McConnell Center Podcast

Join Natalie Tracy as she makes a case for the lasting importance and relevance of Emily Bronte's Wuthering Heights . Natalie Tracy leads the strategic and tactical marketing and communications initiatives for the McConnell Center. In this role, she collaborates with Dr. Gary Gregg and other team members to design and coordinate the academic and programmatic endeavors of the McConnell Scholars. Ab...

Join Matthew Denhart for a discussion regarding the Autobiography of Calvin Coolidge. Matthew Denhart serves as president of the Coolidge Foundation. At the Coolidge Foundation, Mr. Denhart has led the development of the Coolidge Scholarship and several other initiatives aimed at sharing the lessons and values of President Coolidge with a broad national audience. About the podcast: We all know we...

Join Dr. Kirstin Birkhaug for a discussion centered around the work of Phillis Wheatley,  an American writer who is considered the first African-American author of a published book of poetry. Kirstin Anderson Birkhaug (PhD, University of Wisconsin-Madison) is assistant professor of political science at Hope College, where she teaches Introduction to American Politics, State and Local Government, a...

Join W.S. Tkweme for a discussion regarding the importance of studying Malcom X. W.S. Tkweme is Director of Graduate Studies in the University of Louisville Pan-African Studies Dept. He teaches courses on various aspeects of black music and post-World War II cultural and political initiatives. He has also served as the Pan-African Studies department's director of graduate studies since 2019. About...

Join Jeff Polet, PhD  for a discussion regarding the importance of Rousseau's Confessions . Jeff Polet is Professor of Political Science Emeritus at Hope College and currently director of The Ford Leadership Forum at the Gerald R. Ford Presidential Foundation. He also serves as a Senior Fellow at the Russell Kirk Center for Cultural Renewal. He is currently writing a book that reinterprets "The Fe...

Join the   #McConnellCenter as we welcome Kevin Hayes, PhD for a discussion on the work and life of Hunter S. Thompson. Born and raised in Toledo, Ohio, Kevin J. Hayes spent his twenties living the life of a bike bum, but he eventually went to graduate school at the University of Delaware, graduating with his PhD in English in 1991. After graduation, he became a professor at the University of Cent...

Join Mark C Meade  for a discussion regarding the importance of  The Seven Storey Mountain by Thomas Merton. Mark C. Meade is the Assistant Director of the Thomas Merton Center at Bellarmine University. In over 20 years at the Center as an archivist, he has assisted scholars from around the world while himself presenting and publishing internationally on Merton's writings. Mark served as the sixte...

Join the   #McConnellCenter as we welcome Nicholas Buccola, PhD for the Capt. Daniel H. Utley Memorial Lecture, a talk entitled "One Man's Freedom: Goldwater, King and the Struggle over an American Ideal." Nicholas Buccola is a writer, lecturer, and teacher who specializes in the area of American political thought. He is the author of One Man's Freedom: Goldwater, King, and the Struggle over an Am...

Join   #McConnellCenter scholars for a presentation from Dr Blanco explaining the importance of Hayek's work and how to understand it in modern times . Abby Hall Blanco is an Associate Professor in Economics at the University of Tampa in Tampa, Florida. She is a Senior Affiliated Scholar with the Mercatus Center at George Mason University and a Senior Fellow with the Independent Institute in Oakla...

Join the   #McConnellCenter as we welcome Dr. Marc Landy for a Constitution Day discussion on Constitutionalism. Marc Landy is the Edward and Louise Peterson Professor of American History and Government at Ashland University and a Professor of Political Science at Boston College. He is the co-author, with Sidney Milkis, of  Presidential Greatness  and the textbook  American Government: Enduring Pr...

Join   #McConnellCenter  Director  Dr. Gary Gregg for a discussion regarding the importance of  The Federalist by Alexander Hamilton, James Madison, and John Jay. Links to resources referenced in the episode:  Purchase a copy of Reflection and Choice: The Federalists, the Anti-Federalists, and the Debate that Defined America.   Download our Reflection and Choice podcast series and accompanying rea...

Join the   #McConnellCenter  as we welcome Steve Ealy as he attempts to convince us of the importance of reading the work of Dr. Seuss! Steve Ealy is a Senior Fellow Emeritus at Liberty Fund, Inc. He has published academic articles on Robert Penn Warren, Ralph Ellison, the Qur'an, and The Federalist Papers. He received his BA in political science from Furman University, and earned an MA in governm...

Join the   #McConnellCenter as we welcome Jerry Salyer to convince us why we should read the writings of Louis de Bonald ! Jerry Salyer holds a Bachelor of Science degree in Aeronautics from Miami University and a Master of Arts from the Great Books Program of St. John's College, Annapolis. A veteran of the US Navy, Mr. Salyer has navigated ships, deployed to the Persian Gulf, and served as an ass...

Join the   #McConnellCenter as we welcome Natalie Fuehrer Taylor for a presentation on the importance of the book The Education of Henry Adams ! Natalie Taylor is an Associate Professor of Political Science at Skidmore College.  She is the author of  The Rights of Woman as Chimera: the Political Philosophy of Mary Wollstonecraft  and the editor of  A Political Companion to Henry Adams .  We all kn...

Join the   #McConnellCenter as we welcome Amy Willis to convince us why we should read the writings of Adam Smith ! Amy Willis is a Senior Fellow and Director of Econlib Websites for Liberty Fund. She has published many academic articles, chapters, and curriculum materials centrally themed around economics. She has regularly written for Econlib, AdamSmithWorks, and the Reading Room. We all know we...

Join the   #McConnellCenter as we welcome Jerry Salyer to convince us why we should read the writings of Plutarch ! Jerry Salyer holds a Bachelor of Science degree in Aeronautics from Miami University and a Master of Arts from the Great Books Program of St. John's College, Annapolis. A veteran of the US Navy, Mr. Salyer has navigated ships, deployed to the Persian Gulf, and served as an assistant...

Join the   #McConnellCenter as we welcome Dr, Laura Beers to convince us why we should read the works of George Orwell ! Laura Beers is a historian and professor of history at American University. She earned her undergraduate degree in history from Princeton and went on to earn her master's and Ph. D. from Harvard. She studies modern Britain with a focus on the ways politics is both influenced and...

Join the   #McConnellCenter as we welcome Tyler Syck for a presentation explaining why we should all read The Once & Future King by TH White ! Jeffery Tyler Syck is an Assistant Professor of Politics and the Director of the Center for Public Service at the University of Pikeville. We all know we need to read more and there are literally millions of books on shelves with new ones printed every day....

Join the   #McConnellCenter as we welcome Benedict Whalen and he attempts to convince us to read A Farewell to Arms by Ernest Hemingway ! Dr. Benedict Whalen completed his bachelor's degree at the University of Dallas, and his graduate degrees at the University of Nevada, Las Vegas. He then taught at Texas A&M University – Corpus Christi before joining Hillsdale College in 2014. Much of his teachi...

Join the   #McConnellCenter as we welcome Natalie Fuehrer Taylor for a presentation on the importance of the Henry Adams novel Democracy ! Natalie Taylor is an Associate Professor of Political Science at Skidmore College.  She is the author of  The Rights of Woman as Chimera: the Political Philosophy of Mary Wollstonecraft  and the editor of  A Political Companion to Henry Adams .  We all know we...

Join the   #McConnellCenter as we welcome Grace Olmstead as she explains  the importance of the book  Hannah Coulter  by  Wendell Berry ! Grace Olmstead is a journalist who focuses on farming, localism, and family. Her writing has been published in The American Conservative, The Week, The New York Times, The Washington Post, National Review, The Wall Street Journal, and Christianity Today, among o...

Join the   #McConnellCenter as we welcome Jerry Salyer and he explains to us the importance of the book  Last of The Mohicans  by  James Fenimore Cooper ! Jerry Salyer holds a Bachelor of Science degree in Aeronautics from Miami University and a Master of Arts from the Great Books Program of St. John's College, Annapolis. A veteran of the US Navy, Mr. Salyer has navigated ships, deployed to the Pe...

Join the   #McConnellCenter as we welcome Dr. Abby Hall Blanco as she attempts  to convince us of the importance of the book  The Road to Serfdom by  Friedrich Hayek ! Abigail Hall Blanco's research focuses on issues related to defense, war, and peace. Blanco has authored more than 40 academic articles and book chapters. She is the coauthor of four published books including How to Run Wars: A Conf...

Join the   #McConnellCenter as we welcome Christopher Beckham as he explains the importance of reading The Thread That Runs So True by Jesse Stuart! Christopher Beckham is Associate Professor of Foundational and Graduate Studies in Education at Morehead State University.  We all know we need to read more and there are literally millions of books on shelves with new ones printed every day. How do w...

Join the   #McConnellCenter as we welcome Tim Simpson as he attempts  to convince us of the importance of the book  Apology  by  Plato ! Timothy L. Simpson is Associate Dean of the Volgenau College of Education and Professor of education at Morehead State University. He was born in Evansville, IN and lived in Kentucky and Tennessee during his youth. He studied philosophy with Dr. Peter Schuller, w...