The American Idea

Latest Episodes:

Bullets Not Ballots? Political Violence in American History Jul 17, 2024

Show notes

Join us for our special episode in response to the attempted assassination of (former) President Donald Trump on Saturday, 13 July 2024. Jeff discusses with Dr. John Moser the existence and impact of violence in American politics from the 19th Century onward, looking into attempted assassinations of Andrew Jackson, Theodore Roosevelt, Gerald Ford, and Ronald Reagan; and the actual murders of Abraham Lincoln, William McKinley, James Garfield, and John F. Kennedy. Where do these attacks come from? What animates the choice of bullets over ballots?

#trumpassassination #politicalviolence #july13th #trump #election2024 #election2024news

Host: Jeff Sikkenga

Executive Producer: Greg McBrayer

Producer: Jeremy Gypton

Subscribe: https://linktr.ee/theamericanidea

Like a Bull Moose - Theodore Roosevelt and the Impact of Third Parties Jul 10, 2024

Show notes

Jeff discusses the pivotal role Theodore Roosevelt played as a spoiler in the 1912 presidential election, and the legacy he left for Third Parties. Do they tend to be about ideas or personalities? Why don't they seem to last beyond an election cycle or two? How do they fit into our political culture and systems, and what can we learn from our past to help us grapple with today's divided political landscape?

Learn more about Mike, including his books and podcast, at his website: https://www.michaelpatrickcullinane.com/

Read the Progressive Party platform from 1912: https://teachingamericanhistory.org/document/the-progressive-party-platform-1912/

#thirdparty #tr #bullmoose #1912

Host: Jeff Sikkenga

Executive Producer: Greg McBrayer

Producer: Jeremy Gypton

Subscribe: https://linktr.ee/theamericanidea

“What to the Slave is the Fourth of July?” - Frederick Douglass Teaches Us About Independence Day Jul 03, 2024

Show notes

Jeff is joined by Lucas Morel, Professor of Political Science at Washington & Lee University, to commemorate Independence Day this year with commentary from, arguably, America’s greatest Civil Rights and abolition leader. Douglass, born into slavery, became the most powerful voice for emancipation and the destruction of an institution that flew in the face of the more core American values. During his life, his views on America and our government evolved, and in this powerful 1852 speech, he explains to Americans what America can and ought to be.

Read the full speech here: https://teachingamericanhistory.org/document/what-to-the-slave-is-the-fourth-of-july-2/

Host: Jeff Sikkenga

Executive Producer: Greg McBrayer

Producer: Jeremy Gypton

Subscribe: https://linktr.ee/theamericanidea

"Charging Forward?" The History and Current Debate Over Electric Vehicles Jun 26, 2024

Show notes

Electric vehicles have become more popular in the last decade, and are often promoted as being both good for the environment and the owner's wallet - but is there evidence to back up these claims? You might be surprised by how much an EV really costs to build, how much consumer prices are distorted by subsidies, and how little they do for the environment. Jeff is joined by Brent Bennet, PhD, a former battery engineer who now serves as an energy policy director for the Texas Public Policy Foundation.

https://www.texaspolicy.com/about/staff/brent-bennett/

#energy #ev #incentives #economics #teslarealcost

Host: Jeff Sikkenga

Executive Producer: Greg McBrayer

Producer: Jeremy Gypton

Subscribe: https://linktr.ee/theamericanidea

Deadly Experiments - Contemporary Drug Policy Fads Jun 19, 2024

Show notes

Jeff discusses drug policy in American with researcher and author Karl Zinsmeister. In addition to background on the drug epidemic and policy responses over the years, they focus on recent moves to relax enforcement of anti-drug laws, even to the extent of legalizing a variety of narcotics, such as what Oregon did only a few years ago. Instead of solving the crime and human degradation these progressive policies sought to address, they instead led to massive increases in overdose deaths, more crime, and other problems.

Read Karl’s book: https://a.co/d/03zBw1Y

Read Karl's RCP article: https://tinyurl.com/bde2p5x9

Host: Jeff Sikkenga

Executive Producer: Greg McBrayer

Producer: Jeremy Gypton

Subscribe: https://linktr.ee/theamericanidea

#drugpolicy #legalization

How Much Power Does the Constitution Really Give a President? | Documents & Debates Jun 12, 2024

Show notes

Dr. Jordan Cash discusses this question with Jeff this week, looking into the decisions and actions of three "isolated" presidents - John Tyler, Andrew Johnson, and Gerald Ford. These three presidents were, essentially, lone actors for their time in office, abandoned by party and other political supports - what did they get done, good or bad? Building off Jordan's book (link below) they explore the question of just how much fiat power a president has, regardless of political and popular support.

Jordan's book: https://a.co/d/iwMJZvw

#americanhistory #americanpresidents #reconstruction #constitution #whitehouse #andrewjohnson #geraldford #johntyler

Host: Jeff Sikkenga

Executive Producer: Greg McBrayer

Producer: Jeremy Gypton

Subscribe: https://linktr.ee/theamericanidea

D-Day at 80 Years: What Operation Overlord Accomplished Jun 05, 2024

Show notes

Jeff Sikkenga and Dr. David Krugler discussion D-Day - what is was, what happened on that day, and what Operation Overlord accomplished within the context of World War 2.

#dday #overlord #ike #eisenhower #ww2

Host: Jeff Sikkenga

Executive Producer: Greg McBrayer

Producer: Jeremy Gypton

Subscribe: https://linktr.ee/theamericanidea

Bringing Home Forgotten MIAs - Memorial Day 2024 with Project Recover May 29, 2024

Show notes

Dr. John Moser meet with Derek Abbey, President & CEO of Project Recover, a non-profit organization that searches for still-missing American service members around the world. Focused traditionally on the Palau islands and lost airmen from World War 2, Project Recover has expanded operations over the last 30 years to include efforts in Vietnam, elsewhere in the Pacific, and even at sites in the Atlantic.

Over 80,000 Americans are still missing and unaccounted for from our many wars, with about 3/4 of that number from World War 2 alone - and most of that number from among those who fought in the Pacific. Sadly, although America moved on after 1945, the families of so many of those missing did not, and some of them still have not. Project Recover, working closely with State Department and Defense Department efforts, carries the torch, in search of closure for those who never had a body to bury, or a grave at which to mourn a lost loved one.

#ww2 #palau #peleliu #projectrecover

Learn more about Project Recover and their good work: https://www.projectrecover.org/

Find out more about their recent documentary, "To What Remains" - https://www.projectrecover.org/film-to-what-remains/

Host: Jeff Sikkenga

Executive Producer: Greg McBrayer

Producer: Jeremy Gypton Subscribe: https://linktr.ee/theamericanidea

When Disaster Strikes: Presidents and Emergencies | Documents & Debates May 22, 2024

Show notes

Jeff is joined by Tevi Troy, author of "Shall We Wake the President?" to discuss the evolution of presidential and federal involvement in emergency situations, natural disasters, and similar crises. Using examples from the early years of the republic through today, they trace the change over time brought by communications technology, changing expectations of the American people, the role of NGOs and the media, and examples of when presidents have done well and come up short in handling crises.

Host: Jeff Sikkenga

Executive Producer: Greg McBrayer

Producer: Jeremy Gypton

Subscribe: https://linktr.ee/theamericanidea

Get Tevi's book: https://a.co/d/dbJdfkQ

Take a look at Tevi's leadership training materials for executives and how they can more effectively handle crises: https://1600lessons.com/

Energy and the Environment - Are Things as Bad as We're Told? May 15, 2024

Show notes

We receive a drumbeat of apocalyptic warnings about climate change, pollution, and dwindling energy supplies - but how much are these claims, and the policy demands that come with them, based on evidence? Jeff is joined by Steven Hayward, resident scholar at the University of California at Berkeley's School of Intergovernmental Studies to discuss the history of these arguments and the policies that have emerged from them.

#climatechange #energypolicy #pollution #nuclearpower #renewableenergy

Host: Jeff Sikkenga

Executive Producer: Greg McBrayer

Producer: Jeremy Gypton

Subscribe: https://linktr.ee/theamericanidea

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