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Episode 93 – Repainting the Fusionist Fence with James Davenport

Saving Elephants | Millennials defending & expressing conservative values

Release Date: 10/19/2021

192 – Remnant Redux with Jonah Goldberg show art 192 – Remnant Redux with Jonah Goldberg

Saving Elephants | Millennials defending & expressing conservative values

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 overlords.   Remnant fans, have your bingo cards at the ready!   About Jonah Goldberg From   Jonah Goldberg is editor-in-chief and co-founder of , based in Washington, D.C. Prior to...

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Saving Elephants | Millennials defending & expressing conservative values

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 totalitarianism, ostracized by friends and colleagues, attacked and trolled online, and shunned by her community.   Caylan joins Saving Elephants host Josh Lewis to share her...

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Saving Elephants | Millennials defending & expressing conservative values

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Saving Elephants | Millennials defending & expressing conservative values

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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 reflect on his long and remarkable life.   Sam Tanehaus’ decades-in-the-making biography of Buckley was published earlier this year and he joins Saving Elephants host Josh Lewis to cover...

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Saving Elephants | Millennials defending & expressing conservative values

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 that “much of the dysfunction in contemporary American politics is a consequence of the failure by our elites to understand the crucial relationship between immigration and nationalism.”   Nathan and Robert join Saving Elephants host Josh Lewis to explore the history and controversy of immigration in America, what the Left and the...

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Saving Elephants | Millennials defending & expressing conservative values

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Saving Elephants | Millennials defending & expressing conservative values

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Justin Stapley and I have been on similar journeys these past many years seeking to better understand our worldviews and the ever-changing political moment and how best to restore sanity and integrity to our politics. But while I've been diligently producing podcast episodes for these past seven years, Justin has launched a dizzying array of projects. In his own words: There's an ongoing joke between myself and  that every time I'm on his podcast, I've rebranded. And he's not necessarily wrong, lol. Here's the various blogs and efforts I've done since 2016... Never Tyranny was my...

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187 – Audaciously Aspirational with John Wilsey show art 187 – Audaciously Aspirational with John Wilsey

Saving Elephants | Millennials defending & expressing conservative values

One cannot BE a conservative.  One can only aspire to conservatism.  So says John Wilsey in his new book .  Perhaps Roger Scruton’s was a worthy endeavor but too audacious of a title.   John Wilsey joins Saving Elephants host Josh Lewis to flesh out the aspirational nature of conservatism and how it grounds the individual.  They explore the religious roots of American conservatism and the challenges of bringing up a new generation of conservatives without the giants of the past conservatives had to look to for inspiration and encouragement.   About John Wilsey...

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Founded 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.