Saving Elephants | Millennials defending & expressing conservative values

The immortal words of the Declaration of Independence — We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness —are etched upon the hearts of American patriots today and knit us together with patriots down through the ages.   Saving Elephants hos...

Whether you call it the Semiquincentennial or the Sestercentennial; whether you're on team Red, Blue, or politically homeless; whether you believe Die Hard is a movie about Independence Day; America's 250th birthday is something worth celebrating. So how best to ring in this once-in-a-lifetime advent? Saving Elephants has assembled a panel to reflect on what it means for America to turn the big 25...

Richard Weaver was a twentieth century American scholar and rhetorician whose writings were praised by the likes of Russell Kirk, William F. Buckley, Willmoore Kendall, and Frank Meyer.   But nowadays Weaver is either derided as a racially charged Southern sympathizer or accused of preparing the way for the MAGA movement and authoritarianism .   If he's discussed at all. Joining Saving Elephants h...

What if we can agree on the political solution, but we disagree on whose side is most likely to benefit? Congress is broken.   On this we can all agree.   One of the more interesting reform ideas to emerge is the call to expand the number of Representatives in the United States House, thereby making it more likely Representatives could actually, you know, represent their constituents. This idea se...

In 1976 historian George H. Nash wrote The Conservative Intellectual Movement in America Since 1945 , a celebrated historical accounting that established much of the narrative for how we think about the development of modern conservatism even today.   But much has changed since the seventies.   What can the history of conservatism tell us about this present moment, and what can it tell us about wh...

Persuasion seems conspicuously absent from our politics.   Not shouting, denouncing, or trying to convince the "other side" that they're wrong, evil, or both.   But the good faithed attempt to reach the hearts, minds, and emotions of others and persuade them to our point of view.   Why?   Why is persuasion so hard?   And is it even possible to persuade in an era of political polarization?   Saving...

Sometimes the best way to understand one's culture is to compare it with something entirely different.   In this episode Saving Elephants host Josh Lewis take a deep dive into China with Chinese dissident Lu of the YouTube channel All Things China with Lu . Lu demystifies what the Communist Chinese Party (CCP) wants, why they fear Taiwan, how they view the ethnic Han population, why they work so h...

This month marks eight years of Saving Elephants tirelessly calling the GOP back to its classical conservative roots instead of the cult-of-personality nationalist populism to which the party has succumbed. And over these past eight years...things have only gotten worse. Saving Elephants host Josh Lewis assembles an all-star panel to answer the question: is the GOP worth saving?   Meet the Panelis...

Friendship is one of the last words you might associate with politics these days.   Yet John von Heyking believes recovering a proper, classical understanding of friendship is precisely what our civic order needs to function.   Saving Elephants host Josh Lewis and John discuss the differences in how the ancients and medievals viewed friendship and how it's been undervalued by us moderns.   They al...

It's been nearly a month since Supreme Leader Khamenei and his gathered Legion of Doom were killed in the Trump administration's "special military operation" in Iran. So, are we at war with Iran now? If so, what's the objective? Isn't Congress supposed to declare a war before a president takes things this far? What are the necessary and practical limits on a president's wartime powers? We covered...

Ever since Leo Strauss published his magnum opus  Natural Right and History , which ends by heavily implying Edmund Burke opened the door for the evils of historicism in the modern world, a great fissure in conservative nerddom erupted between those who align with either titan. Were Strauss' criticism of Burke warranted? Did Burke disavow natural rights and pave the way for the evils of authoritar...

While Saving Elephants is dedicated to offering the conservative intellectual tradition in mercifully modern vernacular, fellow podcaster Nic Dunn has been on a similar mission: making the work of policy institutions more digestible.   Nic joins Josh for a conversation around the important role policy can play in defusing political tension, alleviating poverty, and expanding the freedom and opport...

For good or ill, the post World War II era built by the Baby Boomers seems to be rapidly coming to an end.   But what will replace it?   What might be done to prevent global conflicts and bloodshed as the old order begins to break down?   And what should younger conservatives seek to conserve in this era of chaotic change?   Joining Saving Elephants host Josh Lewis is Director of Research at the D...

In a world of exhaustive binary thinking sometimes complexity offers relief.   Lauren Hall joins the show to offer her alternative living in 4D she calls "radical moderation".   In the latter half of the conversation Saving Elephants host Josh Lewis happily takes Lauren up on her offer to geek out on Edmund Burke.   About Lauren Hall Excerpts from laurenkhall.com   Lauren Hall is an author and pro...

Dr. Daniel Pitt and his imposing mustache joins Saving Elephants host Josh Lewis to explore the similarities and differences between American and British conservatism, proto-Burkean "conservative" thinkers, Pitt's personal relationship with Sir Roger Scruton, and the importance of unchosen obligations in a free society, all offered up in a wonderfully meandering conversation that nonetheless stays...

While Saving Elephants defends the classical conservative position, the loudest voices on the Right today coalesce around different policies, priorities, and goals.   Those that form the dissident Right are comprised of multiple sub-groups with overlapping and, at times, incompatible views.   So who is this disparate group of dissidents?   What holds them together, and how do they differ from cons...

Does the fractious stupidity of our politics, the rapid advancement of AI, and the release of the final season of Stranger Things portend making America great again or the coming apocalypse? Join our panelists for a (definitive, obviously) glimpse into what's in store for us all in 2026. Panelists include: Brooke Medina  - VP of Comms with the  State Policy Network Avi Woolf  - Host of  Avi's Conv...

Jonah Goldberg makes his triumphal return to Saving Elephants where host Josh Lewis peppers him with unyielding questions on what his fourth and forthcoming book will be about, the practicality of setting lottery winnings as a life-goal, what a post-Trump GOP might look like, whether it makes sense to even "save" the elephants, and whether we should welcome human enslavement to our future AI overl...

In 2019 Caylan Ford resigned her political candidacy in Canada after controversy over allegations of her echoing white nationalist rhetoric.   In spite of her resignation—and continual insistence she held no such views—the mobs of cancel culture demanded "justice".   She was blacklisted from employers, unable to continue work with organizations that seek to liberate people living under the yoke of...

William F Buckley was one of the most important figures in the conservative movement over the past century. His posthumous 100th birthday is Monday, November 24. Come celebrate the life and legacy of Buckley as our Saving Elephant panelists pay tribute to a conservative life well lived. Panelists include: Eric Kohn  - CEO of  America's Future Michael Lucchese - Founder and CEO of  Pipe Creek Consu...

Returning to the Founders' blueprint for dividing power across federal, state, and local governments may be the greatest weapon we have to reverse the appalling state of our politic divisiveness. What is federalism? And what would a recommitment to federalism look like? Saving Elephants welcomes panelists from the State Policy Network and the Acton Institute to discuss what it means to take federa...

There are four faces on the Saving Elephants' Mount Rushmore of great conservatives: Edmund Burke, Russell Kirk, Thomas Sowell, and William F. Buckley.   While the first three have each had fully episodes dedicated to their life and works, William F. Buckley has yet to be explored at length.   And with Buckley's posthumous 100th birthday happening later this month, now is the perfect time to refle...

Those who identify as pro-immigration and pro-nationalist are often at odds with one another.   But what if a healthy dose of nationalism is the very thing that could bolster our immigration?   Nathan Brown and Robert Haglund argue in their new book Rescuing the American Project that "much of the dysfunction in contemporary American politics is a consequence of the failure by our elites to underst...

Does the Right have a radical problem, particularly among young men? Saving Elephants assembles another insightful panel to offer their...insights. The panelists include: Eric Kohn  - President of America's Future Jeffery Tyler Syck  - Proffessor at the University of Pikeville Jeff Mayhugh - VP of NoCapFund Lura Forcum - President of the Independent Center

Disillusioned with the rigidity of political tribalism, J.J. McCullough left his role as conservative journalist and commentator and became a content creator.   His YouTube channel, J.J. McCullough offers his one million subscribers weekly deep dives about countries, cultures, and Canada.   But while politics is not the focus of his channel, some of his content is still tinged with the overtures o...