Episode 93 – Repainting the Fusionist Fence with James Davenport
Saving Elephants | Millennials defending & expressing conservative values
Release Date: 10/19/2021
Episode 95 – Reassessing the GOP with Justin Stapley
Saving Elephants | Millennials defending & expressing conservative values
For the Trump-skeptical conservative, the past five years have been dizzyingly disconcerting. We’ve often felt politically homeless and even out of step from the power centers on both the Left and Right. What’s a principled conservative to do? What is the long-term goal of the movement? What future might we practically hope for and what goals are overly optimistic and detached from reality? Returning guest Justin Stapley joins Saving Elephants host Josh Lewis to contemplate the merits of Trump-skeptical conservatives sticking with the GOP and whether the...
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Episode 94 – What's the Matter with Socialism?
Saving Elephants | Millennials defending & expressing conservative values
Saving Elephants host Josh Lewis offers a conservative critique of socialism. It’s hardly news that socialism is gaining in popularity among younger Americans. Yet it’s more difficult to ascertain what Millennials have in mind when they express support for socialism or socialist candidates. Do they mean Marxism or the numerous varieties of Communist authoritarian regimes tried over the past century, European-style “socialism”, democratic socialism, having the state seize the means of production and abolish private property, bolstering labor unions, or some complex...
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Episode 93 – Repainting the Fusionist Fence with James Davenport
Saving Elephants | Millennials defending & expressing conservative values
Founded in 1953, the (ISI) has remained on the forefront of the conservative intellectual movement with a particular focus on ensuring college students are equipped with the tools they need to explore the conservative worldview. During the tumultuous begins of the modern conservative movement in the United States, ISI embraced many of the views and adherents of both the libertarian and traditionalist wings of the movements. Today, ISI is yet again navigating the divisions on the Right as they seek to maintain a platform where these embattled factions can meet together and debate...
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Episode 92 – The Spice of Life
Saving Elephants | Millennials defending & expressing conservative values
As the old adage goes, variety is the spice of life. And the conservative heartily agrees. Variety, not uniformity, is what gives life its vitality and each life the potential for self-actualization and the opportunity for each of us to develop in our own unique way. But is variety compatible with equality? What do we mean by equality, and how might equality be established? What is the relationship between equality, progress, and justice? In this solo episode, Saving Elephants host Josh Lewis explores what conservatism has to say about variety and equality...
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Episode 91 – Invisible Men with Ian Rowe and Nique Fajors
Saving Elephants | Millennials defending & expressing conservative values
Saving Elephants host Josh Lewis is joined by Ian Rowe and Nique Fajors—two black Harvard Business School graduates—who hope to change the narrative and highlight the positive achievements of black men in the United States. What is wrong with the common narrative surrounding black men? How much has changed over recent decades and are those changes adequately reflected in the narrative? Ian and Nique host , a podcast and video platform interviewing successful black men. In the aftermath of Rodney King’s assault by police officers in the 90s and his attackers’...
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Episode 90 – Redlining and Reparations with Charles Marohn
Saving Elephants | Millennials defending & expressing conservative values
America’s history of bigotry and racism have left wounds that fester to this day. How might the country make amends to those racial minorities who were harmed? To what extent are white Americans responsible for addressing wrongs perpetrated by their ancestors? To what extent can the effects of these past sins be measured and known? These are not easy questions, nor is there much consensus on where we go from here. But there is one area where both conservatives and liberals may be able to find common ground: addressing historic wrongs committed by the practice...
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Bonus Episode – En Route with Dennis Sanders
Saving Elephants | Millennials defending & expressing conservative values
Saving Elephants host Josh Lewis joins Dennis Sanders on his podcast to discuss the past, present, and future of the GOP and conservative movements, what younger generations of Americans have to offer the country, and where the #NeverTrump movement went wrong. About Dennis Sanders Dennis Sanders is a blogger, podcaster, pastor, and media and technology professional. He hosts , a podcast about the journey focusing on religion, politics and culture and the things we discover on the way. Dennis was born and raised in Flint, Michigan and currently lives in Minneapolis. ...
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Episode 89 – Uprooted with Gracy Olmstead
Saving Elephants | Millennials defending & expressing conservative values
Often the highest praise we can offer a bright, promising student is “you’ll go far”. Americans have long associated success with striking out on one’s own and heading for greener pastures. But is this transient attitude conducive to the long-term health of local communities? What happens to the places we leave behind and what impact does that have on us? Saving Elephants host Josh Lewis is joined by Gracy Olmstead, author of . Their conversation delves into how Americans have historically thought of leaving or sticking with the communities of their...
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Episode 88 – Opioid Pains with Peter Pischke
Saving Elephants | Millennials defending & expressing conservative values
The opioid overdose crisis is back in the news with recent revelations that the already shocking death toll has increased dramatically since the pandemic. Drug overdose is now the leading cause of accidental death with opioids accounting for most of the deaths. This crisis has certainly received a lot of attention from lawmakers, healthcare professionals, and the media. However, Saving Elephants returning guest Peter Pischke argues that much of the debate over what to do about the growing crisis is overly focused on patients with medical needs who rarely abuse their...
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Episode 87 – E Pluribus Unum with Avi Woolf
Saving Elephants | Millennials defending & expressing conservative values
What is America and what does it mean to be an American? We Americans have been debating this question for centuries, yet we seem even less united on a common understanding than Americans of prior generations. America’s original national motto was E Pluribus Unum: “Out of many, one”. It contained the notion that this diverse country of ethnicities and religions and ideologies were somehow unified in some sense. In 1956, our national motto changed to “In God We Trust”. Yet this was no less of a statement on American unity. In 1956 the Cold War was...
info_outlineFounded in 1953, the Intercollegiate Studies Institute (ISI) has remained on the forefront of the conservative intellectual movement with a particular focus on ensuring college students are equipped with the tools they need to explore the conservative worldview. During the tumultuous begins of the modern conservative movement in the United States, ISI embraced many of the views and adherents of both the libertarian and traditionalist wings of the movements. Today, ISI is yet again navigating the divisions on the Right as they seek to maintain a platform where these embattled factions can meet together and debate their differences with civility and passion.
Joining Saving Elephants host Josh Lewis in this episode is James Davenport, Academic Program Officer for ISI, as they discuss indispensable books for the student of conservatism, the plight of young conservatives on college campuses, the importance and relevance of fusionism, cancel culture and civility, and how conservatives might combat the continuous Leftward bent of higher education.
About James Davenport
James Davenport is Academic Program Officer for the Intercollegiate Studies Institute. He received his BA in politics, philosophy, and theology from the Templeton Honors College at Eastern University. As an undergraduate, James was an ISI Honors Scholar and president of his campus ISI Society—The Montaigne Society. He also participated in seminars with the Elm Institute, was a fellow with the Philadelphia Commons Institute (formerly the Agora Institute), and was a course fellow in religion and politics with the Hertog Foundation.
James’ writing can be found in the Imaginative Conservative, The University Bookman, Philanthropy Daily, Front Porch Republic, the Forma Journal of the Circe Institute, and more. He also hosts the Conservative Conversations with ISI podcast alongside ISI President Johnny Burtka and National Director of Student Programs Marlo Slayback. You can find James on Twitter @mrJSDavenport
Listener Mail
In the listener mail segment Josh responds to a listener’s request to cover the topics of conservatism in urban areas and the challenge of countering the Left’s hold over elite institutions, particularly in higher education.