Episode 99 – The Forgotten Legacy of Willmoore Kendall with Chris Owen
Saving Elephants | Millennials defending & expressing conservative values
Release Date: 01/18/2022
Saving Elephants | Millennials defending & expressing conservative values
Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz and Ohio Senator JD Vance square off for the first—and likely only—vice presidential debate that’s sure to leave pundits chattering, social media accounts fighting, and late economists spinning in their graves. The debate begins at 9PM ET. Join us immediately following the debate for another livestream roundtable to restore some inkling of sanity back to this election. Panelists include Scott Howard, Jeffery Tyler Syck, and John Giokaris.
info_outline 163 – Where Does the Conservative Go from Here?Saving Elephants | Millennials defending & expressing conservative values
In a world where both political parties are moving away from free market oriented policy solutions, a robust defense of our international allies, and traditional social norms, where does the conservative go from here? Saving Elephants host Josh Lewis is joined by special returning guests Cal Davenport, Erik Kohn, and Justin Stapley for a roundtable discussion on what the future holds for the conservative movement. This episode first dropped as a livestream on the new Saving Elephants YouTube channel., featuring full-length episodes, exclusive shorts, and even live events! Check it out here:
info_outline Roundtable - Towards a Sensible Foreign PolicySaving Elephants | Millennials defending & expressing conservative values
From Eastern Europe to the Middle East to Southeast Asia to so many other places, the world's on fire. Yet neither presidential candidate is offering us a compelling vision to navigate this brave new world. Join another august assembly of panelists as we discuss what a sensible foreign policy might look like. You can also watch this episode on YouTube:
info_outline 162 – Harmonizing Sentiments with Hans EicholzSaving Elephants | Millennials defending & expressing conservative values
The Declaration of Independence audaciously declares certain “truths” to be “self-evident”. And, in so doing, offered a justification for not only a break with Great Britain and Revolutionary War, but the foundation upon which a new nation could be built. But how uniformly were these “truths” held and understood by the Founding Fathers? Were they disparate views that were ultimately incoherent or inconsistent? Did the divergent cultures of the American North and South have fundamentally different ideas of what they conceived of America to be? Were the...
info_outline Roundtable - That 1st Trump vs Harris DebateSaving Elephants | Millennials defending & expressing conservative values
The stakes were high in the first debate between former President Donald Trump and Vice President Kamala Harris. Did anyone, other than the American people, emerge the loser? Were any pets harmed during the debate? Did some semblance of substance somehow slip through? Saving Elephants presents another livestream cross-partisan panel to debate the debate, featuring: Elizabeth Doll Mike Taylor Cal Davenport John Giokaris
info_outline 161 – American Covenant with Yuval LevinSaving Elephants | Millennials defending & expressing conservative values
In this era of polarization and partisan bickering, Americans of all political persuasions are calling for the nation to come together. National unity is certainly in high demand and highly praised. But what is unity? As Yuval Levin argues in his latest book, , “unity doesn’t mean agreement…disagreement does not foreclose the possibility of unity. A more unified society would not always disagree less, but it would disagree better—that is, more constructively and with an eye to how different priorities and goals can be accommodated. That we have lost some...
info_outline Roundtable - Kamala's DNC SpeechSaving Elephants | Millennials defending & expressing conservative values
It's the last night of the Democratic National Convention and who better to offer commentary on Kamala Harris' speech than a cross-partisan panel? Join us for a livestream discussion scheduled to take place shortly after Kamala's speech.
info_outline 160 – FreeCons with Avik RoySaving Elephants | Millennials defending & expressing conservative values
The great fusionist project of ordered liberty advocated by Frank Meyer, William F. Buckley, and M. Stanton Evans is defended and affirmed today by a group calling themselves Freedom Conservatives, or FreeCons. And as most groups of conservatives are wont to do, they have drafted a outlining what they hope to affirm. Saving Elephants host Josh Lewis is a proud signatory on this statement and welcomes in this episode one of the two originators of the Statement, Avik Roy, for a wide-ranging discussion on fusionism, how FreeCons may compare and contrast with NatCons, the need for...
info_outline 159 – The Prudential Lincoln with Allen GuelzoSaving Elephants | Millennials defending & expressing conservative values
Was Abraham Lincoln a racist? Were his efforts at emancipation the mere cold calculations of a politician whose sole aim was to win the Civil War, or do they point to some deeper ideals of America’s first principles? Joining Saving Elephants host Josh Lewis is Lincoln historian Dr. Allen C. Guelzo for a wide-ranging conversation on how Lincoln’s efforts at ending slavery and saving the union may provide the clearest example of prudent American statesmanship in practice. About Dr. Allen C. Guelzo Excerpts from the Dr. Allen C. Guelzo is a New York...
info_outline 158 – Fashionable Fusionists with Samuel GoldmanSaving Elephants | Millennials defending & expressing conservative values
In an age of rampant informalities, shoddy attire, and the kind of milieu that makes a possibility, conservatives stand athwart history yelling STOP! Joining Saving Elephants host Josh Lewis is the impeccably dressed Samuel Goldman to explore how conservatism informs the world of fashion, why legendary figures on the Right from Russell Kirk to Albert J Nock to Willmoore Kendall wore such questionably lavish accessories, the connective tissues between intellectual conservatism and 90s era punk rock, and much more. About Samuel Goldman Samuel Goldman is an associate professor of...
info_outlineFew individuals have had as deep an impact on modern conservative thought, yet remain in relative obscurity, as Willmoore Kendall. The conservative English professor Jeffrey Hart said of Kendall that he was "the most important political theorist to have emerged in the twenty-odd years since the end of World War II." Kendall’s writings are thought-provoking, challenging, contentious, scrupulous, and, often, innovative. His analysis and critiques took no prisoners on both the Right and Left, and his prickly personality shattered relationships with friends, family, and spouses alike. Founding editor of National Review and early mentor to William F. Buckley, Kendall was on the forefront of conservative thought. His ideas don’t entirely fit squarely within the broader warring camps on the Right today, but they are nonetheless instructive, and we ignore his arguments at our own peril.
Joining Saving Elephants host Josh Lewis to discuss the life and ideas of this important yet often neglected thinker on the Right is historian Chris Owen whose new book Heaven Can Indeed Fall: The Life of Willmoore Kendall offers the definitive biography of Kendall’s life and work.
Per the book’s description: “Willmoore Kendall was a man against the world, a "maverick," an "iconoclast." His thoughts were profound, his countless enemies powerful, his personal life full of drama. Heaven Can Indeed Fall is the first full-length biography of Kendall and integrates the man with the teacher, thinker, and cold warrior. Once a Marxist, Kendall became a fearsome foe of global communism. He never apologized for supporting Joseph McCarthy. As the co-founder of National Review he helped turn the word liberal into an insult. A "stormy petrel," Kendall was a man “who never lost an argument or kept a friend.” Yet he was one of the most effective and sensitive teachers of his age. His ideas shaped Cold War practices of intelligence analysis and psychological warfare. As an academic he became the premier American theorist for conservative populism. The recent reemergence of populist ideas among American conservatives makes understanding Kendall ever more imperative. This book shows how a child prodigy and bucolic boy scout became an ambitious intelligence analyst, razor-tongued polemicist and profound student of American politics. By knowing Kendall one can better understand Cold War America, and contemporary America as well.”
About Chris Owen
Dr. Christopher Owen is a historian and recently retired Professor of English within the Department of Languages and Literature at Northeastern State University in Tahlequah, Oklahoma. Dr. Owen earned his PhD in history at Emory University in 1991. His previous book includes The Sacred Flame of Love: Methodism and Society in Nineteenth-Century Georgia.