conservatism Conserved? with Avi Woolf Jul 19, 2022

Matthew Continetti’s new book The Right: The Hundred-Year War for American Conservatism has instigated a vigorous conversation around the best way to understand the historical phenomenon of modern conservatism in the United States. Returning guest Avi Woolf joins Josh for a discussion on what Continetti’s depiction gets right and not-so-right about American conservatism, what has conservatism conserved, and what ought conservatism to conserve in the future.

About Avi Woolf

Avi Woolf is a writer, editor, translator, and podcaster whose work has been published in Arc Digital, Commentary, National Review, The Bulwark, Ordinary Times, and The Dispatch. He is chief editor of the online Medium publication Conservative Pathways, and he—in his words—"hopes to help forge a path for a conservatism which is relevant for the 21st century while not abandoning the best of past wisdom.”

Avi has been a guest on the show several times prior: the first in which he explored the need for conservatism to find a way to appeal to people who live in urban areas in Episode 26 – Urban Conservatism, the second in which he mulled over the love/hate relationship the Right has long had with institutions of higher education in Episode 49 – God and the Speechless at Yale, and, finally, where he considered what is America and what does it mean to be an American in Episode 87 – E Pluribus Unum with Avi Woolf.

Avi hosts his own podcast entitled Avi’s Conversational Corner, a podcast on culture, history, and politics in a broad perspective. You can find Avi on Twitter @AviWoolf

Introducing the Are We Right? Podcast

If you like Saving Elephants you’ll love the new podcast Are We Right? featuring Saving Elephants host Josh Lewis along with three other co-hosts: Cal Davenport, Brooke Medina, and Calvin Moore. Cal, Josh Brooke, and Calvin debate a wide range of topics from politics to religion to culture and invite the audience to weigh in on whether or not they’re right. You can find the podcast on iTunes, Spotify, Stitcher, or wherever you listen, find us on Twitter @ TheAWRPodcast, and email us at arewerightpodcast@gmail.com.

110 – Reaching the Future with Marlo Slayback Jul 05, 2022

Founded in the early 1950s, the Intercollegiate Studies Institute (ISI) sought to fill the gaping void in higher education where progressive ideas were in vogue and conservative ones were ignored or attacked. Under the leadership of their first president, a young journalist named William F. Buckley Jr., ISI began mentoring young men and women to become eloquent defenders of the principles of liberty. And they have continued this legacy on to today.

In this episode Josh is joined by ISI National Director of Student Programs Marlo Slayback to talk about the work of the organization, her personal journey to conservatism, the role of religion and political worldview, and what it’s like for conservatives on campus today.

About Marlo Slayback

Marlo Slayback is a graduate of the University of Pittsburgh, where she studied political science and poetry. She is a former ISI Collegiate Network fellow at National Review and led an ISI Society on her campus, where she also helped launch a Collegiate Network newspaper. Marlo is a 2021 Publius Fellow with the Claremont Institute and joined the ISI team after working as an education and culture reporter at the Daily Caller. She is a freelance writer and has been featured in the Wall Street Journal, Spectator US, The Lamp, and the University Bookman. You can follow Marlo on Twitter @marlo_safi

109 – The Right with Matthew Continetti Jun 21, 2022

Esteemed AEI scholar Matthew Continetti returns to the podcast for a woefully brief overview of his latest book, The Right: The Hundred-Year War for American Conservatism

From the book’s description:

When most people think of the history of modern conservatism, they think of Ronald Reagan. Yet this narrow view leaves many to question: How did Donald Trump win the presidency? And what is the future of the Republican Party?

In The Right, Matthew Continetti gives a sweeping account of movement conservatism’s evolution, from the Progressive Era through the present. He tells the story of how conservatism began as networks of intellectuals, developing and institutionalizing a vision that grew over time, until they began to buckle under new pressures, resembling national populist movements. Drawing out the tensions between the desire for mainstream acceptance and the pull of extremism, Continetti argues that the more one studies conservatism’s past, the more one becomes convinced of its future.

Deeply researched and brilliantly told, The Right is essential reading for anyone looking to understand American conservatism.

About Matthew Continetti

Matthew Continetti holds a BA in history from Columbia University and is a resident fellow at the American Enterprise Institute (AEI), where his work is focused on American political thought and history, with a particular focus on the development of the Republican Party and the American conservative movement in the 20th century. A prominent journalist, analyst, author, and intellectual historian of the right, Mr. Continetti was the founding editor and the editor-in-chief of The Washington Free Beacon. Previously, he was opinion editor at The Weekly Standard.

Mr. Continetti is also a contributing editor at National Review and a columnist for Commentary Magazine. He has been published in The Atlantic, The New York Times, The Wall Street Journal, and The Washington Post, among other outlets. He also appears frequently on Fox News Channel’s “Special Report” with Bret Baier and MSNBC’s “Meet the Press Daily” with Chuck Todd.

Mr. Continetti is the author of two additional books: “The Persecution of Sarah Palin: How the Elite Media Tried to Bring Down a Rising Star” (Sentinel, 2009) and “The K Street Gang: The Rise and Fall of the Republican Machine” (Doubleday, 2006).

You can find Matthew Continetti on Twitter @continetti.

Introducing the Are We Right? Podcast

If you like Saving Elephants you’ll love the new podcast Are We Right? featuring Saving Elephants host Josh Lewis along with three other co-hosts: Cal Davenport, Brooke Medina, and Calvin Moore. Cal, Josh Brooke, and Calvin debate a wide range of topics from politics to religion to culture and invite the audience to weigh in on whether or not they’re right. You can find the podcast on iTunes, Spotify, Stitcher, or wherever you listen, find us on Twitter @ TheAWRPodcast, and email us at arewerightpodcast@gmail.com.

108 – Following Up with Bo Winegard Jun 07, 2022

Bo Winegard returns to the show to talk about controversies surrounding the science of human variation, his experience with cancel culture, and the growing problems of cognitive distribution. It’s another in-the-weeds wonkfest of alarmingly nerdish proportions.

About Bo Winegard

Bo Winegard obtained his PhD in social psychology from Florida State University, under the tutelage of Roy Baumeister. Formerly a professor at a small college in the Midwest, Bo is now an independent scholar interested in human evolution, human variation, the rise of political order, and political conservatism. He also enjoys literature, film, sports, and mediocre detective fiction.

Bo has many peer-reviewed publications on motley topics and often writes for the online media publication Quillette. He is currently working on the first of several books on human nature and political ideology.

Visit Bo’s website:

https://www.bmwinegard.com/

And his YouTube channel:

https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC8mHb9VLBbrlvzRRwwGgL5w

You can also find Bo on Twitter @EPoe187

Introducing Are We Right?

If you like Saving Elephants you’ll love the new podcast Are We Right? featuring Saving Elephants host Josh Lewis along with four other co-hosts: Cal Davenport, Brooke Medina, and Calvin Moore. Cal, Josh Brooke, and Calvin debate a wide range of topics from politics to religion to culture and invite the audience to weigh in on whether or not they’re right. You can find the podcast on iTunes, Spotify, Stitcher, or wherever you listen, find us on Twitter @ TheAWRPodcast, and email us at arewerightpodcast@gmail.com.

107 – Right to Work with Christopher Chesny May 17, 2022

As more and more working-class Americans join the Republican party some voices on the Right are advocating the GOP become the worker’s party—a role that has traditionally been held by various movements and parties of the Left. Is there any merit to this idea? What is the history of labor relations and the Right and Left in the United States? How have labor unions and right to work laws evolved over the past century? Do national candidates like JD Vance or Ron DeSantis have what it takes to capitalize on the surge of working-class voters on the Right? Joining Josh is his friend of nearly a decade Christopher Chesny to discuss all this and more.

About Christopher Chesny

Christopher Chesny is a conservative activist who has been involved in Republican and conservative politics for almost two decades. After his political awakening at a young age after the 2000 Election and 9/11, he began to engage in the public policy process in a myriad of ways before graduating high school, and that engagement has continued through college up to the present day. This has included academic public policy research, journalism covering state governmental bodies including legislatures and executive and judicial branch agencies, being elected to various party offices and as an alternate delegate to the Republican National Convention, lobbying legislators for conservative causes both in an activist and professional capacity, managing social media accounts for conservative groups, and most significantly volunteering and sometimes professionally managing and consulting political campaigns in multiple states across the country.

Currently living in Virginia outside of Washington, D.C., Christopher was born in Oklahoma City and grew up outside Tulsa, and received his B.A. with a Major in Political Science and Minors in History and Economics from Arizona State University, and later his Master's Degree in Public Administration from the University of Oklahoma. Besides specializing in American political history and psephology (the study of elections) since the Second World War, he is a fan of history and geography from most every era in most every part of the world, especially the history of different religious faiths. Besides keeping up with current events, he is also an armchair cinephile and an avid fan of both classical music and rock 'n roll, especially alternative rock and its offshoots from the 1980s through to the present day.

You can find Chris on Twitter at @ChrisChesny89

106 – Reappraising Herbert Hoover with George Nash May 03, 2022

Historian George Nash returns to the show to discuss the life and legacy of Herbert Hoover.

Few American presidents are as decried by voices on both the Left and Right as Herbert Hoover. His name has become synonymous with economic suffering and callous Federal response. But Dr. Nash contends that the popular narrative linking Hoover to the catastrophes of the Great Depression do a great injustice to the actual historical account and reduce one of America’s most remarkable men to that of a callous buffoon. Hoover, in Dr. Nash’s telling, was responsible for saving the lives of more people than anyone else who ever lived. And that’s just the start of it. He accomplished so much in his long life of public and private service that, even if he had never been president, he would be well worth studying today. A greater appreciation for the complexities of the man and the times in which he lived provides the student of conservatism a greater appreciation for the challenges we face today.

About George Nash

George H. Nash is the epitome of a gentleman and a scholar. A graduate from Amherst College who received his Ph.D. in History from Harvard University, Dr. Nash is an authority on the histories of American conservatism and the life of President Herbert Hoover. Dr. Nash is an independent scholar, historian, and lecturer. He speaks and writes frequently about the history and present direction of American conservatism, the life of Herbert Hoover, the legacy of Ronald Reagan, the education of the Founding Fathers, and other subjects. His writings have appeared in the American Spectator, Claremont Review of Books, Intercollegiate Review, Modern Age, National Review, New York Times Book Review, Policy Review, University Bookman, Wall Street Journal, and many other publications. He has lectured at the Library of Congress; the National Archives; the Herbert Hoover, John F. Kennedy, and Lyndon Johnson presidential libraries; the Gerald R. Ford Presidential Museum; the Hoover Institution; the Heritage Foundation; the McConnell Center; and at various universities and conferences in the United States and Europe. Several of his lectures have been featured on C-SPAN. He has also been interviewed by C-SPAN, National Public Radio, numerous radio stations, and the print media. Dr. Nash lives in Massachusetts.

105 – AllSides with Julie Mastrine Apr 19, 2022

Julie Mastrine of AllSides joins Saving Elephants host Josh Lewis in a freewheeling conversation about the media. Conservatives love to complain of the liberal media bias, but are their complaints founded or over exaggerated? Do “both sides” have a bias problem? How do they differ and how are they similar? Are there times when bias is acceptable and even welcome? Is bias the same as inaccuracy or dishonesty? How might you identify media bias and what can we do about it?

About Julie Mastrine

Julie Mastrine is a writer and online marketing professional who is passionate about being a responsible member of the media. She believes in promoting critical thinking and traditional values.

Julie creates engaging online content to help brands communicate, tell their stories, and get attention. Her content has earned millions of online impressions. As Director of Marketing and Media Bias Ratings at AllSides, Julie oversaw a 1,684% increase in total social media impressions for AllSides in just three years and a 1,656% increase in website traffic. Julie created the AllSides Media Bias Chart™, which has been viewed and shared tens of millions of times and published in numerous academic textbooks. She frequently conducts media bias research to bolster AllSide’s media bias ratings, and wrote the highly trafficked guide, 12 Types of Media Bias.

Julie is also a frequent writer and editor, writing regularly for AllSides and Evie Magazine on topics such as politics, culture and relationships. And her work has also appeared in The Epoch Times, USA Today, The Federalist, and other publications.

When she’s not immersed in media, Julie is also a fire dancer and performance artist.

You can learn more about Julie on her website and follow her on Twitter @juliewrites

About AllSides

Is a web-based organization dedicated to strengthening our democratic society with balanced news, diverse perspectives, and real conversation. AllSides exposes people to information and ideas from all sides of the political spectrum so they can better understand the world—and each other. Their balanced news coverage, media bias ratings, civil dialogue opportunities, and technology platform are available for everyone and can be integrated by schools, nonprofits, media companies, and more.

AllSides displays the day’s top news stories from the Left, Center, and Right of the political spectrum—side-by-side so you can see the full picture.

AllSides also provides Media Bias Ratings for over 800 media outlets and writers, so you can easily identify different perspectives.

104 – Armchair Burkeans with Bo Winegard Apr 05, 2022

Josh engages in a Cannonball Run conversation with Bo Winegard across a wide variety of subjects from how Bo found himself migrating from the political Left to the Right, whether Edmund Burke believed in natural rights, how one might approach Burke from both a religious and secular angle, the curious tendency of the academic Left to erect strawman versions of conservatism, the limitations of Thomas Sowell’s constrained vs. unconstrained visions paradigm, how the GOP might chart a course between throwback Reaganism and MAGA Trumpism, and whether religion is necessary to sustain ordered liberty.

About Bo Winegard

Bo Winegard obtained his PhD in social psychology from Florida State University, under the tutelage of Roy Baumeister. Formerly a professor at a small college in the Midwest, Bo is now an independent scholar interested in human evolution, human variation, the rise of political order, and political conservatism. He also enjoys literature, film, sports, and mediocre detective fiction.

Bo has many peer-reviewed publications on motley topics and often writes for the online media publication Quillette. He is currently working on the first of several books on human nature and political ideology.

Visit Bo’s website:

https://www.bmwinegard.com/

And his YouTube channel:

https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC8mHb9VLBbrlvzRRwwGgL5w

You can also find Bo on Twitter @EPoe187

103 – Creative Impostors with Andrea Klunder and David Blatt Mar 15, 2022

In this re-podcast episode Saving Elephants host Josh Lewis joins his committed liberal friend David Blatt on Andrea Klunder’s show The Creative Impostor to discuss the differences between the Right and the Left, why we’re so polarized, and how civil dialogue might be restored.

About Andrea Klunder

Andrea Klunder is the Creative Director, Media Strategist and Podcast Producer behind The Creative Impostor Studios. Andrea works with organizations, companies, and leaders who want to use audio content to tell stories, create movements, and change culture. She calls upon her myriad experiences as a singer, actor, director, business owner, yoga, and meditation teacher to produce and edit podcasts for social impact organizations and entrepreneurs. She consults on strategy and coaches podcasters to go deeper into the craft and culture of making their show.

Andrea boasts of four podcasts:

Podcast Envy: elevating the craft and culture of podcasting

The Creative Impostor: featuring creative thought leaders who take bold action in life and work, despite the little voice in their heads that says, “Who do you think you are?!”

Improve With Auntie: A round table for aunties like us to come together to share our brilliant ideas, sharp wit, and A+ advice, and

Power Your Story: produced by her high school mentees who attend a Chicago public school for diverse learners

Andrea has developed podcasts with the Santa Fe Opera, New Mexico Department of Cultural Affairs, Del Norte Credit Union, Institute for Justice, Chicago Reader, the NARM Training Institute, and more. She has been a featured speaker and trainer for Podcast Movement, Podfest, She Podcasts Live, the University of Florida, The Wing, Next Door Chicago, Chicago Public Schools, and many, many podcasts. Andrea believes in the power of podcasting to immerse your followers in an authentic brand experience through engaging, entertaining, and educational audio media. Her mission is to help your voice to shine!

About David Blatt

David Blatt, Ph.D., has worked for more than two decades in the public policy field. Blatt founded the Oklahoma Policy Institute, a state policy think-tank that aims to expand opportunity for all Oklahomans through nonpartisan research, analysis and advocacy. He served as its executive director for 10 years. Now, he brings this expertise to students in the Master of Public Administration program at OU-Tulsa as the George Kaiser Family Foundation Endowed Professor of Practice.

Blatt previously served as director of public policy for Community Action Project of Tulsa County, as a budget analyst for the Oklahoma State Senate and as a parliamentary intern for the Canadian House of Commons. He earned his doctorate in political science from Cornell University, his master of arts degree from McGill University and his bachelor of arts degree from the University of Alberta.

102 – More Talking Less Killing with Corey Nathan Mar 01, 2022

The British theologian and philosopher G. K. Chesterton observed that “religious liberty might be supposed to mean that everybody is free to discuss religion. In practice it means that hardly anybody is allowed to mention it.” When we talk openly about political or religious matters, we risk endangering relationships. Yet politics and religion are immensely important topics that ought not to be ignored for the sake of avoiding awkward conversations. Saving Elephants host Josh Lewis is joined by Corey Nathan as they discuss how we might talk politics and religion without killing each other.

About Corey Nathan

Corey Nathan was raised in an observant Jewish household attending an Orthodox synagogue. His family is mostly from Brooklyn, NY; but Corey grew up on the Jersey side—Bruce Springsteen country! In his late 20s, much to the family's chagrin, Corey became a Born-again Christian. Not long after this epiphany, the new believer began to find many of the default social and political positions of contemporary American Evangelicalism to be at odds with the very Scriptures that are supposed to be Christians’ authority for how to engage in the world. Vocationally, Corey started out as a stockbroker (Series 7, Series 63) during the day while he was studying at a theatre conservatory at night. Since then, he’s been an entrepreneur with one foot in business and one foot in creative pursuits having built and managed such endeavors as a specialty headhunting firm, a theatre and film ministry, a residential and commercial service company, a 501c3 to help folks during the pandemic, and, most recently, a new media/content company.

Corey continues to be a student of theology, politics and culture and enjoys sharing invigorating conversations with world-renowned experts of these subjects on the podcast he produces and hosts, Talkin’ Politics & Religion Without Killin’ Each Other. He can also be caught having these same kinds of discussions with friends and family over a good whiskey or glass of wine with the music of Monk, Coltrane or Louis Armstrong setting the mood. Corey has been married to Lisa for 24 years and has 3 kids, along with the family pooches, Bailey and Charles Mingus the 3rd. You can follow Corey on Twitter @coreysnathan.

101 – Voting Vexations Feb 15, 2022

How secure and reliable are elections in the United States?

The Left and Right are both replete with voices warning of the dire consequences of the “other side” getting their way. And nowhere is this more evident than with concerns about the legitimacy of elections. Whether it’s the Right’s concerns with voter fraud and election theft or the Left’s apprehensions about voter suppression and disenfranchisement, Americans are growing increasingly concerned that their votes don’t, or won’t, or eventually will not count.

What’s more, the leaders of each party, Donald Trump and Joe Biden, have used increasingly alarmist language in claiming our democratic institutions have been undermined. Trump continues to assert that the 2020 election was “stolen” and that it was a “fraud on the American people”. Meanwhile, Biden has warned that those who do not share his views on election reform are interested in instituting “Jim Crow 2.0” and that they are akin to the likes of George Wallace, Bull Connor, and Jefferson Davis.

In this episode Saving Elephants host Josh Lewis takes a deep dive into the various allegations made by Trump and Biden and offers some thoughts on whether Americans can have faith in their democratic institutions.

100 – The Genius of Thomas Sowell with Alan Wolan Feb 01, 2022

Saving Elephants officially hits 100 episodes! Host Josh Lewis is joined by Alan Wolan to discuss their mutual admiration for the writings and ideas of Thomas Sowell.

Thomas Sowell, along with Edmund Burke, Russell Kirk, and William F. Buckley, comprise the Mt. Rushmore of thinkers who best exemplify the conservatism espoused by Saving Elephants. Sowell is an American economist, social theorist, and researcher whose nine decades of life and forty-five books covering topics as far reaching as social policy on race, ethnic groups, education, and decision-making, to classical and Marxian economics, to the problems of children perceived as having disabilities.

About Alan Wolan

Alan Wolan is a business owner, entrepreneur, investor, homeschool dad with five kids and host of The Genius of Thomas Sowell podcast, a venue for discussing the books and ideas of Thomas Sowell. That's it. Nothing else. You can check out a brief summary of Sowell prepared by Alan at TomSowell.com

Alan earned his BA in Intellectual History from the University of Pennsylvania and MBA in Marketing from New York University. He lives in California. You can follow Alan on Twitter @AlanWolan

Episode 99 – The Forgotten Legacy of Willmoore Kendall with Chris Owen Jan 18, 2022

Few individuals have had as deep an impact on modern conservative thought, yet remain in relative obscurity, as Willmoore Kendall. The conservative English professor Jeffrey Hart said of Kendall that he was "the most important political theorist to have emerged in the twenty-odd years since the end of World War II." Kendall’s writings are thought-provoking, challenging, contentious, scrupulous, and, often, innovative. His analysis and critiques took no prisoners on both the Right and Left, and his prickly personality shattered relationships with friends, family, and spouses alike. Founding editor of National Review and early mentor to William F. Buckley, Kendall was on the forefront of conservative thought. His ideas don’t entirely fit squarely within the broader warring camps on the Right today, but they are nonetheless instructive, and we ignore his arguments at our own peril.

Joining Saving Elephants host Josh Lewis to discuss the life and ideas of this important yet often neglected thinker on the Right is historian Chris Owen whose new book Heaven Can Indeed Fall: The Life of Willmoore Kendall offers the definitive biography of Kendall’s life and work.

Per the book’s description: “Willmoore Kendall was a man against the world, a "maverick," an "iconoclast." His thoughts were profound, his countless enemies powerful, his personal life full of drama. Heaven Can Indeed Fall is the first full-length biography of Kendall and integrates the man with the teacher, thinker, and cold warrior. Once a Marxist, Kendall became a fearsome foe of global communism. He never apologized for supporting Joseph McCarthy. As the co-founder of National Review he helped turn the word liberal into an insult. A "stormy petrel," Kendall was a man “who never lost an argument or kept a friend.” Yet he was one of the most effective and sensitive teachers of his age. His ideas shaped Cold War practices of intelligence analysis and psychological warfare. As an academic he became the premier American theorist for conservative populism. The recent reemergence of populist ideas among American conservatives makes understanding Kendall ever more imperative. This book shows how a child prodigy and bucolic boy scout became an ambitious intelligence analyst, razor-tongued polemicist and profound student of American politics. By knowing Kendall one can better understand Cold War America, and contemporary America as well.”

About Chris Owen

Dr. Christopher Owen is a historian and recently retired Professor of English within the Department of Languages and Literature at Northeastern State University in Tahlequah, Oklahoma. Dr. Owen earned his PhD in history at Emory University in 1991. His previous book includes The Sacred Flame of Love: Methodism and Society in Nineteenth-Century Georgia.

Episode 98 – The Deep Places with Ross Douthat Jan 04, 2022

New York Times columnist Ross Douthat joins Josh Lewis to talk about his recent memoir The Deep Places. His book tells of his recent journey in battling chronic Lyme disease and his reflections on illness, discovery, and hope.

Ross’ story begins prior to the illness in which he was attempting to build the life he’d always dreamed of. “At that moment in my life I only really believed in upside…I wrote my share of words on the problem of evil…usually making the case that much of American Christianity offers people the wrong answers, encouraging them to believe that actually bad things shouldn’t happen if you’re good, that the American Dream should be yours if you just stay in God’s good graces and follow the paths that He’s marked out.”

“I had a similar critique of the secular meritocracy in which I had been educated: that because it asked its climbers to work so hard and jump so high, it encouraged an idea that we had somehow earned all our privileges, that our SAT scores and extracurricular accomplishments meant that we genuinely deserved to rule.”

“But despite these critiques, there was still a sense in which I believed exactly these ideas myself—or at least for myself—as I passed through college into adulthood, achieved the career as a writer that I wanted, won the wife I wanted, the job I wanted, the kids I wanted, and now the house and country life I wanted, too.”

Yet life had other plans for Ross as he’s spent the past six years battling an invisible enemy that’s robbed much of the life he’d built. His book offers profound insights into what we can make of our sufferings and how to keep hope in hopeless situations.

About Ross Douthat

Ross Douthat joined The New York Times as an opinion columnist in April 2009. His column appears every Tuesday and Sunday. Previously, he was a senior editor at The Atlantic and a blogger on its website. He is also a nonresident fellow at the American Enterprise Institute, where he studies American politics, culture, religion, and family life.

A prolific writer, Ross has written for The Atlantic and National Review and has been published widely in the popular press. In addition to The Deep Places, he is also the author of five other books: “The Decadent Society: How We Became the Victims of Our Own Success”; “To Change the Church: Pope Francis and the Future of Catholicism”; “Bad Religion: How We Became a Nation of Heretics”; “Grand New Party: How Republicans Can Win the Working Class and Save the American Dream”, which he coauthored with Reihan Salam; and “Privilege: Harvard and the Education of the Ruling Class”.

Ross has a BA in history from Harvard University. He lives with his wife and four children in New Haven. You can follow Ross on Twitter @DouthatNYT

Episode 97 – Good Grief with Jimmy Humphrey and Andrew Snyder Dec 21, 2021

Christmastime is here, a season of joy and merriment, happy gatherings of family and friends, peace on earth and goodwill to all. Both tradition and pop culture remind us that all is merry and bright this time of year. And yet for some who are grieving the holiday season only amplifies sorrow. As the rest of the world is making merry the pains of suffering and loss seem unbearable and profoundly alienating.

The British statesman Edmund Burke believed that “beings made for suffering should suffer well.” What are we to do with grief in a season that exacerbates misery? Should we lean into it or flee from it? What are we to do with our grief when it subsides into the background but never truly leaves us alone? What possible good is there in our grief? How do we grieve well and avoid the many pitfalls of grief? And how might we find joy in the midst of grieving?

Saving Elephants host Josh Lewis is joined by two guests—Jimmy Humphrey and Andrew Snyder—to wrestle with the challenging topic of grieving well.

About Jimmy Humphrey

Jimmy Humphrey is host of the Jimmy’s Table Podcast, a show about the intersection of faith, life, and culture. Jimmy describes himself as curiously evangelical, politically homeless, and a dreamer of small things.

Jimmy went to Bible college and seminary to study theology and prepare for ministry at Lee University and Gordon-Conwell Theological Seminary. But “life happened” and he ended up with a career in the mortgage industry at one of the nations’ largest banks as a high-level underwriter and analyst.

You can follow Jimmy on Twitter @TableJimmys

About Andrew Snyder

Andrew Snyder is a philosopher-theologian with an interest in the intersection between stories and life, neither of which—he would argue—can be properly understood apart from the other.

Andrew recently finished writing his doctoral dissertation on Søren Kierkegaard's understanding of anxiety's educative role in developing one's self and has been releasing digital content focused on the paths of myth and meaning. The flagship of this content can be found on the recently launched podcast, Mythic Mind. The first series walks through Kierkegaard's The Concept of Anxiety and The Sickness unto Death. The next series will focus on stories.

You can find Andrew’s writings and videos at https://www.andrewnsnyder.com/

You can follow Andrew on Twitter @Andrewnsnyder

Episode 96 – Conservative Minds with Kyle Sammin and Corey Astill Dec 07, 2021

Hosts of the Conservative Minds podcast Kyle Sammin and Corey Astill join Josh to discuss the timeless questions of what conservatism actually means, how the Left more utopian than they often admit, whether they actually read all eight hundred pages of Whittaker Chambers’ Witness, and which tomes and authors are indispensable to the serious conservative thinker.

About Conservative Minds

A podcast about conservative ideas and thinkers. Hosts Kyle and Corey explore what it means to call yourself a conservative, where conservatism has been, and where it's going. Each week, they select readings and conduct a discussion to share with you their investigation.

You can follow the podcast on Twitter at @consminds

About Kyle Sammin

Kyle Sammin is a Senior Editor at Philadelphia Weekly who covers politics, history, law, and sports. He is also a senior contributor to The Federalist and writes regularly for Broad + Liberty. You can find many of his writings at https://kylesammin.com/

You can follow Kyle on Twitter @KyleSammin

About Corey Astill

Corey Astill has over 15 years of experience in Congress, government relations, and law. He is Vice President at Business Roundtable, an Association of CEOs of leading U.S. companies working to promote a thriving economy, where he leads the Health & Retirement Committee and Smart Regulation Committee.

Before joining Business Roundtable, Corey served for a decade as a senior advisor in the U.S. Senate. Most recently, he served as Legislative Director for Senator Deb Fischer, managing the Senator’s legislative staff and coordinating her leadership activities in her capacity as a Deputy Whip. Earlier in his career, Corey served as Staff Director of a subcommittee on the Senate Finance Committee, Staff Director and Chief Counsel of the Joint Economic Committee, and Counsel for former Senators Dan Coats and Bob Bennett. He began his career as a legislative aide to former Senator Jon Kyl.

Bonus Episode – America's Future with Ericka Andersen Nov 30, 2021

In this re-podcast from America’s Future Facebook live interview, Ericka Andersen interviews Saving Elephants host Josh Lewis about his motivations for launching Saving Elephants. Also discussed are the worsening partisanship and tribalism in recent years and possible solutions to a healthier political dialogue.

About Ericka Andersen

Ericka Andersen is a freelance writer and digital media marketing professional. Her writings cover addiction, church planting, mental health, politics, policy, culture, fitness, and more for a variety of publications in including the Wall Street Journal, the New York Times, Washington Post, and National Review. She is a regular contributor at Ethics and Religious Liberty Commission (ERLC.) Previously, Ericka worked for National Review magazine, was Online Media Director for Congressional House Leadership, for the Heritage Foundation and Human Events magazine.

Ericka is the author of “Leaving Cloud 9: The True Story of a Life Resurrected From the Ashes of Poverty, Trauma and Mental Illness”. She wrote “Leaving Cloud 9” for those who have suffered trauma of all kinds—and have or are seeking to overcome it in the future. The book is a true story of miraculous healing—both physically and mentally—from years of trauma, suffering from depression, going through divorce and personal destruction.

Ericka host the “Worth Your Time” podcast, featuring inspiring women living out big dreams and making a difference in the world. The podcast is generally faith-based and seeks to highlight the stories of women living and loving others well.

Ericka lives in Indianapolis, Indiana. You can find her on Twitter @ErickaAndersen

About America’s Future

America's Future is an organization that recruits and cultivates young professionals to become effective, lifelong advocates who will inspire their peers to embrace freedom.

America’s Future empowers young people to be active, civil, and curious citizens who build freer communities that lead to fulfillment, dignity, and happiness for all by working toward a time in America where young people collaborate to drive change in their communities—change that equips the individual to build a free and happy life. America’s Future offers rising generations opportunities for networking, mentoring, leadership and community engagement through our national network and extensive array of programming.

Founded in 1995 by a group of aspiring young advocates, America’s Future Foundation quickly grew to be “the place” for rising young leaders in Washington, DC. In 2011. They have since expanded by launching chapters in cities across the country.

Episode 95 – Reassessing the GOP with Justin Stapley Nov 16, 2021

For the Trump-skeptical conservative, the past five years have been dizzyingly disconcerting. We’ve often felt politically homeless and even out of step from the power centers on both the Left and Right. What’s a principled conservative to do? What is the long-term goal of the movement? What future might we practically hope for and what goals are overly optimistic and detached from reality?

Returning guest Justin Stapley joins Saving Elephants host Josh Lewis to contemplate the merits of Trump-skeptical conservatives sticking with the GOP and whether the Republican party could reasonably embrace a principled conservatism in the future.

Justin Stapley has been writing politically since 2016. His writing has been featured by ALEC, The Federalist Coalition, and the personal blogs and platforms he has operated over the years, which include Never Tyranny, The Millennial Federalist, and The Liberty Hawk.

About Justin Stapley

Justin considers himself a liberty-minded conservative with principles and beliefs grounded in the idea of ordered liberty as expressed in the traditions of classical liberalism, federalism, and modern conservatism.

Justin currently studies Political Science at Utah Valley University with an emphasis in Political Theory and Constitutional Studies. He is a staunchly independent voice and is unafraid to call balls and strikes as he sees them. His calm but pointed writing style is often flavored with humor as he analyzes and discusses both news cycle driven topics as well as deeper philosophical considerations.

Justin appeared previously on Saving Elephants on the following episodes:

Episode 30 - Fusionism with Justin Stapley

Episode 55 – The New Centrist with Justin Stapley

Bonus Episode – The 2020 Elections – Now What?

Episode 77 – Truth in Tension with Justin Stapley

You can following Justin’s blog on Substack

Episode 94 – What's the Matter with Socialism? Nov 02, 2021

Saving Elephants host Josh Lewis offers a conservative critique of socialism.

It’s hardly news that socialism is gaining in popularity among younger Americans. Yet it’s more difficult to ascertain what Millennials have in mind when they express support for socialism or socialist candidates. Do they mean Marxism or the numerous varieties of Communist authoritarian regimes tried over the past century, European-style “socialism”, democratic socialism, having the state seize the means of production and abolish private property, bolstering labor unions, or some complex web of worker-ownership cooperatives? Or do they simply mean “whatever we have now, I don’t like that” with some vague idea that “the rich are not paying their fair share” thrown in for good measure?

Millennial support of socialism likely has less to do with an embrace of socialist arguments than with a frustrated search for answers. Socialism is winning by default, not persuasion, in much the same manner some candidates win elections not because they are liked, but because they are less hated than their opponent.

Just as it’s hardly news that younger Americans are becoming increasingly supportive of “socialism”—however defined—it also goes without saying that American conservatives have—generally speaking—opposed socialism and supported capitalism (or, more accurately, the free market). And while most conservatives will tell you this is for the sufficient reason capitalism “works” and socialism doesn’t, if pressed further they are likely to give additional moral reasons the former is superior to the latter. And that moral reason would be that capitalism allows for a flourishing of liberties that socialism impairs or, in some cases, obliterates.

But before we can untangle the merits of capitalism and how it is superior to socialism, both economically and ethically, we have to first come closer to understanding what we mean by the terms “capitalism” and “socialism”.

Episode 93 – Repainting the Fusionist Fence with James Davenport Oct 19, 2021

Founded in 1953, the Intercollegiate Studies Institute (ISI) has remained on the forefront of the conservative intellectual movement with a particular focus on ensuring college students are equipped with the tools they need to explore the conservative worldview. During the tumultuous begins of the modern conservative movement in the United States, ISI embraced many of the views and adherents of both the libertarian and traditionalist wings of the movements. Today, ISI is yet again navigating the divisions on the Right as they seek to maintain a platform where these embattled factions can meet together and debate their differences with civility and passion.

Joining Saving Elephants host Josh Lewis in this episode is James Davenport, Academic Program Officer for ISI, as they discuss indispensable books for the student of conservatism, the plight of young conservatives on college campuses, the importance and relevance of fusionism, cancel culture and civility, and how conservatives might combat the continuous Leftward bent of higher education.

About James Davenport

James Davenport is Academic Program Officer for the Intercollegiate Studies Institute. He received his BA in politics, philosophy, and theology from the Templeton Honors College at Eastern University. As an undergraduate, James was an ISI Honors Scholar and president of his campus ISI Society—The Montaigne Society. He also participated in seminars with the Elm Institute, was a fellow with the Philadelphia Commons Institute (formerly the Agora Institute), and was a course fellow in religion and politics with the Hertog Foundation.

James’ writing can be found in the Imaginative Conservative, The University Bookman, Philanthropy Daily, Front Porch Republic, the Forma Journal of the Circe Institute, and more. He also hosts the Conservative Conversations with ISI podcast alongside ISI President Johnny Burtka and National Director of Student Programs Marlo Slayback. You can find James on Twitter @mrJSDavenport

Listener Mail

In the listener mail segment Josh responds to a listener’s request to cover the topics of conservatism in urban areas and the challenge of countering the Left’s hold over elite institutions, particularly in higher education.

Episode 92 – The Spice of Life Oct 05, 2021

As the old adage goes, variety is the spice of life. And the conservative heartily agrees. Variety, not uniformity, is what gives life its vitality and each life the potential for self-actualization and the opportunity for each of us to develop in our own unique way. But is variety compatible with equality? What do we mean by equality, and how might equality be established? What is the relationship between equality, progress, and justice?

In this solo episode, Saving Elephants host Josh Lewis explores what conservatism has to say about variety and equality and their relationship to progress and justice. No one disputes inequalities exist. But there is much disagreement on why they exist, or what qualifies as an “inequality”, let alone what should be done about it. Perhaps the sharpest question we can ask is who is to blame for inequalities? Does the mere fact that one person is unequal than another person create an injustice? And what of the various kinds of inequalities? We might be able to reach a wide consensus that no injustice is done if John is taller than Bill, or even if John is wealthier than Bill. But what if John belongs to an ethnic or social group that’s predominantly wealthier than Bill’s ethnic or social group? Is that an injustice?

To the conservative, true equality—equality before the law and before God—is precisely what gives rise to inequalities. And enforcing unnatural equality necessarily violates our natural equality. If people who are born with different abilities and access to opportunities are all set on a level playing field, we would naturally expect radically different outcomes. If we were to force equal access to opportunities by granting them to those without and depriving them to those who would otherwise have access, we would still see different outcomes because people would still be operating within the abilities they inherited at birth. If we strove still to eliminate even these inequalities, by demanding or enforcing that all outcomes be the same—such that if one person’s abilities allowed them to produce more or excel in some way beyond that of their peers we would deprive them of their excess production—we might finally achieve absolute equality. But the price we’d pay would be the death of distinction, variety, and—in a multitude of historical examples where such heavy-handed leveling has been attempted—life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness. Is that justice? Is that progress?

Episode 91 – Invisible Men with Ian Rowe and Nique Fajors Sep 21, 2021

Saving Elephants host Josh Lewis is joined by Ian Rowe and Nique Fajors—two black Harvard Business School graduates—who hope to change the narrative and highlight the positive achievements of black men in the United States. What is wrong with the common narrative surrounding black men? How much has changed over recent decades and are those changes adequately reflected in the narrative?

Ian and Nique host The Invisible Men, a podcast and video platform interviewing successful black men. In the aftermath of Rodney King’s assault by police officers in the 90s and his attackers’ subsequent acquittal, Ian Rowe and Nique Fajors grew weary of a public narrative proclaiming that black men in America were doomed to failure under an oppressive system. A feeling of invisibleness struck both Ian and Nique who were then Harvard Business School classmates as the stories of men like them became increasingly ignored in the public eye. Today, Ian and Nique have resurrected “The Invisible Men” as a video podcast. In their inaugural episode, Ian and Nique share their inspiration behind launching “The Invisible Men” documentary in the 90s and discuss why—30 years later—their message of agency and empowerment is needed more than ever.

About Ian Rowe

Ian Rowe is a senior fellow at the American Enterprise Institute, where he focuses on education and upward mobility, family formation, and adoption. Mr. Rowe is also the cofounder of Vertex Partnership Academies, a new network of character-based International Baccalaureate high schools opening in the Bronx in 2022; the chairman of the board of Spence-Chapin, a nonprofit adoption services organization; and the cofounder of the National Summer School Initiative. He concurrently serves as a senior visiting fellow at the Woodson Center and a writer for the 1776 Unites Campaign.

Until July 1, 2020, Mr. Rowe was CEO of Public Prep, a nonprofit network of public charter schools based in the South Bronx and Lower East Side of Manhattan. Before joining Public Prep, he was deputy director of postsecondary success at the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, senior vice president of strategic partnerships and public affairs at MTV, director of strategy and performance measurement at the USA Freedom Corps office in the White House, and cofounder and president of Third Millennium Media. Mr. Rowe also joined Teach for America in its early days.

Mr. Rowe has an MBA from Harvard Business School, where he was the first black editor-in-chief of The Harbus, the Harvard Business School newspaper; a BS in computer science engineering from Cornell University; and a diploma in electrical engineering from Brooklyn Technical High School (Brooklyn Tech), one of New York City’s elite public schools, which specializes in science, technology, and mathematics.

You can follow Mr. Rowe on Twitter @IanVRowe

About Nique Fajors

Nique Fajors is a business leader in retail, e-Commerce, software entertainment, and organizational development. Mr. Fajors has launched over 85 e-Commerce products and services generating over $2.1 billion. A nationally respected business thought leader, he has been quoted in the New York Times, The Financial Times, and Business Week and been a speaker at TEDx.

You can follow Mr. Fajors on Twitter @NFajors

Episode 90 – Redlining and Reparations with Charles Marohn Sep 07, 2021

America’s history of bigotry and racism have left wounds that fester to this day. How might the country make amends to those racial minorities who were harmed? To what extent are white Americans responsible for addressing wrongs perpetrated by their ancestors? To what extent can the effects of these past sins be measured and known?

These are not easy questions, nor is there much consensus on where we go from here. But there is one area where both conservatives and liberals may be able to find common ground: addressing historic wrongs committed by the practice of redlining at the local level. Saving Elephants host Josh Lewis is joined again by Charles Marohn to discuss the history of redlining, its effect on American minorities, and a possible path forward to making restitutions consistent with conservative principles. Much of their discussion centers around an article Marohn wrote for Strong Towns entitled The Local Case for Reparations.

About Charles Marohn

Charles (or “Chuck” to friends and colleagues) Marohn is the founder and president of Strong Towns, a nonprofit that supports thousands of people across the United States and Canada who are advocating for a radically new way of thinking about the way we build our world. Marohn is a professional engineer and a land use planner with decades of experience. He holds a bachelor’s degree in civil engineering and a Master of Urban and Regional Planning, both from the University of Minnesota.

Marohn is the author of two books: Strong Towns: A Bottom-Up Revolution to Rebuild American Prosperity and Confessions of a Recovering Engineer. He hosts the Strong Towns Podcast and is a primary writer for Strong Towns’ web content. He has presented Strong Towns concepts in hundreds of cities and towns across North America. Planetizen named him one of the 10 Most Influential Urbanists of all time. He is a long-time commentator on KAXE Northern Community Radio. He currently co-hosts KAXE’s Dig Deep program, a monthly examination of public policy issues affecting Minnesotans.

Marohn grew up on a small farm in central Minnesota. The oldest of three sons of two elementary school teachers, he joined the Minnesota National Guard on his seventeenth birthday during his junior year of high school and served in the Guard for nine years. In addition to being passionate about building a stronger America, he loves playing music, is an obsessive reader, and religiously follows his favorite team, the Minnesota Twins. Chuck and his wife live with their two daughters in their hometown of Brainerd, Minnesota. You can find him on Twitter @clmarohn

Listener Mail

Josh responds to a listener’s message asking if he would encourage his listeners to get the COVID-19 vaccine.

Bonus Episode – En Route with Dennis Sanders Aug 31, 2021

Saving Elephants host Josh Lewis joins Dennis Sanders on his podcast En Route to discuss the past, present, and future of the GOP and conservative movements, what younger generations of Americans have to offer the country, and where the #NeverTrump movement went wrong.

About Dennis Sanders

Dennis Sanders is a blogger, podcaster, pastor, and media and technology professional. He hosts En Route, a podcast about the journey focusing on religion, politics and culture and the things we discover on the way. Dennis was born and raised in Flint, Michigan and currently lives in Minneapolis. You can find Dennis on Twitter @denminn

Episode 89 – Uprooted with Gracy Olmstead Aug 17, 2021

Often the highest praise we can offer a bright, promising student is “you’ll go far”. Americans have long associated success with striking out on one’s own and heading for greener pastures. But is this transient attitude conducive to the long-term health of local communities? What happens to the places we leave behind and what impact does that have on us?

Saving Elephants host Josh Lewis is joined by Gracy Olmstead, author of Uprooted: Recovering the Legacy of the Places We've Left Behind. Their conversation delves into how Americans have historically thought of leaving or sticking with the communities of their upbringing and how American practices don’t always align with American values. Gracy offers her thoughts on what wisdom Alexis de Tocqueville and Wendell Berry have to share and how the pains of homesickness might point us towards an understanding of what parts of the past are worth bringing into the future.

About Gracy Olmstead

Gracy Olmstead is a writer and journalist located outside Washington, D.C. Her work has appear in The American Conservative, The Washington Times, the Idaho Press Tribune, The Federalist, The Week, National Review, and Acculturated.

Gracy’s book examines the heartbreaking consequences of uprooting—for both her hometown of Emmett, Idaho, and for the greater heartland of America. Part memoir, part journalistic investigation, Uprooted wrestles with the questions of what we owe the places we come from and what we are willing to sacrifice for profit and progress.

You can follow Gracy on Twitter @GracyOlmstead

Listener Mail

At the end of the episode, Josh responds to a listener’s question about the recent debate on the Right regarding whether Viktor Orbán policies in Hungary are worth emulating in the United States to effectively engage in the culture wars.

Episode 88 – Opioid Pains with Peter Pischke Aug 03, 2021

The opioid overdose crisis is back in the news with recent revelations that the already shocking death toll has increased dramatically since the pandemic. Drug overdose is now the leading cause of accidental death with opioids accounting for most of the deaths. This crisis has certainly received a lot of attention from lawmakers, healthcare professionals, and the media. However, Saving Elephants returning guest Peter Pischke argues that much of the debate over what to do about the growing crisis is overly focused on patients with medical needs who rarely abuse their medication.

About Peter Pischke

Peter Pischke is an independent disability and health reporter covering politics, journalism, ethics, and culture. He is the host of the Happy Warrior Podcast and the creator of The Happy Warrior substack. His specialty is communicating on the little-discussed side of the opioid crisis, the side from those reliant on opioid pain medication, the prescription opioid crisis.

Peter himself is a disabled pain patient and became deeply impacted in 2018 when his trusted physician force tapered him off his medication. With an ear to the ground on the different sides of this deeply felt issue, Peter tries to parse out what is happening on the ground and give his readers a clear picture of what the opioid crisis is and how we might get out of this man-made mess.

Peter was a guest on the Saving Elephants podcast in Episode 42 - Media Bias with Peter Pischke. You can read his recent article in the New York Daily News on the CDC’s mishandling of the opioid crisis here. You can find Peter on Twitter @HappyWarriorP

Episode 87 – E Pluribus Unum with Avi Woolf Jul 20, 2021

What is America and what does it mean to be an American? We Americans have been debating this question for centuries, yet we seem even less united on a common understanding than Americans of prior generations.

America’s original national motto was E Pluribus Unum: “Out of many, one”. It contained the notion that this diverse country of ethnicities and religions and ideologies were somehow unified in some sense. In 1956, our national motto changed to “In God We Trust”. Yet this was no less of a statement on American unity. In 1956 the Cold War was raging, and the government of the United States sought to distinguish itself from the atheistic Soviet Union. Trusting in God was simply what it meant to be an American.

And yet no one can deny that there are plenty of Americans who would not claim to believe, let alone trust, in God. And the idea that the best way to describe ourselves in light of our current political divides is “Out of many, one” seems downright laughable.

Why is it so hard to come to a common agreement on what it means to be an American? What ideas have been tried in the past? Why did they fail and to what extent were they ever successful? How important is it that we reach some kind of consensus? Joining Saving Elephants host Josh Lewis to discuss these questions and more is returning guest Avi Woolf.

About Avi Woolf

Avi Woolf is a writer, editor, translator, and podcaster whose work has been published in Arc Digital, Commentary, National Review, The Bulwark, and The Dispatch. He is chief editor of the online Medium publication Conservative Pathways, and he—in his words—"hopes to help forge a path for a conservatism which is relevant for the 21st century while not abandoning the best of past wisdom.”

Avi has been a guest on the show in two previous episodes as well: the first in which he explored the need for conservatism to find a way to appeal to people who live in urban areas in Episode 26 – Urban Conservatism and the second in which he mulled over the love/hate relationship the Right has long had with institutions of higher education in Episode 49 – God and the Speechless at Yale.

Avi hosts his own podcast entitled Avi’s Conversational Corner, a podcast on culture, history, and politics in a broad perspective. You can find Avi on Twitter @AviWoolf

Episode 86 – Perfect Bedrock Jun 29, 2021

Josh takes a break from the guests to cover a little conservatism 101. Russell Kirk’s pithy list Ten Conservative Principles: begins with what Kirk called an enduring moral order: “The conservative believes that there exists an enduring moral order. That order is made for man, and man is made for it: human nature is a constant, and moral truths are permanent.”

The full implications of this idea—not to mention the arguments in favor or disapproving of this view or the thorny business of trying to agree upon a working definition of “moral order”, “human nature”, or “permanent truths”—is precisely what makes this so challenging to untangle. But untangle we must for, if we ever hope to understand conservatism, we must first understand the foundation conservatism rests upon.

It would be difficult to overemphasize the importance of order. It’s not some idea relegated to trivial conversations amongst people with a lot of time on their hands, it is quite literally the glue that holds reality together. “Either order in the cosmos is real, or all is chaos,” explained Kirk, “In a vortex of chaos, only force and appetite signify.” Everything conservatism defends as worth conserving rests on the idea that there exists some standard by which we can truthfully distinguish what things have value from mere popular preferences. Our ability to make these distinctions is important, but such efforts would be utterly hopeless if order did not exist. In that case all we could say is that some people prefer some things while other people prefer other things; we couldn’t make actual truth statements about those things.

Edmund Burke put it more succinctly: “Good order is the foundation of all good things.” The connection between order and foundation is key. The existence of order—that is, something that is fixed, absolute, immutable, and completely outside of humanity’s ability to create or destroy—is precisely what grounds reality. Without it, all that’s left is chaos and appetite. Humans don’t submit to the gods they create; and if we come to believe there is no truth greater than whatever “truth” we create for ourselves we shouldn’t act surprised when a spirit of benevolence and comradery is insufficient to hold barbarism at bay. Without order, we don’t have a basis for justice or a universal argument for natural rights and liberty from coercion.

If Kirk’s assertion of the existence of an enduring moral order is true, we’re faced with an abundance of questions, such as:

Can we define this moral order, or at least discern it? If so, how?
What is the relationship between societal order and the order within each individual in society?
Where does this order come from? Is it spiritual in nature?
What political and legal implications does a moral order impose?
Doesn’t the flirtation with ideas of a moral order quickly descend into authoritarian theocracy? How does the conservative guard against that?
What implications does this have for politics or the state? Or is this a matter of faith that should be left out of political considerations altogether?
What is the relationship between order and liberty? Are these ideas in conflict or can they be reconciled?

Josh tackles all that and more in this episode

Episode 85 – Strong Towns with Charles Marohn Jun 15, 2021

For thousands of years the ways in which cities and towns developed has provided us with a of blueprint for what human habitats need to flourish. Yet today many of our cities and towns have forsaken these tried-and-true methods and instead imposed rational planning and an overreliance on pricey infrastructure projects to foster growth and further development. What are the potential downfalls of departing from these practices of the past?

Saving Elephants host Josh Lewis is joined by Chuck Marohn of Strong Towns to traverse the world of urban planning and discuss the need for a return to the ancient models of development, the terrible costs of over-indebted infrastructure projects to younger Americans, whether or not Wal-Mart is a net boon or detriment to local communities, and how conservatism can help us form a more prosperous and enjoyable world.

Podcast Survey

Help us make the podcast even better: Take the listener survey for a chance to win a Saving Elephants coffee mug.

About Charles Marohn

Charles (or “Chuck” to friends and colleagues) Marohn is the founder and president of Strong Towns, a nonprofit that supports thousands of people across the United States and Canada who are advocating for a radically new way of thinking about the way we build our world. Marohn is a professional engineer and a land use planner with decades of experience. He holds a bachelor’s degree in civil engineering and a Master of Urban and Regional Planning, both from the University of Minnesota.

Marohn is the author of Strong Towns: A Bottom-Up Revolution to Rebuild American Prosperity (Wiley, 2019). He hosts the Strong Towns Podcast and is a primary writer for Strong Towns’ web content. He has presented Strong Towns concepts in hundreds of cities and towns across North America. Planetizen named him one of the 10 Most Influential Urbanists of all time. He is a long-time commentator on KAXE Northern Community Radio. He currently co-hosts KAXE’s Dig Deep program, a monthly examination of public policy issues affecting Minnesotans.

Marohn grew up on a small farm in central Minnesota. The oldest of three sons of two elementary school teachers, he joined the Minnesota National Guard on his seventeenth birthday during his junior year of high school and served in the Guard for nine years. In addition to being passionate about building a stronger America, he loves playing music, is an obsessive reader, and religiously follows his favorite team, the Minnesota Twins. Chuck and his wife live with their two daughters in their hometown of Brainerd, Minnesota. You can find him on Twitter @clmarohn

Listener Mail

Josh responds to a listener’s question about conservatism’s challenges with appealing to minorities and whether our nation’s institutions are worth conserving given the history of American slavery and other past sins.

Episode 84 – The History of American Conservatism with George Nash Jun 01, 2021

In 1976 historian George H. Nash wrote The Conservative Intellectual Movement in America Since 1945, a celebrated historical accounting that established much of the narrative for how we think about the development of modern conservatism even today. George Nash joins Saving Elephants host Josh Lewis to discuss the various strands of thought that emerged after the second World War that eventually evolved into a political movement on the Right. Along the way, Dr. Nash shares his insights on the colorful individuals who shaped the debate, how they fought one another, and how an eventual loose consensus was brought forth. Finally, he offers some thoughts on what a lifetime of studying the history of conservatism can teach aspiring conservatives today.

Podcast Survey

Help us make the podcast even better: Take the listener survey for a chance to win a Saving Elephants coffee mug.

About George H. Nash

George H. Nash is the epitome of a gentleman and a scholar. A graduate from Amherst College who received his Ph.D. in History from Harvard University, Dr. Nash is an authority on the histories of American conservatism and the life of President Herbert Hoover. Dr. Nash is an independent scholar, historian, and lecturer. He speaks and writes frequently about the history and present direction of American conservatism, the life of Herbert Hoover, the legacy of Ronald Reagan, the education of the Founding Fathers, and other subjects. His writings have appeared in the American Spectator, Claremont Review of Books, Intercollegiate Review, Modern Age, National Review, New York Times Book Review, Policy Review, University Bookman, Wall Street Journal, and many other publications. He has lectured at the Library of Congress; the National Archives; the Herbert Hoover, John F. Kennedy, and Lyndon Johnson presidential libraries; the Gerald R. Ford Presidential Museum; the Hoover Institution; the Heritage Foundation; the McConnell Center; and at various universities and conferences in the United States and Europe. Several of his lectures have been featured on C-SPAN. He has also been interviewed by C-SPAN, National Public Radio, numerous radio stations, and the print media. Dr. Nash lives in Massachusetts.

Listener Mail

At the end of the episode, Josh responds to a listener’s question about a comment he made in the episode that dropped on Election Day 2020. Josh had expressed his views that that time that neither major party candidate represented an existential threat to the United States and the listener askes, given what we now know about the election aftermath, accusations of widespread election fraud, the incursion on January 6, and the subsequent white washing of the Republican party, would Josh now view Trump as an existential threat to the country?

Episode 83 – West Coast (Straussianism) is the Best Coast with Seth Root May 18, 2021

Few conservative thinkers are as little known, controversial, or had as great an impact on the conservative elite as Leo Strauss. Who was Leo Strauss, what did he believe, and how does that inform conservative thought today? Saving Elephants host Josh Lewis is joined by Seth Root to disentangle the mysteries of Straussianism including his views on esoteric writing, the ancients vs. moderns, reason vs. revelation, and arguments against historicism and relativism. Seth also enlightens us on the different variants of Straussianism and why he identifies as a West Coast Straussian.

About Seth Root

Seth Root is the cohost of the In The Trenches Podcast, a show for conversations with people that are right in the middle of the war of ideas. Seth was a fellow at Conservative Partnership Institute and an incoming intern at the James Wilson Institute on Natural Rights and the American Founding.

Listener Mail

Josh responds to a Mark’s email about his blog post Fifty Conservative Thinkers and conservatism and the environmental movement. Mark is the author of Old Man on a Green Bike: Chronicles of a Self-Serving Environmentalist, a book on the politics and practicalities of conscious bicycling, inspiring readers to take to two wheels for their own sake, and maybe also the good of the planet.

Episode 82 – Ruminating Remnants with Jonah Goldberg May 04, 2021

Syndicated columnist, author, podcaster, and political commentator Jonah Goldberg joins Josh to discuss his work in conservative media, their shared concerns with the direction of the country and sanity of the GOP, and why Woodrow Wilson was possibly an even worse human being than James Buchanan.

Jonah Goldberg hosts The Remnant, a podcast featuring a “Cannonball Run”-style cast of stars, has-beens, and never-weres to address the most pressing issues of the day and of all-time, mixing history, pop culture, rank-punditry, political philosophy, and, at times, shameless book-plugging, and the nudity is (almost) always tasteful. In October of 2019 Goldberg co-launched and became founding editor of the online opinion and news publication The Dispatch. He was the founding editor of National Review Online, and from 1998 until 2019 he was an editor at National Review.

A prolific writer, Goldberg writes a weekly column about politics and culture for the Los Angeles Times as well as a frequent “newsletter” The G-File. He has authored three books, the No. 1 New York Times bestseller Liberal Fascism; The Tyranny of Cliches: How Liberals Cheat in the War of Ideas; and Suicide of the West, which also became a New York Times bestseller.

Goldberg is also a regular contributor on news networks such as CNN, Fox News, and MSNBC, appearing on various television programs including Good Morning America, Nightline, Hardball with Chris Matthews, Real Time with Bill Maher, and The Daily Show. Goldberg is an occasional guest on a number of Fox News shows and a frequent panelist on Special Report with Bret Baier.

Listener Mail

In this episode we’re introducing a new segment: listener mail. Josh selects from some of the messages he’s received and responds to them in the podcast. Few episodes have generated as much feedback as the previous episode: Episode 81 – But, He's a Fighter. Josh reads a text he received from Jeff saying how much he enjoyed the episode and a tweet and email from Dennis expressing concerns over the episode.

Episode 81 – But, He's a Fighter Apr 20, 2021

How often have you heard someone say of a Republican politician that they don’t necessarily approve of everything they do or say, but at least they fight? What exactly do we mean when we say—often approvingly—that someone is a fighter? Why is the Right so concerned with whether or not someone is fighting? Who are they supposed to be fighting, and what does it mean to fight? What is the role of civility in public discourse, and is it possible to maintain an appropriate amount of civility while still fighting? If we grant that the Right seems to be on the losing end of the culture wars, what is the best course of action? Does fighting mean we develop our own form of cancel-culture and work to produce as many liberal tears as we can? Or does it mean we work to rebuild our own cultural values? Can both be done at the same time? Is it even possible to make cultural gains through political means?

Bob Burch joins Saving Elephants host Josh Lewis to hash out these questions and more in a conversation where they—ironically—have more to fight about than usual.

Episode 80 – The Future of Fusionism with Stephanie Slade Apr 06, 2021

“There's a well-worn tale about modern American conservatism,” writes Stephanie Slade in her piece for Reason entitle Is There a Future for Fusionism? “It says that the movement as we know it came into being during the mid–20th century as a ‘fusionist’ coalition of economic libertarians and religious traditionalists. These groups, whose goals and priorities differed from the start, were held together mainly by two things: the sheer charisma of National Review founder William F. Buckley Jr., and the shared enemy of global communism. As long as the Cold War endured, the story goes, each wing was willing to cede some ground to the other…But the fall of the USSR meant the collapse of the common foe that had sustained the fusionist partnership. It was able to trundle on for a while, powered by a reservoir of goodwill, but it has long been running on fumes. In the last few years, the alliance's inherent tensions have come to a head.”

The problem with this “well-worn tale”, Stephanie contends, is that it isn’t true. Fusionism, as developed by conservative thinkers from William F. Buckley Jr. to Frank Meyer, was a philosophical orientation that sought to advance both virtue and liberty as societal ends whereas the coalition on the Right that formed to combat global Communism was born out of political expediency. As such, fusionism is just as relevant in a world where Communism is no longer the global menace it was in the prior century, in spite of competing voices on the Right calling for a realignment of market-skeptical Common-Good Conservatism, nationalism, and populism.

Stephanie joins Saving Elephants host Josh Lewis to discuss the true history of fusionism, what it became the dominant consensus on the Right, and why it still remains relevant today. Also discussed are some common objections to fusionism, how fusionism can fit within the broader worldviews of libertarians, conservatives, and classical liberals, what is meant by “liberty” and “virtue”, and the seductive dangers of the post-liberal movement.

Stephanie Slade is managing editor at Reason, the libertarian magazine of "free minds and free markets." Prior to joining Reason, Stephanie worked as a speechwriter, a pollster, and a regular contributor to U.S. News and World Report. In 2013, she was named a finalist for the Bastiat Prize for Journalism. In 2016–2017, she was selected as a Robert Novak Journalism Fellow. She's a proud graduate of the University of Florida, where she earned a B.A. in economics. She also has an M.A. from American University. You can find her on Twitter @sladesr

Bonus Episode – What is Conservatism? – with Corey Astill and Kyle Sammin Apr 01, 2021

The Saving Elephants podcast turns three years old today—no joke! To celebrate Saving Elephants is releasing a bonus episode: a re-podcast from the Conservative Minds podcast where Saving Elephants host Josh Lewis joined Corey Astill and Kyle Sammin to discuss Frank Meyer’s classic book What Is Conservatism?

Conservative Minds is a podcast about conservative ideas and thinkers. Hosts Corey and Kyle explore what it means to call yourself a conservative, where conservatism has been, and where it's going. Each week, they select readings and conduct a discussion to share with you our investigation. You can join the conversation by liking them on Facebook or following them on Twitter at @consminds.

The book What Is Conservatism? contains multiple essays from twelve prominent conservative intellectuals compiled by the father of conservative fusionism himself, Frank Meyer. Just what is conservatism? Many people are groping for answers, especially as conservatives seem to retreat into factions—Tea Partiers, traditionalists, libertarians, social conservatives, neoconservatives, and on and on. But this illuminating book shows what unites conservatives even as it explores conservatism’s rich internal debate.

What Is Conservatism?features brilliant essays by such leading lights as:

F. A. Hayek, Nobel Prize–winning economist and author of The Road to Serfdom
William F. Buckley Jr., founder of National Review and the man perhaps most responsible for the rise of modern conservatism
Russell Kirk, whose seminal book The Conservative Mind gave the conservative movement its name
M. Stanton Evans, author of the conservative movement’s central credo, the “Sharon Statement” (1960)

It also includes a foreword by #1 New York Times bestselling author and The Dispatch founder Jonah Goldberg explaining the influence of What Is Conservatism? on conservative thought and the book’s relevance today.

Episode 79 – Turning Left from Right with Calvin Moore Mar 16, 2021

Host of the Leading Questions podcast Calvin Moore joins Josh to discuss his journey away from the Evangelical faith and a traditional, conservative, Republican culture. Calvin became disillusioned with the Christianity of his upbringing and dissuaded from the politics commonly attached to it over many years of wrestling with hypocrisies and disingenuous arguments. His story is an excellent example of the dangers in short-sighted political strategies and belief systems that fail to take the experiences of others into account.

Calvin begins his story where he left off last year on the podcast Changed My Mind with Luke T. Harrington in which he shares why he left behind Evangelicalism.

Calvin Moore is the host of Leading Questions with Calvin Moore, a weekly moderated roundtable discussion about ongoing issues in our culture. The podcast brings together disparate voices on a particular issue, discusses disagreements, considers one another's positions and, at the very least, leaves the table with a measure of respect for the person on the other side of the debate as they strive to create a space for passionate, yet healthy dialogue.

Always the inquisitive, skeptical member of his family, Calvin has consistently pushed the boundaries of accepted conventions in his search for truth and understanding. With the rise of new media, he noticed the degradation of dialogue between disparate viewpoints, which led to the creation of this program.

Calvin earned his Bachelor of Science in History Education at Rochester University in Rochester Hills, Michigan. His focus is on the African-American experience in the Early American Republic and Presidential History.

Calvin resides in Michigan with his wife, Jennifer.

Episode 78 – Iron Ladies with Leslie Loftis Mar 02, 2021

Women on the Right have an invisibility problem. It’s not that they’re nonexistent, it’s that they’re often overlooked by the Fox News stereotype of what is believed to constitute a conservative woman. So says Leslie Loftis, longtime curator of publications from conservative women.

Leslie and Saving Elephants host Josh Lewis delve into the challenges women on the Right face and what unique strengths they might bring to the Republican party and conservatism in general if they were more visible. Leslie also shares her thoughts on the role of feminism in advancing women’s concerns, what unifies conservative women, the challenges social media present to our civil discourse, and how we might ultimately improve our political dialogue across the ideological spectrum.

Leslie Loftis is a recovering lawyer and political writer. She started writing back in the blog boom of the early 2000’s with an expat blog, An American Housewife in London. By 2012, Leslie had moved back to Texas and was brought on to write for an expanding PJMedia. Soon thereafter, she became one of the original Senior Contributors for The Federalist and published in local newspapers, The Conservative Woman UK, and US News and World Report, among others.

By mid-2017, Leslie was publishing exclusively at Arc Digital and for her own start-up magazine and newsletter, Iron Ladies. When disillusionment and burnout after the Kavenaugh Hearings dampened any writing desires, Leslie took a temporary (as it turns out) break from writing to start a long-intended project, teaching life administration. (Think household budgets and management, the kind of practical skills few seem to learn anymore until they already need them.) She revived the Iron Ladies newsletter a year ago, which you can subscribe to here. https://mailchi.mp/b3a6caef7f85/ironladiescollectionsignup

Leslie lives in Houston with her husband and their four teenagers and four dogs. You can find her on Twitter @LeslieLoftisTX

Episode 77 – Truth in Tension with Justin Stapley Feb 16, 2021

In this crossover episode friend of the podcast Justin Stapley invites Saving Elephants host Josh Lewis onto his show Self-Evident to discuss self-evident truths and what it means to hold truth in tension.

The conversation includes thoughts on whether or not our inalienable rights are “self-evident”, the genius of American founders, Jeffersonian, Lockean liberalism vs. Hamiltonian, Burkean conservatism, why John Adams didn’t make a good president, whether the 1619 Project or 1776 Project is “right” or if the truth is somewhere in-between, whether America’s founding perfect or problematic, whether truth is to be found in reason or prescription, can Burkean conservatism be found in Burke alone or is he only the starting-point for conservative thought, the challenges conservative fusionism faces today, and a surprisingly lengthy and unexpected conversation about American slavery.

This conversation was originally released on the Self-Evident show. Self-Evident is a weekly newsletter and intermittent podcast where Justin Stapley discusses both timely political topics as well as the timeless values and first principles of limited government and free society.

Justin Stapley has been writing politically since 2016. His writing has been featured by ALEC, The Federalist Coalition, and the personal blogs and platforms he has operated over the years, which include Never Tyranny, The Millennial Federalist, and The Liberty Hawk.

Justin considers himself a liberty-minded conservative with principles and beliefs grounded in the idea of ordered liberty as expressed in the traditions of classical liberalism, federalism, and modern conservatism.

Justin currently studies Political Science at Utah Valley University with an emphasis in Political Theory and Constitutional Studies. He is a staunchly independent voice and is unafraid to call balls and strikes as he sees them. His calm but pointed writing style is often flavored with humor as he analyzes and discusses both news cycle driven topics as well as deeper philosophical considerations.

Justin appeared previously on Saving Elephants on the following episodes:

Episode 30 - Fusionism with Justin Stapley

Episode 55 – The New Centrist with Justin Stapley

Bonus Episode – The 2020 Elections – Now What?

You can follow Justin on Twitter @JustinWStapley

Episode 76 – What Happens Now with Cal Davenport Feb 02, 2021

The million-dollar question within conservatism these days is what happens now? After the tumultuous years of the Trump administration and with a Republican party gearing up for civil war to determine who owns the heart and soul of the Right, to say nothing of looming questions of the role of nationalism and populism competing against conservatism, it’s difficult to predict how all of this will ultimately shake out.

Joining Saving Elephants host Josh Lewis to try to offer some clarity in our murky times is Cal Davenport, co-host of In The Trenches Podcast, a show of two young conservatives having conversations with people who are in the arena of ideas. Josh and Cal discuss what a future coalition of the Right might consist of and what conservative giants of old taught that might benefit us in our present dilemma. Cal offers three prescriptions for how our American political discourse might turn from its current dangerous trajectory and how conservatism might regain its footing.

Cal Davenport is co-founder and co-host of the In the Trenches Podcast on conservative intellectual thought. He has written for The Wasington Examiner, RedState, The Resurgent and more. He has worked in Congress, for political campaigns, for think tanks, and in political consulting. Cal received his M.A. in Philosophy, Politics, and Economics from Witten/Herdecke University.

Episode 75 – A Peaceful Transfer of Power Jan 19, 2021

Tomorrow Joe Biden will be sworn in as our 46th President. Yet this inauguration will mark the first time in American history that the outgoing president refused to accept the results of the election and actively worked to overturn them. And, for the first time in modern American history, we were deprived on a peaceful transfer of power.

On January 6, 2021 our country was attacked. My country. Your country. Though the events took place several weeks ago, it is important to keep them fresh in our minds as we reflect on what it means to be Americans and to live in the greatest experiment in self-government in human history.

The assailants were not foreign combatants, Leftist provocateurs, or opportunistic criminals. They were supporters of Donald Trump who, having been deceived into believing the election was stolen from them, committed acts of sedition against the United States by violently breaching barricades into the Capitol to stop the peaceful transfer of power by the duly elected representatives of the American people.

All of this happened precisely because Donald Trump has been spreading lies and misinformation for two months in hopes of overturning the results of the election and because he asked his supporters to come to Washington to “stop the steal” and incited mob violence. Trump’s speech to the crowd that morning contained numerous unsubstantiated claims of a deep state effort led by the Left, big tech, weak Republicans, and other supposed enemies. He (falsely) claimed Mike Pence had the constitutional authority to stop the certifying of votes and that his supporters will “never give up,” “not take it anymore,” and “stop the steal”. He then told them to march to the Capitol and promised to join them there (yet another lie).

Trump—who isn’t exactly known for his reticence in expressing his views on Twitter—then watched in comfort and glee as the violence unfolded before the world. Hours later, as blood stained the Capitol floors and rioters continued to wreak havoc, Trump delivered a brief address that focused far more on approval for his supporters’ loyalty than it did a call for peace. Later that day Tweeter suspended his account when he tweeted such acts are to be expected when an election is stolen.

It was Mike Pence—not Trump—who ultimately put an end to the violent incursion by ordering the deployment of the National Guard. The condemnation Trump was unable to muster at the mob who stormed the Capitol was directed, instead, to Pence and to his top aide, Marc Short, who was denied entry into the White House that same night.

There are three groups responsible for this cowardly attack on our country: 1) the President and his closest allies, 2) willing accomplices in Congress, and 3) the protestors themselves. It’s important we understand clearly what happened on January 6th so that nothing like this ever happens again.

Bonus Episode – Remembering Roger Scruton with Bryan Baise Jan 12, 2021

One year ago today, on January 12, 2020, Sir Roger Scruton died at the age of 75. Thus passed one of the greatest intellectual minds of the past century. Scruton was an English philosopher and writer who specialized in aesthetics and political philosophy. He wrote over 50 books on philosophy, art, music, politics, literature, culture, sexuality, and religion, as well as novels and two operas. Yet his greatest achievement, according to Dr. Samuel Gregg with the Acton Institute, was to put into words and give form to conservatism as a philosophy beyond a mere disposition or attitude.

Joining Saving Elephants host Josh Lewis in remembering the life and works of Sir Roger Scruton is returning guest Bryan Baise, professor of philosophy and apologetics at Boyce College. Bryan describes Scruton as a dear friend he’d never met who nonetheless had a rescuing influence on his life. Bryan published several obituaries for Scruton last year to celebrate his life. He wrote:

“I was sitting in Panera when I received a text message from a friend and colleague: ‘Roger Scruton has died.’ I was with my family and a widow from our church, holding back tears until I could get in the car. A man that changed so many things about my world has now passed away.”

Bryan then recounted the many things Scruton had taught him, as discussed in the episode. In another obituary Bryan wrote:

“It’s difficult to try to describe the various ways [Scruton] influenced individuals and movements…I’m afraid the loss of Scruton means the erosion of a kinder, gentler conservatism than what is currently on offer…The posture toward politics and culture that Scruton embodied is, I fear, being forgotten and will one day die out.”

Bryan Baise is a professor of philosophy and apologetics at Boyce College. Bryan is the program director of philosophy, politics, and economics and the program director of the Christian worldview and apologetics. He is currently working on two books, one about beauty and another about introducing the conservative worldview to a non-academic audience. You can follow Bryan on Twitter @bryanbaise.

Bryan was a guest on two previous episodes:

Episode 41 - Why Beauty Matters with Bryan Baise

Episode 25 - Developing Your Worldview with Bryan Baise

Episode 74 – Conserving Liberalism Jan 05, 2021

What is the opposite of conservatism? It’s liberalism, right? Well…it’s not quite that simple. Saving Elephants host Josh Lewis goes guestless in this episode to take a deep dive into the good, the bad, and the ugly of liberalism and to explain why liberalism, far from being the opposite of conservatism, is actually much of what conservatism is trying to conserve.

But to get there we first need to untangle what we mean by liberalism. What is liberalism? What is the goal of liberalism? What are they “liberal” about? What is the difference between modern-day or progressive liberals and the classical liberalism of the past? What does liberalism and conservatism have in common? How are they different? Why are they always fighting? And why would conservatives want to conserve liberalism?

Is liberalism the same as being on the Left and conservatism the same as being on the Right? Is the Declaration of Independence a liberal or conservative document? What is liberty? How did the ancients understand liberty and how might that differ with how we understand it today? What do we mean by rights? Where do rights come from, and how are they protected?

What do classical to contemporary thinkers on the Right, such as John Locke, Russell Kirk, Roger Scruton, Patrick Deneen, Sohrab Ahmari, and David French, have to say about liberalism? Is liberalism sufficient for liberty or does society require something more to maintain order? Does liberalism contain the seeds of its own destruction? What is the “myth” of liberalism and how is it different from traditional conservative myths? And why can’t Woody Allen neck with William F. Buckley? Learn all that and more in the episode.

Here are some links referenced in the show:

William F. Buckley on Woody Allen’s show

Blog post: French-ism and the Looming Conservative Civil War

Saving Elephants Episode 27 - What's so Positive about Negative Rights?

Saving Elephants Episode 59 – Podcasting Orphans with Andrew Heaton

Saving Elephants Episode 68 – Divided We Fall with David French