Bonus Episode – Remembering Roger Scruton with Bryan Baise
Saving Elephants | Millennials defending & expressing conservative values
Release Date: 01/12/2021
173 – The Fertility Gap with Clara Piano
Saving Elephants | Millennials defending & expressing conservative values
The Right has long had a thing or two to say about the importance of the family and its role in national stability and prosperity. But there are sharp divisions regarding what political implications can be drawn from this idea, and what policies should be pursued to protect and strengthen families. Saving Elephants host Josh Lewis welcomes economist Clara Piano to the show to talk about the government’s role in pro-natal and pro-family policies, the ideal population size, the challenges of under/over-population, ethical consumerism, and what some of today’s Right have in...
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Roundtable - Conversing Across the Political Divide
Saving Elephants | Millennials defending & expressing conservative values
Is civil discourse even possible across the political divide when that divide seems so insurmountable? How do we maintain or even strengthen relationships when we don’t see politics the same? The latest Saving Elephants roundtable brings together panelists who all have experience in communicating across the divide: (former Acton Institute podcast host), (), Will Wright and Josh Burtram (), Elizabeth Doll (), and Calvin Moore ().
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172 – The History of American Conservatism with George Nash
Saving Elephants | Millennials defending & expressing conservative values
In 1976 historian George H. Nash wrote , a celebrated historical accounting that established much of the narrative for how we think about the development of modern conservatism even today. George Nash joins Saving Elephants host Josh Lewis to discuss the various strands of thought that emerged after the Second World War that eventually evolved into a political movement on the Right. Along the way, Dr. Nash shares his insights on the colorful individuals who shaped the debate, how they fought one another, and how an eventual loose consensus was brought forth. Finally, he...
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171 – Reality Therapy Redux
Saving Elephants | Millennials defending & expressing conservative values
At the end of 2024, Ryan Rogers joined the show to share his as a graduate student. He later had Saving Elephants host Josh Lewis on his new podcast, , for a wide ranging discussion on conservatism, the challenges of the modern conservative movement, what conservatism offers that other political ideologies do not, and much more. This episode is a re-podcast of that original conversation. About Ryan Rogers Ryan Rogers is a graduate student in clinical mental health counseling. He has a bachelors degree in psychology and a work history in addiction treatment. His latest...
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Roundtable - Trump's 1st Week on the Job
Saving Elephants | Millennials defending & expressing conservative values
It’s Trump’s first week on the job and he’s been quite busy making America great again or summoning the Fourth Reich, depending on your political perspective. Join Saving Elephants’ livestream roundtable of cross-partisan pontificators to break it all down for you and what this first week might portend for the next four years.
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170 – Tribalism is Dumb with Andrew Heaton
Saving Elephants | Millennials defending & expressing conservative values
Comedian, author, and political satirist joins Saving Elephants host Josh Lewis to explore where our political tribalism comes from, why it’s gotten out of hand, and what to do about it. About Andrew Heaton Andrew Heaton is a comedian, author, and political satirist. He’s the host of “The Political Orphanage” comedy and news podcast, and scifi deep dive podcast “Alienating the Audience.” He’s a frequent Reason TV contributor and hosted the popular webseries “Mostly Weekly.” He’s performed standup comedy at the Edinburgh Fringe Festival, as a finalist in the...
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169 – Unsolicited Advice with Blake Fischer
Saving Elephants | Millennials defending & expressing conservative values
With the 2024 elections in rearview both parties are trying to grapple with what lessons they should learn. Who better to offer unsolicited advice than Josh Lewis and Blake Fischer, the respective hosts of the and podcasts? As two Trump-skeptical conservatives on the outside looking in, sure both parties are eager to hear their thoughts on how both parties should proceed in the elections ahead. In this episode, Josh and Blake take a deep dive into what went wrong and what went right for the Republicans in 2024 and what might help them secure their newfound majorities for...
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Roundtable - 2024 - A Year in Review
Saving Elephants | Millennials defending & expressing conservative values
As 2024 comes to a close podcasters everywhere will be doing one of those hackneyed and insufferable “a look back at the year’s major events” shows. Not to be outdone, Saving Elephants will be getting in on the action as well with another livestream roundtable to bloviate and pontificate about the numerous twists and turns of our most recent trip around the sun. Of course, unlike all those other shows, you never know when the panelists will get into an argument about whether Burke, Strauss, Hayek, or Scruton would have had the more insightful outlook were they alive today.
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168 – The Perennial Burke with Daniel Klein
Saving Elephants | Millennials defending & expressing conservative values
As Saving Elephants host Josh Lewis is wont to do, here is yet another episode exploring the political and philosophical brilliance of Edmund Burke. But this time he is aided by scholar and professor Daniel Klein to examine the late writings of Burke’s life as Europe was descending into revolutionary chaos. What was Burke’s understanding of liberty and natural rights, and how did it differ from many of his more radical contemporaries? How did Burke distinguish between reforms that were constructive or destructive, and why did he seem so reluctant to use them in some...
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167 – The Woke Mind with Ryan Rogers
Saving Elephants | Millennials defending & expressing conservative values
“I do not believe,” wrote F. A. Hayek in his book , “that the widely held conception of ‘social justice’ either describes a possible state of affairs or is even meaningful.” Hayek would complain “social” was a sort of “weasel word” that carried a lot of unexamined prescriptions. To call something “social justice” is to advocate for something without bothering to fully explore what that something might even be. What are the philosophical underpinnings of social justice? What does it practically mean, and how could it practically apply. And...
info_outlineOne year ago today, on January 12, 2020, Sir Roger Scruton died at the age of 75. Thus passed one of the greatest intellectual minds of the past century. Scruton was an English philosopher and writer who specialized in aesthetics and political philosophy. He wrote over 50 books on philosophy, art, music, politics, literature, culture, sexuality, and religion, as well as novels and two operas. Yet his greatest achievement, according to Dr. Samuel Gregg with the Acton Institute, was to put into words and give form to conservatism as a philosophy beyond a mere disposition or attitude.
Joining Saving Elephants host Josh Lewis in remembering the life and works of Sir Roger Scruton is returning guest Bryan Baise, professor of philosophy and apologetics at Boyce College. Bryan describes Scruton as a dear friend he’d never met who nonetheless had a rescuing influence on his life. Bryan published several obituaries for Scruton last year to celebrate his life. He wrote:
“I was sitting in Panera when I received a text message from a friend and colleague: ‘Roger Scruton has died.’ I was with my family and a widow from our church, holding back tears until I could get in the car. A man that changed so many things about my world has now passed away.”
Bryan then recounted the many things Scruton had taught him, as discussed in the episode. In another obituary Bryan wrote:
“It’s difficult to try to describe the various ways [Scruton] influenced individuals and movements…I’m afraid the loss of Scruton means the erosion of a kinder, gentler conservatism than what is currently on offer…The posture toward politics and culture that Scruton embodied is, I fear, being forgotten and will one day die out.”
Bryan Baise is a professor of philosophy and apologetics at Boyce College. Bryan is the program director of philosophy, politics, and economics and the program director of the Christian worldview and apologetics. He is currently working on two books, one about beauty and another about introducing the conservative worldview to a non-academic audience. You can follow Bryan on Twitter @bryanbaise.
Bryan was a guest on two previous episodes:
Episode 41 - Why Beauty Matters with Bryan Baise
Episode 25 - Developing Your Worldview with Bryan Baise