The American Mind Podcast

Latest Episodes:

The American Mind Episode #3: U.S. Foreign Policy and the Pursuit of National Interest Dec 31, 2019

Show notes

In this podcast, Ryan Williams, our President at Claremont and Publisher of The Claremont Review of Books is joined by Michael Anton. We thank Mr. Anton for joining us and for his unique insights.

The American Mind podcast uncovers the ideas and principles that drive American political life.

The American Mind fosters thought-provoking and substantive conversation about the real causes of our current political and cultural reality. We explore these ideas with an eye towards restoring America back to civic health.

In each episode, we engage Claremont institute scholars, co-conspirators, and challengers on the core questions and critical issues of our time. The mission of the Claremont Institute is the recovery of the American idea- the timeless principles that have made America great since its founding.

The American Mind is hosted by Ryan Williams, President of the Claremont Institute and publisher of the Claremont Review of Books and The American Mind, or Matthew Peterson, Vice-President of Education at the Claremont Institute and Editor of The American Mind. Visit our website for essays, editorials, debates, and more. E-mail us at americanmind@claremont.org. Don't forget to subscribe and to spread the word to your friends and colleagues!

This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit claremontinstitute.substack.com/subscribe

The American Mind Episode #2: The Dogma of the Modern University Dec 31, 2019

Show notes

In this podcast, Matthew Peterson, our Vice President of Education at Claremont and Editor of The American Mind is joined by Michael Anton. We thank Mr. Anton for joining us and for his unique insights.

The American Mind podcast uncovers the ideas and principles that drive American political life.

This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit claremontinstitute.substack.com/subscribe

The American Mind Episode #1: What's the Matter with Congress? Dec 31, 2019

Show notes

In this podcast, Matthew Peterson, our Vice President of Education at Claremont and Editor of The American Mind is joined by three of America's leading scholars on Congress: Dr. Matthew Spalding, Dr. Michael Uhlmann, and Dr. Joseph Postell. We thank them for joining us and for their unique insights.

The American Mind podcast uncovers the ideas and principles that drive American political life.

This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit claremontinstitute.substack.com/subscribe

Hemingway and Severino: On Kavanaugh Confirmation, Identity Politics, and Pumpkin Spice Lattes Sep 25, 2019

Show notes

In this edition of The American Mind podcast, host Ryan Williams sits down with Mollie Hemingway, Senior Editor at The Federalist, and Carrie Severino, chief counsel and policy director of the Judicial Crisis Network, to discuss their new bestselling book, Justice on Trial: The Kavanaugh Confirmation and the Future of the Supreme Court.

During the conversation, Williams, Hemingway and Severino discuss the unprecedented partisanship from the Left on the judicial confirmation process; the impact of the Clinton impeachment inquiry on the crusade against Justice Kavanaugh; the overjudicialization of politics and why it has transpired; DOJ malfeasance and the rise of "expertise;" law enforcement and the administrative state; the Kavanaugh confirmation fight as a proxy for the power of identity politics; the politicization of the Supreme Court; what Pumpkin Spice Lattes tell us about the state of American civil society and politics; the criticality of a common understanding of human nature, the Constitution and American identity; and much more.

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Recommended Reading: Justice on Trial

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This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit claremontinstitute.substack.com/subscribe

R.J. Pestritto: On Progressivism, Liberalism, and the Administrative State Aug 22, 2019

Show notes

In this edition of The American Mind podcast, host Ryan Williams sits down with Ronald “R.J.” Pestritto, Dean of the Graduate School and Professor of Politics at Hillsdale College, to discuss Progressivism: how it came to be, its theoretical and political impact, and what it means for us today.

Since its arrival on the scene at the turn of the 20^th Century, Progressivism has transformed American politics. But one cannot fully appreciate this shift without an understanding of the Founders’ view of human nature, government, and justice—and how the Progressive vision for America seeks to unravel it.

Pestritto also discusses small “L” liberalism—a topic very much en vogue today on the Right—and how it came to be dissociated with its original meaning of the protection of rights, which the Founders embraced.

Of course, no discussion of Progressivism is complete without considering the Administrative State. Pestritto and Williams talk about the rise of the bureaucracy in America and what it means for our constitutional order.

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This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit claremontinstitute.substack.com/subscribe

Multiculturalism vs. America Jul 05, 2019

Show notes

In this special edition of the American Mind podcast, we explore the intellectual roots, political and societal implications of and the antidote to what the Claremont Institute believes is the great threat to America: multiculturalism. The podcast features Claremont Institute President Ryan Williams, Chairman Tom Klingenstein and scholar Charles Kesler, as well as the likes of David Azerrad, Lord Conrad Black, Allen Guelzo, Roger Kimball and Norman Podhoretz. It is narrated by James Poulos, Executive Editor of the American Mind and produced by ChangeUp Media.

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Works Referenced & Related Readings (In Order of Appearance):

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This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit claremontinstitute.substack.com/subscribe

Christopher Caldwell: On Populism in Europe and Multiculturalism in America Jun 25, 2019

Show notes

In a feature for the Spring 2019 issue of the Claremont Review of Books, Christopher Caldwell reported on Viktor Orbán's leadership of Hungary and the future of Europe. Caldwell joins the American Mind podcast to talk about Orbán's Hungary and the course he has charted on matters of immigration, culture and economics in contrast with some of his peers. Caldwell also addresses the ongoing battle between illiberal democracy and undemocratic liberalism as caricatured by Italy's Matteo Salvini and France's Emmanuel Macron, and elucidates the ties between European populism and American populism. During the conversation, Caldwell and host Ryan Williams also touch on the multiculturalist challenge to America.

Christopher Caldwell was a senior editor at The Weekly Standard and author of Reflections on the Revolution In Europe: Immigration, Islam and the West (Anchor, 2010).

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Recommended Reading: "Hungary and the Future of Europe"

Visit The American Mind for more great content.

And if you have feedback for us, we'd love to hear from you at americanmind@claremont.org

This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit claremontinstitute.substack.com/subscribe

What is Nationalism: A Conversation with Chris DeMuth Apr 16, 2019

Show notes

'Nationalism.' It’s a word getting thrown around a lot these days. Some say it is code for racism and xenophobia. Others contend it is the natural expression of any nation’s people. What does nationalism mean, and how does the concept apply to American politics today? These are the questions at the heart of an essay in the Winter 2019 issue of the Claremont Review of Books titled “Trumpism, Nationalism, and Conservatism.” It’s author is Chris DeMuth, who joins host Ben Judge in this episode of The American Mind Podcast.

In this interview, you’ll hear about DeMuth's move towards appreciating President Trump, as well as a word of warning to conservative organizations dealing with Republican presidents. But at the heart of the conversation is this question: Are Trumpism, Nationalism, and Conservatism synonymous?

Christopher DeMuth is a distinguished Fellow at the Hudson Institute. From 1986 to 2008, he was the President of the American Enterprise Institute. His experience in government spans from working for Daniel Patrick Moynihan in the Nixon administration to serving in the Reagan administration as the Administrator for Information and Regulatory Affairs, colloquially known as the “Deregulation Czar.”

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Recommended Reading: "Trumpism, Nationalism, and Conservatism"

Visit The American Mind for more great content.

And if you have feedback for us, we'd love to hear from you at americanmind@claremont.org

This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit claremontinstitute.substack.com/subscribe

What’s Wrong with Conservatism: A Conversation with Dr. Charles Kesler Mar 19, 2019

Show notes

Why, even after electoral triumphs, have conservatives had such a hard time governing? You think this question only applies to today? Twenty years ago, as part of the American Enterprise Institute’s Bradley lecture series, Dr. Charles Kesler gave an answer to why conservatives felt adrift. That lecture is just as relevant now as it was in 1998, and it forms the basis of this episode of The American Mind Podcast.

In this interview, you’ll hear why Dr. Kesler says American conservatism can only feel grounded when it argues policy based on the principles of equality and justice. But, to get there, we have to work our way through different pieces of conservatism’s intellectual heritage. Only then can we see “what’s wrong with conservatism.”

Dr. Kesler is a professor of government at Claremont McKenna College and the editor of the Claremont Review of Books. In 2017 he was named to The Politico 50 for his pioneering work in political philosophy, and in 2018, he won the Bradley Prize for his work on, among other topics, American liberalism and conservatism.

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Recommended Reading: "What's Wrong with Conservatism"

Visit The American Mind for more great content.

And if you have feedback for us, we'd love to hear from you at americanmind@claremont.org

This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit claremontinstitute.substack.com/subscribe

What is the Fundamental Problem Politics Must Solve? A Conversation with Mike Anton Feb 21, 2019

Show notes

Since this is the first episode of the American Mind Podcast, we thought we would go back to basics. What is the fundamental problem politics must solve? What does that mean for governments in general? What about for America?

Helping us work through those questions is Mike Anton. He is a Senior Fellow at the Claremont Institute and Lecturer at Hillsdale College’s Kirby Center in Washington DC. He has written for Pete Wilson, Rudy Giuliani, George W. Bush, and most recently he served in Donald Trump‘s National Security Council as Deputy Assistant for Strategic Communications. But many of you know him from an essay he wrote for the Claremont Review of Books titled “The Flight 93 Election.” That essay became the basis for his new book, After the Flight 93 Election: The Vote that Saved America and What We Still Have to Lose. What is his answer to the fundamental problem of politics? And how does that answer lead to his criticism that conservatives are too focused on the accumulation of wealth? Mike Anton explores these questions and many more in the inaugural edition of The American Mind Podcast.

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Visit The American Mind for more great content.

And if you have feedback for us, we'd love to hear from you at americanmind@claremont.org

This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit claremontinstitute.substack.com/subscribe

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