Saving Elephants | Millennials defending & expressing conservative values

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 w...

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.

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...

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 m...

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...

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 a...

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 prov...

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-...

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 conserva...

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 wr...

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...

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?   Conservati...

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...

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 intellectual...

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...

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....

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 c...

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 prod...

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 podcas...

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 la...

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-b...

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 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?   R...

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 chal...

"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...