Conservative Conversations with ISI

In This Episode: Rod Dreher joins the podcast to discuss “The Benedict Option,” a program for living an authentically Christian life in an anti-Christian culture that reigns today in the liberal West what conservatives in America need to learn from Hungarian conservatives about conserving Christian culture why Christians in the post-Christian West need to adopt a new disposition towards state powe...

In This Episode: Matthew Spalding, Professor of Constitutional studies at Hillsdale College in Washington D.C., joins the podcast to discuss the first principles and permanent truths that undergird the American Founding how critiques from National Conservatives and Post-Liberal Integralists misunderstand classical liberalism and the “American Enlightenment” the common ground between Straussians an...

In This Episode: Jeff Sessions, former Senator from Alabama and 84th Attorney General of the United States, joins the podcast to discuss his accomplished career in politics what conservative education reform looks like at the curricular and administrative levels how the GOP can reach voters by appealing to the important issues without exaggerating or being demagogic Texts Mentioned:  Federalist No...

In This Episode: Greg Collins joins the podcast to discuss his book, Commerce and Manners in Edmund Burke’s Political Economy how traditional society gave rise to market societies and property rights, and how Burke’s defense of economic liberty differed from that of Adam Smith how the rise of capitalism is coterminous with the rise of the modern state and administrative powers Texts Mentioned: Com...

In This Episode: Alexandra DeSanctis joins the podcast to discuss abortion and building a pro-life agenda after Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization and the 2022 Congressional midterm elections how support for abortion is rooted in a defective view of what womanhood is what pro-lifers can and must do to make abortion unthinkable in America Texts Mentioned: Tearing Us Apart: How Abortion Ha...

In This Episode: Dan McCarthy returns to the podcast to discuss Willmoore Kendall’s The Conservative Affirmation what majoritarianism and “the social contract” in the American tradition really means for today’s politics how Kendall interpreted John Locke and its relation to the American Founding Texts Mentioned: The Conservative Affirmation by Willmoore Kendall The Conservative Intellectual Moveme...

In this episode:  Curt Mills joins the podcast to discuss the political dynamics surrounding the upcoming midterm elections how the establishment GOP is navigating the challenges and opportunities of the growing nationalist-populist movement within the party Why traditionally Blue states like Oregon, Rhode Island, and Maine could become Red states in the coming years Texts Mentioned: What It Takes...

In this episode:  Joseph Stuart, professor of history at the University of Mary and a former ISI Weaver fellow, joins the podcast to discuss the work of 20th century historian of culture, Christopher Dawson why religion is at the heart of cultural identity, and how cultures that abandon their religion inevitably become captured by ideological “political religions” how to appreciate different cultu...

 In this episode:  Joshua Hochschild, director of the Philosophy, Politics, and Economics program at Mount St. Mary’s University, joins the podcast to talk about how his studies in medieval philosophy and metaphysics influenced his religious journey to the Catholic faith the ways that smartphones change human life and social organization, and how the information age is dramatically different from...

In this episode: Troy Senik joins the podcast to talk about President Grover Cleveland’s life and unlikely path to the presidency the principled character of Cleveland, and how his sense of honesty was at the center of this political priorities as a reform-minded politician during the Gilded Age the political and cultural context in which Cleveland rose to prominence, and how his second term shape...

In this episode:  Francesco Giubilei joins the podcast to discuss the current landscape of Italian politics and how it led to the election of Giorgia Meloni the relationship between Italy and the European Union, and the major problems with globalization that have produced a nationalist backlash How the Middle Ages shaped the local diversity of Italian cities and cultures, how the Catholic Church h...

 In this episode: Antony Davies, professor of economics at Duquesne University, joins the podcast to discuss the current state of the American economy, including the record-level inflation hurting American consumers and its roots in the government response to COVID-19 how government policies surrounding taxation and government spending contribute to the inflation crisis, and how to restructure the...

In this episode: Eugene Meyer, son of Frank S. Meyer and President and CEO of the Federalist Society, joins to talk about the legacy of Fusionism, the philosophy pioneered by his father Frank Meyer's conversion from communism to championing politics centered around individual freedom the enduring debate over the timeless principles of freedom and virtue in American political history Texts Men...

In this episode: Richard Gamble, professor of history at Hillsdale College, joins the podcast to discuss the two strands of American civil religion Lincoln’s European political influences, and how Lincoln’s Gettysburg Address changed the way that America thinks about its purpose and how it reshapes our view of the American Founding Why the “old” conception of American Exceptionalism offers the bes...

 In this episode: Frederica Mathewes-Green joins the podcast to discuss the basics of Eastern Orthodox spiritual practices the life and work of Metropolitan Kallistos Ware, one of the most important Orthodox theologians in the West the major differences in approach, focus, and emphasis between Eastern and Western prayer, doctrine, and political theology Texts Mentioned: The Orthodox Church by Timo...

In this episode: Vincent Muñoz joins the podcast to discuss his new book, Religious Liberty and the American Founding: Natural Rights and the Original Meanings of the First Amendment Religion Clauses How the Founders agreed on religious liberty as a natural right in principle, but disagreed about what that means in practice Why the natural rights tradition offers a coherent account of the proper l...

In this episode:  Marcus Witcher, Assistant Professor of History at Huntingdon College in Montgomery, Alabama and co-author of  Black Liberation Through the Marketplace, defines classical liberalism The Philadelphia Society and the conservative icons that have marked its history How to address injustice of the past through the marketplace  Texts Mentioned:   Getting Right with Reagan: The Struggle...

In this episode: Phillip Blond, founder and director of ResPublica, joins the podcast to discuss "Red Toryism" the link between liberalism and economic and social insecurity the case against nationalism and the case for empire why visual art matters Texts Mentioned: Red Tory: How Left and Right Have Broken Britain and How We Can Fix It by Phillip Blond Leviathan by Thomas Hobbes The Soci...

In this episode:  Frank H. Buckley, the Foundation Professor of Law at the Antonin Scalia Law School, discusses his newly published book, Progressive Conservatism: How Republicans Will Become America’s Natural Governing Party How left-wing progressive policies on immigration, education, and burdensome regulations make America more immobile and aristocratic, and how progressive conservatives can so...

 In this episode:  Dr. Chad Pecknold from CUA joins Marlo Slayback and Johnny Burtka to discuss post-liberalism how post-liberalism differentiates itself from other camps in conservatism how St. Augustine defines freedom Texts Mentioned: The City of God, Against the Pagans , by Augustine of Hippo The Religious Nature of the City , by Chad Pecknold Where Augustine is Not Silent , by Chad Pecknold S...

In this episode:  Carmel Richardson, an editorial fellow for The American Conservative , discusses her recent article about seed oils, food regulations, and what is driving the decline in American nutrition and poor health outcomes crunchy conservatism and generational shifts in outlook in the conservative movement the bigger picture surrounding the baby formula shortage Texts Mentioned: Seed Oils...

In this episode: Charles Fain Lehman, a fellow at the Manhattan Institute, discusses recent crime surges across the country and their potential causes Why police departments are facing a recruitment crisis How conservatives should think about criminal justice reform Texts Mentioned: Fixing Drinking Problems: Evidence and Strategies for Alcohol Control as Crime Control by Charles Fain Lehman Reject...

Conservative Conversations Episode 48—Ryan T. Anderson on The Supreme Court Overturned Roe v. Wade — Here’s What’s Next for Pro-Lifers In this episode: Ryan T. Anderson, President of the Ethics and Public Policy Center, discusses what’s next for the pro-life movement after the Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade on June 24 How the concept of “body self-dualism” underpins abortion and transgenderi...

In this episode: Dr. Samuel Gregg, Distinguished Fellow in Political Economy and a Senior Research Faculty member at The American Institute for Economic Research , explains why Americans are experiencing record inflation What a recession today would look like How conservatives should approach political economy Texts Mentioned: The Next American Economy: Nation, State, and Markets in an Uncertain W...

Conservative Conversations Episode 46—Geoff Shullenberger on Spiritual Decay, School Shootings, and René Girard’s Mimesis In this episode: Geoff Shullenberger, a clinical associate professor at New York University and a columnist at Compact, discusses the phenomenon of the school shooter in America after the tragedy in Texas How René Girard’s mimetic theory can explain violent behavior The religio...