Episode 93 – Repainting the Fusionist Fence with James Davenport
Saving Elephants | Millennials defending & expressing conservative values
Release Date: 10/19/2021
211 – Next Right with Mike Warren
Saving Elephants | Millennials defending & expressing conservative values
Mike Warren has been on a mission to uncover what awaits conservatives, the Republican party, and the Right as the Trump administration begins to wind down. Who will control Congress after the midterms? Is Trumpism finished and everything will go back to the way it was prior to 2016? Does MAGA produce another cult leader who controls the GOP for the foreseeable future? Does Trump find a way to defy the Constitution and stick around? Does finally make his long-heralded appearance and put an end to us all? Mike isn’t in the business of making political...
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210 – John Quincy Adams with Jeffrey Tyler Syck
Saving Elephants | Millennials defending & expressing conservative values
Sure, most of us are aware that John Quincy Adams was the son of Founding Father John Adams and the sixth POTUS with a long and illustrative career in public service and diplomacy. Some might even recall that he was the brains behind the Monroe Doctrine, or that he nearly drowned during one of his many multi-hour swims in the Potomac River, or that he is undoubtedly the former president Americans would least likely want to have a beer with, or that he was considered by some to be . But all of that’s just trivia. More importantly, John Quincy Adams was a prolific writer whose...
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Roundtable - Rise of the DSA
Saving Elephants | Millennials defending & expressing conservative values
Whether it's Zohran Mamdani's win in NYC last year or the slew of Democratic Socialists of America electoral victories this year, the DSA is having a moment. Is this the beginning of the socialist utopia displacing the patriarchal/capitalist system in the United States or the latest ill-fated iteration of a party out of power attempting to redefine itself? Saving Elephants assembled another august panel to discuss this very issue, including: serves as Vice President of Communications for . Prior to joining SPN, Brooke was the Vice President of Communications at the , a...
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209 – The Soul of Schooling
Saving Elephants | Millennials defending & expressing conservative values
Former President George W. Bush was wrong when he iconically stated "Rarely is the question asked: Is our children learning?" Actually, it's asked all the time (dubious grammatical structuring aside). Politicians and social influencers are quick to bemoan the state of education, but thoughtful conversations on how we might meaningfully change things for the better are few and far between. Saving Elephants has assembled an all-star panel to have a real conversation about education: Have we failed to educate our children? To what extent are problems in education a matter of bad policies,...
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Roundtable - Common Good Conservatism
Saving Elephants | Millennials defending & expressing conservative values
In recent weeks conservative social media has been aflurry debating that nebulous phrase, the Common Good. Does the New Right have a monopoly on the concept of the common good? If we can agree on the common good, does that alone grant us the political authority to impose it? What is the relationship between liberty and the common good? Saving Elephants welcomes two guests to set the record straight for good and all. Dan Hugger, Editorial and Research Fellow and the Host of Acton Line Podcast at the Acton Institute for the Study of Religion & Liberty. He writes and speaks on questions...
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208 – Fusionism with Stephanie Slade
Saving Elephants | Millennials defending & expressing conservative values
Fellow Millennial, Stephanie Slade, has been in the trenches of various factions on the dissident Right lo these past several years to share with the uninitiated normies just how unhinged the Right has become in certain quarters. She joined Saving Elephants host Josh Lewis earlier this year () to explore this phenomenon. But since that time she’s written a book, , which offers the antidote to the rise of rightwing radicalism. That antidote is fusionism, a largely forgotten idea that once defined American conservatism. About Stephanie Slade From Stephanie...
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207 – Why Postliberalism Failed with James Patterson and Thomas Howes
Saving Elephants | Millennials defending & expressing conservative values
Patrick Deneen’s 2018 book, Why Liberalism Failed, was by the standards of most academic works of political philosophy, wildly successful. It struck a chord with some of the broader Right and gave a voice to a growing movement skeptical of the promises of classical liberalism and looking for an alternative. This burgeoning New Right, however, is anything but new. The kind of postliberalism often advocated by the New Right has been attempted in nations across Europe and South America. And each time it has been tried, it has failed. Joining Saving Elephants host...
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206 – Pondering Patriotism with John Wilsey
Saving Elephants | Millennials defending & expressing conservative values
What does it mean to love your country? Is that nationalism? And isn’t nationalism—you know—bad? And how should our allegiance and love of country be weighed against our duties and affections to family and faith? Saving Elephants host Josh Lewis is joined by John Wilsey to discuss his latest book, , the origins of nationalism and how it differs from patriotism, the link between history and love of ones country, the battles between the Romantics and Rationalists, and that great public servant, John Quincy Adams. About John Wilsey From the Dr. John...
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205 – Radical Experimentation in Liberty with Brad Birzer
Saving Elephants | Millennials defending & expressing conservative values
The immortal words of the —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 host Josh Lewis is joined by Hillsdale professor Brad Birzer as they delve into the depths of this most remarkable of political texts and explore the origins of the ideas that birthed our nation. About Brad Birzer From...
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Roundtable - America, 250 Years Young
Saving Elephants | Millennials defending & expressing conservative values
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 250.
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.